It’s the end of the month, so we have another EdTech grant recipient to announce! The awardee for the month of February is Laura Luker, a librarian from the Pioneer Valley Chinese Immersion Charter School in Hadley, Massachusetts! Laura works with students of different ages starting in elementary school and all the way up through high school and some of these students are challenged with some pretty cool projects every year. So, that’s where we came in. Laura knew that these projects would be made even better with some STEAM solutions infused in them, which led her to apply for our grant. We thought she had a very creative idea and were happy to offer her this month’s award!
Some of the students Laura works most closely with are the eighth graders at PVCICS and, every year, they have a tough challenge presented to them. Each eighth grader must create a project that results in taking action based on one of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. Of course, sustainability is very important in today’s climate-intensive world and helping students become more aware of how they can play a part is a great use of STEM instruction.
One group of Laura’s students is planning on researching the impact that fashion has on the world, for instance. They’re planning on addressing the idea of people upcycling and enhancing their clothing rather than people constantly buying new things on a regular basis. One of the ways we can help with an experience like this is with the Teknikio Wearables Kit, which Laura saw on our store and thought would fit in nicely with this particular project to help her students make old clothing new again. We agree and think this potential project has a lot of intriguing possibilities for innovative and inventive STEM learning.
Some of Laura’s other students want to use the Padcaster digital recording equipment to tape some of the unique experiences they hope to take part in. One group, for example, is hoping to tour an aquaponics space at a local college and record what they see while another wants to use a green screen to shoot and produce informational videos about important topics—both of which we think our fabulous ideas and great uses of this technology!
In Laura’s eyes, she believes that these projects and others like them can add value to the world and bring attention to potentially global problems. On top of that, the projects will certainly get kids thinking creatively, but, more importantly, Laura knows they will also see how technology can be used to help in the real world.
Laura is also considering how the technology she receives from us can be used by her students this year and in the next few years to come (hence the sustainability theme), which is a great mindset to have when researching new EdTech. The Padcaster kits, especially, will be handy for helping students produce public service announcement videos year after year if they choose. As worldwide issues, like climate change, for example, continue to dominate the news, this could prove to be a very effective use of technology in the real world!
Whatever project it is that Laura’s students are working on, they will be required to adhere to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals and complete an action step that is in alignment with these. After they complete their projects, members from each team are going to be presenting the final versions at a showcase program in April, at which families, teachers, legislators, and media members will all be on hand to hear about what they’ve accomplished. I don’t know about you, but this whole plan is very impressive and we’re incredibly excited to be able to help Laura and her students out along the way!
If you would like to learn more about Laura and see updates from the work her students do, you can find her on Twitter—her handle is @MsLuker. If you would like to apply for our next educational technology grant, the application for the March award will open tomorrow and remain open until March 20! To learn more about our $500 monthly technology grant and to submit an application, click here and be sure to check us out on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram for more updates from the world of educational technology!