Marsha+West

The 3 most innovative classroom ideas you saw and how you think we could/should implement them here in our county. The Early Literacy Station should be a standard in all PreK – 2nd grade classrooms as well as every elementary Special Education Classroom. These should replace desktop computers in these classrooms. Every library media center should have enough equipment for creating and listening to podcasts for students and teachers to use as another option projects. The wealth of information, sites, and lesson plans available at thinkfinity.org is incredible. This isn’t an innovative classroom idea; however, I think our creative teachers could locate and use a creative idea from the site, so we should make sure all teachers are aware of this site. The 1 product you were most impressed with and why. Awe’s Early Literacy Station for PreK – 2nd grade classrooms. Each station comes preloaded with many programs that support the curriculum, that kids love, and that have been used successfully.

The most interesting concept or idea you heard.

I love the education focus on Google, especially the Custom Search Engine. I think this has awesome possibilities for beginning research in first and second grades. I also liked the idea of assigning older students a Wikipedia entry and asking them to use print resources and reliable online resources to validate the Wikipedia entry. If you could completely reinvent CCSD, what would you do differently?

I would collaborate with an Internet service provider in Athens (or at UGA) and have a wireless cloud over the entire county. I would keep the SmartBoards in every classroom, complete the digital video project, and provide internet access for our economically disadvantaged students either at home or a community center. I would place 4 computers in every PreK – 2 grade classroom for center activities and a laptop computer in every child’s hands beginning in the 3rd grade. Teachers would have a desk area equipped with controls for window shades and all controls for technology available at their desk as well as at a student area in the classroom. Each classroom would have a digital camera, digital video camera, document camera, network printer, with room for new technology. Science classrooms would be equipped with the best technology to support their curriculum as would math classrooms.