T H E M A G A Z I N E F O R S T . L U K E ’ S S C H O O L

Welcome to 377, The Magazine for St. Luke’s School. The mission of this publicationis to bring you new perspectives on life and learning on the Hilltop through aparticular topic lens. In this issue we celebrate inspirational people, exceptional ideasand transformational technology. Look for the to identify stories that offer moreon our website at www.stlukesct.org.

As a technology-forward school, St. Luke’s encourages students and teachersto explore new tools and concepts. Every day we see technology fosteringsophisticated research skills, creative problem-solving and deeper learning.From Smart Boards in the classroom to 21st-century Harkness tables,technology use and resources are pervasive at St. Luke’s. But just as importantas the tools is the attitude that education is a process of continuousimprovement. When we create an environment where thoughtful new ideasand approaches are welcome—a vibrant learning community emerges.

One of the most exciting examples of this is the innovative use of teleconferencingtechnology to connect our students with people, cultures and languages around theworld. Recently we had a truly uplifting virtual encounter between a small group ofSt. Luke’s students and a group of Darfurian children at a refugee camp in Chad.These incredible, real-life lessons stay with students and prepare them to besuccessful, compassionate citizens of the world.

This Darfur experience is just one powerful example of meaningful learning madepossible by caring teachers using technology effectively. In the pages that follow, youwill find many more stories. I’ve also blogged extensively about the opportunities andchallenges inherent in raising and educating the first digital generation. See theseDigital Smarts posts at www.stlukesct.org/about/vision and select Archives of Past Posts.

Mark Davis, Head of School

“Technology fosters a classroom approach that is verystudent-centered. In my weekly “tech time” sessionswith faculty, I help teachers achieve their academictechnology goals. The tools and processes madepossible by technology allow a profound shift fromstudents simply receiving information to studentsbecoming active contributors to the learning experience.They are more engaged, able to collaborate and arecalled on to develop new communications skills.”

“Here’s a high tech, high school level lab in the 7th grade classroom!Students test to see if various environmental conditions couldchange how quickly a plant would photosynthesize. They addcarbon dioxide to the water surrounding a water plant by blowingtheir breath into the water via a straw. This decreases the pH of thewater surrounding the plant and as the plant produces oxygen itbrings the pH level back up. Students are able to track the pHprogress using probeware. These nifty devices allow for immediateand accurate results that can easily be linked up to the Smartboardto show real-time graphs of results.”

“I’ve worked the soundboard since 8th Grade.It’s something I love to do and I look forward tocontinuing to have this role in college. Last summerI had the opportunity to intern for Shakespeare onthe Sound because of the tech theatre experiencesI’ve been afforded at SLS.”

“Studying Digital Music Production with Mr. Shaulinski has taken my musicto a higher level. Not only do we learn song structure and masteringtechniques, but everything it takes to make a high-quality audio recording.Mastering Apple’s Logic Studio software is like having a professionalrecording studio on your laptop. I love writing original music, but it’s evenmore exciting to collaborate with musicians as we prepare for St. Luke’sComposers Concert each year. What I’ve learned has also inspired me tocreate an electronic pop band and record my own music beyond SLS.”

“Designing my own robot using theLego Mindstorms NXT software waschallenging and fun. In Robotics I and IIwe create a design, write the program,build and test our robots all semesterand then we present the whole thing.Our Computer Science Robotics coursegave my problem-solving skills a hugeboost. It was fun to see the robotscomplete the tasks we programmedthem to do, but I learned the most whensomething went wrong – the best partfor me was breaking down thecode and getting it right.”

FACEFace-to-

For theWorld Language Department,live videoconferencing holds endlesspossibilities for real-time languagepractice, long-distance learningand lasting personal connections.

Videoconferencing, the term given to a live, real-time video session between twoor more users who reside at two or more locations, has been possible for manyyears. But it is growing in usage as new technologies have greatly improved thequality, made it more affordable, and more easily implemented (see adjacentCenter for Leadership). One popular service is Skype, a software application thatallows users to make voice calls over the Internet and provides free-of-chargevideoconferencing calls.

“We have been thrilled to see this technology incorporated more fully intoour curriculum,” says Jonathan Shee,World Language Department Chair. “We haverelationships with three partner schools in France, China and Argentina. In ourFrench classes we have weekly online exchanges with schools in Paris,Toulouse andMartinique.The students are incredibly excited to speak the target language with“real” kids their age.There’s a lot of planning and structure involved in setting upreciprocal videoconferencing relationships, but the advantages of learning languageskills in real time, with native speakers, are well worth the effort.”

“Who are we Skyping with today?”

It’s a question heard throughout classes in the World LanguageDepartment. For several years, the department has been developingvideoconferencing possibilities for its classrooms. Teachers andstudents alike are discovering how this technology integrates itselfnaturally into the study of foreign language.

Videoconferencing has also enabled personal connections between visitinginternational students and their host families—before the plane even lands. Spanishteacher Lee Bruner, with fellow teacher and Buenos Aires native Mirna Goldberger,arranged an international exchange relationship with St. Martin in the Fields, a smallindependent school in BuenosAires.“Before the group arrived from St. Martin, we setup Skype accounts for visiting students from Buenos Aires and their St. Luke’s hostfamilies,” Lee explains.“The students were able to really connect in advance with theirfamilies and vice versa.While here, they were able to communicate with their parentsand families back home. It was very reassuring.”

Jon Shee was so pleased with the results in his own classes, that he organizedwebinar training sessions for World Language faculty with videoconferencingexpert Colleen Coffey of Marquette University. “Several other teachers includingAmber Wedges and Franz Batoh have had successful videoconference experiencesand all modern language teachers are trained in pedagogy and videoconferencingtechniques for theWorld Language classroom,” said Jon. “We’ve certainly been in thevanguard in getting this underway.”

Ultimately, the interaction made possible by videoconferencing can lead beyondlanguage instruction to deeper cultural understanding, meaningful personalexchange and, hopefully, lifelong friendships.According to Lee, the teachers of theWorld Language Department can already see the impact that videoconferencing hashad on their students who get very excited about speaking with their peers abroad:“Before they ever meet in person, the kids already know each other. And thenthey are able to stay in touch and remain truly connected.”

As parents, we grapple with how toprepare children for a future we can’t quiteimagine. We know the world is flat andfully wired, but what’s next and willour kids be equipped for success? TheSt. Luke’s community believes it has theanswer in its new Center for Leadership,set to launch Fall 2011.

The St. Luke’s Center for Leadership

“WSLX 91.9FM, St. Luke’s radio station, offers students achance to get their feet wet in broadcast journalism and theirhands on professional quality broadcast technology. Oneexample is the team of Luke Costello and Luke Osherow. Theylearn both production skills and what it takes to be on-airtalent . The two host the aptly-named “Luke & Luke”, anafter-school sports show in the fall and spring. They are alsopart of the broadcasting crew that does play-by-plays ofhome varsity games. WSLX offers St. Luke’s students a chanceto experience a real-world career in broadcast journalismwhile having fun!”

Each year the 5th Graders’ Citizenship Project usesnew technology for an age-old tradition — creating oralhistories. Based loosely on the storycorps.com format,the students select an interviewee, often a relative orfamily friend, from another generation. The childrenwrite the questions and get tips on interviewing fromveteran reporter, writer and SLS parent, Mike Lupica.The 5th graders then write up the interview story,record a podcast and post it to the class blog wheretheir interviews are shared with classmates.

“I felt very prepared coming into the technologicalcollegiate landscape. SLS did an amazing job at exposingme to the latest and greatest tech trends as well aspreparing me for their use. The exposure to both a Macand PC environment was especially useful as familiaritywith both is essential in college. Technology plays anactive role in my studies now, touching various venuessuch as homework, paper writing, research, as well aspresentations. Needless to say, it is also a great way tostay connected!”

“My job is amazing because it involves endless discovery.I get to channel my own excitement for new ideas andtechnologies into my teaching and then see that excitementmirrored in my students’ faces. One of the many things Iappreciate about working at St. Luke's is that I'm part ofan environment that fosters out-of-the-box thinking andrisk-taking. If your goal is to enhance student learning,your ideas will be heard.”

A group of students gather outside as the sun completes its descent. Theteacher comments on their smart planning; the sky is clear and ready forexploration. The students look down at the Star Walk applications already

aglow on their iPads. With one touch, the universe appears in their hands. Anothertouch reveals the stars, constellations and satellites visible at that moment, from thatspecific location. This is real-time education and it is a stellar experience in every sense.

Every day, mobile technology reconfigures the familiar and redefines what is possible.What does a classroom look like? What does a book look like? What does an astronomylesson look like? Academic Technology Coordinator, Jim Foley, describes the benefits ofSt. Luke’s pilot iPad program in this way: “Mobile devices give teachers incrediblefreedom and flexibility. You can teach anywhere, you can access thousands of amazingapplications, your lessons are interactive and can be shared throughout the school. Thistruly is a transformative technology.”

“Teaching our students how to leverage technology is part of St. Luke’s mission andresponsibility,” adds Elizabeth Preston, Director of Information Technology. “It isfundamental to preparing them for the future.”

The Universe in Their Hands

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“Cole’s passion was ignited by digital imaging photography. Cole’s long exposureimages not only demonstrate excellent formal qualities, but use a strong perspectiveand allow the viewers to feel as though they are present and witnessing the happeningsin the images. His use of color in the works is refreshing and smart, as the compositionof color not only adds to the overall structure, but creates a vivid and sometimesshocking display of urban environments.”

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377 Editors: Nancy Troeger, Jane AhrensPhotography: Desirée Smock, Jane AhrensFeature Article: Judith Dryden, Nancy TroegerDesign: Peapod Design2/2011/#3/Technology