With the abundance of educational resources appearing on the World Wide Web and the escalation of schools connecting to the Internet, the NCSA Education and Outreach Group's Workshops and Training team, headed by Melissa Kelly, concentrated its efforts last fall on classes for school administrators. The administrators, including principals, district superintendents, technology coordinators, librarians, and teachers, play a vital role in planning for Internet connectivity.
The course is taught by NCSA, and credit is given by the Illinois Administrators Academy from the Regional Offices of Education in Rantoul and Charleston. Participants have attended from school districts in 18 different counties in Illinois.
The course has four parts: an introduction to electronic mail and Web browsers; researching Web-based resources and projects appropriate to the K-12 classroom and school administrators; studying the role of technology in school improvement; and exploring issues related to developing a technology plan for a school or district.
Kelly invited several administrators who have already implemented technology plans in their schools to speak to the classes. The guest speakers discussed their process of gaining competency with computers and how they are pursuing Internet connectivity, including the use of satellites. After hearing about two wireless connection projects at schools in Mahomet and Marshall, other schools in areas without local Internet access providers are considering implementing such options. The administrators are also closely following the emerging plan from the Illinois State Board of Education to establish technology hubs and help connect more schools in Illinois to the Internet.
In addition to the classes for administrators, workshops were given throughout the semester to preservice teachers from the UIUC College of Education and teachers and students from around central Illinois. The primary focus of these sessions was learning to use the World Wide Web efficiently, including learning search strategies to find educational resources.
Plans for spring 1996 workshops include continuing to reach school administrators from around the state and hosting a workshop for area teachers to develop Web-based curriculum units that they can use the following school year. In the summer of 1996, workshops will again be offered to teachers and students who have Internet connections and are ready to begin integrating the new tools and materials into their classrooms. Additionally a new project is underway with the Urbana Adult Education Program to provide a train-the-trainer model to support adult literacy training in Illinois through the use of technology. Representatives of 30 programs in the state will then serve as trainers for staff and volunteers in their respective programs. Both types of training will use the just-in-time concept -- meeting the needs of each program as they come online.
As educators continue to mature in computer literacy, more advanced topics will be introduced.
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