Getting hi-tech

TRI-LAKES AREA — Teachers at Bismarck Middle School use technology in their classrooms every day.

Summer Calhoun teaches seventh- and eighth-grade English. She uses a Smartboard in teaching her lessons.

“We’ve been labeling the parts of sentences,” said Calhoun, who is in her fifth year at the middle school. “Before I had to write on a dry erase board. Now, with the Smartboard, I can save the diagram and just erase it on the computer screen.

“With the new Smartboards and document cameras we have, I can take a picture of an essay, put it on the board and edit it right there. It’s important to see others’ mistakes so you can avoid making those same mistakes.”

She also uses technology when teaching literature.

“We use compact discs for our book talks,” she said.

Calhoun said using the Smartboard keeps the kids active; it engages them.

“Kids really need to be motivated in the classroom,” she said.

Calhoun said she has a lot of lessons saved on the computer so when a student is absent, she just prints out the lesson for him or her.

“Or if they need extra help, I can just print that out for them,” she said.

This is the first year Bismarck Middle School has used Smartboards.

“We attended workshopshere at school, but the kids teach me a lot, too,” Calhoun said with a laugh.

Misti McAnally is the library media specialist. This is her first year at the middle school.

The media center or library has six computers that are available for the students to use for research. McAnally also uses the Smartboard in the library.

“I’m going to use it for book trailers as a way to get students excited about books,” she said. “We’re going to have a contest, and the winning entries will be posted on the school’s Web site.”

McAnally said the students will use the Animoto Web program, which is a free download for schools, to create their videos for the book trailers.

She said she also has plans to create a virtual bulletin board using the Smartboard. And she plans to use a f lip camera to film students giving book talks.

Kathy Pasley teaches sixth grade math.

“I also use the Smartboard in my class,” said Pasley, who is in her fifth year of teaching at Bismarck Middle School.

Pasley also has used the Web site PBworks to set up a Web page for her class.

“I can use it to leave messages about things coming up,” she said. “Students also have the ability to blog on the page about assignments. Those blogs will be sent to meby e-mail. All of this is password protected.

“This gives me the freedom to scan in lesson pages from the text so I have current and past assignments on the Web page. Anyone who has been absent can download the assignment.”

Pasley said she and her students are “really enjoying” using this Web site.

“I have a flip camera, too,” she said. “I have taped lessons in class with it and put them on the Web site so anyone can go and see them.

“It’s a work in progress,”she said of the Web page. “The kids are excited about it.”

Pasley said she wants “to integrate as much technology as possible” into her classroom.

Calhoun added, “Technology has made it a lot easier for us.”

She noted they also have the Senteo interactive response system to use with the Smartboards. This includes remote control devices or “clickers,” which the students use to answer questions posted on the Smartboard and get immediate feedback.

“I hope to start using these after Christmas,” she said. “It’s hard to get everything going in one year.”

Calhoun said, “Kids like anything involved with handson activities. They will love these clickers.”

“They see it as a game,” McAnally added.

“They’ve never met a game they didn’t like,” Pasley said with a laugh.

- crolf@arkansasonline.com

Tri-Lakes, Pages 56 on 11/12/2009

Print Headline: Getting hi-tech