More Indiana school districts digitizing classrooms

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) – More Indiana school districts are using new programs to digitize their classrooms. The programs essentially get rid of paper.

Lawrence Township is one of at least 80 school districts in Indiana currently using what they call a “learning management system.”

It’s an online program that puts every assignment, grade, and lesson into one place.

The program Lawrence Central High School uses is called Canvas.

A technology teacher at Lawrence Central says it’s a tool that benefits both students and teachers. He says the program does several things a paper system could not: he says it allows students who have missed school or who are transferring to see all of the lessons from the entire year.

It lets them make up quizzes and tests.

He says the system also doesn’t allow for excuses, like the dog ate my homework.

“There’s a date attached to everything they submit, so there’s no opportunity for them to lie. Certainly the kids will come up with reasons and excuses, WI-FI’s down, power’s out, tornado hit, you name it, but the reality is if they don’t submit it by the time it’s due, there’s a record of it,” said Chris Meguschar, Lawrence Central Teacher.

Teachers also say the system allows them to message students individually, and soon they’ll be able to get parents even more on board as well.

The makers of the Canvas system say some 400,000 students and teachers in Indiana are moving toward their system.

Lawrence Township also just got a district-wide app this year as well.