BOSTON, Jan. 26, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Global learning
company Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (HMH) today announced three
winners of the HMH Curious Classroom contest, an online competition
for teachers designed to spotlight effective and original resources
that foster curiosity in the classroom. Launched in October 2015, the contest invited teachers across
the United States to create and
share an inspirational three-minute video featuring an innovative
resource, tool or lesson they created to engage and motivate
students.
The HMH Curious Classroom contest marked the introduction of HMH
Marketplace, an online destination for educators to discover, share
and sell applications and resources that enhance the learning and
teaching experience. Launching in early 2016, the beta version of
HMH Marketplace will feature applications created by edtech
developers and start-ups, from digital learning tools to games and
classroom resources, as well as original content made by teachers
for teachers. The winning HMH Curious Classroom submissions will be
among the first teacher-created resources featured in HMH
Marketplace.
The HMH Curious Classroom first place honor goes to Heather Francis, an eighth grade mathematics
teacher at Granite Park Junior High School in Salt Lake City, Utah. Francis submitted two
dance activity resources â Dance Dance Evolution and The
Distributive Choreography Project â that help students explore
core mathematic principles like rounding and distributive
properties. Both resources teach students about key math concepts
through dance and challenge them to think outside of the box.
"I realized that I needed to come up with a fresh approach to
making math more fun for my students, and what better way to do
that than with dance," said Francis.
Matthew DiGioia and Sherry Mitchell, teachers at Harry M. Bailey
Middle School in West Haven,
Connecticut, received second place for their collaborative
and engaging interdisciplinary mini-unit based on Andy Weir's novel, "The Martian," which helps
students learn about the science behind realistic fiction. DiGioia
and Mitchell's collaborative resource highlights Language Arts and
Science lessons, but can be easily modified and applied across the
curriculum.
"Teachers bring innovation to the classroom every day. With the
HMH Curious Classroom contest, our goal is to celebrate and
encourage the creative ways in which teachers engage students to
learn concepts and develop new skills," said Claudia Reuter, Vice President of HMH Labs. "We
applaud these winners, and all those who submitted entries, for
nurturing original ideas, experimenting with new technologies and
leading the way for students and their peers."
Third place winner of the HMH Curious Classroom contest was
Kimberly DeLeo, a technology teacher
at Dr. Kevin M. Hurley Middle School
in Seekonk, Massachusetts. DeLeo
worked with her students to create a study unit they're able to use
for safe and constructive use of social media channels. As part of
this unit, digital footprints, community feedback, privacy and
terms and conditions were explored.
The Honorable Mention was awarded to Sean Maloney, a teacher at Brooklyn Elementary
School in Brooklyn, Connecticut.
Maloney created an interactive flash game that teaches fourth and
fifth graders about multiplication problems by using various
solutions such as rounding, expanded form and area modeling.
"We're thrilled about featuring the winning submissions in the
HMH Marketplace," said Reuter. "HMH is passionate about enabling
and promoting curiosity among students, teachers and parents, and
HMH Marketplace will be our playground to do just that."
To learn more, please visit
https://curiousclassroom.hmhco.com/.
About Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (NASDAQ: HMHC) is a global
learning company dedicated to changing people's lives by fostering
passionate, curious learners. As a leading provider of pre-Kâ12
education content, services, and cutting-edge technology solutions
across a variety of media, HMH enables learning in a changing
landscape. HMH is uniquely positioned to create engaging and
effective educational content and experiences from early childhood
to beyond the classroom. HMH serves more than 50 million
students in over 150 countries worldwide, while its award-winning
children's books, novels, non-fiction, and reference titles are
enjoyed by readers throughout the world. For more information,
visit www.hmhco.com.
Follow HMH on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube.
Media Contact
Meghan Daly
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
(617) 351-5263
Meghan.Daly@HMHCo.com
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