Campbell physics teacher uses technology to teach at separate schools simultaneously

For a moment, Mark Slusher glances up and over the heads of his Altavista students.

The physics teacher isn’t trying to avoid eye contact. Instead, he is keeping tabs on another class of students at Rustburg High School, projected live on a screen at the back of the Altavista Combined School classroom.

Slusher teaches both classes at the same time. The course is a new experiment going on this year in Campbell County in response to a shortage of qualified physics teachers.

Slusher’s name for the course is eL.I.V.E., which stands for electronic live integrated video education physics.

On Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, Slusher is in the classroom at Altavista. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, he is with the students in Rustburg. He and the students can communicate with video conferencing equipment and portable microphones.

Slusher teaches 72 students: slightly staggered first- and second-period classes at each school and then a third-period class just at Rustburg.

Shane Collins, a senior in the second-period Altavista class, said learning via videoconference isn’t always easy.

“It’s hard with the bouncing back and forth because I think you have to give your focus to the kids in front of you,” Collins said. “But I think he does a good job.”

Video conferencing isn’t the only thing that makes the class different. The course is set up to mirror aspects of college online or distance learning. Many class periods emphasize group work or problem-solving skills.

Students also each have designated laptops they can use during class, paid for by the division. They log on to a class Web site to view all course materials, including lecture presentations, videos, homework and quizzes, all completed online.

Campbell County Superintendent Robert Johnson said e.L.I.V.E should save money for the division beginning next year, despite $50,000 in initial technology costs. Johnson said teachers usually cost the division $55,000 in salary and benefits, so employing one, rather than two physics teachers for the two schools is much cheaper. He said he hopes the course can serve as a model for some other courses in the future.

Slusher said the course is benefiting the students, but that it is still a work in progress. Last semester included some bumps in the road. Early on, there were problems getting the technology up and running. Then at the end of the semester, the first physics teacher hired to teach the class resigned her position. Slusher, an instructional specialist who serves as a resource for science teachers in the county, stepped in. He said it has been a blessing because, as the designer of the course, he’s had a chance to see what works and make some tweaks.

Another challenge is that some students don’t have computers available to them at their homes. For this reason, students get time during class to complete their “homework.”

On a Thursday when Slusher is in Rustburg, the second-period Altavista students cluster together with their laptops to work on a couple assignment problems. The first problem involved finding the original speed of a bullet lodged inside a block of wood.

They jokingly call out for help from Slusher, knowing he can’t hear them, until finally one student grabs his microphone. At first Slusher doesn’t quite catch the question and then the hints he gives aren’t enough for the students to unravel the problem. So they go back and forth until the students figure it out.

Predictably, many of the second-period students said they appreciate getting to do their homework during class, but some also said they enjoy using technology and the alternative format of some class periods.

“I like the fact that it’s not just a teacher standing up there teaching the whole time,” said Andra Brumfield, a senior.

Altavista Combined School, Principal Clayton Stanley said the idea for the program came after physics teachers retired at both schools and the county struggled to find replacements.

Nationwide, physics teachers are in short supply, with just a few candidates for any position, Stanley said. Furthermore, Altavista doesn’t have enough students taking physics to provide a full-time physics position. An Altavista physics teacher would need to be certified to teach another subject, such as math, as in the case of the teacher who retired last year.

“Compared to the alternative, which is an online class, at least in this situation we have a teacher who is there, who is grading assignments,” Stanley said. “When times are tight, I’m just glad that I can offer them physics.”