Students 'clicking' into U.S. History

TIPPECANOE COUNTY, Ind. (WLFI) - Some local high school students are "clicking" through one of their classes in order to get credit.

"It's definitely like we're having a discussion in class," Harrison High School junior Kaitlyn Carnahan said.

Instead of sitting in a classroom setting for U.S. History, Carnahan logs onto her laptop and has discussions with her teacher and classmates through an online chat room.

"It's a lot easier to learn through this than it is in the classroom," said Carnahan.

It's all a part of a pilot program the Tippecanoe School Corporation has launched this semester at both Harrison and McCutcheon. A combined 50 students are taking their U.S. History class online.

"Students can access this from home," Tippecanoe School Corporation Superintendent Scott Hanback said. "They can access this really on their own time and that's really the great thing with this is the flexibility that it provides, not only for our students, but for our faculty as well."

"It gives them an extra hour off during the day," Harrison teacher Mike Taylor said. "They can focus on some of their other classes or extra curricular activities and it gives them a chance to kind of be a kid."

Taylor is one of two TSC teachers who is teaching the online course. He said just as exciting as it is for students, it's rejuvenated him as an educator.

"It's a new challenge," Taylor said. "It's a different way of teaching and presenting the material."

"It's completely customizable," Director of ITS Mike Watson said. "These courses are Tippecanoe schools' courses and not just the national stuff."

Hanback said because almost everything students do these days is through technology, he believes this new transition is vital to keeping students engaged in learning.

"Our students are in an on-demand type society," Hanback said. "So, if we're not meeting that need immediately, then those students are going to find that learning elsewhere."

"With the computer, I can really get into my zone and focus and it's a lot easier for me to learn so it's a lot more fun to learn, too," Carnahan said.

By next year, TSC will offer several other online classes, including U.S. Government and Health, to high school students.

Until then, Carnahan said she'll focus and get through her U.S. History course one click at a time.