Connect to Technology with Angela Yake.
Mrs. Yake took students to the Statehouse for Computer Science Day. This opportunity was to discuss Computer Science with lawmakers, and other schools. The event allowed students to showcase their projects as well as listen to speakers regarding the importance of Computer Science education in Ohio.
Read about how 4 teachers teamed up to bring a new program to students that focuses on entrepreneurism.
Students and staff collaborated on a non-educational based video contest depicting a scenario "You're not human when you're hungry." This video was edited by middle school students in Cedarville's computer technology classes and placed 5th amoungst 100's of thousands of videos leading to the school earning $5,000 for their computer technology program.
The link above visits The Ohio Channel that broadcast the speech. The following links discuss her views on experiencial learning. Thank you to Ohio Higher Ed for their role in bringing Mrs. Yake to the Statehouse.
STEMM Careers Encouraged by Woodrow Wilson Fellow
Since 2016 the AP CSP courses have showcased their Create tasks at the annual computer science fair. The fair has resulted in an event that engages middle and high school students not in the class to also show interest in participating in the CS Fair. As a result the tech club Mrs. Yake started at the Middle and High Schools called Club Technected meets every other Thursday to encourage students to create projects to showcase at the fair. Due to the COVID-19 closures our 5th CS Fair will be hosted online. Tune in to see students' projects online.
In 2015, Cedarville Middle School students with technology teacher Mrs. Yake participated in the National Samsung Solve for tomorrow contest. After being selected as Ohio's state winner they went on to be a top 15 National finalist and pitched their STEM project (a mobile app) in New York City. Below are links to several articles about the experience.
Clark State Alumna Leads Class to Top 15 in Samsung Solve Contest
Small school making a big difference
SamsungSpotlight
Technology Project Seeks Votes
GMA
Mrs. Yake began teaching in 2003 when she opened an in-home daycare for preschool students. In 2005, she closed her daycare during the school year when she accepted a position teaching at the Springfield Clark County JVS Adult Technical Center that her aunt connected her with. Mrs. Yake was supposed to use her business degree to teach accounting but was quickly repositioned to teach everything except for accounting. The skills she learned studying Management Information Systems and working for the College of Business at Wright State University led to her being the lead Office Technology skills focusing on Microsoft Office and preparing students for Microsoft Office Specialist Certification Exams.
When the Adult Technical Center Closed the Corporate and Community Services division of Clark State Community College picked up the courses and Mrs. Yake was fortunate to move with the program to work closely with the Department of Jobs and Family Services to provide workforce development courses to displaced workers.While at Clark State Mrs. Yake continued teaching courses including College for Kids courses over the summer and became an adjuct instructor with the college credit courses and self-paced labs. In 2011 Mrs. Yake applied for the Woodrow Wilson Fellowship and upon being selected to join that elite group of commited individuals Mrs. Yake entered into a Masters in Education program with a major in Curriculum and Instruction and a license in 7 - 12 mathematics. In addition to the math license, Mrs. Yake obtained a Computer Information Science License and has been teaching computer technology and computer science coures since 2013 to grades K - 12 at Cedar Cliff Local School District.
Mrs. Yake's teaching philosophy is easy to decipher from the varied links highlighted on this page. Mrs. Yake believes students learn best when they experience learning. Prior to taking the position at Cedar Cliff Local Schools she noted via an invitation at the Ohio Statehouse the value in students having experiences. Whether it is the students she placed as adults in internships or students showcasing projects in the school's gymnasium for the annual Computer Science Fair Mrs. Yake consistently notes the importance for students to have experiences and develop their own learning. She believes students learn more and remember what they learned when they have to seek the content themselves.
That doesn't mean there aren't moments of direct instruction, but it does mean that students are given a variety of opportunities to construct their own learning and have choice on what topics they learn about. For example, her technology communications class this winter had a mini project where they got to write their own learning experience based on something they already learned the first semester. Most students went further with video editing, other students dove deeper with animation, and a third of the class created their own websites from scratch HTML code, no templates or drag 'n' drop apps. In the midst of the COVID-19 crisis and online learning Mrs. Yake believes her students will have an advantage considering they have already been challenged to construct some of their own learning and do online learning tasks.
There have been a number of opportunities where Mrs. Yake has shared educational experiences and resourses outside of her classroom.