April 2005

Staff Presentations and Practice Increase Usage of DLC Resources

River HomeLink, Mark Clements, Principal

In early September, Mark Clements had an epiphany. He was with his daughter in her dorm at Seattle Pacific University, and they needed to do some shopping at a Fred Meyer. "We asked the girl in the dorm lobby where the closest one was, and she got on the computer and found about nine locations," Clements says.

"My first thought was 'Man, I'm getting old.' I was thinking phone book, and she was thinking Google search. Her thought process was so different from mine. I had this epiphany: What am I doing for my kids?"

Clements is the principal at River HomeLink in Camas. When he says "my kids," he's referring to his students.

Generations X and Y use the Internet like a textbook

Clements believes there's almost a generational difference in the way people deal with the Internet. "People who are from Generation X and Y grew up using the Internet as a learning tool, so teachers coming out of colleges and universities now use the Internet the way a more veteran teacher would use a textbook."

Clements finds that it's important to work with veteran teachers to increase their comfort level. "It just hasn't been part of the way they do business. Some older teachers are more comfortable curling up with a book. And now that there are so many rich online resources, it's a shame to waste them."

Practice increases staff's comfort level with technology

Even though HomeLink joined the DLC early in the school year, Clements recently realized that the resources weren't being utilized because staff was too busy to become comfortable using them. To increase his staff's comfort level with DLC resources and drive up usage, Clements started to devote thirty minutes of his staff meetings to review and practice, which took place in the computer lab.

"We received some excellent in-service from the DLC. However, once school started, all the day-to-day tasks of the school day intruded and the staff didn't have an opportunity to practice using the new skills they learned. I think staff needs to feel proficient, especially with technology, before they can pass these practices on to students."

"Now, even after only three sessions, over a half dozen teachers have started using the resources on a regular basis…Their comfort level has increased significantly, so they're willing to share the DLC resources with students…My plan is to hold these sessions at least every other week through the end of the school year."

Every teacher is a DLC Teacher/Mentor at River HomeLink

"In our model we don't just have the media or computer specialist as the DLC Teacher/Mentor. All my high school staff members are DLC Teacher/Mentors, because they all have students that they consult with on a regular basis. That's why all of my teachers need to be comfortable using the DLC resources."

River HomeLink is a parent-partner program under Washington Alternative Education. The majority of HomeLink students are homeschooled part of the school week.

High school students are taking thirty-four classes through the DLC, such as advanced math, world history, and world languages. "Students are taking these classes because either we don't offer them, there is a schedule conflict, or they're comfortable with that learning modality," Clements explains.

With online resources, limitations are lifted

Clements says that before online research was possible, he had to buy hard copies of SIRS. "We were limited to what the school could afford, which limited the amount of information accessible. Now we can access all of SIRS online through the DLC."

When asked what the DLC has given his school that it didn’t have before, Clements responds: "An expectation and the vehicle to meet it. The expectation is that students do more research online. It also complements what we were doing before: advanced placement, talented and gifted research techniques, and higher order thinking skills, such as applying information, analyzing information, and comparing information."

"With online research, students can have three documents in front of them all at once, and every student in the class can access the same ones. Before they were limited by the number of editions the library owned. Now there are no limitations."

"Even when we start paying for the DLC resources next year, it will be cheap compared to the vast educational value gained by the students."

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