Training


 
 

At Galena Elementary School, the classroom teachers, teacher education students, and children use technology in almost every aspect of the curriculum. Technology training has taken many different forms and includes summer computer camp, cross-age tutoring, parent meetings, university workshops, courses, required practica, etc.

Training in the Elementary School

Galena Elementary School was a recipient of a Buddy grant from the Corporation of Educational Technology, so all fourth and fifth grade children had a Macintosh LC580 in their homes or used their personal home computers and the free software provided by the school. For a time, all fourth and fifth graders had Macintosh Powerbooks. There were several computers and printers in each classroom, as well.

Now, there are between six and twenty Macintosh computers in each classroom (with no computers being sent home).  Each room has several internet connections.

The teachers have received training from various sources and have gone on to train other teachers on effective means of integrating technology into the curriculum. The children and their parents have received training via summer computer camps, family meetings, newsletters, and a panel of parent volunteers who make themselves available for phone calls and "house calls."

Training in the Teacher Education Program

The university's program has changed dramatically to infuse technology into the teacher education program. The students first take a three hour course entitled Computers in Education. They later attend workshops and various technology activities to help prepare them for a required junior/senior level practicum in which they go to Galena Elementary School and teach a thematic unit that is heavily based on the use of technology.

In addition to utilizing technology while teaching their lessons with the Galena children, most students enrolled in this practicum have computers in their homes and all have full internet access at the university. When the practicum students teach their units, they send projects, interactive journals, poetry, parent letters, etc. after school hours via e mail.

Several years ago, the IU Southeast faculty members (deGraaf, Riehl, and Ridout) also received a Buddy Grant from the Corporation for Educational Technology.

Unique Aspects

Unique aspects of this program include: children help train the university students on certain pieces of software when they come to the college campus for "Professor for a Day;" the university students and the elementary students each have a group of "Webytes"  who put items on the elementary school's intranet and the WWW; the elementary school and the university have received funding for this collaborative project ; and the university's program was recently selected by the North Central Regional Educational Laboratory as one of the outstanding teacher education programs to utilize technology. The Galena teachers and the IUS faculty members have given many presentations at local, state, regional, national and international conferences.

Back to IUS/Galena Project Page.