Students are media and technology driven and are using technology at an unprecedented rate. From the moment they wake up, students are constantly engaging and interacting with technology. Teenagers are the leaders in using connected devices to consume media and information.[1] Roberto Clemente Community Academy (RCCA) sees the value in investing in technology that helps drive instruction in a way that is engaging and relevant to our students.
Gone are the days of lessons that do not encourage collaboration and dialogue between the teacher and student. RCCA teachers are creating lessons and projects that are rich in media and encourage collaboration[2]. Principal Dr. Marcey Sorensen has invested over $600,000 in technology in the last 4 years. This investment has transformed how students are learning in the RCCA community.
Along with investing in technology, Dr.Sorensen sees great value in professional development for teachers. RCCA in partnership with Discovery Education is working with teachers on effective technology integration in the classroom. With the Discovery Education partnership, RCCA will develop teachers that will be part of the Digital Leadership Corps (DLC) and will transform how technology is used in the classroom.[3]
Not only is RCCA investing in how teachers integrate technology, but they are also investing in transforming the classroom they teach in. Taking the classroom from chalkboard to SmartBoard is an investment in the vision of taking teaching to the digital age. RCCA has invested over $150,000 in transforming 40 classrooms into Smart Rooms.[4] The technology in these rooms includes Smart Boards, document cameras and active response systems. Having these tools at their disposal RCCA teachers are developing lessons that are engaging, encourage collaboration and are rich in content.
Creating a space that encourages creativity, learning and collaboration that is not a classroom is the vision of RCCA’s World Media Center. The World Media Center takes advantage of the students familiarity with technology and introduces new cutting edge tools into the student’s skillset. RCCA has invested in creating an art lab, audio recording studio and video recording studio in this space.[5] The media center gives students the opportunity to have access to high quality and professional caliber tools that invoke a type of learning not found in the classroom. With technological investments totalling over half a million dollars, the students and staff at RCCA will be well equipped as 21st century learners prepared for the post-secondary world!
[1] On RCCA’s media center spaces see attached “Technology Resources”.
[1] According to data collected by The Pew Research Center on Teens, Social Media & Technology usage in 2015.
[2] On how RCCA is using technology read articles at www.rccachicago.org titled: “Freshmen Take (Virtual) Field Trip to Sierra Leone, Africa!”, “Let’s take a look at what Mr. Pascolla is doing in his Health class!”, “SMART Boards in Action”
[3] On RCCA’s Discovery Education partnership read article at www.rccachicago.org titled: “Teachers Partner with Discovery Education”
[4] On RCCA’s investment in creating SmartRooms read article at www.rccachicago.org titled: “RCCA Builds 40 Smart Rooms”
[5] On RCCA’s media center spaces see attached “Technology Resources”.