By Laura McAlister
Journal Editor
Mountain Brook teachers and staff spent one of their last weeks of summer in the classroom brushing up on their computer skills.
For the sixth year in a row, the school system offered its week-long technology conference to train employees in new and existing technology.
“What we’re trying to do is really help utilize tools already in place, and help engage kids in different activities,” said Donna Williamson, Mountain Brook schools director of technology. “We want to make sure our teachers have the skills they need, but we also want to make sure they’re being used with the curriculum.”
About 50 percent of Mountain Brook schools’ staff attended the conference, themed “The CyberCafe.” There were 70 sessions that resulted in 2,500 technology professional development hours for attending staff.
Like other school systems, Mountain Brook is taking advantage of several free Web 2.0 applications in the classroom.
During the conference, Williamson said many of the sessions focused on mastering web programs, like Moodle, GoogleApps and PhotoStory.
Moodle was implemented in Mountain Brook last school year and is described as a learning management system. Williams said the free application has allowed teachers to create their own learning sites that can be accessed by students anywhere they have an Internet connection.
Moodle training sessions focused on making the most of the application, which Williamson said, though new to the system, has already proved to be very useful to both teachers and students in linking the classroom to the home and more.
“It’s a mapped learning environment that they can access anywhere,” she said. “It’s safe, and it also gives them access to GoogleApps like Gmail and Google Docs.”
During the five-day conference, Williamson said they had 80-120 teachers and other staff members in attendance a day.
In addition to training with the school’s tech specialists, the conference also allowed teachers to see how their peers are using different technologies in the classroom.
“I am amazed at the plethora of technology resources,” said teacher April Cartee, a Mountain Brook teacher, during the conference. “I have learned so much and am so excited about the upcoming school year.”
Williamson said the conference is made available to the school system through corporate sponsors as well as the Mountain Brook City Schools Foundation and the board of education.
