By Marley Seaman
The Center, founded in 1991, works to help teachers utilize technology in the classroom. And that's exactly what it did for Fran Manas's seventh- and eighth-grade Home and Careers students.
"The purpose is to integrate technology into the classroom," says Teacher Center Director Karla Lomangino. "We have asked teachers to develop something that is innovative, original and curriculum-based."
"I am a quilter," Manas explains. "As part of our curriculum, we teach our kids sewing."
Last year, when Manas saw an advertisement for a substance called photo fabric, which can run through a normal computer printer, she knew she'd found a way merge a centuries-old pastime with a high-tech phenomenon.
Manas petitioned the Teacher Center for a mini-grant, and used the money to buy a digital camera for her class. The results were photo pillows.
This year, she decided to expand the project. Another mini-grant provided enough money for more photo fabric and backing and Manas' went to work on the digital quilt. The kids were very enthusiastic.
"They started to come after school to work on the quilt. We also did photographing after school," Manas says. "Kids in sports would say 'can you take [our] pictures for the quilt?'"
The result of the students' efforts, titled, "The Faces of Baldwin Middle School," features 232 middle school students in 35 photos of their favorite school areas and activities. The quilt is about 90 inches long and 75 inches high, and more than three dozen students took part in the photography and sewing. It is now hanging in the school's common area as a gift. Manas plans to continue using the cameras and fabric in future class projects.
The Teacher Center offers more than just grants, including a number of programs that may be considered unusual. For the past three years, the Living History program has immersed teachers in the lives of Revolutionary War and Union Army Civil War soldiers for a weekend or a full week.
"They live, dress, eat and sleep like soldiers during this time period," says Lomangino. "They dress up in period costumes, erect their own tents and cook as revolutionary soldiers would have [in that time period]."
Run by four full-time staffers and a 17-member policy board, the Teacher Center offers a number of courses for teachers and parents. There is a school administration training program, run through a partnership with SUNY @ Stonybrook. Funding for teacher conferences is also offered.
Created by a 1984 New York State law, there are 39 teacher centers on Long Island and 120 in the state.
