By EMILY GIGLIO – 2010-11 News Writer
Originally Published March 2011
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Students in Advanced Placement Literature and AP Government classes have access to the latest generation iPod Touch, only 4.4 inches high and 2.3 inches wide. This "pocket computer" allows students to record video, search the Internet and use applications as a resource.
Clarke Central High School received the federal Advanced Placement Handheld grant in May 2010, which provided AP Government and Literature classes with 75 iPod touches.
The iPods’ small size and various capabilities allow students to have information at their fingertips through Internet access and applications — Smartphone programs designed to complete a specific task.
Students may take their assigned iPods home, where they use designated apps as studying tools and the Internet to find answers to course-related questions.
“We use (the iPods) as a reference point, and then we are going to be using them for projects as well,” Social Studies department teacher Laura Ambrose said. “I think of (the iPods) as instant reference points. We use (Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network), we use Google, we use different apps, so it is a quick reference point.”
Students feel the iPods are beneficial to learning AP curriculum and completing assignments.
“I love (the iPods). It is easier, quicker to do assignments,” senior and AP Literature student Cherranda Smith said. “If (English department teacher David Ragsdale) sends me an assignment or a big PDF file of an article that we have to read, instead of printing it out and wasting paper, I can just highlight and do all the annotations on GoodReader, (a PDF reader program).”
Edmodo.com is an “education-based networking website that allows teachers and students to communicate outside of the classroom on a secure social network,” according to their website.
In addition to Edmodo accessibility via home Internet or mobile devices with Internet capability, there is also an Edmodo application for iPhones and Android devices.
Edmodo is a secure social learning network for students and teachers to stay connected outside the classroom. Clarke Central High School Math department teacher Summer Tuggle uses Edmodo with all of her classes. "(Edmodo) is not something we use in the classroom; it is something that is in conjunction to (the classroom)," Tuggle said.
CCHS Math department teacher Summer Tuggle uses Edmodo with her students on a daily basis.
“(Edmodo) is not something we use in the classroom; it is something that is in conjunction to (the classroom),” Tuggle said. “It increases the communication between teacher and student outside the classroom, which is key for (students) not to feel lost.”
Edmodo is similar to the popular social-networking site Facebook in that users create an account and have the ability to share links and videos, post status updates and send messages within their classroom groups. Teachers can also post links in an online library for student use.
“I think it is really useful to have a teacher (online), who can give you help whenever needed,” junior Halima Martyr said. “(On Edmodo), you can communicate with other students; everyone is connected.”
For the 2010-11 school year, Clarke Central High School altered the method of End of Course Tests administration. Rather than using No. 2 pencils and Scantron sheets, all students now take the test through the online computer program TestNav.
TestNav provides students with test taking tools, such as a highlighter, a tool to mark choices that they have eliminated as incorrect and a review feature where students can check a question they wish to return to later. TestNav is also secured to assure that students do not manipulate the test or access any other programs during test taking.
Junior Janieria Dupree feels the switch from Scantrons to computers was a positive one.
“You don’t have to use the Scantron (or) worry about messing up; you just read it and click onto the next (question). You don’t have to worry about bubbling in (correctly),” Dupree said.
Education 2020 is now offered to students. The online program is a way for students to prepare for Georgia High School Graduation Tests and End of Course Tests by receiving specific instruction.
Education 2020 is an online program that provides students specific instruction in preparing for Georgia High School Graduation Tests and EOCTs, as well as credit recovery.
Education 2020 offers courses covering a variety of subjects, from World History to Psychology. For students requiring credit recovery, it provides test preparation and instruction through a virtual school setting.
Although used by school districts countrywide since 1998, Education 2020 is new to CCHS as of the 2010-11 school year, replacing the previous technology, NovaNet, which provided similar services.
“(Education 2020 refers) to the (Georgia Performance Standards) for each subject. We include a lot of different types of activities that we do in normal everyday classrooms, it is just on the computer,” Science department teacher Jeanne Scholle said. “There (are) homework assignments, there (are) labs, there (are) reading assignments and writing assignments, which were missing (from) our last program, NovaNet.”
According to Associate Principal Dr. Selena Blankenship, first semester progress reports showed 110 students enrolled in Education 2020, 81 percent of which were either on target or ahead of target for finishing the program.
“(During first term), the students and the teachers were really becoming proficient (with Education 2020), so we learned a lot about how to make the program work more effectively for students,” Blankenship said. “This term, we are seeing that things are going very smoothly. This is a big difference and it is a much better program than the NovaNet program was, as far as instruction.”
