Earlier this month, MTN News returned to Giant Springs Elementary in Great Falls where 6th grade students were using technology to sharpen their communication skills.
Teacher Tammy Osentowski bought four video cameras with the grant to help students develop communication and tech skills.
She said it can be easy to lose important speaking and public speaking skills in the age of technology and texting.
The cameras will allow students to work in groups to assess their learning by playing the videos back.
Students said their videos can also serve as examples for future classes.
“That it can be, can help you learn kind of; if you learn one thing then you can teach it in the next year through the video kind of,” said 6th grade student Ethan Geagel.
Osentowski said the skills students develop will help them succeed in the classroom and in any path they choose in life.
“Speaking skills are vital not only through high school, college- but for job interviews. We say to the students, ‘even if college isn’t something that you’re wanting in the future, you’re going to have to interview for that job- you need to have that public speaking ability when you look at someone how to hold that conversation, not looking down at your phone, not knowing the next thing to say, so it’s vital for their future regardless of the path they take,” she said.
Osentwoski added the video cameras are a new project for the class and students are excited to use them in all learning areas.
“We’re just very thankful that we have the technology that we have, we have the ability and then we have the students that are so engaged and excited about trying something new- and it’s kind of just to keep them interested in education is to constantly introduce these new ideas to them,” she said.
The class will start a unit in math using the video cameras to show how they measure the volume of various items.
To learn more about the One Class At A Time program, click here.
