SHELBY – Teachers in Shelby City Schools are bringing their classrooms into the 21st century thanks to a new program that emphasizes technology integration in learning.
Approximately 15 Shelby teachers from every building in the district have formed the STAR team – Shelby’s Technology Advancement Resources. According to the team’s tech coach Paulette Ream, the mission of STAR is to bring authentic real-world learning experiences to the classroom, and using technology to enhance the curriculum.
“I think sometimes we get bogged down with all the testing, so this is a way to get people going again,” Ream said.
Ream explained to the Shelby Board of Education on Monday night that originally the STAR program had a simple goal.
“Most of us thought it was going to be basically integrating technology, but now we’re realizing there’s a whole lot more than just that,” she said.
The STAR program focuses on blending learning environments, student-centered instruction, technology integration, project-based learning and increasing excitement in teaching and learning. The goal of the district is to combine effective instructional strategies and availability to technology resources into optimal learning beyond textbooks.
“Textbook adoptions are becoming a thing of the past,” Ream said. “There are so many resources available on the Internet that if we can get teachers to access those resources, we can get away from adopting textbooks and use the Internet as the primary resource for classrooms.”
Ream introduced teachers Kelsey Fuller and Tracy Mathys as prime examples of teachers integrating technology. Fuller explained to the board that she uses online learning classrooms for her second and third grade math classes, allowing them to complete assignments and participate in discussion groups.
In addition, Mathys created a customized website for her middle school art classes and even signed up for social media accounts.
“Websites provide more information for parents, and gives them access to everything for the kids,” Mathys said. “If we can get all teachers to create websites, parents can have total access.”
However, the biggest challenge for the STAR group is helping teachers implement technology. Ream stated the teachers in the STAR team are available to answer their peers’ questions and work together towards integration.
“We need to support the teachers, you can’t just hand out a device and say just do it,” Ream said. “You have people that are scared to death of using technology and they don’t know how to do it and don’t want to do it, but if you have a little bit of assistance from people you can trust and know you’re on the same team, hopefully they will learn to trust us.”
Ream touched on the four “C’s” of learning typically used in education – communication, collaboration, critical thinking and creativity skills. However, she said the main goal of STAR is to add a fifth “C” – confidence.
“When I go in to work with teachers, one of the number one things I see is they will use the technology if they feel like they can do it,” Ream said. “If they have confidence in doing it or they know someone is there to help, then they’ll do it.”
By 2018, the goal of Shelby City Schools is to have 1:1 availability to technology. According to Ream, the hope is the 1:1 ratio will result in college and career readiness for 100 percent of Shelby students.
“The district has invested a lot of money in trying to buy all these devices. We want to make sure you guys are going to get the bang for your buck through this program,” Ream said. “We’re also going to offer professional development and one-on-one support for the devices.”
Superintendent Tim Tarvin noted the STAR program is a welcome step that the district has wanted for some time.
“Where we’re at right now is the best we’ve been in rolling new technology out to teachers and students,” Tarvin said. “The STAR group is the answer to how we make teachers comfortable with technology, just like our students.”
Ultimately, the goal of the STAR program is to move the district forward with technology and make it applicable to both teachers and students.
“One of our main mottos this year has been ‘We don’t care what you know, we just want you to grow,’ because the teachers are all at different levels,” Ream said. “Our goal is to support, educate and inspire everybody.”
