CLASSROOMS GO HIGH-TECH; MOORPARK COLLEGE TEAMS WITH SCHOOL.Byline: Paul O'Donoghue Staff Writer As soon as the fifth-graders in Jim Azevedo's class correctly answered a history question, the response popped up on the room's big TV, zipped across the screen and screeched to a halt, leaving the pupils giggling with delight. For a Nintendo generation raised on the wizardry wiz·ard·ry n. pl. wiz·ard·ries 1. The art, skill, or practice of a wizard; sorcery. 2. a. A power or effect that appears magical by its capacity to transform: of video games See video game console. and gimmicks of home computers, teachers are learning that it takes more than a chalkboard and a lecture to make their lessons stick. ``I'm able to go in a whole bunch of different directions, and kids nowadays like doing that,'' said Azevedo, a 25-year teaching veteran who is adept at using the PowerPoint software program. ``And bear in mind, it's fun for me, and it's fun for them.'' At Moorpark College Moorpark College is a California-state funded community college located on a 134 acre (542,000 m²) property reclining on a hill in Moorpark, a town in Ventura County, California. , a new program called Technoliteracy that partners the college with Westlake Elementary is aimed at increasing computer proficiency pro·fi·cien·cy n. pl. pro·fi·cien·cies The state or quality of being proficient; competence. Noun 1. proficiency - the quality of having great facility and competence among teachers - in part by having them watch Azevedo and others at work. The program focuses on the use of PowerPoint, a mainstay in the business community that at $400 is still uncommon in many public school classrooms. ``We are aware that technology is a critical part of education, that educational technology is constantly changing. And if we are going to be able to train our students for real world needs and skills they're going to need in the work environment, we're going to have to keep up,'' said Moorpark College instructor Linda McDill, co-director of the program. Under the program, which began this semester se·mes·ter n. One of two divisions of 15 to 18 weeks each of an academic year. [German, from Latin (cursus) s and is funded by a $50,000 state grant, about 40 college students and staff are learning PowerPoint. Student Claudia Weintraub and other aspiring as·pire intr.v. as·pired, as·pir·ing, as·pires 1. To have a great ambition or ultimate goal; desire strongly: aspired to stardom. 2. teachers will regularly observe classrooms like Azevedo's to see how teachers use the program and report back, said McDill. In Azevedo's class, the application allows him to harness graphics, text, sound, video and resources from the Internet into a lesson plan that can be beamed from a personal computer onto the TV screen. He can create eye-catching effects like the racing text that bends back as if it were riding against the wind as it moves across the TV. With text and sound, lessons about historical figures come alive with, for example, pictures of George Washington's home at Mount Vernon Mount Vernon, estate, United States Mount Vernon, NE Va., overlooking the Potomac River near Alexandria, S of Washington, D.C.; home of George Washington from 1747 until his death in 1799. or the Wailing Wall Wailing Wall Western wall where Jews lament the destruction of the Second Temple of Jerusalem. [Judaism: EB, X: 627] See : Grief in Jerusalem, said Azevedo. ``When they're taking notes, it saves me time because I don't have to be in front of the class,'' said Azevedo, who started using the program a year ago at his previous school. ``I can wander through the class and keep everybody motivated and directed. I'm not anchored to one spot in front of the blackboard (1) See Blackboard Learning System. (2) The traditional classroom presentation board that is written on with chalk and erased with a felt pad. Although originally black, "white" boards and colored chalks are also used. .'' Eventually the school will buy a remote control to operate the computer that will give him even more freedom to wander about, Azevedo said. Fifth-grader Alex Stearns said she enjoys learning with the application that Azevedo introduced to her class a few weeks ago. ``I think it's good because it gets your attention with the sound effects sound effects Noun, pl sounds artificially produced to make a play, esp. a radio play, more realistic sound effects npl → efectos mpl sonoros and movement and color,'' she said, writing in her exercise book as she followed Azevedo's lesson. ``I think it's a good program for teachers to use.'' The $50,000 grant to the college will pay for software, supplies and some of the instructors' salaries, said McDill, and is expected to provide the groundwork for an ongoing program. Weintraub, the college student, will be working with another Westlake Elementary teacher, Claire Orr, to prepare a customized version of the application for her second-graders in January. The college hopes to continue refining refining, any of various processes for separating impurities from crude or semifinished materials. It includes the finer processes of metallurgy, the fractional distillation of petroleum into its commercial products, and the purifying of cane, beet, and maple sugar lessons with PowerPoint and plans to put the most successful ones on Moorpark College's Web site so that teachers and students can download them, said McDill. Azevedo, who is only one of a handful of teachers using the program at Westlake, said he noticed a marked improvement in grades for the children at Redwood Middle School Redwood Middle School can refer to the following:
Fifth-grader Erich Eckley, 10, said he wants the teacher to continue using the application. ``It makes it more interesting and fun,'' the pupil said. CAPTION(S): Photo PHOTO (color) Fifth-grader Bryan Roth works at the computer that displays information on the overhead TV. Joe Binoya/Special to the Daily News |
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