Despite fast and furious 21st century changes, the school library remains a repository of knowledge, a retreat for those seeking solitude, and a gathering place for young collaborators. Library Department Chair Kathy Hartzler, now in her 23rd year at the school, has long pushed for enhanced technologies in the school’s hubs of learning. “Print and digital resources including video […]
In the Upper School, Physics Teacher Travis Merritt has joined the 3-D printing exploration with infectious enthusiasm Travis Merritt’s gadget-filled science lab now boasts a MakerBot 3-D printer. “It’s in an early stage. Right now it’s just one more tool available to students.” Travis teaches IB Physics to juniors and seniors and Conceptual Physics to […]
The Middle School continues integrating technology into the curriculum in ingenious new ways, among them taking part in the global “Hour of Code” movement. In addition to directing academic technology for Kindergarten through Grade 12, Elizabeth (Liz) Harnage has been the Middle School’s Academic Technology Integrator for the past six years. Liz teaches fifth through […]
Technological experiments and innovations have become the norm in many schools across the country. No where is this more evident at BFS than in the Lower School. It’s a brave new world of immersion into technology across kindergarten through grade 4 classrooms and library. The arrival of 160 iPads for student use in the fall of […]
Even before their daughter Madeline started in the Preschool threes, Nichol and Sarah Alexander had an instant connection to Brooklyn Friends School. “We immediately fell in love with the school, largely because it seemed to offer an oasis of thoughtfulness and community within the city that we had not seen anywhere else,” Nichol recalled. Now a […]
When BFS parent Nichol Alexander stipulated that his donation be used for technological innovations in the classroom, one of the first decisions the school made was acquiring two MakerBot Replicator 3-D printers. Coincidentally, Preschool parent Bre Pettis is a co-founder of MakerBot Industries. “The printers are easy enough to use by anyone with passion and my […]
IT’s Everywhere Innovative thinking from the school’s Information Technology (IT) staff, along with a recent push from a philanthropic parent, continue to move BFS forward in bold, new directions. Over the past several years, technological experimentation and innovation have become the norm in many schools across the country. The changes are evident at BFS, too, […]
For our last few technology classes, third grade students learned about app smashing (i.e., using several apps together to create one final product) and the app “Explain Everything” (a screen-casting app). Working with Kate Minear, our 3rd and 4th grade math specialist, students used Explain Everything in their math classes to walk through different strategies […]
As part of the science curriculum, kindergarten students learned about snails, the habitats they live in, and their life cycle. Students also conducted an experiment to see what types of food snails like to eat. In a literacy block, students were asked to think about what snails would say if they could speak like we […]
Watch what students learned at this year’s Makerspaces @ BFS – from SAMR Technology to Word Collages.
Design thinking was introduced last week to students as part of our unit on 3D design. Students learned about the stages of the design process: empathizing with the users of the design, defining the problem, ideating possible solutions, prototyping the design, testing the prototypes, and the evolving the product created. Students were asked to come […]
4A & 4B began their research work this week using EasyBib in their first integrated library and technology classes. Both classroom teachers (Razi & Elif and Bea & John), literacy specialist (Sarah), Lower School librarians (Kathy & Christina), and technology teacher (Tracy) were on hand to help students look at the books about their research […]
