The ‘IT’ Crowd

On November 10, four Onekama High School students traveled to Lansing to present at the 2010 MACUL Student Technology Showcase. OHS Juniors Jaylee Brown and Lindsay Nesburg, Seniors Travis McKenney and Ryan Pienta, along with Onekama teachers Nicole Torrey and Bonnie Brown, made the trip to Lansing armed with laptops and excitement to share what they have been working on with other students and educators.

The Michigan Association for Computer Users in Learning (MACUL) is non-profit organization dedicated to bringing educators together to share their knowledge and concerns regarding educational uses of computers and technology. MACUL has presented a Student Technology Showcase at the Michigan Capitol Building every year since 2001.

At the Student Technology Showcase, 50-60 teams of K-12 students are invited to show legislators how technology is used in the classroom. Onekama High School was selected to present at the conference and share the ways technology has strengthened their curriculum.

“Our technology trip to Lansing was a great experience,” said Brown. “We got an opportunity to see other schools’ ideas and creations. Personally, my favorite part was being with great people from our school and teaching others about the movie maker program and how it can be used in the classroom.”

Onekama High School English teacher Nicole Torrey was pleased with the students’ performance at the conference and appreciated the hard work that led the group to Lansing. “I selected the students because of the hard work and dedication they have shown in working with movie maker and video creations. These students have not only done well with the projects in class, but they have offered themselves as ‘teachers’ for the rest of the school and even for other teachers in Manistee County,” said Torrey. “I have seen this group of students work incredibly hard on their film projects, and I was happy to give them the opportunity to show off their accomplishments and learning to a larger audience.”
 

Onekama teacher Nicole Torrey and OHS students Ryan Pienta, Lindsay Nesburg, Jaylee Brown, and Travis McKenney stand on the steps of the capitol building in Lansing at the 2010 MACUL Technology Showcase.

The technology showcase was a chance for Onekama students to share their learning and learn from others. Ryan Pienta commented, “I was very impressed with the other presentations at the conference. Some of the other students had really great ideas, and it was nice to show others our accomplishments as well. State leaders and other teachers were impressed with our work, and we were even invited to go to the Detroit conference in the spring.”

Jaylee Brown recognizes the significance of this invitation. “I would love to go to Detroit for the next technology showcase,” said Brown. “It is wonderful to have the opportunity to help others recognize our accomplishments and learning at Onekama High School.”