Project Spotlight-Project 752
A Best-in-Network 2018 Finalist Scottsburg New Tech High School Teachers: Whittney Shafer & Ashlee Hafer Course: Political Perspectives Grade:12 Driving Question: How do we as economic developers of Scott County create a plan in order to interest a company to come to our county? Project Snapshot This course is a year-round mashup of Government, Economics, and English 12. We focus on non-fiction... [read more]
Project Spotlight-Photogrammetry for Preservation
A Best-in-Network 2018 Finalist Cross County High School Teachers: Jason Blake Course: Environmental and Spatial Technology Grade: 9-12 Driving Question: Using technology, experience, and teamwork can we create a way for our local State Archaeological Park to reach a new, wider audience, in an interactive and engaging way? Project Snapshot The purpose of this project is to preserve and help spread... [read more]
Project Spotlight-Hoosier Veterans’ Consortium
A Best-in-Network 2018 Finalist New Tech Institute Teachers: Ryan Jones & Bonnie Alcorn Course: English and American History Grade: 9 Driving Question: What do combat veterans and their families experience during war and after returning home? Project Snapshot This project began as a historical fiction scrapbook that students developed in Innovative Perspectives, an English and U.S. History combined course. Over the... [read more]
Project Spotlight-What’s Living in Your Swamp
A Best-in-Network 2018 Finalist i3 Tech Academy @FPCHS Teacher: Corinne Schaefer & Andrew Medearis Course: BioLit and Game Design I and II Grade: 9-12 Driving Question: How can we learn about the ecosystems presented at the Alligator Farm to help create an interactive app so that we help the community learn about human impact on the environment? Project Snapshot This... [read more]
Project Spotlight-Vieux Carre ( French Quarter Walking Tour Project)
A Best-in-Network 2018 Finalist St Charles Satellite Center Teacher: Craig Howat Course: Hotel, Restaurant and Tourism Administration Grade: 11-12 Driving Question: How does Tourism engage a targeted audience while focusing on learning and entertainment? Project Snapshot This project is about two groups of students. The first group of students learns about history, culture and what makes a local area unique.... [read more]
Project Spotlight-Man Up
A Best-in-Network 2018 Finalist Parramatta Marist High School Teacher: Luke Barry-Donnellan Course: Personal Development/Health/Physical Education combined with Information Software Technology Grade: 9 Driving Question: How can we redefine the current 'man code' and support each other at Parramatta Marist High School? Project Snapshot This project is an integration between PDHPE and Information Software Technology. There is currently a rising number of... [read more]
Project Spotlight: Cedar Creek Anthology
How do students inform others in their community about their history?
Project Spotlight: Project Re-GREENville
Carolina High School & Academy Teacher: Lauren Whitaker Course: Environmental Studies Grade: 11-12 Driving Question: How can we transform urban wastelands into beneficial spaces for our community? Project Snapshot Partnering with the City of Greenville, students learned about population growth, urbanization, water quality, soil quality, environmental regulation, and pollution within the context of analyzing potential brownfield sites within our city. Students then... [read more]
Project Spotlight: The FEMA project
Rocket New Tech Teachers: Melissa Saldana and Emma Weatherly Course: Geo-Lit (combination AP Human Geography and AP Freshman English) Grade: 9 Driving Question: How can society prepare itself for inevitable natural disasters? Project Snapshot Teachers Emma and Melissa were watching the Hurricane Harvey coverage and as they were watching it, they realized it was a project. How do you map... [read more]
Project Spotlight: Homes for Heroes Project
School: Parramatta Marist High School Teachers: Gina Mari Course: Visual Arts Grade: 8 Driving Question: How can we as artists, raise the awareness of returning soldiers through a series of artworks using the frames and conceptual framework? Project Snapshot The students researched war artists and artworks that dealt with war, they created artworks that would take the soldiers minds off the horrors of... [read more]
Project Spotlight: Cell Biology and Bread
School: River Middle School Teacher: Louann Talbert Course: Life Science Grade: 7-8 Driving Question: What is the connection between cell biology and bread-making? Project Snapshot Students study about cells and what makes them work. They use this knowledge to understand how yeast works in bread making and create the healthiest, most alive bread to share with panelists from local bakeries and... [read more]
Project Spotlight: Interactive Literacy
School: i3 Academy @FPCHS Teachers: Corinne Schaefer Course: Creative Writing I & II, Drawing I and Game Design I & II Grade: 9-12 Driving Question: How do students use learned writing techniques to successfully create literature (narratives) for a specific audience (5th grade students)? How do we work with different groups in different classes (curriculum/subjects) to develop a successful publication? How do... [read more]
Project Spotlight: Valle de Oro
nex+Gen Academy Teachers: Laura White and Michael Steele Course: Environmental Science & Statistics Grade: 12 Driving Question: 1. What is necessary to restore this land to a more historic ecosystem? 2. How can we quantify the biotic and abiotic changes occurring in this anthropogenically-altered ecosystem as we actively restore it? 3. How can we interpret and then communicate our findings in an... [read more]
Project Spotlight: Dare to Dream in Color
Best-in-Network Winner, Washington Discovery Academy
Project Spotlight: Hoosier Veterans’ Consortium
New Tech Institute Teachers: Ryan Jones and Bonnie Alcorn Course: English and American History Grade: 9 Driving Question: What do combat veterans and their families experience during war and after returning home? Project Snapshot *Student groups are assigned a war or conflict to investigate and report to class *Students create a historically fictional scenario to create a scrapbook *Combat veterans... [read more]
Project Spotlight-St Charles Satellite Center
St Charles Satellite Center opened in 2005 and focuses on career paths that are projected to expand the most over the next decade. The concept of this center arose from the numerous meetings, focus groups and site visits to progressive school districts across the nation. Local business owners, community leaders, educators, representatives from Fortune 500 companies and expert advisors focused... [read more]
Project Spotlight: Mighty Mug Commercials
Eagle Tech Academy-High School All Staff Course: Advisory All Grades Driving Question: How can we create a commercial for Mighty Mug that showcases the advantages of their product, especially in a 1:1 environment? Project Snapshot Students were charged with creating a commercial for the company, Mighty Mug. The founder asked students to create a commercial that showcased their product, especially its advantages... [read more]
Project Spotlight: Literacy 4 Life
Columbus Signature Academy Central Middle School Campus Teachers: Trisha Burns and Angela Spurgeon Course: Algebra Ready and English 8 Driving question: How do we promote literacy in our neighborhood? Project Snapshot Students raised money, purchased books, and made a bookmark with statistics and strategies for literacy in the home for their chosen Columbus organization. Student Products Proposal Presentation with their goal amount of... [read more]
Project Spotlight: Nutrition and Wellness Culture of Service
Lealman Innovation Academy-High School Teacher: Paulette Goolsby and Barry Hill Course: Nutrition and Wellness Driving Question: How can we as nutritionists promote a culture of service for helping people with daily nutritional management as well as responding to emergency nutritional needs? Project Snapshot: In this project, we will be looking at nutrition from a nutritionist point of view to serve people in... [read more]
Project Spotlight: Cupcake Wars
Haldane Elementary School Teachers: Michelle Hartford, Lisa Pray, Jen Windels Course Level: Fourth Grade Driving Question: How can we use "My Plate" to make healthy choices? Project Snapshot After researching need to knows and reading about "My Plate" in GR groups, students collaborated on designing and baking a group healthy cupcake. The group requirement was to have a combination of one... [read more]
Project Spotlight: Designed to Sell: Birdhouse Edition
Niles New Tech Entrepreneurial Academy-High School Teachers: Courtney Dwyer & Matt Pagano Course: BioArt-a team-taught class combining Biology and Art Driving Question: How can we as scientists and designers, create an artificial habitat in the form of a birdhouse, which is both aesthetically pleasing and incorporates the specific environmental needs of the target species? Project Snapshot Learners collaborated to... [read more]
Youth Spotlight: Community School students teach English to refugees
The Spokesman- Review At a time when the United States is doing less for refugees, four seniors at The Community School decided to do a lot more. Tasked in a school project with studying the worldwide refugee crisis, Cierra Morris, Ashlin O’Kelly, Shea Handelman and Katelyn Devine went beyond the script by engaging refugees who work at the Global Neighborhood... [read more]
Recommended Reading – Better Together: How to Leverage School Networks for Smarter Personalized and Project-Based Learning
ExcelinEd By Karla Phillips Two minds are better than one. A tried and true adage that reminds us challenges are easier faced when working together. In their new book, Better Together: How to Leverage School Networks for Smarter Personalized and Project-Based Learning, authors Tom VanderArk and Lydia Dobyns spotlight the growing expansion of networks as a support mechanism to expand and scale... [read more]
New Tech Network Awards Elementary Teachers for Project on Student Agency
St. LOUIS, Mo., August 1, 2017 (Newswire.com) - New Tech Network(NTN) announced at the New Tech Network Annual Conference (NTAC) in St. Louis, Missouri, that Lindsey Risner, Lorien Goodwin and Courtney Young, 3rd grade teachers at Washington Discovery Academy in Plymouth, Indiana, were awarded Best In Network for their project submission "DARE TO DREAM IN COLOR." Risner, Goodwin, and Young received the award... [read more]
Leader Spotlight: Anthony Saba, Samueli Academy
Samueli Academy is a school with a unique mission of serving foster youth and underserved kids. We sat down with Anthony Saba, Head of Samueli Academy, to discuss the school’s future and meeting the needs of a diverse student body. NTN: Hi Anthony. Thanks for speaking with us! Can you talk a little more about the mission of Samueli Academy? What makes... [read more]
Leader Spotlight: Riley Johnson on New Tech High School 2.0
This year New Technology High School celebrated its 20th anniversary. We sat down with Riley Johnson, Principal New Technology High School, to discuss the school’s future and its focus on Design Thinking. NTN: Hi Riley. Thanks for talking with us! You’ve said you and the faculty are working on the next generation of the school. What does this mean... [read more]
New Tech’s Educational Model Shines in Spotlight
The Republic Columbus Signature Academy — New Tech High School has been in the spotlight lately and in a good way. Educators from around the world came to the Columbus school in late April for an up-close look at how project-based learning works in the classroom. The visit included representatives from the Department of Defense Education Activity, which manages pre-kindergarten... [read more]
School Spotlight: WASHINGTON DISCOVERY ACADEMY
About Washington Discovery Academy One of the salient aspects of WDA that visitors to the school immediately notice is its bustling but organized environment. Students can be seen actively collaborating on the same projects across grade level classrooms, teachers informally reflecting on a lesson they just implemented, and the principal moving between classroom observations, running a data meeting, and responding... [read more]
New Tech Network-College and Career Readiness Spotlight 2017
At New Tech Network, our shared vision for student success – college and career readiness for all students – has a very specific meaning in the Network. What we mean is that every graduate of a New Tech school leaves aware, eligible and prepared to pursue postsecondary education or training. Join us as we highlight stories from our schools, students, parents, and... [read more]
School Spotlight: Weidner School of Inquiry
Introduction and Context Weidner School of Inquiry (WSOI) is a 9 -12th grade New Tech Network school, co-located on the Plymouth High School campus, in the Plymouth Community School Corporation of Plymouth, Indiana. With an enrollment of approximately 315 students, WSOI is now it its 4th year of operation as a New Tech Network school. Using a unique co-director model,... [read more]
School Spotlight: Belleville New Tech
Using Performance Assessments to Drive Student Improvement Belleville New Tech (BNT), co-located on the Belleville High School campus, is a 9-12 high school in the Van Buren Public Schools district of Belleville, Michigan. Open as a New Tech Network (NTN) member since 2011, BNT now has 400 students enrolled, with demographics that match those of the district. Using a collaborative... [read more]
School Spotlight: Katherine Smith Elementary School
Developing Systems to Transition from Implementation to Improvement Katherine Smith Elementary is a diverse TK - 6th grade elementary school located within the Evergreen School District in San Jose, California. With an enrollment of over 600 students and 30 teaching staff, Katherine Smith joined the New Tech Network 3 years ago seeking additional support for their transformation into a school... [read more]
School Spotlight: Napa Junction Elementary School
About Napa Junction Magnet School In its third year as a New Tech School, Napa Junction Magnet School (NJMS) has been committed to developing a community of learners through its STEM-based, Project-Based Learning (PBL) program. The mission of the school is “to foster social and emotional growth, 21st century skill development, and academic progress within a STEM-focused curriculum.” To this... [read more]
Senior Spotlight: Daniel Murillo, Sioux Falls New Tech High School
Daniel Murillo is taking full advantage of his New Tech Network education.
Doing Projects vs. Project Based Learning PBL
The difference between doing projects and PBL.
NTN Leaders Spotlight: Erin Frew’s Layered Approach to Leadership
In 2012 Jim May led a small team of us in a “Leadership Deep Dive” which resulted in the creation of the NTN Learning Organization Framework, an essential tool to help us and schools guide improvements in teaching and learning. One of the activities we engaged in during that Deep Dive was a small group exercise to identify and attempt... [read more]
Assemblyman puts the spotlight on New Tech High
“This is the most replicated model today,” he said. “It is innovation in the classroom.”
Top 15 NTN Resources of 2017
As 2017 comes to a close, we are reflecting on the numerous resources, blogs, videos and research findings we have shared throughout the year focused on school and district transformations, deeper learning and PBL best practices. Please find our top 15 resources of 2017 below. We look forward to creating and sharing more best practices in 2018! 1. Making PBL Personal... [read more]
NTAC 2017 Best In Network Winner: Dare to Dream in Color
Each year, New Tech Network gives the Best in Network award to a project that exemplifies the goal of successfully combining active exploration, application, authenticity and academic rigor. New Tech Network is proud to announce that Lindsey Risner, Lorien Goodwin and Courtney Young from Washington Discovery Academy are the 2017 Best in Network award winners for their project: Dare to... [read more]
Dare to Dream in Color: 2017 Best in Network Winner
Each year, New Tech Network gives the Best in Network award to a project that exemplifies the goal of successfully combining active exploration, application, authenticity and academic rigor. New Tech Network is proud to announce that Lindsey Risner, Lorien Goodwin and Courtney Young from Washington Discovery Academy are the 2017 Best in Network award winners for their project: Dare to... [read more]