Imagine a classroom with no textbook. That concept is now the reality in Ottumwa High School’s U.S. Government class. Government instructor, Scott Guest, shared this innovative model with the Ottumwa Board of Education Monday night.
Last year, a new textbook search led Guest to create a more engaging class that integrated technology and was current. He dropped the plan to purchase new textbooks and spent the summer with OHS media specialist, Sam Garchik, developing the course. The result is a class where students use tablets each day to access information to learn the key concepts in each unit.
Using Edmodo, a free social learning platform, Guest connects his students to the resources they need. Currently, students in the OHS class can view and turn in assignments, respond to polls, view video clips, and take a quiz. Parents can access the website using their child’s username and password.
A set of 30 tablets allows each student hands-on access during class. They can also access laptops for word processing if needed. The changes have allowed students to “engage in ideas that are at a very high level of understanding,” said Guest. “It forces students to think verses just memorizing information.”
Guest admits the course is rigorous and the resources are more difficult. “Students are thinking more in my class and that can transfer over to anything,” said Guest. “I think they like it.”
The integration of technology “has rejuvenated my outlook on teaching,” he said. “I’m challenged more, not just turning to the next page of the book. I have to plan ahead.” Students benefit from the endless possibilities of things to talk about to support their learning.
Superintendent Davis Eidahl is excited about how technology is transforming this course. “A lot of credit to Scott Guest,” said Eidahl. “He is pioneering this at the high school.”
