Click here to watch a short video of the May 2012 race.
Catherine Marcell, Libertyville High School – EMPOWER Learning Series: This is a unique program that targets specific executive functioning skills related to independent functioning and academic success. Many students in the Tutorial E. Program have disabilities that negatively impact their mastery of a variety of executive functioning skills. As a result, these students are unable to consistently demonstrate their abilities and potential in academic settings. The EMPOWER Learning Series will provide opportunities for consistent and purposeful practice of essential skills that will allow students to achieve success across academic and social-emotional domains. Awarded $1,324.36
Lynda Ward, Libertyville High School – iPads for Special Needs Students, Special Resource Department: This project will provide eight iPads for use with our special needs students. Developing and enhancing the educational experience of all students is the main thrust of the implementation of technology into the classroom. Students with cognitive disabilities will use the motivating, responsive and intuitive iPad2, both visually and tactility, to more fully engage with the curriculum, classroom and community. Students will utilize the user-friendly iPad2 to accommodate learning disabilities, improve productivity, improve academic performance in mathematics, reading, writing, and the acquisition of life skills such as time and money. Awarded $4,000 (funding exception granted by District 128 Foundation for Learning)
Mark Buesing, Mike Cook, Libertyville High School – Doceri in the Classroom: This project will utilize the Doceri Remote iPad app and Doceri Desktop software. With the app and software, the teacher can control the computer, easily launch any document or application, and annotate over them at any time. The teacher can save drawings and play them back in the future allowing even better presentations to be created from existing PowerPoint or presentation slide shows. With the Doceri System, the teacher can prepare an engaging lesson in advance using any presentation software, or entirely within the Doceri annotation application using the handwriting and drawing capabilities of the iPad. The lesson is then played back at any speed amending it at any time. If a student was absent or simply wanted additional review, the entire lesson including handwritten notes and voice over can be played back by the student. Awarded $1,914
Matt Thompson, Lauren Rust, Andrea Lara, Libertyville High School – Social Studies – iPads: This project will utilize iPads to continue to use technology to enhance the classroom experience. There are many purposes the iPad can serve in the social studies classroom. Presentations can be made and shared easier, create mind maps to aid revision or plan projects, explain research expectations and help in the paper-writing process, easier collaboration on Google Docs, Primary Source Journaling, Google Earth – Geography Application and Battle Sights, etc. The project will enhance the curriculum, especially as we will think of additional ways to use it in our PLCs. Awarded $2,000
Ellen Macias, Vernon Hills High School – Class Set of Flip Cameras: This project involves the purchase of a class set of cameras which will enable teachers to assign video-related projects and know that students will have access to cameras that are compatible with our school computers. In addition to future availability to other classes, the Freshman Literature and Composition Team plans to utilize these cameras for a Romeo and Juliet project this spring. Teachers will use technology, via the cameras, as a way to help students access Shakespeare’s language. Awarded $1,999.95
Craig Schmidt, Anne Malecki, Mary Kate Polzin, Dyan Naslund, Libertyville High School – Writers’ Week 2012: This project will bring famous/celebrity authors to speak to our students about writing. The grant money will enable us to pay for a celebrity author (an author the students know and are excited about) to visit our school in the spring of 2012. He/she will speak to hundreds of our students, inspiring them to achieve success and become better writers. Writers’ Week is a four-day event that will motivate students to take pride and care in their writing. Local and national authors will discuss what they do, what they’ve learned, and why they love writing. Selected students and faculty members will share their creative writing pieces with the rest of the school. We will see that writing is more than an academic pursuit, but a means by which to achieve satisfaction, stretch our creative legs, and make a difference in the world. Awarded $2,000
Sherri Rukes, Libertyville High School – APPS for Chemistry: This project will utilize iPad/APP technology to provide students the ability to see various simulations/databases for various types of equipment to help them learn more about the analytical tools of chemistry. These apps will give students an opportunity to see how the iPad could enhance chemistry learning. Apps such as the one on the elements, the NMR database, molecule drawing and 3D rendering, etc. are available for students and schools to use. The project will be used in two different ways. First, the project will be used as another tool to create more interaction with the students in classroom discussions and lectures. Second, this hardware will be used as a lab station or reference station for use by students. Awarded $1,200
Sherri Rukes, Libertyville High School – Extruding Bioplastics: This project will give students an understanding of how bioplastics are formed, the various types of bioplastics, their uses, and the difference between compostable, biodegradable, and degradable means. Students will be able to make various types of bioplastics as well as extrude the plastic to make different pieces. This gives students a better understanding of the whole process of how a plastic is made to the manufacturing process, whether it is a bioplastic or traditional petroleum plastic. Students will learn the concept of polymers and their traits in a fun, more applicable, real life situation. Awarded $2,000
Sherri Rukes, Libertyville High School – Looking at Glass in a New Light: This project will allow students to learn how to make various types of glass, color glass with various transition metals and learn about the properties of glass, while learning the chemistry behind it. Students will learn the unique traits of glass as well as the difficulty of making lab equipment. In addition, students will learn the composition of different types of glass which will allow them to see how that composition relates to the various properties of the different types of glass such as soda lime glass, tempered glass, and quartz glass. The students will gain another aspect of how the concepts of chemistry are used with everyday items. Awarded $2,000
Tingting Zhao, Nancy Tassler, Radhika Joshi, Libertyville and Vernon Hills High Schools – iPads and Applications for Chinese I and Chinese II Honors: The purpose of this project is to utilize the iPad2 with our existing technologies to develop students’ reading, writing, listening, and speaking skills in the Chinese language. Students will see how language-specific characters projected from the iPad2 to the class are formulated stroke by stroke. The iPad2 can be used both in the classrooms and language labs as a model for spoken and written Chinese and will be incorporated into both student and teacher electronic presentations. Awarded $2,000
Click here to watch a short video on the Foundation's first 5K run/walk held on Monday, May 30, 2011.
See the newsletter for more information.