Typically, elementary classes visit a school computer lab once or twice each week to learn about computers and work on projects. Tammy Gibbons' fifth/sixth-grade classroom at Salt Lake City's Whittier Elementary School is anything but typical.
Last week, Gibbons' students were busy using tomorrow's technology to re-create the distant past. The medieval age came alive as groups of students researched on the Internet, then worked together to create illustrated books and digital presentations using the 15 computers in Gibbons' room - not counting the one on her desk.
The computers are in use all day in Gibbons' room, allowing students to integrate them into science projects, math study and writing experiences. Whittier Elementary has two such classrooms, both bankrolled by a federal grant for implementing the "eMINTS" program in selected Utah classrooms.
It's the type of program Utah schools would like to see more of, and it's one that may help the state improve in a ranking published last week by Education Week. The magazine gave Utah a C for use of educational technology and placed the state 38th out of 50 states and the District of Columbia.
While Utah earned an A for its use of technological data, it received an F for availability of computers for students and an F because the state does not require teachers to be educated in technology as a condition for licensure.
EMINTS is an educational technology program developed in Missouri; its acronym stands for "enhancing Missouri's Instructional Networked Teaching Strategies."
Gibbons said eMINTS is about instructional philosophy as much as it is about technology. She spent hundreds of hours during the past two years learning the method, which is reinforced by trainers who make frequent visits to her classroom.
In eMINTS classrooms, computers largely supplant chalkboards, overhead projectors, films - even libraries. And, they demand that students get involved in finding answers instead of sitting passively as teachers provide them.
A lightweight electronic pad similar to a clipboard enables Gibbons to operate a large screen at the front of her classroom. Using it, she can project worksheets and illustrations - or her own handwriting - as she wanders among her students.
Ryan Martinez, a fifth-grader, demonstrated the capabilities of the computer he shares with one other student - clicking his way through programs for word-processing, building presentations, making movies, publishing books and pamphlets and reviewing for tests. The skills he is learning suit him for a 21st century office, although his dream is to use his technology smarts in a different career - as a rap artist.
Specialized software allows Ryan and his classmates to do online research from sites placed on the class's "e-desk" by Gibbons - meaning her students have controlled use of the Internet, but are not given free rein on the information superhighway during school hours.
Students can access the e-desk from home computers, too, enabling classroom assignments and projects to spill over into family life, and making learning games and study help available at home. By giving practice tests via computer, Gibbons can get instant feedback about which students need extra help and which concepts the class has not grasped.
Wednesday, Ryan grinned with pride as he showed off a PowerPoint presentation he designed with a team of classmates. In jumbo font, it chronicles life in the Middle Ages through fifth-grade eyes, illustrated with clip-art accessed through the computer.
"In this class, they don't just tell you to 'read this' and 'do that,' '' Ryan says. "You can choose to do a PowerPoint, an essay or a movie - a lot of cool stuff."
Kristen Mullenax, another student, said school seems like an extension of activities she enjoys at home - playing computer games and using the Internet.
Last week, Kristen became interested in the layers of medieval society through a lesson at school, then continued researching the topic on the Internet when she got home. Back at school, she created a Venn diagram to organize her findings.
"It feels better to do the things you like to do at school," Kristen said.
EMINTS programs are being implemented in several states to increase overall learning and reduce achievement gaps in schools where many students test below grade-level proficiency. The efforts appear to be working. Assessments in the Salt Lake City School District show that students in eMINTS classrooms are testing 12 percent higher in math than are their peers in classrooms with similar demographics. For language arts, eMINTS classes test 7 percent higher.
Whittier is a Title I school - so designated because of the large number of low-income students enrolled - and Gibbons' classroom is a rainbow of ethnic diversity. For many of her students, English is a second language. Gibbons said the computers in her classroom are fostering cooperation, communication and acquisition of job skills. Whatever languages her students speak or don't speak, all are becoming fluent in a new universal language - technology.
cbaker@sltrib.com
eMINTS explained
eMINTS is an educational technology program developed in Missouri; the acronym stands for "enhancing Missouri's Instructional Networked Teaching Strategies."
Federal grant money allowed the program to be developed in Utah's Duchesne, Tintic, Ogden, Salt Lake City and Granite school districts in selected classrooms. A new round of funding will bring the program to classrooms in the Logan, Provo and Uintah districts.
The purpose of the program is to integrate quality teaching practices with cutting-edge technology through inquiry-based learning.
During a two-year program, teachers receive hundreds of hours of training from experts who make two to three classroom visits per month to help teachers implement skills they are learning.
Expense is the limiting factor on the expansion of eMINTS programs. Lesley McLaughlin, director of educational technology for the Salt Lake City School District, said advances in development of inexpensive laptop computers for classrooms may make the program more affordable in the future.
Learn more about eMINTS classrooms at http://www.emints.org/.
Sources: Salt Lake City School District; eMINTS National Center
