Teacher-created website unveiled
By Jackie Roy Marhefka
Times West Virginian
Staff Writer [published 11/11/1999]
FAIRMONT -
The unveiling of a teacher-created website featuring curriculum units
designed to integrate technology in West Virginia's classrooms, and
applicable to teachers and students around the world, went off without a
glitch - until it was time for a demonstration.
But Lydotta Taylor, vice president of education at West Virginia High
Tech Consortium, assured the estimated 150 teachers and administrators
in attendance that the website worked, and invited them to use laptops
to try it out.
The Solution Site
website has been a year in the making, and Taylor said Wednesday,
"We're ready to present it to the world."
More than 250 teachers representing 37 counties in the state created
more than 180 units that offer over 1,000 lesson plans that have been
posted to the website since February.
Currently, 70 of these units are available. The remaining units still
are being evaluated by teachers and experts to identify strengths and
weaknesses and ensure each unit meets strict educational standards,
evaluator Dr. Richard Walls said.
Walls was enthusiastic about the project, saying, "We're putting
(students) in a situation to discover new things. The quality of what
the kids do is where the rubber meets the road...I'm tickled to be a
part of this kind of education in West Virginia."
The units will be a valuable resource in West Virginia because they
were "designed by West Virginia teachers for West Virginia
students," Diane Furman of the Marion County Board of Education
said. "They're Mountaineer made."
Taylor agreed, saying, "We really think it's going to make a
difference in the educational system."
It also will be a valuable resource to teachers nationwide, she said.
"The Solution Site is a professional development model we
believe will be used across the nation," Taylor said. "This
site will prove to be one of the best educational sites ever
created."
The website was a cooperative effort by the WVHTC Foundation and
Marion County Schools in conjunction with the state Department of
Education Office of Technology and Information Systems.
The Solution Site is part of the West Virginia TurnKey Solution
project, a 1998 U.S. Department of Education Technology Innovation
Challenge Grant awarded the WVHTC Foundation and Marion County Schools.
The five-year project focuses on statewide high-quality professional
development that fosters the integration of technology, curriculum,
teaching strategies, learning activities and student evaluation.
Phase 9, the training component of the project, includes a two-day
session for administrators and a five-day integration workshop for
three-member teams of teachers.
Completion of the overall project is a milestone, WVHTC Foundation
President Larry Milov said.
The premier technology is an enormous teaching tool that will aid in
the education of youth, he said.
"We're working to support the technology journey all teachers
must take," Milov said.
The website address is www.thesolutionsite.com.
