LYND - Lynd School teachers will be getting acquainted with some new technology they hope will boost the students' learning potential.
The school recently received two iPads and 26 of 50 iPods, 15 Lumens document cameras, and two mobile Accelerated Readers laptop labs with 30 laptops each and Principal Jason Swenson is excited.
"This goes back to our vision," he said. "We want to be a leader in curriculum and technology" and show the kids the educational purposes of the technology.
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Photo by Jodelle Greiner
Teacher Martin Boucek demonstrates how he can call up what he needs on the iPad, then project it onto a large screen with a Lumens camera. That’s just some of the technology Lynd School recently received from grant money. A training session is set for Aug. 2-5 for teachers and others to learn how to use the new equipment.
"This technology is part of our 21st Century skills," he said. "We need to bring them in and utilize them in our classroom setting."
To get the necessary funding, Superintendent Bruce Houck wrote an "Enhancing Education through Technology" grant for nearly $200,000, which was approved in December by the Minnesota Department of Education.
"Right now, we're just playing around with the technology tools," Swenson said, but a training session is set for Aug. 2-5 to learn how to use the Accelerated Readers for Lynd teachers and others who are interested.
"The training will show us all the applications to utilize for classroom use," Swenson said.
He sees endless possibilities for teachers to use the new technology and students to facilitate their learning.
Martin Boucek, fifth through eighth-grade science and social studies teacher, has been using the iPad in his enrichment period with the kids and experimenting with downloading CNN News for Kids, the Constitution of the United States, books, games like Chicktionary to work on words and spelling, and bringing up Google to do research. He can record lessons in his own voice, just like he was speaking to the kids.
Using the Lumens camera, he can project a page onto a large screen on the wall, just like an overhead projector and enlarge the text for kids who need larger type.
"Each teacher can play with it and learn how to use it to enhance students' achievement in their classroom," Boucek said.
The iPods can be used along with the iPad or on their own for individual use.
"We want to use the iPods to download audio books to use during read-to-self time," Swenson said. "There are applications to download to practice language and dictionaries to look up words."
Both devices are connected to the Internet and can download things like math, geography, reading, current events, and music and keyboards that play both piano and organ.
Swenson showed how to pinpoint any city in the world, and take a virtual 360-degree tour of a street in that town.
The kids can use the iPods and iPads now, such as in enrichment or to do research, but they will have full access in the fall, when the devices will be integrated into the classrooms on a regular basis.
"Next year, we'll see where we're at in the budget and see what we need," said Swenson. "Whether more tools or programs."