Goliad teaching high tech kids, becoming high tech campus
Goliad Elementary third-grader Madelyn Council uses an intelligent whiteboard to complete a math problem. Students at the school are using some of the latest and greatest technologically advanced learning tools. Sometimes the students are helping the teachers.
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WHERE DOES IT COME FROM?
Some of the technology is purchased through grant requests approved by the Goliad ISD Education Foundation. In the past two years, the foundation has raised about $300,000 and has given more than $91,000 in innovative ...
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WHERE DOES IT COME FROM?
Some of the technology is purchased through grant requests approved by the Goliad ISD Education Foundation. In the past two years, the foundation has raised about $300,000 and has given more than $91,000 in innovative teaching grants, said Pamela Hailey, executive director of the foundation.
The organization solicits donations from businesses and individuals.
In the 2007-08 school year, the foundation made it possible for the district to purchase Smart Boards, and iPods. For the 2008-09 school year, the district purchased MP3 players and Smart boards, as well as additional Smart Boards and other equipment.
Since the 2007-08 school year, the district has provided every middle school and high school student with an Apple laptop.
These technologies will help increase the academic performance of Goliad students, Superintendent Sam Atwood said.
"We have, for the past two years, been an exemplary campus at the elementary school," Atwood said. "We have raised our test scores across the board. At least under the new accountability ratings, our high school is recognized. We attribute that to a number of things, and technology has been a part of that. It's been very positive as far as student outcome is concerned."
EXTRA ACCESS
Throughout Region III, the K-12 Database gives students access to Encyclopedia Brittanica and Ebsco, a search platform with access to more than 1,000 newspapers, magazines and other publications.
Region III students can also access Discovery Channel streaming, which has educational videos relating to the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills curriculum and TAKS test objectives.
GOLIAD - A Goliad Elementary second-grade class sat in a classroom ready for a quiz.
Students looked at the projector for the question.
Teacher Cassie Mangum read: "This is a picture of a...."
The students saw the picture of the lungs, and answered - but not with pencil and paper.
They used "clickers" - a hand-held remote control device. Their responses appear on the screen.
"The clickers are numbered. Each student has their assigned clicker," Mangum said. "It knows who they are and puts their answer in the computer system, so it's immediate data."
Students say the clickers make school easier.
"You don't have to write and it doesn't make your hands so tired," said Hannah Boyd, 8. "You get to look at your grade right away instead of just waiting."
As part of a Goliad school district initiative, Goliad Elementary uses these Classroom Performance System clickers to help them learn more effectively, said principal Virginia McDaniel.
"Our goal is for them to go to high school and college and know how to use a laptop, an iPod and an MP3 player," McDaniel said.
Through the Goliad ISD Education Foundation, the school district has also purchased MP3 players, iPods and interactive white boards to be used in classrooms, said Superintendent Sam Atwood.
The iPods allow teachers to store songs and videos on concepts taught in the classroom, said teacher Jennifer Thibodeaux.
"Whatever we're teaching them for the week, we put that on there for them to watch," said Thibodeaux, who teaches second grade. "It just reinforces whatever we taught in the classroom. If we did land forms, there'd be videos on land forms that they could watch."
Interactive white boards, called Smart Boards, let students touch objects on the projector screen and move them around.
Debbie Henning's third-grade class learned about the water cycle using the Smart Board.
The students can touch the screen to make the clouds rain, have the water flow from the rivers to the ocean, and then evaporate.
"You get to touch it and you get to drag it," said Bailey Huber, 8.
In Martha Vargas' first-grade class, her students use MP3 players that have a recorded version of their story of the week.
They follow along with the printed version of the story.
"The children take their MP3 players home," Vargas said. "Every week, they get an assignment and listen to it three times an evening. It helps with their fluency, their accuracy, their comprehension."
One of Vargas' students, Jeremiah Jackson, said the player has helped him read.
"When you listen to it, then you get used to the words and you can read it better," Jeremiah, 6, said.
MP3 players also let Jeremiah multitask, he said.
"We finally have something to listen to than TV," Jeremiah said. "I'd rather listen to a story and work out while I'm listening to it. I do crunches and those little arm circle things."
McDaniel admits her students know more about technology than she does.
"These kids are digital kids," the principal said. "It's remarkable the things you can do in your classroom. We haven't even hit the tip of the iceberg."
Comments
WendyN, Although I DO respect your opinion, I am quite offended by the generalizations that you made about the students of GISD. As a student of Goliad High, I DO use my laptop for homework about 70% of the time, and I usually don't have much time for fun stuff. Also, where have you been that you've seen Goliad kids using their laptops?
November 5, 2009 at 8:38 p.m.Wendy and Pat, While good penmanship is certainly an admirable skill, and one which will assuredly serve a person well in life, the lack of that skill does not necessarily indicate a lack of education. (There were a few grammatical, punctuation and spelling errors in your posts that I will attribute to typographical errors, so I will refrain from pointing them out.) I will assure you that Goliad students are indeed being taught to write legibly and to write well (just check those test scores). They are also being taught many new skills that will certainly propel them into the future ahead of their counterparts at other schools. Come on gals and hitch your old buggies to our Star. It's going to be a helluva ride. It's great to watch kids excell!
Oh, and congratulations to Ms. McDaniel on having an "Exemplary Campus" and to GISD for it's "Recognized District" rating. GISD certainly does have a view to the future, and the future is Bright!
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November 4, 2009 at 1:58 p.m.This is GREAT! It is important for our children to learn and to have experience with new technology. As to the 8 year old's comment about making her hand tired; kids are kids and they are going to complain sooner or later about something. Yes, I think penmanship is important. Please pass that along to the very highly educated physicians, who now use computer systems in their offices to document our visits instead of paper charts. This is a technological world now, so it's either keep up or get left behind. Do we really want our children to be left behind? I for one do not. Appalled? No! I applaud Goliad ISD and the Education Foundation for furthering the education of our future. I have a child who attends Goliad ISD and I'm very proud!
November 3, 2009 at 4:15 p.m.My children attend GISD and I am proud of the fact they have the opportunity to learn along with these new technologies. My children were taught the basics before being allowed to use these items. I am very proud of the way the Goliad Education Foundation has helped our school district with helping to better further the education of our children....BRAVO!!
November 3, 2009 at 12:48 p.m.Both of my children attend GISD and I love that they get to learn so much technology. That doesn't mean the other things go by the wayside. They still are required to know their reading, writing and arithmetic. They were both taught about the proper techniques for hand-written letters. I believe this was around the second grade. So they are taught these things ALONG with the technology. Living in these times, technology is almost a must. I'm so glad my kids have the opportunity to be taught the things they are--they know so much more and are less afraid of the computer than I am.
November 3, 2009 at 12:34 p.m.They learn to write by hand in Goliad. Both my boys go to GISD and they learned how to write by hand way before they get to use a computer. Last year my middle boy only got to use a computer in one class.
November 3, 2009 at 11:01 a.m.We are using technology globally to communicate, translate, network, learn, and most importantly - in our careers. It's only fair to allow children to become familiar with this - the potential and the constant change.
Teachers are using technology to network with other educators and to create "personal learning networks." They are skyping with other classrooms, authors, holocaust victims, and more! I'm following many of these awesome teachers.... on Twitter. ;)
So long as our world is changing our classrooms should too!
November 3, 2009 at 10:45 a.m.Luckily the Goliad ISD has not taken a luddite approach to technology. Children learn in many ways. Having this additional approach to educating is a plus to the students of Goliad.
November 3, 2009 at 10:33 a.m.I too was appalled when I read the remarks of the 8-year old who said that writng "made her hand tired".
November 3, 2009 at 8:02 a.m.Like a lot of other important things,penmanship class has fallen under the axe of TAAS. Teacher's don't have time to teach anything else and schools aren't rated on penmanship. I still write letters to people with a FOUNTAIN PEN!!. I believe that children should have to be able to write a legible letter to someone and know how to mail it before they move up a grade.
Our tax dollars hard at work! And I can say I know of one young man that graduated from Goliad who has the worst hand writing I have ever seen. I think these children need to learn how to write well with a pencil then go onto the technical stuff. And the laptops they give the students what a joke. I've seen these kids doing everything but homework with them.
November 2, 2009 at 7:13 p.m.