Project: Anatomy & Physiology Muscle Models - Smithsburg High School
Angie Stouffer
Award: $950
"We have a thriving Anatomy and Physiology program at Smithsburg High. On average, we have 60 students a year take the class and many of these students go on to major in the health profession field in college. Students contact me after graduation on a regular basis, talking about how this class has helped them succeed in college and helped to prepare them for their health profession career."
Muscle models purchased through Education Foundation grant award funds help students visualize the musculature of the body.
Award: $950
"We have a thriving Anatomy and Physiology program at Smithsburg High. On average, we have 60 students a year take the class and many of these students go on to major in the health profession field in college. Students contact me after graduation on a regular basis, talking about how this class has helped them succeed in college and helped to prepare them for their health profession career."
Muscle models purchased through Education Foundation grant award funds help students visualize the musculature of the body.
Project: Raised Beds for Cut Flower Production - Boonsboro High School
Quinn Cashell
Award: $1,000
Boonsboro High School students enrolled in Landscape Design will design 4 raised flower beds to grow a variety of flowers that can be used in cut flower arrangements. Students enrolled in Carpentry classes will work to build the 4 raised beds to ensure that they are capable of holding the weight of the soil. Greenhouse Management and Floral Design students will then care for the needs of the plants, ensuring that they grow in a healthy, productive way. All cut flowers will be used to supplement arrangements designed by students in Floral Design.
Award: $1,000
Boonsboro High School students enrolled in Landscape Design will design 4 raised flower beds to grow a variety of flowers that can be used in cut flower arrangements. Students enrolled in Carpentry classes will work to build the 4 raised beds to ensure that they are capable of holding the weight of the soil. Greenhouse Management and Floral Design students will then care for the needs of the plants, ensuring that they grow in a healthy, productive way. All cut flowers will be used to supplement arrangements designed by students in Floral Design.
Project: Ozobots - Pangborn Elementary School
Benjamin Hurley
Award: $1,000
Students Impacted: 200+
Our classroom, and myself, really appreciate the generosity from that this grant has given us. The Ozobots purchased were, and will continue, to primarily be used for 3rd grade. Students in the technology encore class, have been working on coding robots using different tools. With the Ozobots, they have been given an opportunity to put some abstract ideas of coding into practice. The older students in 3rd and 4th grade had an opportunity with solving and creating mazes and then programming the robot to navigate. Students used measuring skills and a special grid paper to design their maze. They then transferred what they had been working on in coding in Code.org to the “Ozo-Blockly” programming language. Use that language and some exploration they were able to challenge each other to program their robot to successfully navigate the maze that they had been given or the maze that they designed. The younger grades in 2nd grade also got an opportunity to explore the color coding options that Ozobot offers to begin their experience with these robots. Overall, the ability to put some abstract practice into physical action has really been an exciting motivator for my students. They were expected and able to use math and critical thinking problem solving skills as well as science skills in engineering and design to become the workers and solve problems. Having extension opportunities like this are paramount to student success in multiple areas of discipline in their academic career. With the grant you have supplied us with these materials will continue to serve many students in the many years to come. As of right now, my 5th graders are looking forward to using robots as a choice project for their “end-of-the-year” independent and small group study.
Award: $1,000
Students Impacted: 200+
Our classroom, and myself, really appreciate the generosity from that this grant has given us. The Ozobots purchased were, and will continue, to primarily be used for 3rd grade. Students in the technology encore class, have been working on coding robots using different tools. With the Ozobots, they have been given an opportunity to put some abstract ideas of coding into practice. The older students in 3rd and 4th grade had an opportunity with solving and creating mazes and then programming the robot to navigate. Students used measuring skills and a special grid paper to design their maze. They then transferred what they had been working on in coding in Code.org to the “Ozo-Blockly” programming language. Use that language and some exploration they were able to challenge each other to program their robot to successfully navigate the maze that they had been given or the maze that they designed. The younger grades in 2nd grade also got an opportunity to explore the color coding options that Ozobot offers to begin their experience with these robots. Overall, the ability to put some abstract practice into physical action has really been an exciting motivator for my students. They were expected and able to use math and critical thinking problem solving skills as well as science skills in engineering and design to become the workers and solve problems. Having extension opportunities like this are paramount to student success in multiple areas of discipline in their academic career. With the grant you have supplied us with these materials will continue to serve many students in the many years to come. As of right now, my 5th graders are looking forward to using robots as a choice project for their “end-of-the-year” independent and small group study.
Project: Dot & Dash Join Genius Hour - Springfield Middle School
Amanda Schwarz
Award: $560
Dot and Dash Join Genius Hour was implemented at Springfield Middle School during the 2016-2017 school year. The grant award was $560 and I used all of that amount to purchase two Dot and Dash robot sets. Christine Hurley and I use the robots in multiple ways. I use them during my Genius Hour curriculum on Fridays in science class. Students are allowed to work on a completely independent science project every Friday from January until May. Approximately 10-15 students are learning how to program Dot and Dash for Genius Hour. I also use them for the 5 students who attend STEM Club every other Thursday after school. Christine also uses them during her 4.5 enrichment coding class. Twenty students use Dot and Dash during this time. Finally, Christine hosts students in the library during lunch where they can learn and explore with the robots. Approximately 15 students use the robots during this time. Therefore, they are available for all 830 students to use, and we have 40-60 students who use them on a regular basis.
Dot and Dash have been a wonderful addition to Genius Hour. They are a great way for students to code and learn how to use different types of robotics. One of the Genius Hour groups is learning how to use block coding to guide Dash through an obstacle course around the library. Another group is teaching it to play the piano it came with. The app it comes with breaks down the coding into simple, easy-to-follow steps so students can learn complex concepts without getting too frustrated. I have enjoyed seeing how well students have been responding to Dot and Dash. They are excited to learn how to use them and build their coding skills at the same time. By the end of May, I expect to see wonderful projects with well-developed code.
Award: $560
Dot and Dash Join Genius Hour was implemented at Springfield Middle School during the 2016-2017 school year. The grant award was $560 and I used all of that amount to purchase two Dot and Dash robot sets. Christine Hurley and I use the robots in multiple ways. I use them during my Genius Hour curriculum on Fridays in science class. Students are allowed to work on a completely independent science project every Friday from January until May. Approximately 10-15 students are learning how to program Dot and Dash for Genius Hour. I also use them for the 5 students who attend STEM Club every other Thursday after school. Christine also uses them during her 4.5 enrichment coding class. Twenty students use Dot and Dash during this time. Finally, Christine hosts students in the library during lunch where they can learn and explore with the robots. Approximately 15 students use the robots during this time. Therefore, they are available for all 830 students to use, and we have 40-60 students who use them on a regular basis.
Dot and Dash have been a wonderful addition to Genius Hour. They are a great way for students to code and learn how to use different types of robotics. One of the Genius Hour groups is learning how to use block coding to guide Dash through an obstacle course around the library. Another group is teaching it to play the piano it came with. The app it comes with breaks down the coding into simple, easy-to-follow steps so students can learn complex concepts without getting too frustrated. I have enjoyed seeing how well students have been responding to Dot and Dash. They are excited to learn how to use them and build their coding skills at the same time. By the end of May, I expect to see wonderful projects with well-developed code.