Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers, AR-MO (1888PressRelease)
May 22, 2008 - All Arkansas teachers are required to spend six hours each year studying technology for the classroom. This is, frankly, not one of the more popular requirements. Teachers scramble for places in training sessions, and sometimes end up in workshops that don't really meet their needs. Kindergarten teacher Darcel Zemke has studied PowerPoint repeatedly, but never found that it really enhanced her classroom experience. Sklilled computer users find themselves in sessions that just involve looking at websites, and tech neophytes sometimes feel intimidated.
This summer, Sharp Hue, Inc., a Northwest Arkansas web design firm, is offering two six-hour workshops on "Integrating Technology into Instruction." Veteran teacher trainer Rebecca Haden and web engineer Shan Pesaru are pooling their knowledge to provide practical, enjoyable activities using computers to teach the state standards.
"Shan and I have been working together for a couple of months in business contexts," says Haden. "When we first met, he talked a lot about educating clients, and I said people just want someone to do computer stuff for them. I was definitely on the wrong side of that argument. When I realized how committed to education Shan was, I thought immediately of what a difference he could make in a tech workshop for our local teachers."
Brainstomring sessions led to lots of ideas for practical, hands-on technology activities that would bring excitement to the classroom. The upshot: tech workshops will be held on July 15 and 17 at the University of Arkansas's Continuing Education Center in downtown Fayetteville. Each one-day workshop will satisfy the tech training requirement. Pre-registration is required. Contact shan ( @ ) sharphue dot com for more details.
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