This past week has been one of our greatest adventures so far! We have been in Point England School to observe the students and teachers and the use of technology in the classroom. At Pt. England from year 4 (third grade) every student has their own digital device. Starting next year, year 1 to year 8 (k-7) will have one-to-one digital devices, meaning that every student will have a netbook, chrome book or iPad next year. Pt. England school buys all of these digital devices and students lease them from the school, paying $3.50/week, for three years until they have paid off the device and they get to keep it. After three years, when the device is their own, students can keep their previous digital device and upgrade to the newest device, paying the fee again for three years.
None of the students have textbooks, most of their learning is done online and on their digital device. Students do their work on their digital device, working with Google drive, and then publish their work to their personal student blogs, (Here is a link to the students blogs) where the teacher, and the rest of the world, can track, comment, and leave feedback for students. Students also have their own email addresses, teachers and staff can email students reminders about the day. The pedagogy of the school is "Learn, Create, Share." Student learn about somethings, create a digital representation of their learning, and share it with the world through their blog.
None of the students have textbooks, most of their learning is done online and on their digital device. Students do their work on their digital device, working with Google drive, and then publish their work to their personal student blogs, (Here is a link to the students blogs) where the teacher, and the rest of the world, can track, comment, and leave feedback for students. Students also have their own email addresses, teachers and staff can email students reminders about the day. The pedagogy of the school is "Learn, Create, Share." Student learn about somethings, create a digital representation of their learning, and share it with the world through their blog.
Our first day at the school was the kick off of Samoan Language Week. We got to see a kick off assembly in which students wore traditional Samoan dress, spoke Samoan, and sang and danced. This was a great way to learn more about the students at this school. Here is a video of the assembly. | |
Hyperstudio is a program that almost al students use at Point England. Students use this program to create animations of what they have been learning. Here is a Hyperstudio animation that I made with the help of about six year 7/8 students... they laughed at how proud I was of my short video. | I have been in a year 7/8 class (6/7 grade) this past week. I have enjoyed seeing how technology runs the day in these students lives, from creating videos about what they have learned to creating news videos, these students know more about technology than I do! The students use things like a green room, hyperstudio, iMovie, and a 3D printer to work on their assignments for school. Here are some pictures of students using technology to learn in the classroom. (Pictures are from year 1 to year 7/8). |