Yakutat Students Create a 3D Printed Hand for Community Member by Sam Jordan at ASDN

34 years ago, in the small Southeast Alaska coastal town of Yakutat, Darin Bremner, then a high school student, was involved in an accident at school.  During a home construction class, a saw slipped and cut off his hand.  Efforts by doctors to reattach the hand were unsuccessful. Darin says that the accident has impacted everything.  “You can feel it when people notice your difference – they stare or look away. I’ve used prosthetics with hooks for years but had always dreamed of having a more functional hand.” Continue reading Yakutat Students Create a 3D Printed Hand for Community Member by Sam Jordan at ASDN

‘Turning An Empty Space Into A Creative Place’ By Librarian/Teacher Luke Fortier at Dzantik’i Heeni Middle School in Juneau

Our Alaskan Schools blog

Last summer, an empty room sat at the end of the hallway in Dzantik’i Heeni Middle School. Our team sat staring at the empty space, thinking of what we could do with the room. Possibilities were endless – maybe a place for additional offices, or a testing area. “We can always use more storage for books and materials,” claimed the Librarian. However, Molly Yerkes, Principal at Dzantik’i Heeni Middle School had a greater vision in mind. Why don’t we give the Makerspace a more defined location (not just a table in the library). And thus, a creative space was born. Continue reading ‘Turning An Empty Space Into A Creative Place’ By Librarian/Teacher Luke Fortier at Dzantik’i Heeni Middle School in Juneau

ACTing to Transform Learning by Dr. Mary Wegner, Superintendent of Sitka School District

Our Alaskan Schools blog

Arts, culture, and technology are more than words in the Sitka School District. To us, arts, culture, and technology represent education that is grounded in our explicit embrace of culture as a context for learning, a desire to have students graduate with an appreciation for the role of arts in community life in Sitka, as well as in personal happiness, and a need to prepare students for success in a digitally-rich life. The Sitka School Board adopted our Arts, Culture, and Technology (ACT) Standards in 2014, and we haven’t stopped ACTing since then! Continue reading ACTing to Transform Learning by Dr. Mary Wegner, Superintendent of Sitka School District