Contact: Maridith Geuder
A Mississippi State-organized program that works to increase technology integration in state classrooms is making plans to soon involve a total of 20 public school districts spread among all five congressional districts.
Coordinated by the university's Center for Educational and Training Technology, the project is known as C R E A T E for Mississippi. C R E A T E is an acronym for Challenging Regional Educators to Advance Technology in Education.
The Tupelo Public School District serves as the lead agency, with deputy superintendent David Meadows joining the MSU center's Dan Brook as co-coordinator of the two-year, $1.5 million project. Other original partners include the Booneville, Chickasaw County and Winona school districts.
Funded by the United States Department of Education, the effort mixes student "techno-teams" with wireless computers, digital cameras, technology-based lesson plans, and other innovations. Participants range from middle school students to school board members.
At a recent campus meeting, original and new participants reviewed a number of successful classroom strategies and observed student techno-teams at work.
"The techno-teams were selected to assist teachers," Brook said. "Their proficiency in digital and video technologies helps expand learning opportunities for other students."
School districts implementing the project during the 2001-02 year will include Drew, Greenville, Hollandale, and South Delta school districts in the 2nd Congressional District; East Jasper, Lauderdale, and Lowndes county schools, along with West Point Municipal, in the 3rd District.
Additional funding is being sought to expand the program for a third year to Jackson, Hazlehurst, McComb, and Columbia in the 4th District; Stone County, Picayune, Lamar County, and Gulfport in the 5th District.
For more information on the project, contact Brook at (662) 325-3226 or danb@ext.msstate.edu. You may also visit the project web site at www.create4ms.org.