Innovative Inventors

First graders got valuable experience with design thinking and engineering practices with a recent activity. Their teacher challenged them to think of a problem they saw in the world, then design and invent a tool that might solve it.

These students identified many real-world problems that impact the lives of six and seven year-olds, such as shooting baskets, helping with household chores, care of younger siblings, catching bugs, and even scratching hard-to-reach-itches.

After building a prototype of their invention, they wrote about their design process and presented it to the class. In order to share with a wider audience, the Seesaw app was used to record the video of their presentation and compile all the work into a class blog. Parents were able to view all the presentations and add comments to give feedback.


These innovative thinkers had many original and creative solutions to their real-world problems.

Stop Motion Movies

The sixth grade classes have had the opportunity to create stop motion movies.  To learn the program, they first used their creativity to develop a story line using any objects of their choice.  After becoming familiar with the app, they used it to show the parts of the digestive system and how food moves through the system.

The Football Game

The Digestive System

Sharing Technology Skills with Families

Franklin students showed off their technology skills to families at recent Open House nights. They demonstrated how their laptops and ipads are used in class daily routines. Special projects were also shared: poetry projects using the Green Screen app, animal reports using Shadow Puppet, Google Classroom, RAZ kids, and Biblionasium.

Fourth graders showed their families how to respond to a discussion question on Google Classroom.

Students demonstrated web tools they use for math.

2nd graders helped their parents scan QR codes to watch video projects. They used Seesaw, ChatterPix and Shadow Puppet apps to create and share their work.

The DNA of App Smashing

Science teacher Mark Camenisch's students have been doing some "app smashing," the process of using multiple technology tools to create projects or complete tasks. The BHS biology students combined a number of different tech. tools, including Prezi, Thinglink, and Tackk, into one engaging display to show what they know about DNA. You can read more about app smashing here.

In the example below, students used Prezi to create a timeline of important historical events in the study of DNA. Then they used Thinglink to construct an interactive model of a DNA molecule. The students then embedded both the Prezi and the Thinglink onto a webpage using Tackk where they could add more important information to highlight their knowledge of DNA.

Many BHS teachers have harnessed the power of individual technology tools to let students' creativity shine. Mr. Camenisch's students show what happens when those powers combine, and the results are pretty amazing!

View DNA Project Halle Walker & Alyssa kastenschmidt full version on Tackk
Create your own customized Tackk page

Crafting Their Writing

The common core writing standards require students to convey information and ideas clearly in explanatory and informative writing. Technology Literacy standards require students to use digital tools to communicate information. These 3rd graders were doing those things while having fun sharing their favorite craft with friends in other classes. 

These third graders picked a favorite craft project in order to teach their friends how to make it. Students used critical thinking skills as they broke down the process and analyzed the steps to communicate them. They used google docs to help  by typing the instructions for making the craft projects and selecting key parts to photograph.  Using the built in camera, they took pictures and inserted them into the document to provide visual cues and support for their audience.

Maker's Space

Students at the middle school have been experimenting with makey makey in our maker's space.  The students use playdough and fruit to create touchpads.  They then connect them with their chromebooks to make their own game controllers or other creations.  Whoever said you shouldn't play with your food, didn't have a makey makey.

BHS Bloggers Dig Deep

For the second year in Boone, BHS sophomores have had the opportunity to apply to take English 2B as an honors student. Students who are selected for Honors 2B complete the same coursework as the conventional 2B students but are held to higher standards and must also submit a few additional projects and assignments. For example, Honors 2B students in Mr. Kramer, Ms. Thieben, and Mr. Wells's classes write journals each week in response to class readings which require them dig deep to offer analysis and insights based on textual evidence.

This year, students have been posting their journals on a blog available to all sophomore honors students so that they can open up their discussion to peers in other classes. Instead of sharing their writing with a small group of students in their own section, they post and respond to honors students from seven different sections. The technology allows students to hear a wider variety of perspectives and opinions and to share their voice with a larger audience. The blog functions much like the discussion board feature in the Converge learning management system that many BHS teachers frequently use. Students respond to an initial question as a comment and then reply to comments their classmates have posted to keep the conversation going.

The blog helps students move away from low-level answers that skim the surface and towards deeper level critical thinking about what they read. In addition to developing the skills needed to move a discussion forward, students know that their responses are available for anyone to see, so they have to choose their words purposefully and edit their work carefully before publishing it to the instant audience the blog provides. You can become part of their audience by viewing their blog responses at the link posted here.