Halifax County Program Abstract

The NASA Network Resources and Training Site located at Elizabeth city State University has entered in partnership with several public school systems in North Carolina and Virginia, including Halifax County Public Schools, to serve as a reuse/refurbisher of donated computer equipment.

President Clinton defined the mission of Computers for Learning in Executive Order 12999, Educational Technology: Ensuring Opportunity for All Children in the Next Century, which states his goal - "to ensure that American children have the skills they need to succeed in the information intensive 21st centry."

The Computers for Learning program was established by Vice President Al Gore. The program represents an important contribution to President Clinton's Education Technology Initiative, which includes making modern computer technlogy an integral part of every classroom. connecting classrooms to the national information infrastructure, providing tecahers with the professional development they need to use new technlogies effectively, and encouraging the creation of innovative educational software. (http://www.computers.fed.gov)

Of the 100 counties in North Carolina, Halifax County (LEA) is third from the bottom with children living in poverty; 43% of Halifax children 6-17 are from families whose incomes are below Federal poverty level. Ninety-three percent of students in the LEA population is minority: 87% black, 5% Indian, 4% Hispanic and 4% white.

This proposed initiative represents a collaboration between a Local Educational Authority(Halifax County Public Schools), Elizabeth City State University and a government agency(NASA Network Resources and Training Site), which addresses both training and technology infrastructure. Past efforts of ECSU have represented a broad stroke designed to reach all K-12 schools in its region. This initiative will allow the ECSU to focus training activities on the targeted schools in Halifax County.

Effectively integrating technology and the resources of the Internet into the classroom will involve intensive staff development workshops and training sessions however this will be the focal point of all training activities. Training will take place on the campus of the ECSU and at the schools targeted.

ECSU training labs have both high end workstations and a Macintosh training lab which educators can make use of. Major training events are scheduled for both fall and spring of each year with additional training days scheduled throughout the year at the schools. Major training events will allow Halifax educators the opportunity not only to expand their technical knowledge but also to try new skills, meet other technology using educators and develop professional contacts with NASA representatives and guest lectures. Further, an extended 2 week training event during the summer will involve educators from targeted schools. At the conclusion of the grant period, educators who have attended the training events will be expected to have the skills necessary to serve as a catalyst for further integration of technology and the Internet into the classroom at their respective schools.

The training workshops designed for Halifax educators will help them fully integrate technology and the Web into instruction. They will explore the full spectrum of possibilities, from teaching students to do research and create multimedia projects using materials they find on the Internet, to creating homepages and global Internet projects.

The summer component will consist of a two week workshop. Workshops offered during the summer will be designed to increase teachers knowledge and understanding of science and technology related issues involved in integration of the internet into the classroom. The summer program will be designed for 15 Halifax teachers. The summer session will extend for two weeks and run for 5 hours each day (50 hours of instruction) with hands on laboratory sessions as an integral part of the program. Each teacher participating in the summer training will receive 5 continuing education units and a stipend.

During the follow up year, school staff will be invited to all regularly scheduled training activities of the NRTS. Also a part of the follow-up component will be the availability of technical expertise of the NRTS staff to assist school staff in connectivity related issues.

Workshops will be designed to address the North Carolina Technlogy Competencies for Educators. All Basic and Advanced Technlogy Competencies which enable educators to use multiple forms of technlogy to enhance learning in their K-5 classrooms will be covered.

These K-5 competencies include: Back to Halifax