PORT HUENEME : Computer-Aided Teaching Praised

The Hueneme Elementary School District’s program of delivering computer-aided instruction to students in various disciplines was given high praise Monday by an outside evaluation prepared during the 1989-90 school year.

The evaluation of the district’s Model Technology School Program focused on the three science classrooms, which use everything from computers to video laser disks to satellite dishes.

The evaluation was conducted through USC.

“Hueneme has one of the most advanced technological programs I have ever seen,” said Patrick Rooney, who directed the evaluation. “It’s an overwhelming benefit to the students. Everyone involved should be congratulated for their achievement.”

Rooney is a retired superintendent of Ventura schools and current professor of education at USC.

The report evaluated the program’s computer hardware, its teachers, its budget management and 12 areas ranging from class environment to the program’s applicability at the national and international levels.

About 2,100 people, 30 of them from other countries, have visited the program since it began seven years ago.

The report found that student interest in science has jumped dramatically since 1983 and the technological instruction helped improve attendance of last year’s 139 eighth-graders by 15% over the previous year, Rooney said.

The report also found a gradual improvement in California Assessment Program achievement test scores since the early 1980s to be a result of the “smart” classes.

Rooney said the program has helped students’ problem-solving abilities and has reduced the number of disciplinary actions by teachers.