High speed Internet helps keep Latin students in class

With the help of a device about the size a pencil sharpener, students at Hillcrest High School in South Carolina are taking Latin classes from a teacher at Blue Ridge High School, more than 25 miles away. Hillcrest lost its Latin teacher last year, but instead of leaving the students stranded the two schools are using distance-learning technology to connect the classrooms.

The teacher who made it all possible, Thiela Schnaufer, was surprised at the simplicity of the setup:

"I didn't know what to expect," Schnaufer said. "I thought there would be all sorts of equipment and lights and cameras. It's just a little bitty device."

Each classroom can see and hear the other, and the Hillcrest classroom has a teacher present, to distribute and collect work. The value of this program isn't that it's novel – it's that there are simple solutions using technology like high speed Internet connections to limitations in the classroom.

According to Jeff McCoy, director of instructional technology at the school district, some classrooms are using technology to remotely host guest expert speakers.

"Some of our schools are connecting to places like NASA, so they can actually have a NASA scientist talk to the kids about space, or whatever it happens to be that they're studying," McCoy said.

While these opportunities are fantastic for the schools that have them, in order to fully take advantage of their potential, we must have universal high speed Internet, and not leave any schools victim to the digital divide.

Virtual classroom connects Blue Ridge, Hillcrest (GreenvilleOnline.com)

Education and Training (Speed Matters)