Fourth-graders handle all assignments by computer

INQUIRY-BASED LEARNING

By Charity Lane ~ Daily Dunklin Democrat

KENNETT, Mo. -- Fourth-grade students at Southland C-9 are experiencing a reality that just a few short years ago seemed like something out of a science fiction novel.

The students are among the first in the state to have a completely computer-based classroom.

"It is designed so that we have one computer for every two students, but there are only 12 or 13 students in the class this year and 11 computers so each student pretty much has their own computer," fourth-grade teacher Michelle Smith said.

Two years ago, the school received a grant for the Enhancing Missouri's Instructional Networked Teaching program, also known as eMINTS. At that time they were one of only 40 classrooms in the state to be computer based.

A giant computer screen, called a smartboard, has replaced the normal chalkboard in Smith's classroom. And instead of students writing with pencils and paper, they are using computers to complete all their assignments through a variety of software programs, a digital camera, a scanner and a printer.

Smith and Jeannette Huffmaster are the fourth-grade teachers at Southland, and between the two of them, all fourth-grade subjects are taught on computers.

"The program teaches us how to use inquiry-based learning with technology," Smith said. "Inquiry-based learning is presenting a child with a problem or situation and then letting them, as an individual or group, find solutions to the problem."

Much of the inquiry-based learning is done through programs called Web quests.

The student's research is done on the Internet, but access to the Internet is restricted to certain pre-approved sites that have been thoroughly checked by Smith.

The students access the class Web site. Then they find the current Web quest assignment, which contains a problem as well as links to another Web site they may use to solve the problem.

As well as learning to use the Internet, students also learn programs such as Microsoft Word, PowerPoint and Inspiration to organize and display their finished projects.

The class is currently working on a project to create their own society in Smith's classroom in an attempt to teach social studies as well as math and other skills.

The class has developed a society they are calling "God's World." The society is part of a new program, called the Shadow Network, that links fourth-grade students from 25 classrooms in the state that have access to this intranet. The intranet is password protected and can only be accessed by the students and teachers in the program.