Teachers Gather to Learn High-Tech Methods at Thirteen/WNET National Teacher Training Institute

Approximately 225 educators from across New York City gathered at the Jamaica Learning Center/Auxiliary Services for High Schools Institute in Queens to turn stagnant two-dimensional lesson plans into fully engaging learning experiences with the click of a mouse or remote control. Adding the web and video to formulaic standards-based lessons is part of Thirteen/WNET NewYork’s National Teacher Training Institute (NTTI). The Institute aims to use methodology in a segmented, interactive way to engage students and create enthusiasm. Lessons on the flat pages of a book take on a whole new dimension when viewed on video or investigated on the Internet.

The standards-based lesson plans range from radioactivity to a historic look at Coney Island and utilize video resources, such as public television’s The American Experience, and numerous sites across the Internet. Spearheaded by Thirteen/WNET New York, NTTI is a partnership of 30 public television stations.

Only 23 percent of public school teachers reported feeling “well prepared” to use computers or the Internet in the classroom, according to a 1999 survey on public school teachers’ use of computers and the Internet, commissioned by the National Center for Education Statistics. Only 33 percent indicated that they were “very well prepared.”

With a wealth of educational television programming and a universe of material on the World Wide Web, NTTI has stood in the vanguard of professional development for teachers since it was founded in 1990 and continues to lead teachers in the use of educational media.

“Classrooms across the country are equipped with computers and VCRs. All the equipment is in place. Some teachers remain intimidated by such technology. We need to encourage teachers to familiarize themselves with these tools and use them in an interactive, dynamic way that contributes to the classroom learning experience,” said Marsha Drummond, Thirteen’s National Project Director for NTTI.

By the end of 2002, more than140,000 teachers will have been trained in this national program. Founded in 1990, NTTI methodology emphasizes a variety of collaborative, technology-based, hands–on projects.#

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