Though not a substitute for sitting in a classroom for a teacher’s presentation, Chilton County students now are able to see their lessons for some classes from home.

The website chiltonschools.org is being used by many county teachers to post assignments and other class information that can be viewed wherever a student has Internet access.

Login information is created for students and teachers. Teachers can post materials to their specific part of the site, and the students taking that class can log on and view those materials.

The system benefits teachers as well as students.

“Teachers can find it 24/7 from home—they can use it during the summer,” said Mary Huff, technology coordinator with the Chilton County Board of Education.

“Teachers that have used it are real excited, they’re real pleased. There’s no question about (if a student said), ‘You didn’t give me that assignment on Thursday.”

Teachers can also use the site, which is hosted by Moodle, to view documents posted by the board staff, such as curriculum requirements and plans for integrating technology into lesson plans.

Before implementation of the site, such documents were copied and passed around—to be misplaced and copied again.

County students are required to be “technology literate” before they complete the eighth grade, meaning they can use basic programs that involve word processing and spread sheets.

The site also features a calendar that could be used to post information about anything related to education.

Perhaps the most significant benefit of the site is that students who are absent from school can have their make-up work completed before they even return.

“It’s still in development. Hopefully, the site will continue to build into something that will benefit everybody—students, teachers and parents,” Huff said.