Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, June 2, 1994 TAG: 9406020085
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: IAN ZACK THE DAILY PROGRESS
DATELINE: CHARLOTTESVILLE (AP) LENGTH: Long
Several feet away, classmates Ann Bentley and Thomas Fields clicked an Apple Macintosh mouse to tap into the Internet worldwide computer network and retrieved a same-day weather satellite image of the United States from the University of Michigan. This was followed by a photograph of Vincent Van Gogh's painting ``Starry Night'' from a computer file at the University of Pisa, Italy.
``He painted it when he was upset,'' Ann said, looking at the nightscape on her computer monitor. ``He painted pictures of his feelings.''
Around the classroom at Albemarle County's Murray Elementary School, parents watched with amazement, embarrassed incomprehension and some concern as their children explained how to use things called ``Hypercard,'' ``Kid Pix'' and ``CD-ROM'' for researching reports and doing class projects.
Murray is one of the most technologically advanced public school in Virginia, educators say.
With the help of the University of Virginia and a group of zealous parents, it has gotten instant classroom hookups to Internet, which taps into the computers of universities, museums, governments, businesses and people all over the world.
This year, it is also pioneering the use of computer software and networks in the classroom, as the guinea pig for the Technology Infusion program at UVa's Curry School of Education, which aims to revolutionize how children are taught in school.
New technologies have enabled classes to broadcast live weather reports throughout the school using recent satellite maps and to create computer catalogs about their school complete with photos, drawings and a speech from the principal that schools throughout the world can access.
On June 25, the university will be host to a statewide conference on the subject, using Murray as its centerpiece.
``The teacher will not be looked upon as the only font of knowledge,'' said Frank Becker, a Curry doctoral student and soon-to-be director of the infusion program. ``The students are involved in constructing their own knowledge. I think learning that occurs under this construction is so much more meaningful and so much more ingrained.''
Many children appear to think so, too.
``You can teach people with the computer without being bored,'' said fourth-grader Kipps Birckhead, as he showed off a report on weather that he helped compose using the Hypercard. The program allows the user to move from general subjects like ``cold fronts'' to specific ones like ``occluded cold fronts,'' at the touch of a mouse. The effect is like a book that enables the reader to skip from one page to any other on a related subject.
Kipps easily explained that an occluded cold front was ``like a cold front but not as powerful,'' as graphic images he created or scanned into the computer from a network appeared on his screen.
A key to the success of incorporating technology into teaching, Becker said, is teaching teachers how to use it properly. For two semesters this year, UVa education students worked once a week with six fourth-grade and fifth-grade teachers and their students to show them how to use their new tools.
``It's pretty amazing,'' said Cindy Dragich, one of the teachers. ``I'm learning so much.''
``Instead of having the computer on 30 percent of the day,'' she added, ``it gets turned on when the lights get turned on. It's like a fight to see who gets the computer.''
Murray's venture onto the information superhighway began last year when a group of parents decided the computers the school had in classrooms and the library were not being utilized to their potential. Teachers could access Internet, for instance, from the library, but only one could use the hookup at a time, and establishing a connection could take as long as a class period. The parents interested UVa, which was looking for a pilot school for its Technology Infusion project.
``You can see their minds exploding with enthusiasm while they're just busy working'' on the computers, said parent John Workman, a computer programmer who was instrumental in getting the project started.
The school's PTO raised $3,000 out of the $18,500 Murray spent to implement the first phase of its five-year technology plan, which put Internet in six classrooms. UVa donated $7,000, and the county contributed $5,000. The rest came from federal grants and donations.
Murray principal Tim Frazier, a strong supporter of education technology, said the goal is to put four Internet hookups in each classroom in the school.
``It's what the future is going to hold. I truly believe that,'' Frazier said.
But technology is not without its pitfalls.
One is cost. Murray's five-year plan will cost nearly $400,000, and the school is now trying to interest local businesses in donating money, hardware or software.
The county has a 10-year technology plan covering its 23 schools, but less than $350,000 was funded in next year's school budget out of $3.5 million projected in costs for the next three years alone.
``I think we're always going to have to show the parents and show the community the value of this in terms of technology,'' said Frank Morgan, director of curriculum for the school division, though he doesn't see a major fight over funding.
There are parents, like one who attended Murray's program Tuesday, who think that the basic skills such as reading, writing and mathematics must be emphasized and students brought to parity with their Japanese and European counterparts before technology is fully integrated into the classroom.
``You can't throw money at it and solve the problem,'' said the parent, who asked to remain anonymous. ``The problem is with what they're not getting: the basics. The problem is with the curriculum.''
Educators say they are not doing away with the basics but trying to make them more meaningful by using technology.
With the Internet hookup, they say, parents will even be able to monitor their child's class work from home or from a public library computer.
by CNB