{"id":5093,"date":"2016-04-21T15:20:52","date_gmt":"2016-04-21T19:20:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/?p=5093"},"modified":"2016-05-18T15:40:29","modified_gmt":"2016-05-18T19:40:29","slug":"digital-learning-on-display-at-anchor-school-showcase","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/digital-learning-on-display-at-anchor-school-showcase\/","title":{"rendered":"Digital learning on display at Anchor School Showcase"},"content":{"rendered":"

Students and staff at the school division\u2019s 11 Digital Learning Anchor Schools have been tinkering, troubleshooting, experimenting, exploring, creating and collaborating with technology for months now.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s by design, explained Chief Academic Officer Amy Cashwell.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not every day you\u2019re given a project in which you can really tell schools, \u2018We\u2019re going to give you some devices and we really want you to explore. We want you to use this as a laboratory experience where you can really challenge our notions as a school division about what it is to instill active, collaborative learning in the classroom,\u2019\u201d Cashwell said.<\/p>\n

\"Cashwell\"<\/p>\n

Challenging traditional notions of education by experimenting with digital learning has been the task of Anchor Schools since the beginning of the school year. The initiative is aligned with the school division\u2019s strategic framework Compass to 2020<\/em> to transition classrooms to more personalized learning environments that are student-centered and increase flexibility with respect to how and where learning occurs.<\/p>\n

Representatives from each Anchor School shared lessons learned to date in a showcase event April 20 held at Great Neck Middle School.<\/p>\n

Kingston Elementary School fifth-graders couldn\u2019t hide their enthusiasm.<\/p>\n

\"Kingston<\/p>\n

\u201cTechnology is amazing! It has so much power,\u201d exclaimed Anslee Burnett. As the student manager of the school\u2019s WKES news team, she has experimented with green screen backgrounds, audio technology, live streaming and more.<\/p>\n

At a display near Burnett, Katie Royal shared with guests, \u201cWe\u2019re explaining GAFE, that\u2019s Google Apps for Education, and it\u2019s a great way to stay organized.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is Google Classroom, Google Slides, Google Docs, Google Drive,\u201d she continued and explained how she\u2019s used each one.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s better than keeping everything in a binder,\u201d Royal summarized with a broad smile.<\/p>\n

Organization. Efficiency. Access. Fun.<\/p>\n

These were common themes from presenters across 11 different rooms.<\/p>\n

\u201cI used to think that school was all boring, just paper and pencil, and I didn\u2019t like it,\u201d admitted Tallwood Elementary School fifth-grader Charlie Ackla. He used a tablet at home every day but did not use as much technology at school.<\/p>\n

\"Tallwood<\/p>\n

\u201cNow it\u2019s like being at home,\u201d Ackla said. \u201cI can download apps. Symbaloo is one of my favorites. It has all the sites from your teacher there for you already. You can do a project on it. It keeps you organized.\u201d<\/p>\n

Organizing notes has been helpful to Great Neck Middle School (GNMS) eighth-grader Jordan Parker-Ashe, who showed visitors notes she took while studying a Tale of Two Cities<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust using a program such as OneNote has skyrocketed my English grade,\u201d said Parker-Ashe. \u201cIn the beginning of the year, I didn\u2019t take as many notes and wasn\u2019t doing so well. Then I started writing down everything that was happening in the book and my grades went way up.\u201d<\/p>\n

And by \u201cwriting down everything,\u201d Parker-Ashe meant typing on her school-issued device. She admitted that having to handwrite notes kept her from writing down much of anything.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a lot faster and more intuitive than handwriting because I can get this done in seconds,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\"GreatNeck<\/p>\n

When asked if classrooms should be paperless, Parker-Ashe and her fellow eighth-grade presenters quickly disagreed.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think I would like that because, I mean, it\u2019s hard,\u201d said Kylie Levine. \u201cFor math, in geometry and algebra, you have to be able to write down your formulas and everything. I don\u2019t think I could do it. Not every subject can go paperless.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ariana Kyriakides agreed, reflecting on her experiences with math Standards of Learning online tests. \u201cYou kind of have to copy it down to work through it,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Rosemont Elementary School fourth-grader Matthew Skuse may disagree with the middle school students.<\/p>\n

\u201cInstead of writing which gives us hand cramps, we can just type it,\u201d said Skuse. \u201cIt is an efficient way to do schoolwork,\u201d he says of technology.<\/p>\n

After reflection, he added, \u201cWell, typing can give us hand cramps as well, but it doesn\u2019t hurt as much.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Rosemont<\/p>\n

Skuse also likes how technology can transport you.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe thing I like about Skype is that it\u2019s like a free field trip,\u201d he said describing how his classmates skyped with the school division\u2019s sustainability officer Tim Cole while he was at the new Kemps Landing\/Old Donation School building under construction.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe gave us a tour and we didn\u2019t even have to go there. We got an overview of the whole place,\u201d remarked Skuse.<\/p>\n

Standing in the middle of his school\u2019s presentation room, Tallwood Elementary School principal David French couldn\u2019t hide his pride.<\/p>\n

\"Tallwood<\/p>\n

\u201cThe most fun I\u2019ve had tonight is watching the students explain the technology, show what they\u2019ve learned and seeing how much they\u2019ve grown this year,\u201d said French.<\/p>\n

It has been a learning experience for school leaders as well.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou have to put in work up front before you bring in devices. You have to know how to plan for [integrating technology] and what to do with the tools to engage students,\u201d French said. \u201cYou\u2019re not rolling in a whole cart of laptops and saying, \u2018Go at it.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re taking small steps,\u201d French continued, \u201chelping teachers learn so they\u2019re not so far outside their comfort zone that they give up on it. Schools are starting to take advantage of learning new tools and learning new ways. It\u2019s powerful. It really is powerful.\u201d<\/p>\n

And teachers don\u2019t have to be perfect, observed Thoroughgood Elementary School principal Cheryl Zigrang.\u00a0After all, they have digital natives by their side.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust seeing what the children can do, which is so much more than the staff thought could happen \u2014 that\u2019s definitely been a lesson learned,\u201d said Zigrang. \u201cThe teachers will tell you, let the kids run with things. Don\u2019t worry about being perfect. Don\u2019t worry about knowing everything about [technology] and just give it a try. Again, see where the students will take it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Students in grades K-12 are taking it in many directions together with their peers and school staff.<\/p>\n

Programming robots. Posting comments for class review and discussion. Creating online books. Designing interactive presentations.<\/p>\n

\"Robots<\/p>\n

However, technology is only one piece of the pathway to personalized learning, Cashwell reminded showcase guests.<\/p>\n

\u201cTonight you\u2019ll see a lot of tools, tricks and gadgets, but keep in mind that it\u2019s not just about the technology. It\u2019s not just about the devices. It\u2019s not about taking all of those new things and layering them over an old environment,\u201d said Cashwell. \u201cIt\u2019s about working to co-design with our students\u2026meeting student needs, removing all gaps and ensuring that all our students are on a trajectory for success.\u201d<\/p>\n

Visit the VBSchools Facebook page<\/a> to see more photos from the Digital Learning Anchor School showcase. More information about the division\u2019s Anchor School initiative, including a list of participating schools, is available on <\/em>www.vbschools.com<\/em><\/a>. <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Students and staff at the school division\u2019s 11 Digital Learning Anchor Schools have been tinkering, troubleshooting, experimenting, exploring, creating and collaborating with technology for months now. That\u2019s by design, explained […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":5094,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[137,46],"class_list":["post-5093","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-digital-anchor-schools","tag-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5093","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5093"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5093\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5102,"href":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5093\/revisions\/5102"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5094"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5093"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5093"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5093"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}