No more ‘dog ate homework’ excuses in paperless classes
By SHARON KERR

Two classes at Jasper Junior High School have gone “paperless,” meaning at least 75 percent of classroom instruction is by computer online, including textbooks, reference materials, quizzes and record keeping.

Becky Wilson’s seventh and eighth grade language arts classes have been paperless for months, and Dianne Pace’s seventh and eight grade U.S. history classes just recently went paperless.

English online

“Students work at their own rate, so it is more individualized than regular classrooms,” Wilson said.

Besides learning invaluable research skills and practicing keyboarding, Wilson says, “The students are more engaged and excited about coming to class.

“A lot of what they do is self-taught. (They are given) a website to go and look at this or that, so they are finding out for themselves,” Wilson said.

When it comes to talking about a topic, there is still some classroom discussion, but more and more they post comments in a forum online.

“The advantage is that when they are all trying to talk at once, they don’t hear each other. Online, everyone gets their say. Also, the quiet ones who wouldn’t speak up in class will often participate on the computer,” Wilson said.

BECKY WILSON (left) says paperless classrooms encourage students to learn from each other and gives every student the opportunity to work at their own pace. She teaches language arts at Jasper Junior High School. Diane Pace, who teaches history, says keyboarding skills should be taught earlier, but it’s amazing how quickly even new computer users catch up. Newsboy photos/ Sharon Kerr

One of the exercises she enjoys most is the collaborative essays, where the teacher starts the story and the students finish it.

“They edit each other, correct each other’s spelling and punctuation, add comments and ask for suggestions,” Wilson said.

Essays like that still must be graded by a teacher, but when it comes to multiple choice exams, students get another benefit: immediate feedback. While it is still fresh on their minds, they learn what they missed, what the correct answer is and why.

When students were asked if they liked learning this way, the answers were enthusiastically “Yes.”

Among the students’ comments were: “I can type faster than I can write.”

“I get a lot more done and it’s not messy.”

“I don’t have to carry stuff and I don’t lose anything because it’s all in the computer.”

“Spellchecker teaches me to spell better because I see when it’s wrong right away.”

Some of the websites also have audio, which helps slow readers.

By the time they reach junior high, many students have been “keyboarding” (no longer called typing) since they were in preschool. Some of them carry flash drives to bring work from home, and any student with an internet connection can access the website to review assignments, catch up on classes they missed, or just practice.

Where does that leave students who don’t have computers at home?

Wilson says it’s amazing how quickly they catch up. She pointed out one student who didn’t know how to use a computer at the beginning of the school year.

The student said, “I was kinda scared at first, but now it’s fun.”

Wilson says she often opens her classroom early and stays late for students who need help learning computer skills. They can also use computers in the school library and at the Jasper Public Library on Water Street.

When students complete their assignments, their reward is that they can use the computers to play educational games or listen to music. Filters deny access to anything questionable.

“It’s great motivation to get their work done and have some time to look at something really neat that interests them online,” Wilson says.

The computers in Wilson’s class were provided by a grant from the Beaumont Foundation of America for a program designed to improve reading skills.

U.S. history online

Pace’s U.S. history classes went paperless in early December.

“The kids are so funny because they still are not used to turning in a paper online. They want to print it and hand it in, but that’s not necessary,” Pace said.

Besides studying United States history up through reconstruction, Pace’s class is planning projects specific to Jasper, like creating an interactive map with local history.

“We will use photography and recordings so that if you click on the Beatty Orton home, you learn about its significance and see inside the rooms,” Pace said.

Pace learned her technical skills through a TIE grant (Technical Integration in Education), which helped them get cutting-edge equipment and a lot of training to go with it.

In switching to paperless, Pace says she had to teach some students how to save files properly, but once they get going “students figure

out computers intuitively... These are skills and the kind of experience they will need everywhere.”

The other advantage Pace cites is that parents can become more involved.

“Family Access lets parents see the assignments and it helps us bring parents into the educational process,” Pace said.

Her students had a lot of positive comments like, “it’s more fun; I never have to borrow a pen; it’s easier to look up things; I can follow what interests me most.”

Pace said the state wants out of the textbook business. It’s $60 for a textbook that can be lost or damaged and will eventually be outdated. It’s much cheaper for CD’s and website access that can be updated as needed, according to Pace.

She’s looking forward to the day that all her classes are online. If she could hope for one improvement in the system it would be that students are taught keyboarding schools much earlier than middle school.