Moses Lake High School pilots technology program

MOSES LAKE - Moses Lake teachers can soon create customized computer desktops and offer students access to online resources from home.

The school district is the second district in the United States to use a virtual-learning environment called Editure.

Thirty teachers are receiving training for the pilot program, which was first used in Texas. The program is already established internationally.

"It's pretty exciting to see a district with a vision," said Editure Vice President of Business Development Mark Cosby.

Moses Lake School District Technology Director Rick Rose said the technology allows teachers the ability to offer specialized reading groups, or to post a site they want students to see. If a student becomes ill, they could still have access to their assignments from home.

"He could literally log onto that Web site, and there's my assignments," Rose said.

In addition, Editure offers an electronic locker where students can save files.

The program is being implemented over three years. Students are going to begin using the technology in February, Rose said.

Teachers from Moses Lake High School, Chief Moses Middle School, and Garden Heights, Knolls Vista, Discover, Peninsula and Longview elementary schools received training in the programs.

"I think having Editure as a tool will allow teachers to be more efficient with the delivery of material," said Longview Elementary School teacher James Barnett.

Barnett volunteered for more intensive program training, along with 13 other teachers, so he can show fellow teachers how to use Editure.

Barnett said the technology will allow him to give students the same information at different learning levels. An English-language learner, for example, might have access to a page with sound and text so they can listen to and see the information. A more advanced reader might receive text-based learning materials.

In math, Barnett can place students into virtual groups organized by student needs, he said.

Limitations he identified for the program include student access to computers and Internet from home, teacher education on how to use the program, and computer access in the classroom.

Rose said he learned of the program at a leadership workshop in Spokane, where he met a school district employee from the Texas school district.

"I got excited hearing what they were doing and thought, this is something I'd like to see us do," Rose said.

The program is funded with the help of Title 2 Enhancing Education Through Technology funds from the federal government, he said.

"The goal is to keep it simple so people will use it," Rose said.

As the district funds technology upgrades with the voter-approved bonds, new computers are going to be added to the classroom, he said. Rose said the district wants to standardize not just hardware, but software as well.

Cosby said Rose is paving the way with a small monetary investment, so when new computers come in, there is a use for the technology.

"You kind of got to respect that and appreciate that," Cosby said.