Saugus Iron Works PBU

NECC Features Ferryway's Saugus Iron Works

2008-08-01T12:35:00.000-07:00

If you are interested in technology integration chances are that you know about the annual National Education Computing Conference (NECC). NECC is an extension of the International Society for Technology in Education's (ISTE) effort to provide a forum for sharing ideas on how best to integrate technology into schools. The George Lucas Educational Foundation joined forces with ISTE and HP to underwrite the cost of a professionally produced movie featuring the Ferryway School. We are proud that "Turning on Technology" shows the outcome of the hard work of over a dozen educators working to ensure that urban students have opportunities to use technology. The Ferryway School was featured during a NECC conference session entitled, NETS•S in Action in North American Classrooms. Watch the ten minute long movie on the Edutopia website or here as a streaming video download.

GLEF Posts Ferryway Video Preview

2008-06-05T19:26:00.000-07:00

Two months ago the George Lucas Educational Foundation (GLEF) production team traveled from California to the Ferryway School in Malden, Massachusetts to document technology integration. The GLEF team has been busy editing, Turning On Technology, where it will be premiered at the National Educational Computing Conference in San Antonio on June 30, 2008. Watch a short (1:44) teaser trailer streaming from the Edutopia website.

***Trailer no longer available***

Ferryway Fifth Graders Shine at Showcase

2008-06-03T20:14:00.000-07:00

Ferryway fifth graders transformed the school lobby into an extended classroom as they shared their learning with fourth graders, parents, teachers and school administrators. The 2008 Technology Showcase ran from 1 to 3:30 PM on Tuesday, June 3rd. The showcase gave students a unique opportunity to communicate what they learned during the Saugus Iron Works Project-Based Unit (PBU) experience. It featured a total of 11 stations in which students volunteered to present their work in a science fair setting. One highlight was the final competition of student built waterwheels concluding a hands-on study of the engineering design process. Students tested their prototype designs in April, debriefed as a team on how to improve their designs, and then worked to implement the redesigns tested today. A majority of waterwheels lifted heavier loads compared to April. At the waterwheel multimedia station students used an HP laptop and projector setup to demonstrate how online interactive learning helped them understand engineering concepts such as torque and efficiency. A new addition to this year's SIW field trip was a photojournalist lesson where students were given the task of using digital cameras to capture images of categories such as engineering, natural resources, and colonial life. The photojournalists showed their photos on a student wiki site using HP tablet computers. The importance of identifying natural resources was one of the more popular activities as fourth graders tested sample minerals using tools such as a tiles, a nail, a magnet and a flash light.
Did our fifth graders succeed in teaching next year's fifth graders? View the online results of the Grade 4 technology showcase survey. Our fourth graders are certainly eager to enter the fifth grade with an eye toward waterwheels. Thanks go out to our entire Ferryway fifth grade team, Mr. Fitzpatrick, Mr. Teixeira, Mr. Richmond, and Tufts engineering intern, Andy Chang for making the event a success.

Adobe Posts Case Study on Ferryway Waterwheels

2008-05-15T16:08:00.000-07:00

Waterwheels are an important aspect of the Saugus Iron Works project. Understanding that water powered early colonial industry is a critical learning objective of the unit of study called the Saugus Iron Works Great Adventure. If you've been following the SIW blog you know that our focus is to leverage the web to promote an integrated, multi-modal learning experience for fifth graders. You need to be able to merge best teaching practices with new instructional technologies in order to make it happen. Adobe Education Leader (AEL), Robert Simpson, collaborated on an Adobe case study to help explain how an Adobe software program know as Presenter (formerly Breeze) made a major contribution to teaching the engineering concepts that describe waterwheels. As an AEL, Simpson has access to Adobe software solutions experimenting on their use in K-12 classrooms. As the case study clearly points out, the knowledge of content experts can be effectively captured using multimedia solutions such as Presenter. I look forward to implementing this powerful learning strategy in more classrooms.

Biomes, Waterwheels, Laptops and Lots of Interviews

2008-04-16T21:43:00.000-07:00

The learning was fast-paced as we entered the second day of filming by the George Lucas Educational Foundation (GLEF). The GLEF crew spent the day at the Ferryway school capturing two major Project-Based Learning initiatives; Biome Breakthrough in grade four and Saugus Iron Works (SIW) Great Adventure in grade 5. Our first stop was Mr. Richmond's computer lab where fourth graders were putting the finishing touches on their biome Powerpoint presentations. Moving on to Mrs. Shelton's class, students were challenged by an introductory lesson that had them making observations about the rainforest and temperate-deciduous forest biomes. Mr. Teixeira modeled the use of a Student Response System (SRS) in which students could each use a remote to register their responses to questions. Mrs. Shelton could show bar graphs depicting the classes results to encourage discussion. Across the hall in Mrs. Urban's room, Mr. Teixeira again helped model the use of the SRS, but this time the task was much more difficult. Students were shown pictures of unknown animals and asked to predict which biome they thought that it lived in by carefully considering the physical characteristics of the lost vertebrate. The entire class successfully returned the poison dart frog to the rainforest.

By mid-morning the crew transitioned to the fifth grade to capture the breadth of teaching and learning throughout the SIW unit. The pace quickened as the team visited Mr. Fitzpatrick's tech shop to learn how students went from paper-based waterwheel designs to prototype construction. Mr. Fitzpatrick demonstrated how to accurately find the center of a circle by using math skills enabling students to properly center a dowel through their waterwheels.

At 11:30 students in Mrs. Briatico's and Mrs. Girard's assembled in the auditorium to watch the waterwheel competition. Beginning in January, with guidance from Tufts Engineering intern, Andy Chang, students working in teams learned about the engineering design process by building their own waterwheels from Styrofoam, PVC pipe, paper cups, and glue. The purpose of today's competition was to test prototype designs followed by a debrief session in which students discussed what changes they would make as they redesign their waterwheels. Redesign is an important step in the design process. Each waterwheel was inserted onto the testing apparatus built by Mr. Fitzpatrick, the water was turned on and cups began to fill causing the wheels to spin. Excitement and the noise levels increased as the string attached to the weight platform tightened. The moment of truth was at hand as only the most efficient waterwheels could lift the weight of bricks and tiles. The day's most efficient waterwheel lifted an astounding 5.5 kilograms (over 12 lbs)!
Next up, the GLEF crew went to the fifth grade classrooms to record a lesson on rocks and minerals where students used concept mapping software (Inspiration) on the wireless HP laptops to create rock and mineral profile page. Each student was asked to create a page for a class book on rocks and minerals.
Mrs. Tomadakis, the 5-8 computer teacher led a rocks and mineral lesson using the online SIW Project-Based Unit (PBU), Inspiration, and the HP laptops. Students worked in teams to develop concept maps to identify and classify rocks and minerals found on various websites embedded in the unit. Students taught one another how to use Inspiration features such as hyperlinking and symbol formatting. The GLEF crew then recorded a new lesson on photojournalism taught by Mr. Simpson. Teams of students received a digital camera and an assignment to capture photos representing one of six categories, such as simple machines and colonial life while on the Saugus Iron Works field trip. After returning from the SIW students downloaded their pictures to a laptop and then had to decide which three photos best represented their assigned category. The photos were saved and uploaded to a classroom SIW wiki for review. The final part of the assignment is to write a descriptive caption for each of their photos.
In a separate room, the GLEF crew wanted to document a teacher professional development session on using a Student Response System. Mr. Teixeira led the meeting in which fifth grade teachers were given remotes and a brief introduction on the teaching and learning potential of real-time formative assessment.

As the day ended, the GLEF crew transformed Mrs. Briatico's classroom into a studio in order to conduct on camera interviews. GLEF's senior series producer, Ken Ellis, conducted interviews with Mrs. Briatico, Principal DeVito, Mr. Teixeira, Dr. Fiducia, Mr. Simpson, and ISTE's Director of Professional Development Services, Bob Choquette, who had observed the day's events. The common themes that emerged were the importance of team work and collaboration amongst educators who offer a diverse set of skills, the need to create 21st century learning environments for our students, and further support for providing high quality training focused on effective technology integration.

We would like to thank the Ferryway School community for helping make the GLEF site visit a success. If you would like to share your thoughts why not leave a comment on this post.

Saugus Iron Works + George Lucas + Target = A field trip to remember!

2008-04-15T18:30:00.000-07:00

A gorgeous spring day greeted Ferryway School students on the first day of filming by the George Lucas Educational Foundation. Half of the Ferryway fifth graders traveled by bus on a Target sponsored field trip to the Saugus Iron Works Historic Site. Students were immediately met by the GLEF camera crew who diligently recorded every facet of the field trip experience. The first activity had student groups calling upon their research skills to identify a wheel barrow full of simple and compound machines provided as part of a hands-on science lesson. Ranger Curtis White stated, "the program addresses the Massachusetts curriculum science standards for fifth graders and especially connects to the TRITEC district project in Malden." He went on to say that the classroom preparation really makes the field trip experience meaningful. Ranger Curtis then led the students through the reconstructed buildings that truly make the Saugus Iron Works unique. The restored blast furnace building featured a set of large bellows with new leather and nails, hand cut planks for the roof and repairs to the waterwheel assembly. Watching the water rush over the blast furnace waterwheel causing it to rotate certainly captivated students.
A group of twelve students were given an extra assignment as they toured the site with digital cameras in-hand. They were photojournalists charged with capturing images that represent categories from colonial life to engineering. Students worked in pairs deciding what to photograph and where on site. These photojournalists would later return to school to download, organize, and select the best three photos based on their assigned category. Students will share their work on a classroom wiki. Tomorrow, the other half of the fifth grade will have their chance to investigate the iron works.
We would like to thank the Target field trip grant for making this experience possible.

George Lucas Educational Foundation to Feature Ferryway School

2008-03-28T19:11:00.000-07:00

If you've been following the SIW PBU blog since its launch in the summer of 2005 you are familiar with the many successes we have had in promoting the unit as a model of technology integration. Now we are pleased to announce that The George Lucas Educational Foundation (GLEF), one of the preeminent non-profit educational organizations in the U.S. wants to highlight our work. In January 2008, the GLEF contacted Thomas DeVito (Ferryway School Principal), Paul Teixeira (E.L.L. Teacher), and Robert Simpson (Teacher Learning Center Director) after viewing two movies that were produced in-house to showcase our 2007 HP Leadership grant project. Ken Ellis, GLEF's senior producer, indicated that the high level of student learning associated with the implementation of both the SIW and Biome PBUs would make an excellent topic for the foundation to highlight in a film. The film will be professionally produced and published on the GLEF's Edutopia website.

Last year, we expanded our technology integration efforts to include the pilot-test and revision of a grade four unit named the Biome Breakthrough. The Biome PBU uses a student inquiry approach that allows elementary students to make observations about the world's biomes and to investigate the physical characteristics of animals. Students navigate a teacher-created interactive website recording observations on a set of unknown animals with the ultimate goal of helping them return to their home biome. Additional technologies include concept mapping software (Kidspiration), PowerPoint Presentations using a Student Response System (Qwizdom) and Microsoft Excel.

The GLEF project team will arrive at the Ferryway School on Monday, April 14 and filming will occur on 4/15 and 4/16. The movie's premiere will coincide with the National Educational Computing Conference (NECC) in San Antonio, TX from June 29-July 2, 2008.

Malden Awarded Target Field Trip Grant

2008-01-14T17:38:00.000-08:00

We are pleased to announce that Target Corporation has awarded Malden Public Schools a Field Trip grant to support the implementation of the Saugus Iron Works PBU in the fifth grade. Target is giving away approximately 1600 grants of up to $1000.00 each to support innovative field trip experiences for students. Science teacher, Mrs. Briatico collaboratively developed the proposal with Pat Fish and Robert Simpson in October 2007. We are very excited that this grant coincides with the reopening of the SIW in April 2008. Students will visit the newly remodeled museum, reconstructed blast furnace and rolling and slitting mill and view new educational exhibits. Historic site improvements also include new walkways to increase accessibility.

Online Student Surveys Ready

2008-01-08T20:54:00.000-08:00

Malden fifth grade teachers implementing the Saugus Iron Works PBU should have their students complete the following online surveys prior to beginning implementation. Each survey will require 5-10 minutes to complete.

Student Technology Survey
http://tinyurl.com/368b6y

Purpose: Measures student technology use at home and in school.

Science and Technology/Engineering Content Survey
http://tinyurl.com/yq2qzq

Purpose: Establish student baseline of science and technology content knowledge based on previously released grade 5 MCAS test items.

Students Share the Saugus Iron Works

2007-06-01T20:15:00.000-07:00

Fifth graders became teachers to the fourth graders as they hosted the Saugus Iron Works showcase on Friday, June 1st in the Ferrway lobby. The event was designed to bring together four major initiatives;

The Saugus Iron Works PBU implementation
Pilot-testing of the Biome Breakthrough PBU
YWCA High School multimedia program.
HP Leadership Grant

The Ferryway HP Leadership team worked with administrators, teachers, and students to create an event that would highlight how wireless tablet computing is used to promote a 21st century learning environment. At the rocks and minerals station students showed fourth graders how to conduct a mineral test and navigate websites to find mineral pictures. The simple machines station featured models built from K'nex toys, computer simulations and student inventions. Students in Mr. Teixeira's fifth grade English Language Learner's (ELL) class used tablets and a projector to teach about the world's biomes through a series of animated PowerPoints. After spending about 45 minutes visiting different stations fourth graders used the tablets to complete an online survey developed by the YWCA High School girls on what they had learned. We would like to thank Ms. Prince and Ms. Wasson for coordinating the G4 survey.

MEES Conference Presentation

2007-03-07T20:39:00.000-08:00

Fifth grade teacher, Janet McKeone and Teacher Learning Center Director, Robert Simpson were invited to present at the annual Massachusetts Enviromental Education Society (MEES) conference at the College of Holy Cross on Wednesday, March 7th. Connecting the Centuries with 21st Century Technology focused on three major goals: 1) Understand the need for 21st century curricula; 2) show how technology integration drives student achievement; 3) participate in SIW PBU mini-lessons. During the hands-on mini-lessons participants learned how to measure mineral hardness using Moh's scale, identified simple machines using the Edheads.org website simulation, and constructed a simple machine with K'nex (a toy that helps kids develop engineering skills). As a wrap-up activity we challenged participants to take a quiz based on items found on the state science MCAS exam. Fortunately, our adult learners were indeed as smart as a fifth grader.

American History Grant Opportunities Announced

2007-03-01T07:57:00.000-08:00

Do you want to learn more about early industrialization in Colonial America? Would you like to earn 89 PDPs in History? Do you want to help shape the history section of the Saugus Iron Works PBU? If you answered yes to any of these questions read on... Malden Public Schools will enter its second year of the Teaching American History Grant project beginning in August 2007. The Voices Rising Project provides high quality professional development for grade 3, 5, and 9th grade teachers responsible for teaching American History. Major activities include attending a one week summer institute (August 20-24, 2007), eight historian seminars and a workshop series to develop a lesson based on primary source documents. The upcoming year is especially exciting for Malden since we will partner with the Saugus Iron Works National Historic site to uncover new resources to enhance the history section of the SIW Project-Based Unit (PBU). Please download and review the job posting [PDF] and a draft of the summer institute schedule [PDF]. Email Robert Simpson (rsimpson on malden.mec) for more information.

Please note applications will be accepted until positions are filled.

The Saugus Iron Works as Placed-Based Learning

2007-01-09T13:38:00.001-08:00

The latest edition of Edutopia features an article on Placed-Based Learning. The author, James Lewicki offers an acronym to summarize his findings. The Saugus Iron Works unit is definitely a good example of Place-Based Learning.
MEASURES
Measurable lifelong-learning skills are embedded in an academic core.
Effort is obvious and public.
Aligned with clear academic standards.
Student opportunity for initiative, simply put, is endless.
Understood by parents and the community.
Reflection time for establishment of meaning is built-in; preparatory project understanding is critical.
Evidence is clear, credible, and compelling, leading to future endeavors.
Sustainable learning beyond the expectations of adults, for learning's sake itself.

Read the full article. A downloadable PDF is available.

Mystery Rocks and Marvelous Machines

2006-12-14T05:08:00.000-08:00

Results from the Saugus Iron Works project were highlighted in the Dec/2006, Jan/2007 edition of Educational Leadership in a section devoted to Shapshots of Science in Practice pp 52-53. Ed. Leadership is published by the Association of Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD). The article discusses the development of the SIW unit, its implementation, and the positive impact on student learning as measured by the state's standardized science exam. The authors were Cynthia Fiducia, Elizabeth Keroack, and Robert Simpson. ASCD members can access the article online or in print. Only the abstract is available through the online edition of Ed. Leadership.

Saugus Iron Works Goes to MassCUE

2006-11-16T07:08:00.000-08:00

Massachusetts educators will gather in Sturbridge, MA to attend the annual Massachusetts Computer Using Educators Conference (MassCUE) November 15 and 16th, 2006. On Thursday, November 16th, 2:30-3:30 PM, Robert Simpson will present a fast-paced session on how technology integration can help motivate today's students. The presentation, Technology Connecting Centuries, highlights the evolution of the Saugus Iron Works PBU initiative in Malden Public Schools. Check out the five minute interactive multimedia preview. The preview uses Adobe Presenter and features a demonstration of PBU Builder, the SIW PBU, and a few cool websites that help students learn about rocks and minerals and simple machines. For those techies out there, the demo was authored with Adobe's new Captivate 2 software. MassCUE Interactive Preview (Last updated 12/3/06, Improved audio performance.) Hope to see you at MassCUE!

PowerPoint Presentation Handout [FLASH]

Full Resolution PowerPoint Slides PDF 7.35MB
(Requires Adobe Acrobat Reader 7 or higher)

Student-friendly Science Featured at NSTA Conference

2006-11-04T22:01:00.000-08:00

The Saugus Iron Works initiative was presented at the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) regional conference in Baltimore, MD on November 4, 2006. Malden sent representatives Janet McKeone, 5th grade science teacher at the Beebe school, Robert Sartwell, Science Curriculum Director, and Robert Simpson, Teacher Learning Center Director, to share our work with other science educators. The presentation entitled, Implementing a Student-friendly Integrated Science Curricula: The Saugus Iron Works, featured a short history of PBU development, an introduction to PBU Builder, how to create integrated science units, impact on student achievement and samples of student work. Having the opportunity to view student mineral profile books and rock person essays really drove home the high quality learning taking place throughout Malden's fifth grade classrooms. Thanks go out to Ms. McKeone for selecting such good examples of student work to share.
View the presentation handouts in the FLASH format. NSTA_SIW_handouts.swf

HP Leadership Institute Kicks Off in Nashville

2006-09-25T08:17:00.000-07:00

What do country music and classroom technology have in common? Scott Richmond, suggested that mixing country music and Ed Tech might result in a chorus of “Stand By Your LAN.” The Ferryway HP Leadership team found the real answer in Nashville, Tennessee at the Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center. Sight of the Leading with National Education Technology Standards (NETS) ISTE Institute held on September 23-24, 2006. Tom DeVito, Scott Richmond, Robert Simpson, and Paul Teixeira attended the institute as part of this year's HP Technology for Teaching Leadership Grant. They were joined by fourteen other schools from across the United States and Canada who shared a common vision for transforming their schools into 21st Century Learning communities. HP committed to making this vision a reality by supporting the institute and providing each school with a mobile tablet computing cart. We look forward to an exciting year ahead.
Our team would like to acknowledge the ISTE staff for their hard work in making the institute a great experience! Thank you, Gene Bias, Debren Ferris, Rita Vasek, Diane Zapata, and Idelma Quintana, Program Director.

LAN = Local Area Network

Opening Day Highlights Teacher Leadership

2006-09-04T20:23:00.000-07:00

Malden Public School faculty and staff attended the annual opening day ceremony at the High School auditorium on Monday, August 28, 2006. The focus was on teacher leadership and leadership teams. Something the Ferryway teachers who collaborated on last year's HP Technology for Teaching Grant mastered by working together to bring new and innovative engineering curricula to life. Superintendent Joan Connolly remarked, "This group has truly exemplified for all of us the meaning of tenacity and reworking an idea with the goal of continuous improvement. And, most importantly they truly exemplify Teachers as Leaders." Robert Simpson, Teacher Learning Center Director, took a more global perspective in introducing the teachers' work by citing Thomas Friedman’s book, The World is Flat. "The teachers succeeded at the Globalization of the Local by opening their classrooms and their curriculum to the WORLD." The morning ended by showing the, The Saugus Iron Works 1646-2006 movie chronicling how the engineering design process was taught with 21st century teaching tools such as tablet laptops and multimedia websites.

Congratulations to our HP Ferryway teachers!

Doreen Girard - 5th grade teacher
Toni Perna – 5th grade teacher
Paul Teixeira – E.L.L teacher
Joy Tomadakis – 5-8 computer teacher
Margie Briatico – HP team leader and 5th grade teacher

Ferryway School Wins HP Leadership Award

2006-07-07T20:00:00.000-07:00

The Ferryway School was selected as one of fifteen teams to receive the competitive HP Technology for Teaching Leadership Grant award. The award package is valued at $56,000 and includes a 15 tablet computer cart, projectors, and International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) professional development. The day started with a two-hour poster session held at the Sails Pavilion as part of NECC. Conference attendees, HP and ISTE representatives, and other grant teams visited our poster throughout the session. Many participants enjoyed watching the premiere of The Saugus Iron Works 1646-2006, a professionally edited video, chronicling how 21st century technology connected the centuries.

During a noon time reception awardees were called up one-by-one. Cathy Martin, HP Director of Public Sector Marketing stated, "2000 applicants applied to the 2005 HP Technology for Teaching Grant and you (30 finalists) represent the top 1.5%." Paul Teixeira and Robert Simpson sat nervously, as only one award was left, and then we heard Saugus...field trip....engineering design process, and smiled gleefully as we were called to receive our award plaque. We immediately relayed the good news to our dedicated HP team leader, Mrs. Briatico and want to acknowledge the hard work of Mrs. Girard, Ms. Perna, Mrs. Tomadakis and Andy Muellar, our Tufts University Engineering fellow. We also want to recognize the excellent evaluation work provided by Diane Schilder.

NECC HP Poster Presenters Ready

2006-07-06T08:16:00.000-07:00

The Ferryway HP grant team, represented by Paul Teixeira and Robert Simpson, are in San Diego, CA attending the National Education Computing Conference (NECC). We were invited as one of thirty finalists, from across the country, to compete in the HP Technology for Teaching Leadership Grant Program. On Friday, July 7th we will present our work from the past year. We are pleased to premiere our short twelve minute movie entitled, The Saugus Iron Works 1646-2006. Download the poster handout, The Saugus Iron Works - HP Technology Connnecting Centuries.

SIW Summer Showcase

2006-06-22T19:51:00.000-07:00

The first day of summer was a perfect time for fifth graders at the Ferryway school to showcase their Saugus Iron Works (SIW) learning for parents. The event, held in the school's lobby, provided an opportunity to exhibit the many creative products produced as part of the SIW curriculum unit. Rock people, given life and personalities by their fifth-grade parents were seen on every table. In one corner, students proudly demonstrated how a waterwheel built from paper cups, plates and tape could lift the weight of one hundred nuts when running water was poured over it. Tucked in a space outside the library, students showed parents a multimedia presentation referred to as the parent page recorded in several languages. One chinese grandmother smiled excitedly as she heard Mandarin Chinese spoken. The event concluded with the official presentation of ranger certificates to each student.

SIW Assessment Goes On-line

2006-06-14T14:52:00.000-07:00

In previous years we collected teacher data using both paper and customized survey software. We are happy to announce our use of a new Web-based survey program called Survey Monkey. All Saugus Iron Works teachers are asked to complete the year-end implementation survey online. The link has been emailed to each teacher.

Survey Monkey can generate instantaneous summary reports.
View the latest results from the SIW PBU Teacher Implementation Survey.

We are also expanding our assessment activities to include the collection of fifth grade student feedback to document their opinions on SIW PBU learning experience. SIW teachers should administer the survey to all students. The printable SIW student survey link page can be used to help students who need to type the web address into a browser. Each page makes 8 cards. [PDF] or [FLASH]

SIW Student Survey
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.asp?u=237252201616

Ferryway Named HP Leadership Grant Finalist

2006-05-31T18:32:00.000-07:00

The Ferryway HP team is pleased to announce their finalist standing in the HP Technology for Leadership grant program. We were one of 30 teams selected from 181 teams who submitted proprosals. Selection was based on successfully meeting the objectives of a year-long program run by the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE). Paul Teixeira and Robert Simpson will represent the team during a poster sesson at the National Education Computing Conference (NECC) on July 7th. HP and ISTE will announce the winners of the leadership awards at NECC. Only 15 of 30 teams will leave NECC with an awards package worth over $50k.

Students Calculate Torque at the Iron Works

2006-05-08T07:13:00.000-07:00

Early American colonists learned to harness the power of water. Exactly how much power was unknown until Malden fifth graders learned about another powerful tool called estimation. Students visited the Saugus Iron Works during April and May where they used estimation to measure the dimensions of working 17th century waterwheels. Students recorded their measurements on worksheets in the field and upon returning to school calculated the torque values for several waterwheels.
Students also learned through Waterwheels! Part II, how "estimation is an engineers best friend!"
View the interactive Breeze presentation: http://mm.eduadvisory.breezecentral.com/waterwheels2

Note: Waterwheels 2 has had over 400 hits since its launch on April 25, 2006.

HP Teachers Submit Final Report

2006-04-28T10:52:00.000-07:00

The HP grant teachers submitted their final report to ISTE and the HP Grant Program wrapping up a year-long project in which new technology was integrated into the teaching of the Saugus Iron Works unit at the Ferryway school. Congratulations to Mrs. Girard, Ms. Perna, Mr Teixeira, Mrs. Tomadakis, Mrs. Murphy who were led by Team leader, Margaret Briatico. Also thanks to administrators Robert Simpson, the Teacher Learning Center Director and Principal DeVito for their support and guidance. One interesting product from our collaboration was the creation of a multimedia parent page. Take a virtual tour to see exciting new technology tools like digital cameras and tablet computers in action...and even hear what our students are saying about their learning!
http://mm.eduadvisory.breezecentral.com/parentpage
Our HP grant team has submitted a leadership grant for a second year of funding to expand the our model to the teaching of the Biome Breakthrough unit in the fourth grade.