Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, February 3, 1995 TAG: 9502030048
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-2 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: MELISSA DEVAUGHN
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
But when he tried to find a topic for his doctoral research, he impulsively turned to schools. What better place than Montgomery County Schools to study people using the Blacksburg Electronic Village? After all, the county just received a $99,000 National Science Foundation grant to connect five schools directly to the Internet, the world's largest computer information network.
Blacksburg Middle School team-teachers Suzan Mauney and Donna Swenson wanted for months to get their pupils involved in a combined history and computer project, but didn't have the computer expertise to tackle it. Laughton, a Virginia Tech doctoral student in computer science, stepped in at just the right time.
More than 100 eighth-graders are working on the Montgomery County Multimedia Magazine, a project that explores the history of Montgomery County, and will eventually be put on the Internet for the entire world to see.
Mauney and Swenson help the pupils find information, type on the computer and organize the layout. Laughton translates all of the information into a computer language and puts in on the Internet, all the while studying the collaborative process among the teachers and pupils.
"The multimedia magazine merged my objectives with their existing plan," Laughton said. "My role is computer science, not education. ... I'm more experienced with technology; it's their project as far as what they're doing."
Laughton said he hopes to eventually teach the teachers how to translate type into a computer-friendly format (called HyperText Markup Language).
Working with the teachers, Laughton said he has learned that technology in the classroom can be challenging.
"There have many restraints, time constraints like 40-minute classes," Laughton said. "It's a lot different than research in the lab."
by CNB