Tech Integration in GVSD

Breakout EDU has been a big hit in the GVSD!  There are many teachers that are learning how to implement Breakout Edu into their curriculum.  It teaches students of all ages how to work together in a positive way!  Check out these sessions from the High School, Middle School and the Elementary Schools!  The ultimate goal is for students to work together in both small groups and in a whole group in order to solve clues and break out of a lockbox in about 30-40 minutes.  So how can you infuse this into your classroom?  Well, here are a few examples! High School Freshman and Seniors Broke Out!  Collaboration at its best! Mrs. Melnick's Pre-Algebra class had to simplify multiple expressions.  The expressions were the clues needed to breakout of the box! Students simplified their expressions and broke out in under 30 minutes!  Great job!! Mrs. Stec's class Broke out practicing for the PSSA's 5th Grade BSES Teachers ...

Genius Hour - Mrs. Frost Honors Biology 9th Grade This year, our Garnet Valley High School teachers in the Science Department launched Genius Hour in their biology classrooms. This initiative entailed giving every student the opportunity to research a particular topic of their own interest, in any biology-related field of science. Once their topic was selected, students developed essential questions to help drive their research. The students used their research to develop a more formal driving question to steer the experiment process. Read below to learn more about our students' experiments and their scientific findings. T homas Burke, (Freshman at GVHS), researched the Iodine levels in swimmers vs. non-swimmers. In speaking with Thomas he provided the reasons behind his research. He himself is a swimmer. Through research he has learned that chlorine in pool water replaces the iodine in the body. He conducted surveys and experiments with fellow classmates. His experime...

Science teachers, Mrs. Cordero and Mrs. Dorn, at Garnet Valley Middle School, had their 6th grade students showcase their knowledge of plate tectonics in an innovative way.  For this lesson, students brought plate tectonics to life through Stop Motion Animation films. Working in groups of 3 to 4 students. each group was given one of the three types of Plate Tectonic Boundaries: Convergent. Divergent, or Transform.  After working together to brainstorm how to bring their plate boundary to life, each group developed and wrote a story board while choosing the necessary materials to support their stories. These materials included, but were not limited to, legos, graham crackers, cookie wafers, cardboard, styrofoam, and even homemade nutella mud! The next day, students worked together to construct their particular plate boundary and used the app, Stop Motion Pro to create their video tutorials.  Check out some of the videos below to see our students' final products...

Our second grade students in Mrs. Northey's, Mrs. Townson's, and Mrs. Lynch's classes at Concord Elementary School investigated the scientific question, "Does the temperature of water affect how fast sugar dissolves?"   In following the steps of the scientific method, the students first proposed hypotheses of whether they think hot water or cold water would cause the sugar to dissolve more quickly.  The students developed their own hypothesis based on what they have been learning in science class, as well as, their background knowledge and experiences. To begin the experiment, students worked together in pairs to complete a STEAM Challenge to build a snow castle out of 30 sugar cubes.  At each table, each group of students were designated either hot water (more like "very warm" water) or cold water to drop on their castles.  The students used eyedroppers to help put water on their castle.  Each student was responsible for writing what happened to th...

Garnet Valley Elementary Student shares his Genius Hour Project at the MinefaireConference, 2016 One of our Garnet Valley Elementary students, Jimmy Glendening, had the opportunity to share his Genius Hour project at the Minefaire Conference , 2016. During Jimmy's 4th grade year at GVES, his teacher, Mrs. Amanda Bennett provided him and his peers with the opportunity of a Genius Hour project. Jimmy chose Minecraft. His driving question was "What is the history of Minecraft?" He wanted to dig deeper into the versions of the game and learn all the "ins" and "outs" of Minecraft. Jimmy, with the guidance of his teacher, Mrs. Bennett, completed the research process by developing questions, researching his ideas, finding answers and finally developing and creating his very own website for Minecraft users. Early this year, in October, Jimmy had the opportunity to share his knowledge and research at the Minefaire Conference at the EXPO Center in Oaks, PA...

Digital Portfolios in Elementary Art Class Our elementary Art department has started to use digital portfolios with their students.  Mr. Carroll, Mrs. Esher, Mrs. Robertson and Mrs. Yerger, elementary Art teachers are using Seesaw.me to provide students opportunities to share their work with a larger audience. Each teacher has chosen a class and/or grade level to pilot using digital portfolios in the Elementary Art classroom. Students log into the Seesaw app or online version and are able upload notes, photos, videos and/or links to the work they complete in Art class. Digital Portfolios in Art are an excellent opportunity for parents to see what their child is learning in Art class. Check out some of these amazing posts. Here is a screen shot of a Fourth Grade Video.   After created their Positive vs. Negative Collage, this class was instructed to create a video to be posted on Seesaw about their project.  The video had to include the thr...

“In this increasingly global world of information, students must be taught to seek diverse perspectives, gather and use information ethically, and use social tools responsibly and safely.” ( American Association of School Librarians, Standards for the 21st Century Learner ) It is with this above quote from the American Association of School Librarians, we begin to reflect and inform on the importance of teaching our students in Garnet Valley School District how to use the power of technology safely, respectfully, and responsibly.  With the increasing amount of technology usage both at home and at school, it is often easy to assume students already know how to use the various technology devices.  And although that may true in the sense students can navigate a device pretty simply and quickly, we need to keep in mind it's how they navigate and the use the information found on the internet is of most importance.   Luckily, Common Sense Media offers a variety of re...