St. Peter School in Pt. Pleasant Beach recently added several technology advancements to enhance education and cultivate lifelong skills—and more improvements are on the way.
The school now incorporates 24 Sphero Sprk+ Robots into lessons centered around coding, creativity and problem-solving. The robots provide a fun way to engage with skills that can prepare students for the future. In fact, middle school grades have robotics and coding enrichment classes on a rotating basis.
Eileen Baglivio, the school’s kindergarten teacher, explained that coding is the ability to derive patterns that solve problems. It is mathematical in nature and can be fused into lessons for all ages.
“Coding can be used to move a robot around an obstacle, translating pressure on a computer key that will be seen as a letter on a computer screen, or even setting a pattern of electrical impulses that will appear as a picture on a cellphone,” she explained.
The robots are fun to work with but they’re not just there for play, Baglivio noted. Using robots can promote brain thinking patterns that are in line with coding skills.
“Learning to think outside the box is an exciting skill that makes working with robotics so rewarding,” she added.
Coding goes beyond math so it can benefit students as they grow and enter a wide range of fields.
“The children may someday develop reactions that will cure cancer or even predict patterns in the stock market,” she said.
Even the youngest students at the school are learning about how to overcome obstacles by deploying patterns to solve problems. Exposing them to science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) technology at an early age is beneficial so they stay engaged with it as they grow.
More Tech Coming to St. Peter School
A new computer lab, smart boards, Chromebooks and iPads were also added to the school’s slate of high-tech improvements.
“The technology provides clear, well defined, age-appropriate, interactive skill acquisition techniques that can be leveled to each student’s ability,” she added.
The school isn’t done expanding its technology platform. They are planning to upgrade classroom computers.
A video production lab is also in the works, which will allow students to produce weekly news broadcasts and other programs for the school. A video camera, teleprompter, as well as programming and recording devices will be included in the lab.
Why the push for more electronics in a world that seems obsessed with devices?
“Technology is preparing students for future job skills,” Baglivio said.
For now, it also makes asking questions and receiving answers simpler.
“Positive and negative feedback is more effective when students can see the answers while they are engaged in a project or learning experience,” she added.
St. Peter School is a National Blue Ribbon School that currently is celebrating Catholic Schools Week. For more information, visit www.stpschool.org or call 732.892.1260.
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