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News & Photos
E-Mail, Technology Helps Students, Teachers Weather the Storm
Years ago, a snow day—or series of snow days—meant that classroom learning ceased until school resumed.
Not anymore. Using the same technology that keeps us connected 24/7, teachers and students can--if they still have electric power--exchange assignments, ask questions of one another, and more.
Take the prefirst class, for example. Teacher Barbara Zimmerman used her electronic class conference, accessible by all PF parents, to suggest a children’s writing assignment.
It wasn’t long before Zimmerman received “The Snow Maze” by Summerlynd N., who described the snow maze her father made in the family’s backyard. “The dog liked it the best. He jumped over the walls and almost ruined it. My dog ran three hundred and eighty six miles an hour through it, ” she wrote.
For upper schoolers enrolled in Advanced Placement classes, the need to stay current is more important.
“Since there's an externally-imposed deadline for this course--an exam in May--they have to do a bit of keeping up,” explains Head of Upper School History Ane Lintvedt. After administering a test by e-mail, Lintvedt assigned her sophomore AP World History students some World War II reading from online sources as well as watching PBS footage. “I'll probably do something similar for my freshman class, although they're in the 13th century and websites are a lot harder to find!”
Christian N. ’13 was one of many students revising essays and papers with teachers’ guidance. English teacher, Wright Abbot scanned and e-mailed Christian's essay to him. In an experiment, Abbot had Christian edit his own essay so they could then compare to see how well Christian is learning to be his own editor.
Abbot e-mailed all his freshmen their first drafts. “I told them to use e-mail and my cell for questions. When we get back, I don't intend to use the class time for actual rewriting like I normally would.”
Similarly, Head of Middle School Foreign Language Lynn Offutt wants her eighth grade French students be ready for an oral exam scheduled for whenever they return to school. “It consists of some interview questions and a two-minute description of a photo, all in French. I have already posted sample photos for them to try, and tomorrow I'll add an mp3 of some practice questions.”
Offutt’s students are also working in groups on scripts for cooking shows, which will be filmed in class next month. “The groups send me scripts, and I circle their errors and make suggestions, using the review features of MS Word, and then send them back. The students are working online together.”
“You just know that our students are online anyway,” Offutt adds. “They might as well be chatting in … French!”
Some snowbound teachers are inviting students to submit assignments in order to keep up themselves. "I'm hoping that many of the students will send their papers via e-mail and I will avoid the avalanche of paper--pun intended--when I return," said fifth grade teacher Nancy Cooper.
Years ago, a snow day—or series of snow days—meant that classroom learning ceased until school resumed.
Not anymore. Using the same technology that keeps us connected 24/7, teachers and students can--if they still have electric power--exchange assignments, ask questions of one another, and more.
Take the prefirst class, for example. Teacher Barbara Zimmerman used her electronic class conference, accessible by all PF parents, to suggest a children’s writing assignment.
It wasn’t long before Zimmerman received “The Snow Maze” by Summerlynd N., who described the snow maze her father made in the family’s backyard. “The dog liked it the best. He jumped over the walls and almost ruined it. My dog ran three hundred and eighty six miles an hour through it, ” she wrote.
For upper schoolers enrolled in Advanced Placement classes, the need to stay current is more important.
“Since there's an externally-imposed deadline for this course--an exam in May--they have to do a bit of keeping up,” explains Head of Upper School History Ane Lintvedt. After administering a test by e-mail, Lintvedt assigned her sophomore AP World History students some World War II reading from online sources as well as watching PBS footage. “I'll probably do something similar for my freshman class, although they're in the 13th century and websites are a lot harder to find!”
Christian N. ’13 was one of many students revising essays and papers with teachers’ guidance. English teacher, Wright Abbot scanned and e-mailed Christian's essay to him. In an experiment, Abbot had Christian edit his own essay so they could then compare to see how well Christian is learning to be his own editor.
Abbot e-mailed all his freshmen their first drafts. “I told them to use e-mail and my cell for questions. When we get back, I don't intend to use the class time for actual rewriting like I normally would.”
Similarly, Head of Middle School Foreign Language Lynn Offutt wants her eighth grade French students be ready for an oral exam scheduled for whenever they return to school. “It consists of some interview questions and a two-minute description of a photo, all in French. I have already posted sample photos for them to try, and tomorrow I'll add an mp3 of some practice questions.”
Offutt’s students are also working in groups on scripts for cooking shows, which will be filmed in class next month. “The groups send me scripts, and I circle their errors and make suggestions, using the review features of MS Word, and then send them back. The students are working online together.”
“You just know that our students are online anyway,” Offutt adds. “They might as well be chatting in … French!”
Some snowbound teachers are inviting students to submit assignments in order to keep up themselves. "I'm hoping that many of the students will send their papers via e-mail and I will avoid the avalanche of paper--pun intended--when I return," said fifth grade teacher Nancy Cooper.