The Research & Development Council started the 2022-2023 school year by welcoming new members and revisiting the work of the previous iteration of the group. The new lineup includes newcomers Rémy Liotard (faculty lead), Anushka Sachdev and Chandni Venkatesh, who join previous members Greg Clinton and Robert Krebs. We shared current and planned status of iLabs projects – audio production initiatives, Integration Studio developments, AR/VR and game-based learning, and a robotics integration project in Grade 1 – as well as potential new projects.
Lisa Krebs joined the second council meeting for an update on her robotics integration (involving problem solving and invention with Cubelets). Her work is testing the ways that toys and technology can shift perceptions about gender and STEAM. She shared some of the encouraging data she was observing. Bob Krebs followed with updates regarding the new recording studio; the council brainstormed ways to expand upon the success of this new tool and make it accessible to more community members.
In subsequent meetings, we have created and refined our driving “research” question. To what extent can our commitment to DEIJ be supported by technology and inquiry? Our work will go beyond this question, but we hope we can use it as a tool to refocus our data collection strategies.
Lastly, the council was able to reconvene in person for a fourth meeting in order to review and refine the Technology Plan. It offers a vision for how technology will enhance teaching and learning at AISC, by mapping out all the exciting tech developments scheduled for the next few years.
Remy Liotard, Middle School World Languages and Faculty Lead of the R&D Council