Technology Integration Showcase


Technology Integration Showcase
See how HCPS teachers are using technology to enhance learning.

Chrissy Brooks, Social Studies teacher at THMS, has found that technology can be an asset in her 7th grade classroom. While Chrissy has long been an active user of technology in teaching, often using Discovery Streaming video and web resources in class, she recently attended WVPT's NTTI conference, and is exploring new resources! She is currently completing her NTTI lesson which includes a SMARTBoard map she designed to explore the political and geographical regions of the U.S.	Kim Schlabach, THMS Choral/Handbell Director at THMS, is finding that her students enjoy using technology in the music classroom. Mrs. Schlabach attended HCPS Summer Tech Camp last summer, and used that time to become familiar with new software and hardware and create lessons for her classes. This year, she has enjoyed using Discovery Streaming video clips and the SMARTBoard with a Jeopardy PowerPoint game for her 7th grade Music class.


Barbara Sellers (KES) recently attended a conference with Reading Coach, Loretta Stewart. They got excited about the potential for the use of the Elmo document camera. Now the 3rd graders in Barbara’s class are excited, too. For this lesson, the students worked on a Venn diagram and then used this information to come up with their own acrostic poems.	Kelly Troxell (KES) is hooked on the Elmo as well. The Elmo and projector have rarely been turned off since they were first hooked up, and this has enhanced the already vibrant and creative teaching styles of these teachers. During this math lesson, Kelly demonstrated the concept and then individual students came up with their notebooks to show how they solved the problem.


Students in Ms. Byrne’s Second Grade class at WES have been doing great things with Power Points! They recently set up a “Happy Valentine’s Day” Power Point to share with other classes. Each slide of the Power Point begins with the phrase, “Valentine, Valentine, What do you see?” The reader is then surprised by an animal that moves across the slide! Need to learn how to add animations to slides? Ask one of these second graders!	Instruction in Ms. Nicklas’ Kindergarten class at WES has been enhanced by the use of the document camera. Sarah uses the document camera whenever she shares a book with her class. During this Math lesson, students were studying nickels. After looking at a nickel and making a list of what they saw on the nickel, they listened to a story about the nickel. Sarah observes that the students pay much more attention to detail when she uses the document camera!


Ms. Sweigart’s 4th Graders at WES were studying electricity. After seeing the PRS used at a staff development session, Carissa knew that her students would benefit from using them with a Power Point she had developed on the key concepts of her unit. She was able to integrate this technology within days of the staff development session. She shared her success with a colleague and also showed a colleague how to set up a Power Point with PRS questions.	After learning how easy it was to set up PRS questions in a Power Point, Ms. Hartwig used the PRS with her 3rd Grade class at WES. They were studying Government and Famous Americans. Using the PRS was a very engaging way to review these Social Studies concepts with her students. For those teachers who already use Power Points on a regular basis, the PRS is a quick and easy add on!


Mrs. Hissong used the PRS recently with her 3rd graders at KES to reinforce learning during a unit on Economics. By using the PRS during unit instruction, she could evaluate how well her students were grasping the key concepts. Her students were very engaged during the activity and requested an encore! The PRS activity was repeated after students made scarves for the Scarf Factory. Regina noted an increase in the students’ grasp of the Economics concepts. She noted how the PRS activity provided her an excellent way to evaluate her student’s grasp of the concept.	Mrs. Baylor’s 3rd grade students at KES have benefited from their teacher’s integration of technology in their instruction. Here the students were using a Draw/Write template during a Math lesson. The students drew a double digit multiplication problem and solved the problem. They then wrote out the steps they used to solve the problem. Using the technology in this way helped her students to articulate their understanding of classroom instruction in a different and engaging way. Their work was also a great way for Angie to evaluate each child’s understanding of the content.


Student mathematicians at THMS are collaboratively creating an online database of famous mathematicians including themselves! Brian Nussbaum's 6th and 7th grade Pre-Algebra classes are posting their research findings in an online shareable database, created with DabbleDB, which allows all students to view the postings of other class members.In addition to enabling the students to learn about mathematicians from 600 BC to present, they also experienced the Web 2.0 environment of a collaborative project which allowed them to create and see real-time entries simultaneously.	Students in Jonathan DeVier-Scott's 6th grade science class at THMS have been creating iMovies containing facts about renewable and non-renewable energy sources. The final iMovies will be shared with class members using iPod Nanos that were received via a grant from JMU. Part of the grant involves looking at multiple intelligences to see if there are students who might have a high potential for using technology. The Nanos allow for greater student access to information that might otherwise be delivered at a reading level that is too difficult. Students who are absent will also be able to catch up on class material that was missed.


Fifth graders at WES recently used the palm pilot lab in the library with Mrs. Nolley. Andrea integrated the use of the palms when using Almanacs with her students. Each student had a set of questions to find answers to from the Almanac. The students had a chance to use their collaborative skills as they looked up answers to each question and then beamed their answer across the table. They also had to check the answers they received from another person. What an engaging activity!	Students in Mariana Lorenzana’s first grade LEAP classroom at WES have been using the laptop lab to enhance their learning. Marianna makes use of the extra hands from Mrs. Bugg to get the labs set up and the students take it from there with little need of assistance! Recently they used the laptops to explore sites from a PortaPortal to refine their use of sight words, sort words by initial sounds, sound out words, and listen to stories from the Learn to Read web site. The Portaportal allows Mariana to differentiate the activities according to each student's ability.
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