Plenty of bits per second

During a recent conversation with our IT Director, Jeff, he quoted some amazing numbers about our district's bandwidth.

• Bandwidth 2014-2015:  250 Mbps with burst rates to 375 Mbps
• 2014-2015 cost:  ~20K
• Bandwidth 2015-2016:  500 Mbps with burst rates to 750 Mbps
• 2015-2016 cost: ~20K

Nerds and bandwidth hogs rejoice. EWG's bandwidth is incredible!

Problem Solving in Grade 5 Math

A few weeks ago, students in Mrs. Gouveia's fifth grade math classes recently completed a collaborative problem solving project and they used flip chart paper to illustrate their solutions.

Flip Chart Problem Solving

Tuesday of this week, Mrs. Gouveia and her students used Google Drawings to collaborate on a similar project. I had the distinct pleasure of working with her students to demo the software and help squelch any technical issues. Happily, EWG's technology remained innocuous and once again, the wireless systems and Chromebooks rocked. Kids were not just engaged, but empowered, and used processes they will be expected to master for classes in Metcalf and beyond. Watching students move beyond simply 'getting the right answer' to describing in detail how a unique, correct solution was reached was an eye opener. Rich, collaborative conversation about how and why solutions work was had. In addition to solving the problems, students learned how to

• Use technology to illustrate and narrate a solution
• Use technology to collaborate
• Practice good digital citizenship
• Present completed works with technology
• Write about a solution
• Have a blast!

Digital Drawing Problem Solving

If you would like me to work with your students on similar projects, contact me. Let's have a conversation about student learning objectives and how incorporating technology can improve teaching and learning.