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Teachers & Technology in the Elementary Classroom

At Ranney, technology is integrated into all aspects of the classroom. See how teachers are keeping our Age 3-Grade 5 curriculum at the forefront of today’s digital age.
Computer Programming
Beginning in Kindergarten, Ranney students use iPads to practice reading and math skills and to do basic Internet searches, such as looking up a definition or concept. These skills, along with typing, are strengthened each year as Lower Schoolers progress into the elementary grades, describes Lower School Technology Teacher Maureen Wood. When they enter fourth and fifth grade, students use Google Drive to create and share documents, spreadsheets and slideshows—all while practicing public speaking and presentation skills. They also use iPads to record their own movies and edit them. All of these aptitudes contribute to the work fifth graders carry out as part of their Capstone research project (see the 2015 edition of Columns for full story).
 
But what’s most unique about Ranney’s technology curriculum is that students are learning how to code and program using apps such as Scratch, a programming language that allows users to create interactive stories, games and animation. Scratch is used in grades 2-5 as well as part of the afterschool Ranney Plus program for students in grades 3-5. “Scratch aligns with Ranney’s science, technology, engineering, art and mathematics (STEAM) initiatives,” says Mrs. Wood. “Students are using critical thinking and logic skills as well as math. For instance, they have to use positive and negative numbers to move items around a screen.”
 
Coding also teaches young learners basic programming principles, such as loops and wait times, that can be used when they take Middle and Upper School computer science courses and if they participate in robotics. After students build a robot, they program it to perform certain acts such as moving forward, turning around and picking up a ball (see more details about the Lower School robotics program below).
When students leave the Lower School at the end of fifth grade, says Mrs. Wood, they should be proficient with all Microsoft Office and Google Drive products, know how to make an iMovie, conduct Internet searches and type at about 25 words per minute.
 
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Digital Art
Technology has been a core component of the Lower School Art Curriculum for many years, largely led by Lower School Art Teacher Barbara Levine. Beginning in Early Childhood, students have access to drawing apps on the school’s iPads. As they move into the elementary grades, art students are introduced to Photoshop to retouch images on the computer, Sketchbook Pro on the iPad to create original artwork and digital cameras to capture images.
 
“The students love using technology in art classes because it’s in their comfort zone,” says Mrs. Levine. “Tools such as iPads and photo editing programs are simply part of how we function today. At the same time, I always reiterate the importance of a foundation in fine arts. Technology and traditional fine arts seem to be distinct and opposing disciplines, but I have found that one can influence and be beneficial to the other for both the student and the teacher,” says Mrs. Levine.

She applies this philosophy to all of her art classes. For example, fourth graders blend traditional and modern technology to create a self-portrait. First, they use Photoshop to crop, retouch, and adjust the color and contrast of their digital photos. These photos are then printed and cut in half, and the students hand-draw the other half of their faces. The final portraits are displayed in the Panther Hall Gallery each November. “They are learning mirror image technology created by Leonardo Da Vinci 500 years ago while incorporating today’s digital tools,” explains Mrs. Levine.

Throughout the spring, she plans to have students use digital cameras to photograph nature in the recently established Ranney campus garden. Using computers in the new Searle Library Media Center, students will zoom in on their images with Photoshop and then use their printed photos to create Georgia O’Keefe inspired paintings back in the art studio.
 
During fifth grade, students experiment with different techniques. For example, they may create a self-portrait using the Sketchbook Pro app, which teaches them how to work in layers and use color blends. Looking ahead, Mrs. Levine plans to have students turn these iPad self-portraits into avatars that they can then use as part of their signatures online and in the school’s galleries.
 
Lower Schoolers use technology to talk about art as well. Using the international digital gallery called Artsonia, for instance, students are able to write artist statements and attach them to their work, allowing viewers to understand more about the young artists’ self-expression and creative process. “Students are communicating their ideas about art online,” explains Mrs. Levine. “With Book Creator, an iPad app, we are also publishing our own interactive digital books that highlight the voices of our students as they discuss their artwork and make us all realize that art can tell a story.”
 
“Overall, we are learning how to incorporate technology into our basic tool box in the art room,” says Mrs. Levine. “Some students are more comfortable using their fingers or a stylus on a screen than they are with a paintbrush and paper. For those students who struggle with traditional tools, technology offers another way for them to find their unique creative voice.”
 
She adds that when Lower Schoolers “Cross the Lawn” into Middle School at the end of fifth grade, “all students should be able to talk about art, appreciate the creative efforts of others and express their own creativity in ways that go beyond the art classroom.”
 
Follow Mrs. Levine’s classroom art blog and check out the students’ work on Artsonia. 
 
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Robotics
Ranney’s Robotics Program began in the Upper School in 2010 and immediately found success—the team has already qualified for and participated in three VEX World Championships (2013, 2014 and 2015). The program was brought into both the Middle and Lower School Divisions during the 2013-2014 school year and over the summer of 2014, four Lower School teachers were trained in the VEX IQ system. Similar to LEGO® robotics, VEX IQ is an age-appropriate robotics program that students can easily transition from when they move onto the Upper School VEX system. The Lower School also purchased 10 VEX IQ robots that are being used year-round as part of a new robotics elective for fourth and fifth graders. These students compete with their Middle School peers at state-wide VEX IQ events.
 
“By building and programming VEX robots, students are thinking about the patterns and structure of not just robotics, but also of programming and problem-solving,” says Lower School Science Teacher Judy Salisbury, who advises the Lower School Robotics Program with Mrs. Wood. “They are acting as robotics engineers and, as such, they learn to make sense of problems and persevere in solving them. As students perform challenges in cooperative teams, they also reinforce skills that cut across curricular areas of math, language arts and science. In essence, they are learning how to be better thinkers and communicators using current technology while having fun.”
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Ranney School

235 Hope Road
Tinton Falls, NJ 07724
Tel. 732.542.4777
Our mission is to know and value every child, nurturing intellectual curiosity and confidence, and inspiring students to lead honorably, think creatively, and contribute meaningfully to society. 

We envision Ranney School as a nurturing learning community, in which families, faculty, alumni, and all of Ranney’s constituents collaborate to know and value every child, foster individual talents, sustain powerful connections between children and adults, and graduate resilient, globally-minded citizens.