• Our technology story began in 2012 when our district decided to become of of the first 1:1 districts in the immediate area. We rolled out student MacBook Air devices and iPads over a 3 year period until all students had a devices. Throughout this journey, our district implemented technology 'academies' in which teachers could attend free classes over the summer taught by various instructors and other teachers that taught us best practices of moving through the SAMR model.

    In 2016, we acquired Dremel 3D Printers in all of our Innovation Centers. Students in grades 3-5 learn how to design models in Tinkercad, and have made various projects. They learn the principles of good design, and the design process - including how to test and iterate designs based on the requirements of the project and the performance of the design. The project being presented in Springfield this year involved students in our 4th and 5th grade magnet classes, who took on a design challenge for our Specialized Academic Class.  

    The SAC Class is a Special Education cooperative through CASE - which brings students with physical and cognitive disabilities, some of whom also have low vision and/or hearing.  Students in the SAC class use tactile symbols to help them communicate.  While general symbols are available, the teachers of SAC saw a need for symbols that would help them explain the daily schedule to students. The SAC Class is a Special Education cooperative through CASE -https://www.casedupage.com/ - which brings students with physical and cognitive disabilities, some of whom also have low vision and/or hearing. Magnet students took on the challenge to design symbols that would be meaningful both for the students, and distinguishable.  To learn more, watch our video: