2000 Teacher of the Year Finalists Announced by TECHNOLOGY & LEARNING MagazineFour Regional Finalists Chosen in 13th Annual Awards Program Honoring K-12 Teachers for Classroom Technology InnovationPRNewswire TECHNOLOGY & LEARNING magazine, the number one publication in the education technology market, announced today the four Finalists who will compete for the coveted 2000 TECHNOLOGY & LEARNING Teacher of the Year Award. The 13th Annual Awards program honors K-12 teachers who use technology to inspire students and enhance learning. The winner will be announced at a special awards presentation at the NSBA T + L Conference in Denver, Colorado. Hewlett-Packard Company and NetSchools sponsor the awards program. The Learning Company is a contributing sponsor. The four finalists, selected by a distinguished panel of experts coordinated by TECHNOLOGY & LEARNING magazine, were chosen from a pool of semifinalists from schools across the country. The four finalists represent four regions of the United States: East, Central, South and West. Applicants represent many different types of schools, school districts and learning programs. The one thing that all of the educators have in common is that they understand that technology plays a significant role in helping students learn fundamental skills. "All of the winners in this years award program represent the best of our profession," said Jo-Ann McDevitt, publisher, TECHNOLOGY & LEARNING magazine. "They have a remarkable dedication to their profession and they are displaying just the kind of technology initiatives that we would like to see more of." 2000 Finalists EAST - Alesia Slocumb-Bradford, Jefferson JHS, Washington, D.C. Integrating technology in inner city schools is not easy; but math teacher, Alesia B. Slocumb Bradford has dedicated herself to providing her students the finest mathematics education they could receive in any school. She realized that one way to motivate students and improve their skills is through technology. Jefferson Junior High School, a celebrated math, science, and technology school, attracts students from around the District of Columbia. The challenge for Ms. Bradford was not attracting the students but challenging them. Through technology, Ms. Bradford has been able to help students learn fundamental math skills and apply them to analyze and solve real-world problems. For example, one student project she deployed used technology to analyze the traffic problems in D.C. Using decision-support systems and queuing theory as well as a study of the effects of the Internet on corporate marketing, students gained a perspective of the effects of technology. CENTRAL - Sally Irons, Niles HS, Niles, Michigan Sally Irons received most of her technology training "informally." Beginning with an accidental visit to a computer lab while she was in high school, Irons developed a passion for computers and what they can accomplish. This accident is one reason why Nile High School has one of the most advanced technology curricula in the country. Irons is a full-time mom, a full-time teacher, and a full-time network technician for her school. Left with little free time to concentrate on LAN administration, she worked out an arrangement with the school to develop courses that will allow her students to take over the network administration. Courses included LAN Maintenance and Advanced Systems Analysis. To help prepare her students to work with teachers to improve their technology skills, she applied and received a NextDay Grant from the state of Michigan. This grant allowed Niles High School to purchase the equipment necessary to implement the Training Students to Train Teachers Program and to pay for substitute teachers while regular classroom teachers were being trained. SOUTH - Betsy Norris, Harris Middle School, Shelbyville, TN Betsy Norris, sixth grade language arts teacher, has made technology an integral part of her life. Through presentations, email, the Internet, word processing, she makes her classes both enjoyable and a valued learning experience for her students. In addition, Norris not only fixes the school's network, she also finds time to co-author the schools Web site and the school's yearbook. For the past four years, Norris and her students have been involved in the HP telementoring program. Through the program, her students are able to exchange email with an HP employee and together they develop a presentation about the experience, which they then share with their peers. Additionally, Norris was her district's Wal-Mart Teacher of the Year, her school's teacher of the year, and more or less responsible for her school receiving more than $80,000 in technology grants. And, Harris Middle School was one of ten schools to receive a National Business Week Award for Instructional Innovation. WEST - Katherine Nell McNeil, Northwood JHS, Renton, WA Katherine Nell McNeil, has a lot in common with her students. They both come from disadvantaged backgrounds. Yet, McNeil persevered, studied hard, and became an accomplished teacher. Now, she wants the same for her students, who are in a special class for underachieving students. To reach them, McNeil developed a program rich with technology and high expectations. Her hope for her students is that they do not just "get by," but succeed and move out of their self-contained special education classroom. Although her program is only two years old, this year will see her first student reach this goal. McNeil's students use a full range of technology to complete an assignment, which includes personal reflections on the activity and peer reviews. Their projects are then sent home for parental review and ultimately presented to other students. The results of this program: her students' achievement has increased, their test scores have increased, and half of them are taking classes with the general school population. Each Regional Winner will receive two state-of-the-art Hewlett Packard multimedia computers (one for the educators' personal use and one for their school), attendance (including travel costs) at the NSBA T + L Conference, an invitation to serve on TECHNOLOGY & LEARNING's Editorial Advisory Board, coverage in a spotlight article in the December 2000 issue of the magazine and a choice of one software product from The Learning Company. Additionally, they will have received the following software products from the Learning Company for being a State Winner: Carmen Sandiego's ThinkQuick Challenge and a KidPix Studio Third Edition. They will also receive a personalized award certificate, one-year subscription to TECHNOLOGY & LEARNING magazine and recognition in the December 2000 issue. The National Teacher of the Year winner will receive all of the above plus the following products from The Learning Company: the complete NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC, Living Books Library, Stagecast Creator and The Complete CornerStone Reading Strand. TECHNOLOGY & LEARNING is a national publication for teachers and school administrators. Published by CMP Media, Inc., San Francisco, now celebrating its 20th anniversary -- it is the leading magazine for educators using technology. TECHNOLOGY & LEARNING has a circulation of more than 80,000. For more information, visit TECHNOLOGY & LEARNING'S Web site at http://www.techlearning.com/. NetSchools Corporation, headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, is the leading one-to-one e-learning company focused on transforming K-12 education through technology integration. The company offers NetSchools ConstellationTM, a complete Internet-based learning system that fosters focused interaction between students, teachers and families by providing every student with a rugged wireless laptop computer, a local area infrared network allowing high speed system connectivity for every student, proprietary curriculum software, and technical and long-term instructional support. NetSchools has installed its comprehensive Constellation product in 36 schools for approximately 14,000 students in Texas, California, Florida, South Carolina, Mississippi, Connecticut, Georgia, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Oklahoma, Colorado, Massachusetts, Idaho and New Jersey. The Internet-based curriculum, assessment and community-building components of NetSchools ConstellationTM are also separately available to schools nationwide on the company's new web service, NetSchools.com. For more information about NetSchools Corporation, please visit http://www.netschools.com/. The Learning Company is an industry leader in providing educators with innovative software tools and support materials that effectively integrate technology into the classroom and promote the development of successful learners. Comprehensive School Editions of its award-winning titles are sold through its Authorized Education Resellers and by direct sales to schools at (800) 825-4420. The web site for educators is located at http://www.learningcompanyschool.com/. CMP Media Inc. is the leading high-tech media company providing essential information and marketing services to the entire technology spectrum-the builders, sellers and users of technology worldwide. With its portfolio of newspapers, magazines, custom publishing, Internet products, research, consulting and conferences, CMP is uniquely positioned to offer marketers comprehensive, integrated solutions tailored to meet their individual needs. Online editions of the company's print publications, along with products and services created exclusively for the Internet, can be found on CMPnet at http://www.cmpnet.com/. SOURCE: CMP Media Inc. Contact: Wendy Farrell of CMP Media Inc., 415-905-2660, or Website: http://www.techlearning.com/ Company News On-Call: http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/144985.html or fax, |