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Wave of the Future

Editorial - HC Users Speak Up

Written by HotChalk Editors

Friday, 06 March 2009 00:00

HotChalk Users Speak Up! Kerry Rice, Orchestra Director
West Brook High School, Beaumont ISD
Beaumont, TX

At West Brook High School in Texas, orchestra director Kerry Rice kicks off the school year by taking his students to the computer lab and having them register on HotChalk. “It’s an amazing tool for fine arts,” he says. “Teachers and administrators can upload images, audio and video---and it can all be streamed from anywhere.”

Rice sees the HotChalk Learning Environment as a good way to bring his classroom into the 21st century. In addition to the software’s ability to efficiently deliver multimedia content, it paves the way for open communication between himself and his students and also among the students themselves. “The comment feature is finding good use as a discussion board---and even moving toward student journaling,” says Rice. In his view, it’s the kind of open forum communication that truly allows for collaboration and that has helped his students bridge the gap between school and home.

Rice tells us another aspect of HotChalk that makes his professional life easier is the ability to record and post video lectures to supplement lessons or for access by students who miss a class. “This will be a common practice in the future,” says Rice. Altogether, the convenience of being able to post assignments, lectures, and so forth from anywhere at any time, plus the online grade book which automates mundane tasks, saves Rice a huge chunk of time each week. How much time? Eight hours, he tells us.

Advice Rice would give other educators who’ve not tried HotChalk would be to “just dive in and don’t be afraid of the technology. Use as much of the platform resources as you can.”

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