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The Newcastle Pacer

Changing the way students learn

ECC puts grant money to good use

us
ir By Andrew L Basden
en
w andrew@newcastlepacer.com
pacer.com

g Technology to help in the

ir advancement of youth is The
e now available at Newcas-
ewcas- E C C
ds tle’s Early Childhood
ood also has
ck Center. access
w A grant from to a liaison
the Oklahoma who visits the
Educational Tech- h- school multiple
st
nology Trust has made times within a
m-
it possible for the ECC to give year and provides
n;
its teachers and students
tudents access to technology train
train-
e, ing and support to the
leading edge technology.
nology.
The OETT wass created ed in 2001 after teachers.
w- AT&T Oklahoma and former fo Attorney Teachers are now able to
n General Drew Edmondson
Edmon ndson focus on continuous
continuuous improvements
improvements, teacher
e, came to an agreement overr the collaboration, an and equitable access to tech-
e; company’s transition to a mod- nology througho
throughout the center.
tt ernized form of regulation. “The new techtechnology we received through
n With a $30 million gift ift the grant has tot totally changed the way teach-
from AT&T and the vision n ers engage the their students in ways to help
ce of Former Oklahoma At-- them learn eeven more than we thought
torney Drew Edmondson,, possible,
possible,” said Lindsey Pickle, first
or the Oklahoma Educationall grade te
teacher.
ce Technology trust was cre-- Indee
Indeed it has changed how these
ce ated. young lea
leaders of tomorrow are learn-
te Since 2003 the OETT has ing. From pplaying a fun game of Bingo
d idual
funded $17 million to individual to completing
completin an art assignment, the
h schools. In total $17 millionllion students ar
are adapting very well.
h has reached 268 schools. s. It “The students
stu are able to complete
ve has helped shape the minds ds of assignm
assignments using the iPads and
d plied
109,000 students and supplied save ttheir work online in their
d more than 7,000 teachers with very oown individual files that par-
the necessary tools to betteretter ents aare later able to access and
ure
shape the minds of our future. look at ffrom another smart device,”
Andrew L. Basden/The Newcastle Pacer Recently Newcastle’s Early Childhood said Ally Audas, K20 Center Field Special-
ECC Principal Kristi Ferguson asks a group of first graders Center received a $65,000 grant from the ist.
about the assignment they are working on that is on OETT as well as 130 iPads.
one of the five iPads that their class received thanks to The grant provides technology for the stu- More ECC on page 3
a grant the school received from the OETT. dents and teachers.

Property of OPS News Tracker and members of the Oklahoma Press Association.
 The Newcastle Pacer
ECC: Technology a hit G
Feb
15
2018
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On February 12, representa-
tives for the OETT visited the
ECC to see how they were in-
tegrating the iPads into their
everyday curriculum.
Susie Graves, Foundation
Management Inc., Terri Silver,
OETT Grant Reviewer, Dr.
Nicki Watkins, K20 Center
Phase II Director, Dr. Sharon
Wilbur, K20 Center Phase I
Director and Ally Audas, K20
Center Field Specialist were
all in attendance for the visit.
They started off with a tour
led by ECC principal Kristi
Ferguson. This allowed for
them to see first-hand how the
technology was being used by
teachers and students.
Next it was time to meet
with the OETT Leadership
Team for the ECC.
A Leadership team is a
group made up of a variety
of teachers. Members of the
OETT Leadership Team for
the ECC are:
•Kathy Bergt-Pre-K
Property of OPS News Tracker and members of the Oklahoma Press Association.
•Tammy Bolles-Title I Read-
ing Teacher
•Korri Maple-Library
•Diane Medrano-Kinder-
garten
•Lindsay Pickle-First
They discussed the issue of
more training on the Ipads for
the teachers.
“Mrs. Bolles has done an
amazing job working with the
district to get us more train-
ing time with this technology,”
said Ferguson.
The students and how they
are acclimating to the new
technology was another point
of interest.
“I was hesitant at first, but
after watching my students
using it, I find myself wanting
more and more of it for them,”
said Kindergarten teacher, Di-
ane Medrano.
“We need technology in every
classroom and in every student
and teachers hands, because it
is the pen and paper of our time,
and it is the lens through which
we experience much of our
world.” -David Warlick.