By Susan Shinn
Salisbury Post
While the words “21st century” still might seem futuristic, the 21st century is today, and it’s in our classrooms.
Six teachers in Rowan-Salisbury schools have recently been named 21st Century Model Classroom Teachers.
And they’re getting the equipment to go with the title.
Items may include laptops for each student and teacher, smart boards, LCD projectors and iPod carts.
When teachers write on smart boards, it’s as if an overhead projector and a computer were combined. They can access the Internet through the large, white, interactive boards, and students can “buzz in” with devices called “active votes” a la Jeopardy.
With the iPods, students will not be listening to music, but instead develop educational podcasts for the devices about projects they’re working on.
“It’s really exciting,” says Phil Hardin, the system’s director of technology.
At the behest of Superintendent Dr. Judy Grissom these teachers will open their classrooms to colleagues who want to learn how to incorporate technology tools in their teaching.
While the program has its roots in state-focused 21st Century Skills, it’s a purely local initiative.
Grants are funding the program this year, so the money can’t be used for personnel because of that.
Grissom hopes to find more grants, so that the program will expand to other classrooms.
“We have invested a huge amount of technology in our school system,” Grissom says. But she knows a lot of teachers remain intimidated and don’t use the new tools.
Sometimes after going to workshops on technology, teachers come home wondering how to apply it in their own classrooms.
The model classrooms will allow teachers, Grissom says, “to see how it’s done on a daily basis.”
“They can see how it’s being used with students,” Grissom says. “It makes a difference when you’re in that classroom and you’re trying to implement that training with students.”
The winning teachers were chosen from a pool of 125 applicants and 12 finalists. Teachers chosen as 21st Century Model Classroom Teachers are:
n Brian Whitson, Salisbury High School.
n Amy Shorter, Corriher-Lipe Middle School.
n Holly Lowder, Southeast Middle School.
n April Williamson, China Grove Elementary School.
– Joy Jenkins, Cleveland Elementary School.
– Nancy Killian, North Rowan Elementary School.
The equipment is in the process of being ordered.
“We take technology that is already in the classroom and supplement it,” Hardin says.
Grissom has a state grant and a grant from the Robertson Foundation, with up to $150,000 available. But she says that the amount will vary for each classroom depending on what the teachers already have.
If one of the teachers in the program changes schools within the system, the equipment goes with him or her. If he or she leaves the system, the equipment will revert to the system’s technology department.
For now, teachers and students are anxious to get their hands on the new equipment.
“My kids were so excited,” Williamson says. “I was in shock.”
As Hardin points out, Williamson’s students do not know a world without the Internet. Technology acquisition, he says, is like language acquisition.
“When they’re introduced to it very young, it becomes very natural to them.”
As dazzling as the technology may be, Grissom emphasizes that it’s just a tool for learning.
“The key is 21-century skills,” she says. “The technology is just a tool to help that.
“We wanted good teachers first.”
For more information about the 21st Century Model Classroom Teachers program, visit the school system’s Web site at www.rss.k12.nc.us.
Contact Susan Shinn at 704-797-4289 or sshinn@salisburypost.com.