Ed Tech Spotlight- Christine Sapio
Posted by Renda Fisk on 4/10/2019
As part of Flagstaff Unified School District’s continued pursuit of providing effective learning environments, the Instructional Technology Team will be featuring educators who are using technology to enhance student learning. Our next feature is a conversation with Christine Sapio, a Science/CIT Teacher & the CocoNuts FIRST Team 2486 Coach at Coconino High School. She has been recognized as a leader in the district for her efforts to bring future ready learning opportunities to students.
What drives you to integrate technology into your teaching?
Another cool AP Physics project is creating their own musical instruments. They have the option of making a string, wind, or percussion instrument. The goal is to make an instrument that can play at least 6 distinctive notes or a recognizable song for extra credit! Students do the calculations, create their instrument, then perform them in class. Finally, they use the Vernier microphones to test each pitch. Using the computer, they can determine each pitch and how close it is to the actual note they were aiming for.
List your top three tech tools you recommend other teachers to try (could be an app, device etc…):
1. Vernier Graphical Analysis - free app for computers and iPads, used for graphing data
2. Vernier Logger Pro - data collection software + video analysis (allows you to video something in motion and plot it's position and velocity right on the video)
3. University of Colorado's "PHET" simulations and Physicsclassroom.com have awesome simulations and concept builders for physics, chemistry, bio that are fun and engaging
What advice would you give other teachers about integrating technology in their classroom?
Pick one lesson that you want to try using more technology and spend the time to really develop it. Think about how the technology can be used to bring a concept to life and add meaning to learning. Don't forget to try software or device you want students to use before you assign it to students...technology can be infamous for misbehaving at inopportune times!