Lisbon Community School Receives $5000 Best Buy Teach Award‏

Students at Lisbon Community School use integrating interactive technology in the classroom curriculum. Photo by Barbara Thompson

2009 Best Buy Teach Awards Program Gives $2 Million to Schools Nationwide for Integrating Interactive Technology into the Classroom

LISBON, MAINE—Lisbon Community School’s Principal, Carlene Iverson, announced recently that they have received a $5000 Teach Award from Best Buy Co. Inc. for integrating interactive technology into classroom curriculum. Barbara Thompson, GATE teacher, has been using GIS technology with her gifted students and with fourth grade teachers and students since 2006 to build computer-based interactive maps, allowing students to analyze data through the active manipulation of information and decision-making processes. Through a connection with 4-H Technology Programs students have used geographic information software to document the movement of Native People who emigrated from Europe, crossed the Bering Land Bridge, and spread out across North America; learned about farming areas in Maine; and studied watersheds for several of the major rivers in Maine. The students have also used GPS handheld units to document their favorite places in Lisbon, to record locations of woody and herbaceous plants along a local walking trail and to evidence animal activity on and near the school’s campus.

The Best Buy Teach Award will provide new laptop computers, digital cameras, and an LCD projector for Mrs. Thompson to use with her students and with the 4-H program. Mrs. Thompson says, “The purchase of this equipment will be instrumental in moving this program forward at Lisbon Community School.”

This year, Best Buy Teach Awards, ranging from $1000 to $10000, have been given to more than 460 schools to sustain or enhance existing educational programs. “Teachers are finding creative ways to engage students by using technology and providing hands-on experiences. “We want to support their efforts by helping them enhance or expand these programs,” said Paula Prahl, senior vice president for public affairs at Best Buy Co. Inc. “We know that schools are the cornerstones of these communities where our employees, customers, and their families live and work.”

Since 2003, the Best Buy Teach Awards Program has rewarded schools that creatively integrate interactive technology into their curricula. Over the past five years nearly 6000 schools nationwide have received $17 million in Teach Awards reaching 1.5 million K-12 students.