93-09-24 New Agreement Between County Schools and U.Va.

NEW AGREEMENT BETWEEN COUNTY SCHOOLS AND
U.VA. SPURS HIGH TECH CLASSROOM INSTRUCTION

       CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va., Sept. 25 -- Elementary teachers are a
step closer to using the latest in interactive computer technology
in the classroom because of a new agreement between Albemarle
County Public Schools and the University of Virginia's Curry School
of Education.
       Curry school faculty and students are collaborating with
teachers at Virginia Murray,
B.F. Yancy and Stony Point elementary schools to identify the best
uses of interactive technologies that incorporate digitized video,
audio, computer graphics and educational telecomputing in
instruction.  Fifteen University students are working with about a
dozen teachers as the three-year project begins.
       The agreement, called the Curry School/Albemarle Instructional
Technology Pilot Project, is the latest of several collaborative
partnerships that focus on how technologies can facilitate teaching
at levels ranging from kindergarten through high school.  A
previous collaboration among local schools, U.Va. and the state's
Department of Education resulted in the creation of Virginia's
Public Education Network (Virginia's PEN), one of the first
statewide K - 12 telecomputing networks in the nation.
       In most Virginia schools teachers currently access Virginia's
PEN through a modem and phone line, limiting use of the network to
one or two classes at a time.  Phone connections to the network
also limit its use to applications that are primarily based on texts.
       The new agreement will soon provide a link between Murray
classrooms and Internet, a national data information network. 
Through it, teachers and students can connect not only to resources
in U.Va.'s library, but to libraries, scholars and other
information sources around the world.
       Murray will be the first elementary school in Virginia and one
of few schools in the nation to have a direct connection of this
kind, according to Glen Bull, an associate professor in the Curry
school.
       "This installation may serve as a model for the state, through
an on-going collaboration with the Virginia Department of
Education," he said.
       Bull said that installation of a higher capacity "on-ramp" at
Murray to the national data highway will allow all classes to use
Internet throughout the day.  The higher capacity will also
facilitate access to digitized images, computer graphics and sound.
       "Rapidly changing world events often outpace textbooks. 
Instruction can be complemented by a range of up-to-date
instructional resources on the worldwide network," Bull said.  He
pointed out that Library of Congress and Smithsonian exhibits, such
as the recent "Treasures of the Vatican," are now available through
Internet.
       "The  challenge is to identify ways in which the new
instructional tools can strengthen the existing curriculum," Bull
added. 
       Frank Morgan, director of curriculum, development and research
with Albemarle County schools, views the project as an ideal
partnership.  He pointed out that University students will gain
experience applying technology to real-life situations, and the
teachers will learn how to incorporate the latest in technology in
their instruction.
       "The project complements the needs and talents of the schools
and the University," Morgan said.
       Jeradi Hochella, who is serving as field coordinator and
director of the project, notes that although many teachers have
developed innovative instructional methods in their classrooms,
they have been limited in disseminating their ideas.  Under the new
agreement, initial participants will serve as consultants to other
teachers as they begin to identify ways in which interactive
technologies can be used in various subject areas.
       "There's no doubt that the number of schools involved in the
project will grow," Morgan said.
       As instructional models incorporating the technologies are
developed, teachers will also share the information via Virginia's
PEN and Internet.
       The school-university partnership is supported by the Virginia
Department of Education, with grants from Sprint-Centel, IBM and
other businesses and by funds provided through parent-teacher
organizations.
                                               ###
                                                                             
 September 24, 1993
       FOR MORE INFORMATION, contact Glen Bull at (804) 924-4617,
Jeradi Hochella at (804) 924-7471, Frank Morgan at (804) 296-5820,
or Tim Frazier, Murray Elementary School principal, at (804) 977-
4599.
 
Karen Castle, Office Services Specialist, University News Office
P.O. Box 9018, Booker House, Charlottesville, VA  22906
(804) 924-7116, kac@virginia.edu

[Submitted by: Karen A. Castle  (kac@uva.pcmail.virginia.edu)
               Fri, 24 Sep 93 15:57:48 EDT]