Varnett has added key educational tools and apps to its website to enhance the education of its students.
The links provide a do-it-yourself opportunity for students to learn or expand on their skills in handwriting, math, reading, science, social studies, spelling and writing/language arts.
Aboila Willoughby, the district’s K-2nd grade curriculum coordinator, said she wanted to add the links after she attended a recent Southwest Campus “Parent Night” event that focused on reading and technology. “Due to the overwhelming success of Southwest Reading and Technology Night, I thought it would be a great idea to include educational websites on our Varnett site,” Ms. Willoughby said. She said many of the students in attendance expressed interest in using computers, iPads and Kindle Fire.
The links are on the left side of the Varnett home page and each of the campus pages, with the headline “Education on the Web.” The drop-downs will lead the reader to such sites as PBS Kids, We Give Books, Letters and Sounds, Professor Garfield, Spelling City.com, Harcourt School-Math Advantage and Turtle Diary.com. The site also contains iPhone, iPad and Kindle Fire downloads such as Spelling City, ABC Pocket Phonics, Easy Writer, Bob Books, Montessori Numbers, MathBoard, Tally Dots, Kids Maps and more.
“These tools are unique in that they are able to pique a child’s interest and enhance learning at the same time,” Ms. Willoughby said. Varnett administrators and teachers at Parent Night also emphasized that students learn to use the computer for learning and not exclusively for games and entertainment.