catalyst-chicago.org

In one way, Woodson South Elementary is ahead in the technology game in Chicago Public Schools. The Grand Boulevard school has enough computers to put it at the national average, according to a Catalyst Chicago survey.

More typically, though, most teachers at Woodson are still using only basic software such as Microsoft Word, says Larry Spearman, the school's technology coordinator. One well-known educational software package, Accelerated Reader, "is sitting downstairs," he points out. "The teachers have to be trained on it."

Nichole Pinkard took her first computer class in 8th grade and majored in computer science at Stanford University, later earning master's and doctoral degrees from Northwestern University. As a professor at the University of Michigan, she became interested in technology and urban youth when she noticed that few kids from Detroit were entering the computer science program. Now, as director of technology for the University of Chicago's Center for Urban School Improvement, Pinkard helps integrate technology into the classrooms of the university's charter schools.

At Kelvyn Park High in Hermosa, all freshman algebra teachers use Cognitive Tutor, a well-regarded, interactive program that aims to engage students in mathematical problem-solving at their own pace.

Last year, "our department chair gave us all two days a week in the computer lab," says math teacher Eugenie Alvares, who trained her colleagues to use the program.