Oak Ridge Today

ORAU seeks applicants for 2015 Extreme Classroom Makeover

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ORAU Extreme Classroom Makeover

Oak Ridge Associated Universities will have its Extreme Classroom Makeover for the seventh year. Teachers within 50 miles of Oak Ridge can file an intent to apply by October 15. (Image courtesy ORAU)

 

Local teachers within 50-mile radius encouraged to file intent to apply by Oct. 15

Oak Ridge Associated Universities is now accepting applications for its $25,000 Extreme Classroom Makeover competition. Now in its seventh year, the competition provides the latest educational technologies to update one teacher’s classroom. Interested teachers must file their intent to apply no later than October 15.

The contest is open to public school math and science teachers who teach grades third through 10th and are located within a 50-mile radius of Oak Ridge. Entrants must have the written consent of their principals and, if chosen, be willing to have their 2015-2016 classroom experience highlighted on the Internet and in various media outlets. Teachers, students, and even parents whose children are benefiting from this initiative will be invited to blog about this year-long experience on the Extreme Classroom website. [Read more…]

Guest column: Technology in the classroom

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In 2012, the scientific community was shocked to see six Italian scientists arrested and placed on trial for the manslaughter of 309 people. How did they manage to kill 309 people? Easy: They failed to predict an earthquake.

As insane as it sounds, two years later these scientists are still stuck in an appeal process, and they are still facing a potential six years in prison. Now long off everyone’s radar, the questions this prosecution poses to Western civilization have faded from our memory.

At stake and at issue are the underlying ideologies of what our machines and the data they generate actually mean to us as human beings. Unfortunately, these ideologies remain in the background of our educational and technological decision-making. The lives and the minds of our students are rapidly becoming intertwined with their technologies and the haste we feel in harnessing this cultural phenomenon is driven by a competitive economic desire to “stay ahead” of the technological curve.

With the exception of perhaps a few hold-over “Luddites,” no one I know is against the use of technology in the classroom. On the flip side, however, I must say that in all my conversations about classroom technology, I have never—not even once—heard a citizen or educator discuss what the use of that technology actually means to a human being. [Read more…]

Guest column: Why going 1:1 is important in Oak Ridge Schools

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By Tracey Beckendorf-Edou

By now, most of us have heard of the 1:1 (one to one) initiative, meaning that every Oak Ridge student would have a device to use both at home and at school. The following are a few of the reasons why going 1:1 is important.

Mostly, it’s better for kids

We live in a world today in which children learn through technology and are often more engaged with what they are learning when technology is incorporated. Technology does not replace good teaching, but it enhances good teaching. Technology does not replace face-to-face communication, but it adds other modes of communication. Does that mean that technology would be included in every lesson? Of course not. Students still need to explore our world in other ways. Going 1:1 does not require teachers to give up their wonderful non-technology related lessons or for students to be glued to their devices 24/7.

But going 1:1 leads us to think: What’s possible? How can students interact with what is happening outside the walls of the classroom? How can students collaborate with people from across the world? How can students receive immediate feedback so that they can improve on their mistakes immediately? For some examples of what that looks like elsewhere, please see here. [Read more…]

Chemistry experiment waste starts trash can fire in ORHS classroom

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Oak Ridge High School Trash Can Fire

A small fire in a trash can in a chemistry classroom at Oak Ridge High School on Friday night was the result of an unintended reaction from waste products left over from a chemistry experiment earlier in the day. (Photos courtesy of Oak Ridge Fire Department)

A small fire in a trash can in a chemistry classroom at Oak Ridge High School on Friday night was the result of an unintended reaction from waste products left over from a chemistry experiment earlier in the day, Oak Ridge Fire Department Chief Darryl Kerley said.

The fire occurred just before 9 p.m. Friday. The classroom was filled with smoke when firefighters arrived, but they were able to use a fire extinguisher to put out the fire in a fire-resistant wastepaper container, which was inside a locked classroom, Kerley said. [Read more…]

Clinton High dedicates ‘net zero’ classroom

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Information from WYSH Radio

Students, teachers, and school administrators gathered to dedicate a new, so-called “net zero” classroom on the campus of Clinton High School on Tuesday.

The 1,150-square-foot building is powered by solar panels and is independent of the electric grid. The classroom, believed to be the first of its kind in the state, was funded by the school system as well as grants from Tennessee Valley Authority and Oak Ridge National Laboratory as well as other sponsors. [Read more…]