BY DAVE BENJAMIN
Staff Writer
DAVE BENJAMIN Twelve teachers in the Freehold Regional High School District are taking Dell Inspiron laptop computers back to their classrooms as rewards for their winning technology mini-grant proposals. The new computers will be used to enhance instruction in a variety of subject areas. One dozen teachers in the Freehold Regional High School District have received technology mini-grants.
“We have outstanding staff members who demonstrate enormous creativity in utilizing technology in the classroom,” Superintendent of Schools James Wasser said. “This mini-grant is a new incentive designed to encourage further enhancement of instruction with technology.”
Wasser said teaching techniques developed by this year’s award winners will be showcased as best practices in the FRHSD.
During the morning in-service program held at Freehold Township High School on Sept. 7, teachers from high schools throughout the district received laptop computers for use with their classes.
“We are starting to recognize the best practices that are already happening within our district,” said Jeff Moore, supervisor of instructional technology. “[We are] identifying teachers who are doing innovative things and nurturing the things that they are doing.”
Moore said administrators are aiming to help those teachers “spread the word about those programs so that other teachers can pick up the banner and help them advance the whole project.”
The recipients of the grants are:
• Sandra Ayala, a biology teacher at Howell High School, for “utilizing technology in order to enhance and maximize student learning in the classroom.” The goal is to improve student learning and understanding, and increase student participation by enhancing teaching methods with the integration of pictures, graphs and mini-movie clips from the Internet into power point lessons.
• Howell High School Spanish teacher William Sierra for “Survivor Spanish IV,” which aims to develop an interactive Spanish IV program by using the “Survivor” television game as a model and to review and practice the skills mastered in levels I, II and III.
• Brian Donahue, a history teacher at Freehold High School, for “Electronic Portfolios” which will enhance student assignments by incorporating writing into the social studies curriculum. Students will create, manage and store their classroom portfolios electronically.
• Joseph Iacullo, a math teacher at Freehold High School, for his “Empow-ering Mathematics Students Through Technology” project.
With the aid of the laptop, students will prepare and demonstrate a presentation which is based on a teacher model that allows them to demonstrate full understanding of a topic in Algebra II.
• Colts Neck High School math teacher Patricia Maier for the project “Premise Relational Object Oriented Format” (PROOF).
This project proposes to build an organized data repository using objects identified in theorems and to code the theorems using logical relationships. This will create a system for organizing and maintaining proven theorems that can be retrieved according to key objects relevant to a specific proof.
• Colts Neck High School Spanish teacher Darlene McCormack for her project “Motivating Students in the World Languages Classroom Through Technol-ogy Infusion.” The use of technology in the foreign language classroom will enhance the curriculum and encourage students to become self-motivated to learn a foreign language. The laptop will be instrumental in the collection, recording and refection of assessment information.
• Colts Neck High School naval science/physical education teacher James Sfayer plans to use his mini-grant for a “Million Hour Mission” project. He aims to develop a student-led, instructor-supervised program that captures and records the community service achievements of his students that can be identified by school, grade or collectively as a district. The mission is to give back one million hours to the community that provides for the schools in the FRHSD.
• Kristine Mayberry, an agriscience/horticulture teacher at Freehold Township High School, for her “Agrisci-ence Awareness and Recruitment Pro-ject.” Students will use the laptop to catalog and display examples of student work and to maintain a classroom Web site to promote the agriscience program and to allow FRHSD students, faculty, parents and community members to become more aware of the career and leisure opportunities available in the field of agriculture.
• Laura Vannauker, a physical science teacher at Freehold Township High School, for “Power Point in Concepts of Physical Science.” Vannauker plans to allow students to become interactive with technology. This project will help to accommodate students with different learning styles. Students will work in groups to prepare classroom presentations.
• Harry Neill, who teaches physics at Manalapan High School, for “Interactive Studies of Motion and Physics Visual Library.” Neill plans to use technology to enhance physics instruction and to increase student interest in the field of physics. This will allow students an opportunity to search their own worlds for examples of physics and to bring them into the classroom in a digital video form.
• Ruth Dugolinsky, a child devel-opment teacher at Manalapan High School, for her “Classroom Journal” project. Students in the Child Development II class will maintain class journals on the laptop computer. The entries will summarize assignments and record daily classroom events.
• Manalapan High School biology teacher Heather Sullivan for the project “ESP: Engaging Students Through the Use of Power Point.” Sullivan plans to infuse the Internet and power point into the classroom.