Deer Park was recently awarded two important technology grants that will enable the school district to purchase instructional technology tools that support enhanced teaching and learning.

The Western Suffolk BOCES Teacher Integration Awards grant for $1,000 was given to Christopher Kauter, a social studies teacher at the high school, for “Using Mobile Technology in the Classroom,” marking the sixth consecutive year in which Deer Park has had a teacher recipient of this grant.

Kauter, a cutting-edge educator who achieved Google Certified Teacher status last year, plans to use the funding to create mobile apps for his students to use both in and out of the classroom. “This allows us to break down the traditional classroom walls,” he said, “and the students can learn on the go. The feedback from my classes has been overwhelmingly positive.”

In another exciting grant opportunity, JFK was awarded a TangerKIDS Grant, also for $1,000, which will be used to create a green screen studio at the school, similar to the one that May Moore recently established through a BOCES grant.

“The new studio at JFK will provide the technology for teachers and students to produce, edit and share organically created virtual content to support student instruction and the home/school connection,” said Andrew Choi, district administrator of instructional technology. “We aim to have the same green screen technology tools available for when the younger students move up to JFK in the next school year.”

“By implementing a studio with green screen capabilities, students could create instructional media and communicate their new knowledge with their peers and the greater audience by using 21st century technology,” said JFK Principal Susan Bonner. “In addition, we are looking to use this studio to produce virtual newscasts created by the students to inform the community about JFK events and happenings, and we would like to use this technology to replace our morning announcements.”