A New School Year

2009-2010 promises to be another exciting school year at Brookfield Elementary! Before the year even began with students, teachers had a number of learning opportunities involving technology.

In addition to the June Teacher Academy, August brought the first academy concentrated totally on SMART technology in the classroom. The school district partnered with the Sally Ride Academy to offer the Elmbrook Technology Academy for SMARTBoard teacher training. Fourteen different 4-day classes were offered ranging from the basics to integration in every curricular setting with graduate credits available through Cardinal Stritch University. Academy staff was comprised of classroom teachers and technology integrators, many of whom are SMART Master's certified. The showcase day included demos of exceptional technology integration, SMART accessories (document cameras, airliner slates, SMART Response), and breakout sessions on engaging, differentiating, and inspiring. It was wonderful to see so many Elmbrook teachers and substitutes in attendance — truly a great way to begin the new school year!

Next came the elementary inservice day focused on the new tablet laptops and the use of OneNote software to record student assessment and other important data. This next step in assessment follows two years of evaluation and development by teachers for teachers. We are excited at the rapid assimilation by staff of this new technology and the recording methods.

Along with these initiatives came a lot of hardwork by our technology services department from installation management of boards, projectors, software, laptops, and wireless access points throughout the building to troubleshooting and resolution of the inherent problems that may be expected with such changes. Thanks to everyone involved for these exciting changes in support of providing excellant learning opportunities for our students.