Program
links area to high-tech world
The Daily World October 16, 2007
Once upon a time, the brightest future was open to places that
were on the interstate highway and that knew how to take advantage
of it. Today, the brightest future is for those who are on the
information highway and can avail themselves of what that means.
That's part of the reason it is such good news that 14 schools
chosen for Qualified Zone Academy Bond renovations are going online
to prepare students for life after high school. A QZAB grant provides
a 10 percent match to schools for Internet courses through the
CyberLearning Academy.
The software offers 1,600 online courses in math, computer and
business skills. Ten of the 14 QZAB sites already have been activated
for the CyberLearning Academy.
The CyberLearning Academy is a pilot program in St. Landry Parish.
Some schools have software licenses for one year while others
have a two-year license, depending upon student enrollment.
Courses for St. Landry Parish schools will focus on math skills
for elementary and junior highs students. Those at Eunice and
Opelousas High will have access to other courses, both at school
and at home.
One of the best features about the academy is it is available
to students at school and at home, she said.
Live mentoring also is available 24 hours and seven days a week
if students need help with a subject, she said.
Using this technology, the kids will be able to take upper level
courses that aren't offered in the regular curriculum, and, at
the same time, they will be learning to use the high tech systems
that deliver the courses.
Computer literacy - the ability to understand and use computers
and the high-tech world they link us to - is as important for
the future as reading literacy is for today.
We need to take advantage of every opportunity both to use the
computer as a teaching tool - to bring new courses to our students
they would otherwise not receive - and to teach them to use the
machines and computing systems themselves.
We hope this moves quickly from a pilot program in some of our
schools to a regular program in all of them.
