Teachers link class websites through SchoolFusion program
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February 18, 2010
Carmine Sberna
Hoban has prided itself with staying on the cusp of technological progress. Some teachers are looking to forward this cause with a new internet forum called School Fusion Classroom.
In the past, Hoban has relied on its own website, hoban.org, where teachers have their own corners to upload documents and information for their students to access at any time. While some teachers have relied on the school provided website, others, such as math teacher Tom Hottinger, have created their own websites using free site providers like Google. As the popularity of these teacher-run websites increased and the space to work decreased, a new venue was sought out.
School librarian and yearbook teacher Tina Braman helped teachers find a site which would meet both the students’ and teacher’s needs.
“One of the reasons I looked into School Fusion is that it is a closed site, which means it is safer for our students to use,” Braman said. “There are so many sites available, so this could be trial and error. The plus is we’re moving in the right direction.”
Similar to Google pages, SchoolFusion is free to use, although there is a paid version. This new website provider boasts the ability to post announcements, files, links, discussions, calendars, podcasts and more. With more capabilities, the pages broaden the horizons for both teaching and learning. Hottinger believes the students will benefit from this greatly.
“It’s a place where students can get help from each other,” Hottinger said. “This is good for the soft-spoken student who doesn’t get the chance to voice his opinion in class.”
Registering to the program is fairly simple, yet some have had difficulty at first. One student registered as a teacher which added him to list of teachers who are running pages.
Teachers with pages at this time are math teacher Hottinger, English teacher Cindi Kinnan, physics teacher Matthew Bryant and yearbook teacher and librarian Braman. Despite the new found versatility, students have mixed reviews.
“I think SchoolFusion is a great idea and could potentially be a very helpful resource for many students,” senior Hannah Crabbs said. “However, I don’t think it is something I will use much.”
Others like the extra help.
“I personally find SchoolFusion helpful,” junior Paul Davies said. “But it is hard to figure out.”
As teachers become more adept at arranging and editing their pages, some students believe that it will become even more helpful.
It is quite possible that other teachers will begin using SchoolFusion for their classes as well, but it is important to remember that not everything that is happening in the class is loaded on the website; therefore, class participation is still necessary. By participating in this virtual classroom, Hoban is showing yet another way that it adjusts to accommodate its students.
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