Through the magic of video conferencing, Sheffield High School teacher Lisa Myrick reviews conjugation with a full class of Spanish II students­­­ — plus some at Ragland High School in St. Clair County and R.C. Hatch High School in Perry County.

Myrick is among educators in the Shoals teaching through distance learning opportunities offered to schools around the state.
Sheffield was the first district in the area to secure grants for distance learning technology. Setting up special labs and building relationships with other schools began almost immediately.

Classes, both web-based and video, began in Sheffield in 2006. During the next three years, other Shoals schools added labs and began their own Alabama Connecting Classrooms, Educators and Students Statewide (ACCESS) program.

In the years since then, students have been able to fulfill state graduation requirements through the use of the technology.

"We're offering classes that accommodate all students," Myrick said. "It wouldn't be the same teaching just my Sheffield kids every morning because since 2006 I've also had Ragland students, and they're mine, too. I know them and care about them just like my classes here."

This semester, Myrick has picked up R.C. Hatch school, sort of a last minute addition.

Sheffield High School, with Latin teacher Adina Stone, also is sending that class via video conference.

"We've loved it, and it's one of those things where you have all this great technology and you just have to take advantage of it," Myrick said. "The kids love it, too."

Other districts are primarily using the web-based class offerings that allow students to communicate with their teacher via the computer. For many schools, it provides the opportunity to offer advanced placement courses. Each class has a facilitator.

Lauderdale County's secondary curriculum coordinator Pam Tanner said the degree to which the ACCESS labs are used varies from school to school.

"The schools can really run the gamut on how they use this technology," Tanner said. "Lexington uses it for advanced placement courses, while Waterloo uses it to supplement for teachers they don't have in certain areas."

Tanner said it has worked well for the district.

"We'd like to be better staffed, but with the funding crisis we're in right now, we can't staff the labs like we'd like to," she said.

In Colbert County schools, foreign languages are taught via distance learning, as well as some highly sought electives such as advanced placement psychology.

"It's been very beneficial to us because we couldn't offer nearly the number of advanced classes we have if not for ACCESS," he said. "It gives students a good insight into the skills they'll need for college coursework. The students taking these courses have to have pretty good self discipline."

Brett Alsbrooks, an 11th-grader at Sheffield, said he enjoys his Spanish class via video conference.

"It's a much more interactive class, and sometimes the students from other schools ask questions we haven't thought of, and it's more interesting," he said.
Freshman Keith Cantrell said with three classes in one room, two of them on monitors, it can get loud.

"But we can control that, too, because if one of those classes gets loud, we can just mute them," Cantrell said.

Kay Means, who facilitates the class at Ragland High School, said Myrick's Spanish class is one of the biggest classes at the school. Ragland High School is 1A.

"We have 25 students this year, the most we've had," Means said. "We don't have a Spanish teacher here, so we really depend on these types of classes. Lisa Myrick is good at what she does and knows each individual student. It's her personal touch that makes it work."

Lisa Singleton-Rickman can be reached at 256-740-5735 or lisa.singleton-rickman@TimesDaily.com.