Teachers
Gather to Learn High-Tech Methods at Thirteen/WNET National Teacher
Training Institute
Approximately
225 educators from across New York City gathered at the Jamaica
Learning Center/Auxiliary Services for High Schools Institute
in Queens to turn stagnant two-dimensional lesson plans into fully
engaging learning experiences with the click of a mouse or remote
control. Adding the web and video to formulaic standards-based
lessons is part of Thirteen/WNET NewYork’s National Teacher Training
Institute (NTTI). The Institute aims to use methodology in a segmented,
interactive way to engage students and create enthusiasm. Lessons
on the flat pages of a book take on a whole new dimension when
viewed on video or investigated on the Internet.
The standards-based lesson plans range from radioactivity to a
historic look at Coney Island and utilize video resources, such
as public television’s The American Experience, and numerous
sites across the Internet. Spearheaded by Thirteen/WNET New York,
NTTI is a partnership of 30 public television stations.
Only 23 percent of public school teachers reported feeling “well
prepared” to use computers or the Internet in the classroom, according
to a 1999 survey on public school teachers’ use of computers and
the Internet, commissioned by the National Center for Education
Statistics. Only 33 percent indicated that they were “very well
prepared.”
With a wealth of educational television programming and a universe
of material on the World Wide Web, NTTI has stood in the vanguard
of professional development for teachers since it was founded
in 1990 and continues to lead teachers in the use of educational
media.
“Classrooms
across the country are equipped with computers and VCRs. All the
equipment is in place. Some teachers remain intimidated by such
technology. We need to encourage teachers to familiarize themselves
with these tools and use them in an interactive, dynamic way that
contributes to the classroom learning experience,” said Marsha
Drummond, Thirteen’s National Project Director for NTTI.
By the end of 2002, more than140,000 teachers will have been trained
in this national program. Founded in 1990, NTTI methodology emphasizes
a variety of collaborative, technology-based, hands–on projects.#
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