The Virginian-Pilot
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CLARIFICATION: Due to a source error, an earlier version of this story did not indicate Tom Mercer's proposal for virtual classrooms was for advanced diploma students.
CHESAPEAKE
Digital gadgets are coming to the city's public schools, and not just to classrooms.
The list includes digital video cameras on school buses, a new payroll system and a program that puts School Board documents online. Plus, one board member is floating the idea of making every advanced diploma student take at least one virtual class before graduating.
"It's to enhance their ability to be lifelong learners," Tom Mercer said.
School officials presented the technological updates to board members Thursday night. The session was one of two that are replacing the board's annual retreat.
New video cameras are being installed on all of the division's nearly 470 school buses, school officials said. Each will have cameras looking front to back, from over the driver out the door, and down from the ceiling, plus a digital recording system. The old bus cameras use VHS tapes.
The cameras are paired with a GPS system that can show viewers exactly where the bus was at the time of any incident, school officials said.
The payroll system will replace one that's about 30 years old, and the online board documents will replace ones printed and spiral-bound before each meeting.
Online courses are already being used in the schools, often by students navigating around scheduling problems, said Kate Pitchford, director of information technology.
This year, 34 students are enrolled in the division's virtual courses and 71 are enrolled in virtual courses offered by the state, she said. Another 55 are taking distance-learning courses which, unlike virtual courses that students take at their own pace, are taught by a teacher over a video-conferencing system.
Board members seemed interested but cautious. Mercer asked whether there was a way to be sure students taking online tests from home aren't cheating.
Pitchford responded that teachers of virtual courses watch for changes in the tone or quality of a student's work. Board members suggested students could take their tests in school computer labs, or on computers with cameras attached.
To become a requirement, Mercer's proposal would have to come before the board at a later date.
Elisabeth Hulette, (757) 222-5216, elisabeth.hulette@pilotonline.com
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Virtual Classes
It is a bad idea to require all students to take at least one virtual class as a graduation requirement. Virtual classes are not for everyone. Some students have to have a classroom environment, that is their learning style. Others would thrive on virtual classes. Each student is unique. To make this mandatory for graduation could cause a student to fail a class. Look at the needs of the student, not want the school board thinks is good.
RE:
You make a good point. However, I think this is the way the world is moving and Chesapeake is just trying to get ahead. More colleges are providing distance learning and some classes are virtual-only. Even if kids don't go to college, there are jobs out there that do their training online. So, it's setting kids up for what they may expect. I think it's safe to say kids today do most of their extracurricular learning on Wikipedia, Google, Facebook, etc. anyway, so I don't think it's too much of a stretch.