Ms. Williams teaches the students’ weekly computer classes and helps teachers unify curriculum
goals with instructional technology and student
skill-building opportunities. Like every Delano
instructors, she has many roles beyond that. She
helps with Delano’s annual end-of-year technology fair showcasing everything kids have produced, including work for career-related themes
like banking and weather prediction. She puts
together the lunchtime PowerPoint presentations,
and tutors kids in reading and math.
For Ms. Williams, integration of technology
across the curriculum is closely tied to Delano’s
mission of helping students take responsibility for
their own learning. Recently, in a tutoring session,
Ms. Williams introduced a student to a program
called Quizlet, which lets kids practice vocabulary by playing games and creating their own
lessons. Building exercises independently helped
this student make significant connections to the
material.
“The technology we use is just one way that we
keep students engaged and interested in learning,” said Ms. Williams. “When kids are playing
games, you can focus on what you want them to
learn – multiplication, fractions, reading skills –
and all the things they’re doing, they’re practicing
skills. It keeps them engaged. It makes learning
interactive.”
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Fifth-grade student Chance Fowler agrees that
computers help drive academic work home. He’d
rather complete online lessons with a program
called CoolMath, for example, than with traditional exercises.
“I like CoolMath more because I’m a computer
geek,” said Chance.
Chance is proud of many aspects of school life
at Delano. He loves the school’s CLUE academic
enrichment program, as well as the diversity of
student programming. Kids at Delano may be
in elementary school, but faculty extracurricular
offerings allow access to activities ranging from
the basketball club – Chance’s favorite – to daily
student broadcasts on “DTV.”
“Our teachers care about us,” said Chance.
“They make us do our work, because they know
it’s going to pay off.”