Meet our April Featured Teacher: Katie Clift

Congratulations to our April 2016 Featured Teacher Katie Clift. Katie teaches seventh grade science at Camillus Middle School in the West Genesee School District. She has been teaching for 13 years, all of which have been with the West Genesee district.

Twenty-first century skills are the hallmark of Katie's seventh grade science classroom. Collaboration, critical thinking, communication, and problem solving are the foundational elements of her lessons. Students in Katie's classroom have access to mobile computing devices, as well as Google Apps for Education (GAFE). She has leveraged the power of these platforms to create innovative learning experiences. Earlier this year, students in Katie's class designed three dimensional cells using online Computer Aided Design (CAD) software called Tinkercad. Using Google tools, students worked together to design and assemble the cell to be 3D printed.

Despite CAD and 3D printing being new technologies to her, she enthusiastically met the challenge to provide this experience to her students. Katie worked closely with CNYRIC Instructional Technologist Chris Rogers to integrate the tools into her classroom.

Katie’s students have benefited from these initiatives because the skills that come along with each lesson are applicable everywhere. Technology is never the focus in Katie's classroom, rather it is a tool that organically enhances her teaching. Students in her class have an expectation that they will be applying the latest technology and methods to help them solve problems and collaborate and the results have been astonishing.