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Tusculum TechnologyTusculum alumnae teachusing high tech toolsAs a lesson progresses on the measurement of volumein Candace Babb’s fifth grade class at Tusculum ViewElementary, students pick up their voting clickers andanswer a question shown on the screen ofthe classroom interactive whiteboard. Witha touch of the screen, Babb, a 2010graduate of Tusculum College’s educationprogram, notes that 15 out of 16 students inthe class got the correct answer and moveson with the lesson.The interactive whiteboard, the votingclickers, laptops, iPads, document-readersand the Internet are among the technologicalelements that are integrated into Babb’sclassroom, as well as that of CarlaRenner ’05, who teaches fifth gradelanguage arts at Tusculum View. Duringa lesson that same day in Renner’s class,students pulled out laptops andcontinued work on their non-fictionbooks they are completing as acreative writing assignment.“Technology in the classroom iscrucial,” said Renner. “The studentshave become self-sufficient. Theyknow what is expected, and theylearn to figure things out. While the majority of the studentswork independently, I have the opportunity to pull studentsand work with them one-on-one.”Renner added that self-sufficiency is a skill that theystrive for, as it allows class time to focus on criticalskill-building and much more material is able to be coveredin the limited time allotted for each subject. Renner utilizesthe laptops on a daily basis, as well as the classroom’ssmart board. Technology is a set of tools that are writteninto the lesson plan, and students expect it to be part ofthe learning process in the same manner as a textbook or acalculator.“I can’t imagine teaching without technology,” saidRenner. Technology is integrated, starting with the planningprocess, through classroom instruction and the waystudents are assessed. Being able to implement the varioustools is now a non-negotiable skill for classroom teachers.Both Babb and Renner agree that technology helps thembe more creative in the classroom, allowing for more variedactivities and activities that are engaging to the tech-savvystudents. Renner, who no longer uses a textbook for lesson12Students in Carla Renner’sclass work on a creativewriting assignment on theirlaptops, above. CandaceBabb, left, uses a smartboard to explain a mathassignment. Macy Kidwell,below, uses a clicker toanswer a question inBabb’s classroom.planning, said that the Internetand her computer allow her tostretch her creativity and findspecific teaching segments thatwork best with the skill beingtaught and the students currentlyin her class.Both Babb and Rennerencouraged students studyingeducation to familiarizethemselves with what technologies local school systems areusing and to use the new tools, “more and often.”“The software is constantly changing, but the way weteach is changed by the tools we have available as well,”said Babb.Because of the technology, students are engaged andworking on their own, which allows teachers moreindividualized teaching time, said Renner. “You can do alot with a child one-on-one in 10 minutes. We can diagnoseproblems, answer questions and assess competency.Because of this, we are more effective.”Next year will be the first year that the students will taketheir T-CAPs (the end of year standardized exam) online,according to Babb. Students will no longer be limited tomultiple choice questions, they will have to answer withshort answers and often explain “why” they selected theiranswers.“We are beginning to practice this on the computers,”said Babb. “We cannot expect our students to be successfulif we do not prepare them to succeed.”By Suzanne Richey, director of college communications