Teachers At Four County Career Center Put Sight And Sound Into Their Lesson Plans

At Four County Career Center, a vocational high school and adult education center in Archbold, Ohio, AV technology is becoming a common classroom fixture, and teachers are developing innovative techniques for incorporating the technology into their lesson plans. During the 2005-2006 school year, 40 PolyVision Walk-and-Talk interactive whiteboards, JVC DVD/VCR combination devices and Toshiba LCD projectors are being installed in classrooms at Four County, and as many teachers are getting notebook PCs and training on how to use the new equipment. The object is to make learning not only more interactive, but multisensory as well.

Instead of everyone crowding around a single 17-inch computer screen or following along on individual PCs in the computer lab, students can now view Web sites or electronic documents that teachers project onto 4-foot whiteboards, making it easier for students to stay engaged in discussions and lectures. In addition, teachers and students can write on whiteboards and have their comments saved electronically, along with the document being viewed.

Interactive whiteboards use resistive sensor technology to record handwriting. As teaching aids, interactive whiteboards are vast improvements over paper-based whiteboards, chalkboards and overhead projectors. Because interactive whiteboards are linked to computers, they can save, print and share all content generated on them.

“The biggest thing for me is that [the new equipment] makes students part of the learning process,” says Donna Robinson, who teaches English and mass media at Four County and was one of the first teachers at the school to experiment with the whiteboards last spring. This year, she plans to have her students use the whiteboards to present their own projects using Microsoft PowerPoint and then to lead classroom discussions. Using these devices “makes lessons more interesting for students,” she says. “They need to be involved and to learn how to use technology. Like any new technology, [the system] may seem overwhelming at first, but once you begin using it, it is very user friendly.”

HANDS-ON LEARNING HELPS

Engaging kids in the learning process is a challenge for teachers at any school. But at Four County Career Center, students learn real-world vocational skills, so using hands-on teaching techniques is a must. The center provides training to high school juniors and seniors from 22 school districts in nearby Defiance, Fulton, Henry and Williams counties. Training is offered in 26 fields, from carpentry to interior design.

“Students master more competencies when instructional strategies are used,” says Staci Kaufman, the school’s academic supervisor. By using the whiteboards, she adds, “Difficult concepts can be presented in new ways to reach all types of learners.”

Robinson says the AV technology frees teachers to move about the classroom. “I can walk around the room and point and click using a remote control,” she explains. “And it lets us do more things as a class.”

For example, students can take turns going up to the whiteboard and marking, circling or adding content. Notes made on the whiteboard can be saved electronically, so students who are absent can get a printout of what they missed.

Collaboration is another benefit of the technology. Teachers can work together and use the networked interactive whiteboards to build shared lessons, for example.

These benefits do have a cost attached: Outfitting each room with an interactive whiteboard, wall-mounted LCD projector and DVD/VHS device isn’t cheap. Williams says Four County spent roughly $2,500 per classroom, and that doesn’t include the new notebook PCs purchased for teachers.

The money for the upgrades came from the school’s tax abatement funds, according to Bill Spiess, Four County’s director of operations. “When new businesses move into our communities or existing businesses make improvements, local government may offer tax incentives,” he explains. “Tax abatements are paid to schools to help offset funds that would be lost. We have a special fund that allows us to update technology and equipment for labs and classrooms.”

Of course, whiteboards enhance learning only when teachers use them effectively. “We had teachers complete a questionnaire on how they planned to use the interactive whiteboards,” says Williams. The answers helped determine which classrooms received the upgrades.

The school was already upgrading teachers’ desktop PCs to notebooks, and some teachers requested LCD projectors for the new school year. A day of training was held in August to give teachers who were to receive the upgrades tips on using the new equipment.

“My plan is to get the teachers excited [about the technology],” Williams says. “Having this equipment in their classrooms — video, Internet streaming, cable news, DVD, the interactivity, sound reinforcement and so much more — translates into a better learning experience for our students.”