Renee' Merion, a language arts teacher at Minot High School, is the winner of the 2012 ING Unsung Heroes grant from ING Unsung Heroes Program.
Merion, who lives in Lansford, is one of 100 winners across the country who are receiving a $2,000 award, which Merion plans to use to better incorporate technology into teaching writing in the classroom.
Merion's winning project is "Write On!" It is a writing program that focuses on interactive, online journaling through the use of laptops. Using different types of software, students will write and answer questions online. Students will also use interactive websites to edit their peers' writing assignments.
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Minot High School-Magic City Campus language arts teacher Renee’ Merion is the winner of an ING Unsung Heroes grant.
Merion, who taught at Glenburn until this year, said she wants to do more with technology when teaching language arts because students today are so attuned to the use of technology in their everyday lives. Students are used to using cell phones, tablets and computers and looking things up on the Internet. They may be more responsive to learning writing than they would be if bound to the traditional pencil and paper journaling.
Merion said the interactive system will encourage higher-order thinking skills and the use of laptops will also provide students a more efficient means of conducting research. The program will also utilize a document camera and Smart Board interactive programs that introduce students to proofreading and editing strategies.
She will get started on Write On! after she returns from her maternity leave.
Merion and the other winners are also in contention for one of the top three prizes an additional $5,000, $10,000 or $25,000.
ING U.S., a leading provider of retirement plans and programs for teachers, began the ING Unsung Heroes program in 1996 to demonstrate the company's commitment to the education community. Over the years, the program has awarded nearly $4 million to 1,700 kindergarten through 12th- grade educators for their innovative teaching methods, creative educational projects, and ability to positively influence the children they teach.
Applications for the 2013 ING Unsung Heroes Award are available at (www.unsungheroes.com)
This year's winners were chosen from among more than 1,300 applications.