Tech camp energizes Vernon teachers

VERNON — In Vernon Township School District, learning does not stop when the school year ends.
While children of the community are encouraged to attend educational summer programs, to practice their academic skills and recharge their interests for the school year ahead — they are not alone in this endeavor. The educators of Vernon Township School District, too, understand that learning has no finite boundaries. They know that it is a lifelong journey of acquired knowledge that spans generations and continually promotes new ways of thinking.
As part of a professional and educational effort to prepare district faculty members for the upcoming school year, the Vernon Township School District presented Tech Camp: Back to School Edition on Wednesday, Aug. 24, at the Vernon Township High School. A full-day educational summit, “Tech Camp” equipped teachers, administrators and school staff members with the latest digital education software programs and highly-acclaimed instructional methods to support student learning. Gearing up for the school year ahead, educational leaders throughout Sussex County and its neighboring communities bustled into Vernon Township High School to acquire new technical skills and collaborate with likeminded colleagues. With 15 technical instructors leading the way and over one hundred and twenty participants, the walls of Vernon Township High School vibrated with energy and “tech-talk.”
Organized by the district’s Chief Technology Officer, Matt Shea, the VTSD Tech Camp was comprised of eighteen hands-on technology courses that offered participants a front row seat to cutting-edge digital learning tools in the field of education. The morning began with a keynote speaker address by Adam Schoenbart, a Google for Education-Certified Trainer, who introduced terms from the vernacular used by Vernon’s Chromebook generation (grades 4-9), such as “Passion Projects” and “Genius Hour.” Cognizant of the changing landscape in academic instruction, Schoenbart offered his audience members innovative concepts for configuring their teaching environments to better suit student academic and social needs.
Ideas such as Passion Projects brings personal interest and creativity into the school environment, as a means to encourage academic involvement, so that “it’s not project-based learning, it’s passion-based learning.” For the first time this year, #geniushour has been implemented into the schedules at Vernon’s Glen Meadow Middle School to give students the time and space needed to create projects that follow their own interests. Within the school setting, these imagination-driven moments are intended to feed student creativity and to fuel the students’ desire to learn more.
Inspired and ready to move into action, the guests then dispersed into classrooms, where they shared ideas, participated in group discussions and practiced their newly-learned skills on state-of-the-art computer equipment. With an impressive list of courses to choose from, all Tech Camp attendees hand-selected three of the eighteen courses that either pertained to their professional role within the learning community or provided them with the opportunity to advance their technical skills. Guests were also treated to complimentary breakfast and lunch between class sessions and enjoyed generous swag gifts, all paid for by company sponsors, including Edmentum and Schoology. While the lunchroom buzzed with lively discussions of classes taken and those to come, high-tech raffle prizes were also made available to interested guests, with all proceeds donated to the Multiple Sclerosis Society.
Allotting the time and space necessary for educators to freely share and exchange ideas, the educational courses of “Tech Camp” encouraged a collaborative and communal environment of academically-driven peers. With this event, Vernon Township School District continues to offer its faculty opportunities to stoke their creative fires and to create a truly exciting learning environment for students of all ages.