With the thrust of technology integration in classrooms across the nation, schools are shifting the way in which they instruct students. Richland County schools are joining this technology tidal wave and noticing some positive results.
“The biggest thing we’re finding is that students are more engaged,” said Mike Buttil, third grade teacher at Ontario’s Stingel Elementary School.
From Chromebooks to iPads, Nooks to Acers, Google Drive to Skype—technology tools are vast. That proverbial toolbox even includes thousands of apps available at students’ fingertips.
But perhaps more significant than availability is the application of these tools.
Both Crestview and Ontario schools are using technology to collaborate with classes from around globe. Ontario teacher Alecia Schalmo said that students will be Skyping with two classes from New Jersey for book discussions.
Also with the help of Skype, Buttil and Schalmo’s third grade class are able to chat live with professionals to hear about their work experience. Already the class has spoken with a jazz musician, writer/editor, and an engineer.
“We encourage our teachers to do as many lessons possible that allow students to use technology devices like the laptops, tablets, or even their mobile phones,” said Lexington High School Principal Jeremy Secrist.
Lexington High School provides Smart Boards, interactive white boards, in the classrooms and may be used for presentations, videos, and Skype, among other uses, noted Secrist. Lexington students also have access to touch tablets, laptops, and desktop computers. Secrist hopes to keep increasing their repertoire of tech tools in the future.
“The fact of the matter is that end of the day, [students] are going to be on their devices, and so it’s our job as educators to utilize technology that the kids are using and teach them how to decipher information,” Secrist stated.
Assistant Superintendent of Shelby City Schools Paul Walker said that Shelby Schools is fully embracing technology implementation. With the recent completion of the new high school, the school has added more devices, now maintaining the ratio of 1:1 of students and Chromebooks for grades 9-11.
Walker said the Chromebooks are cost-effective and automatically update themselves, which saves the technology department a lot of time, not always having to tend to the 700 Chromebooks currently in the district.
With the Chromebooks, students have access to Google Drive, a cloud storage service. “Instead of using a jump drive, everything is saved on the cloud. So when students log into Google Drive, all of their documents are there, and from year to year, kids can continue building their portfolio of learning because it’s all there in the same account,” Walker said.
Buttil and Schalmo’s class also utilize Google Drive, taking advantage of the collaborative features.
“On Google Drive, basically you can collaborate with somebody from another computer on the same document,” explained Buttil.
He said that the students use Google Drive for “book talk,” in which the students present on a book they’ve read. “As they’re working, Miss Schalmo and I can actually comment on what they’re doing, while they’re doing it,” he said.
Buttil added, “Instead of them handing in assignments to us, us editing them and handing them back, we’re editing and working with them live, while they’re working on projects, which is saving us a lot of valuable time and getting the kids a lot of help while they need it.”
Google Drive further allows the teachers to collaborate on lesson plans. “We collaborate on lesson plans from our house over the weekend instead having to do it until six o’clock at night on a week night,” said Buttil.
Crestview Superintendent Scott Will said that Crestview Schools has invested about $80,000 in boosting its technology tools, which he says will pay off with the new online testing.
In accordance with the new computer-based assessments called Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC), all Ohio schools are required to supply students with enough devices in order to administer the tests. Implementation of the new assessments is slated for the 2014-2015 school year.
Walker noted the significance of preparing students at an early age of how to use the devices. “We’re trying to prepare these kids at an early age so they’ll be ready down the road when they attend college or apply for jobs,” he said.
Recognizing that students often view the devices as a means for social media, the Lexington administration and staff is trying to demonstrate proper social media etiquette by participating in different social media like Twitter and Facebook, because “the kids need to understand how it can have both a beneficial and negative effect,” said Secrist.
Buttil and Schalmo are trying to do the same, but not with devices. They use the chalkboard in their classroom to post tweets about what books they’re reading currently. “The kids get really into it,” said Buttil.
One of the main consensuses shared by these schools is that they hope to keep adding technology tools in the classroom and explore different ways in which they can be utilized.
“We’re not anywhere near where we need to be in terms of using the devices to enhance what we’re doing and staying as current as possible,” said Secrist.
Will said that he too would like to see an increase in the technology tools, noting also, “The devices don’t replace education; we want to use them as tools to enhance education opportunities and help them in their education journey.”
Will said, “The devices don’t replace education; we want to use them as tools to enhance education opportunities and help them in their education journey.”
