Wilde Lake Research Paper

New Technology Comes to Wilde Lake AP US History Classes Education at Wilde Lake is transitioning from a traditional classroom to online, beginning with AP US History classes. In the digital age that exists today, this could be the future of education. This school year is the third year of online technology in Howard County. The first attempt was with the class Differential Equations, and the second subject added was AP US History, which is taught here at Wilde Lake. Ms. Susan Pennington teaches AP US History using a program called “Zoom.” This is the first year of using this program, which has a teacher teach from a “home school” using a camera and monitor in their classroom so that students at remote schools can join a video conference. “This new system is better,” Ms. Pennington said. “Everyone got their own iPad the first year. It was very hard to type any assignments and students were more interested in the iPads than in the class.”

If a student at a different high school wants to take AP US History, but their school doesn’t offer the course, they can still take the class with Ms. Pennington as the teacher. This also allows collaboration among students in schools around the county. If a student is unable to attend school, whether it is because they are part of the Home and Hospital program or if they are simply sick and travelling for the day, they are still able to attend the class. This opens up a lot of opportunities for these students, allowing them to be part of an AP course with a teacher in the county. “A lot of colleges have synchronous classes,” said Ms. Pennington . Most of the assignments in the class are turned in through Canvas. “A lot of colleges use a system like canvas,” she said. “I think it’s called Blackboard.” Turning assignments in online will prepare students for using this program if they choose to attend a