Education, Careers & Professional News
DeKalb schools to get distance learning labs
Now all the students in DeKalb County – and across the state for that matter – can share the same opportunities that youngsters in Fort Payne, Geraldine, Crossville and the Tech School have already enjoyed.
DeKalb County Superintendent Charles Warren said he learned Wednesday that all Alabama high schools would be given funding to install distance learning labs.
“We can’t always offer the variety of classes as the larger schools can. Now students can take classes that we couldn’t offer at our schools before, such as advanced math, German, Latin and Chinese,” Warren said.
He also said these classes would give gifted students opportunities to take more challenging courses. The entire county school system is expected to be online by January.
“So far it has proven to be a great tool, and we are glad to see that it is going to be installed in all of our schools,” Warren said.
Fort Payne Superintendent Jimmy Cunningham agreed.
“It has allowed us to have Web-based classes, as well as allowing some of our teachers to transmit classes to other schools around the state,” Cunningham said. “It gives us the possibility of providing subjects for our students that we aren’t already teaching.
“I do know that we are going to have an additional access lab this year, through a grant given to us by Preparing for Future Teachers,” Cunningham said.
Because Fort Payne already had a distance learning lab, Fort Payne High School will apply for a portable computer lab with 30 laptops.
Beginning in the 2009-10 school year it won’t matter as much whether a high school is in a rural Alabama district struggling to employ enough teachers or if it’s in a bustling metropolis — the playing field will be a bit more level all around.
State Superintendent of Education Joe Morton and Gov. Bob Riley announced the updated expansion plan for the ACCESS Distance Learning program Tuesday, noting the move comes a year ahead of schedule.
The speedup was made possible by $11 million the state education department received from last year’s $1 billion bond issue.
The program, which allows students to take classes online and through video conferencing, removes boundaries of economics and distance by providing the chance to take classes beyond students’ physical schools — classes like Advanced Placement Macroeconomics and Mandarin Chinese II that can be taught on the Web.
More : times-journal.com