VALDOSTA— Mr. Vaughn finds a fun way to get students more engaged in class, and interested in learning.
Have you ever known anyone shy? Maybe you’ve known someone who didn’t like to raise their hand in class, because they didn’t want to be called on. A little nervousness is common for most students at some point in their educational career, but a teacher at J.L. Lomax Elementary has found a trick to fix it!
Mr. Gregory Vaughn, a 4th grade teacher at J.L.L., recently researched ways to make his class more engaged, or interested in what they were learning. He read about a Qball, which is a throw-able wireless microphone for the classroom. This soft-sided, interactive, learning tool, motivates learners of all ages and all learning abilities in the classroom. Students are amazingly eager to get a chance to answer a question or to try their shot on a math fact when the ball is being tossed around.
According to the Qball website, more than 40,000 students are already using this new piece of technology. The Qball helps manage classroom discussions by getting them started. It gets students to interact with one another and their teacher. If a student isn’t paying attention, then they can’t raise their hand to answer the question in the ball. And everyone wants to use the ball, so everyone is paying attention!
Overall, this special ball gives “teachers a fun and innovative way to capture each student’s mind and spark their curiosity. In May 2019, Mr. Vaughn researched the Qball, and applied for a grant through Valdosta City Schools Foundation. He was awarded the funds to make the purchase on this innovative technological ball in August 2019. Now that the bright blue ball is in the hands of the teacher and the students, we can’t wait to see what the year has in store for his classes, and their new, exciting, learning tool!
