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Teacher brings high-tech into classroom By Amber Fossen Ashland Daily Tidings Lincoln Elementary teacher Mark Sherbow was recently rewarded for his dedication to teaching. Sherbow, 44, received the 2003 Inspired Teacher Scholarship for Visual Learning for incorporating innovative technology into his class lessons. After 18 years of teaching, Sherbow continues to find new methods of teaching to enhance critical thinking skills. Tina Ruppelt, vice president of marketing for Inspiration Software Inc. which provided the scholarship, said Sherbow was a natural choice. "Mark Sherbow's application was outstanding in the variety of visual learning examples he provided from his work with students," Ruppelt said. "He also demonstrated how he was dedicated to introducing visual learning to fellow educators - both in formal workshops and in informal mentoring situations." Ruppelt said Inspiration Software Inc., which develops and publishes innovative software tools for learners of all ages, based the award on three criteria including: the teacher's understanding of visual learning and its impact on student learning; innovation in implementing visual learning and technology into the classroom; and commitment to championing visual learning in education. "In many ways he is clearly championing the use of visual learning in education by giving local workshops, sharing ideas on his web site, mentoring fellow teachers, speaking at education technology conferences and learning from education technology leaders," Ruppelt said. Sherbow, who teaches the Blenders - a mix of students ages 6 through 11 - with fellow teacher Barbara Heyerman, said the Lincoln staff has been developing innovative ways to teach for the last two years. "What changes the world is when teachers see new and innovative ways to teach," Sherbow said. "The bottom line is that we're trying to build critical thinking skills." Sherbow said advancements in technology provide students with mass amounts of information at the touch of a button. By using technology in the class, Sherbow said he hopes to help students synthesize the information they find and to apply it toward real world problem-solving. One of the ways Lincoln students incorporate learning with technology is through an independent project where every first through fifth grade student completes an individual project - most of which, are multi-media related, according to Sherbow. Sherbow will be conducting a workshop at the Northwest Council for Computer Education in Portland. The topic is "Critical thinking, Independent Projects and Integrated Technology." According to Inspiration Software officials, Sherbow was the only Oregon recipient of the award. A total of 30 awards were distributed nationwide. LINKS: DAILY TIDINGS: Main | News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Opinion | Columnists | AP News | Subscribe | Archives | Weather | Classifieds | Contact Us | Privacy REVELS: Main | Calendar | Dining | Movies | T.V. OTHER: Road Cams Copyright 2003 Ashland Daily Tidings 541.482.3456. 1661 Siskiyou Blvd., Ashland, OR 97520. Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. - Advertisers -