GRANADA — On Thursday, students at Granada-Huntley-East Chain participated in a national Digital Learning Day program, integrating various devices, software and mobile apps into their learning experience.

As the world of technology expands, it’s important for kids not only to understand how to use different tools but also the adaptive learning skills they will need to operate those tools. By utilizing the skills and technology, students and teachers can augment the learning experience in a fresh and relevant way.

Technology integration teacher Gary Holmseth explained how different technology is being used by different age groups and classrooms.

“One of the things that has become big is the need for programming in the private sector,” he said. “Major corporations have invested a lot of money in a curriculum called code.org. So even at the kindergarten level, kids are learning critical thinking skills to figure out how to do coding.”

Kindergarten teacher Emily Counter shared how her young students learn to use the coding technology while maintaining a balance with other early developmental skills.

“We waited until October, just to get into our routine,” she said. “So Mr. Holmseth comes every Thursday and they get about a half-hour a week and they love it.

“Some of them get a little frustrated where they want us to step in for them. But Mr. Holmseth comes in and says ‘Never give up,’ so they know to keep trying and counting, and the more they put into it, the easier it gets.”

Meanwhile, technology has entered into the traditional art class. As an example, art teacher Rebecca Johnson has students using phones and tablets to make stop-motion videos.

“The biggest thing is that we don’t want [students] to just learn how to operate something just for the glitz and glamour, but to develop critical thinking skills,” Holmseth said.

Johnson said the technology helps set attainable goals and provides solid parameters for an otherwise highly subjective topic.

“I just give them their set of rules, so when I say their video has to be a minute long, it has to incorporate sound, and it has to be a minute long, they have completely free choice,” he said. “So that’s where creativity comes in, but it also gives me more to grade on to see if they’re following directions. It’s not all about the outcome, but getting them to realize that they can think outside the box.”

Of course, technology isn’t always about creativity. When used in a more formal setting it can help students learn traditional subjects at their own pace.

Students in Alex Roorda’s math class do just that with the help of HyperDocs. HyperDocs are Google Docs with hyperlinks to view videos and visit web pages.

“In our case, they’re all lesson videos,” Roorda said. “So what the kids do for each one is click on an example and it takes them to a five-minute video. They watch that and take notes by hand and then they can answer questions on a Google Doc.”

Roorda is also able to pre-record videos, allowing greater versatility for his students.

“It’s me teaching them, but they can go at their own pace and stop their videos whenever they want,” he said. “They have access to the Google Doc until they turn it in, and they have access to the lesson videos all the way through the chapter and even after that.”

Students of social studies teachers Erin Roiger and Bethany Maday shared how using tools such as Chrome-books give their learning experience an edge.

“I like it because out of our notes you can pick out your information about what you thought was the main idea of the subject,” said student Lindsey Diegnau.

“So we’re creating a timeline [about an event] the day it happened and then the month and the year. Then we pick out our own information and put it in a three- to five-sentence summary. Then we would have to get a picture or make a Google slide and put it in to see, visually, what happened.”

Finally, science teacher Melissa Smith described how technology has helped her become more flexible with her schedule and substitute teachers.

“I think the biggest game-changer for me is my sub notes,” she said. “Not many people feel comfortable teaching a high school chemistry class.

“So I can find online activities for kids if I’m going to be gone, post it to Google Classroom and the only thing the sub has to do is monitor the kids. The kids are still getting a lesson and it could be me presenting it on their platform, or I can find a video of another teacher or videos that show examples of how to work problems. So the kids can still learn even if I’m not here.”

“We need to teach the four C’s,” Holmseth said. “Those four C’s are creativity, critical thinking, collaboration and communication. Because they have to be so versatile with everything always changing.”