Roles were reversed recently at St. Elizabeth Catholic School in Wallaceburg, as students had the opportunity to handle the teaching duties.
An open house style event called ‘Charger Challenge Day’ was held on May 4 at the school, where families dropped by to share the experience with some of the school’s new and fun technology.
Liz Gibson, the principal at the school, said the idea for the event started back in late fall of 2016.
“We rethought our library space and we got a grant, so our students and teachers would have a nice big open space where they can go and work on different projects or work on different tasks that go along with the learning in the classroom,” Gibson told the Sydenham Current.
“It is really built around the 21st century learning skills. That’s the science, technology, engineering and math. So the books are still in the library, but we have really bumped up our technology. We purchased robots like Dash and Dot and Sphero, the iPads, Makey Makey kits, we have a green screen, we have different things in the library that is technology based.”
Gibson said ‘Charger Challenge Day’ had students creating challenges that their family members had to perform.
“So instead of the students completing a maze or creating a video with the green screen, they set something up that their parents had to create,” she said.
“For example, they created a maze and showed their parents how to work Dash or Sphero. Gave them a quick little lesson about it and then challenged their parents to see if they could complete the maze or complete the challenge.”
She said approximately 50 students participated and about 40 families took part.
“It was really great to see the students being able to teach their parents something,” Gibson said.
“It was really great just the families interacting in a different environment. It was a lot of fun. It was packed in there. It was so busy that the parents and families had to wait and take turns. So it was a great way to engage parents in the school environment and to give the students a sense of ownership and voice. That sense of pride and self confidence to show their families what they have been working on, because it really was challenging.”
The teachers, we really didn’t know much about Dash and Dot and Spheros and Makey Makey. We just said ‘here it is, let’s just figure this out together’. So they had to work together. They had to collaborate and problem solve and persevere because it didn’t work out the first time. They really had to think about and research. So there was lots of Googling, lots of research. They go back to YouTube and back to Google. Well that didn’t work out and then oh we got it so they would say ‘ hey, I figured that out. I can help out now’.
By utilizing the new programs and technology, Gibson said the students have been working very hard, building curiosity and stretching their thinking as an extension of their classroom.
Here are some more photos from ‘Charger Challenge Day’:
– Submitted photos
