RHS Teacher Uses Technology To 'Think Out of the Box'

Mike Moro is always looking for new ways to help students learn … and often those new ways involve technology.

“We know kids are engaged by technology so why not tap into something they’re already interested in?” said the Advanced Placement United States and European history teacher.

Moro, who was a technology integration teacher and the director of information services in Dolton/Riverdale Elementary School District 148 for six years before coming to RHS a little over four years ago as a U.S. history teacher, is using his background and a software program called Adobe Connect to help reinforce students’ knowledge of classroom materials. 

It all started in mid-October when a student who was doing well at RHS was added to the A.P. curriculum. 

“It’s a daunting task coming into an A.P. class when you’ve missed the first seven weeks,” Moro said. “So we needed to get him some extra help.”

The problem was, like most A.P. students, the student was deeply involved in other activities, most notably band, and there was no time after school to help him catch up.

Enter Adobe Connect.

With the help of ’s Technology Department, Moro spent two Saturday sessions from the comfort of his home remotely assisting the student.  One of the sessions was conducted while the student was in a hotel room in St. Louis following a band practice for a competition there.

“He really benefitted from that type of instruction,” said Moro, who also organized a five-student weekend study group that utilizes Adobe Connect. “We went through the Washington administration through the Jackson administration in a half hour. They hear what I’m saying and they see what’s on my computer screen. It’s a nice way to leisurely review for the test.”

Despite his fondness for technology in the classroom, Moro disagrees with statements that future learning will take place solely via computers in the comfort of a student’s home.

“This is a good way to get students to master the content,” he said. “But it really can’t replace the one-on-one interaction that we have in a classroom.”

One of three RHS “Tech Coaches,” Moro expects to continue the pilot project with Adobe Connect while looking for additional technology that will help students achieve at a higher level.

“We need to think in ways we haven’t before,” he said. “If we want our students to achieve success, we have to do that.”