Digital Changes

A new decade has started and it is time to let go the technology of the past. Good-bye roll-in TV monitors, VCRs, overhead projectors and pathetically slow dial-up internet. Hello roll-in laptop carts, DVDs, high-speed internet, projectors, student emails, surround sound systems and… Elmo?

Pres is fortunate enough to be financially capable of keeping our school up-to-date with all of the latest technology. Most Pres teachers are comfortable using technology within their classes. Class blogs and document cameras such as ELMO, or Electronic Light Modulated Overhead, which are now a part of Pres life, are adding new elements to our learning.

Ms. Stampfl began a French class blog four years ago for all of her classes in an effort to go paperless and excess-less. “I was tired of ‘I lost my calendar’, ‘I didn’t know how to do it’, ‘I didn’t know we had homework’. I was basically tired of excuses,” she said. “You guys are already plugged in, might as well do something for me.”

On her blog, Ms. Stampfl posts a daily review of what was taught in class and the homework assignment for that night, written all in French of course. This enables her to reflect on the amount of homework she is assigning and to make sure it is reasonable, even though it is time-consuming and a hassle to keep updated. There is also no need for her to print up unit calendars for students, reducing paper use and confusion if there is a change in the homework.

In the case that students are confused or are asked to do a writing assignment, the comment section of the blog acts as a method of communication between members of the class and Ms. Stampfl. If a student is confused, she is expected to comment on the blog so her question can be answered either by another student or Ms. Stampfl herself.

“I like it and I don’t like it,” said freshman Jessie Kwang. “Sometimes it’s easier to type on the blog.”

“There are also resources like Tex’s French Grammar and verb conjugates so that if [students] are inspired they can go one step further,” Stampfl said. Links to French radio, articles and cultural websites can be found listed on the blog. Ms. Stampfl said, “It makes the language real versus just the workbook.”

A recent addition to Ms. Stampfl’s curriculum is Lingtlanguage, an educational website for teaching languages where students use the internet and microphones to practice speaking and writing at home individually. Introduced to her by other teachers at a local teaching convention, Lingtlanguage helps Ms. Stampfl make sure her students are able to use vocabulary and grammar properly. “It gives them an opportunity to speak or write outside of class and gives them individual feedback, especially for timid students or students who don’t like to be corrected in class.”

“I like it,” said senior Margo Estrade. “It teaches us more real world language skills.”

Each student in Ms. Stampfl’s class has her own miniature blog called a Wikispace where students post videos, pictures, PowerPoints and widgets from homework assignments and projects. “It functions as an electronic portfolio. The goal is at the end of their studies at Pres or with me, they can have something they can show to someone and say, ‘Hey, this is what I can do.’ Like the blog, it showcases work,” she explained. Ms. Stampfl pointed out that practice with web-related activities can be helpful for college and jobs in the future.

When asked if there has been a noticeable improvement in her classes with the blog, Ms. Stampfl said, “In their writing absolutely. Because they know other people can see their work they try harder. I try not to embarrass them, but it forces them to correct mistakes.”

Similarly, Mr. Case’s blog started a few years back as a communication and homework tool for all of his history classes as well as for Speech and Debate. Mr. Case found free educational blogs online and started with the intention of posting homework and creating a database of files for students to use.

Copies of every document used are uploaded to the website for students to download. He explained, “All the PowerPoints, all the handouts, everything I use is on here.” This means all of the class material is available to students directly, which makes studying for tests easier. “It solves being absent.”

Discussion questions are posted that correspond with reading from homework that students respond to on the blog. This reduces copying and cheating on homework assignments that Mr. Case had seen before from his classes, since rather than “copying and regurgitating information with worksheets,” students have to think before writing because everyone can see what they write. “It gives [students] and a way of communicating outside of class with each other.”

“[The blog] is really, really helpful for Speech and Debate and class. If I forget something, I can just go to the website. It gave me more viewpoints and perspectives, because other people posted their opinions on certain debates,” said Pres junior Mandy Heiser. These added viewpoints posted on the blog are mentioned and discussed further in class giving students encouragement to do better.

When asked if it had improved his students’ skills Mr. Case said, “In ability to discuss history, absolutely.”

One issue with the blog is that it can be hard to access on occasion. “When the server is down, kids can’t access the blog. It occurs from time to time, but we work around it,” said Mr. Case.

Ms. Goldau’s math classes do not have a blog, but a new friend: ELMO, the document camera. Having learned about how much her friends who taught in public school liked their document camera, Ms. Goldau requested the ELMO on Pres’s teacher wish list. Three years later, her wish came true.

ELMO is intended to replace the traditional projector, which uses light, transparencies and mirrors to project an image on a screen, with a color video image of whatever is place under the camera. “It has more capabilities than any student worksheet,” said Ms. Goldau. “I can put a calculator directly underneath it with no separate screen, which saves the department money.”

The ELMO can also be placed anywhere in the room, but still project on the center of the screen because it is connected to the overhead projector, making it easier to arrange the classroom for project presentations or games without losing class time.

ELMO saves even more time for Ms. Goldau, absent students and confused students with its picture taking capabilities. During a lecture, Ms. Goldau can take pictures of notes directly from class that can be placed on the K-Drive for students to review with or learn from.

ELMO is not perfect however; the clarity is not as good as the original projector. On occasion light spots will reflect into the lens of the camera, making it difficult to see. Two of the lights above the projector had to be removed to prevent the glare. “I do miss the clarity,” said Mrs. Goldau, “but I like having any paper underneath. I’m less dependent on transparencies now.”

Ms. Goldau explained that in class, if a student does good work on a math problem, she can ask them to simply put their paper under the camera to share it with class and get the deserved recognition.

She is also less dependent on screen size. The ELMO projects a larger picture and zooming capabilities, making it possible for different views of worksheets. When watching the ELMO in action, it’s easy to see all the potential uses for in English, Art and more.

Mr. Blightman has also been changing things up in his math class with the incorporation of his iPad. Similar to tablet computers, an application called Art Sketch allows Mr. Blightman to connect to the projector and draw free hand on the screen. Shapes and anything else imaginable can also be created in additional applications and added to the Art Sketch page.

Using the iPad instead of a tablet computer or projector however allows more mobility. Because it is so small and light, the iPad can be carried around the room so Mr. Blightman does not have to stay in the back of the classroom on the computer. Students can also pass around the iPad, so they can answer questions that are projected overhead for the rest to see. “It gets better as you change. It keeps people attentive,” Mr. Blightman said.

On the horizon are some new tools that will allow students to take instant quizzes and surveys in class, with the responses projected onto the screen. Stay tuned for our review.

Will Pres ever go bookless? See our article on eBook technology.

Blog: Georgia Trip Updates

Day 3

On the last day of the trip, Sunday, the Pres girls joined thousands of social justice advocates at the SOAWatch vigil on Fort Benning Road. Thousands of people gathered on the road leading to the gates to protest and stand “presente” to the victims of SOA graduates. Before the vigil began, four people jumped the fence onto the fort in civil disobedience. These four will face jail time while none of the SOA graduates have ever been investigated for their crimes.

The vigil was more like a parade; each person comes with white cross which has a name of a victim written on it and each person has time to put the cross on the gate of Fort Benning. Because bringing a wooden cross on an airplane is a safety hazard, we made a paper chain with our favorite quotes. The parade marched in U-shape, along the sides of the street and the fence. While the crowd rotated around the fence, the thousands of victims’ names are read and the crowd responded with “presente” and raising their white cross. Vendors with organic-cotton t-shirts and political buttons lined the streets.

When we finally reached the gate, we hung our colorful paper chain with the innumerable white crosses on the gates of Fort Benning. After, I stood back and looked at the white-covered fence. Then, it hit me that each one of those crosses were not just pieces of wood; they were lives, lives taken for no apparent reason by men trained beyond the gates where I stood. At that moment I was overwhelmed with the reality of the proximity of the school, the representation of the crosses, and the numerous names being read in the background.  As I stood there in awe, something inside of me changed. I realized that this school is not something that cannot be ignored and that I was going to be the voice of the voiceless.

On my way home I reflected on the experiences of the trip. I recognized that I emerged from Georgia a different person. My heart and mind was pulled in so many ways over the weekend that I was transformed into a person of better faith and greater love.

Day 2

On November 21, we went to the first full day at the Ignatian Family Teach-In. The day started with a prayer led by the Boston College School of Theology and Ministry, guest featuring your very own Grace Armstrong. Although I am no stranger to public speaking, it was an entirely new experience to lead 3,000 dedicated Catholics in prayer. Granted I go to a Catholic school, but I have never been baptized, nor have I been an avid church-goer. The adrenaline rush was of another degree, as I stood on the stage speaking to religious activists about finding the God within us and within our world. Afterward, I realized that there was no turning back; I am now part of the Ignatian family. The prayer was followed by a series of more student speakers and advocates calling for social reform. From my fellow students I realized that change really does come from one because, when the cause is powerful, one quickly becomes many. Each person in that room of 3,000 was one person striving to leave their foot print on the world. Each of those foot prints together create the stepping stones to change.

At the end of the day all of the 3,000+ people gathered for a closing liturgy. The altar was set as any other Catholic altar is set. The procession song was the same as any church hymn. The priest seemed the same as any Jesuit priest. However, the liturgy was not any liturgy. It was a Mass of hope, of love, of change, of true faith. The songs were sung in unison, in adoration, in spirit that I have never experienced in my 18 years of life. In one of the closing songs, “We are One Body,” the body of Christ was wholly present. Every single one of the 3,000+ people at the Mass were singing whole-heartedly. Many schools linked arms and swayed back and forth as Pres girls do when they sing the Alma Mater. The liturgy brought together a community of people from all over the world to bond beyond beliefs, borders, or words. This image will stick with me forever because never before have I seen a group of people so strong in their convictions of faith and beliefs. During this time, I was able to be “presente” to myself and the others in the auditorium; the liturgy was a rejuvenation and revelation.

Day 1

The first day of the trip we woke up and went to the Martin Luther King Jr. Center in Atlanta, Georgia. At the center we watched a video about MLK’s life and work for social justice. The video was interesting because it illustrated his life in the context of the other civil rights events. The video included many parallels between MLK and Gandhi. I never understood that MLK got much of his inspiration and nonviolent methods from Gandhi. From the video I realized that Martin Luther King Jr. was not just another activist but he was educated about what he was preaching. He was a man that studied what he preached and ensured that learned from others as much as he learned from books. The museum at the Center was filled with pictures of King and other civil rights activists framed by famous quotes of the decade. After, we were able to visit the birth home of Martin Luther King Jr. It was hard to believe that he had actually lived right there!!

We, then, traveled two hours to Columbus. In Columbus, we attended the opening for the Ignation Family Teach-In. For the evening we sat with 3,000 other people from all over the country to listen to the director of the Ignatian Solidarity Network, students working for justice and other activists. The theme of the Teach-In is “presente,” calling the community to be present to the voiceless. Therefore, each person brought their own story and perspective on how to be “presente” to the oppressed.

Stay tuned to see how the Teach-In progresses tomorrow!

Background

For the past five years Presentation has been going to Columbus, Georgia to attend the SOAWatch vigil. Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Operations, formerly known as the School of the Americas, is a military training school. Soldiers from South America come to the school to be trained by U.S. military personnel. However, in past, SOA graduates have been known to commit atrocities in their native countries, like the 1980 killing of Salvadoran Martyr Oscar Romero or the 1989 murder of six Jesuit priests, their maid, and her daughter. The vigil is held at Fort Benning to remember all of those killed by graduates of the School of the Americas/ WHINSEC. This year five Pres girls are visiting the Ignatian Family Teach-In for Justice and the SOA vigil to celebrate  the 20th Anniversary of the murder of the Jesuit priests. This year is the last year Presentation will be going on this trip because it is the last year the Teach-In will be in Georgia.

If you’d like to know more visit: http://soaw.org/