Clarkstown Teachers Presenting at Google’s Headquarters

Google invited Clarkstown Central District teachers and administrators to present how they use Google to transform student learning and education. They will meet with Google executives and educators from around the country at the company’s headquarters on Thursday and Friday and discuss how they use Google Applications for Domains and Google Chromebooks to transform student learning. Last spring, Google donated 35 pre-release for the district to pilot and keep as a technology resource.

The presentations by Felix Festa Middle School teacher Amber Klebanoff, Social Studies teacher Michael St. John, sixth grade science teacher Wayne Merker, Clarkstown High School North Marine Biology and Biology teacher Heidi Lappi and Learning Facilitator John Calvert are part of the National Technology in Education tour. 

Klebanoff, St. John, Calvert, Superintendent Margaret Keller-Cogan and Department of Instructional Technology Director John Krouskoff will present at Google on Thursday. Lappi and Merkert will join Calvert, Krouskoff and the superintendent to speak about the district’s programs and how technology aids education on Friday. 

In a Google video that includes a profile of the district’s usage of technology, Lappi said it makes the classroom more collaborative and student directed. Students can take an online quiz and she can get the results graphed quickly to see how they are learning and if there are common errors.  

“It changes the way our students interact with each other and how teachers interact with students,” she said.

After the presentations, attendees will participate in a question and answer panel and Google Apps Professional Development sessions for Beginning, Intermediate, and Advanced levels

Krouskoff said the response has been overwhelmingly positive when the students use the Google Chromebooks. He said the district is committed to give students the resources they need for the tools of the future.

 “The students are engaged and eagerly collaborate, and often their learning and discovery is shared with a broader audience,” he said.

Calvert and Krouskoff are both Google Certified Teachers and have presented to Google's national team regarding how the tools transform student learning and at the New York Institute of Technology NY Goes Google event and national conferences. The district has been expanding its use of Google Apps, which was initiated as a calendar in which teachers posted their curriculum and schedule of assignments.