CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - More than 400 Illinois teachers are upgrading their computer and technology skills this summer at eight sites throughout the state.
The teachers are taking advantage of a weeklong institute, called "A Moveable Feast." Now in its sixth year, the program, organized by the College of Education at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, will have trained more than 2,000 Illinois educators by the end of the summer.
The institute is being run this week (June 16-20) at Bloomington High School, Danville High School, Quincy High School, St. Joseph-Ogden High School, Urbana High School, Woodlawn High School (near Mount Vernon), and the College of Education in Champaign.
The institute also will be offered next week (June 23-27) at Bloomington, Lake Park High School (in Roselle), Quincy and Woodlawn, and during the week of July 7-11 at Bloomington, Danville, Lake Park, Urbana and the College of Education.
A two-day institute for administrators also has been held during the past week at schools in Bloomington, Mount Vernon and Roselle.
Teachers participating in the "Moveable Feast" will spend the week improving their skills with various office, productivity, Web and multimedia resources and programs, said Cathy Thurston, director of the college's Office of Educational Technology. In particular, they will focus on learning how to integrate technology into classes, and doing so in alignment with Illinois state learning standards and Engaged Learning standards.
Sponsoring the institutes along with the university and the school districts are Inspiration Software Inc. and Microsoft Corp., which recently named the "Moveable Feast" a Model Professional Development Program.