Services and Service learning
SWAT is an award-winning student technology leadership program which has sustained through a few generations of tech savvy students, and truly dedicated SWAT Leaders.
SWAT Teams and SWAT Leaders may have come and gone, but The concept of Service Learning will always remain
the mission of the SWAT Program
TestimonySWAT is a beginning structure, the methodology and practice of applying the concept begins in your schools.......
Lucy Ganfield, President Teacher Testimony of the SWAT program: "I am working with our lead teacher, as well as our school's technology facilitator to incorporate a SWAT team into our school. All teachers have an "EXCEL" group that meet for about 40 minutes each morning before CORE classes begin, so that is when we will meet. We have 28 students who will be a part of the team. Any additional information or suggestions you can provide us would be greatly appreciated! " Katie Kiser, 8th Grade Science, C.C. Griffin Middle School Concord, NC. "Hi...I'm Chip Hoover, Technology Coach at William Penn Senior High School in York PA. Over the past couple of years I've been mildly interested in starting a student tech club here at the high school. Now, with a large influx of stimulus money I've become much more interested in getting our students engaged to assist with our staff next school year as they utilize the equipment that will be purchased over the summer. Your SWAT concept jumped out on my internet search and seems to be what I am looking for to involve our high school students." Spring 2009-A fellow Moodle classmate said: OMG I thought you looked familiar. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!! I went to a PEP program in NC the first year I started working here 1998) and took a course that had a lot about your program. I took your information back with me to my school and started a program at my own school. I would never have made it as a new teacher without it (I was in a new home, new city, new state and new marriage too)! I had just been hired as an Instructional Technology Specialist for grades K-5. My kids loved it. I just had a student I used to teach come back to tell me she won a scholarship to the school of math and science for Computers. Several others are now participating in CTE classes and competitions and claim SWAT is what got them hooked. This is a wonderful program and goes hand in hand with TESA (Teacher Expectations, Student Achievement). KUDOS! July 2008- SWAT is a wonderful opportunity for our students to increase their skills as they prepare to enter the 21st Century as competent and competitive individuals. SWAT provides our students with the opportunity to generate ideas, create plans, and see these plans through to fruition...all of which are necessary leadership skills. We are so fortunate to have talented students and teachers willing to collaborate to make our SWAT Club a success. Cathy Williams Principal East Garner IB Magnet Middle School 6301 Jones Sausage Road Garner, NC 27529 919-662-2339 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Hi Lucy, A couple of months ago I contacted you regarding using the SWAT model at the Michigan Association for Computer Users in Learning (MACUL) Conference for a workshop. Unfortunately, my application was declined. I am planning on applying again next year. With this being our first year, perhaps I'll be better prepared next year, anyway. With regard to your email, our program got thrown into the midst of a scheduling ordeal and I wound up getting 50 new students every 10 weeks in the program. Not what I envisioned, but I'm learning to work with it. So far, we are working with teachers who are working to complete projects and assist with after school programs. I'm using the service learning model for the program and students are graded mainly on their helpfulness and cordial nature while they are working in other classes or with other teachers. I have been using the SWAT rubric for disposition as the basis for my grading in this area. I have also used group evaluation and self evaluation rubrics. My emphasis is taking what they learn in my computer class and extend it outside the classroom in a meaningful way. As teachers requested assistance, I assigned students who were most prepared with what needed to be accomplished. If you would like further details, I would be happy to provide them. I also have students work on projects that will extend beyond the classroom.. In our first marking period, I had the students create Web pages promoting some aspect of the school using HTML coding to create the page. They also created a public service announcement in Windows MovieMaker that would be meaningful to middle or high school students. Then they created a PSA poster in PhotoShop that coincided with that video PSA. I'm in the process of getting these approved for publication on the website. My class site is http://students.resa.net/ cwriverside/ and the pages and videos should be there soon. I can send a follow up email when when they are published. In the future, I would like to have the students prepare podcasts of the morning announcements to put on the school website, create a weekly video of the schools events as sort of a newscast to be played during school at the end of the week. Currently, we are lacking the video equipment to accomplish this. I would also like to teach the students how to take apart and rebuild a computer. If I were to obtain funding, I would like to purchase computer parts with which the students could build computers from scratch or purchase low-end computers that could be taken apart then rebuilt. It may be a bit ambitious for having students for only 10 weeks, but we are working on changing that for next year. I'm not able to do this as an after school program, as I coach our high school tennis teams in the fall and spring. I may be able to get another staff member on board for the future. I'm also applying for a grant through the Michigan Department of Education that will assist our school community in fully incorporating technology into the classroom. I envision the SWAT program as being an integral part of the transition as we tap the students' natural technology abilities to assist teachers incorporate technology into every class. I'll keep you informed in the progress of this as well. Thank you for starting this program and your future support. Pete Marabeas From Julie Hill in Iowa Hi Lucy I emailed you last October and we registered to get started. My principal and assistant principal were thrilled. They have given me anything I have needed. The students learned about the software we have at our school. They were able to trouble shoot and help teachers in the computer lab and on their classroom computers. I am so proud. I started with 7 students 3 girls and 4 boys. They meet once a week. We were interviewed by the local radio station in November. In April we opended up the interview process for new members. The current members are 5th graders going to 6th grade so we opened it up to 4th graders going to 5th grade and 5th graders going to 6th. We have 38 students or (1/3 of the students in these grades) WOW! Then we interviewed as a group, gave out teacher reviews of the students(for my eyes) and we chose 6 more team members. This week we are having a summer camp. They have learned the hardware parts and processes of the computer. Tomorrow the Geek Squad from Best Buy is coming to teach the students how to change out mother boards and circuits. Both local papers are also coming to do stories. I hope this will get the Best Buy corporation interested in sponsoring us for next year. The plan for next year is each returning SWAT member will mentor a new member. The two member team will be responsible for developing and keeping a current web page for a specific grade level. (K-5) I have also chosen one of my most responsible students to make a lost and found web page. We, like a lot of schools, incure a hug amount of lost items. Everything from jackets to well you can imagine. So to help keep this to a minimum we are designing a webpage where we will put pictures of the lost items. The students can check it out and parents can also look at home. I'l let you know if this is successful. I am so glad I found SWAT. These kids love it and it has been very rewarding for me. Thanks, Candy McDonald Southside Elementary Lebanon, TN SWAT Sponsor and loving it!!! Pictured are 12 incredible 6th graders who have been members of the team since late Fall. I have been an educator for almost 20 years with 13 of those in early childhood classrooms, but once I got my master's degree in Educational Technology and became the district's technology coordinator, I have been more inclined to work with middle school and high school students. I am back in the classroom this year for two periods out of the day. One is with a high school multimedia class and the other is with 6th graders for keyboarding/tech literacy. I wanted to start small with the SWAT concept, so that's why I am only working with 6th graders this year, but when I move them on to 7th grade our Business Education teacher will continue with them and I'll train a new crop! Here's what we've been working on. Our main objective has been to train all of them on basic troubleshooting and maintenance of the 300 computers in the building. They were fast learners, so they are now going in to more specialized areas of interest for them. 1. Computer Buddies 2. Audio/Visual 3. Advanced TroubleShooting 4. Webpage development To Learn more about her SWAT progam: Julie Hill Technology Coordinator Lisbon Community School District Lisbon , IA 52253 319-455-2659 ext. 263 work 319-350-9238 cell 319-455-2733 fax Todd C. Thibault, MC-Computer Educator Raymond NH Goals for his SWAT program are: 1. Mobile Unit Team - Designed to fix any MINOR problems in the classrooms. 2. Computer Buddy Team - Designed for student to student assistance. 3. Internet Research Team - Designed for Teacher needs. 4. Web Design Team - Designed to gather information and integrate creation of new pages in the school's website. 5. Central Unit Team - Designed to designate all tasks to their appropriate departments. |
Past SchoolsLake Charles Charter School, Lake Charles, LA
Springdale School District, Springdale, Arkansas Katie Kiser, Griffin Middle School, Concord, NC St. Teresa's Academy, Kansas City, MO Southern Hancock Schools, New Palestine, IN Janis Barton Walla Walla School District, Walla Walla, WA Education Technology, Pasadena, CA Frank P. Long Intermediate, South Country Central School District, NY Welcome Banning High School, Banning, CA. January 25, 2010-Microsoft and the Corporation for National and Community Service Launch New Initiative to Promote Student Leadership in the Classroom - SWAT forms new Partnerships, read about it here. Anna Pollard's SWAT Team East Garner Magnet Middle School, Garner, NC, 2010 Forest Park's SWAT program becomes the 'best practice' model for the State of Virginia! Frank P. Long Intermediate, South Country Central School District, NY Welcome Banning High School, Banning, CA. El Paso adds on more SWAT Programs in their schools Thank you! Welcome Hamilton McElroy-St. Mary's Middle School, GA Welcome John Staudacher-Wilkinsburg High, Wilkinsburg, PA. Welcome Laura Ferrell-Oak Lawn Hometown Middle School, Oak Lawn, Illinois Welcome Marie Cassell, Cumberland Valley School District, Mechanicsburg, PA Welcome Inglewood School District-George W. Crozier Middle School, CA Welcome Chip Hoover, Wm Penn Sr. High, York, PA Welcome Carol Welsh, Riverside Middle School, Dearborn Heights, MI Welcome Alta Allen, Roper, NC Wecome Bernadette Roche, Shawnee, Kansas Welcome Jeremy Jorgensen, Minocqua, Wisconsin Welcome Carrie Grogg, Cupertino Union School District, Cupertino, CA Welcome Albert Bricker, St. James School, San Francisco, California Welcome Anthony Johnson, Overton Elementary School, Salisbury, NC Welcome Rebecca Woodley, North Drive Elementary, Goldsboro, NC Welcome Kirk Magill, Kirk's Computer Works, Sigourney Iowa Welcome Joyce Klepacki, St. Lucy Elementary, Campbell California Welcome Debbie Novalski, Winding Creek Elementaty, Fredricksburg, Virginia Welcome Julie Hill, District Coordinator, Lisbon Middle School, Lisbon, IA Welcome Candy McDonald, Southside Elementary, Lebanon, TN Welcome Barbara Langley, Bear Lake Elem, Apopka, Florida Jeff Thungc, Kent School District, Kent Washington Welcome David Pearson, Director of Technology, St. Thomas More Catholic High School, Louisiana Welcome Frank Mosco, Director of Technology, Cardinal Hayes High School, NY Welcome Noah Spranklin, Director of Technology, The Unquowa School, Fairfield, CT Welcome Londa Posvistak, San Juan Capistrano, CA Welcome Phil Zaubi, Porter-Gaud School, Charleston, SC Welcome Christian High School, El Cajon, CA, Kris Fondaw Welcome Porter-Gaud School-Charleston, SC, Phil Zaubi Welcome Monroe County School District, Monroe, MI, Welcome Mrytle Grove Christian School, Wilmington, NC, Louisa Belk Welcome Luling Elementary School, Luling, Louisiana, Mr. Howat Welcome Blessed Sacrament Regional School, Morgate, NJ., John Garrity Welcome Star of the Sea School, San Francisco, CA., Brian P. Fordyce Welcome North Callaway High School in Kingdom City, MO. Welcome West Memphis Christian School. Welcome Dana Greenburg at Celebration High School in Celebration, Florida! SWAT Blogging is here! Go tohttp://swatwebnet.blogspot.com to build the SWAT community! |
MilestonesJanuary 25, 2010-Microsoft and the Corporation for National and Community Service Launch New Initiative to Promote Student Leadership in the Classroom Karen Cator, Former Director for the Office of Education Technology, congratulates Lucy, Chuck and Jessica for their efforts with the SWAT program! Lucy Wins the 1997 National Technology Teacher of the year award from
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