Area schools part of project to integrate technology, learning

Two Bowling Green State University faculty members have developed a program that brings together education methods faculty, pre-service (student) teachers and elementary teachers to learn how to utilize technology as an integrated tool of classroom instruction.

Dr. Blanche O'Bannon, an assistant professor in the Division of Teaching and Learning, and Dr. Rachel Vannatta, an assistant professor of educational foundations and inquiry, have received a $163,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Education for Project PICT: Pre-service Infusion of Computer Technology.

For the first year, the project will focus on elementary teacher preparation, but Vannatta and O'Bannon hope to expand to secondary preparation in future years.

The primary goal is to prepare pre-service teachers to fully utilize technology for improved learning and achievement in their future classrooms, the professors said. Project activities will train faculty and teachers to infuse technology into their teaching and model effective uses of it in the classroom.

"We want them to begin to think of technology as a natural process in classroom teaching, so that they're familiar and comfortable with it," Vannatta said.

The pilot program partners eight BGSU faculty--six from teacher education and two from arts and sciences--with 10 teachers from two area schools, Crim Elementary in Bowling Green and Woodmore Elementary in Woodville.

Both schools have longstanding relationships with BGSU as professional development sites through the placement of student teachers and methods students. Elementary pre-service teachers will be placed with these participating K-6 teachers for methods in the fall and student teaching in the spring.

Project participants will attend a series of technology training workshops and will work in teams to develop and implement technology-rich lessons for both the education courses and the elementary classroom.

While the bulk of the project activities will focus on technology training, two other project activities are central to the grant. O'Bannon and Vannatta will assist in the restructuring of the elementary curriculum to insure the systematic integration of technology throughout the elementary education program. In addition, an assessment model will be developed to evaluate pre-service technology competencies upon graduation.

The two hope to apply next year to extend funding with an implementation grant, which would allow them to expand the project to secondary education.

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