VSU's ETTC Collaborates with Regional Schools

Capital Tech Day, a collaborative effort between Georgia's schools and the state's Educational Technology Training Centers (ETTC) including Valdosta State University's, will be held March 7, in Atlanta at the State Capital Building. Capital Tech Day will demonstrate to Georgia's legislators the positive impact that technology funding is having on instruction in Georgia's public schools.

Wacona Elementary, located in Waycross and VSU's ETTC district, is one of 13 other Georgia schools and ETTC partnerships to be the focus of Capital Tech Day. The event will spotlight students using the fundamental technology tools necessary to succeed in the 21st century. Students and teachers are eager for their local legislators to see firsthand how these tools are helping to increase student achievement and build community partnerships. Students will present their educational projects ? student-designed Web sites that help other students resolve curricular issues, multimedia projects that demonstrate an understanding of curricular areas, and projects in which students collaborate with teachers to produce lessons that effectively infuse technology into the teaching and learning process.

VSU's ETTC staff collaborates with regional schools to improve and promote research-based methods of instruction with teachers. Their emphasis includes the integration of multiple technologies to enrich the curriculum, effective uses of technology to increase school productivity, and distance learning to provide opportunities that would otherwise be inaccessible.

According to the Learning for the 21st Century report, today's education system will face irrelevance unless the gap between how students live and how they learn is bridged. Educators believe today's students must be empowered to meet the challenges of tomorrow if Georgia's citizens are to be competitive in the world market of the 21st century. VSU's ETTC is one of 13 centers across the state charged with this mission.