Apple Tools Create Eager Learners
Profiles in Success: Corvallis Middle School
Norwalk, CA — When Margaret Munoz’s entire science class received As on their iMovie projects, her colleagues were perplexed. Some of her colleagues at Corvallis Middle School questioned whether Munoz’s students had really earned the high marks. But Munoz firmly believes the grades were more than justified — and were the result of her students being energized by a technology-infused, project-based learning model. Now that Corvallis has a lab full of Mac mini computers and digital tools such as the iLife suite, Munoz says she’s seeing enormous student engagement.
Corvallis Middle School is home to a mostly economically disadvantaged student population. Due to the often-transient nature of Corvallis’s families, Munoz says it can be challenging to connect with and encourage sustained academic achievement in her students. But the use of the Apple computers has dramatically increased students’ willingness to learn. And even those who do not perform well in other areas are enjoying significant personal and academic success.
“I had a student who made an iMovie for a Science class that clearly demonstrated that he understood the material, and his project was just wonderful,” Munoz recalls. “Several other teachers wondered why he’d put in so much effort, as he isn’t doing much in any of his other classes. I told everyone, ‘This is what students can do when they’re excited about learning!’ Using tools like iMovie and the Mac mini computers, our students’ level of engagement is just amazing.”
Mac mini Offers Power, Flexibility
The average class size at Corvallis is somewhere between 30 and 40 students. Munoz says the power of the Mac mini computers — along with their compact dimensions — gives her students a lot of needed breathing room in the lab.
“Using tools like iMovie and the Mac mini computers, our students’ level of engagement is just amazing.”
— Margaret Munoz, Sixth-Grade Computer and Science Teacher, Corvallis Middle School
“By combining the Mac minis with flat-screen monitors, we have a lab that looks wonderful, and the kids just love working here,” Munoz notes. “With the small footprint of the Mac mini, we have all kinds of room. Yet the computers are powerful enough to run any application we need, whether it’s GarageBand or the Vantage! My Access reading prompts.”
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