CASSANDRA GUSTAFSON, A teacher at Vulcan Middle School and Norway High School, used her $125 mini-grant from the local chapter of the Michigan Association of Retired School Personnel to purchase a document camera with recording capabilities.

NORWAY — The Dickinson County chapter of the Michigan Association of Retired School Personnel awarded a $125 mini-grant earlier this school year to Cassandra Gustafson, a mathematics, English language arts and physical education teacher at Vulcan Middle School and Norway High School. She used the mini-grant to purchase a document camera with recording capabilities.

“The document camera has been a valuable tool for both in person and virtual learning. In the classroom, we use the camera to project notes, share student work and model tasks for the students to observe before trying themselves. The camera has given students the ability to see an object or text clearly from anywhere in the classroom, which is important for comprehension and understanding,” Gustafson said.

“In English class, both during classroom time and virtual time, the camera has allowed me to read and write along with my students, she said. “They follow along and can see in real time everything I am working on with them. In math class, we have used the camera to display problems we are working on together, for students to quickly share multiple ways of solving problems, and as a tool to help us navigate our graphing calculators with ease. During virtual learning, the camera allows me to record lessons and post them in Google Classroom for students to revisit outside of class.”

MARSP, an organization of retired school personnel, is glad to award mini-grants to area teachers who can use these funds in innovative ways.

For more information on MARSP, go to the website at www.dcmarsp.webs.com.