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= 8th Grade Technology Day =

Contributors:

 * Diana L. Evans (Health, Music, Physical Education)
 * Robin Taylor (Foreign Language, Mathematics, Social Studies)
 * Kristin Urycki (Art, English, Science)

November is Native American Heritage month. During this month our 8th grade students will be immersed in the study about Native American culture and history in all of their academic classes. During this immersion, students will utilize a variety of technologies to learn about Native Americans as well as record what they have learned to share amongst themselves, as well as on the internet.

The Technology Day that we have developed is to be implemented at Kenston Middle School. Kenston Local School District includes the townships of Auburn and Bainbridge, which lies next to Chagrin Falls, Ohio. The district serves approximately 3,000 students in a rural community that is quickly expanding into an affluent residential area that strongly supports education. According to the district's 2009-2010 annual report card, the demographic makeup of the student body consists of the following: 92.2% are white, 4.1% are black, 2.4% are multi-racial, .7% are Asian or Pacific Islander, and .6% are Hispanic.

Students who are participating in the Technology Day are in the 8th grade, which consists of approximately 230 students. The technology within all of the classrooms includes mounted projectors, 1-4 student computers, and about half of the classrooms are equipped with Smart Board technology. Three classroom labs, equipped with 25-30 computers each, are made available to students within KMS on a daily basis. The school offers additional technology resources within the ITEC wing where student video productions in front of a green screen are created for the student-directed daily televised announcements.