SPANISH FORT, Ala. — Teachers stared intently at computer screens as a technology specialist gave directions on how to use a computer program at Spanish Fort Elementary School.

The teachers were learning about a program called “Technology in Motion,” led by Elizabeth Sessions, a Technology in Motion specialist.

The program is directed at helping to teach students from kindergarten to 12th grade, and is put on by the Alabama State Department of Education, Sessions said.

“Each school has a school improvement plan, and I work with them and see where technology would be of the best benefit to them,” Sessions said.

She helps make an individual plan for each school.

“I find the best fit for their school,” she said.

Training sessions must be requested by the schools and are facilitated on a “first come, first serve” basis, she said.

Return visits to help with classroom technology projects or to loan equipment can also be performed.

At the session at SFE, Sessions took math standards and correlated them with technology activities, but other subjects can also be taught using technology.

These activities are research-based, so teachers at SFE were shown what has been proven to have worked in the past, she said.

The main goal of Technology in Motion is to provide job-embedded professional development so teachers will know how to use the skill in the classroom, Sessions said. She said some students may not do well with pencil or paper, but may become animated and interested when taught with technology.

“I’ve seen a lot of positive responses from students especially when technology is in the hands of students,” she said.

She said that using technology helps with embedding learning into what students are already doing. According to an instructional handout, properly used technology tools can help students have a deeper understanding of subjects the students will use the rest of their lives at home and in the workplace.

Sessions, whose office is at the University of South Alabama, covers Baldwin and Mobile counties, as well as four other county school systems comprised of approximately 150 schools.

“High schools have really come on board this year,” Sessions said adding a lot of schools are focusing on middle school improvement now. Sessions usually arranges her instruction for teachers on in-service days or during teachers’ planning periods and can teach up to approximately 50 people in a class. Sessions has worked for the State of Alabama as a Technology in Motion Specialist for three years, after being a classroom teacher for 24 years. Sessions said her former training helps her teach at a “teacher level.”

Though the program can only be offered after a school requests it, parents can also encourage teachers and schools to ask for the program. To find out more about the program call 251-665-4684.