4 teachers win grants for classroom techonology

Teachers at four area schools earned recognition Wednesday for using technology in their classrooms, and received a boost in funding for their projects through the Qwest Foundation.

• Broadmoor Elementary School, Cheyenne Mountain School District 12: Teacher Rebecca Royall will use her $7,300 grant for an Apple iPod learning lab to close gender gaps in reading and writing performance.

• Vista Ridge High School, Falcon School District 49: Teacher Susan Broadway will use the $6,250 grant to stimulate interest in science through Vernier sensors for lab measurements in and outside of the classroom. The sensors can be used to measure how temperature changes in a chemical reaction or how pH changes during an experiment, sending data to a computer where students can students can analyze and manipulate  it.

• Colorado School for the Deaf and Blind: Teacher Jan Megarry will use her $5,300 grant for Intel readers to improve literacy and comprehension in science, language arts and social studies for blind and visually impaired students.

• Sproul Junior High School, Widefield School District 3: Teacher Lynn Bustamante will use her $2,700 grant for Pad CPS Pulse clicker systems to increase student motivation and achievement in math. The devices allow students to input answers.

This is the fourth year of the Qwest Teachers & Technology grant program that recognizes Colorado K-12 teachers who use technology in the classroom in new ways. For the 2011 school year, the Qwest Foundation awarded $150,000 in grants. Teachers were selected through a competitive process by the Public Education and Business Coalition.