That new job requirement can be scary to veteran teachers who would rather use blackboards than keyboards. But schools are encouraging teachers to use their free time to develop computer skills. And a parent volunteer who owns a computer company has offered some free instruction. As a member of the Virginia Education Technology Council, Stan Cornett has seen many schools spend on hardware and software without investing one penny to train teachers. Three years later, there are still daily technology sessions.
Instruction is held each morning and afternoon.
The school also provides summer stipends for teachers who take classes or merely explore the school's technology. Last year the program was so popular, it ran out of money. The amount of training teachers must endure to capitalize on a school's technological investments can be intimidating. After more than 30 years of teaching, Jean Fowlkes was again a student. A computer class more than a decade earlier had introduced her to what computers could offer her math students at Fuqua, but in the modern computer world, her skills were ancient history.