Classroom learning is back at Green Inspiration Academy (GIA) and we are geared up for learning in a new modern way. Technology is in the hands of our students.
The Future is Bright!
GIA is serving the Greater Cleveland Area in the best possible way in our free public school for students K-8. We’re preparing students for success in ongoing education and for an inspired life. It’s our mission to develop environmentally aware students who achieve literacy, mathematical excellence, technology and analytical thinking by understanding and appreciating how the environment operates by these same principles. The best way to ensure this bright future is through technology.
“We’ve been able to provide digital materials, almost exclusively, for our students,” GIA Executive Director, April Hart said. “Chromebooks, hotspots, and teachers who are proficient with new technology, are some of the ways we invest in our K-8 learners.”
April asked Susie Gulick, Title I Reading Teacher (1-4) and Technical Director at GIA, to provide her expertise on how Green Inspiration Academy embraces technology for learning in a new modern way.
“Green Inspiration Academy is, and has been, devoted to using technology within the classroom,” said Susie. “We are committed to investing in software and programs that not only grow the students where they are, but can also open the world to them in a way that only pictures could provide in past classrooms.”
Starting the students off on the right platforms helps the teachers adjust and accommodate for every student at every level, creating a better bonding and learning experience for everyone in the classroom.
“Technology quickly, efficiently and accurately determines a student’’ strengths and weaknesses,” said Susie. “Then the program provides short mini lessons based on those learning points for a student. Learning, while using technology, can be a fun experience for a student and often they do not realize they are actually learning while engaged in games and fun activities.”
Plus, since digital materials are constantly being updated with the most current and accurate materials, spending school funds toward technology vs. text is more fiscally responsible than buying textbooks that quickly become out of date.
Without these modern tools at the teacher’s disposal, students could miss out on their full learning potential, get bored, or fall behind. Because today’s digital materials provide a full sensory experience with sound, visuals, interaction, and prompts for team work, students are more likely to absorb information than if we went back to relying on the analog methods of the past.
Susie explains, “It is well known in education that a multimodal method of teaching is most effective and engaging for all student learning. Technology can provide that experience to the student, engaging in all their senses and tapping into the most effective method for the child to learn.”
An Ever-Evolving World
Today’s students grew up with the digital world at their fingertips. They expect it and so do future educational institutions and employers. Utilizing and embracing technology in school is essential for young learners to stay updated, relevant, and nimble. For example, when it comes to STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math), today’s youth need to prepare for an ever-changing innovative world.
“Imagine learning about whales in Science and being able to be swept into the ocean as if to be able to swim alongside them. To see how they slide through the water quietly. To get a close up view of their knowing eyes. That is a world that the teacher can now open up to the student through technology,” said Susie.
Introducing students to different experiences in the world through technology helps them feel an intimate relationship with it. Cultural diversity, different ecosystems, and any other lessons exposing students to information beyond Ohio can take just a few clicks of a mouse. Where do our students find interest in exciting careers in science and other fields? How can a student find their calling or get exposed to the many opportunities that await their talents in the future?
“Technology stretches a student’s creative side and provides them with the tools to begin the problem-solving process,” Susie explains, while discussing how these tools help prepare students for ongoing education and beyond. “Employers need creative and problem-solving employees.”
According to PEW Research and Trust, among Black adults who have a high school degree or more education, slightly more than four-in-ten say that, in their most recent STEM schooling, someone made them feel excited about their abilities in these subjects (44%), helped them see how these subjects could be useful for their job (44%) or encouraged them to keep taking classes in these areas (43%). We feel the responsibility to our students to be part of the system that improves these statistics.
That’s why GIA couples our Science curriculum with our Green Curriculum, to develop future advocates for our planet, and leaders in many evolving careers that address our environmental challenges. We need our youth to understand how to use technology to find solutions for a more successful, inspired, and sustainable future.
Is your student excited about learning in a new modern way? Green Inspiration Academy is here for it. We provide the best tools and activities to foster healthy emotional and academic growth for our students. Join us in this exciting academic journey. Onward. Upward. Inspired!
About Green Inspiration Academy (GIA)
Green Inspiration Academy is a free public charter school for grades K–8 located in Warrensville Heights, serving the Greater Cleveland area. Our school uplifts the educational experience with a focus on mental and emotional health, unmatched education, and strong parent-teacher-student relationships, every single day. Onward. Upward. Inspired! Join us at Green Inspiration Academy!