Parkland’s Trojan Tech Team explores and supports new technology

Parkland SD is encouraging students to increase technology skills at every level. Each of the schools in the district has its own Trojan Tech Team – a group of students led by a teacher/adviser and the building technology paraprofessional. The Trojan Tech Team Program was designed to develop a corps of student and teacher leaders equipped with the skills to share knowledge of technology tools, develop creative ideas for integrating technology into the learning process and provide basic technology support to students and teachers. The program is based upon the pillars of 21st Century Learning (creativity, collaboration, critical-thinking, communication) and the International Society for Technology in Education standards.

The elementary and middle school Trojan Tech Teams meet five times during the school year to explore new and emerging educational technology tools. During each session, students investigate the operation of new technology tools and apply their knowledge by using the tool to create an authentic project – something to be used by classmates or teachers. At the high school level, students enroll in a Trojan Tech Team course and in addition to helping train students and teachers in technology, they assist the tech department with repairs and troubleshooting.
This year the teams are using Padcasters – a specialized iPad case that allows users to shoot, edit and upload video at location – to create video newsletters for social media to showcase the great things students are doing. Their work is based on that of Tony Sinanis, principal and “lead learner” of Cantiague Elementary School in Jericho, N.Y., and 2014 New York State Elementary Principal of the Year. As part of the project, the team will help other students use the Padcasters to create videos, and help their principals use them to share videos with the community via Twitter.

Learn more at the Trojan Tech Teams’ website: http://www.parklandsd.org/web/ttt/.