High Point to host Google Summit
SUSSEX BOROUGH — Hosting its second-ever Google Apps For Education (GAFE) and Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) Summit on Monday, Jan. 18, from 8:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m., High Point High School is at it again, helping advance the state educationally into the 21st century.
Spearheaded largely by Assistant Superintendent Robert R. Zywicki, Ed.D., the October 2014 summit attracted about 350 people. This year, 800 colleagues from 145 schools and districts are expected to attend.
Superintendent Scott D. Ripley, Ed.D. says the Google Summit allows for people to recognize the school as an institution of excellence and worth.
“It's a big deal," he said. " In the end, we do it all for the students.”
It all started when High Point went BYOD in spring of 2014, allowing students to bring cell phones to school. Since the last summit, High Point has increased the usage of Google Classroom, Kahoot, Socrative and Google Drive.
“Teachers are utilizing these tools to create web-based formative assessments and project-based learning experiences for their students,” Zywicki said. “This has has resulted in a shift away from the traditional pen-and-paper scantron tests to more hands-on 'learning-by-doing' lessons and assessments.”
According to Zywicki, about 80 percent of High Point's staff has an active Google Classroom, which is a free learning management system allowing for a paperless, virtual classroom in which teachers can assign, grade and collect work.
“The cell phone is a tool students are allowed to use in school when educationally appropriate," he said. "They can access our wifi network to take a quiz or do research. We also have devices to support students without cell phones.”
Ripley said several years ago, the school recognized its online platforms were not up to date.
"With Dr. Zywicki's leadership, the school utilized a technology and wifi infrastructure in which both Dr. Zywicki and Supervisor of Instructional Technology and Special Projects Mark Wallace are still fundamentally involved, and now has a spirit of connectivism implementing a progressive educational vision that research clearly shows results in student achievement,” he said.
“We're offering 40 sessions this year,” he said.
Highlights cover Google Classroom, video-based questioning and the basics of 3D printing.
“Once again, we are bringing together hundreds of educators to connect and engage in professional dialogue about best practices for delivering progressive technology-infused instruction and assessment to students,” Zywicki said.
Keynote speaker Alice Keeler, author of "50 Things You Can Do With Google Classroom", will be available for three featured presentations. Zywicki calls Keeler the current “international guru” on Google Classroom.
Principal Jonathan Tallamy says there will also be a student panel defining how the last two years in going BYOD has enhanced the quality of youth education.
“There have been other summits in N.J. that usually charge about $150 for entry. Ours is the only such summit in Northwestern New Jersey that is free to all participants due to sponsorship and grant funding, costing us nothing out of the budget,” Zywicki said. “It provides two meals to attendees, features a keynote speaker and combines presentatons with workshops. Educators can choose the sessions that specifically meet their individual professional development needs.”
Wallace says High Point was the first in the state to receive a 3D printer 15 years ago. Currently, the school contains five modern printers, allowing students to design usable plastic parts to inventions and produce them right on the spot.
In the recent past, via the Rutgers-sponsored Waksman Student Scholars Program in a campaign spearheaded by former High Point science teacher Madelaine Travaille, Ripley says the school procured grants and 3D printers from Picatinny Arsenal that High Point students used to create prosthetic limbs, which were then donated to those in need of them nationwide.
Travaille has since been hired as the Kinnelon District Supervisor of Science.