Elizabeth Ireton leads a combined class of Gaffney and Blacksburg High students through an advanced placement psychology lesson. Distance learning technology is allowing Blacksburg High students to participate in the class being taught at Gaffney High. Distance learning technology is allowing Blacksburg and Gaffney High students to share the benefit of taking Advanced Placement Psychology for college credit.

Gaffney High teacher Elizabeth Ireton is teaching the combined class of 20 students from her regular classroom. It has been outfitted with a flat screen television, a 2-way microphone communication system between Blacksburg and Gaffney High, and a special camera allowing the teacher to track the two classroom activities from her location.

The advanced placement psychology class is the first effort by the district to use distance learning technology for instruction in the classroom.

Ireton spends one day a week teaching the class from Blacksburg High. District distance learning coordinator Beth Phillips and Ginger Horton, a Blacksburg High psychology teacher, are in the classroom with the students to monitor the class and make sure students have the proper materials for lessons.

The class includes an online component where students can participate in discussions on a message board, take quizzes on the Internet and even participate in study sessions. Students had the opportunity this past week to participate in an online chat with Ireton and get questions answered about the material covered in class while preparing for a recent quiz.

"One of the wonderful things about teaching this class is you get to interact with students in the classroom and online," Ireton said. "It's an opportunity to get extra classroom instruction with my kids."

Students spent their class Thursday morning learning about random samples with small packages of M&Ms. Students grouped the M&Ms by colors and used calculators to record what percent of each color was in each bag.

When the numbers did not match the color distribution claimed by the Mars company, Ireton had students combine their data with classmates to see if adding M&M's would make the candy figures more accurate.

Blacksburg and Gaffney High students then took turns combining their classroom M&M figures.

The totals were announced over the speakers like the students were in the same room together instead of a river apart.

"I love it. It's really neat we can interact with students from Gaffney High," Blacksburg High student Sierra Sutson said. "This has given us a great opportunity to take a class we've never had before in Blacksburg."

Gaffney High student Jonathan Crossley believes students from both communities will benefit from the distance learning system. The school hopes to add advanced placement statistics next year.

"It seems like Gaffney High is always doing something to advance the learning of students. I think it's remarkable the schools were able to bring Gaffney and Blacksburg High students together through this technology," Crossley said. "It allows Blacksburg and Gaffney High students to benefit from the same instruction and earn college credit in courses like Advanced Placement Psychology that otherwise might not be available. We hope in the coming weeks we can have a class with the Blacksburg High students to help bring us closer as a group."