Lucy Ragsdale High School

"The use of Boardworks products is the biggest single variable in explaining the improved scores [of the students]."

Since the science department at Lucy Ragsdale High School in North Carolina has been using Boardworks High School Science resources in their classes, they have seen a marked improvement in their students' test scores.

Tom Gray, the head of the department, was particularly impressed with the presentation on Electricity, a topic that students usually find difficult to grasp. He feels that the interactive animations in these presentations have really improved students' understanding. Test scores on electricity units are the best he has seen in several years, and he attributes this to the visual element that Boardworks provides. "The use of Boardworks products are the biggest single variable in explaining the improved scores," Tom told us.

Tom also loves the fact that he can edit and change the products. "They are not set in stone. They can act as scaffolding to creating additional, tailored resources for class groups and individual users."

Georgina Knell, who teaches Biology at Lucy Ragsdale, feels that the resources, particularly the interactive animations, help to get abstract points across and help students grasp concepts, for example, in diffusion and osmosis. She also believes that the technology that Boardworks products offer assists with 21st Century Learning and supports teachers' PDP and student development using technology. And because students become actively involved in classes with Boardworks interactive resources, the products support Assessment for Learning too.

Cornelia Jefferies, who teaches Chemistry, has been particularly impressed with the virtual experiments. She used Boardworks to teach a lab involving the use of Bunsen burners, to make sure that students understood how to use the equipment.

Both Cornelia and Charla Martin, who teaches Biology, have found that interactive quizzes in their Boardworks resources are great for remediation. Charla has used the quizzes as an interactive review at the end of course tests, especially in areas where students are weak, and feels the products offer an ideal solution to re-exposing students to topic areas that have already been taught.