KIRTHMON F

KIRTHMON F. DOZIER/Detroit Free Press

Herman Humes writes a lesson for his word wall at Chapelle Elementary in Ypsilanti.

Cyber schools: Engler's proposal to supply computers raises questions about training the users

January 28, 2000

BY TRACY VAN MOORLEHEM
FREE PRESS EDUCATION WRITER

Fifth-grade teacher Karen Johnston didn't want the computer that the PTA at Ypsilanti's Ardis Elementary had raised money to buy for her classroom 10 years ago.

"I was so intimidated," said Johnston, a 17-year veteran.

Today, Johnston wants to prod those like her to confront their fears. That's what she saw work so well in Ypsilanti, one of a handful of school districts that have given every teacher a laptop computer.

For Gov. John Engler, Johnston said, there's a lesson in Ypsilanti's laptop experiment. In his budget proposal to the Legislature on Thursday, Engler called for spending $110 million over the next two years to equip every Michigan teacher with a laptop and Internet access.

"The idea of giving everyone a laptop is nice -- but that's just scratching the surface," Johnston said. "The other important thing is training."

In two years, Ypsilanti's staff has transformed from one where more than half the teachers rated themselves barely, or not at all, computer literate to one where all 372 teachers have a laptop and, more importantly, know how to use it.

Soon, the district will require teachers to use laptops for grading and taking attendance.

Such a transformation is impressive in light of a recent national survey that found just one in five teachers said they felt "very well prepared" to integrate education technology into the classroom. About 43 percent said they were not at all, or only somewhat prepared, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.

Although parents expect their children to learn how to use technology in school, most teachers are not adept at using it themselves.

Noni Miller, executive director of educational services for Ypsilanti schools, compared the district's laptop project to updating an assembly plant for a new model of car.

"We knew it was time we re-tooled our people," she said. "But we didn't have the advantage of shutting down while it happened. Our children keep coming every day."

That meant the district had to offer extensive training before, during and after school, giving teachers a choice when to attend.

Even so, the idea didn't gain immediate support.

"There was a lot of excitement from some teachers, a guarded response from others, and some said absolutely no -- I don't want one," said Jerilyn Smith, a media specialist at Ardis Elementary and president of the teacher's union.

"Some people are just scared of machines. You think you can break it or erase everything if you hit the wrong button," Johnston said.

Teachers raised concerns ranging from how they could protect the computer from being stolen or damaged to how they could carry the laptop and its various accessories to and from home.

Administrators raised some of the same concerns, plus others. How could they be sure expensive laptops wouldn't sit idle, in the hands of people who didn't know how to use them and didn't care to learn?

There was no model to look at from other districts. So they decided to gather a committee of teachers and administrators to start hashing out the details together -- down to the luggage tags that would be attached to each laptop.

"We wanted to do this right," Miller said.

They chose an IBM ThinkPad computer and a wheeled bag to carry the laptop and its various accessories: a portable modem, a floppy disc drive, a CD-ROM port and a high capacity Zip drive.

There's also a power strip, a phone cord so teachers can plug into the Internet at home, cables and cords to attach the various accessories, and a cable lock that fits into a tiny port on the side of the machine and through a metal tether that was installed on each teacher's desk.

And finally, a luggage tag with each teacher's business card inside.

"Our teachers are professionals. We're finally able to treat them like professionals," Miller said.

Second-grade teacher Herman Humes uses his laptop every day -- and many nights -- to write lesson plans or letters to parents and to do research for upcoming lessons. Much of his use is for administrative work that doesn't directly affect children in the classroom.

But he believes it will help his students -- even if just to free him up to spend more time with them.

"It's a tool that makes me a more effective teacher," he said.

All told, each kit cost about $3,000, paid for with $15 million set aside for technology from a 1996 bond measure. Such a setup is standard in many businesses, but it's rare for teachers.

"If you want teachers to really buy into technology and use it in the classroom, then you have to give them the tools to work with," said Smith, of the Ypsilanti Education Association.

Until recently, computers were bought piecemeal as special grants or PTA donations became available. Teachers who were interested found ways to get a computer for the classroom. Those who weren't, didn't.

James McCann, superintendent of Lamphere Schools in Madison Heights, said technology can no longer be an option in schools.

"When there's more horsepower in the average kids' living room than we have in the schools, we're going to have a problem."

Ypsilanti is the biggest, but not the only district, attempting to make the computer a ubiquitous teaching tool.

The private Cranbrook Schools in Bloomfield Hills began handing out laptops this week in the first phase of a multi-year rollout.

Technology education coordinator Greg Miller, who also teaches physics and chemistry, said he has recently begun using e-mail to communicate with parents.

"You'll get that nervous parent who wants to know how his child is doing. It's so easy to drop them a note saying, 'Johnny just got 85 percent on his test.' I'm planning to use that quite a bit more in the future," he said.

In 1999, the East China School District in southeast St. Clair County gave its teachers the choice of being issued a laptop or desktop computer. Most chose a laptop.

"The reality of a teacher is you're working all the time -- not just during school hours. This way they can do their work without having to live in their classroom," said Sherri Kemp, a former fifth-grade teacher who now works as an East China technology consultant.

Chassell Township Schools, a tiny district near Houghton in the Upper Peninsula, offered to pay most of the cost of a computer for teachers who agreed to attend training workshops. All 21 teachers took part.

In one first-grade class, a student asked if bears in the zoo still hibernate. Not knowing the answer, the teacher found a web page for the National Zoo and sent an e-mail with the question. The class got an answer the same day.

"We're small, we're rural, we're far removed from places like the National Zoo where kids could go on a field trip. But with the Internet, the world sort of opens up for our students," said Superintendent James Frantti.

Each of these schools or districts used different plans, but each did extensive planning beforehand and required teachers to get training.

Many educators said they believe the same should be true of Engler's program.

"My feeling is, if a person is going to get something, to value it, it can't be free. There's got to be some kind of payback on it," said Miller of Cranbrook.

Each of these schools or districts used different plans, but each did extensive planning beforehand and required teachers to get training.

Many educators said they believe the same should be true of Engler's program.

"My feeling is, if a person is going to get something, to value it, it can't be free. There's got to be some kind of payback on it," said Miller of Cranbrook.

TRACY VAN MOORLEHEM can be reached at 313-223-4534 or vanmoo@freepress.com.