MORRISDALE – A West Branch Area Jr./Sr. high school teacher was recently named a Keystone Technology Innovator.
Carrie Peterson was recognized for incorporating the benefits of technology into daily lessons for students and helping her fellow staff incorporate technology into their work.
One of the school district administrators who nominated Peterson for the award was Vice Principal Brandi O'Hare. She explained why she believes Peterson should be recognized for his work.
Ms. O'Hare said, “Carrie incorporates technology into her daily lesson plans. She is the district's technology coach and provides technology support to teachers and staff. Carrie works with students weekly to He produces the newspaper “Warrior Watch'' and teaches students how to create the school news that is broadcast every Friday. She recently organized and organized her own STEAM night for the district. The district worked with more than 50 businesses in the area. It was a great success. In addition to STEAM nights, Carey has been at the forefront of artificial intelligence, working on various uses of artificial intelligence for students and teachers. She also spoke at Clearfield County's Countywide Labor Day in October. Carrie was nominated for this award for her hard work and her ability to embrace technology and inspire others. ”
Peterson teaches West Branch students several subjects each day. She has been teaching for her 23 years, 15 of which she has taught at the West Branch.
“I spend half my day teaching social studies. I teach the Warrior Watch/WBTV/Journalism class with my high school English teacher Jessica Lebnick. I also teach social studies through dual enrollment. I also teach introductory and introductory psychology classes.”
Peterson's day may also include delivering lessons to teachers, support staff, and administrators.
“The other half of my school career is spent teaching. Instructional coaches work with teachers one-on-one or in small groups to improve instructional practices and ultimately improve student achievement. We do this through the provision of guidance, training, and resources focused on evidence-based strategies. Instructional coaching is confidential and ongoing for all within the district. It aligns with the school's goal of ensuring high-quality professional development for adult learners.As the instructional coach for the West Branch, I participate in out-of-district training, conferences, and workshops with my colleague Stacey Ricciotti. We often participate and bring back the latest best practices and innovative strategies learned from these events to share new knowledge with the district's adult learners, including teachers, support staff, and administration. is about sharing fresh perspectives and effective teaching methods across the district.”
Information on the program's website states: “Keystone Technology Innovators are classroom teachers who take full advantage of technology's many benefits to improve instructional practices across content areas. In doing this, teachers do not focus on the technology itself. Instead, they focus on student learning and use technology to support this objective.”
Peterson said she tries to make sure students in the classroom are familiar and comfortable with technology programs and their applications. “I incorporate technology into my lessons every day to enhance my students' learning. In my media arts class, students utilize platforms such as Adobe Photoshop, Canva, and OBS to help students learn every week. West Branch TV broadcast. This broadcast was produced entirely by students under the guidance of myself and Mrs. Revonic. This broadcast is sent weekly to high school teachers and students during the first period. Beyond Media Arts, online platforms like Quizizz and Kahoot are using technology across the classroom to transform class content into fun and engaging reviews for students. Students in Dual Enrollment Introduction to Sociology now use tools like Google Sheets to collect and analyze real-world data and data visualization. I am working on a final research project that requires me to create a graph. Using this technology requires critical thinking and data analysis skills.
In his role as one of the district's instructional coaches, Peterson also helps his fellow teachers integrate technology into their curriculum. “I work with teachers to incorporate technology into their classroom lessons, including virtual reality goggles for virtual field trips, robotics like VEX bots, 3D pens, Tello drones, and other resources. , which includes incorporating a variety of STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, and math)-related tools to engage students.''The branch is located in the district's extensive makerspace library.
Peterson said she, Ricciotti and West Branch administrators organized a STEAM night at the school.
“This event was designed to bring the community together to explore hands-on STEAM-related experiences, from computer coding to 3D printing and scanning to AR experiences. , rocket launches, fascinating experiments, etc. This opportunity was provided by various organizations that we invited to participate,” she said.
“The event was a great success, with over 300 community members participating in a variety of STEAM-related activities. Additionally, each student participant received a STEAM-related book to continue their learning at home. Due to overwhelmingly positive feedback from the West Branch community, plans have been made to bring the event back next February.”
As KTI, Mr. Peterson is scheduled to attend the summit in Shippensburg in July. She is excited about the prospect, she said. “I am excited and honored to have been nominated and selected to participate in the Keystone Innovators Summit.” You'll learn from and make valuable connections with colleagues across Pennsylvania. Additionally, I am looking forward to taking back all the new knowledge I have gained and sharing it with the staff at the West Branch. ”
