The 100 Word Challenge tasks school students with putting together pieces of writing, no longer than 100 words, on a particular topic.
Once they post their pieces to a class blog they link them to the 100 Word Challenge blog and everybody can then comment and discuss each other’s work.
Churton School’s ICT lead teacher, Carla Carter, says this is just one of the great resources the school has access to after the school ICT network was upgraded last year under the School Network Upgrade Project (SNUP).
Located near the banks of the Whanganui River, Churton School has a number of iPads and Chromebooks for students to use. The school had some of these before the network upgrade but now they are able to be used to their full potential.
With ultrafast broadband, supplied through Network for Learning (N4L), teachers at Churton School have started using technology in the classroom on a daily basis.
Carla says in her class she uses Google Classroom and Google Drive. These programmes allow her to do everything from taking the roll and sharing files, to accepting assignments and answering students’ questions online anytime.
With a class of 30 students, using technology has helped Carla keep track of their progress and easily share feedback on work.
The Maths Buddy and Mathletics websites are also regularly used at the school.
"We have tried really hard to make the technology an integrated part of what we do and haven’t made it seem like anything special," she says. "Our philosophy is to make these things normal tools for learning.
"The children love the freedom of it all. They like the idea that they’re part of a wider world outside of the classroom."
