Digital creativity
By Phyllis Moore
Published in News on November 12, 2014 1:46 PM
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News-Argus/MELISSA KEY
Layelaye Scipio, 9, left, and Arianna Carr, 10, fourth-graders at Tommy's Road Elementary School, use iPads to create summaries and drawings of a book using an app called "Scribble My Story." Tommy's Road, one of seven district schools to receive a Department of Defense technology grant for having a higher concentration of military students, received 60 iPads as well as Apple TVs and whiteboards.
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News-Argus/MELISSA KEY
Zakiyah Greene, 10, left, and Laneise Edmonds, 9, use their school's new iPads.
In the two years since Wayne County Public Schools was awarded a $1.6 million technology grant at seven schools with a high concentration of military-connected students, the district has experienced an unexpected "creative explosion."
Dr. Beth Ann Fine, a teaching assistant professor at East Carolina University, provides monthly professional development to teachers from the schools receiving the DoDEA, or Department of Defense Education Activity Educational Partnership, grant. She also makes regular visits to the schools, meeting with teachers and conducting observations.
Schools chosen to share the three-year funding included Greenwood Middle, Meadow Lane Elementary, Northeast Elementary, Northwest Elementary, Norwayne Middle, Tommy's Road Elementary and Wayne School of Engineering.
The schools all experienced a "paradigm shift," Ms. Fine said during a presentation at this month's school board meeting.
"Throughout the last two and one-half years what has truly happened is not what we expected," she said. "We put tools in the hands of the teachers. What we have seen has been amazing."
At the outset, Ms. Fine said the additional technology allowed educators and administrators to be more creative and think outside the box.
"Students have done things they haven't done before," she said. "They're involved in their own learning. They're creating new things, not just repeating what we're telling them.
"What this grant has done is provided them with technology. The biggest thing I have seen is we have closed the gap. Now all students are able to use these materials."
Students at the seven schools work in learning communities, she explained, proving that simply "throwing technology at people doesn't work." The data supports the notion that the effort is successful, she said.
"Your students are now able to work and function as 21st century learners," she told the board. "Some of the things your students are doing, we're seeing students work with each other. We're seeing students create new things, asking how things work and why they work. We're seeing teachers get involved.
"We're teaching teachers not just how to use the tools but how to use them correctly. We're getting them engaged."
The excitement among students and teachers has been contagious, as well as effective, Ms. Fine said.
"Your students are learning that it's not just for fun but it's also for work," she said. "It's also for learning. Our teachers are able to share this through their communities and their schools.
"I have not seen this kind of progress in such a short period of time."
Stacy Hersy, media coordinator at Northeast Elementary School, has been part of the grant since the inception.
"It's been amazing what the teachers have been able to accomplish in the last three years," she said. "We're looking forward to keeping it going."
In addition to the hope that when this grant runs out, there will be other opportunities for the future, school officials are also looking at different ways to spread the wealth districtwide.
Sharon Barber, career technical education lead teacher, said because of the STEM components in the grant, or science, technology, engineering and math, she has been working on a project with the Chamber of Commerce.
"What we want to do is implement something after the middle school career fair, which will be March 3, so the next day, March 4, we want to have a STEM Fair at the YMCA," she said. "We're going to bring together the grants, the STEM labs, hopefully bring in some business partners.
"We hope to have 60 to 70 exhibits and a little competition going on."
Just as the middle school career fair is geared to eighth grade, the STEM fair would target seventh-graders, Ms. Barber said.