Jeremy Thiel, a math and science teacher at Kannapolis Intermediate School, is looking forward to "an overwhelming amount of possibilities" in his classroom. The Kannapolis City Schools district (North Carolina) received a $1.6 grant for laptops, document cameras and interactive whiteboard technology for every intermediate, middle and high school classroom. The IMPACT Technology grant is one of four from the NC Department of Public Instruction.

The local paper explains that teachers will be able to integrate Internet content, including steaming audio and video, into their presentations. "It really enables a classroom to go very quickly from PowerPoint presentation with notes about the Civil War to suddenly go to pictures from the Library of Congress," said Charles McKinley, a Kannapolis Intermediate teacher who works with students who speak limited English. Explaining the possibilities, the Independent Tribune reports:

Document cameras will project clear, colorful images of notes or whatever else teachers put under it - replacing the black-and-white overhead projectors that have been used in classrooms for generations.

Teachers will also have the option of letting students blog or produce podcasts pertaining to topics learned in class. Students may write or record their voice on a computer and post it to log-in Web sites teachers has approved.

They may also work on collaborative projects outside of class through the use of wikis, which are Web pages that allow multiple users to contribute ideas.

Blogging, podcasting and collaborating on wikis could lead to what educators call "stealing Internet time," McKinley said, which is when students do fun, educational activities after school instead of playing video games or surfing the Web.

...Wikis are also being created for teachers by grade level and subject area. Kannapolis Intermediate School has a wiki for sixth-grade science teachers broken down by units of the North Carolina Standard Course of Study. And on each page, teachers can add links to relevant Web sites or upload files from their computers that may help others explain the topic more effectively to students.

Teachers have spent the last several week learning how to use the tools to their advantage. Professional development will continue with wikis and social networking sites, such as Diigo.com. They are also establishing policies such as giving students more than a night to complete a homework assignment that involves technology. That timing will help students who need to use technology resources at the school rather than at home.

Initial teacher training concluded with guest speaker, David Warlick. Said Brenda McCombs, instructional technology director for Kannapolis City Schools, "I want him to have us dreaming and thinking what's next," said McCombs. "We want the students so involved that when it's time to go home, they are like, ‘What happened to the day?' That's engaged."

Source: Independent Tribune, Grant alters teaching, by Justin Vick

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