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Technology Provides Parents a Window on the Classroom by Linking Home to School (Transcript)

Teacher 1: You can underline what's covering the polar bear. Mm-hmm, you're right.

Narrator: At Forest Lake Elementary School, technology is at the core of the learning process.

Teacher 1: Do you wanna use the pointer and make it go up a little bit more?

Student 1: I'm creating a battle on the game code Medieval Two, and we have to research what kind of people they had there, and like the terrain of the land and stuff. Like when I--

Narrator: In history class, Ian uses game software to recreate Revolutionary War battles and a Blackboard account to make daily journal entries. Technology also provides a window on the classroom for parents. By accessing her son's Blackboard account at home, Ian's mom can see what he's doing in class every day. She can also check on upcoming assignments, and his teachers' recommendations for extra credit work.

Anne Graybill: Right now I'm on my son Ian's Blackboard account. He's my fourth grader. He likes me to read what he's written sometimes, and this is just an example. It's a little, I guess, blog. And he's just talking about all the different things that they did today with their particular group. "We are at peace with the French and the Swedish, and the Dutch want to be allies with us, but we haven't decided if we want to be allies with them yet." So that's actually other groups in their class, and he's just kind of writing down, "One of our most important seas is off the Gulf of Mexico. We need to transport goods from Florida." It's amazing, you can see the facts that are woven in, just from him writing this journal. So I love to get on and read that kind of thing. And then also, here's an example. Study Island is a really fun place that they can study for their different reading and grammar skills. You'll see here, it says, "Online Learning, Extra Practice and Early Finishers," so this is a place where their teacher, Mr. Durden, has placed several links. Also, if he forgets an assignment, he can go on Blackboard and find out what it is, instead of having to bother the teacher or call a friend. He can just go right online and find it out.

Narrator: Blackboard accounts cost just two dollars and fifty cents per student for the year. They're paid for by the school district, which also contracted with a local web team to design a special portal just for parents.

Anne Graybill: It's pretty easy. You can sign into the account and you can keep up with their grades. And it's a nice way to keep track of how your children are doing, and not let it get away from you, where you don't find out till a week before the nine weeks ends, "Oh no, they're making a C or a D or whatever." So, and they actually email me any time a new grade comes up, so I can go on there. I probably go on there, maybe three or four times a week. Maybe more than I should, but it makes it very easy to be able to see how your children are doing.

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