Three District 54 teams selected to present at TECH 2017
Students and staff members from three District 54 schools have been selected to participate in TECH 2017 on May 9 at the State Capitol Building in Springfield.
Keller Junior High Science Teacher Dana Sorensen, Mead Junior High Science Teacher Thomas Pfeifer and Stevenson Elementary School Library Resource Teacher Lauren Rivera will bring students to the Capitol to present classroom technology projects. A total of 98 school teams from throughout Illinois were selected to participate in the day-long event to which elected officials, business leaders and the general public are invited. Participating school teams are provided tables in the Capitol Building to showcase project information.
Keller Junior High - Snap Circuits: Building and Diagramming Energy Transfer
Dana Sorensen and Emily Gora's classes at Keller used snap circuits to build projects that demonstrate the conversion of energy from one form to another. For example, they might turn a hand crank (mechanical energy) which will turn into electrical energy flowing through the wires. That electrical energy would convert into light and thermal energy and illuminate a light bulb. Students then used Google Draw on their Chromebooks to create a digital version of the Snap Circuit they had built. Finally, students inserted comments on each piece describing what form of energy the piece initially received and what form of energy was used through its energy conversion.
Mead Junior High - Say Goodbye to 3-Panel Science Fair Posters - Say Hello to Web-Based Science and STEM Projects
Thomas Pfeifer's magnet students at Mead are participating in a digital science fair. Rather than presenting their scientific investigations on tri-board posters, the students are participating in the competition by sharing videos, slides, spreadsheets and/or documents via individualized websites. This provides an opportunity to communicate and collaborate on their critical thinking with a virtual audience, which could include judges, peers, experts and mentors. Pfeifer is working on the project with District 54 technology coach Erin Whalen.
Stevenson Elementary School - Daily Broadcast…Live from Stevenson Elementary School!
Lauren Rivera and three Stevenson students will talk about the school's production studio. Through the production of a daily, school-wide broadcast, students learn to use professional technology including a green screen, editing board, and teleprompter. Through their work in the studio, students develop and apply creativity and research skills in unique real-world challenges, which foster collaboration and teamwork.
According to the TECH 2017 website, "The purpose of TECH 2017 is to increase awareness of the critical role technology plays in preparing students to succeed in today's world by offering students throughout Illinois an opportunity to demonstrate their innovative uses of technology while highlighting the need for increased funding to support equitable and meaningful access to educational technology." For more information about TECH 2017, visit www.iceberg.org/tech.