FALLSBURG – Just a few days after the Fallsburg High School Class of 2017 received diplomas, Benjamin Cosor Elementary School and Fallsburg Junior High School teachers and staff were engaged in professional development to improve student achievement of students in grades 3 through 8. EdTech Team instructor Adam Seipel presented two workshops in Google Classroom to help teachers create and organize assignments quickly, give effective and immediate feedback to students, and provide easeful communication with classes.
The morning workshop was for beginners in the program; the afternoon session was for advanced teachers. The workshop is part of the Google for Education EdTech Team, paid through a three year $150,000 grant from New York State Education Department (NYSED) secured by FCSD I.T. Director Keith Edwards.
Twenty-one participants in the beginners training learned how to build resources with each other and with students. Mr. Seipel said “streams” would become the life of a teacher’s class. Students will learn quickly how to edit stream files, how to brainstorm with each other, how to research a project and perform group work. He demonstrated each step of these processes. He showed the ease of inserting a You Tube video that is a popular learning tool with students and professionals. Participants responded enthusiastically to the presentation.
The intention of the Grant is to lead to a greater number and percentage of grade 3-8 students achieving scores of proficiency (Levels 3 and 4) on the NYS Common Core Assessments. The objective of the FCSD staff is to increase these proficiency levels in grade 3-8 English Language Arts (ELA) and Math by 4% during each year of the grant.