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News -> This Week's News Wednesday, January 25, 2012
 
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c4230 Ruth Pool.jpg (215284 bytes)
  Photos by R.C. Wheater Sr.

c4233 cafe paint.jpg (177105 bytes)New FHS
still on schedule

Ruth Pool of Holton (above) smiled
for the camera while working on the
porcelain tile in the girls’ room at the
new Fremont High School building on
Friday morning. Pool, who works for
Welch Marble and Tile, was one of
dozens of people working in the building
when school Superintendent Jim Hieftje
took TimesIndicator Editor Rich Wheater
on a tour.

   Crews were painting a high wall in the
cafeteria area (right) and in several other
areas of the building. Furnishings were
going into one of five of what Hieftje calls
“tricked-out science rooms” (below).

 

c4227 science room.jpg (248133 bytes)

The facility’s geothermal heating system (below) is in operation, extracting heat from groundwater to warm the interior of the building.Installation of flooring has begun, classrooms are expected to be mostly completed by March, and classroom technology is coming in the spring.Hieftje said that the project is still on schedule to welcome students for the start of the 2012-2013 school year.

 

c4239 geotherm.jpg (240190 bytes)

 

 

 

 

 

 


 

 

 

  

 Grant
Third graders use new technology to take-on math

 

By R.C.Wheater Sr.

Halfway through the school year, Grant Elementary School third grade students have used the school’s new iPad tablet computers to solve more than 200,000 practice math problems.

According to teacher Tom Hills, that represents a dramatic increase in the amount of math practice that the school’s 145 third grade students are getting. He said that students would have to plow through three and a half math work sheets per day in order to see that many math problems.

When Fremont Area Community Foundation officials visited the school recently to check on the progress of the project, they watched as 27 students solved 3,050 math problems (dealing with decimals) in 45 minutes.

Thanks to a $46,000 grant from the Foundation, Grant’s third graders started the school year with a rolling cart full of new iPads, plus other classroom technology that gives teachers and students the ability to use some new educational technology on a daily basis. Foundation staff members Gina Van Bruggen, Amy Moore, Vonda Carr and Wes Miller visited the school and saw how teachers and students are using the technology.

One of the goals for the project was to improve student test scores in some specific math skill areas. Educators are hoping that the higher volume of math problem work will help move those scores upward.

Hills, the author of the original technology grant and the grade level coordinator for the project, said that students have also begun working on writing projects using the iPads. Goals for the technology project also include student projects involving work on collaboration and teamwork. The iPads move among the five third grade classrooms, providing daily experience with the iPads for each class

“The kids are very positive about it,” Hills said, noting that his class needs only five minutes to transition from teacher instruction to working with the iPads. He noted that students have even been doing math problems on their own, using computers at home to access the web-based math practice site outside of school hours, even during the holiday break.

The math program gives teachers access to detailed reports on students’ daily individual progress.

Hills also reported that he and fellow third grade teachers Cheri Wood, Lisa Corbett, Terry Bennett and Ted Christesen are also enjoying the ways that the iPads and other classroom technology are improving the education process. Document cameras, projectors, interactive white boards and computer hook-ups are opening new possibilities in the classroom, he said. Students are taking spelling tests on iPads andparticipating in word study lessons with the interactive white boards. Old overhead projectors have gone into storage.

“Those things are really being used,” Hills said. “That’s been kind of a surprise, seeing how useful those things can be.”

Grant Public Schools Superintendent Scott Bogner said that he is pleased with the early results of the third grade tech project and is excited about what could happen next.

“This technology can change the way that we do business,” Bogner said. “We’ve got to engage kids better, and this is something that can help. I’m looking forward to seeing how that translates to student achievement.”

Supt. Bogner said that, as Grant and other school districts move forward with new technology, professional development will be a vital element. Teachers will need to know how to make the most of the technology, he said, adding that educators in Grant are already meeting to discuss how to proceed with and expand on efforts to improve the use of technology throughout the school district.

Bogner said that a delegation of third graders attended a recent school board meeting as part of a progress report to the board. The students paired with board members to show them how the iPads work and demonstrate how they are used in the classroom.

“It was awesome to see these third graders working with board members,” Bogner said, “showing them how this works.”

As the third grade project continues, Hills and his colleagues plan to continue compiling data and evaluating how the technology has impacted student achievement. Hills said that he hopes that the results will be useful not only in Grant but perhaps also in other school districts.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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