INDIANA UNIVERSITY PURDUE UNIVERSITY INDIANAPOLIS

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IUPUI SCHOOL OF EDUCATION HELPING IPS TEACHERS TO HARNESS POWER OF INTERNET FOR STUDENTS

INDIANAPOLIS - Learning how to harness the power of computers and the Internet for their students is just a CLICK away for thousands of IPS teachers.

CLICK (Community of Learners, Information, Communications, Knowledge) is a project that places Indianapolis Public Schools and the IUPUI School of Education at at the head of the class when it comes to providing professional development services for teachers

Developed at IUPUI, CLICK is a unique package that combines a university partnership with online learning, face-to-face learning, cable television computer demonstrations, computer savvy high school and university students, open computer lab times, and a teacher on-call, said Julie Bohnenkamp, Director of Instructional Technology at the School of Education.

Some 500 IPS teachers have begun or completed CLICK, with another 2,500 expected to participate in online training that helps teachers effectively integrate technology and teaching.

Without such assistance, teachers may struggle to bring their classrooms into the information age.

"Some teachers used to see technology as an additional subject they had to learn and teach, rather than as a tool than could be used to enhance what they already are doing," Bohnenkamp said. "One goal of the training is to create a vision of what technology can mean in the classroom, instead of just teaching them how to use particular software programs."

Before CLICK, IPS teachers went to computer training workshops. With CLICK, the training comes to them anywhere, anytime, Bohnenkamp. "Teachers can log into CLICK when it's convenient to do so. They can log in at midnight in their pajamas, if they want to."

While workshops are helpful, they don't promote the use of what teachers learned after they return to their classrooms, as does CLICK, Bohnenkamp said. Nor do workshops usually allow teachers to be trained in groups according to what grades they teach, which CLICK provides.

"IPS is able to use our talent at IUPUI," Bohnenkamp continued. "CLICK instructors are all School of Education instructors and we offer an ongoing relationship. I've been working with IPS for five years on things like this."

To begin, teachers study the IPS Curriculum Framework and the International Society of Technology Education standards and decide on a topic that will help their students meet both. They subscribe to education listservs and then post the Internet resources they discovered during their search on the CLICK discussion group to share with other teachers. Their final project is to create a WebQuest, integrating at least eight of 16 IPS technology resources.

IPS teachers who complete CLICK receive two new personal computers, a scanner, a computer table, a laser printer, and a microscope. Through the partnership with IUPUI, CLICK teachers also can receive graduate credit for their professional development

Developed as a test project, Bohnenkamp said the School of Education could provide CLICK online teacher development services to other school districts. Services would be tailored to meet the specific needs of teachers in a particular district, she added.

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