The Dallas Morning News and the Associated Press today reported that about 100 public school teachers from all over the country are taking a five day course at the University of Texas Austin campus to learn more about technology in the classroom. The article is entitled Apple Computer teaching teachers technology.
The teachers have come hoping to gain a level of literacy that they had heretofore not known — knowledge that many of their students already have. They’re getting hands-on experience with digital video cameras and wireless laptops, according to the article.
The program is part of an initiative Apple has been running this summer across the United States. Higher ed officials got a special program at UCLA, while another program was offered in Vancouver, B.C., Canada. Other institutes are set to happen in California, Michigan, Illinois and Florida.
School officials, educators and even Apple’s vice president of educational marketing Cheryl Vedoe all confirmed one thing when they were interviewed for the article — teachers who aren’t comfortable with the technology are unlikely to use it in daily practice in the classroom. The technology training sponsored by Apple hopes to get teachers past that hurdle.