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GREENSBURG, PA- Mary Spataro recently joined the College as the Instructional Designer for the Technology Assisted Learning for Inclusionary Practice (TALIP) project. ¶¶Òõ¶ÌÊÓƵ created the TALIP Program for college faculty, pre-service and in-service teachers with funding from the Department of Education. ¶¶Òõ¶ÌÊÓƵ and its Consortium Partners including Greensburg-Salem, Jeannette and Yough school districts primarily educate students whose family income levels fall on or below the Department of Health and Human Services poverty guidelines. The program integrates technology into the learning experience for these students by assisting teachers in the development of their technology skills. As the instructional designer, Spataro assists participants, providing support as they complete their final projects. The participants have had some training using various computer software programs including Microsoft Outlook and Blackboard. The goal is to integrate these programs into teaching in the classroom. Spataro serves as a sounding board for the teachers. "I’ve already had a chance to talk with all the participating teachers, see where they are and what they need help organizing," Spataro said. "Most of the teachers are primarily elementary school teachers, but there are some secondary teachers as well. Everyone is very excited about the project." Spataro has found that the most popular request is to organize a classroom web site where homework is updated and parents can log-on to see what their children are doing in class. Direct links to teacher e-mail addresses are also popular in addition to utilizing the Internet in the classroom. "I’m impressed with the technology set-up I’ve seen in the local schools. They are trying to make the computer labs more kindergarten-friendly and accessible to all students," Spataro said, noting the importance of inclusionary practices in the classroom to involve students at all levels. "All the teachers I’ve worked with have reasonable goals and seem to understand their level of skill and the work it takes to keep a site updated." For the summer months, Spataro plans to help teachers wrap up the projects by the end of August and implement them for the start of the new school year. Once the projects are implemented, Spataro will visit the schools and also help with troubleshooting. "The important things to keep in mind are that technology is always changing and you have to keep up with it," Spataro said. "The teachers and I will work to find different ways to use the technology that will most benefit them and their students."