Published: April 15, 2008 10:22 am      

Area educators step up to meet challenges

As more people discover the advantages of online learning, providing the proper technology is becoming a must for learning institutions that want the best for students, said Leah Spangler, Learning Lamp Inc. executive director.

“One thing online learning does is open up the learning environment 24/7,” she said.

“It makes education completely portable.”

The Johnstown-based nonprofit, in partnership with the Web site blendedschools.net, provides teachers for area schools and offers a summer tech academy where middle-school pupils can learn about Web design and Internet blogging.

The online capabilities may be expanding, Spangler said.

Colleges are setting the standards that will be found in future classrooms from kindergarten to high school, she said.

“There truly is a revolution,” Spangler said.

Dual enrollment, which enables high school students to earn college credits, has become a focus at many area high schools, she added.

Newer technologies can connect those high school students to college courses.

“Look at the universities,” Spangler said. “Those tools trickle down to high schools and middle schools.”

The Learning Lamp also is involved in helping to train some teachers in participating schools.

Some teachers in Shanksville-Stonycreek School District are using technology such as SMARTboards (interactive whiteboards) in classes.

A whiteboard is basically a flat computer screen large enough to cover half of a chalkboard.

Students or teachers can use a special pen to write on the screen or click on items, similar to using a mouse.

The district acquired a number of technological tools last year with a $36,000 Classrooms for the Future grant, one of the first distributed in the state.

Shanksville has been spotlighted by the state as an example of excellent implementation, Superintendent Tom McInroy said.

The technology enables students to take virtual field trips and allows teachers to show all students at once how to conduct online research.

Other tools such as Web cams and laptops further the infusion of technology as a classroom staple.

“They are taking the place of what used to require a trip to a museum,” McInroy said.

In coming years, other schools likely will have to follow suit to keep up, he said.

“Down the road, there is no way our kids can compete without this information,” McInroy said.

“It’s not just about what you know. It is: Do you know how to find it and how to apply it? It has become a real shift in how we teach.”

Teachers are beginning to adjust, said Marty Tetrosky, the district’s technology director.

In the future, they will have to know how to teach traditional skills in a technologically advanced classroom.

“It has made us rethink curriculum,” he said.

Eventually, districts may even be able to share classes.

“It would basically be online learning,” Tetrosky said.