District Administration - September 2007 - (Page 37)

Looking to Technology The interactive facility, which will be designed to accommodate up to 25 students at a time, will feature technologies such as the popular video game Dance Dance Revolution. Students perform dance moves by stepping onto electronic pads in response to arrows that appear on the video screen. The arrows, which are synchronized to music, tell players what to do, and the computer keeps track of how well the students’ feet keep up, via electronic sensors embedded in the pads. It takes concentration and coordination. Another interactive technology that entails physical activity is the popular video game system Nintendo Wii, which uses wireless, handheld controllers that respond to students’ movements. Unlike traditional joystick games, in which children only exercise their ﬁngers, the Wii games are played through active body movements. If students are playing a Wii tennis game, they would hold the wireless Wii controller in one hand and make the same swinging motion they would if they were hitting a ball on a tennis court. Sports games like tennis and boxing on the Wii deﬁnitely give users a workout, says Mohawk Assistant Principal Lorree Houk. “The boxing game is incredibly strenuous,” she said. “It’s pretty incredible.” The school, through fundraising, has already purchased one $4,000 Dance Dance Revolution machine and two Wii consoles that together cost about $800, including accessories, Miller says. Miller hopes to purchase another Dance Dance Revolution machine using some of the $13,000 it raised last school year. She plans to use the $30,000 in X-Factor grant money to purchase additional interactive ﬁtness equipment, with the aim of having the entire facility in place at the end of January. Although the school is still deciding which technologies to purchase, it is considering buying a Sportwall, a large panel equipped with blinking lights and a digiwww.DistrictAdministration.com RUNNER-UP Reality Therapy The program that was to be implemented in Canajoharie High School in Canajoharie (N.Y.) Central School District was a close runner-up in the X-Factor award. DONALD BOWDEN, THE PRINCIPAL OF CANAJOHARIE HIGH School, sees in some of his most struggling students a disconnect between their school studies and the life experiences that are shaping their view of the world when they’re not in the classroom. “These kids are out there, doing other things, looking for jobs, and when they look at school administrators like me it’s like we’re from Oz,” he says. Bowden wants to change all that—to inject more of a “commonsensical reality” into Canajoharie High School—and with grant monies, he would do it through a mentoring program calling on retired professionals from the local and surrounding communities to help. The mentors—or “emissaries from the outside world,” as he calls them—would not only spark more excitement and enthusiasm into some of the most academically struggling students, but also act as surrogate parents for many of the students who don’t have strong support networks outside of school, adds Bowden. The Canajoharie district is a small community of 1,200 students in an impoverished rural town, and the mentors—drawn from the ranks of police, ﬁreﬁghters, military oﬃcials, business executives, technicians and medical personnel—could serve as role models, career counselors, teacher-student liaisons, and parent-child liaisons, Bowden says. “The mentors would not just communicate the scope of their job, but also take an active interest in the student’s schoolwork, tests, and life in general,” he notes. Mentors would be paid an honorarium of $4,000 per year for a one-day-a-week commitment. —Zach Miners tal timer, Miller says. As part of a game, students race to touch the illuminated lights while being timed. Another device being considered for purchase is the Makoto, she says. Manufactured by Makoto USA, Inc., the device features a triangular arena with three 6-foot, vertical steel posts standing at each point in the triangle. Each of the three posts is equipped with many touch- sensitive lights and is able to produce sounds. Assisted by the sound eﬀects produced from each post, Makoto players use their hands, feet or a stick to hit as many lights before they turn oﬀ, testing the students’ response time. The Ultimate X-Factor Without the X-Factor grant money, it would have taken a few years of September 2007 37 http://www.DistrictAdministration.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of District Administration - September 2007

Cover Contents Editor’s Letter Letters News Update Curriculum Update Inside the Law District Profile Administrator Profile District Buying Power 2007 X-Factor Student Achievement Awards 2007 We've Got Mail Supporting New Teachers How Well Does This Web Site Work? New Products Problem Solution Computer Literature Research Corner Online Edge Supervisor’s Opinion Speaking Out Calendar of Events Understanding the Times

District Administration - September 2007

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