Classroom Creativity Accelerating Teachers Laud District 81 Computer Training

Leslie Maxfield was shocked when her sixth-grade students asked to skip recess. They wanted to sell real estate instead.

It’s part of a project Maxfield created in which Roosevelt Elementary School students research ancient communities and the homes people lived in.

Their assignment: Write a document persuading Maxfield to move there and buy a home.

But the teacher doesn’t believe Greece and Rome alone are luring students from the playground. She blames the computers they’re using.

“The computers really helped open up the world to kids,” she told Spokane School District 81 board members Wednesday night. “They can go on a field trip every day.”

There are technology critics who warn teachers against overusing computers. Those people were not at this board meeting.

A stream of enthusiastic teachers took the stage to show how they’ve made the district’s computer training program come alive in classrooms.

The district will use this year’s $673,000 state technology grant to teach about 100 teachers to create computerized math curriculum.

A recent statewide study supports the district’s ambitions.

A task force spent a year reviewing technology in Washington schools and concluded the state needs to help pay for training, especially in poorer districts.

The Technology in Education task force consisted of two dozen business leaders, educators, legislators and technology experts. The group was assembled by the Technology Alliance, a consortium of technology-based businesses, research institutions and trade associations.

Districts now spend anywhere from $5 to $650 per student on technology each year, with an average of $133, according to the study.

Bill and Melinda Gates are spending $2 million to help the University of Washington and the Technology Alliance create an academy that will train school administrators.

Starting this summer and continuing for two more, the Smart Tools Academy will train 2,250 principals, superintendents and private school leaders across the state.

Proponents believe teachers will get more encouragement from administrators who know how to use computers and aren’t afraid of them.

Norrie Johnson is one teacher who won’t need that encouragement. Her first-grade students at Pratt Elementary were enchanted with a computerized project called “Should We Be Afraid of Spiders?”

They learned to use e-mail, fax machines and Internet search tools, all the while learning about the creatures that both thrilled and frightened them.

These 2 sidebars appeared with the story:

1. BOOT-UP CAMP Some 500 teachers in Spokane schools have learned to use computers through state grants for technology training.

2. CLICK HERE Among other findings: About two-thirds of classrooms have Internet access. Districts with higher per-student property taxes spend more on technology. Schools have an average of one computer for every five students. That ratio drops to one for every 13 students when including only newer computers with networking capabilities.