1. Encouraging Teacher Technology Use
Teacher surveys indicate that about half of U.S. teachers use
technology in classroom instruction. That use, however, varies
greatly from school to school. In some schools, staff technology
use nears 100 percent; in others, it is virtually non-existent. To
find out why, we asked the Education World Tech Team how
their schools encourage -- or discourage -- staff technology use.
Included: Tips for encouraging staff technology use.
In spite of a widespread public perception that technology use is common in our nation's schools,
surveys indicate that only about half of U.S. teachers use technology in classroom instruction.
Anecdotal evidence obtained from school technology specialists and education technology
proponents indicates that the effective use of education technology is even less common than
those surveys indicate. Many teachers, the experts say, still are reluctant to use technology,
mostly because of a lack of time, a lack of resources, or a lack of confidence in their ability to
use the available technology.
Tips for Encouraging
Teacher Technology Use
Robin Smith, an educational
technology specialist for the
Hollidaysburg (Pennsylvania) Area
School District, offers this advice
for those encouraging technology
use among their school's staff:
* Get support from the top. If your
superintendent does not support the
push to use technology, and does
not use technology himself or
herself, it is a hard sell to other
employees.
* Make sure you are pushing the
district vision and not your own
personal agenda.
* Principals need to use technology
and support their teachers with
extra staff development if
2. We know that figures don't lie, but they can be deceptive.
In fact, it appears that technology use varies greatly from necessary.
school to school. In some schools, technology use among
teachers nears 100 percent; in other schools, it is virtually * Expect bumps in the road. Some
non-existent. We wondered, therefore, what those schools things you expect to be a huge
with high technology use are doing to encourage their success at getting teachers hooked,
teachers to use technology -- for instruction, and for end up flopping.
classroom and task management. To find out, we went to
our experts -- the members of the Education World Tech * Provide some sort of incentives.
Team.
* Show them how it will save time.
We asked the following questions: Are teachers at your If the savings won't be apparent for
school expected to meet certain levels of technology a year, be honest about that. Putting
proficiency? What kind of resources do your tech assignments into a grade book
specialists provide? What kind of equipment and training program is extra work, but if those
are available to teachers? In other words, how does your assignments can be saved and used
school encourage -- or discourage -- staff technology use? next year, it will be a time saver.
This is what they told us!
* Remember, most teachers are
very busy; they're already juggling
STRONG INCENTIVES many tasks. Try to make things as
easy as possible, and provide them
"Teachers here in Fort Knox (Kentucky) are encouraged
with time to learn the technology
to use technology in several different ways," educational
before expecting them to use it.
technologist Stacey J. Wyatt told Education World. "First
of all, each staff member (including cafeteria staff,
teaching assistants, custodians, and so on) has his or her own e-mail address. We receive a daily
e-mail news bulletin that includes important information, and all staff members are expected to
read it every morning. We have telephones in each classroom, but most of our communication
now is conducted through e-mail. A major benefit is that we have been able to almost eliminate
interruptions from the intercom system.
"Our school server provides another incentive for teachers to use technology," Wyatt noted.
"Each class has a folder on the server, and each class folder includes individual folders for
students. Any work done in the lab or in the classroom can be saved to those folders, which
makes it easy for students to access their work from most places in the school. Teachers can
download templates, clip art, hotlists, and so on, for easy and safe access by students.
"Our teachers also use the Win School program to maintain student information," Wyatt said.
"Teachers have received training in both programs. Our progress report program also is done by
computer.
"Each school in the district has a Web site maintained by the school's educational technologists,"
Wyatt noted. "Teachers e-mail to the Ed Tech site information they want posted, which makes it
easy to copy and paste the information into FrontPage. Parents also frequently access the site for
breakfast and lunch menus, special events, and so on.
3. "The students at Pierce Primary School, where I teach, are currently using Accelerated Reader to
test reading comprehension," Wyatt added. "Teachers use the report component of that program
to track student progress.
"We've also purchased Kidspiration and Inspiration for our building, and teachers are learning to
use those programs right along with the kids," Wyatt added. "In some cases, the kids are teaching
the teachers! What an incentive for those students!
"Finally," Wyatt said, "each teacher in our building has completed a technology-needs
assessment, which is used to develop a plan for personal growth. Each teacher also maintains a
technology portfolio and uses it to organize their Web sites, show evidence of technology
activities in the classroom, store training handouts, and so on.
"I have been the educational technologist at this school for about four years," Wyatt noted, "and I
have seen a great deal of growth. Teachers are at various stages of development, of course, but
they are great about offering to help one another whenever they can."
LOTS OF SUPPORT
"Teachers in our division in Lynchburg, Virginia, are well supported in their technology needs,"
said instructional technology specialist Julia Timmons. "Our division has 16 schools and several
magnet sites. Each school has a full-time instructional technology specialist, and the division has
an additional five-person technical staff. Our school division also is partnered with our city
government to jointly maintain and fund our own fiber optic network.
"We have e- mail for the entire division," Timmons noted. "E-mail cannot be accessed from
home, but it can be accessed from anywhere in the division, sent to any address on the Net, and
sent between school and home. We have had e-mail for about ten years and rely heavily on it.
Teachers are expected to check their e-mail several times a day. The entire division -- from the
superintendent to teacher assistants and secretaries -- uses this communication vehicle as well.
"The state of Virginia has Technology Standards for Instructional Personnel, which will become
part of our licensure requirements in the spring of 2004," Timmons said. "At that point, if a
teacher is not technology certified, he or she will not get a teaching license renewal. Each
division is responsible for developing its own method for certification and for having that
method approved by the state. Teachers in our division have two years from the time of
employment to complete the standards.
"To satisfy state requirements for certification, our division has developed what we fondly refer
to as the 'Peach Booklet,'" Timmons added. "That is a guide to assist teachers in achieving the
goal of technology certification. The technology specialists in each building offer training
sessions several times annually. Individual, small group, and large group sessions are offered. In
addition, training is offered online through our Intranet, so teachers can work on their own time.
A portfolio is developed and completed by each teacher.
4. "In our school, teachers are required to implement technology in a variety of ways," Timmons
said. "Math and English teachers are required to use the computer lab at least three days every
six weeks. All classrooms have five computers and teachers are required to keep a log of their
computer use. Each classroom has a large screen monitor, and teachers are required to
demonstrate at least bi-monthly use of that device. Teachers also are required to demonstrate the
effective use of technology in one of the annual lessons their primary evaluator observes.
"We also offer a variety of other training opportunities," Timmons added. "Each technology
specialist offers training specific to the technology, software, and needs of the staff in his or her
building. Several times a year, we publish a calendar of workshops available to teachers in the
division at any school in the division. Those workshops are generally two hours in duration and
include stipend payment through grant funds.
"Teachers also are required to post a basic Web page on their school's Web site," Timmons
noted. "We create those pages using a uniform template. This year, we have a dedicated
Webmaster for the division, who maintains the Web site and is our building level contact for
training and help.
"I am fortunate to be a full-time technology specialist," Timmons told Education World. "My job
responsibilities are vast, however, and I struggle to have time to support lesson integration and
development. My most effective means of assisting teachers is teaming with them to develop
lessons and ideas into integrated technology lessons. Often, I model the resulting lesson for one
or two periods, and then change roles and support the teacher while he or she teaches the lesson.
Sometimes, I am there to assist; other times, I teach special techniques to students. Often, I am a
facilitator, gathering information, videos, Web sites, and tools for teachers to use in the
classroom. More and more, teachers know what they want, but find it difficult to find the time to
gather materials."
"My principal and staff are very supportive of technology," Rancho Las Positas School K-5
technology specialist Lori Sanborn told Education World. "Each middle and high school in our
district has a full-time technology specialist and each elementary school has a half-time tech
specialist. They maintain and repair computers, as well as encourage and promote technology
use in classroom and lab settings. Once or twice a week, each grade 1-5 class comes to the
computer lab, where the technology specialist is available to assist the teacher with instruction.
At that time, teachers also can get one-on-one training while students are engaged in their lesson.
"All classrooms have Internet access and teachers have in-school e-mail," Sanborn noted. "There
is no expected level of tech proficiency, but all teachers are trained to use e-mail and use it daily.
Most day-to-day communication is done via e-mail. Our school also has a Web site and teachers'
e-mail addresses are posted on it to encourage communication with parents and the community.
"Some teachers have created their own Web pages, where they post homework, field trip
information, school events, and class schedules. As a technology specialist," Sanborn said, "I
provide monthly after-school tech training for teachers; the training gives teachers the
opportunity to ask questions and learn new skills.
5. "We also have a committee of teachers which provides technical support to the school, and all
teachers have a tech buddy. During grade level articulations, teachers share with one another
successful lessons that integrate technology into the curriculum," Sanborn added.
MAKING IT EASY
"The most important thing my district does to encourage teacher use is to assign each school a
technology resource teacher (TRT) to work directly in the classrooms," Lexington, Kentucky,
district technology resource teacher Mike Johnson told Education World.
"The TRT's model lessons with kids, find online resources for teachers, show teachers how to
use equipment, provide one-on-one training during planning time, and so on. Some schools have
hired they're own full-time TRT's; others share one TRT among three or four schools. One
reason the program has been so successful is that teachers don't have to go to after-school
training sessions or figure out technology activities on their own. The TRT's find the teachers,
ask what they're doing in their classroom, and work with them to integrate technology into
existing lessons.
"The TRT's also develop a variety of online resources that teachers can use in their classrooms,"
Johnson added. "Those include our Literary Book Club and Technology Assisting Literacy
Knowledge (TALK) program."
A LITTLE ENCOURAGEMENT
"As the technology integrator at our K-5 elementary school, I am in charge of teaching teachers
and administrators, if necessary, to use computers," Linda George of the Dondero School told
Education World. "I currently teach workshops on many subjects, including digital camera use,
scanning, using the mobile lab, e-mail basics, and so on.
"All our teachers have e-mail addresses, teacher notices are distributed by e-mail, and our
principal sends out notices by e-mail only. That incentive is sabotaged, however, by teachers and
aides who run off copies for those teachers who choose not to use e-mail," George noted.
"Although teachers are not expected to meet any specific levels of technology proficiency,"
George continued, "they are required to accompany their classes to each computer lab session,
and lessons in the lab must integrate with what they are doing in their classrooms.
"Our school also has a Web site, and teachers contribute to it if they choose to; however, no one
is required to do so. The Web site is attached to the city's Web site, so no teacher has to
contribute if they don't want to," George added.
"Currently, we have no classroom technology requirements," Crossroads Christian School
computer coordinator Jennifer Wagner told Education World, "and teachers are not required to
show that they use technology. However, with a new administration this year, I believe standards
for technology use will increase. In the meantime, all we can do is encourage teachers to use
technology.
6. "As part of that effort," Wagner noted, "our school offers online courses in Microsoft Word,
PowerPoint, Excel, Access, and Publisher, and in e-mail use. Teachers who complete a six-
session course receive a stipend.
"A year ago, our entire faculty attended a one-day seminar on the use of computers in the
classroom," Wagner added. "Our school also hosts a yearly one-day seminar for school
technologists demonstrating the use of various computer programs. This year we are spotlighting
Microsoft Word and Access, as well as Kidspiration and Inspiration.
"Crossroads Christian School and JenuineTech.com also host four online projects per year,
which teachers are encouraged to get involved in," Wagner said. "Activities to help teachers use
technology in the classroom are provided at the project sites. In addition, several teachers have
created their own Web pages, and they receive a stipend for keeping their sites current
throughout the year. Each of those teachers is encouraged to teach one other teacher how to
create and maintain a Web page.
"During the 2002-2003 school year, we installed Accelerated Reader on all our classroom
computers," Wagner added. "Teachers are 'encouraged' to use the program, and we have taken
the time to print lists of available tests and to mark the library books for which we have quizzes.
"There is, however, a continual struggle to get teachers to see that technology use will not make
their days more stressful; that in many ways, it will make their jobs easier," Wagner noted. "That
would be easier, of course, if we had more computers in each classroom. Right now, teachers say
they cannot fit every student into a one-week period for computer use. If we had more
computers, that would be possible!
"It is my belief," Wagner said, "that until our board and administration state in no-uncertain
terms that teachers must demonstrate technology use, our staff's technology use will not change.
As new staff comes on, hopefully they will enjoy the use of technology and encourage others to
see its benefits!"
A LITTLE ENCOURAGEMENT IS NOT ENOUGH
"All teachers and support staff in our district have e-mail addresses and e-mail accounts," said
Lincoln High School social studies teacher Michael Hutchinson. "Weekly bulletins and other
teacher information are provided via e-mail. Each school has a Web page, which, in my building,
is maintained by the school's Web design class; most teachers don't develop their own pages. I
suspect many teachers are intimidated by the thought of building a Web page; others don't think
they have enough information to merit their own page.
"Personally, I've used Web pages to post an online resume, to provide project resources for
student, and to store student projects for download," Hutchinson noted. "That way, if a student
loses paperwork for a project or if a parent wants information about a project, the resources are
available. Examples of some of the project pages I've created include The Modern Presidency,
Project Resources, and Resources for Civil War Projects.
7. "At one point," Hutchinson added, "our district offered after-school and summer training, which
participants were paid a stipend to attend, as well as training during the school day, for which
participants got professional leave time. Teachers generally did not take advantage of either
opportunity, however.
"I suspect that the lack of teacher participation was due in part to lack of time," Hutchinson said.
"In addition, it seemed as though training focused mainly on the basics, with relatively little
training for advanced topics. I also would have liked to have seen more training geared toward
what teachers specifically wanted to learn...for example, did they want to build Web pages? Did
they want to learn Power Point? Did they want to use Excel?
"I think teachers also felt that the stipend (less than $12 per hour) was relatively small compared
to what their time was worth," said Hutchinson. "As a teacher who trained other teachers, I was
paid exactly the same stipend as class participants, even though I had to prepare the training
materials and, if the session was held during the school day, get materials ready for a substitute
as well.
"Perhaps more teachers would embrace technology if they knew they would be rewarded for
using it -- versus being punished for not using it," Hutchinson noted. "Why not reward teachers
who use technology by providing them with better equipment, software, and so on, as they show
an increased interest and proficiency? That doesn't address the problem of what to do about
teachers who simply refuse to use technology, of course, and I'm not quite sure how to deal with
that. One possible idea is to ask local businesses to donate 'prizes' to teachers who show an
interest, and develop a proficiency, in technology use. (For example, a teacher who increases his
or her technology use or proficiency in some way might get a $10 coupon from a local
restaurant, a free movie ticket, or $5 free gas.) Local businesses could look at it as a community
service and advertising, and teachers might be more motivated to use technology."
"Our school doesn't 'require' staff e-mail use, but it does strongly encourage it, and everyone has
an e-mail address," said Stew Pruslin, a third grade teacher at T.J. Hood School. "Personally,
however, I prefer to stick with my AOL e-mail, and I think it will be hard to get everyone on one
system. I know many teachers in the school system use our district's e-mail, but many others
don't. Some teachers are still not Internet-savvy, and a number of them never will be inclined to
be."
"Sadly, my school has not put any force into encouraging technology use," Alexander Fleming
Middle School computer instructor Sith Nip told Education World. "We -- the tech geeks -- have
encouraged teachers to ask questions and learn to use available software, but only a few have
shown any desire to learn. We do help, and teach those who want to learn, but we are
disappointed that so few actually care about the technology we have. Instead of trying to learn to
use technology, many teachers only come to us when they are in immediate need of help.
"I have also noticed that many teachers who are unfamiliar with technology are scared of it," Nip
said. "They know technology's capabilities, but are afraid they'll destroy it if they don't use it
correctly. Until our school provides mandatory training workshops, I don't know how we can
encourage teachers to use technology."
8. A LACK OF RESOURCES
"Our district 'encourages' technology use by teachers, but not in any substantive way," said high
school science teacher Wauseon High School John Tiffany. "An inexpensive piece of equipment
I ordered took a year and a half to arrive! Teacher notices and announcements are distributed by
e-mail, but teachers can request a hard copy if they don't choose to use e-mail. We do have a
district Web site and teachers are encouraged to develop their own Web pages. Some have; most
have not. The technology department does provide aid in the form of a help line, which they
respond to; but sometimes those responses are limited.
"Access to technology also makes its use easier," Tiffany noted. "Until computers are made
available for most students, teachers cannot be expected to utilize technology-based activities.
There are a lot of activities I would like to do, but I am unable to do so because of a lack of
resources.
"A receptive technology department also is key to implementing technology and expecting
teachers to use it," Tiffany added. "Nothing is more frustrating than being forced to go through a
lot of red tape to get help or equipment."
"Some teachers are reluctant to use technology," Tiffany noted. "If schools really want to
encourage technology use, they shouldn't give teachers the option of receiving hard copies of e-
mail notices. All teachers should have Web pages and keep them updated. It shows a
commitment by the whole system when that occurs."
"Every one of our classrooms has a computer for the teacher's use," said high school webmaster
Fred Holmes of the Osceola Public Schools. "Teachers use them for creating tests, carrying on
correspondence, and so on. They are not 'required' to use them, however. Our biggest problem is
that, although many teachers want to use computers for classroom instruction, we don't have a
way to display computer information to a classroom full of students. We only have one LCD
projector for the entire school district -- and it is a used one! I use it for computer instruction, and
one of our science teachers uses it to teach anatomy, but it is difficult to schedule its use around
everyone's needs.
"Our teachers have made the most improvement in their [level of ] use of computer labs for
Internet access," Holmes noted. "They bring in students to look up information for class and to
create individual presentations. Here again, however, we run into a problem of scheduling.
"Our service unit has provided excellent in-service sessions and training for teachers, but many
teachers find reasons not to use technology in the classroom. We also have encouraged teachers
to create their own Web pages on our home site, but usually it is left to one of the advanced
computer classes to create pages for the teachers. Getting teachers to use computers while
dealing with a lack of funds and follow-up opportunities can be frustrating!"
A GOOD START PAYS OFF
9. "In 1996, District 108 in Pekin, Illinois, received a $5 million Technology Innovation Challenge
Grant from the U.S. Department of Education, because of the district's vision and groundwork in
the area of technology," teacher and school webmaster Madeleine Decker told Education World.
"As a result of that grant, teachers received laptops, docks, and training.
"Our district's Pilot Program was underway then," Decker remembered. "(Although the
program's Web page looks pretty crude today, I still use the photographs in the Monitor/Video
Splitter section to hook up my monitor in the fall.) So each classroom teacher, after completing
the Pilot Program training, received five networked student stations for his or her classroom.
"A Tech Academy also was established with some of the grant money," Decker added, "and
courses in Netscape, PowerPoint, Excel, and Word and were offered to teachers after school and
in the summer. Those courses were free and resulted in advancement on the salary schedule. In
the early stages of the grant, we also had 'Webminers' -- teachers who were paid to find great
sites and e-mail them to the rest of the staff.
"Today," Decker noted, "the laptops have been retired, and all teachers have new Omni Tech
desktop computers. The aged laptops were too expensive to replace and their upkeep required
about 90 percent of our tech support's time.
"All communication now is through e-mail," said Decker, "although occasionally we will get a
hard copy as well. Each teacher has an e-mail account and is expected to check it frequently.
Most messages from the district office arrive via e-mail.
"Courses are still offered free of charge, and they earn continuing professional development units
(CPDU's) or advancement on the salary schedule," Decker said. "The Tech Center offers after-
school sessions on Web pages, basic Windows administration, hardware, and Excel. We also
have extended courses. I recently took a District Integrating Technology course that met for
seven, four-hour sessions. It was excellent and had a waiting list!
"Our Tech Center also provides many online tutorials -- on everything from converting Word to
PDF to using Photoshop," Decker added. "The Pekin Public School's Technology page is just a
small branch of a fantastic Web site maintained by two young men who started out working on
the site when they were in eighth grade. Today, one is a senior in high school and the other is a
freshman in college. We also have had school Webmasters since about 1997; they each have a
digital camera to record school events. In 1998, our school's Web site won a Cool School of the
Week Award from Education World!
"Teachers are encouraged to submit material to their school's Web site and to maintain Learning
Village Web pages for their classes," Decker said. "Those pages are easy to maintain and can
host such items as the spelling list of the week, a calendar of events, the student of the week, and
so on. Some teachers print the pages and use them as a classroom newsletter."
A GOOD START IS NOT ENOUGH
10. "The district I work in had a wonderful start to encouraging teacher technology use several years
ago, when we were awarded several Technology Literacy Challenge Fund (TLCF) and TEACH
grants. Those monies were used to set up a very successful technology mentoring program, in
which trained lead teachers worked with individuals and teams of teachers," Richards
Elementary School fourth grade teacher Mary Kreul told Education World.
"Teachers were encouraged to use technology in useful ways for themselves and with their
students -- through e-mail, listservs, telecollaborative projects, and so on. They were able to take
after school and summer sessions on a wide variety of technologies -- basic e-mail use,
bookmarking, software use, hardware trouble shooting, and integrating technology into the
curriculum," Kreul noted. "Some sessions were held during paid work time, others fulfilled staff
development requirements or earned college credits.
"When the funding sources were no longer available, however, other programs became higher
priorities, and when staff turnover occurred, many of those opportunities were no longer
available," Kreul said. "Problems over the past few years -- such as the network being down for
up to six weeks at a time, e-mail that did not function, limited lab time, and so on -- have made
the idea of using technology very discouraging for staff members, especially those just beginning
to become comfortable with technology.
"Teachers have district e-mail addresses, and some correspond regularly with building and
district staff, parents, and peers in other districts. However, teacher notices usually are not
distributed via e-mail," Kreul noted.
"Teacher training also has been minimal over the past few years; the focus has been on software,
rather than on integrating technology into the curriculum or on teachers using technology
professionally. When the district got a new e-mail program last fall, teachers were required to
attend a short demonstration, but were given no hands-on training or practice in actually using
the new program. Staff members have to depend on one another for support and resources. In our
school," Kreul said, "we have a wonderful and overworked media center staff and a very helpful
part-time tech support person -- but they cannot provide enough support to build and maintain a
consistent program.
"The district Web page -- with all schools included -- was a flourishing site several years ago,
used frequently by teachers, students, and parents," Kreul said. "However, due to administrative
decisions made along the way, it is no longer a resource that is used regularly by the learning
community. Some teachers have their own Web pages at Geocities, SchoolNotes, or Quia, but
that is done independently by those staff members.
"One bright spot occurred last year when the school PTA provided funds to purchase digital
cameras for each grade level and for several specialists' areas," Kreul noted. "Knowledgeable
staff members, along with a parent who is a photographer, taught several sessions on camera use
and on integrating digital photography into the curriculum. The library media specialist held also
several sessions for interested teachers this year on using the digital camera and scanner.
11. "Again, staff members who want to learn to use technology either depend on help from their
peers, learn it on their own, or take courses online or at local sites," said Kreul. "Unfortunately,
without the level of training and support they need, many teachers do not use technology to their
advantage -- for grading, organizing lessons, searching for information, communicating with the
education community, or in the classroom with their students.
"There is no expectation that staff members reach levels of proficiency or show growth in their
skills," Kreul added. "However, with the No Child Left Behind legislation and its expectation of
technology use by students, that expectation may be changing."
"We encourage technology use among our staff members in a number of different ways," said
educational technology specialist Robin Smith.
"We provide all teachers and administrators with an e-mail address for their professional
use. Many notices from the superintendent down are sent via e-mail, so teachers have to
log in regularly and check their accounts.
"We use an online conference request and Act 48 program from My Learning Plan,
which requires teachers to log in and submit conference requests.
"My Learning Plan also allows us to put course descriptions of all in-house staff
development sessions (technology and otherwise) on the system. Teachers also use the
system to sign up for the training, which requires them to use technology to participate in
any type of staff development.
"For the past several years, the district has provided a minimum of two contracted in-
service days devoted to technology training.
"Our district used the Futurekids Professional Development Curriculum to train teachers
and administrators on the basics of technology use.
"We have a three-year staff development plan that ends June 30, and we are in the
process of writing a new plan. Teachers can see this plan anytime and know the direction
our training will take. We make modifications on a yearly basis, as needed.
"The Hollidaysburg Area School District Web site was created using Schoolwires. Each
school has its own Web pages on the site, and a team of teachers who work on those
pages. Training is provided for all teachers who want to learn how to use the program.
Teachers are not required to participate, but the number of teachers who are creating
pages is increasing.
"We have a network specialist and two technicians who basically deal with hardware,
network, and installation issues. We also have a lead teacher who works directly with K-
12 teachers in the district, helping them learn to use new programs and to integrate
technology. My title is 'instructional technology specialist,' and although I rarely have
time for actual teacher training, I do provide a great deal of help-desk support over the
phone.
"We provide short before- and after-school training for teachers on various computer
programs available in their own buildings.
"We also provide training during the summer months. This year, the focus will be on
integrating technology into the classroom. Now that teachers know the basics, we want
them to begin to incorporate technology into their lessons.
12. "In addition," Smith said, "we are considering adding an online help-desk form that date/time
stamps requests; providing hand-held devices for teachers who have large groups of students
(physical education, music, and so on) to use to take attendance; and offering an Intel Teach to
the Future program for teachers who wish to be trainers. Those teachers then would become
master trainers and teach other teachers. In return, they would receive a laptop computer to use
as long as they are in the district.
"I also would like to institute technology proficiency testing for prospective teachers to ensure
that new teachers know the basics of technology and are comfortable with using it before they're
hired," Smith said. "And I would like to provide laptops for every teacher. Until teachers have
access to machines 24/7, and develop a comfort level using them, curriculum integration is only
a dream. But those are ideas for the future!"
Who Are They?
The Education World Tech Team includes more than 50 dedicated
and knowledgeable educational-technology professionals who have
volunteered to contribute to occasional articles that draw on their
varied expertise and experience. The following Tech Team
members contributed to this article:
* Madeleine Decker, sixth grade teacher and school webmaster,
Washington Intermediate School, Pekin, Illinois
* Linda George, technology integration specialist, Dondero School,
Portsmouth New Hampshire
* Fred Holmes, Lan Manager/Webmaster, Osceola Public Schools,
Osceola, Nebraska
* Michael Hutchison, high school social studies teacher, Lincoln
High School, Vincennes, Indiana
* Mary Kreul, fourth grade teacher, Richards Elementary School,
Whitefish Bay, Wisconsin
* Mike Johnson, district technology resource teacher, Fayette
County Public Schools, Lexington, Kentucky
* Sith Nip, sixth-through-eighth grade introductory computer
instructor, Alexander Fleming Middle School, Lomita, California
* Stew Pruslin, third grade teacher, J. T. Hood School, North
