During the pilot project, which also was federally funded, eight BGSU faculty members partnered with 10 teachers from two Wood County schools, Crim Elementary in Bowling Green and Woodmore Elementary in Woodville. Both schools are professional development sites for BGSU education majors. In addition to attending a series of training workshops, participants worked in teams to develop and implement technology-rich lessons for both education courses at BGSU and in the elementary school classrooms. Project co-director Dr. Rachel Vannatta, an assistant professor of educational foundations, said the program addresses the challenge of preparing teachers from several different angles. The federal funding is enabling us to eliminate barriers of access to technology.
All participants get laptop computers.
We've created electronic classrooms here in the Education Building. It's that support and collaboration with one another which is the key to success. They're learning together. The success of the training approach was soon realized. One teacher told us that it puts all the pieces together, not just incorporating technology but improving learning.