The Blackfriar Chronicle - September 2015

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FRESHMAN SURVEY 2015 We surveyed the freshman class on everything from which candidate they would elect president to why they came to Malvern. See the results. P. 8-9

Why are these freshmen posing?

Introducing Ted’s Talks

New season, New faces

Orientation tries a fresh approach this year, with help from the Adelphia Society.

Monthly musings from the Student Council Veep.

But not all of them will see Inter-Ac play this year.

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BLACKFRIAR Chronicle

The

www.mpfriarslantern.COM

SEPTEMBER 2015

VOLUME 16, NUMBER 1

An in-depth look at Malvern’s new “MyBackpack” system: Schoology. Nick Li ’17 student-centered approach to things.” CONTRIBUTOR “In order to [prepare students for college], o kick off the 2015-2016 school year, Malvern’s technology must be up to the standMalvern Prep replaced MyBackpack ards of colleges,” Norko said. with Schoology. Schoology is not mentioned in the list of Schoology is a learning management system LMS platforms monitored for higher education (LMS). A LMS is a website that both students growth monitored by edutechnica.com, however and teachers can use to assist with learning/ the company’s website does claim success stories teaching and to keep track of grades at some colleges. and attendance. As a result, Malvern signed a Science Department Chair Mr. “MyBackpack contract agreeing–– to purchase Kevin Quinn said Schoology is one was archaic. the right to use Schoology in 2013, of the most popular LMS’s today, It did Quinn said. used in the U.S. and internationally. nothing more Another contributing factor to Before this year, Malvern used than state the movement away from Backpack the MyBackpack website provided homework was the school’s transition from the by Senior Systems. MyBackpack and grades.” database platform Senior Systems to was the site where students could Blackbaud. access their schedules, grades, -Mr. Terrence Norko Blackbaud is a student informaattendance, etc. tion system, according to Norko. It “MyBackpack was archaic. It stores every student’s academic and did nothing more than state homecontact information. As with Senior work and grades,” Director of Technology Mr. Systems, most students will not see Blackbaud Terrence Norko said. “It no longer serviced our in action, because it primarily works behind the needs.” scenes. Head of Upper School Mr. Ronald Algeo The new contract with Blackbaud meant said Malvern was “looking for a platform... that Malvern would have to transition to the that had a social media feel and a more Schoology LMS.

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A c c ord i n g to Q u i n n , if Ma lvern had wanted to continue the use of MyBackpack, software developers would have had to dedicate time and effort in order to create new code for the communication and functionalit y of the two separate sites. “Think of pieces of software as really unique legos that you want to piece together,” Quinn said. “Schoology and Blackbaud are two separate entities that communicate and work together very well, and Backpack and Senior Systems are the same thing. Blackbaud would have to write software to communicate with Backpack and there was no real incentive to do so.” Before Schoology could be used by the entire Malvern community, it had to be piloted. Some faculty including Quinn, Algeo, science teacher Dr. James Fry, and science teacher Mrs. Vernice

Mu lcahy used the program in their respective classes. Mr. Quinn described Schoology as a “one stop shop for everything.” “It’s so much easier on students to have one program with everything instead of multiple accounts,” he said. > PAGE 13 J. FAU

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Middle School adds new Learning Commons with modular classroom The Middle Schoolers now have their own Learning Commons to reduce traffic in Sullivan Hall. Joe Lister ’21, Tyler Pizzico ’17 MIDDLE SCHOOL REPORTER CHIEF INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER n the Learning Commons we’re competing for time,” Middle School Head Mr. Pat Sillup said. “So what if we had a space where we could be there all day?” The middle school’s new modular classroom is in the parking lot between the Duffy Center and Dougherty Hall. The building’s layout is still in the working stages, however, there are plans to optimize its learning capabilities, middle school science teacher Christopher DeVido said. While reducing the traffic in the Sullivan Hall Learning Commons was a main reason for the mod being built, the building also serves to foster the style of student-centered learning the Middle School has adopted. “Grades easily get put on the back burner when the flow is focused on honing students’ strategies of growth through strong habits of work. This leads to enhancing their skills of communication, collaboration, literacy, and critical thinking,” DeVido said. “The goal is to be able to apply the content they synthesized in an

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authentic way. That is when real learning occurs and makes testing become just another tool for growth, and not the main focus of education.” The reason the module will be effective in nurturing this method of learning is much like the Learning Commons in Sullivan. “The mod is a safe, open-minded, and creative area that doesn't lock students into a cookie cutter way of ‘doing school,’” said DeVido. “It allows them to practice good habits of work either individually or within a team to enhance their skills that will put them in the best position to succeed. It literally puts the student at the center of his learning.” “Technology-wise we are going to have large TVs in the back for POL’s or Presentations of Learning,” DeVido said. “Our guys can chromecast to them and learn technological skills along with the subject field they are presenting.” “There is a ton of space in here for research,” DeVido said. On top of the TVs and chromebooks, the entire modular classroom is wired with speakers in a unique way. “We can alter where we want the sound to be

MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS MEET IN MOD SPACE / T. PIZZICO

coming from; in essence we can zone it,” DeVido said. “If we have one group studying or working in the corner and one group is presenting or needs to watch a video with sound, the one group can hear while the other is uninterrupted.” Perhaps one of the best features is the absence

of clutter, said DeVido. “One of the of the most important things is moveable space,” DeVido said. “It’s important for the students to learn how to construct an environment for success rather than having it laid > PAGE 11


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