Be our guest: this Cincinnati program stations an educational technologist, with mobile computer lab in tow, in a new school each week to help teachers learn their tech A-B-C's. (district profile).

Much of what makes Dara O'Loughlin successful in teaching teachers to use technology lies in her former career as an art teacher. Thanks to a Cincinnati Public Schools program, O'Loughlin sets up shop in a new elementary school each week. The teachers can sign up for one-on-one learning sessions, group workshops or classroom visit demonstrations where she models how technology can be taught to students.

Where does finger painting fit into this picture? "I was an art-on-the-cart person," O'Loughlin explains, "so I'm used to going from one classroom to the next, working around other people and [whatever materials are] there." She also knows well the abilities of students at various grade levels and how to seamlessly switch her approach to suit each group.

The Technologist in Residence program was the brainchild of the district's Educational Technologist Gini Browsh, who says that O'Loughlin's background "carried over beautifully in this technology arena." Add O'Loughlin's accepting, approachable personality to the mix, and teachers at all technology skill levels welcome their guest with arms wide open.

A NEED FOR THE NEW The program's planning began well before O'Loughlin stepped into the classroom. The 1999-2000 Educational Technology Assessment Survey in Ohio found that only 20 percent of teachers had 15 or more hours of training on computers, with just 15 percent using word processing software everyday in their jobs. This inexperience, of course, affects student technology exposure. Based on this survey and anecdotal information, CPS administrators knew that they needed to turn these figures around.

"It's difficult to get teachers to realize that technology is a tool to help meet standards," says Terry Joyner, director of curriculum. "They have their tried-and-true approaches." Joyner and her team of subject area managers work with Browsh's information technology services department to ensure teachers know that technology is "just as powerful [a resource] as the tried and true."

Coincidentally, adding to the challenge of boosting technology training is the district's five-year strategic plan to help all students meet high academic standards. At the plan's core is more school-site flexibility in using resources. Budgeting, teaming and cooperative learning are new focuses for school administrators and teachers. "Teachers have just not had time for the technology component," Browsh says. "It's not that they're resistant."

Browsh knew her program would have to be an efficient use of teacher time. The training couldn't just be "one more thing on their plate, which is already full."

A VISION FORMS Out of knowing what wouldn't work, the TIR concept was born. Browsh envisioned this person offering support to as many teachers as possible through all-day, full-week school visits. Each teacher could get customized, on-site support.

The goal? Get every teacher's skills up to Ohio's "novice" certification level. While the state's definition of a novice is currently evolving, it includes basics such as using e-mail, word processing software and other tools, as well as incorporating Internet research and multimedia tools such as video clips into planning.

Browsh secured state and district professional development funding to hire the technologist and purchase two mobile wireless labs--one Mac and one PC--with 12 computers in each. Then she sought final approval.

District leaders viewed the program as a good fit for CPS. Superintendent Steven J. Adamowski says the TIR program makes sense because it is standards-based and flexible to meet teacher needs. It also fits in well with the district's view of professional development, because it's "delivered hands-on in the school setting, which research suggests is the most effective kind of teacher training," he adds.

BEGINNINGS FOR ALL Before the 2000-2001 school year, Browsh set out to find a technologist for the schools. It had to be someone who understood the education environment. Browsh saw flexibility as being "probably more important than technical skill." It had to be someone who wouldn't take it personally if a teacher cancelled at the last minute. The district outsourced this hire, and with O'Loughlin, Browsh found every quality she was seeking.

Browsh also contacted CyberStars, a CPS high school program where students serve as interns in local companies. Here she met Jessica Sneed, a junior with a technology bent, and selected her to intern with the TIR program. Browsh talked to Sneed about her dual role: to help teachers with technology and to serve as a role model to her peers and the elementary students.

The reason a student intern makes sense, Browsh says, is explained best by a quote from educational technology leader Alan November: "Kids speak digital and adults speak digital with an accent." Who better to help teach teachers than someone born in the digital age?

In addition, the TIR program has helped Sneed. "It's a tremendous experience for her to have that kind of respect from adults and to see that she's doing something authentic, that what she's learning in school is a valuable skill that will be respected in the outside world," Browsh says. She adds that the district encourages the use of a CyberStars intern for other initiatives, too--as a step toward lowering the high school dropout rate.

The last implementation step was promoting the program. Browsh spread the word through each school's technology director, and the idea was so popular that there were more schools than slots. That first year, O'Loughlin spent 30 weeks traveling throughout the district.

Before each visit, O'Loughlin meets with the school's technology coordinator and sometimes the principal to ensure they're communicating the program to staff--"so I don't look like a stranger going into their school," she says. A sign-up sheet is posted ahead of time, and some schools also create a schedule of classes. While sign-ups were often slow last year early in the week, interest grew fast. "Once we had a few people who went ... I had everybody trying to sign up," O'Loughlin says.

Jill Ruthemeyer, a second grade teacher and the technology coordinator at Mt. Airy School, says that most of her school's teachers had questions about the basics. "A lot of them wanted to know things about the Internet," she says. Others had questions about how to use word processing for administrative tasks.

O'Loughlin says that many requests are for help with word processing, e-mail or the use of digital cameras. A couple of bizarre requests have come, as well. One teacher, she says, "asked me to bring the digital video camera to her so that she could view the video clips from a Web site." But O'Loughlin is careful not to intimidate or talk down to the teachers, no matter what their technological literacy level.

Besides small workshops and one-on-one sessions, teachers can ask O'Loughlin to assist in modeling technology instruction. Geoff Hoebbel, a social studies teacher for grades 4 through 6 at Kirby Road School, says that while he is extremely comfortable with technology, it helped to have O'Loughlin introduce his students to laptops.

Browsh encourages the TIR team to make mental notes of classroom bulletin boards and any school-wide initiatives such as character education. If these topics are introduced during sessions (for example, by showing how creating an electronic timeline of the dinosaur age can help with the current unit on the prehistoric beasts), the teachers get excited. "They say, `Wow, this is really going to help me with what I'm doing today,'" Browsh explains.

LASTING IMPACT Browsh reports that feedback for the program has been positive. Many schools requested return visits this year, and teachers who missed out because of O'Loughlin's filled schedule are ready to book their sessions early. Early this school year, a principal from one school told Browsh: "Warn Dara that she's going to be very, very busy here."

As of press time, Browsh was also getting ready to hire a second TIR. With two teacher trainers, more schools will be covered and some schools could see return visits during the same year. In addition, Browsh was getting approval to have Sneed continue her internship.

Some schools have taken additional steps to make their teachers more technology savvy by hiring a part-time staff technologist. Browsh says that the district will have to turn over this responsibility to the schools at some point, so she's happy they're starting to hire on their own. Teachers "need that just-in-time support," she says.

CINCINNATI PUBLIC SCHOOLS

Number of schools: 75

Number of elementary schools: 61 (most are K-8)

Number of teachers: 3,347

Student population: 43,321

Per pupil expenditure: $8,833

High school graduation rate: 91%

Ethnicity: 71% Black, 25% White, 3% Multiracial, 1% Asian or Hispanic

* Note: Data as of 2000-2001 school year

Melissa Ezarik, [e-mail], is features editor.