WORMS! The image of these slithering creatures sends shivers down many a spine, but in Mrs. Angie Culbert’s high school science class they evoke curiosity rather than a case of the creeps. Mrs. Culbert is a teacher at Chattooga County High School. Mrs. Culbert conducted lab dissections with her students the way most science teachers do, but she added a new twist. Instead of just having the students perform the lab work for their own knowledge, she gave them an opportunity to share that knowledge with others. Through the use of modern video conferencing equipment, Mrs. Culbert, with the help of the Dalton State College ETTC, set up a live, two way video and audio feed of the lab, across town, to Mrs. Patty Culver’s 2nd grade classroom.
               
Mrs. Culver, a teacher at Leroy Massey Elementary School, had been teaching her students about worms for several weeks. The 2nd graders had been able to see and touch live worms and had even created a website about worms. These students were very excited to get to take part in a real dissection.

During the lab, Mrs. Culbert’s students used technology, such as an Elmo, to show the 2nd grade students the procedures as they were performed. They explained what they were doing and what they were seeing. The 2nd graders were then allowed time to asked questions. The high school students got to experience what it was like to teach others and this caused them to have to pay more attention to what they were learning.

Chattooga County High School is located in northwest Georgia in the city of Summerville. The approximately 850 students face a changing world where the ability to utilize telecommunications technology will be a critical skill that will enable them to express thoughts and ideas effectively. With teachers, like Mrs. Culbert, using these types of technology in the classroom, Chattooga County High School is giving their students a distinct advantage.