By Staff
Dowagiac Union Schools qualified for a three-year grant that provided Polycom distance learning units for each building in the district.
Polycom units allow teachers and their students to videoconference with teachers and students across the world and to take virtual field trips to faraway places.
The grant, which is awarded by Rural Utilities Service (RUS), is administrated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Rural Development office.
Dowagiac was selected based on the high number of students who live in a rural area.
Janine Lim, Berrien County Intermediate School District (BCISD), is facilitating the program over the three-year period, coordinating and scheduling the selected video conferences for individual buildings.
Each building must select a lead teacher who must go through the required distance learning training.
Nancy Northrop, first grade teacher and the lead teacher for Justus Gage, attended an all-day training offered at BCISD in Berrien Springs.
The lead teacher must also agree to train all of the teachers and paraprofessionals in the building.
Several Justus Gage teachers and the media center paraprofessional have been to sessions previewing possible video conferences.
To date Justus Gage staff has embraced the new idea wholeheartedly.
Several video conferences have already taken place in the building.
Traveling to the Indianapolis Zoo or meeting and talking with pen pals from Sweden all become possibilities now that each building has access to the distance learning unit.
"The distance learning lab has provided us with all sorts of wonderful opportunities," third grade teacher Nancy Crowl said.
"I have been able to bring in a live transmission from a dog sled racer who lives in Alaska.
"This is a marvelous way to increase student participation and complement the book 'Balto and the Great Race.' We also have tracked the progress of the Iditarod and used the technology to help the students calculate distances and learn about Alaska."
Vickie Herter, media center paraprofessional for Justus Gage, added, "The distance learning lab is portable and allows teachers to bring the world into their classrooms. It brings real people and places to our students and supports and enriches the curriculum."