Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, July 13, 1994 TAG: 9407150028
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
In Roanoke, three students who are computer whizzes are helping teachers learn how to use the new technology.
The students are troubleshooters to help fix computer glitches or other problems. They also can load software and help develop computer systems to meet the schools' needs.
"I have an opportunity to give back to the schools and community a part of what I have received," said Craig Fifer, a recent graduate of Patrick Henry High School.
This summer, Fifer is helping school administrators develop a training plan for nearly 1,100 school employees - teachers, principals, secretaries and others. He also visits schools if there are computer problems needing attention.
Fifer is working with Joe Do, a June graduate of Patrick Henry, and Jamal Millner, a junior at William Fleming High, as computer specialists, to help ease the schools' transition to more computers and technology in the classroom.
"You just can't put computers in and expect the teachers to know how to use them," Fifer said.
The students were hired because studies have shown that school systems with the best technology programs use students to help train employees and troubleshoot problems, said Rita Bishop, assistant superintendent for instructional services and learning organizations for city schools.
Bishop said the students can help with the city's technology program at a lower cost than hiring consultants. The students' pay ranges from $6 to $6.50 an hour.
"This is one field where skills count more than a degree," Bishop said. "It is not your age or grades, but the skills that you have."
Students can be better trainers sometimes because they are kinder and can relate well to the teachers, she said.
School Superintendent Wayne Harris has made educational technology a priority in his administration. He has developed a $7.5 million program to buy more computers and upgrade technology in the schools over the next several years.
The City Council has included $1.5 million for computers and other technology in a $23 million bond referendum in November.
The three students, who are working part-time in the schools this summer, came with outstanding recommendations by their teachers, Bishop said.
Fifer, 16, and Do, 18, have been using computers since they were 3 or 4. Millner, 16, got started later but acquired extensive skills quickly.
"The key to computer skills is to start at an early age," Do said. He will enroll in Virginia Tech this fall to study electrical engineering. Millner hopes to attend Massachusetts Institute of Technology and study engineering after he graduates from William Fleming.
Fifer will take a year off from school so he can decide what he wants to study in college - computer science or political science. He may study both, he said. He graduated from high school early because he skipped the third grade.
Fifer plans to work with the school system in the next school year. Millner will be available for part-time work.
Fifer and Do attended the Roanoke Valley Governor's School for Science and Technology, where they had a basic course in computers. But they have acquired most of their computer knowledge on their own.
"By the time we completed the course, we knew more than our teachers did," Do said.
Bishop said the students have a high level of energy and are enthusiastic about their work.
The students also can solve problems in the technology laboratories at the William Fleming-Ruffner magnet center and other magnet schools.
As the school system acquires more technology, it will have more need for students like those working this summer, Bishop said.
"I'd like to have six by next year," she said.
by CNB