Contact: Maridith Geuder
Student "techno-teams"--middle schoolers proficient in computer applications--are part of a pilot project involving new technical enhancements for the state's public classrooms.
Coordinated by the Center for Educational and Training Technology at Mississippi State University, the project also is using an interactive web site, wireless computers, rolling technology carts, and new curriculum modules to help expand learning opportunities.
Called Challenging Regional Educators to Advance Technology in Education or CREATE, the effort is funded this year by a $1.5 million United States Department of Education grant. Launched last year with $1.8 million from the department, the project is a collaboration of the Tupelo Public School District and Mississippi State's training technology center and the university's extension service.
In addition to Tupelo, middle schools in Booneville, Houlka and Winona are participating. Expansion to other schools is planned as funding becomes available.
"'CREATE for Mississippi' is a partnership in every sense of the word," said technology center co-director R. Dan Brook. The pilot project has the potential to reach more than 10,000 students and nearly 700 educators in Northeast Mississippi, he added.
Students and teachers, along with principals, superintendents and school board members, are involved in the project's planning, in-service training and implementation, Brook said. More than 40 participants are expected on the MSU campus Thursday [Jan. 25] for training and planning sessions that include a demonstration from a Tupelo student techno-team.
"The school-selected student teams are able to help teachers research and create Power Point presentations in subject areas that include language arts, science, math, and social studies," Brook said. "They also assist with such tasks as 'ghosting' computers, which means applying licensed software to all computers in a classroom so all students can use them.
"Our goal is for the students to apply these and other skills in mentoring their classmates and supporting their teachers in the use of technology," he said.
CETT curriculum specialists also are helping middle school teachers create learning modules that make the most of computer technology and reflect state and national standards. (The modules will be posted at wwwcreate4ms.org, a soon-to-be-operational website.)
A language arts module, for instance, calls for students to use a digital camera, computer scanner and several software applications to create a "bio-poem" about a classmate and to post to a class web site. A science module requires students to use the Internet to learn more about weather terminology and to create graphics and a local forecast.
"Each school in this pilot project is receiving more than $50,000 in equipment that includes a wireless laptop cart with 15 laptop computers, a Dell computer with a large video screen, a color printer, a scanner, data projector, digital camera, and flex camera," Brook said. "Learning to apply these technologies efficiently will enhance learning and help students achieve a high level of computer literacy for the future."
As the pilot project is expanded to include additional schools and adult education and youth-at-risk modules, an evaluation component will allow for adjustment according to need.
The 43 K-12 teachers and administrators taking part in Thursday's training at MSU include (by hometown):
BELMONT--Educational specialist Donna Cooper of the Booneville School District.
BOONEVILLE--Core teachers Frances Green, Tammy Mauney, Charlotte Moore, and Brenda Scott; school board member Versie Jones, superintendent Larry Morgan; principal Jody Presley, all of the Booneville School District. Also of Booneville is principal Linda Clifton of the Tupelo Public School District.
CALHOUN CITY--Alternate core teacher Kim Curtis of the Chickasaw County School District.
DENNIS--Core teacher Steven Hodgin of the Booneville School District.
ETTA--Technology coordinator Dustin Pounders of the Booneville School District.
HOULKA--Superintendent Kathy Davis; school board member Jamie Earp; technology coordinator Ginger McClain; and core teachers Jan Easley, Pam Hightower and Marilyn Linton, all of the Chickasaw County School District.
HOUSTON--Core teacher Mary Graham and educational technologist Teresa McCulloch, both of the Chickasaw County School District.
KILMICHAEL--Educational technologist Marsha Cummings of the Winona Public School District.
OKOLONA--Core teacher Tim West of the Tupelo Public School District.
PONTOTOC--Principal David Tutor of the Chickasaw County School District.
TUPELO--School board member Michael Clayborne; educational technologists Sherry Davis and Jennifer Robison; financial officer Scott Dutt; public information assistant Amy Heyer; core teachers Debbie Hurt, Misty Little and Jackie Parker; deputy superintendent David Meadows; technology coordinator Brenda Meriweather; and superintendent Michael Vinson, all of the Tupelo Public School District. [See BOONEVILLE for an additional name.]
WINONA--Principal Henry Allman; alternate core teacher Shelia Bailey; core teachers James Colbert, Pamela Hammond, Veronica Helms, and Lee Anne Ingram; technology coordinator Diane Green; school board chairman Dennis Hoover; and superintendent Doris Smith, all of the Winona Public School District.