|
by Phyliss Boatwright
The Courier-Times, Roxboro, NC, September 10, 2003
Teachers at Person High School want to give the Person Board of County Commissioners and the Board of Education a two-year notice. "We need funding to continue this when the grant runs out." They, along with teachers and students across North Carolina, presently have access to SAS inSchool's Web-based educational curriculum through the 2004-2005 school year.
The program is offered courtesy of a grant by the Bank of America Foundation. SAS Institute in Cary began working on the idea for the collaboration in 1996.
The grant is the first of it's kind nationally in which a corporation and benefactor partnered to make a technology gift to aid public education for an entire state school system. The partnership makes SAS inSchool courses available to all public schools in the state, particularly those that serve grades eight through 12.
SAS inSchool, a division of SAS, creates Web-based teaching and learning curricula that focus on the core subjects taught in middle and high school, including English, social studies, science, mathematics, and Spanish.
Wanda Ball, who teaches English at PHS, Jo Ann Blanks, a history teacher, and Rose Wilkerson, who teaches math, were trained last summer to use the SAS inSchool curriculum with their students. "It is a wonderful way to enrich what we're already doing," said Ball, "and to get the kids excited."
Blanks said her U.S. History students were so excited about learning via the SAS inSchool program that she recently had to force them out of the computer lab during a fire drill.
"In my 32 years of teaching," Blanks said, "that has never happened."
Ball added that, in all that time in the profession, she had never been so excited about her work.
Ball and Blanks demonstrated the SAS inSchool program for The Courier-Times Tuesday, staying at the high school until 5 p.m. to enthusiastically illustrate how the program works.
Through a central site, students can access the subject they are studying, go to related links for more information, use interactive activities for reinforcement, and even use 3-D graphics to plot geometry problems. In English, students can hear a Shakespearean sonnet read aloud, access the history of England, and find links to related information about literature.
In history, they can hear speeches recorded during World War II, access literature related to the time and see slide shows of Japanese prisoners of war.
Each of the Web sites students use have been screened, said Blanks, "so we don't have to worry that kids will be somewhere they don't need to be" on the Internet.
But there is a drawback to the situation, both teachers said. The grant is good for two years only. Yet, they hope the program can be continued here once the grant money has run out. The high school also needs more computer hardware and expertise to fully use the program, the teachers observed.
"We are so honored that SAS could get this grant to give this program, free, to the schools in North Carolina for two years," said Ball. "It would be unfortunate for us and the kids if we get excited and then lose it."
Both Ball and Blanks said they would be glad to demonstrate the SAS inSchool program for county commissioners and school board members.
"Computers in school are not just playthings," said Blanks. "They really do enrich the learning process."
Person County Schools Assistant Supt. Sandy Davis said she had watched students working with the SAS inSchool materials and was pleased. "The students are gaining a lot from it," Davis said, after observing a learning disabled student using the curriculum.
The materials are customized, said Ball and Blanks, based on the abilities of individual students. Davis said she hopes to get the middle schools involved with the program as well as to add second languages to the list of subjects taught using SAS inSchool curriculum as a tool. So far, said Davis, she had heard "nothing but positive comments" from teachers, students and parents.
SAS inSchool's standards-based resources are receiving growing acceptance coast to coast by middle schools, high schools, virtual schools, community colleges and universities, according to the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction (DPI).
In a press release, DPI stated, "The award-winning software offers a Web-based planning environment for teachers. The material engages students with different learning styles, reaches students at various ability levels, inspires students with interactive learning and is accessible from school and home."
Blanks and Ball said their students were using the program at home, as well as at school. For the students who do not have Internet access at home, the teachers can print out the material from the SAS inSchool site. Ball said she had also discussed the program with Person County Public Library so students will be able to use the Homework Center there to access the site.
The material also promotes problem-solving and critical thinking skills, according to the teachers.
Subjects are divided into categories and topics. Teachers can access the materials quickly, plan lessons, integrate the material into different teaching and learning environments, differentiate instruction, spend more time with students and use effective multimedia to teach the more difficult topics.
Ball said the material on the SAS Web site "encourages higher thinking skills, not just regurgitation of facts." She said the materials would no doubt help improve End-of-Course test scores as well as add to the classroom.
"It is amazing where it can take you and the kids are allowed to go," said Blanks.
But, said both teachers, the high school does not currently have enough computers or lab time for students to make the most of the program during class time. Access to the wealth of materials offered through SAS inSchool could better be used if the school had a full-time technology educator on site, instead of sharing with another school, they said. Getting the computer lab time and making sure their students are fully able to use what is being offered if foremost on the teacher's minds.
"I hope, at the end of this two years," said Ball, "that we can get the money from the county commissioners to continue this program."
Ball and Blanks said they were treated like royalty while at the SAS Institute for training in July. They learned how to use the program from former public school teachers and college professors who helped SAS formulate the program.
|
