Western Salisbury Elementary School Goes High Tech In The Classroom

The Salisbury Township School Board was given a glimpse into the use of technology at Western Salisbury Elementary School during a video presentation at the March 28 curriculum and technology meeting.

The video, which was filmed by teachers, showed students in all grades using a range of digital media, from kindergarteners enthusiastically using Smartboards to take attendance and pick out the date to fourth-graders creating Web sites about the 50 states.

Library media specialist Beth Burks said the goal is to have even the youngest students comfortable with technology. By fifth grade, students at Western Salisbury Elementary School are well-versed in technology,  reading specialist Michaele Hippauf told the board.

The video showed first grade students working on a project about George Washington using the Web site blabberize.com, which allows students to create a video that looks as though photos are speaking.

Eric Molitoris discussed how second-graders learned about factory production by creating and marketing their own candy bars using Microsoft Word, the Internet, cameras and graphics in the classroom.

Third-graders made paper slide videos (videos in which photos or drawings are shown and flipped while someone narrates) about water filtration. The project helped students learn about collaborative planning and execution,  Hippauf said.

Fourth grade students used numerous tools, including Microsoft Excel, iWeb and Pages, to create Web sites, brochures and graphs on a unit about the states.  Students also used Storytown and Falcon Apps to learn how to write a proper e-mail.  And  instead of writing traditional book reports,  fifth grade students made interactive posters using the Web site www.glogster.com.

The next curriculum and technology meeting will be held April 25, not April 18 as originally scheduled.