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Photo: Kathryn Kirk/Brooklyn BP’s Office
Borough President Adams presented a stack of textbooks and an iPad as he discussed
the impact of textbook-free learning inside the Eagle Academy for Young Men II in
Brownsville, during the unveiling of his pilot program to establish textbook-free classrooms
in that school, as well as in PS 196 Ten Eyck and MS 582 The Upper Academy,
E-Education: Logging Into
School Success
With the booming and ever-changing
technologic demands of the city growing
at a rapid rate, Borough President Adams
wants young Brooklynites to receive a true
technology-driven education at school,
ready to apply to their future aspirations.
Last year, Adams unveiled a pilot program,
funded through a public-private
partnership between his office and Copia
Interactive LLC—a digital learning platform
provider, that established textbook-free
classrooms in three Brooklyn schools.
“Our pilot program for textbook-free
classrooms shows how technology can be
used effectively to enhance and enrich the
educational experience for students and
teachers alike,” said Borough President
Adams. “We are already hearing educators
marvel at how students are engaging with
the class texts, and with each other, in a
whole new manner. Additionally, we have
seen how these digital tools are allowing
students to self-determine how best to
learn the subject matter, leading to real
instructional differentiation.”
The initiative includes approximately
250 students, with 10 different teachers, at
two schools in East Williamsburg (P.S. 196
Ten Eyck and M.S. 582 The Upper Academy)
and the Eagle Academy for Young Men II in
Brownsville.
As part of the program, the pilot participants
were provided with iPads featuring
Copia Class—Copia’s latest interactive platform—
which delivers content from major
publishers and supplementary providers
to be used specifically inside of a learning
environment. The software promotes student
participation, gives teachers the ability
to provide real-time feedback, and allows
for a differentiated learning experience
that empowers students to take customized
ownership.
This is just a first step for Borough
President Adams, who spoke about the
need for technology in the educational curriculum
at a conference for the Association
for a Better New York (ABNY) in June, and
who is pressing to expand the curriculum
so that every school provides hands-on
experience in such disciplines as programming.
“We need a curriculum that prepares
today’s students for the jobs of tomorrow
– and today,” Borough President Adams
noted. “Computer skills are not optional
in the job market of 2015, so computer
science cannot be optional in the educational
curriculum of 2015. The law should
reflect this. In fact, to go a step further,
we should be offering coding programs at
every school. I’m happy to get the ball rolling
in Brooklyn.”
Beyond technology, he also wants to see
changes in the delivery of education, praising
the “pipeline approach” to education
during his ABNY speech. This approach, he
said, would help children transition from
stage to stage in their educational careers.
“We need to start our children out with
an end goal in mind,” stressed Borough
President Adams. “The pipeline approach
connects the learning of students by partnering
elementary, middle and high schools,
as well as colleges. For example, it shows
them first-hand what it means to be collegeready
by providing early college courses in
high school. Typically, an institution of higher
education rejects struggling students with
latent potential, saying ‘these students aren’t
prepared.’ Instead, Medgar Evers College is
asking a new question: ‘How can we help
these students arrive prepared?’”
The answer to that may lie in the STEAM
curriculum, which he describes as “education
focused on science, technology, engineering,
arts, and math.
“I’m putting my money where my mouth
is on STEAM because this is a game-changer
that will shift the education conversation,”
Borough President Adams contended.
“When done correctly, the pipeline
approach will put our young people on the
path to economic prosperity.”
located jointly in East Williamsburg.
One Brooklyn Ad 4-15.pdf 1 4/8/2015 11:29:52 AM
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