Century teachers embrace technology
It makes perfect sense: take a group of kids who like to spend time online, and use online resources to teach them about the world.
At the Nov. 7 meeting the school board heard Century Junior High teacher Lori Worrall tell how she and fellow teacher Brian L. Rigwald teach Global Studies, an eighth-grade course designed to meet new social studies standards. “We use technology almost daily,” she said.
Chromebooks, personal computers designed to be used while connected to the Internet, let students do digital mapping through ArcGIS Online and National Geographic Interactive Map.
Students first plot economic resources on the map of the region they are studying. The second layer is types of government, with information from a CIA website.
The third layer, GDP per capita, helps students understand the quality of life residents have. For example, she said, the Dominican Republic and Haiti share an island, but the Dominican Republic is nine times wealthier.
Using Google Earth, Worrall said, students can see a Brazilian rain forest before and after it is deforested.
Other advantages of the technology include that students go at their own pace, check their work as they go, correct mistakes and continue until they get it right.
Multimedia presentations are possible, and students can do independent research. Games are tied to the curriculum and help students prepare for test