Howard High School of Technology in Delaware Recognized as Verizon Innovative Learning School

July 23, 2013 /3BL Media/ - Teachers at Howard High School of Technology in Delaware will start the school year in the fall with new strategies to leverage mobile devices (smartphones/ tablets/netbooks) to help students learn math and science concepts.  At a special ceremony held on July 18 in Wilmington, Delaware, Verizon recognized the Howard High School of Technology as one of 12 schools around the country (and the only one in Delaware) selected in 2013 to be a part of the two-year Verizon Innovative Learning Schools (VILS) program, which since last year is providing on-going training to help educators more effectively and innovatively use technology to enhance student learning in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) subjects.  

With more than 40 people in attendance, the event highlighted the benefits of the VILS program and the importance of training for teachers to innovatively integrate mobile technology to enhance student learning in the classroom. Governor Markell and Tony Lewis, Verizon’s regional vice president of state government affairs for the Mid-Atlantic Region provided remarks during the program, and several public officials and representatives from the school District were present including Senator Margaret Rose Henry, School Board member Madeline Johnson, District Superintendent Dr. Vicki Gehrt, and Howard High School Principal Stanley Spoor. 

From July 16-18, 10 Howard High School science and math teachers participated in an intense face-to-face training workshop training conducted by the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE), which is Verizon’s partner to lead these educators in their professional development.  Through this training, teachers learned how to apply technology to support digital-age learning, and gained insights into the applications and tools they can readily use to interest, engage and help their students improve achievement in STEM subjects.   As a result, during the new school year teachers will lead students to expand the use of mobile devices to collaborate with their classmates and scientists, create videos that show their understandings (or misunderstandings) of concepts, and document the scientific and mathematical world outside their classroom doors.

The VILS program started in 2012 with 12 schools in different U.S. cities, and preliminary results, as reported by participating teachers, indicate that 37 percent of students have showed improvements in learning STEM subjects, 38 percent showed increased engagement, and 52 percent demonstrated increased proficiency with mobile technologies.   To learn more about the VILS program, visit Verizon Foundation.