by Patty Mohr

Effective educators know that students who feel connected to the classroom are much more likely to master their subjects. They also know that building rapport is often one of the most challenging tasks teachers face. Personalizing student learning can be an especially vexing task for instructors when their students are located miles away. The right tools, however, can help distance learning programs succeed where traditional methods cannot.

Despite its remote location on one of Hawaii’s most isolated islands, Kamehameha Schools is a shining example of using technology to actively engage students in the learning process. That’s why Blackboard selected the school’s Virtual Strategies & Distance Learning Department as one of the three K-12 Greenhouse Exemplary Course Program™ award winners in 2007. Each year, Blackboard recognizes and rewards educators who implement technology rich and pedagogically sound strategies. The goal is to promote and share best practices of Blackboard® solutions across the client community.

Kamehameha School was selected as a winner for demonstrating how virtual learning tools can help even the most remote or detached students feel connected to their teachers, classmates and communities. Kelly Dukelow, the school’s ’s distance learning instructor, uses a virtual/blended program to teach high school students how to interpret Hawaiian Pacific Literature, present their findings and compose works of their own. What’s noteworthy is that the techniques used at Kamehameha are just as applicable to traditional classrooms as they are to virtual programs.

Discovering Student Strengths

Dukelow recognizes the key to engaging students in their studies is to understand their learning strengths and interests. High school students’ motivation to learn and their rapport with instructors and classmates are “imperative” to their success, she says. Each semester, she tailors class assignments and instruction to her students’ needs. She begins by using multiple online tools available in the Blackboard Academic Suite™ to initiate relationships with students and identify their assets. It is not a simple undertaking considering her students come from a variety of backgrounds, grades and learning capabilities.

It begins with an in-person orientation the week before classes start. The session is geared toward teaching students and parents how to use Blackboard tools, but it also serves a social purpose. Instructors integrate the in-person meeting with online forums. For example, members of the school staff photograph students for an online Student Lounge that facilitates student-to-student communication. The forum also includes students’ answers to a set of questions about their knowledge of the school, impressions of online learning, study habits and favorite activities.

Throughout the year, students also participate in discussion board threads about their classroom assignments and experiences. These forums not only foster learner-to-learner collaboration, they enable teachers to discover each student’s comprehension of assignments and motivations.

Dukelow uses several tools that inform instruction, including online threads, scaffolding activities and graphic organizer assignments. She also asks students to evaluate their peers, participate in interactive games and respond to audio and video instruction. Ultimately, the assessment tools enable her to gauge students’ knowledge about a subject before and after she presents new content.

“Assessments, both formative and summative, take into consideration learning styles and multiple intelligences,” Dukelow says. As a result, she can diversify instruction to meet individual capacities, help struggling students complete assignments and provide technical support as needed. For more complicated projects, Dukelow uses Camtasia videos – a full screen online tutorial tool – to walk students through each step in the assignment.

The Community as a Classroom

Communication is essential in any classroom. In a blended environment, instructors reach out to students on many levels. Dukelow uses traditional means of communication, such as the telephone and e-mail, to talk with students and parents, as well as modern methods. For example, during the first week of school, she initiates contact with students through Skype internet calling. She says the purpose is not to reinforce assignments, but to show students that Skype is an easy and effective way to communicate. She also encourages them to research and find information from several sources, including outside Web sites.

Dukelow also shows students that sometimes the best resources are in their own backyards. Each unit requires students to engage in learning experiences beyond the virtual classroom. For example, the class instructs the student to interview a grandparent or a community member about their culture and share the information with their classroom peers. To complete the class, the student must give back to the community by staging a PowerPoint presentation about what they learned in class.

“These projects allow students to see their culture in action and to expand their learning through the use of many resources outside the virtual classroom,” Dukelow explains. "As a result, students are able to actualize and internalize their virtual lessons.”

Patty Mohr is a freelance writer based in Washington, DC. who specializes in politics, public policy and international trade. For more information, visit http://www.mohrwriting.com.