Classroom Connect
Classroom Connect
Internet Educator of the Year
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLd5e3Y8r4f0LAuSOrUXw3U8u9N1z2XYjI
Nominee Information:
* Nominee's Name: Kelvin Y.S. Chun
* Address: 3055 Puiwa Lane, Honolulu, Hawaii 96817
* School Name: Nu`uanu Elementary School
* District: Honolulu
* Nominee's Position: Technology Resource Teacher
* Grade level(s) taught: K-6
2. A link to the nominee's Web site that contains:
A. Essay of 750 words or fewer describing:
How the nominee has used the Internet within the curriculum to encourage student learning and growth during the 2001-2002 school year:
As we look to the future, our students may inherit an island state threatened by pollution, overpopulation, land development and other by-products of modern society. Thus, we need to assist them to be involved with their changing community and yet be mindful of the past as it connects them with the present and their future. Since I team plan with the teachers, I had the opportunity to work with the teachers in Project A`o like o Nu`uanu (Learning together at Nu'uanu). With a team of teachers, community leaders, parents, experts from the Department of Land and Natural Resources, our students explored and learned about the Nu`uanu community, its history, social, economic, geographic and cultural characteristics. Through this project, our students became historians for the Nu`uanu community, engaged in field research of Hawaiian history, web publishing on the Internet, and documentation of oral history from the people of Nu`uanu. Our students developed understandings about how Nu`uanu successfully adapted from a rural to an urban community and through a video documentary and multimedia presentations, they preserved the past, shared the present and planned for the future of Nu'uanu. Every class teamed together to dramatize, dance, and sing in a historical, cultural performance to celebrate Ka Beauté o Nu`uanu (The Beauty of Nu'uanu). Some classes studied preserving the water and the sea, and other classes created a native Hawaiian plant garden. Parents and students teamed together to recreate the cooking of a pig in the ground. Our school website is filled with resources for the whole community. The site includes the student handbook, menu, calendar of events, research links, school improvement and technology plans, and many other educational related links. Project A`o like o Nu`uanu exemplified the development of meaningful and relevant work that empowered them to make connections on what they learned and cared about in preserving the Nu`uanu community. This project was one of my many noteworthy achievements, for it required the students be involved in-depth field-based learning with community experts and their parents for an extended period of time.
How the nominee plans to use the Internet in the classroom during the 2002-2003 school year:
At Nu`uanu Elementary School, every child is continually engaged in learning about the latest technologies. They create their own personalized electronic portfolios. This hands-on exposure to technology also promotes creativity and self-exploration; these are all important skills that will serve the students well throughout their lives. These portfolios become an intersection of BOTH instruction, AND assessment.
Our students develop electronic portfolios with audio, video, pictures, and animation and share them through web pages, video tape, and files on a pressed cd-rom. Students are combining elements of telecommunication, multimedia, and video production to support their learning. At the end of the year, students reflect on their year's progress, and save their most valuable and memorable files. Portfolios can capture growth over time and can help our students when planning for their future career choices, or when pursuing higher education.
How what the nominee does affects more than just his/her own students:
Project A'o like o Nu`uanu aimed at building an appreciation for our environment by uniting a community of active and concerned citizens. The project incorporated the literacy beliefs, comprehension and critical thinking strategies applied to our land and water resources. In island ecosystems, our drinking water (wai), our most precious natural resource, literally floats on sea water. In this study, students developed an appreciation for their island environment by gaining an understanding of our water cycle, and learned that they need to protect this fragile supply as they grasp the relationship between the quality of their lives and the quality of our natural resources.
Every child is given an opportunity to learn technology. A teaming of school resources should support students' learning. The librarian, technology teacher and classroom teachers are resources to guide students in finding supporting information for their research. As a guide for students, a research internet page is created to assist students in finding appropriate resources. Students are taught to find the research page from Nu`uanu School's home page. The school home page acts as a guide to desirable sites and can be accessed from home and the community.
My experiences at the district, state and university level, and my experiences as a secondary and elementary teacher have given me the opportunity to present at local, state, national and international conferences. I have integrated my background in technology and mathematics with my hobbies of kite-making, magic and balloons and shared them at workshops and conferences.
As the knowledge of utilizing technology spreads throughout the school culture, learning becomes simpler and more self-motivating. Our students gather data, analyze and evaluate information, and communicate locally, nationally, and internationally in a technology enriched environment with people of all ages. It is my vision that they will learn and team together as part of our Nu'uanu School community of learners and become our trainers and our leaders.
D. Letters from three references describing the nominee's qualities, qualifications, and impact on others. Please include contact email addresses of each reference for verification.
E. Web links to additional materials that may include student work.
Nu`uanu Elementary School website
6th Grade: Malama I Ka Wai A Me Ke Kai (Care for the Water and the Sea)
3rd Grade: Kids Saving Our Future
School Wide: May Day Program 2002: Ka Beauté o Nu`uanu (The Beauty of Nu'uanu)
Nuuanu's Model City of the Future