By Madison Chamness
Staff Writer
Technology is everywhere, entwined in almost every aspect of our daily lives. At Summit Public Schools, students realize the immediate future of using technology in most professions. Students use Chromebooks as valuable learning tools to build professional skills. The Expeditions classes featuring technology also show the creative side of this ever-growing industry.
Digital Storytelling
In Digital Storytelling, students learned how to create a website. Expeditions teacher Mark Wieser explained, “The websites are supposed to represent what their passions are and show different kinds of technological skills they have studied. Many of them were able to do this in a creative way that I think will reach many people who see the presentation.” Students showcased their websites during the Celebration of Learning, and the sites were a big hit with the families and friends who attended the event.
Students reported that they enjoyed the class. Everest freshman Jonny Suchite said, “My favorite part is when I walk in, I have this sensation as I wanna learn about this topic.” His website is featured in the slideshow below, along with the site created by Everest freshman Amelia Friedman.
Being able to show their passions in creative ways is not an opportunity many get during their school experience; however, Lesley Sabas, an Everest freshman who also takes Digital Storytelling, said, “We get to pick our pictures and edit them however we like, which is fun.” The video she made for the class was on teen drug abuse; you can watch the video here.
3-D Printing and Audio Production
Two additional Expeditions courses, 3-D Printing and Audio Production, provided students with opportunities to practice using technology in creative ways.
In the 3-D Printing Expeditions class, students learned how to use 3-D printers and laser cutters properly. “We got to use a laser cutter, which was super cool, and we were able to make it into anything we wanted,” Everest freshman Marleth Jacobo said.
For their Celebration of Learning project, students made a zoetrope, which is an animation tool that creates an illusion of motion.
The process of 3-D printing involves turning the whole object into thousands of tiny little slices, then making it from the bottom-up, slice by slice. These small layers stick together to form a solid object.
Sometimes, technology is considered to quell creativity, but these Expeditions courses proved to all who visited the Celebration of Learning event at Everest that technology can be a powerful tool for enhancing creativity.
While visitors were walking through the Celebration of Learning hallway displays, they not only got to enjoy students’ excellent work but also got to hear music that was created by students in the Audio Production course. Students’ music was pumped through the school’s loudspeakers. In the video below, the Audio Production teacher demonstrates how to use some of the technology that students used to create their beats.
The Audio Production instructor provides a demo. VIDEO CREDIT: Shawn Wilson
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