WAYS THAT WHICH TECHNOLOGY IS TRANSFORMING THE CLASSROOM
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Forget chalkboards, classrooms are going high-tech. Think 3-D printers in the art room, apps that track kids’ work habits, and much more. Teachers are also using everything from online translators to smartphone photos to keep parents looped in.

We asked educators to share how tech helps them achieve two age-old goals: producing great students and making parents a part of the process. Here are some amazing things teachers are doing with 21st-century tools:

1. Kicking Creativity Up a Notch

Hans Mundahl, a technology-integration education consultant, helped New Hampton School, a private, independent high school in New Hampton, N.H., create a "maker lab" where kids can use high-tech tools. Its centerpiece is a 3D printer, used to enhance a variety of classes. “The art department loves it, because kids can create beautiful 3D sculptures. The engineering department loves it because they can build bridges,” Mundahl says.

2. Giving Good Behavior a Boost

Annie Krut teaches at Newark TEAM Academy, a charter public middle school in Newark, N.J. She uses a website called ClassDojo to track her students’ habits. “I create individual log-ins for students and their parents, and then set goals for each student, like ‘helping out classmates’ and ‘handing in homework on time.’ Each time a child does or doesn’t do these things, I note it. Students and their parents can check in through the website or a free phone app to see the child’s percentage of positive and negative behaviors.” Krut also sets class goals. When they’re met, she’ll offer a reward, such as popcorn.

3. Letting Kids Catch Lectures on Their Own Time

One growing trend is "flipping" classrooms — using class time for projects, and letting kids take in their teachers’ lectures via videos they watch at home. “We do a number of our classes this way,” says Tim Childers, assistant principal at the L&N Stem Academy, a public magnet high school, in Knoxville, Tenn. In classes like chemistry, he explains, “it allows the students to spend more time getting hands-on learning.”

Another growing trend is the classroom without walls. Elise Harris is a middle-school teacher with Florida Virtual School, a public school that’s entirely online. Among its students are those who need a more customized pace, and athletes who must tailor their schooling to their training. “Our self-teach classes are available 24/7, and teachers are available from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.,” Harris says. “We help our students via Skype, e-mail, online chat boxes, texts and other means.” Students can chat through a social network called GROM, and there's a robust parent portal as well.

4. Connecting Internationally — and Year Round

Scheck Hillel Community School (PreK-12), in North Miami Beach, Fla., assigns its students of reading age some books to finish over the summer. These days, though, the kids don’t wait for fall to discuss the stories. Through Edmodo, an educational social network, students log on all summer to chat about the plots and characters. “Last year, kids jumped in from as far away as Israel and the Bahamas, where they were vacationing,” says Nancy Penchev, media and technology coordinator. “A student who was going to be new to our school in the fall logged on. One kid said he couldn’t wait to be his friend, and it really started his year off right.” When school is in session, kids also take some classes taught by teachers in Israel, Penchev adds: “The kids go into the computer lab and log on for classes in subjects including Hebrew and AP History.”

5. Showing Students New Ways To Learn The Score

Ben Coleman teaches at Talbot Innovation Middle School in Fall River, MA, a high-poverty, urban school. Most of his kids don't own PCs, but Coleman is still helping them get tech-savvy — and excited about homework. “I give my kids assignments with built-in bubble sheets,” he says. “The next day, they scan their homework on the class's computer, using a program calledBubbleScore, and instantly see how they did.”