Jan. 16, 2002 – Schoolteachers began training in computer educational software Tuesday on St. Thomas, marking the first step in an effort to get computers into every fourth-grade classroom in the territory as teaching tools.
About 40 teachers from the St. Thomas-St. John district and 40 from St. Croix will undergo the training in the next few weeks, according to Roy McFarlane, information technology adviser to Gov. Charles W. Turnbull. The classes are being conducted by trainers from Riverdell and The Learning Company, the world's largest educational software firm, according to Carmen Principe, one of the trainers.
Among other skills, the teachers will be learning classroom use of "Destination Math"and "Cornerstone Reading Skills," two popular programs to help elementary school pupils learn math and reading basics.
Every fourth-grade classroom will have a computer capable of running those programs installed within the next month or so, McFarlane said. The training sessions that began Tuesday — sponsored by the Information Technology office and the American Federation of Teachers — are intended to ensure that the teachers know how to utilize their new resource.
"We are putting computers into all fourth-grade classrooms. We have to make sure the teachers are properly trained," McFarlane said, adding that his office will spend somewhere between $100,000 and $200,000 for the computer upgrades and the teacher training. "It's a good investment. These kids are our future, man," he said.
McFarlane noted that V.I. students overall have performed poorly on standardized tests in reading and math — and also that new federal law requires testing of all students in grades 4 and 8. The "computer learning centers" in the fourth-grade classrooms are one initiative to help those students improve on their basic skills, he said.
Principe pointed out that while the students are learning the basic reading and math skills with the software, they also will be learning computer skills.
