ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, November 8, 1996 TAG: 9611080069
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOEL TURNER STAFF WRITER
THANKS TO THE MCI Foundation and federal magnet grants, Lincoln Terrace Saturn Network School is one of the most technologically advanced in the nation.
Third-grader Donte Spinner pressed a button and a lighted screen displayed the Phoenician alphabet. He pushed another button and the Greek alphabet appeared.
Spinner said Thursday his class has been studying the relationship of the English language to Greek, Roman and Phoenician alphabets.
At a nearby computer, fifth-grader Trey Simmons researched actors and movies on the Internet. Other children used databases, CD-ROMS and videos in a learning center that features the latest in communications technology.
In another part of the Lincoln Terrace Saturn Network School, children worked at computers in a specialized high-tech lab, called the "Titan Zone," where they learned about the history and forms of communication.
The curriculum covers the spectrum: from the earliest forms of communication such as drums, smoke signals and dance to the latest, including satellites and cyberspace.
With a $1.2 million federal magnet grant, the Roanoke school has developed one of the nation's most advanced communications systems for a school. It enables pupils to link up to the Internet, other electronic media and reference materials.
The school, which has an enrollment of 325, has bought dozens of computers and other educational technology that is available to all pupils from preschool to fifth grade. Every classroom has four or five computers and is linked to the Internet.
A recent survey by the U.S. Department of Education showed that only 10 percent of the classrooms in the nation have access to the Internet. Most of Roanoke's schools have access, but not all classrooms in all schools are hooked up.
Annette Yeatts, curriculum specialist for Lincoln Terrace's magnet program, said the school's technology is incorporated into math, science, social studies, English and all other subjects.
All pupils go to the Titan Zone at least once a week, she said. "They go there for things they wouldn't find in the classrooms."
The children also spend time each week in the interactive learning center in the school's library, in addition to having access to the classroom computers, she said.
"The children come to the center on a regular basis, and they can also come for small group research," said Brenda Thompson, the school's media specialist.
The MCI Foundation, a grants division of the long-distance telephone company, donated $12,500 to help pay for the learning center to supplement the magnet grant for the Titan Zone and other technology.
On Thursday, Principal William Sinkler and school officials dedicated the center, which school officials call "a window on the world." The children gave personal thank-you notes to MCI officials.
"The center provides the children with an opportunity for a combination of learning and doing that prepares them for the change that is inevitable in today's educational arena," Sinkler said.
Not all of the Internet research is scholarly, but it helps pupils hone their computer skills.
Fifth-grader Shaun Rickman is a fan of stock car racing, and he surfs the Internet sometimes to learn more about racing. He likes driver Jeff Gordon, and he has done research on him.
Shaun, 10, also uses the computer for writing and drawing assignments in his classes, and he knows how to use spreadsheets, too.
Superintendent Wayne Harris said Lincoln Terrace's technology is the envy of many school systems across the country. Educators from Danville, Portsmouth and other cities have visited Roanoke to see the technology in Lincoln Terrace and other schools. He noted that Roanoke recently won a national award for its use of computers.
Roanoke schools have received about $20 million in federal magnet funds in the past decade, and much of the money has been used for technology.
LENGTH: Medium: 81 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: ROGER HART\Staff. Students Ashley Richardson, 8, (right)by CNBand Nicole Dennis, 10, were among those who attended the MCI
Interactive Center dedication at Lincoln Terrace Saturn Network
School on Thursday. color.