Congratulations to Mr. Thane Doubet, our February 2017 Featured Teacher! Thane, a 19-year veteran teacher, has taught biology and chemistry at Cortland Junior Senior High School for the past four years. He previously taught science and computer technology for 11 years at Marathon High School and four years at Unadilla Valley Central School.

G Suite for Education was introduced at Cortland Junior Senior High School this year, and Thane has embraced the new technology by leveraging Google Classroom to interact with his students. Using Classroom, Thane has established a digital communication and collaboration platform that integrates with a variety of online tools. One of those tools, Wizer, allows teachers to create digital worksheets. Wizer has been one of Thane's essential applications, as he is able to create digital homework assignments and assessments that can be shared directly to Classroom. He has also instituted the use of Plickers as a means of formatively assessing his students' content knowledge. Additionally, Thane successfully leverages a Chrome Extension called Tampermonkey to create scripts that allow him to develop complex chemical equations that include sub- and super-scripts. He also uses Google Drawings to create templates of chemical diagrams that allow students to complete homework digitally.

Thane's students have benefitted from the quickness and ease with which feedback is provided for their work. Using the online tools, students can now complete their work paperlessly. This enables Thane to efficiently evaluate their work and provide them with prompt and individualized comments. The online tool Plickers enables him to gather immediate feedback from students after covering a topic so that reteaching can occur prior to students leaving class and completing homework. These tools allow the students to learn through technology and provide the teacher with the information required to adjust teaching to maximize learning for all students.