TUSCALOOSA Ala.
If you’ve got an American History class at Northridge High School, you can forget about waiting until the last minute to finish your assignments.
That’s the only downside to teacher Elizabeth Kincaid’s Internet-heavy approach to education, as far as former student Garret Cain is concerned.
“I didn’t like the way she made things due at, like, 9 p.m.,” Cain, now 17 and a senior, said of the American history class he had with Kincaid last spring. “But I hate textbooks, and it was definitely a lot better than textbooks. So I guess it was good, overall.”
Kincaid’s current students say they barely use their textbooks at all, and do most of their research through the Alabama Virtual Library or other preapproved sites. And they’re not the only ones who see it as a positive change.
The Alabama Best Practices Center, which works to highlight innovative educational practices, recognized Kincaid’s advanced American history class along with Scarlett Gaddy’s AP Government Class at Hillcrest High in the summer edition of its journal, “Working Toward Excellence.”
The publication lauded Kincaid for the way she “weaves blogs and wikis into a purposeful tapestry for her American history students.”
