Gadgets galore

& lt;a href=mailto:tullis@vindy.com & gt;By NANCY TULLIS & lt;/a & gt;
VINDICATOR SALEM BUREAU
EAST PALESTINE -- For Scott Ginder, an East Palestine High School senior, a $200,000 technology grant to the science department has improved his grades in an unexpected way.
"My handwriting is terrible and I lose points because the teachers can't read it," he said. "That doesn't happen with my science reports anymore."
Ginder types his science reports on a laptop computer, one of 20 laptops and other equipment available in high school science classes and made possible through the grant.
Besides the laptops, there are electronic probes that record data during experiments and a big-screen gadget known as a "smart board" that allows science teachers to download classroom notes to the district's Web site.
Putting them to use
With all the gadgets, Ginder and his classmates can type science reports in the laptops, and download the data from experiments directly into their reports.
The results of experiments, such as temperature changes or rate of acceleration, for example, can be inserted into reports and displayed in graphs the computer program creates.
By connecting a smart board to a microscope, the image on a microscope slide can be displayed on the smart board screen. All students can view the image at the same time. In a study of cell structure, for example, the teacher can point out parts of the cell and make notes on the screen.
All the equipment was purchased last year with a federal technology literacy grant, said Greg Reaves, the district's technology coordinator.
Chemistry teacher John Daubenspeck said teachers and students continually are learning new ways to use the technology.
New uses
In recent weeks, they have been working toward putting classroom assignments and notes, including formulas and the results of experiments, on the district's Web site.
Students said with the information available on the Web, they can work on reports from home or at the library.
Daubenspeck said most of his advanced students have home computers, so they will be able to review lecture notes and other classroom work at home if they miss classes.
Becky Lewis, a senior in Daubenspeck's chemistry class, said she will frequently access the school Web site for lecture notes and other class information.
She said the older equipment used for experiments was more difficult and not as precise as the equipment purchased with the grant.
"It's exciting to learn the new technology," she said. "It's good to be exposed to it before college."
Daubenspeck recalled the day Reaves asked him what he would do with $200,000 for the science department.
"After I started breathing again, I talked nonstop for 20 minutes," he said.
Daubenspeck said teachers in other departments are eager to use the new technology, and joked that he often has to fend off math teachers who try to "steal" the equipment.
Reaves said teachers in other departments can use the smart boards and other equipment, but the science department has priority because the grant was written for science-related technology.
He said the district will apply for additional grants in an attempt to purchase more equipment so the technology is more accessible to all high school classes.