CRAIG T. KOJIMA / CKOJIMA@STARBULLETIN.COM Teacher Laurie Fujikawa worked Tuesday with fourth-grader Dillon Itai on his video technique in the media classroom at Kapunahala Elementary School.

Video teacher hones
students’ skills

Laurie Fujikawa has won the
award two years in a row

Laurie Fujikawa, video teacher at Kapunahala Elementary School, prefers to aim the spotlight at her students, but lately it's been shining on her.

Contest deadline approaching Entries for Time Warner Cable's 2005 National Teacher Awards are due Tuesday . The contest, now in its 16th year, recognizes outstanding teachers in kindergarten through 12th grade who develop creative learning experiences using television technology. Twenty winners are chosen annually, and each receives a $1,000 cash prize and a trip to Washington, D.C. Entries for this year's awards must have taken place between Sept. 1, 2004, and April 12, 2005. For more information and an entry form, visit www.timewarnercable.com/corporate/ aboutus/natlteachersawards.html.

"This is embarrassing," she said this week at the Kaneohe school. "The students should be highlighted, it's not really me."

But when the judges for Time Warner Cable chose 20 outstanding teachers from across the country for their use of television technology in the classroom, Fujikawa found herself in the winners' circle -- two years running.

"It's just mind-boggling for me," said her principal, Karen Segawa. "It's a national award, and then two years in a row!"

Fujikawa received a National Teacher Award last year for guiding a group of fourth-graders in the creation of a video titled "Mochi Tsuki," a heartwarming ode to the Japanese tradition of pounding rice to make the sticky New Year's treat.

The year before, Fujikawa and her mentor, Irene Yamashita, received the same national honor for another Kapunahala video, "The Green Monster of Lake Wilson," produced by fifth-graders in the remedial reading program. Originally a science project, it explored how Salvinia molesta invaded the lake and threatened its fish, and how to prevent such ecological disasters.

The deadline for this year's contest is coming up Tuesday, and another group of Fujikawa's students were busy this week putting the final touches on their entry, a video on the Hawaiian makahiki festival. Winners receive $1,000 and a free trip to Washington, D.C.

Fujikawa, who has taught at Kapunahala for all 10 years of her career, sees video production as a tool that captures her students' interests, integrates different academic subjects, and hones research, writing and oral skills.

"It's a great extension of what they're already doing in the classroom," she said. "It's another vehicle for expressing and telling a story. The technology is just a vehicle; it's not an end in itself."

She added: "They grow up with technology right at their side, unlike our generation. It's just a natural part of who they are."

Kapunahala was one of the first elementary schools in the state to venture into video back in 1990, when Yamashita launched its weekly student news program, "Inside Kapunahala," which highlights what's going on in the school. She has since gone on to become a teacher-producer for the state Teleschool.

"Mochi Tsuki" began as a simple how-to video, but soon broadened into an in-depth project when students discovered it was a dying art and decided to do their part to save it. The 2-minute video took top honors in the cultural division at last year's Island Movie contest as well.

"We wanted to learn about it because we like eating it," said 11-year-old Nichole Adolpho, a first-time filmmaker. "It was really interesting."

Classmate Courtney Nakahara, 10, said their teacher is "really good with kids. She explains it in a way we understand."

Principal Segawa agreed: "Laurie is able to make the curriculum come alive for students. She has a passion for students, especially the more challenged learners. She has them working so hard and doing such wonderful things."

Segawa thanked community groups and the military for donating hardware and software for the media program, since state technology funding has dried up. "Without their support, we wouldn't have been able to do this," she said.