Technology & Learning - April 2008 - (Page 64)

By T&L Editors Hooked on Science How an Ohio teacher is training students to be linked in to forensics. Carol Fleck is standing in front of a biology classroom in Painesville, Ohio, explaining the intricacies of of the f the h gel ectrophoresis—a technique used by forensic scientists to separate an individual’s DNA and RNA molecules. At the same time, high school students down the road in suburban Kirtland are watching Fleck via a videoconference link, scribbling notes as she speaks. Both sets of students are enrolled in Contemporary BioScience and Genetics, a groundbreaking class and the only one of its kind in Ohio. Taught simultaneously through videoconferencing by Fleck and her counterpart at Kirtland High School, Kim Perry, the course has logged more than 1,400 videoconferences and taken by 200 students since its inception in 2001. Fleck, who says her initial vision for the class was “science without classroom walls,” covers such topics as emerging diseases, bioterrorism, and forensic science. Collaboration between schools is a key part of the course experience. Students pair up with students Kirtland, communicating by videoconference, telephone, fax, online chats, and e-mail to create a product—a PowerPoint presentation on biological agents, for example—that can be shared with the wider community. One of Fleck’s technical hallmarks is her Web site, where her students can find assignments, interactive quizzes, labs, and password-protected course content. (For her AP Biology students, Fleck even provides access to an online textbook in the event students forget their hardcopy books at home or at school.) She’s also carved out an online space for the graduate-level educators she teaches at nearby Notre Dame College. Such intense tech exposure has given students a natural “hook” into science and technology, says Fleck, who was named eTech Ohio’s 2004 Ohio Technology Teacher of the year. Not surprisingly, many of her students have gone on to be science majors in college, including one who crafted an individualized major in science communications. Fleck discovered technology’s educational potential early on. She likes to tell the story of how, one early morning, Leader: Carol J. Fleck Teacher and Science Department Chair, Riverside High School, Painesville, Ohio School Snapshot: 1,900student school, grades 8 thru 12, located in Northeast Ohio between Cleveland and Erie, PA. LEADER Year her 9th grade biology students noticed the river by the school looked polluted. The students— who had recently learned from Fleck how to monitor stream quality—fired up the classroom Apple IIe and reported the incident to authorities. “At that point I fully realized how students become empowered,” she says. “I could not teach real-life skills and then tell them ‘It is all just play…don’t really use technology.’” Passionate about sharing best practices, Fleck has spoken about her pioneering videoconference course to educators from around the world. Fleck and Perry presented “Together in the Trenches: Two Teachers Share the REAL Story of Daily Videoconferencing” at the 2004 Keystone Conference, which was attended—in real life and virtually— by 1,400 educators and videoconferencing leaders from five countries and 35 U.S. states. Closer to home, Fleck has presented at the eTech Ohio Conference. Like all good teachers, Fleck is always searching for new ways to engage her students. This year, for example, she plans to arrange a live videoconference link to real-time surgeries, during which her AP Biology students will be able to talk with doctors and medical staff. Learn more: www.painesville-township.k12.oh.us; http://carolfleck.pageout.net Last Byte: “Technology is a great equalizer when it comes to age, gender, and social status.” —Carol Fleck 64 | www.techlearning.com http://www.painesville-township.k12.oh.us http://carolfleck.pageout.net http://www.techlearning.com

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Technology & Learning - April 2008 Contents New @ techlearning.com Editor's Desk News and Trends Digital Age Assessment: Part 2 Anytime, Anywhere Learning Caught on Video Cover Story: Plan and Deliver Cutting Edge in Carolina Product Guide Reviews Best of the Blogs What's New LOY Profile Series

Technology & Learning - April 2008

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