Teachers use technology in innovative, educational ways

When Jane Kemp’s second-grade class at Vestavia Hills Elementary Cahaba Heights was learning about sea turtles, instead of just opening their textbooks, students Skyped with a sea turtle hospital in another state and were able to see the animals via live video.

It’s just one of the many ways that technology is used in Vestavia Hills schools to help further students’ education.

Kemp was a Rebel Tech coach last year, helping teachers at the Cahaba Heights school learn how to incorporate advances in technology into their classrooms.

Students these days come into school already knowing, for the most part, how to use technology socially, such as for social media, or how to navigate a smartphone for games and apps, Kemp said. But the school district is seeking to use technology to enhance learning, Assistant Principal Jason Bostic said.

“Students know there is a purpose” for using technology educationally, Bostic said.

All classrooms at the Cahaba Heights school have ActivPanels, which are interactive, touchscreen boards that can connect to computers and essentially serve as a smartphone version of a whiteboard. And there are Google Chromebooks and iPads for use as well, Bostic said. There are many robotics items available for use, and students, mainly fifth-graders, get to experience virtual reality goggles, Bostic said.

One teacher recently used the goggles to place students “in” the Revolutionary War. Students were able to see a re-enactment of the war through the goggles, which made it seem as if they were actually there.

Beth Kaiser, a math teacher at Vestavia Hills High School, said when she first started teaching, she really wanted a whiteboard instead of the traditional chalkboard. When she came back to teaching full-time eight years ago, she found tablets and Chromebooks in the classroom.

“The technology is only as beneficial as it is useful,” Kaiser said.

Each class at the high school has a “Google classroom,” allowing students to access their class materials and assignments from their smartphone, Kaiser said. When a student misses class, instead of emailing teachers to ask for assignments, students can log into the online classroom to see what they need to do.

Having access to Chromebooks allows Kaiser to save time by creating worksheets and lesson plans online as opposed to having to handwrite everything, she said. But, especially in math, students still use pencil and paper.

“We’re a nice blend,” Kaiser said. “The kids get the best of both worlds.”

With students engaged in technology all the time, their brains also need that engagement, and using technology allows the school to do that, Kaiser said.

Catherine Bentley, a third-grade teacher at Vestavia Hills Elementary East, said technology in her classroom is easy to use.

Vestavia schools now use digital portfolios that allow students to upload their work online so their parents can see. Parents now can see anything from songs created in music class to papers and pictures, Bentley said.

“We don’t usually lack for technology,” she said.

When Bentley came back from a break in teaching seven years ago, “everything had changed.” Classrooms had interactive panels, and curriculum included online components. However, Bentley said she enjoys technology and is a quick learner.

Students are becoming more and more techsavvy, and teachers are learning as well, she said. While Bentley uses technology as a teaching tool regularly and her students spend one to two hours a week on some piece of technology, students in her third-grade class still use pen and paper a lot, too.

Kemp said there are now state standards, called digital literacy and computer science standards, to ensure students are proficient in technology. That opens the door for teachers to continue to push past limits on how technology can be used to enhance a student’s education, such as using Google Earth to show pictures taken by other people of places the students are studying, or Skyping with workers in Colorado to be able to examine their landforms, which are not seen in the state of Alabama.

Part of the role of teachers such as Kemp is to teach students how to be “digital citizens,” she said. Students are taught how to use technology appropriately and educationally, she said.

At Pizitz Middle School, technology isn’t just changing how students can learn in the classroom. German teacher Kathy Rogers is using FreshGrade to change how students assess their progress in her class.

While students do still receive traditional grades a few times during the year, Rogers uses the technology to help her students assess themselves, and focuses on narrative feedback, which helps students better understand areas of strengths and weaknesses while learning German.

Instead of students solely focusing on making the right grade instead of actually learning, FreshGrade, a digital portfolio, allows students, Rogers and parents to track their work, assess themselves and develop ongoing conversations about their progress, Rogers said. Students post “evidence,” which includes posting videos, quizzes and other items to show how they are doing in learning the language. From there, they begin a conversation with themselves and with Rogers that allows them to focus on how they can grow, instead of simply seeing a grade posted and moving on to the next item, Rogers said.

Students removed from the “high stakes of grades” might choose to do more online, Rogers said, instead of being discouraged with a poor grade or getting complacent with having achieved a high grade.

“They own their own learning,” Rogers said.

The tool has been transformational for Rogers, she said. “I feel like I’m finally figuring this teaching thing out.”

Rogers echoed the sentiment expressed by others that the technology is only as good as the way it is used, which is why she is focused on FreshGrade’s ability to provide space for feedback from everyone involved in the classroom, from teacher to student to parents.

The new approach falls in line with what Vestavia Hills City Schools Superintendent Todd Freeman recently said needs to happen at all schools, and that is a focus on learning more than simply achieving grades without retaining information. That support from the central office carries over to Pizitz, where Rogers said new Principal Chris Pennington has been supportive of her efforts.

“I’m so grateful to have a supporting principal who lets me be a little bit different,” she said.