Students at Ponchatoula High School will soon be using additional technology to help master academic course work thanks to a local teacher who on Aug. 1 was named one of 10 winners of the 2007 Qwizdom Teaching Grant.

Rebecka Rocquin, a biology teacher at Ponchatoula, won a complete student response system and curriculum software of her choice from Qwizdom, a Seattle-area education company.

The response system includes 32 electronic devices that resemble remotes, which students use to enter in responses to questions. Teachers can use the remotes for something as simple as reviewing a few questions throughout a lesson to gauge students’ comprehension or as complex as gathering responses to a complete test or homework assignment.

In addition to the remotes, Rocquin also received Qwizdom Interact software, which allows teachers to create multimedia-based lessons that connect with students. Teachers can import material from Microsoft PowerPoint, create files from scratch and/or use one of Qwizdom’s pre-made, standards-based materials designed by education professionals.

Teachers who use Qwizdom often report increased student engagement, involvement and increased performance. Teachers from throughout the United States applied for the grants.

The estimated value of the response system and software grant is $4,000.

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