Area Teachers to Attend WFU Web Workshop

Teachers from 24 high schools will learn how to integrate the Web into their curriculum, as well as the basic technology that drives the Internet. The workshop is scheduled from July 22-July 25 and July 29-Aug. 1.

“A lot of schools have access to the Internet and these teachers are learning how to take advantage of the technology,” said Edward Allen, a Wake Forest math and computer science professor who developed the workshop.

Participants from the following school systems will attend: Winston-Salem/Forsyth County, Davie County, Davidson County, Mount Airy, Lexington, Thomasville, Surry County and Stokes County. Also, two teachers from Forsyth Country Day School and Woodland Baptist Christian School will attend.

The free workshop is funded by a $35,000 grant from the Dwight D. Eisenhower Professional Development Program. Wake Forest is also supporting the workshop.

Participants will be given software, books and a modem. Also, Wake Forest is providing free network access for a year to workshop participants.

During the workshop, teachers will design lesson plans that tap the Web’s resources. Through this virtual textbook, teachers can access hourly weather maps for meteorology lessons or tour paleontology museums when studying prehistoric life.

The Web can be used to excite students about learning, said Leah McCoy, a Wake Forest education professor assisting with the workshop. For example, McCoy suggests using space shuttle data from NASA’s Web site for math exercises.

One of the workshop’s goals is for the participants to share ideas with other teachers. To help achieve this goal, participants will post their lesson plans on a home page.

Participants can reserve a Wake Forest computer lab to help introduce the Internet to other teachers from their high school.

Workshop participants will meet again in the fall and the spring to discuss their uses of the Web.