It's the beginning of a new school year, and the halls are filled with excited students once again (and excited teachers too)! I can't wait to see what this year has in store for our Tritt Tigers.
Our administration gave me the opportunity to become the first Innovation Specialist in the county 3 years ago. I have the ridiculously cool responsibility of increasing 21st century skills, exposing students to innovative practices, and really enhancing classroom curriculum by integrating technology. After focusing on student success for the first two years, I now get to work with our teachers to help them better embed technology in their everyday instruction. I can't think of a better model to carry out our vision of One Team, One Goal, Student Success! Throughout the year, I'll be in and out of classrooms from Kindergarten through 5th grade, working on product creation and coding and programming skills. Lessons focused on product creation will allow students to practice using apps, programs, and websites to create digital works that demonstrate their understanding of content standards. You may see Kindergarten students using Tellagami to share their phonetic understanding through their Animal Parade project. You may see our third graders using Spark Video to narrate their illustrations which show how they can use multiple strategies to solve a math problem. You'll be able to catch our 5th graders working in digital collaborative environments like Padlet to work together work towards a common goal. And that's just the tip of the iceberg! Sphero programmable robots, Makey Makey kits, Osmo Kits, GoPros, 3D printers, drones, and more are all in our innovative arsenal, enhancing learning for our students. This year, we'll continue looking ahead in search of experiences we can provide for our students, which will push them ahead, as they prepare themselves for a future filled with endless opportunities. If you are in the tech industry, you have a passion for gizmos and gadgets, you use coding and programming skills in your career, or you have a connection to hook us up with, please feel free to contact me any time! Drop by the Annex, room 605, and say Hey! Mrs. Dean |
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