Lake Louise Elementary to join in TECH 2013 Technology demo
Lake Louise Elementary School in Palatine is among approximately 60 schools statewide that will participate in the annual TECH 2013: Students for the Information Age event on Tuesday, May 7 at the Illinois State Capitol Building in Springfield.
From 1:00-3:00 p.m., students will show the public and elected members of the Illinois State Senate and the House of Representatives how technology is being used in the classroom to improve student achievement. Computer workstations will be set up in the Capitol Building Rotunda so students may show how technology has helped them with their schoolwork.
Taking part in the demonstrations from Lake Louise are sixth graders Katie Barclay, Haley Holz, Kyle Cyr-Flessner, and Comprehensive Music teacher Mrs. Laurie Scarpelli. Their demonstration is “Music and Digital Storytelling To Support Literacy”. Fifth and Sixth graders make digital books on iPads using nursery rhymes for the text. Each story has pictures, text, and student-performed narration, singing, and piano accompaniment. Sixth graders also arrange their piano/singing performance using Garage Band software to include rhythm tracks and instrumental loops. The digital stories are used to teach younger students to read and sing nursery rhymes.
The purpose of TECH 2013 is to raise awareness of the critical role technology plays in preparing students to succeed in today's world, and to show the need for increased funding for classroom technology. Students will demonstrate for lawmakers and the public the creative ways technology is being used to enhance and accelerate student achievement in Illinois schools today. The importance of this event lies in making the public aware of the central role technology has come to play in our schools and generating support for its adequate funding.
Entering the job force without a strong foundation in information-age technology is not an option for today's high school and college graduates. Understanding computers and related tools is a requirement, even for entry-level jobs, and computer literacy is essential for further education and advancement in almost every academic sphere. From the elementary to the high school level, technology expands the walls of the traditional classroom, captures and holds the attention of this generation of learners, and allows for more individualized instruction with tools students need to become more active in managing their own learning.
TECH 2013 is a not-for-profit initiative presented by Illinois Computing Educators (ICE), and is supported by a broad range of education and business organizations. Corporate Platinum Plus partners are Comcast and CDW-G.
Without the understanding and support of the public and the legislature, adequate public funding for education technology is hard to come by and, without it, Illinois cannot remain competitive in the global economy. Lake Louise Elementary is pleased to support and be a part of TECH 2013: Students for the Information Age.