Jim McGinty
“With the Innovative Educator grant I was able to employ iPads to aid my students in their exploration of our 30-acre, natural campus.”
– Jim McGinty
As the environmental science/nature teacher, I may be the least likely teacher to embrace technology in education but, last year opened my eyes to the power of blended learning and the possibilities with my students. With the Innovative Educator grant I was able to employ iPads to aid my students in their exploration of our 30-acre, natural campus. This secondary grant would allow me to expand the impact to other grades that I work with. The use of a portable projector and enough iPads for an entire class would allow me to individualize the instruction. It would also give me some resources to pursue professional development in best practices of using technology in education. As a late adopter of using technology in teaching, I have some catching up to do.
Our school is an environmental charter school (K – 8) that was founded on the principal of using the environment to integrate all the subjects. We have a computer lab and a few computer carts that are shared between the various classrooms. In addition to the traditional classrooms, we have very unique “specials” classes. We have PE and Art teachers but we also offer Garden and Environmental Science/Nature classes. This grant-funded project will enable the Environmental Science and Garden classes to extend the reach of digital education beyond the traditional classroom.