Tech Integration in GVSD

Design Thinking & 1st Graders During American Education Week, Mrs. Sullivan’s First graders, at  BSES and their special guests visited the Collaboration and Innovation Lab.  At the lab the students and special guests participated in a Design Challenge. Each group was assigned a different challenge. Students were given specific materials to build the following challenges. They constructed amazing structures. Design Challenge #1 - Turkey Hideaway - Using legos, lincoln logs, cardboard, and duck tape, build a hideout for the cut out turkey. Do not leave any part of the turkey to be seen. Check out these amazing hideouts: Design Challenge #2 - Thanksgiving Table - Using popsicle sticks and dice build a Thanksgiving table to fit all the Thanksgiving trimmings you have been given. Do not let any of the items touch another item and nothing can be hanging over the side of the table. Check out these amazing tables: Design Challenge #

Providing Real-life Experiences through Online Simulations Tech Ed. teacher, Brian Sherrer, at GVHS, provides real-life experiences to his students through online simulations. Mr. Sherrer had students partner together to run their own simulated fishing fleet. He used Schoology to collect the necessary data from his students, then created account for each partner group. The first goal of the simulation was to make the most money and learn about the Tragedy of the Commons. On the first day, his students made it to year 9 before they had to decimate the fish population. The simulation continued the following day and the second goal, was to make the fish population last as long as possible while still keeping their fishing fleet bottom line in the black. Mr. Sherrer’s students enjoy the hands-on, real-life, tech integrated lessons that provide meaning to their learning. Overview of Lesson Posted to Schoology Students fill out a Google Form to determine the ocean students ch

iPads, Explain Everything, Digital Vocabulary Notebooks, are just a few ways our teachers are transforming their Math classrooms with the integration of technology. High School At the High School, Many of our  Math  Teachers are using iPads and Explain Everything as their instructional tools. Explain Everything  Mrs. Anna Truskin, High School Math teacher, is an excellent example of transforming her classroom with the integration of Tech. Mrs. Truskin finds using an iPad and the Explain Everything app a perfect tool for instructing her students in the classroom. She is also able to record lessons using the ipad and the app which is an excellent way for her to flip her classroom and post her lessons for students to view at a later time. Twitter in the Math Classroom Mrs. Truskin is also using Twitter in her Math Classroom. In her Geometry class, students were asked to create Twitter accounts for certain shapes and tweet conversation to show their understanding of Geometry conc

Digital Citizenship     Teachers all around the district  have been educating our students about Digital Citizenship. Lessons have been given at the Elementary and Middle School levels. Teachers have been provided with Common Sense Curriculum as their guide to teaching our students, with the best tools possible.     Students now understand the importance of having a digital footprint as well as keeping a positive digital presence online. Teachers have focused on using technology for learning, communicating, sharing and connecting but making sure that when online, students keep their accounts private and are mindful of what they post.      Students have signed pledges to be positive Digizens!! Take a look at some classes interacting with these important lessons.  Ms. Abes' Bulletin Board 6th Grade ELA Mrs. Stec's Class  6th Grade ELA Class

Mrs. Golato’s 7th grade health classes have found a new way of spreading the word on the importance and benefits of exercise.  After listening to Patti Neighmond’s podcast, “ Why Exercise May Do a Teenage Mind Good ,” the students were inspired to work together to create their own podcasts to encourage exercise among teenagers.  The students interviewed teachers, classmates, and even their parents to gain a multitude of perspectives on healthy lifestyles.  While developing their podcasts, students researched and provided information on how much exercise a teenager needs, how often they should exercise, and even suggestions of aerobic and anaerobic exercises for teenagers to do.  After gathering all their resources and the audio of interviews, the students successfully created their podcasts using iMovie.  Check out the podcasts below to hear our students' powerful messages!

Students in Mr. Talley's first grade class recently came to the C&I Lab at Concord Elementary.  One of the stations included students to build an L shaped track using old computer mice.  Once they built the track, students placed their 3-dimensional setting including what they NEED to survive.  Students used the PATH app to program Dash to the 3-dimensional setting.  Once arriving, students recorded what DASH would need to survive at their setting (beach, mountains, lake)! Left: a mountain setting Right: beach setting 3 students in Mr. Talley's class talking about how many blocks it will take for DASH to get to his destination. Hard to hear: Dash states he needs shelter, food and water to survive!

Did you know, The Battle of Trenton was the first great American victory of the Revolutionary War? Or that the British Army was supported by German mercenaries who were nicknamed Hessians? These are just a few interesting facts the 7th grade students of Mrs. Fender’s Social Studies classes researched and learned to prepare for their own green screen battle reenactments of the Revolutionary War. In class, the students worked cooperatively in groups to research one of the four assigned battles. These battles included: The Battle of Trenton, The Battle of Saratoga, The Battle of Cowpens, and The Battle of Yorktown. The students had time to prepare for their battles by writing a script that would enable them to retell the story of the battle. Their scripts incorporated important events of their battle, including key players from both sides, what strategies were used, and where the battle took place. The students also portrayed how their particular battle had an impact on the Revolut

Full S.T.E.A.M. Ahead and a Happily Ever After!!! Second Grade students from Mrs. Zecca's class have been reading multiple Fairy Tales with compare and contrast and retelling objectives.  Those students came into the C & I Lab at Concord Elementary and used materials such as play doh, legos, and recycled materials to identify the story elements.  Once that was completed, students used Chatterpix-kids, iMovie, and Show-me to present their final products!  Great Work 2nd Graders! Students building the setting with legos Students building the characters in their story using Play-Doh Ryan and Ellarose made a dragon out of recycled materials. Rory and Allison Comparing and Contrasting two stories using Show-Me! Click here to see Rory and Allison's Comparison of Goldilocks and the Three Bears and Goldilocks and the Other Three Bears using the Show-Me app on the iPAD. Ryan, Ellarose, and Josh comparing their stories Click here to see Rya

Using Skype in the Classroom to Learn        Our teachers and students have embraced a new concept and in turn learned so much through the virtual field trips provided by Skype in the Classroom.        Many grades have had the opportunity to take part in a virtual field trip. Second Grade at BSES had the opportunity to Skype with Yellowstone National Park and connect with a park ranger there who taught them all about landforms.         On two separate occasions, fourth  and fifth grade classes had the opportunity to Skype with the Buffalo Bill Center of the West located in Cody, WY. The fifth graders learned about the Native Americans and the Buffalo which was part of their study of Native Americans. The fourth graders learned about animal adaptations which is a part of their Science unit.         Using the virtual field trips provided amazing examples and in some cases artifacts to what our students were reading in class. It has been such an incredible experience and amazing res

The Latest SKYPE in the Dominican In the past several months we have been communicating with students in the Dominican Republic who live in the village of Ascension. A Skype that started with one class at GVMS, with Mr. Burt has grown to multiple classes and teachers who are now taking a part in the Skype sessions and communicating with our friends in the Dominican. The ultimate goal is for students in the Dominican to hold a conversation with students at GVMS in English. In our latest conversation, GVMS drafted questions for the Dominican students to answer in English. 

GVHS Students Win First Place in Boeing Business Case High School Competition Mr. Anthony DeCarlo, Garnet Valley High School Teacher leads his students to first place in the Boeing Business Case School Competition. Congratulations to Julia Schwartz, Isabelle Stripling, Erin Hogan, Austin Miller, William Vinci and Nicholas Savarese for taking FIRST place in the Boeng Business Case High School Competition this Monday, April 4. The competition was open to 19 schools with 7 finalists selected. The students worked hard on this project for the past four months, and it paid off as they were all awarded scholarships for their first place finish! The team was responsible for analyzing and solving a real business challenge facing Apple, Inc. The students had to first submit a written case analysis i order to qualify to present in the finals. In addition to analyzing the case, they had to summarize and present their findings and recommendations to a panel of Boeing Executives. Our team

One of the 20 finalists for the Philadelphia Zoo's  UNLESS Project  Mrs. Cathie Brodsky, 2nd grade, ATP teacher at Concord, took part in the Philadelphia Zoo's UNLESS Project of Saving the Red Panda by Reducing your Junkmail. The project the students submitted has become one of the Top 20 finalists. Mrs. Brodsky and her class will take part  in a awards ceremony on May 16, 2016 where they will announce the grand prize winner. Take a look at the project they created and submitted. We are so proud of our 2nd grade students and Mrs. Brodsky. Save the Red Panda Video

The Three Little Pigs with some STEAM Mrs. Dana Calderone, a Reading Specialist at Concord Elementary School, taught the letter "P" to her class of kindergartners last week. The students learned about the letter P by learning about pigs. After reading the story of "The Three Little Pigs" students were challenged to build a house the big, bad wolf couldn't blow down. Students brainstormed ideas of what they could build their house out of, created blueprints of the houses they were to build  and got to work building.  After two days, each student created a house and wrote about why they chose the materials they did to hopefully keep the wolf from blowing down his or her house. On the last day, students tested their homes to see if the Big, Bad Wolf could blow their house down. Check it out, all the houses survived the wolf. To end this exciting experience, She used Green Screen for each child to tell his/her story of the " Three Little Pigs"