Students at the Tuskegee Airmen Global Academy (TAG) cheered emphatically as confetti fell and the school revealed its newest banner celebrating becoming the first Apple Distinguished School in metro Atlanta.
Apple Distinguished Schools are centers of leadership and educational excellence that demonstrate Apple’s vision for learning with technology.
“It was a big day for Tuskegee Airmen Global Academy,” school principal Melani Sithole said. “It’s an opportunity for us to be recognized as being innovative leaders and collaborators. We’re just excited about what this opportunity means for our students.”
Before the ceremony, TAG students shared several of their student presentations using Apple devices and applications.
Second-grade students explored the concept of force and motion and created a stop-motion video using Stop Motion Studio. The students developed a better understanding of the principles of force and motion and also learned about stop-motion animation and creative storytelling.
Another project showed how the students used the Sketches School app to creatively explore and review colors, numbers, and months of the year in Spanish. While creating visuals on the app, they were also reinforcing the development of a second language.
The Tuskegee Project was an experience in which students used Keynote to explore the history and significance of Tuskegee University. This project fits with the Georgia Standards of writing narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective techniques, descriptive details, and clear event sequences.
“The students love [the technology]. The classes that really hone in on it are some of their favorite classes,” Sithole said.
The students aren’t the only ones learning through this opportunity. Educators at TAG are able to work with Apple Learning Coaches toward becoming certified Apple Teachers, where they earn new skills and other ways to enhance their teaching practices. As the Apple teachers and coaches at TAG become more familiar with the technology, they will be equipped to integrate it with math and ELA concepts.
“When you think about what the world is going to look like in 10, 15, 20 years, tomorrow it’ll be completely different,” Atlanta Public Schools (APS) superintendent Dr. Bryan Johnson said. “This level of exposure sparking their creativity is tremendous… You all are trailblazers in regard to setting the standard for what really innovative instruction looks like.”