Winter 2007-08 - Scotia-Glenville Central School District

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Central SChool DiStriCt ScotiaglenvilleSchools.org Winter 2007-08 Changing classrooms with activBoard, from page 1 troducing more and more technology into the classroom – technology that students readily understand and are eager to use. The latest example is the ActivBoard. The ActivBoardis an interactive electronic whiteboard that allows teachers to tap into technology right in front of their students’ eyes. It brings learning to students in a way they can understand and that they already use every day. So much potential “I like it a lot because it has so many uses and so much potential,” said Spanish teacher Lorri Sammons, who has watched the unfolding tech revolution since coming to S-G in 2001. “I love the response time because the kids really get into it; they participate and learn at the same time.” She and teacher Regina Cabrera use the ActivBoard for their Spanish classes for students at all levels. “Even the kids who don’t always do their homework or pay attention, seem to connect with the ActivBoard,” said Sammons. Spanish students were reviewing for a test on a recent day. She grouped three students together and handed them a small console controller called “Activote.” On it are buttons that correspond to the correct answers for series of questions. The students work together to select the correct answer. “…because it’s interesting” Students say learning on the ActivBoard is better than hunching over a textbook and listening to the teacher. “I like it because I see it right up there and I can remember it better,” said freshman Elena Favata. “This isn’t boring; we can actually do things on this,” said freshman Eric Squires. “It makes me pay attention more because it’s interesting.” Grade 4 students Nate Rankin, left, and Jesse Rankin move text around an electronic whiteboard or ActivBoard in Trish Roeser’s class at Glendaal Elementary. The ActivBoard allows students to participate in the lesson plan, instead of just watching. 2 “The ActivBoard allows us to be more interactive in our teaching and during presentations,” said Trish Roeser, who teaches students with special needs in grades 3 and 4 at Glendaal. “The children like this type of activity because it is visual…that is what they are used to,” said Roeser. “They have grown up in that world and are very comfortable with it.” Roeser uses the ActivBoard, manufactured by Georgia-based Promethean Inc., for two or three lessons every day. She also uses it to call up various web sites during her lessons, allowing students to see the same thing at the same time and react together. Students use an electronic pen or want to move objects around the ActivBoard. “They actually become part of the lesson, and they really like it,” added Roeser. more activBoards planned David Versocki, director of technology, said the ActivBoards cost about $2,200 each and come with a five-year warranty. Former foreign language chairperson Connie Cunningham, upon retiring last June, arranged for $1,000 – including some personal money – to go toward the purchase of an ActivBoard for a second foreign language classroom at the high school. “This has been a pilot that has worked out extremely well for everyone,” said Versocki. “It has proven to be an important initiative…it gives teachers another way to provide information to students.” There are two ActivBoards at the high school and one each at the middle school and Glen-Worden and Glendaal elementary schools. He hopes to continue the program in the future, with ActivBoards planned for the Lincoln and Sacandaga elementary schools among other places. ❧
ScotiaglenvilleSchools.org Central SChool DiStriCt Winter 2007-08 Scotia-Glenville students learn beyond the textbooks. UPPER LEft: From left, grade 2 Glen-Worden students Sophie Mailey and Elizabeth DeDell, both in Sandy Belfance’s class, and Mary Kate Palleschi and Marina Cox, both in Laura Bonville’s class, perform for seniors from the Baptist Health Nursing and Rehabilitation Center. The event featured singing, a play and a light breakfast for the children and seniors. CENtER LEft: Grade 10 students Kelly Kapusta and Michael Dwyer show off their replica of a seed drilling machine and discuss how it shaped the industrial revolution. Students in the Global Studies class, taught by Christopher Crounse and resource teacher Marilyn Johnson, studied various inventions of the industrial revolution – such as the steam engine, cotton gin, steam ship, telegraph – and developed replicas of them for their oral reports to the class. LOWER LEft: From left, grade 4 Glen-Worden students Alyssa Williams, Michael Borbee, Dennis Pollicino, Matt LeGere and Peter Marola look over the Native American displays during the Harvest Feast. Students in Christine DeCarlo’s and Marcia Smith’s classes were involved in the feast, which teaches about Native American customs and foods. RIGHt: Andrew Shattuck, a grade 2 student in Katie May’s class at Sacandaga, tries his hand at the Hoola Hoop during the annual Heart Health and Wellness Day. LOWER RIGHt: From left, grade 8 students Ben Keane, Nick McCloskey and Nick VanAuken mix it up during the annual Hoops for Heart fund-raiser. Physical education teacher Carol Atkins said students last year raised about $5,000 for the American Heart Association. 3
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Winter 2007-08 - Scotia-Glenville Central School District

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