CHIMACUM — A middle school science teacher was surprised to receive a $5,000 technology grant Thursday at an assembly announced only minutes before it began.
“I am very ecstatic about this. I’ve always thought that it was important to put technology into the students’ hands,” Alfredo Gonzalez said after the 10-minute assembly.
“Very little of what people do outside of the classroom is textbook- or lecture-driven,” he added.
“They can whip out whatever device they have and can look up anything on the spot.”
The grant was one of 22, each for $5,000, awarded by telecommunications company CenturyLink to schools in Washington state.
Gonzalez applied for the grant last year but didn’t make the cut, though his proposal was impressive, according to Jan Kampbell, the company’s public relations and market development manager.
CenturyLink didn’t get the 2013-2014 grant program started in time and decided to choose recipients from previous applicants, she said.
In his proposal, Gonzalez said he would use technology for on-site data collection that monitors water quality, stating that the students “can influence society as they use technology to generate tables and graphs, and share their results through blogs and other social media such as Facebook.”
Gonzalez, 46, has been teaching at the school for 15 years.
Gonzalez said technology helps support the “Four Cs” of learning: communication, collaboration, creation and critical thinking.
“If we teach this to kids, they can use these skills in the same way as they will when they leave school,” he said.
According to Kampbell, CenturyLink has supported a competitive grant program that is designed to recognize K-12 educators from public schools across Washington who can integrate technology creatively.
Over the past five years, CenturyLink has awarded $550,000 in grant funds to 92 recipients, she said.
The assembly was a surprise to the students and was announced on the public address system at 10:20 a.m. by Principal Whitney Meissner.
The students, grades 6-8, cheered loudly when the award was announced and as Gonzalez stepped forward to collect the oversized symbolic check.
After the assembly, Gonzalez’s students crowded around to congratulate him.
“He is a nice guy and the best person to take control of the $5,000,” said seventh-grader Sam Drott.
“He uses technology that a lot of teachers don’t,” said Jack Meissner, an eighth-grader.
“He is revolutionizing how people teach and how people learn by giving us cool projects to do.”
Eighth-grader Cinna Boyd said technology helps complete projects more quickly and easily, while sixth-grader Renee Woods said Gonzalez has changed how kids look at computers.
“Mr. G. teaches us how to use computers in the right way instead of playing games, which is how most people think of technology,” Renee said.
“He is making it a learning tool instead of a game.”
Jefferson County Editor Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or at charlie.bermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
