Project Connect ! Opening a World of Education Opportunities for NHSD Students
As part of the district ’ s wide-ranging and multi-year Innovations in Education Plan , Project Connect put iPads into the hands of all sixth- , seventh- and eighth-grade students across all district elementary schools and at North Hills Middle School this school year .
Project Connect embeds project-based learning throughout the curriculum and utilizes technology as a tool for personalizing instruction for every student . Through Project Connect , we are striving to present our students with a world of possibilities by cultivating an innovative and problem-solving learning environment that incorporates vital skills for college and career readiness such as communication , collaboration , critical thinking and creativity .
We ’ ll be sharing photos and stories throughout the year about the activities and lessons made possible for our students by Project Connect on the Project Connect website at www . nhsd . net / projectconnect . aspx .
Team Heinz Research Projects Transformed by Project Connect
Eighth-graders on Team Heinz at North Hills Middle School are using iPads from Project Connect to tackle the grade ’ s expansive research project in a whole new way ! Combining their American history , English and library classes , students are learning that history is happening around you , all the time . Large and small
events affect your everyday life , just as previous events affected the lives of those you know .
To start out , students researched a historic , impactful event and then recorded an interview with an individual who experienced that event or whose life was directly impacted by this event . Topics include Mao ’ s rise to power in China , desegregation of South Africa , closing of local steel mills , the 1996 Olympic bombing , wars in the Balkans , Vietnam and Korea , air traffic control issues during Sept . 11 , West View Park and various natural disasters such as the Blizzard of 1993 , Hurricane Katrina and tornadoes in 1985 .
They are integrating these personal stories into their larger research of that event and experience .
Each student will have their own section with exploratory essay with narration from their first-person interview in a Team Heinz iBook that will share these oral histories with others around the world . We ’ ll keep you updated and share this amazing book when it is available !
STEAM Tunnel Books Combine F & CS and Art Seventh-graders at North Hills Middle School worked on a cross-curricular STEAM project combining components of their art and family and consumer sciences classes taught by Johannah Brawdy and Megan Ward . Each pair of students wrote a children ’ s book inspired by topics discussed in their English class on their iPads using the Book Creator app and brought their digital story to life by designing and creating a tunnel book in the STEAM ( Science , Technology , Engineering , Art and Mathematics ) iMac lab in the building ’ s STEAM Center . The middle school students then visited our elementary students to read their books and complete fun , literacy activities orth Hills School District
NORTH HILLS SCHOOL DISTRICT NEWS
Ross Township | Spring 2017 | icmags . com 45