On Thursday, May 1st, from 6:30 pm - 9:00 pm, Putnam Valley Middle School proudly presented its very first Technology Fair. This event showcased many of the ways we integrate technology into our classrooms.

Middle School Principal Edward Hallisey described the event: “Everyone that attended enjoyed the opportunity to be hands-on with what we do in our classrooms. Many students were on hand as guides to help guests find the workshop of their choice, as well as to be a part of classroom demonstrations. We are grateful to all of the community members, parents and even grandparents who came out to see what our students know and are able to accomplish with technology. Everyone that was there took advantage of the opportunity to make their own podcast! It was an enjoyable evening that we plan to replicate again in the future.”

Presentations included:

· Digital Photography/Photoshop - see how students are able to take and manipulate photographs using the popular editing software, Photoshop.
· Technology in the LOTE Classroom - spotlighting student work created through the use of technology and demonstrating the features of various web-based activities that can assist students in learning and reinforcing a language other than English.
· Blogging in the ELA Classroom - what a Blog is, how to access and contribute to it, and an explanation for why it is beneficial to students.
· Technology in the 6th Grade Classroom - introductions to: using StudyWiz for Current Events; use of the StudyWiz discussion board ; short cuts for the MacBook; Comic Life; operating Study Island; and employing Word documents.
· Webquests - complete an actual Webquest assignment on the sixth grade curriculum science unit. Explore how current sixth graders have access to laptop technology and how teachers integrate technology into units of study.
· Podcasting - how to make podcasts using Garageband software.
· PowerPoint - hands on session teaching how to create PowerPoint slide presentations.
· Introduction to the Laptop in the 5th Grade Classroom - understand how the 5th grade uses the laptops in the classroom.
· Jeopardy PowerPoint - create a quiz game in which students can review content in their subject area in a fun and interactive way.
· SmartMusic - how to use SmartMusic, an interactive, computer-based practice system, for band/string/choral curriculums.
· SmartBoard/StudyWiz - gain insight into how Putnam Valley Middle School students and educators integrate technology into their daily academic lives.

Putnam Valley Middle School has long been a hub of educational technology at its best. PVMS is the home of the five-year-old 1:1 Laptop Program, the innovative educational approach that by the autumn of 2008 will have put a school-owned laptop computer into the hands of every Putnam Valley student from grade five through grade twelve.

“When the program was launched in 2003, the students in grade seven were given 150 laptops to use during the school year,” Mr. Hallisey explained. “Now we have 1,250 laptops in grades six through eleven. Next fall everyone from grade five through grade twelve will have them. Imagine that: our youngest 1:1 Laptop Program participants will have had eight years of technology experience before they ever get to college. It will put them at an entirely different level than any other high school seniors in this area. This is what’s going to make our students special.”

Mr. Hallisey’s efforts have not gone unnoticed. Not only is PVMS one of the “stars” of the Apple computer website [visit www.apple.com/education/profiles/putnam/ to learn more], but the program has also been presented at the annual New York State Association for Computers and Technologies in Education (NYSCATE) conference in Rochester, NY, a regional NYSCATE event in Wappinger’s Falls, and the Lower Hudson Regional Information Center (LHRIC) Technology Solutions Conference. Awards include the very prestigious LHRIC Pioneer Award in 2006 and, most recently, the Making It Happen Award from the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE).