State Picks Tupelo Middle School to Debut New High-Tech Program
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Mississippi is redesigning education for the 21st century – and the process is starting in Tupelo.
Tupelo Middle School was one of 14 schools in the state selected to participate in a pilot program designed to upgrade the state’s technology curriculum. The program – Information and Communication Technology or ICT – is designed for students in the seventh and eighth grades.
ICT 1‚ for seventh graders‚ is being launched this year at TMS‚ followed by ICT 2 in the 2008-09 school year. The ICT programs replace the state’s career discovery courses‚ delivering technology instruction that is aligned with the needs of the 21st-century workforce‚ according to the Mississippi Department of Education.
Students will be introduced to technology in their seventh-grade years‚ while addressing the all-encompassing ways it is integrated into all aspects of modern life. At the conclusion of the eighth-grade course‚ students will be eligible to attain the technology industry certification‚ IC3.
The programs include new textbooks‚ keyboarding programs‚ planning strategy and Blackboard‚ an online instruction tool that keeps students‚ and their parents‚ plugged into the classroom through the use of interactive technologies.
“Through the use of Blackboard‚ teachers can use the most appropriate content for students and apply differentiated instruction‚” says Dana Boozer‚ one of four TMS staff members who will teach the pilot program this fall.
To ensure successful implementation‚ extensive work on the instruction and infrastructure fronts were done at Tupelo Middle School before the school year started.
“There was a lot of work that had to be done prior to school beginning in the fall‚” Boozer says.
During the summer‚ the school’s four ICT teachers – Boozer‚ Dorie Kisner‚ Renada Hughes and Teri Mattox – completed two weeks of face-to-face training‚ four weeks of online training‚ attained IC3 certification and made sure they could type 30 words per minute.
At the same time‚ the school added four new computer labs at a cost of $71‚000 each‚ helped by the state’s $5 million investment in the program. A ninth grade lab is also being added at Tupelo High School.
Students will spend 54 minutes of instruction time each day in the program‚ five days per week.
TMS Principal Linda Clifton has championed the program‚ and believes that students will be as excited about its launch as the instructors.
“The kids like it. It’s challenging‚” says Clifton. “Anytime the kids can do something on the computer as opposed to a worksheet‚ it’s exciting.”
The principal’s confidence is partially based on the implementation of a pre-pilot program at the school last year‚ where some of the concepts and technology were introduced in advance of the new curriculum.
Story by Dan Markham
Photo by Woodie Knight
Comments
Looks to be a very modern school, 21st century indeed! The blackboard system in use is pretty powerful but the only time I’ve used it was for an online class that doesn’t meet regularly though. It’s almost as if they are using technology for technology’s sake. I guess as long as it adds interest to the sciences and makes schoolwork seem less like work then there is nothing wrong with that. I remember at my middle school we had our own school tv station that would have the news every morning. This sparked interest in some of the students to become directors and they have gone off to do some amazing things.
By Anonymous
Thanks for the comment!
I agree that it’s never good to use technology for technology’s sake; all the technology in the world can’t replace dedicated teachers and motivated students. But I think these tools specifically will empower these students for years to come, just as the TV station you mentioned in your own middle school. Blackboard, for example, was in use both where I went to college and where I attended graduate school. Having familiarity with that tool will be a boon for these kids and help them into college.
By Matt
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