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= Technology Day Presentation = =(Tracie Hawkins, Christina Longo, John Porterfield, Jennifer Vaschak)=

** __Overview__ **

**Technology Day is a cross-curricular effort to introduce and utilize various technologies to support subject area exploration in new and innovative ways. Designed to meet the educational needs and interest levels of children of all ability levels, the proposed Technology Day combines both collaborative and individualized activities, utilizing the Internet, SMARTBoard technology, pod casts, word processors, and web-based activities, to support achievement of the eighth grade content standards. Activities are designed to provide students with opportunities to experiment with technology while engaged in authentic learning tasks.

Part of a typical suburban middle school housing grades 5-8, eighth grade classrooms service, on average, twenty-one students of various ability levels, including students identified as having special educational needs. Intervention Specialist support is available to both students with and without Individualized Education Plans. Classrooms contain at least ten student computer stations, equipped with access to the Internet. A computer lab, housing twenty-five computers, is available for full-class instructional use. Additionally, SMARTBoard technology can be utilized in a designated classroom for collaborative learning activities.** **__ Technology Day Activities __**
 * Art
 * Language Arts
 * Foreign language
 * Health
 * Mathematics
 * Music
 * Physical education
 * Science
 * Social Studies

**__ Summary __** **Technology Day activities were designed to engage students of all ability levels in both individualized and collaborative activities utilizing a variety of technology resources. This rich interaction with technology allows students to develop an understanding of available technology and information sources outside of the immediate classroom and learning community. It is hoped that these activities will expose students to new avenues of learning, perspectives, and tools to compliment and support various learning styles and needs. By offering a wide variety of easily accessible, technology-based resources, it is the goal of the staff to teach and facilitate the acquisition of life-long learning and informational skills necessary for personal success in the academic and community settings.**