[ OUR OPINION ]
Online project takes
schools to next dimensionPILOT project for online math courses hints at the future of education when interactive computer programs can be tailored to fit individual learning abilities.
THE ISSUE
Hawaii has been chosen as a test site for an interactive program that lets teachers spend more time with individual students.
The exciting project that Hawaii's public and private schools have been invited to join should prompt state and education leaders to investigate aggressively how best to take advantage of computer instruction and how to integrate new methods for teaching.
As reported by the Star-Bulletin's Susan Essoyan, the online pre-algebra and algebra courses are offered by a partnership of technology companies and the Pacific Center for Advanced Training and Technology, a University of Hawaii Community Colleges consortium. As a test site, Hawaii schools will be provided the courses for free in exchange for data on their use.
A trial at six public schools and two community colleges in the past school year gave students and teachers a taste of the program with mostly favorable results.
Students liked that they were able to work at their own pace. They found that, unlike a textbook that just explains, the interactive lessons that include videos helped them understand by delivering examples and various ways toward problem solving.
Another advantage is that students know right away if they've done the work correctly, a tool teachers also found useful. Instead of collecting homework papers one day, then checking answers and returning them to students the next, teachers can see quickly where a student might need more help.
Because children work at their own speed, those who learn faster aren't held back. Those who are slower aren't embarrassed; if they didn't quite grasp something, they can stop, go back and review the information until they do. Teachers freed from reciting lessons to the entire class are able to go from desk to desk, giving students more individual attention.
Students generally seemed to fare better with the online courses. One teacher reported that children who were getting C's and D's improved their grades.
There were exceptions. A ninth-grader found her grades had dropped, but it appears that a broken home computer and technical errors -- placing commas between test answers -- got in her way. A teacher went back to traditional lessons because his textbooks didn't match the online course instruction, and he did not want to hog the school's computer lab every day for his class.
These hurdles can and should be overcome. Shortly after being named state schools superintendent, Pat Hamamoto suggested that instead of textbooks, children should be provided with laptop computers because instructional materials held electronically could be more easily updated and adjusted.
This is the direction in which public education should be headed. Technology can offer a better path toward learning, and Hawaii should be prepared to get on the highway.
