By David Vitrano

L’Observateur

LUTCHER – Angie Poche’, the St. James Parish district instruction and technology facilitator, and Mandy Boudwin, the district curriculum facilitator, showed the school board Tuesday not only what students and teachers are doing with technology but also how it can put them one step ahead of the game.

During the presentation, “Fostering Digital Literacy,” Boudwin talked about the 1:1 Laptop Initiative, which has put a laptop computer in the hands of all the district’s seventh- through ninth-graders.

She said one of the primary purposes of the program is to make the use of such technology second nature to the students. She gave the example of doctors and engineers, who do not think about the technology they are using because it has become an integral part of their careers.

Students with the laptops are expected to use them every day and teachers attend weekly technology professional development workshops. Also, teachers use a program called Moodle for course management. Moodle allows teachers to grade online, and parents can see those grades instantly.

She noted that all laptops are equipped with Schoolvue, which allows the teacher to monitor the students’ online activities and black out their screens when they stray from the task at hand.

In addition to getting the students used to using the technology, the laptops provide another major advantage. All textbooks are loaded onto the computers so the students do not have to lug around backpacks filled with weighty books. The online versions also provide interactive tutoring, quizzes, links and games. Hardcopies of the textbooks are still available for the students’ use, Boudwin pointed out.

Other features available through the laptops include virtual field trips and online end-of-course testing.

The initiative to put Promethean interactive white boards in St. James classrooms began a few years ago with just a few lucky teachers having access to the technology, according to Poche’. Today, only eight teachers are without the boards, and most of those are at Vacherie Primary, which is consolidating with Vacherie Elementary next year.

Superintendent Alonzo Luce explained it costs $500 to move one board.

All but 1 percent of those boards was paid for through grants or other state and federal funding.

Poche’ said the district has chosen Promethean because of the software available for them.

She said, “I’m so pleased with the way our teachers have taken to the software.”

She explained the many ways that teachers can use the boards to involve students in lessons.

The children can play interactive games using handheld controllers or special pointers. Just the very nature of the medium seems to spark student interest, she added.

Poche’ stressed, however, that the medium is not the point and that fancy tools can never replace sound educational practices.

“We’re actually trying to have a certain target at the end of this race,” she said.