PETERSBURG, W.Va.—Science teacher Linda Lou Carlson stared at her cellphone. It was pointed at a blue model of an aquaporin—a protein that channels water in and out of cells.
The phone app that pairs with the model’s QR code was taking a little while to work.
“There!”
On Carlson’s screen, molecules of H20 coursed through the structure. A process that keeps us all alive had come to life digitally.
It is the sort of tech-enabled lesson she loves to teach her students at Petersburg High School in Petersburg, West Virginia. Yet, rather than let the students use their own devices, her approach is to pass her own around. She worries about the distractions caused by students having their phones with them during class….