Students have a chance to use their ‘e' strengths

By Wendy K. Kleinman

Published: August 28, 2007

They sat on the edge of their seats, eyes wide open, remote controllers in their hands.

"OK, go!”

Their fingers worked fast. Some hit A, some B, others C or D.

They weren't answering a call by "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire” host Meredith Vieira to poll the audience. They were answering fourth-grade teacher Andre Daughty's call to buzz in answers to a practice test question.

Still, the goal might well be worth a million dollars to the Eisenhower Elementary students in Oklahoma City — chances to have fun in a classroom, and to do better in school.

And more students are getting that chance as technology becomes prevalent in schools. Hands-on tools, time-saving programs that automatically grade assignments and software that increases parent-teacher communication are revolutionizing education.

When students buzz in their answers on the eInstruction program — which is tied to a SMART Board, or interactive white board — Daughty knows immediately what students don't understand.

One word problem required students to understand they needed to multiply eight times seven. But some students chose answer D, 15, instead of B, 56.

Instead of students taking a test and teachers taking them home to grade and handing them back two days later, teachers can immediately see where their students need more help, and even which students need more help.

"(The student with buzzer) No. 21 was taking a while to answer,” Daughty said later, "so I can walk around the room to No. 21 and ask ‘Are you understanding?'”

Eight years ago when Daughty started teaching and the popular technology was an overhead projector, he couldn't have done that, he said. His interaction with students was confined to those seated near him. He didn't have the freedom to keep the lesson going if he moved away from the front of the room.

The quick feedback and hands-on technology helps students because the lesson is "more in their face,” Eisenhower Principal Angela Houston said.

"Our kids are at an age now where their attention span is so much shorter than when I went to school,” Houston said. "The handheld (game) now is so important. So anything they can manipulate with their hands, they're the ones who are going to benefit. This needs to be in every classroom.”

"Instead of being bored, we get to press a lot of buttons,” said Daijha Cobb, 10, an Eisenhower fifth-grader who used eInstruction last year.

The Eisenhower fourth-graders, who got their hands on the eInstruction system for the first time last week, saw proof of the technology's benefit in fifth-grade student Miranda Toney, 10, who joined the students for their first go-round with the system.

"Before the technology ... I didn't make A's and B's all the time,” Miranda said.

"It makes me feel smarter,” said fifth-grader Davonta Mims, also 10. "It's more fun to use instead of just writing down and your hand starts hurting.”

Students' scores on practice tests last year started in the 30s, Daughty said.

After a few rounds with eInstruction, they shot into the 90s. He attributed the change to the technology.

"A lot of kids, they're not used to ‘book.' We talk to their strengths,” Daughty said. "Some of our students now have a chance to go to Bell Isle (Enterprise Middle School), just based on those scores.”

Technology is good for more than just classroom instruction.

Oklahoma City Public Schools uses SmartWeb to engage parents in their children's education. Teachers can post grades, attendance, and missing and future assignments on the program. Parents have passwords that allow them to access only their child's information.

Some schools have computer kiosks for parents to use, some of which have touch-screen capabilities for people with handicaps and a Spanish file for non-English speakers.

Schools also have hosted training sessions for parents to show them how to use the system and set parents up with e-mail addresses on free sites.

All Oklahoma City schools have the program, and many teachers have found it to be a valuable tool, said Don Hall, the chief information officer for Oklahoma City Public Schools.

But that doesn't hold true districtwide.

At Eisenhower, Houston said parents are not adept with the system yet.

It's the cultural change represented by using technology as a primary means of communication — something not all groups of people find natural or easily affordable — that leads to that challenge, Hall said.

Hall said he is working on an analysis of the school district's technology and related procedures to understand how Oklahoma City public schools can better use their existing technology resources.

Though no major pieces of technology were new in schools this year, he said, the assessment will help determine if there's anything that would improve instruction in the future.

The findings, expected to be done within 60 days, will be presented to the school board, he said.

Comments