Consistent, positive learning environment opens the door of opportunity for 3rd graders

Overview

Park View is a kindergarten through 8th grade school in Morton Grove, IL, a one-building district located just outside of Chicago. Established in 1897 - with only 148 students, the school’s population now exceeds 800; continued growth is projected over the next few years. The school has excelled at accommodating its diverse student body with programs for the gifted, the arts, English as a second language (ESL) and special education. A highly trained district staff, along with supportive families, result in student scores above national averages, a healthy percentage scoring in the top quartile in all subject areas. Erica Sampson, 3rd grade teacher, is challenged to engage a wide variety of learners while maintaining the district’s high academic standards.

The challenge

Erica’s 3rd grade class is comprised of 25 students who learn at different levels within the core curriculum subjects of reading, writing and math. Her advanced level students learn alongside ESL students and those receiving social work attention for behavioral issues. Erica continually searches for new ways to successfully balance the needs of such a diverse range of students while providing a fun, positive learning environment.

Erica says, “I run a very tight ship in my classroom, but I also like to give students opportunities to step outside of the box, enabling them to experience new concepts. However, keeping students engaged during lessons was a real challenge this year.” She continues, “One day, they would be focused on activities and intent on learning. The following day, the same students would come to class completely distracted and unwilling to participate. I think one of my biggest hurdles has been maintaining consistency in the classroom where students are motivated to learn every day.”

Erica’s students have one thing in common—they are all digital natives. Having grown up in a world of video games and cell phones, technology is inherently captivating to them. Unfortunately, technology resources were scarce at Park View. Few classrooms had computers and laptop availability was minimal. When a teacher was lucky enough to acquire a computer to use, all students had to gather around one desk to view websites or lessons, creating a distracting, inefficient learning environment.

The solution

In the fall of 2009, Park View’s technology committee began investigating interactive whiteboard technology. According to Sue Cooper, technology coordinator for Morton Grove School District, value, durability and versatility were top priorities for the committee. She says, “It was important for us to keep up with cutting-edge instructional tools. At the same time, we wanted to ensure that we did the research required to fully understand the pros and cons of the technology before spending district funds.” Sue explains, “Integrating a new solution typically presents unexpected issues and expenses. We were focused on finding an interactive whiteboard that would provide the most value to teachers, students and our district over the long-term.”

The committee visited a nearby district that had recently implemented a competitor’s interactive whiteboards. While Sue and the rest of the group were impressed by the benefits of the technology, they had some reservations about the boards. If the power failed or the software crashed, there would be down time and no way to use the board. Without access to a traditional whiteboard or chalkboard to use as a backup, they could only imagine the frustration and precious teaching time lost as a result. Sue says, “We were close to committing to purchasing those boards. However, with continued worries about technology failures, we looked to PolyVision’s eno click for the best answer to our needs and concerns.”

While watching the demonstration of eno click, the committee was impressed by the versatility of the solution. “The ability to shift between teaching with markers, magnets and multi-media set eno click apart from any solution we had seen,” said Sue. “Since the boards do not require power, we could let go of any worry about technology failing.” After learning of PolyVision’s Forever Warranty™ on eno click’s surface, the committee knew they could feel confident about their purchase for years to come. Sue was also pleased to hear that installation would require little time or resources, as eno click’s magnetic-mounting hardware instantly attaches the board to just about any existing chalk or marker board.

PolyVision sponsored a technology camp at Park View in the summer of 2009, where teachers were given the opportunity to submit proposals describing how eno click interactive whiteboards could improve their classrooms. The superintendent, Dr. Gary Zabilka, selected teachers to be awarded a board. Only one week after delivery, all 18 eno click interactive whiteboards were installed and ready to use.

The benefits

Sue and four other teachers dubbed themselves the “enoettes.” When they presented eno click at a school board meeting, they wore sequined, green “e” brooches to illustrate their dedication to and belief in the new technology. Initially, Sue expected some of the teachers at Park View to be intimidated by the boards, and she was pleasantly surprised at their immediate excitement to integrate the technology into their lessons. Sue elaborates, “For once, I have not had to ‘sell’ a technology product to teachers. Watching the enthusiastic “enoettes” in action and observing the many ways eno click can improve teaching and learning have been the biggest motivating factors for teachers. It certainly helps that they no longer have to spend their teaching time tracking down LCD projectors on carts to use in their classrooms!”

Now that teachers have effective tools to motivate their digital learners, Sue has noticed that they are thinking outside of the box and becoming much more creative with their lessons. “Teachers are experiencing a renewed excitement for their careers,” she said. “Best of all, the shift towards interactive lesson delivery is encouraging students to become more forward-thinking in their education!”

Erica’s class was one of the 18 winners of eno click. She says, “Naturally interested the realm of technology, my students immediately fell in love with eno click. With everything going digital and technology molding us as a nation and across the globe, it is important for educators to expose students to new interactive learning tools.” She continues, “eno click encourages my students to follow directions, work at their own pace and, most importantly, stay up-to-date with what is happening in the world.”

Erica seamlessly integrates eno click into every lesson she teaches. She doesn’t waste precious teaching time adjusting the projector to ensure that slides are visible for students sitting on the back row. Instead of gathering 25 students around her desk to partake in lessons, her whole class can easily explore educational websites and play interactive games together, from their desks and at the board. Students view speeches by international leaders in real-time and answer questions on eno click to reinforce understanding of key concepts. They combine magnets, markers and multi-media to present exciting interactive book reports that they create independently. “My students volunteer more and more to be a part of class activities. They love to take projects to a digital level and put more time and effort into assignments with their home computers,” said Erica.

With student participation and engagement on the rise, Erica and team are experiencing the positive impact of eno click every day. Erica concludes, “The world, both inside and outside of the classroom, moves quickly. While it is a challenge to keep up, PolyVision provides me with the tools I need to progress miles ahead of where I was with only a traditional whiteboard. eno click has opened the door of opportunity to my 3rd graders in ways I never thought possible.”