At Timber Ridge Magnet School, technology is a way of life. Students in all grades take computer classes, create colorful PowerPoint presentations and do research on the Internet.

A magnet school for students in kindergarten through eighth grade, Timber Ridge leads Evanston/Skokie School District 65 schools in the integration of technology into the classroom. And this easy access to technology has improved learning, Principal Patricia Mitchell said.

“You can tell from the quality of their science projects and the quality of their independent research reports that it’s enriching,” Mitchell said. “They’re pretty sophisticated.”

Although Timber Ridge, 3701 Davis St., is ahead of most of D65’s other schools, a two-year technology initiative has sought to bring the rest of the schools closer to Timber Ridge’s level.

After a 1999 referendum gave $7 million to D65 for technology improvements, the district has installed computers in classrooms, upgraded existing computer labs and explored ways of tracking student achievement using technology.

Clifford Cox, the district’s coordinator of computer services, said the drive for technology has helped improve education at the elementary and middle schools. But the goal is not just to fill classrooms with computers, he said.

“Technology is not an end in itself,” Cox said. “Technology is a tool, and the end is really to educate kids.”

During the summer, the district installed a new Macintosh computer in each classroom, bringing the total to three computers in each room for students and one for the teacher.

The district also recently purchased another computer cart for every school. Each school now has at least two carts, portable units with 10 to 15 notebook computers that can access the Internet through a wireless connection.

With the upgrades and additions, D65 has sought to make computers available so teachers can integrate them into the curriculum, said Barbara Hiller, the district’s assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction.

“The real issue is to make (technology) as accessible as possible in the classroom,” Hiller said.

The technology transition has been easier at the middle schools, where students have taken keyboarding classes for several years and are more comfortable with computers than elementary students are.

Cox said the district has five technology assistants to help teachers at its 10 elementary schools adapt to the new technology. In addition, one teacher at each school serves as a technology coordinator and also can help. The assistants train the teachers and also fix the computers when there are problems.

But when computers break, they are not always fixed, said Marcay Washington, a fourth-grade teacher at Oakton Elementary School, 426 Ridge Ave.

“We have computers in our classroom that don’t work, and then (the district) turns around and buys more of them,” she said.

Another headache resulting from the new technology is that many teachers who are less computer-literate feel discouraged from using them as often, Washington said. Although the district has offered teachers some instruction on how to integrate the computers into their lessons, Washington said she and some others still have difficulty.

Cox acknowledged that teachers need to learn to use the computers properly before they can help the students.

“The one thing about a computer is that it is like a car — it has the capability, but you have to drive it,” Cox said.

Marilyn Upchurch, a second-grade teacher at Oakton who also serves as the school’s technology coordinator, said classroom computers have enhanced her lesson plans.

Upchurch said her language arts students use the computers for writing and reading assignments and her math students use software to learn new math skills.

Hiller said possible uses of technology at the district level have expanded as the schools get more computers. She said D65 hopes to use new software to computerize individual report cards and track student achievement.

“Standardized tests only tell you where a kid is,” Hiller said. “They really don’t tell you about progress.”

D65 is one of many districts around the country that have tried to integrate technology into the curriculum at all of its schools. Cox said schools are recognizing that they need to change with the times.

“Teachers and adults live in a world where you don’t have to know about technology to survive,” Cox said. “The world the kids are growing up into is not a world where it’s optional.”