Project offers tech training, upgrades

By LINDSAY VanHULLE
lvanhulle@record-eagle.com

October 15, 2008 12:00 am

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TRAVERSE CITY -- Students at Northport Public School can use two computer labs in the building, as well as additional computers inside their classrooms.

But unlike other school systems in the Traverse Bay Area Intermediate School District, the small district in northern Leelanau County doesn't have portable laptop labs.

Improving technology access is an important goal, interim Superintendent John Hoeffler said, particularly since today's students are eager to snatch up the latest gadget toys.

That's why he wants to take part in a new TBAISD project that would use federal grant dollars to offer technology training and upgrades to member schools.

"There's a lot happening out there that's hard to stay up with," Hoeffler said. "In many cases, districts would not be able to afford to purchase the kinds of equipment or materials or software without the support of the ISD."

The intermediate district received about $57,000 from the state education department, part of a federal funding package that was funneled into the states, said Rosemary Hagan, a TBAISD general education instructional services specialist.

As part of the program, called the Discovery Learning Project, a teacher in each of TBAISD's 62 public and charter schools will be selected to receive training on how to incorporate streaming video into daily lessons.

Much of the funding will go toward the purchase of a digital projector for each of the participating classrooms, Hagan said, with the expectation that the selected teachers will pass on their knowledge to others in their building.

And TBAISD also will pay part of the licensing fees to access the thousands of streaming video clips from Discovery Education online.

"This is the way students live and work and breathe," she said. "These are kept current. In an age where information changes so rapidly and textbooks become outdated, it's critical to pull in up-to-date resources."

Training sessions will occur over four days beginning in early December. Many local districts are just beginning to hear details of the project.

John Smith, superintendent of Forest Area Community Schools in Fife Lake, said he plans to have teachers involved.

The project will allow the district to access digital material "we wouldn't be able to afford on our own," Smith said. "In the educational process, it will help our students."