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University of Wyoming

Perkins Grant funds virtual classroom

 

What is the highest level of ammonia that fish can tolerate in water?

When students in Carl Reynolds Agricultural Technologies class needed the answer to that question during a lesson on water quality testing, they were able to find it immediately using laptop computers with wireless Internet access.

The process of locating information, checking their results against acceptable standards, then making adjustments as needed created rich instructional opportunity for class members in the midst of that exercise.

“By using a natural inquiry approach, facilitated by the virtual classroom, it was an ideal learning environment,” says Reynolds, professor of secondary education.

The Apple iBook computers used in that lesson are part of a new electronic classroom, funded by a $26,832 Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Technical Education Grant to support the College of Education’s agricultural education curriculum. The 10 laptops purchased through the grant facilitate just-in-time learning for students enrolled in the ag ed program.

“If I’m in the middle of a class and either someone raises a question or it’s something that I’m raising, the students can quickly search the Internet for information related to that concept at that moment,” according to Reynolds.

The web-ready computers are just part of the Perkins-funded package. Among the other tools available in the electronic classroom are: a video projector, smart board, digital video camera, digital still camera, printer, 500 GB external drive used to store student projects, an Apple G5 computer able to burn CDs and DVDs, and three Palm Pilots. Every component expands students’ ability to create quality field- and laboratory-based lessons and projects.

Having technology readily available has enhanced the educational experience on multiple levels. For example, rather than setting aside trips to the college’s computer lab, where technical problems on unfamiliar equipment can dominate instructional time, students can interact electronically in their home classroom or lab on computers they know well. Wireless access to the classroom computer allows for ready retrieval of useful information for students’ resource notebooks, even sharing successful student-designed lesson plans.

Students particularly enjoy videotaping and editing examples of their classroom performance, an assignment that has yielded unexpected instructional benefits.

“The individual can say a great deal about their own performance, because they’ve watched themselves in the process of editing it,” Reynolds says. “Indirectly, it’s really strengthened the ability of our Phase III students to truly be able to reflect as professionals.”

Extending the educational experience to younger students is a possibility as well. Student teachers under Reynolds’ supervision have the opportunity to schedule field trips, bringing high school agriculture students to the electronic classroom to introduce them to the instructional value technology can provide.