1. Description of Our Community
Central Islip is a diverse community located in central Long Island in New York. The racial makeup of the CDP was 43.6% White, 25.0% African American (U.S. Census), 3.4% Asian, 0.9% from other races, and 5.9% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 52.1% of the population, foreign born persons is 34.7% of the population. There are 7 elementary schools, 1 high school, and 2 parochial schools in the town. It is labeled a 'high-tax, low-wealth' district.
2. Summary of Our Project
Our project was created to investigate and celebrate Central Islip by highlighting aspects of CI that are well-known by those within the community. However, those from other communities may know CI by news stories. We broke down the community to different groups, students paired up to research their chosen groups, and compiled their findings on the Heart of CI website. One student was entrusted with designing the website and another with recording their progress.
3. Our Computer and Internet Access
A. Percentage of students using the Internet at home:more than 50%
B. Number of workstations with Internet access in the classroom:2-3
C. Connection speed used in the classroom:dedicated connection
D. Number of years our classroom has been connected to the Internet:more than 6
4. Problems We Had To Overcome
We were fortunate to have new Surface tablets given to the students. We were unable to use Skype, OneNote, and other features of the tablet that originally intrigued us. We reverted back to using email, Dropbox, and texts to communicate rather than the integrated features of the new technology.
5. Our Project Sound Bite
A great opportunity to investigate what and who make our community great and share it with the world.
6. How did your activities and research for this CyberFair Project support standards, required coursework and curriculum standards?
This project was a great experience to figure out how to better integrate new technologies into classroom procedures. Participation in the CyberFair allowed us the opportunity to try new programs to collaborate and produce a webpage. Using the Internet moved the time for teaching and learning beyond the brick and mortar of the classroom walls.
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