Small NSU room allows long reach for teacher

Source: American News, Aberdeen, S.迷你倉D.Oct. 11--Steve Gough sits in front of his high school Spanish I class and asks his students to fill out a worksheet and look at their textbooks. The unusual thing about this scenario is that his students come from all across the state of South Dakota and the worksheet and textbook are on their computers.Gough, an E-Learning teacher at Northern State University, teaches Spanish from his office in Mewaldt-Jensen Hall to students sitting in classrooms at their respective schools. One afternoon class brings together students from the Langford School, Eureka School, Rutland School and Scotland School.About 1,100 students all across South Dakota are being served this year by the program. It's one of many options available that allow students to take classes that aren't otherwise offered in their home districts."Teaching hasn't changed, but the tools have changed," said E-Learning Principal Mary Cundy, explaining that the classes are developed by the teachers.The most basic use of the Digital Dakota Network makes it a two-way video-calling tool, Cundy said. Teachers are trained to use it to interact with students in faraway classrooms and to keep them engaged using tools, including tablets to simulate writing on a board or using document cameras to share information."It makes it more dynamic," Cundy said.When Gough is teaching students from multiple schools, he sees all of them on one screen and treats the situation like one classroom. There's also an on-site classroom mentor in each class. He figures the students from different schools are classmates because they have the same assignments and instructor."自存倉t's different, but it's fun," said Gough, who previously taught in the Custer School District.Cundy remembers when the program first started and how students had to mail their homework for grading. A lot has changed since 2001.After transitioning to using fax machines to transmit homework, all of it is now done online. The Center for Statewide E-Learning offers online distance courses, which include Advanced Placement classes and Digital Dakota Network classes.Just like the homework becoming digital, the rest of the components of the class have become digital as well. Gough is piloting a Spanish electronic textbook with students.It makes all of the class resources available on the computer and offers more interactivity, he said.Newer technologies allow students at different schools to work on class assignments together. A student at one school could record a Spanish conversation with another hundreds of miles away to turn in to Gough.Gough was also the first to pilot the micro-studio, which fits all of his electronic teaching tools into his office. Other studios take up full classroom spaces in Mewaldt-Jensen Hall.Though the technology is evolving, Cundy doesn't see too much of a difference between digital and real-life classrooms."My biggest fear when coming to online learning was that I'd have to give up all the relationships that arise in a face-to-face classroom," Cundy said. "Now, we have relationships with students all over the state."Follow @kaynguyen on Twitter.Copyright: ___ (c)2013 the American News (Aberdeen, S.D.) Visit the American News (Aberdeen, S.D.) at .aberdeennews.com Distributed by MCT Information Services迷你倉