Tech & Learning - July 2008 - (Page 42)

LEADEROFTHEYEAR Show Her the Money By T&L Editors Ellen Phillips is the Swiss Army knife of educators. As the technology coordinator and computer teacher at PS 233 in Brooklyn, NY, Phillips turns students into Web 2.0 power users, trains teachers to weave technology into their everyday practice, and cooks up ambitious classroom projects. On top of that, she finds the money to make it all possible. “Not all people have the ability to lead, less have the ability to inspire. Ellen possesses both qualities,” says Winnie Bracco, borough instructional technology director for the New York City Department of Education. Bracco reports that Phillips has been awarded every grant she’s submitted to the borough, including one that allowed the school to jettison decade-old equipment for a new computer lab. That same grant funded several interactive whiteboards, LCD projectors, and document cameras. Phillip’s grant-writing skills secured for the school a digital music studio equipped with laptops, microphones, headphones, midi keyboards, iPods with recorders, and other tools. Currently she has a grant pending in Washington, DC to acquire a variety of technologies, including laptops and even more digital whiteboards for 20 of the school’s classrooms. Of course, it’s how Phillips puts the equipment to work that matters most. Her primary focus is project-based learning in which students create products that take various forms—anything from an original piece of music to a digital story to a blog post. “My philosophy is to take kids from being content consumers to being content producers,” she says. This year, for example, Phillips worked with fourth- and fifthgrade students to write original mystery stories inspired by Chris Van Allsburg’s The Mysteries of Harry Burdick. The students recorded dramatic readings of their stories, paired them with spooky music, and published them online as a series of podcasts (www. gcast.com/u/ellenquilt/main). Other projects are equally imaginative. Working with PS 233’s art teacher, Phillips had fourth-grade students create original clay animations. Students also have produced animations using Pixie (creativity software), Twist (a vec- onal Ellen Phillips, Computer Teacher/Educati The Technology Specialist, Public School 233 ston Hughes School, Brooklyn, NY Lang elementary District Snapshot: PS 233 is a pre-K-5 on of school located in the East Flatbush secti from klyn. The school serves 807 students Broo se backgrounds, including many culturally diver Haiti, and new immigrants from Jamaica, Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago. LAST BYTE: “MY GOALS tor drawing tool), and Frames (an animation application), with topics ranging from the sleep cycle to Harriet Tubman. Everything is published on the Web for a global audience. PS 233’s kindergarten class is also in on the action. Under Phillips’ tutelage, the class is using Voicethread (http://voicethread.com), an online space that allows users to share multimedia and make comments using voice, text, audio file, or video. Students use the space to record poems, explain historical information, and get real-life feedback on their work. Phillips’ good work has not gone unnoticed. NYSCATE named her the Lee Bryant Outstanding Technologist for 2007 and Tech4Learning tapped her as an Innovator Educator of 2008. She also has gained a loyal following of teachers, many of whom approach Phillips to help them sharpen their technology skills and develop their own Web sites. She also trains teachers at various sites across the district and serves on a regional curriculum writing committee. Perhaps her biggest—and most vocal—fans are her students. Evidence of this is provided in several enthusiastic blog posts, including the following: “Mrs. Phillips my computer teacher was very instructive she went through everything very carefully making sure that we understand everything that we had to do (P.S. Mrs. Phillips is the best computer teacher that I ever had) By like two days you will be a pro in anything with a computer teacher like Mrs. Phillips.” Learn more by visiting: schools.nyc.gov/ schoolportals/18/k233 or http://ps233 techteacher.edublogs.org/ ARE REALIZED INCREMENTALLY AND WITH GREAT PRIDE.” 42 | TECH & LEARNING http://voicethread.com http://www.gcast.com/u/ellenquilt/main http://www.gcast.com/u/ellenquilt/main http://schools.nyc.gov/schoolportals/18/k233 http://ps233techteacher.edublogs.org/ http://schools.nyc.gov/schoolportals/18/k233 http://ps233techteacher.edublogs.org/

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Tech & Learning - July 2008 Contents Editor's Desk News & Trends In the Money How They Got So Rich The Better Ways to Win a Grant What's the Big Idea? Cover Your Assets Leader of the Year

Tech & Learning - July 2008

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