Spicewood Elementary School In an age of innovation, it becomes even more crucial that we give students frequent opportunities to engage with technology in our classrooms. At Spicewood, we work to seamlessly integrate technology into learning experiences to support student inquiry, giving them time to investigate and collaborate to construct their own meaning of the concepts in their units of inquiry. Mrs. Haney, our campus Instructional Technology Specialist works diligently with our teachers and students, assisting them both with the support they need to be successful with this technology.
As with all of our curriculum, teaching and learning this technology is not taught in isolation. Instead, the teacher and students collaborate with one another as the inquiry unfolds. For example, typing or keyboarding is not taught in isolation, instead, students learn this skill by using Google docs to draft and publish their writing. Digital citizenship is also integrated throughout the PYP curriculum as they learn how to navigate the Internet through research, cite sources, and collaborate on documents with their peers.
Some technology tools used by students on our campus include:
- iPads: From sketching in art to creating digital books and composing music, ipads have an endless amount of uses in the classroom! We have several NextGen classrooms, as well as campus shared ipad carts giving students one-to-one access to this resource. Our broadcast team of students uses the movie maker app to record, edit, and publish to our school community each morning before our classes even begin!
- Digital Microscopes: Using digital microscopes gives our students the opportunity to record video, take photos, and share their investigation findings with the rest of the class. Students enjoy being able to get an up close look of textures, colors, and creatures under the microscopes.
- Laptops & Chromebooks: Students use laptops and Chromebooks to research and organize data for students questions or class inquiries, collaborate with one another on assignments through Google apps, and create unique products including infographics, published writing, and presentations based on their research.
