InTime Publicity

High-tech tools for C.R. fifth graders

CEDAR RAPIDS - When Karen Zmoos went to high school, she didn't even know what the Internet or a Microsoft Word PowerPoint presentation were. Kim Reed

But her son, Jesse, 11, knows all about those tools and learned most of it in Kim Reed's fifth grade class.

Reed, a teacher at Madison Elementary School, uses the Internet and other technology to teach his students about today's world.

"We make slide shows for fun," says Jesse. "And we learn all kinds of things about the Internet."

Besides his work in me classroom, Reed and his students have made several CD-ROMs and he has held videoconferences.

"I just want to teach general knowledge of technology to my students," says Reed, 48. "It's very broad and I'm not teaching the technology, but I'm teaching my curriculum using the technology."

One of the CD-ROMs, "Understanding Homelessness," was made as a reference tool. Copies were provided to the police and fire departments and the public library has a copy for the public to view.

Reed chose this topic because he was looking for a worthwhile community service, something students could learn about and then teach others.

The CD-ROM includes pieces of artwork and writing by Reed's students, a list of local, state and national organizations that can help homeless people and a list of children's books about homelessness.

Parents appreciate Reed's work.

"He is very proactive," says Karen Zmoos, who had two sons go through Reed's class. "That's absolutely good. You've got to find something that excites the kids to learn and I think Mr. Reed looks for those things."

One of the videoconferences Reed held was with Janet Stevens, a children's book illustrator. Another was with an elementary class in New South Wales, Australia, where Reed started his teaching career.

In the early 1970s, four Australian school administrators drove across the United States in search of qualified teachers. Reed was interviewed and hired.

"I was single, 21 years old," says Reed, who grew up in Cedar Rapids. "I thought 'What the heck,' and I just loved it, hut it was time to come back to Iowa later."

He left for Australia in 1974 and returned to the United States in 1989. Since 1992, he has been a teacher at Madison.

In 2000, Reed was "Educator of the Year” of the Cedar Rapids Education Association.

Story by Christopher Trappe, Gazette Staff

writer/Photo by Jim Slosiarek

The Gazette, Cedar Rapids, Iowa: Sun., March 11, 2001