Page 13 - THE Journal, March 2017

is it relevant to everyday life. I want to make it relevant, so students stay engaged. It’s called PBL — problem based learning. And they manage their finances on the iPad.
THE Journal: How do you use Defined STEM?
Johnson: That’s my resource for all my PBLs. It’s pretty much where I get 95 percent of my PBLs. I can customize the les- sons. Everything is all created for you.
You don’t have to be that teacher standing up in front of the classroom (all the time).
It’s a great online resource. I can’t say enough about Defined STEM. If you really want to get a kid engaged, it’s a one-stop shop. The content is K–12, and if you really want to challenge them, you can give them middle school work, modify it a little.
Everything and anything you can think of is in there. And best of all — the school pays for it.
THE Journal: Do you use any other technolo- gies in your instruction?
Johnson: We are a 1-to-1 school district. We use those iPads to keep track of inventory, if they have a business. We also use Discovery Education and their Techbooks. We use Schoology as our learning management system.
THE Journal: What are the advantages of being a 1-to-1 school district?
Johnson: A device for every kid — it’s an equalizer for those whose parents are not as fortunate. Kids whose parents have a little bit more income — they can afford it.
But even they are learning important lessons. We’re not using those devices to consume information. They are actually producing. They’re using iMovie to produce movies; Garage Band to make audio tracks, to mix songs and create original music. They can record their science experiments, play
it back over and over. They can share it, and there’s green screen capability for videos.
THE Journal: Elaborate on your students and their activities on the iPad.
Johnson: The same way you manage your bank account, it’s the same way at John- sonville. They come in in the morning, and they can see the daily agenda. They do all of they homework on the iPad. They do their tests via PDFs, on the iPad. We don’t use paper. We’re completely paperless. It’s still effective. It’s better for me. I can keep up electronically better than paper anyway. I don’t miss it at all.
The content is always updated. In text- books, the information is already outdated by the time the books get published and distributed.
We talk about weather, forces in motion, ecosystems, energy, electricity. There are always updates in those topics.
In social studies, we’re discussing the Revolutionary War right now. You can look
headquarters in New York City. They gath- ered 30 teachers from 11 nations.
I pitched an innovative idea to TED. It was the JohnsonvilleLearningNetwork.com. I was showing what my kids do in Johnson- ville online — everything that we do. We at- tached a camera to a kid and captured a day in the life of a student at Johnsonville.
For my innovative project, TED gave me $1,000. They are supporting it. I’m also a finalist for state teacher of the year. I find out April 6.
I’m working on a master’s degree from Lamar University in Beaumont, TX. I’m studying digital learning and leadership. I plan to get degree in December.
THE Journal: Are there any parents com- plaining about Johnsonville?
up different sources of content — you have multiple sources in your research.
You can do so much on an iPad — your representation of historic facts is richer.
THE Journal: Are there other achievements you’d like to mention?
Johnson: In 2011, I became an Apple Distinguished Educator. Last year, I became a TED Innovative Educator. I went to TED
Johnson: No parents are complaining. Par- ents want to put their kids in my class.
It’s a lot of responsibility. The whole concept is based on collaboration, critical thinking and citizenship. There are no desks — it’s all tables. But I think the students and the parents are getting a lot out of it.
Richard Chang is associate editor of THE Journal. Contact him
at rchang@1105media.com.
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