Golden technology

Deirdre Newman

Bells were jingling at Andersen Elementary School -- not for

Christmas, but to celebrate the school’s receipt of the Golden Bell award

for its outstanding technology program.

Students rang the bells around their necks as the Newport Beach

school’s Principal Mary Manos presented the golden bell to technology

teacher and computer guru Tim Reese.

The school’s technology program is a mere 3 years old, but it is so

embedded in the school’s curriculum that it was recognized as a model of

excellence.

“It’s a dream come true,” Manos said, giving the majority of credit to

Reese as “the human element that makes the computer lab come alive.”

The lab started three years ago when the PTA joined forces with a

group of dads, setting up a technology committee to raise funds. The

group raised almost $100,000, and an anonymous donor pitched in with 21

new iMac computers.

There are also 20 iBook laptop computers on a mobile cart available to

students throughout the school, as well as a digital still camera and

video camera.

TeWinkle Middle School in Costa Mesa also received a Golden Bell award

this year. The award is given out by the California School Boards Assn.

Kindergartners through sixth-graders at Andersen use the computers on

a weekly basis, flexing their creativity on programs such as Story Book

Weaver, Hyper Studio, Amazing Writing Machine and Kid Pix.

Manos lauded Reese for transforming the technology program “from a

computer lab mentality to a real teaching tool.”

After the ceremony, Reese hosted an open house in the computer lab,

showing off the technology that elevated Andersen to the highest echelon

of technology-friendly schools.

Sixth-grader Kyle Murai showed his parents how to use Kid Pix to

create pictures that can be incorporated into reports.

Kyle’s father, Mark, said he was impressed by the variety of skills

the students attain.

“We’re fortunate our kids have some of the best tools available.

They’re giving them a head start in the world of technology,” Mark Reese

said.

A future project the students will work on is putting together a DVD

about the Golden Bell award process, said Steven Glyer, district director

of educational technology.

“You can see the enthusiasm of the parents much more powerfully then,”

Glyer said. “We’re in the video world, so we can leverage that.”

The ultimate goal of the technology committee is to acquaint all of

the school’s teachers with the latest software tools, said parent Jerry

Schmidt, because all of the classrooms also have a few computers in

addition to the lab.

* Deirdre Newman covers education. She may be reached at (949)

574-4221 or by e-mail at o7 [email protected] .