Des Plaines school wins technology in national video contest

Algonquin Middle School in Des Plaines won up to $60,000 worth of education technology and support after a class led by teachers Dorothy Henson and Cathy Hanley produced a video for a national contest, school officials announced at an assembly Wednesday afternoon.

From among more than 120 video submissions for the Compass Learning Classroom Refresh Contest to promote use of technology in the classroom, Algonquin was the winner in the middle school category. Schools in Ohio and Tennessee won in the elementary and high school categories, respectively.

The video, a parody of Vanilla Ice's "Ice Ice Baby" called "Tech, Tech Baby," was created by Algonquin Middle School English Language Learners working with teachers and school district tech personnel. Making the video involved writing, listening, speaking, reading and performing, all while integrating technology. The students all are new to this country, having come here as recently as six months ago, with the longest coming three years ago.

The video was posted on the contest website at classroomrefresh.shycast.com/submission/show/4630 on Oct. 22 and has garnered more than 23,000 views there. It's also posted on YouTube.

More than 100,000 votes and a panel of expert judges determined the results. The school, part of Des Plaines Elementary District 62, will receive a package of educational software, hardware and professional development.

The contest sponsor, Compass Learning, based in Austin, Texas, says more than 2,000,000 students and 70,000 teachers in 10,000 schools use its personalized, technology-based learning solutions.