Rewards of Role Reversal: Teachers Learn, Students Teach

I wanted to share an interesting article that I found on MindShift written by Audrey Watters. Can students really teach teachers on how to use educational technology? Is it true that schools often find that they’ve invested heavily in education technology only to see those tools unused or that classroom instruction has remained unchanged?

As the article, "Rewards of Role Reversal: Teachers Learn, Students Teach" states:

That was one of the realizations of the Oak Hills Local School District (OHLSD), a tech-friendly district in Cincinnati, Ohio. Even though the district had adopted an “anywhere, anytime, any device” policy, school officials found that technology simply wasn’t being used all that frequently in the classroom. It was clear that a different level of support was necessary, beyond typical professional development.

So the district devised a program to help teachers and students take full advantage of the tech resources by turning to an under-utilized but incredibly valuable resource: its students.

Tracy Pirkle, OHLSD’s director of curriculum and e-learning, created a pilot program last year called eKIDS (eLearning Kids in Demand) that turned a handful of seventh-graders at each of the district’s middle schools into “e-learning consultants.”

Now, these consultant/students are equipped with computers and software that they use both at school and at home.

The positive response to the pilot program has prompted the district to expand it this year to both the elementary and high school level. There are now 10 eKIDS at every grade level from 4 through 12 at every one of the district’s schools — 90 in total (The students who participate in the eKIDS program are self-selected).

Please click HERE to read the article in it's entirety.

Related post: Yukon Students Show Teachers How to Use Technology