THS gets distance learning grant funds from state
By Barry H. Hendrix Contributing Writer

Thomasville High School learned in August that it had been chosen among 100 additional schools in the state to receive ACCESS (Alabama Connecting Classrooms, Educators and Students Statewide) equipment. The $85,000 grant allows THS to join in the state's distance learning initiative.

"The governor felt like rural students were not having the same opportunities that students in larger school systems were getting - not just the courses, but the highly qualified teachers," Ruby O'Bryant, technology coordinator, said to the Thomasville City Board of Education at their Sept. 20 meeting.

Distance learning can be developed in two different ways: students learning through on-line courses or a teacher instructing students at various locations through video conferencing.

THS had already experimented with students taking Spanish through web access on-line, and O'Bryant said it was not good for all students. "Nothing takes the place of a teacher," said Kyle Ferguson, THS principal, who had distance learning experience at his previous position in Atmore. "A computer does not take the place of a teacher. A curriculum like Spanish or a foreign language - you've got to have that real time interaction between teachers and students."

The ACCESS grant will pay for that "real time" video conferencing. Students at THS will be able to take different foreign languages including Mandarin Chinese, core courses such as physics, advanced placement courses and electives.

Mediation courses for the state high school graduation exam are also available through distance learning.

Teachers who instruct through distance learning must be as highly qualified as an inhouse teacher and certified in Alabama.

Coffeeville High School and Clarke County High School are also in the program. Troy State University will be the contact for support and training. Eventually the state wants to have 45,000 students and 1,000 teachers involved in the overall ACCESS program by 2010.

Thomasville school officials have not chosen a facilitator for the program or a site for the equipment. The computer lab near the THS library might be a location, the principal said.

With the video conferencing setup, "that's an actual classroom," Ferguson said. "You've got a monitor in the front of the room, and a monitor in the back of the room. There are cameras in the front and the back.

You're looking at the teacher; the teacher is looking at you - even though they are 100 miles away. They have a 360-degree view of the classroom."

"With video conferencing…the teachers do get to know (the students) on a first name basis," said Dr. Vic Adkison, school superintendent. "They do interact and respond to the actual work - just like a classroom teacher."

It will be a quick turnaround to get the equipment installed by January 2008, O'Bryant said, and Ferguson said the THS would have to recruit students to enroll into the distance learning courses.

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