2010 Tri-County EMC Bright Ideas Grants Fuel Innovative Classroom Projects
Last month, Tri-County EMC awarded 20 Bright Ideas grants to innovative area teachers. Funded from unclaimed capital credits, the grants, totaling $20,000, were awarded in Baldwin, Jones and Putnam counties. Outside judges evaluated 44 applications for innovation, goals, objectives, student involvement and budget. The winning projects are listed below:
“Learning Stations in a Differentiated Classroom” $1274.00 Blandy Hills Elementary teacher, Joycelyn Hill, will set up various learning stations in the classroom to assist in differentiated instruction. Stations will allow practice skills to be learned through hands-on exposure and by involving students in enrichment activities that re-teach difficult concepts.
“Creating Centers for Hands-On Learning” $1172.00 Dames Ferry Elementary teacher, Patti Hobby, will use puzzles, games, and other educational materials to create a hands-on learning environment in her classroom. Engaging students in a fun and creative way will help them to learn new concepts.
“Curriculum Improvement in Middle School with Smart Board”$1,064.00 Gatewood School’s Anne Hudson applied for a project to provide an interactive whiteboard in a middle school classroom.
“We Write the Songs” $938.00 Gray Elementary’s Jenifer Beaver will schedule a professional singer/song writer to come in and lead students in a writing workshop. He will demonstrate how he uses allegory and symbolism in his lyrics, and will assign the students writing tasks to complete during the workshop.
“Are You Smarter than a 4th Grader?” $1,399.00 Gray Elementary School teacher, Rachel Williams, will use SmartBoard technology to engage children in hands-on learning. She will be creating an educational game for students and parents to play together.
“Outside Classroom Facility” $1,497 Scott Register from Jones County High School and his students will enclose an existing structure to create an internal facility that is suited for classroom instruction. All aspects of the construction will be completed by the students.
“From Bored to ActiveBoard” $1,400 Mandy Hopkins of Midway Elementary will purchase an interactive Promethean board for classroom. Students get "bored" with traditional instruction. This will allow students a more interactive learning environment by integrating technology and the Internet.
“Arboretum/ Nature Trail” $1485.00 Ninth Grade Academy’s Joe Thornton will establish an Arboretum/Nature Trail on the school property, allowing students to learn nature education and conservation. The arboretum will be open to the public and have walking trails that with trees and shrubs.
“Technology Innovation in Science” $1500.00 Christina Dennis of Putnam County Middle School will use an iPod Touch to help students develop basic scientific skills of writing across the curriculum. The students will use the iPod Touch to utilize various data analysis techniques, research and create webquests and podcasts and to create reports and presentations that develop their critical thinking and processing skills.
“Taking Flight! Butterfly Life Cycle” $407.00 Danielle Adams and Kristen Reeves of Wells Primary School will create a program for their students to study and watch the life cycle of the Painted Lady Butterfly. They will raise the butterflies from caterpillars until adults, learning and recording observations along the way.
“That’s for the Birds” $244.00 Amy Alderman of Wells Primary School and her students will monitor the local barn swallows at the front of the school with an outdoor camera. The camera will assist the students in understanding the nesting process and the maturation of baby birds to adults.
“Movie Making Upgrades” $320.00 Wells Primary School teacher, Beth Mines, will be making movies with her class to increase understanding of learning standards. The movie-making process will provide a means to teach and experience necessary life skills.
“Remedial Reading Scores Rocket” $850.00 Tracy Parker of Wells Primary School will add a listening center to reading class. Students will be able to see and hear stories, helping them meet the standards in the areas of fluency and vocabulary.
“Oh Yeah, Wait a Minute Mr. Postman” $1219.00 Amy Pritchard and Janet Schraufnagel of Wells Primary School will create a “post office” for all grade levels. Each day, time will be allotted for students to write a letter to a friend and one student from each room will deliver the mail. This encourages students to develop and improve their writing skills.
“Trikes for Tykes” $775.00 Georgia Sanders of Wells Primary School will purchase additional tricycles for the classroom so that more Pre-K students will be able to use them at once.
“Snappy PV/C” 546.00 Wells Primary School teacher Jane Stiles and three other teachers will train to use the Interlox Base Ten Blocks Math Lab. Teachers will use this tool to help first and second grade students begin the journey of learning about place value and multi-digit computation.
“Dream Big- Meeting Students Halfway with Technology” $1400.00 Sally Tatro of Wells Primary School will use a student response system to provide instant feedback from students in the classroom. Using a remote control device, students will answer the teacher’s questions and results are instantly calculated in an interactive, yet confidential environment. The immediate feedback helps the teacher to know if students are grasping the material, or if they need more help.
“Special Needs Sensory Room” $1481.00 Wells Primary School teacher, Sandy Tout, will create an exceptional sensory room for students with special needs. This room will promote intellectual activity and encourage relaxation.
"Brain POP, Jr. School and Home Access" $1075.00 Wells Primary School teachers, Ashley Turner and Shelley Dunlap, will use the web-based educational site that offers tutorials and educational resources for all grade levels and all content areas.
Wells Primary School’s entire faculty of teachers participated by submitting a Bright Ideas application. Fourteen teachers were awarded grants for ten classroom projects, totaling $8,317.00.
