Teachers to present research at meeting

The teachers used technology to find a way to improve pupil reading skills.
COLUMBIANA -- Crestview Elementary teachers who devised a program to affect early literacy in their school have been asked to share their expertise with other educators from across Ohio.
The eTech Competitive Professional Development Grant Team will be sharing its technology-related knowledge with thousands of teachers, technology coordinators, administrators, pupils and others at Ohio's largest educational technology conference Feb. 12-14 at the Greater Columbus Convention Center.
Susan Kershner, Lori Yuhaniak, Becky Garrod, Lisa Rudloff and Sue Weber successfully applied for a 20,000 eTech grant last spring to develop their program.
The money paid for Palm Pilots, a tablet PC and specialized software as well as extensive professional development the teachers used to enroll in "Action Research in the Classroom," an online course offered through eTech and Kent State University.
What resulted
Members of the team then developed an action research proposal over the summer and implemented it this fall.
The program basically involves analyzing data collected on progress made by their pupils and then creating technology-related specialized intervention activities and adjusting their teaching based on the information gained and pupil needs, all designed to improve early reading skills.
ETech Ohio holds an annual Educational Technology Conference to bring multiple presenters and vendors together with Ohio educators to enhance the use of technology in education. The conference includes hands-on workshops, demonstrations of state-of-the-art technology and presentations of successful uses of technology in teaching endeavors in the classroom.
"We are so excited about being a part of the 2007 Educational Technology Conference," Kershner said. "This is the first time that most of our team has had the opportunity to attend the eTech conference. Having the chance to present and share best practices with others from around the state that face the same issues we do is an extremely valuable experience for us."
The team has already gained some experience in presenting its project to others, having held a session for the Crestview Elementary staff and detailing its program to teachers and others attending the Columbiana County Educational Service Center All County In-Service in November.
All about eTech
Through eTech Ohio, the state has made a commitment to serve its citizens through educational initiatives and by putting new technology to use so that Ohio's learners will succeed.
ETech Ohio was created in July 2005 to merge the technology functions and support provided by the Ohio Educational Telecommunications Network Commission (OET) and the Ohio SchoolNet Commission (OSNC).
OSNC has worked to make Ohio a leader in educational technology for the K-12 classroom since the agency's inception in 1994. The SchoolNet wiring project successfully connected more than 92,000 classrooms to the Internet for data, voice and video network.