Batavia's Immanuel School hosts annual auction May 3

When you walk down the hallways at Immanuel Lutheran School in Batavia and peek in the classrooms, you will probably find most students working on various projects. The traditional textbooks, pencils and paper, charts and maps, and a whiteboard are evident. But in many classrooms you will also notice chrome books being used by the students to solve problems and answer questions. Technology is alive and well at Immanuel.

Hundreds of Immanuel Lutheran congregation members, friends, relatives and neighbors participated in projects that made the technology possible for the students and teachers. Each July, Immanuel holds a giant garage sale, under the able leadership of Cindy Rueffer, where people from the area buy thousands of items. The 2018 garage sale proceeds provided staff computers.

Biannually Immanuel's Parent Teacher League holds a dinner auction. The proceeds from the last auction in 2017 provided Chrome books for upper grade students. The 2019 auction is scheduled for Friday, May 3.

Immanuel Lutheran Church member Keith Riddell volunteers as tech support, along with several other members who form the Technology Committee. Riddell helps get all the technology up and running and maintains it. There is a feeling of "technosphere" (technology in the atmosphere) hovering in the halls of Immanuel.

Just having chrome books and computers available is not enough. A knowledgeable person is needed to lead and guide learning and competence with this technology. Penny Suydam, fifth grade teacher and assistant principal at Immanuel, fills that role. Last May, she completed a continuing education opportunity offered through TEC21 Workshop Program, attaining status as TEC21 educator.

TEC21 helps Lutheran schools build technology-enriched classrooms to engage the 21st-century learner. Its proprietary coaching platform is a series of face-to-face workshops scheduled through the school year and held during the school day. Content rich sessions are facilitated by Lutheran school educators who are passionate about integrating technology in the Lutheran school classroom to engage and motivate kids. It brings educators together to examine, question, evaluate and understand technology, and develop practical applications for the classroom.

"The peer-to-peer learning the workshop program facilitates is also invaluable," remarked Donna Laughlin, Immanuel principal. "Penny Suydam is now a peer resource in our school who can help fellow teachers gain new expertise to integrate technology into the classroom.

"Our involvement with TEC21 allows us to remain strongly, vibrantly relevant and gives parents the confidence that we are using every tool available to captivate the hearts and minds of their children."

Suydam shares, "TEC21 has allowed me to become a mentor to colleagues and help them become comfortable with new tech, websites, and apps to implement in their classrooms; introduce students to new tech and resources to enhance their learning; focus on helping Immanuel Lutheran School enhance it's technology program so we are giving students as much experience with technology as possible; and teach and implement with students and faculty the importance of being a Good Digital Citizen when using technology, especially the internet."

A weekly after school Tech Club, led by an Immanuel School graduate, is offered every Friday for students in fifth to eighth grade.

In this setting students can really concentrate on the technology available to them and learn some of the finer points and ins and outs of computers and other technology.

Erik Olsen, a student at Immanuel Lutheran School, and his dad Jamison built a "new" computer for Erik using parts and information from Immanuel's programs.

Erik brought home the monitor and various other parts after the Take Apart a Computer session, a part of student electives to middle school students at Immanuel. Erik's computer is powered by the Rasberry Pi he brought home on the last day of Tech Club for the year. Over the next several weeks, Erik and his dad spent time at home working on the computer.

"Working down in the basement shop, Erik and I took the monitor apart and traced the problem to a few bad capacitators that were on the verge of bursting! After unsoldering and replacing those parts, the monitor was as good as new," said Jamieson.

With his "new-old" computer, Erik set up a command post in his room. From here he can email friends, watch YouTube videos, play computer games, and do some coding. He is even enjoying using his computer at school for homework.

The staff and students are thankful for the means and knowledge to make use of the modern-day technology. They also thank God for the many, many people who made all of it possible.

To learn more about Immanuel Lutheran School, contact Megan Popp, Community Connections Director, at (630) 406-0157 or mpopp@immanuelbatavia.org.

Visit www.ilsbatavia.org or www.facebook.com/Immanuelchurchandschool.