Digital Educators at HSCSD#1
by Breez Daniels
Nine teachers in Thermopolis schools
have been busy researching and purchasing innovative digital tools
for their classrooms.
Each of the nine teachers selected as Digital Educators in the Hot
Springs County School District have received a $6,050 award from
the Wyoming Education Trust Fund for Innovation in Education.
Ralph Witters Elementary Digital Educators are Toby Emery, Sarah Spring and Heidi Hunt. Jim Lash, Robert Davis and Heather Olsen have been selected at Thermopolis Middle School. While high school Digital Educators are Brenda Peterman, Eric Kay and Donna Daniels
“Being selected as a digital educator is allowing me to stay on the cutting edge of educational innovation in the classroom,” middle school social studies teacher Jim Lash said. “As a veteran teacher I’m still learning and changing my educational practices to better meet the needs of today’s students
“It’s exciting and little bit intimidating but I’m looking forward to the challenge.”
For the past few weeks all nine teachers have been busy researching and choosing digital tools for their individual classrooms. The newest large screen interactive whiteboards were at the top of the list for five classrooms. Interactive whiteboards allow teachers to present material in a dynamic format and with touch technology students complete interactive lessons downloaded to the boards.
Student response systems, better known as “clickers” will also be featured in most of the digital classrooms. With a look similar to a remote control the clickers are a quick and informative assessment tool that students actually enjoy. Instead of the usual groans heard throughout a classroom when a teacher announces it is time for a quiz, the clickers have students eagerly responding and instantly learning whether or not their response was correct
“I’ll post a quiz on the interactive board, each student will have their own clicker which makes their response anonymous to their peers as they respond to each question,” high school language arts teacher Eric Kay said. “This allows for immediate feedback and allows me access to a large amount of question analysis that I normally would never have.”
Other digital tools these teachers plan to introduce to the classroom include IPods for downloadable audio books and reading fluency.
“I have purchased IPods and have used them by having students record themselves reading stories and also playing it back to themselves when they are finished and re-reading the story while they listen to themselves to check their accuracy,” third grade teacher Sarah Spring said.
Spring, and several other Digital Educators are also using Flip video cameras to document student learning activities and encourage reflective instructional practices, as well as laptops for customizing lessons and downloading instructional resources.
Middle school language arts teacher Rob Davis commented on the need for rural Wyoming students to have access to the latest technology, “To be competitive in a limited workforce world, to be competitive with literally millions of college bound students, you need to know technology.
“When our students reach the upper levels of their educational careers time will not be taken to teach them these skills and tools. We can’t put our students in a situation where they fall behind because they need to learn something the rest of the world knows.”
At the high school Donna Daniels and Brenda Peterman have chosen technology specific to their subject areas. Daniels plans to introduce her students to the latest in scientific probeware. These hands on science tools allow students to collect lab data with technology most have only seen on television.
Math students in Peterman’s classroom will use TI-NSPIRE technology, an integrated system that combines a handheld calculator and computer software with assessment tools that gauge student understanding of math concepts.
“TI-NSPIRE handheld devices and the wireless Navigator will be used to analyze data and communicate results with the entire class or just to me the teacher,” Peterman said. “It is quite an honor to be selected as a digital educator; primarily because I will be able to offer my students tools that will enhance their learning as a result of the funding provided by the program.”
Digital educators enthusiastically agreed that advanced digital tools will increase student engagement in their classrooms and enhance their own instructional resources.
“We are creating schools for the 21st century,” writing teacher Heidi Hunt said. “We want to create innovative classrooms that kids are excited to attend.
“As teachers we are interested in the research that shows using technology increases student learning.”
