At the lab, teacher training focuses on integrating technology into the existing curriculum and developing interactive Web pages. Technology coordinator training emphasizes the technical side of integrating technology into the classroom. Student training helps to familiarize district students with the latest generation of computers. Besides readying students for these important certification tests, the classes also benefit district schools. With a crop of budding technicians on hand, schools can do much of their troubleshooting internally, rather than paying for outside help, thus keeping networks running at less cost.
Some schools even pay students through work-study agreements.
To earn TIF grants, schools must have six teachers or administrators complete nine days of technical training in the lab on such topics as multimedia, curriculum integration, and the Internet. When space is tight elsewhere, the lab also serves as a venue for the agency's routine training in software applications. Implementing a Powerful and Safe Training Ground Region 10 ESC's technology mission is twofold. One, the agency seeks to provide districts with internal support for their computers and networks by producing students and faculty who can help schools maintain their level of technology. Two, the agency seeks to provide opportunities for students to learn technological skills that can better prepare them for the future.