By MIKE COURSON
Great Bend Post
Education in the 21st century is ever-evolving. In 2021, Holy Family School in Great Bend received the brunt of an $824,000 United States Department of Agriculture grant to deliver high-quality distance learning services. Phase one of the project was completed last October. Principal Debbie Hagans said phase two is now underway with the purchase of 11 more 75-inch Clear Touch Interactive Panels and 120 Chromebooks to improve the school experience for students and teachers.
"Paper textbooks, in-hand textbooks, they're getting away from making those now," Hagans said. "Everything has gone to digital. This makes that so much easier in the classroom for the teachers when they have the digital learning set up right here."
Phase one included the installation of new internet hardware and five panels in the west wing of the school for grades 4-6. The additional screens will benefit students from Pre-K through third grade. Hagans said it has been a learning curve for all.
"It was so fun that first day because, as I walked down the hall, those teachers were getting better and better at what they were doing, and every one of them was using them," she said. "It was just a matter of time. The kids, of course, are so visual now. It'll be interesting to see our younger kids."
IT Director Jonathan Hogg said the screens are essentially giant Android tablets that can do a variety of tasks. Students can use interactive learning tools on the screen via Snowflake software. Kahoot! is another game-based learning platform from which students can compete from their own Chromebooks. The Clear Touch panels also allow teachers to present textbook material, quiz students, and grade those quizzes digitally.
"This is nice in that other teachers have built these quizzes based on patterns," Hogg said. "You just have that resource where you'd almost never yourself have time to go in and build them."
Sacred Heart of Ness City, and St. Joseph's in Ellinwood also received part of the grant. Phase three of the project in Great Bend will include the installation of cameras in the classrooms.
"Let's say we have a child that's home sick," said Hagans. "They have their Chromebook and they log in, they're going to see what the teacher is teaching here in class, and the teacher is going to be able to see the student and interact with them."
The vision at Holy Family School is to serve God and the world by providing a challenging academic education integrated with Catholic values and morals. Enrollment for the 2023-24 school year is Aug. 1.