STLP Showcase Competition

My name is Ellie Moore and I am from Butler County Middle School. I recently just attended the STLP Showcase Competition as a Gazette Reporter. This was a very wonderful experience for me because I got the pleasure of interacting with people that had the same interests as me. Because I have a passion for writing, I think Gazette Reporter was the perfect thing for me in STLP.

To start with, I decided to find two elementary school projects and interview them. One of those groups is from Jennie Rogers Elementary School and there project was titled “Jennie Rogers Community Garden.” These young students informed me that the purpose of this project was to grow a garden and share it with others. When I asked them what they thought the most interesting part of this experience was, they told me they loved learning about the plants. They said the most fun part was getting to plant the garden together and I thought that was really adorable. Not only does STLP help students to learn but also to work as a team. Then when they told me about the technology they used, I was blown away! These children who were only in Elementary School use things like Prezi’s and Glogsters that I myself only learned how to do a year or two ago. They also included things like video’s and pictures that were on a slideshow provided to watch on an iPad. Overall, these children from Jennie Rogers Elementary School surprised me. Plus, what made this group reminded me of myself when I was in STLP at their age.

The other elementary school I interviewed was from McKee Elementary school. The title of their project was “Bulldog Tech Team.” The reasoning behind their project was to go from place to place, teaching Spanish to other schools. When they spoke of this to me I was stunned. I can barely speak Spanish myself let alone this young of kids. When I asked them, “What was the most interesting part of this project for you?” They quickly responded with, “We just love a challenge!” They also stated that they loved being together through all of the experience. Their technology consisted of videos, slide shows, pictures, and more presented on an iPad. In conclusion, McKee Elementary School kept me intrigued.

After all of this excitement, I finally ventured my way over to middle school projects where I also picked out two. I found it was easy to relate to these students because our ages were so close. This also made it very hard to select a group. The first middle school I interviewed was from Metcalfe County. The title of this project was called “Can You See the Leader in Me?” Their goal was to really collaborate with students by being a leader and they told me that they really did get that feeling of being a leader that they wanted. They said they really had fun working together. They incorporated technology like videos arranged on a slideshow. Generally I think I did see the leader in them and after all, that’s what STLP is all about; being a leader.

Next, I visited Northern Middle School’s table. Their project was entitled “Healthy Rays.” I was really intrigued in this project because this group of teens has taught kids how to conserve energy which is something I wish I could do better. In their setup I got to see a live plant they had been growing themselves and they had taken observations on things such as how fast it grew. They ended up growing a series of green beans and potatoes. I asked them what the most fun part of this experience was and they said that they loved actually teaching the classes to other students. For their technology, they had a wonderful Prezi that I could tell took a lot of work. Overall, I think their work was fantastic.

Lastly, I looked around for two high school projects. The first group I interviewed was from Berea High School. Their work was titled “WBCB News Broadcast.” Though I only got the pleasure of talking to one group member, he did very well as in that he had to remember everyone’s lines while they were busy. He said they had three main goals and that was to Inform, Inspire, and get involved. To accomplish this they make a webcast together every week. In this they presented students, peers, and staff. Also in each segment they used Microsoft Word, YouTube, Pinnacle, and Studio 14. In general, he did a great job explaining his project to us.

Lastly, I met the people from Cumberland County High School. Their project was called “Panther Alerts for School success.” These two girls made a website where students can follow teachers and keep track of assignments and they also created a blog. They said the most interesting part of this experience was that they for once actually got to teach the teachers because they did not know how to use the website. To make this all happen they used Microsoft office, a Blog, And SkyDrive. I think it was a pleasure to end my amazing experience with this group.

After all of my STLP experience was over, I was very pleased with my experience at the competition. One thing that I think people really enjoyed working together as a team because that is the main response I got when I asked each group what they found most fun in their project. I had a very wonderful time at this competition and it was a memory I will never forget.

Jennie Rogers Elementary; Jennie Rogers Community Garden

McKee Elementary School; Bulldog Tech Team

Metcalfe County; Can You See the Leader in Me

Northern Middle School; Healthy Rays

Berea High School; WBCB News Broadcast

Cumberland County High School; Panther Alerts for School success