MANVILLE: Staff, students get image of digital future

By Mary Ellen Zangara, Special Writer
   Even though the students of the Manville school district had a day off on Monday, administrators, teachers and staff spent their day listening to and learning from Alan November, an international leader in educational technology.
   The Manville district, in its continuing effort toward building a 21st century learning environment and providing ongoing and relevant professional learning experiences, presented Mr. November, the senior partner and founder of November Learning.
   Superintendent Dr. Johanna Ruberto studied under Mr. November in her doctorate program and brought his talents to the district.
   ”His work is renowned and his techniques are practical in advice and they empower a teacher to empower the child through the use of technology,” she said.
   According to his website, Mr. November “Thrives on confirming and challenging educators’ thoughts about what’s possible in the world of teaching and learning. More than anything, he is a teacher at heart, with a wealth of experience teaching learners of all ages.”
   He was also named one of the 15 most influential thinkers by Classroom Computer Learning Magazine and in 2001 was one of eight educators to provide leadership into the future by the Eisenhower National Clearinghouse.
   The day with Mr. November was setting the tone for change within the schools and district.
   ”We strive towards challenging and inspiring faculty to think beyond the classroom and work towards preparing students for today’s global economy. For our team, it’s not the technology itself that’s important; it’s the way we use it. Our ideas about global communication, collaboration, assessment and critical thinking have inspired schools, governments and corporations around the world to rethink and redefine their approach to education and technology.”
   Some of the key concepts Mr. November promotes is web literacy, critical thinking and the Grammar of the Internet, 21st century learning skills and objectives, authentic student collaboration and assessment, motivating students and fostering a powerful work ethic and cultivating a new culture of teaching and learning.
   He is also the author of books including “Empowering Students with Technology” and “Web Literacy for Educators.”
   Mr. November said that they were “Going to take a good look at some specific free tools on the web that allow children to be creative, to show their work with the world and to collaborate with the world. It gives children a very exciting sense of feeling like they own their own learning. If you earn your own learning that can lead to motivation and more discipline.”
   For the morning session, Mr. November’s workshop had to do with examining the very structure of school. “It was a very unusual workshop that really looks at the structure of school in lots of different ways. With the research and the research actually says we need to change what we are doing.”
   Monday’s afternoon workshop also included various hands-on activities for a group of teachers and students. Students were invited to participate in this event for a new district initiative to bring teachers and students together to learn about and explore technology and how it can be used in the curriculum. The Manville School District Teacher-Student Academy assists in creating student experts to help infuse technology into the classroom. As Mr. November worked with the teachers and students from the academy in the ABIS media center, all of the other district teachers were able to watch his presentation via Skype in four different classrooms.
   Director of Curriculum Dr. Barbara Popp said the presentations from Mr. November were beneficial. “I thought both the morning and the afternoon sessions went very well. Alan November provided the staff with a plethora of methods to engage students in 21st century skills’” she said.
   ”His main focus is not technology so much as it was relationships and critical thinking. The activities he presented addressed those two concepts. Exploring a topic from multiple points of view allows students to build their critical thinking skills while increasing their understanding of the relationships between different concepts and cultures.”
   Dr. Popp explained that, “He discussed the importance of understanding web addresses and verifying Internet sources, he demonstrated how to narrow down a search (e.g., by country or by site extensions, he discussed the role of students as tutorial makers and programs that could assist in this and he explored a variety of websites including, Khan Academy, Mathtrain.tv, archive.org, Wolfram Alpha, etc.”
   The staff, Dr. Popp said, “Very receptive to Alan November’s presentations. They had a very positive and engaging experience. Many have already begun to develop way in which they can incorporate these ideas into the classroom” She believes that it, “helped to establish a framework and an understanding of the direction the district, and the world, as we move toward preparing our students for the challenges they face in the 21st century.”
   “’”MHS freshman Sebastian Galvez was one of the older students that participated. “It was really cool as he taught us a lot of websites that we can use on the Internet and it is most things that people don’t know. It is more advance thinking and it could really help the world because the world is obviously changing to a more digital world and the more tools we have the better and easier the world can get. It was enjoyable and it was fun,” he said.
   Second grader Megan Shimp said “It was so much fun. I got to learn about different technology that I never even knew existed. I liked it all.”
   Cathie Miskov, a Math Intervention teacher for grades 3, 4 and 5, said this was one of the best workshops she had ever been to.
   ”I liked all of the search ideas and I liked the fact that the students who have been involved in this program were allowed to come this afternoon and participate.”
   Weston first-grade teacher Kathy Montanelli really enjoyed the afternoon hands-on workshop.
   ”I think there were a lot of ideas that we can use in the classroom with the students. Even showing that students as young as first grade can be interacting in the world through different media tools. I think it is bringing the Manville school district way into the 21st century ready to go.”