Planning for technology

Dr. Larry Anderson

"In three days after I announced that I was interested in doing this, I had 800 responses," he said. "This is an issue worldwide."

Using the Internet, a worldwide computer network, Anderson is attempting to provide a vast data base that educators can use as they plan for the future. "We are a repository that educators can access from their computers," he explained. "It's a way for them to seek fresh ideas or to seek solutions to problems encountered with planning."

Long-range plans for incorporating technology into the educational enterprise have come from Michigan, Indiana, Hawaii, and a host of other locations. An educational clearinghouse headquartered at Syracuse University, also available through the Internet, has asked to include information compiled by Mississippi State. "The idea is that we want to disseminate this information as widely as possible to benefit educators," Anderson said.

Faculty members in the Department of Technology and Education also are planning a computer bulletin board devoted to discussions by student teachers. "This would allow student teachers and students who will soon be teachers to share ideas and resources, pose questions, and offer support," Anderson said. "These discussions often will be a seedbed for research."

A fourth-grade class in Nebraska, for example, recently monitored water quality of wetlands as a class project. "They actually compiled data that the Environmental Protection Agency can use," Anderson said. "Other schools now are getting involved in similar projects. The Internet offers a way for them to collaborate."

Not quite the old model of reading, writing, and arithmetic. The educational times are changing, Anderson says, and "it's exciting that Mississippi State University is taking a leadership role in helping shape that future."

--Maridith Geuder