The turnout was great, the race was close, and the SCORE Rise to the Challenge winner is: Jennifer Malone, Loudon County Schools. Congratulations to Jennifer, who wins a $100 Donors Choose gift card! Thanks to our other finalists – Jason Horne, Tennessee Online Public School; Tony Donen, STEM School; Heather Burrell, Project Help; and Adam Taylor, Metro Nashville Public Schools – for their great work to help students. SCORE thanks all who voted for supporting Tennessee public schools.
Finalist 1: Using Technology to Enhance Learning in a Flipped Classroom
By: Tony Donen, STEM School Chattanooga
At STEM School Chattanooga our primary focus is on moving education from a teacher directed and disseminated environment to a student owned and centered learning experience. In order to make this transition, it is vital for students to own the technology and information. So we have flipped the paradigm of the classroom so that the student is in control of the knowledge and information, as opposed to the teacher.
STEM School Chattanooga has a 1-to-1 structure in our school. Every student has an iPad that the student uses 24/7. Content delivery is no longer the primary role of the teacher. Instead, we expect students to use critical thinking skills in all content. We define critical thinking as students understanding how to access, use, and apply information. Because the technology is in the hands of the students, students are no longer held captive by when a teacher disseminates the knowledge. The students already have access to the knowledge and the student’s job is to now figure out how to access it, what it means and what pieces of it are important, and ultimately use that knowledge to create innovative and original products.
The three tenets of our school are critical thinking, collaboration, and innovation. In order for these to happen, they must be tenets that students are doing throughout all their coursework. 1-to-1 technology is the lever for providing the avenue to make this change a reality in every classroom, everyday.
Below is a list that was put together after just five months of student 1-to-1 iPad use. It is important to note that the goal is to move from dependence of a teacher for individual and group success to student’s owning their learning and being in control of that learning. In traditional settings, students are reliant on teachers to provide whole class instruction to supply the students with the content information at hopefully the right time. In a 1-to-1 setting used appropriately, students are no longer dependent on the one person standing in front of the classroom nor limited to a finite piece of time, but can access, use, and apply information collaboratively and have real control over their learning. Teachers teach students critical thinking and students become critical thinkers, readers, writers, and presenters throughout their school day.
25 Apps used daily in our high school:
1. Edmodo: Provides a safe and easy way to connect and collaborate, share content, access homework, and share school notices
2. Evernote: Cloud-based app used for archiving and sharing documents across platforms
3. Pages: Word Processing for papers, letters, and all documents
4. GoodNotes: Note-taking and Annotation app for PDFs
5. ITunesU: Online courses and resources
6. HMH Fuse book app: Math textbook in an interactive app using videos, practice problems, and formative assessment
7. Wolfram Alpha: Access facts and calculate answers across topics in science, math, engineering, and other subject areas
8. iMovie: Create and edit original movies and videos
9. iTunes: Access and listen to podcasts, news recordings and music
10. Keynote: Create multimedia presentations
11. Prezi: Create online multimedia timelines and presentations
12. PowerOne SL calculator: Calculate and graph complex equations
13. Calendar: Sync dates, alerts, and reminders across all platforms
14. Photoshop Express: Create and edit digital photographs
15. Google Earth: Explore the world from street level and beyond
16. Camera: Quickly captures audio and video recordings
17. Notes: Simple note taking app
18. TED: iPad Explorer and Player for TED videos
19. Titan player: Watch videos offline without internet
20. Safari Browser: Browse the Web
21. Google Chrome Browser: Browse the Web and save bookmarks across platforms
22. Apps gone Free: Find the latest apps on sale or free for the day
23. Puffin: Web Browser for Flash media
24. Pandora: Search and discover new genres of music based on preferences
25. Pic collage: Create collages of pictures using text, images, and graphics
Finalist 2: Project H.E.L.P
By: Heather Burrell, Project H.E.L.P., Chattanooga
We are supporting effective school leaders by tapping into business resources to help mentor children identified by school leaders on a one-on-one basis. We successfully graduated 7 students from the program and have 10 professional business leaders that are committed to be involved at Hillcrest Elementary next year as a result of this first year mentorship program.
Project H.E.L.P. (Hillcrest Elementary Leadership Partners) was established to provide a sustainable mentoring program at Hillcrest Elementary school.
Student participants were identified by school faculty and paired with Leadership Chattanooga team members. Each week, mentors and mentees meet face-to-face to discuss academic and behavioral issues with the goal of providing positive examples for children in difficult circumstances. Since the mentoring program started, teachers have witnessed positive changes that mentoring provides.
“We are passionate about making a difference in education. Our project is focused on changing the life of a child – one child at a time,” stated H.E.L.P. member Heather Burrell to the Enterprise Gateway Chamber Council. County Commissioner Greg Beck expressed his support for the program, stating, “a volunteer is a precious gift – and what you are doing for these children, through your time and effort, will change a child’s life forever.”
In addition to recruiting local professionals to serve as Hillcrest mentors during the next school year, Project H.E.L.P. is hosting a Career Day for the entire 5th grade class. This will be an opportunity to show many students the potential they can reach and give them a sense of community support. Team members also raised funds to repair damaged playground equipment at Hillcrest – another important gesture of support from the business community.
Finalist 3: Engaging Parents through Social Media
By: Jason Horne, Tennessee Online Public School
Tennessee Online Public School (TOPS) uses social media to create a community with students and parents to empower parents to be equal partners in their children’s education.
Finalist 4: Using Twitter to Connect Students with Scientists
By: Adam Taylor, Metro Nashville Public Schools
I’m using Twitter in and out of class to connect students with real scientists. #Scistuchat is a monthly Twitter Chat with scientists and high school students. More info: https://sites.google.com/site/scistuchat/
Finalist 5: Digital Learning Day
By: Jennifer Malone, Loudon County Schools
Teachers integrate technology projects to improve student achievement. See what the students did here: http://eatoneducationalinsights.edublogs.org/digital-learning-day-feb-6-2013/
Remember, go to the SCORE Facebook page to vote for your favorite entry!