The students in the BAMS Tech Club rock! It’s true—and I can prove it!

This group of tech savvy students were selected to be showcased at the 14th Annual Pennsylvania Education Excellence Fair October 18 in Hershey, PA—a popular attraction at the joint conference of the Pennsylvania School Board Association and the Pennsylvania Association of School Administrators.

During the three hour event, our eighth graders had the opportunity to speak with educators and school board members across the state about how they utilize “cool tools” to promote the district’s events, programs and activities. These digital natives were also able to highlight the Bellwood Buzz, a daily/morning news show they produce as well as award-winning videos they have created.

Congrats “Tech Kids” on this accomplishment! A special thanks to Stephanie, Alivia and Abby for doing a fabulous job of representing our club, school and district at this conference. I am very proud of you!

A shout out to BASD superintendent, Dr. G. Brian Toth, for making this opportunity possible for the Tech Club.

To view BAMS Tech Club projects and videos, be sure to check out our web site located at https://bamstechclub.wikispaces.com.

Here’s one last shout out to the BAMS Tech Club for winning the 2012 Blair County Department of Solid Waste and Recycling Video Competition! Check out the first place plaque they recieved on May 18 from the Blair County Commissioners during an Awards Assembly held at the Blair County Courthouse. It was created with recycled computer chips, of course!

Congrats “Tech Kids”! I’m very proud of you!

BTW—I used BeFunky! to add the special effects and frame to the photo!

A few weeks ago I wrote a post about a recycling video my Tech Club students created and then entered into a contest.

Well, the results are in—and I’m extremely proud to announce that we won First Place, Middle School Division, in the Blair County Department of Solid Waste and Recycling Sixteenth Annual Environmental Awareness Competition! How cool is that?

Besides achieving this honor, the “Tech Kids” have been invited to an Awards Ceremony that will take place at the Blair County Courthouse later this month. In addition to being given a plaque from the Blair County Commissioners, the students will also receive $150—money that will be used to purchase an iPad!

If you haven’t already done so, please take 30 seconds to check out the “Recycling Electronics: What a Thriller” video! I promise you won’t be disappointed!

Our award-winning video can also be viewed on the BAMS Tech Club Wikispace!

True, we had an absolute blast creating this video! But more importantly, the students honed their technology skills by utilizing the following tools and equipment throughout the process:

» Digital Cameras
» Flip Video Cameras
» PowerPoint—used to create the title and concluding slides for the video
» Audacity—used to develop the voiceover and background music
» Movie Maker—used to combine images, photos and video clips to create the final project
» You Tube—used to share the video with a global audience
» Glogster—used to create a digital poster highlighting the project
» Wikispaces—used to display the video and glog
» Publisher—used to create the DVD cover

Classroom Connection:

Share the “Recycling Electronics: What a Thriller” video with your students in an effort to inspire them to create a similar learning opportunity—one that fosters both technology and literacy skills!

Most people are familiar with recycling newspapers, plastic bottles and aluminum cans, but how much do you know about recycling electronics?

As a result of creating a video for the “Going Green Electronically” video competition sponsored by the Blair County Department of Solid Waste and Recycling, the BAMS Tech Club learned about the importance of conserving natural resources by properly disposing of TVs, VCRs, printers and more.

Check out our entry below…

OK, so we may not be ready for the big screen just yet, but the skills these students have acquired through the video production process are amazing! Besides learning how to utilize various tools and programs—Flip Cameras, Audacity and Movie Maker—these 10-12 year olds are becoming quite adept at developing a setting, theme, script, lyrics and music based on a given topic. And then factor in the motivation and enthusiasm projects like these generate! Cool stuff!

Stay tuned for the results of the contest…

In the meantime, check out the BAMS Tech Club wikispace—which includes a page about the recycling video—here.