We are very proud of the co-curricular classes that we offer to our students. It is our amazing specialist teachers, including our STEAM Team, who make these engaging courses happen!
This is the third in a series of Q & A articles highlighting our specialists and some of what makes their programs so unique. This month, I spoke with Judy Hoffman, our Director of Technology Integration, about herself and her program.
Mr. Heffron: Ms. Hoffman, can you tell us a bit about your background and how long you’ve been at Wise School?
Ms. Hoffman: I’ve been here at Wise for twenty years. I started teaching in public schools in Orange County, then went back to school myself to get my Masters degree in Curriculum & Instruction, with an emphasis in Education Technology. I worked as an Education Technology Specialist in international schools in Egypt and Spain, and I lived in Israel for a couple of years. My family is all based in Southern California and, after eight years overseas, I was ready to come home and reunite with my loved ones, which is when I landed here at Wise.
Mr. Heffron: What is most important to you in teaching technology to young people? What do you most want them to take away from their years of tech classes with you?
Ms. Hoffman: I want my students to develop the knowledge of how various programs work – I want them to have the curiosity and the skills to figure out new tech tools as they discover them. Because of who we are as a Jewish day school, I want them to live the technology values that we teach here at Wise: using kind, mindful language while online; being honest and safe when engaging with others online; being strong and purposeful communicators who eagerly share their knowledge with others.
Mr. Heffron: What is your favorite thing about teaching Technology here at Wise?
Ms. Hoffman: There is a lot of support from our IT department, administration, and parents to make sure we have the needed equipment and platforms. There are constantly new things available in the tech world, and we’re fortunate to get to use many of these exciting tools here in our classrooms.
Mr. Heffron: You teach six different grade levels. Can you describe for us what a Kindergartener might be asked to do with technology tools here at Wise vs. a 5th grader?
Ms. Hoffman: A great example of the levels of differentiation that happen across the grades here at Wise was just this past week, when we participated in the annual Hour of Code. Hour of Code is a worldwide learning experience – children from Kindergarten through 12th grades across the globe participate in activities that all revolve around coding. At Wise, all our students participated in a coding experience this past week, honoring Computer Science Education Week. Kindergarteners used CodeSpark Academy on the iPads to complete challenges using sequencing blocks. 5th graders experimented with machine learning on their laptops, using things like an AI art generator to create diagrams and graphics.
Mr. Heffron: What are some potential tools and apps that are coming down the road that you’re excited about for education?
Ms. Hoffman: I’m excited about some of the new equipment that we have here at Wise. For example, we have new Spheros, which are round robotic devices about the size of a baseball. The new ones we recently purchased are clear, which is more fun for the students because they can see the LED matrix, the infrared sensor, the compass, and the gyroscope all inside. They also have enhanced programming ability. Students are learning how to program multiple robots to react to each other, getting them to do things like follow each other, or back away from each other, or to make sounds and light up when another robot is nearby.
Mr. Heffron: Artificial intelligence (AI) is a huge topic right now in the tech world, especially its potential benefits and drawbacks for schools. Where is Wise School right now in its AI journey/evolution?
Ms. Hoffman: I believe that, for an elementary school, we’re in a really good position. At our most recent in-service day, I led a session with our teachers in which we discussed and proposed AI guidelines which will be added to our Wise and Responsible computer use agreements for the coming school year.
There is a lot of news right now about the pros and cons of AI in education, but I think we’re going to be very pleased with the positive uses of this emerging technology in our school. Examples might include: for teachers, AI can be the equivalent of having extra assistants in the classroom, helping to differentiate the learning, helping to develop lesson plans and teaching materials, helping to provide analytics that give better insight into individualized student growth and progress. For students at home, AI can provide additional personalized learning assistance, with the capability to adapt academic materials to fit each student’s cognitive needs or learning styles.