[August 05, 2011] Teachers plug into classroom technology options at S-C conference Tweet Aug 04, 2011 (The Sedalia Democrat - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- Area teachers on Thursday saw how technology is transforming education and learned emerging ways to engage students. Sedalia School District 200 and eInstruction presented "Connecting Teachers & Tools for 21st Century Learning" at Smith-Cotton High School. Keynote speaker Howie DiBlasi asked the collection of more than 100 educators attending the conference, "How has the world changed since you graduated?" The followup question: "Have education methods changed that much?" DiBlasi, a retired teacher who calls himself an "emerging technology evangelist," said that with the fast pace of technology and workforce changes, today's educators face the challenge of preparing students for jobs that do not yet exist. Added to that are administrators who understand the language and vocabulary of technology, but likely do not understand its best applications in the classroom. Angie Dick, who teaches business and marketing at Smith-Cotton High School, led a session on taking existing projects and using technology such as PowerPoint presentations, blogging and video mashups to better engage students. Dick, who has taught for 10 years, noted the changes in the short span that she has been a teacher. "When I started at the middle school, there was one computer lab and we were lucky to have a projector in our room," she said. Now, each of her students' workstations has a computer and she uses a smartboard to share data and concepts. Still, Dick said, she is intimidated by technology, but as the district has made more of it available, "I knew I had to step up my game." She stressed that there are still merits to traditional teaching methods, but as she has incorporated technology into her teaching and students' assignments, she has seen test scores and student participation in class both 'shoot through the roof." Kristee Lorenz, Sedalia 200's director for educational support, said the district's main purpose in providing the conference "was to provide professional development for our teachers and others in our area. "We need to use our resources to better engage students," she said. Dick has worked to transform her lectures into interactive experiences for her students, using poignant or humorous video clips to drive home a key point. She said it it important for educators to use technology to teach, to integrate it into the classroom to build a comfort level with its use. Debbie Schuster, who teaches seventh grade science in Boonville, was pleased the conference was held in advance of the coming school year. "Now I have a couple of weeks to get this going," she said. "I want to get involved with technology in my classroom, but I'm not savvy about this kind of stuff." Schuster said, "There is not a lot of technology in my district. But I want to be ready when we do." DiBlasi said teachers have the ability to "change another person's life," driving home that point with the example of his grandson, who was behind his classmates in counting and reading and got caught up because a group of teachers made it a point to work with him and fellow students. "Ask yourself, 'What can I take away (from Thursday's conference) to make a difference?'" he said. To see more of The Sedalia Democrat or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.sedaliademocrat.com. Copyright (c) 2011, The Sedalia Democrat, Sedalia, Mo. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For more information about the content services offered by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services (MCT), visit www.mctinfoservices.com. [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]