Springer Students Get Their “Skysight” On
October 25, 2013
Technology Levels the Playing Field
October 31, 2013
This month I had the opportunity to ”talk tech” with groups of Springer Upper School students during Student Development class. I wanted to discuss with them the one-to-one laptop program – what is working, and what is not.
It was so interesting to hear the students share what they loved about the laptop, and also those areas of frustration. As the students opened up about processes that weren’t working for them or issues they were having with remembering, I opened the floor to the other students to share strategies they successfully used regarding the same issues. Pretty soon, the students were having the discussion, and I felt more like a bystander.
Inside I was screaming for joy, when two students shared how they work together to solve organizational issues for one of the duo. Skye shared that she had trouble getting her homework correctly typed in the calendar, and also struggled with filing documents in the correct Science folder. Chloe, her table partner, chimed in that she helps Skye by checking to make sure she has the assignment written down, and is available to answer questions about filing. Skye said this helped her to be more successful, and she also helps Chloe if she misses something during class.
Another student spoke of having trouble keeping up with the filing, as another student shared the importance of filing documents in the proper folder as soon as he named it, at the beginning of class. “Sometimes the end of class is really busy, and if I wait to put it away, I feel like I might make a mistake and put it in the wrong place, or not put it away at all.” At that, some students nodded in agreement, and others in appreciation for the tip.
Honestly, I could not have been more proud of these students. While they are still trying to navigate this new set of responsibilities, they are taking it very seriously, and are seeing the benefits already.
