School District Hosts Guests: Shares Technology and Learning Practices

On Wednesday morning a group of administrators and teachers from Guilderland School District and the Irvington School District visited our district to learn how students use Google Apps and Chromebooks to be further engaged in their own learning.  For the first half hour, our eight guests met with Technology Learning Facilitator Jennifer Cronk and Director of Instructional Technology John Krouskoff to discuss the benefits of using Google Apps for Education in schools.  The goal was to satisfy their curiosity of how these tools can be creatively deployed throughout a district and make a significant impact on student learning.  The conversations focused not only on the digital tools, but on the learning process as well.
The group visited North High School to speak with Heidi Bernsasconi, a science teacher and Google Apps trainer, to learn firsthand how a set of Chromebooks and the Google Apps suite of tools have transformed student learning.  Ms. Bernasconi described the various ways her students collaborate and communicate using shared documents, websites, and interactive online components.  
The visitors were able to observe one of her biology classes and how they used these technologies as part of their everyday learning.  The students worked collaboratively work on several different topics, with the goal  that each group master the assigned topic and later present their findings to the class.
It is not unusual for the Clarkstown Central School District to be consulted about its successes in using technology to improve learning.  They have been recognized nationally as leaders in using online tools which allow students to take ownership of their learning.  

Keeping current with tools that change so rapidly is no small feat.  However, a cadre of teachers participates regularly in formal and informal learning opportunities.  Recently sixteen teachers engaged in professional development sponsored by Google, resulting in more than fifty collective certifications.  A group of six teachers also participated in last month's Google’s “Reboot” at the New York headquarters, and engaged in a number of activities that featured future software enhancements that can be used in the schools next year.