May 2008 — Features

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Fill 'Er Up

by Rama Ramaswami

Southgate Community School District, comprising 11 schools in Southgate, MI, recently created a Studywiz Spark virtual learning environment (VLE) to redesign its K-12 curriculum. Teachers and students now have access to a multimediarich, technology-infused setting.

"We have six elementary buildings that house 130 instructors who are teaching the same content, and we needed a system that would allow for group collaboration and communication among our teachers and students," says Mike Toschi, Southgate's director of technology. "Studywiz Spark has shown that there is capability to effectively incorporate mobile devices within the K-12 classroom. Currently, we are experiencing this with laptops, but in no time kids will be bringing handhelds into the classroom and utilizing them for educational purposes." Toschi adds that Southgate is looking to set up a program to incorporate either the iPod Touch or iPhones to deliver the curriculum through the Studywiz Spark VLE.

Megan Rudolph, a Southgate elementary school teacher, points to the extreme flexibility of this mode of instruction. At the end of a unit, she provides "very entertaining" review games. In addition, she inserts her own content into the lesson wherever appropriate so students can work on items they studied in class. The exposure to online test taking and problem solving is critical, Rudolph says, because "assessment and work are going to move to being all digital."

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But Is the Price Right?

For those K-12 educators who still balk at giving fourthgraders smartphones for doing their homework, experts offer reassurance that the idea isn't as far-fetched as it may seem.

"The presumption is that kids in K-12 will abuse the tools, as if a kid suddenly becomes responsible when he turns 18," says C. Marc Wagner, services development specialist for the Student Technology Centers at Indiana University-Bloomington. "In truth, kids in K-12 are just as likely to respond to having high expectations set for them as 18-year-old college students."