Virginia Middle School Students and Teachers Share Excitement Over Thinkfinity Lessons

A Gayle Middle School student utilizes Thinkfinity.org to search a subject during the Thinkfinity@Gayle event in Frederickburg, Virginia on February 19. The event featured 20 stations where students and teachers demonstrated how they have used Thinkfinity.org in the classroom for assignments. Gayle Middle School, a Thinkfinity Model School, has created a program where teachers have embraced Thinkfinity resources and have implemented them throughout the curriculum.

Nick, a thirteen-year-old student at Gayle Middle School in Stafford County, Va., took part in a lesson offered on the Verizon Foundation's Thinkfinity.org, reading about famous surgeon Dr. Benjamin Carson on ScienceNetlinks. He now has his heart set on becoming a cardiac surgeon.

And the excitement is contagious. Nick is only one of many Gayle students who shared their enthusiasm about Thinkfinity at a recent showcase where they demonstrated what they learned about the heart, how to create a stapleless book, understand the mitosis process and make a tetrahedron kite with straws and string.

School officials, the Virginia Department of Education and the local Virginia Verizon team sponsored the event so area educators could learn about the thousands of free resources available to them on Thinkfinity.org.

There were more than 20 tabletop showcase demonstrations, each including a Verizon Thinkfinity Integration Plan. Teachers learn how to develop these plans during the Thinkfinity training process. Since the site's launch in March 2007, the Verizon Foundation has committed more than $32 million to update and expand Thinkfinity.org and provide training to teachers.

Educators report that one of their favorite aspects of Thinkfinity is that the lesson plans meet state education standards. At the demonstration, the Gayle School's teachers shared documentation about how each resource was tied to a specific state learning standard, and how these resources helped the students learn better and faster.

"It was good to see Thinkfinity get into the hands of the students in such an effective and infectious way," said Albert Browne, Verizon Foundation program director - Thinkfinity.org. "The enthusiasm and praise for this learning portal were palpable."