TEXAS SCHOOL FOR THE DEAF PRESS RELEASE
Contact:
Deborah Jolly – Texas Capitol Schoolhouse
512-422-6678
[email protected]
Keena Miller – Texas School for the Deaf
512-462-5328, cell: 512-658-4444
[email protected]
FOR RELEASE JANUARY 26, 2015
Texas Capitol Schoolhouse Returns for 2015 Texas Legislative Session
Monday, January 26, 2015 at 8am-4pm
Texas School for the Deaf Showcases Educational Technology Used in Today’s Texas Classrooms
(AUSTIN) –January 26, 2015 Lawmakers and visitors to the state Capitol today are in for a special treat. For the tenth consecutive Texas legislative session, Texas School for the Deaf (TSD) middle and high school students join other top technology users from schools across the state, demonstrating the latest technology and current applications being used in classrooms today.
Thanks to the Texas Capitol Schoolhouse and the Capitol Schoolhouse Foundation, visitors will experience actual high-tech classrooms in progress and on display in the Capitol Rotunda basement, from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
“Demonstrating their effective day-to-day use of educational technology, students themselves show how they are learning and preparing for the 21st century, says Schoolhouse organizer and Foundation Executive Director, Dr. Deborah Jolly.
We bring the schools and tools together here to show our legislators the wonderful things their technology funding has done for education in Texas. And each time, Jolly adds, the event becomes more and more impressive as the technology students are using becomes more and more sophisticated.”
Legislators and invited guests tour the Texas Capitol Schoolhouse classrooms to observe and experience educational technology in use by teachers and students across the state, first hand. A prestigious honor indeed, for the handful of Texas schools invited to participate, along with their teachers and school leaders. Set up as regular classrooms, teachers conduct classes throughout the day, just as they do everyday in their home districts.
This year, utilizing PCs, Macs, tablets and mobile devices, students will be conducting video and sound editing, tackling challenges using robotics, demonstrating drone technology, working in online virtual and interactive learning environments, creating digital imagery, powering rocketry, showcasing high level computer sciences, and a variety of other innovative educational technologies.
“Students today are eager to show their Representatives and Senators how these important tools are used in the education processes of today, and how much they benefit from their use,” adds Jolly.
TSD Superintendent, Claire Bugen, agrees.
“The power of technology for our visual learners in this digital age cannot be overstated, Bugen says. Today’s students will face challenges we haven’t yet imagined, take jobs yet to be invented, and toil in a workplace constantly reshaped by the exponential progress of technology.
For deaf and hard of hearing students, adds Bugen, mastering skills using technology goes a long way in leveling the playing field when it comes to having fingertip access to information that allows them to ask the right questions, seek answers independently and maximize their potential as life-long learners.”
TSD is participating among districts, including Coleman ISD, Coppell ISD, Deer Park ISD, Denton ISD, Klein ISD, Pasadena ISD, San Saba ISD, Temple ISD, and Ysleta ISD.
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ABOUT THE TEXAS SCHOOL FOR THE DEAF (TSD)
The Texas School for the Deaf is the oldest continuously operating public school in Texas. Educating Deaf and Hard of Hearing students of Texas since 1856, the campus also provides outreach and educational resources for students, their families, and professionals in the field throughout the state of Texas. With educational excellence and a strong belief in a culture and community at TSD, students form a unique identity based on their individual strengths and talents, is an environment where they learn, grow, and belong. For more information about the Texas School for the Deaf, visit http://www.tsd.state.tx.us/.