By Chrissy Carter    Contributing Writer

GARYVILLE – Technology and learning go hand in hand at Garyville/Mt. Airy Magnet School.

Eighth graders in Gwenesta Fenroy’s English class are preparing to present their electronic book reports on Nov. 30 to school board members and parents.         

“I wanted my students to use technology to research inspirational Americans that interest them,” said Fenroy. “By studying these non-fiction books, the students will be better prepared for the iLeap.”                

Middle schoolers chose accelerated reading biographies on various celebrities, singers, athletes and historical figures. After studying their findings, students used iMovie to edit power points on their Apple laptops that were provided by the St. John Parish School Board. The students were challenged by reporting on the person’s life while learning editing techniques like adding music and pictures to the presentations.

“I wanted to see how Kobe Bryant achieved his goals,” said eighth-grader Oriona Johnson. “Writing takes a long time, but with using the Internet it’s a lot faster and easier.”             

Other famous figures that will be presented are boxing legend Muhammad Ali, iconic artist Leonardo Da Vinci and popular Saints star Pierre Thomas.