A video is worth $50,000

Christine Carrillo

It’s hard to resist a first-grader as cute as Ryan Cargile. Put him

in slacks and a tie, film him demonstrating how easy it use the new

VT Series projector, and you’ve got a video potentially worth

$50,000.

Lainie McGann, a second-grade and technology teacher at Newport

Coast Elementary School, knew her short video was a winner when she

entered the NEC Corporation Idol Contest.

And until June 4, people across the nation can vote to give the

filmmakers that $50,000.

“We’re always looking to get technology into the classroom,”

McGann said. “I believe it increases students motivation and

participation in their own learning and it increases the students

interest in the content. It also provides multiple ways for students

to demonstrate what they’ve learned.”

On May 19, McGann’s video was chosen as one of the top five

finalists, putting it in the running for a $50,000 award for making a

video that best demonstrates how easy the new projector is to use.

McGann couldn’t think of any other way to do that than to have a

first-grader, Ryan, show his peers just how easy it really is.

“I think everyone here at the school is pretty excited,” said Dana

Schonwit, a parent of three Newport Coast students and member of the

school’s Parent Teacher Assn. “The teachers’ participation in trying

to get additional funds has almost become a necessity now, and it’s

neat that they take the initiative. I’m blown away and pretty

impressed. I think it just shows you that we have such qualified

teachers in our public school system.”

Seeing McGann enter the contest with such gusto has inspired

nearly everyone at the school and given them hope about the future of

its students.

“We’re very excited about what’s going on here and we feel real

positive about it,” said Monique Van-Zeebroek, principal at Newport

Coast. “Lainie is creative, innovative, hard working and obviously

thinks out of the box as to how we can get some funding for our

school so we can be technologically advanced and out there in the

future with our kids.”

McGann’s video is available on the NEC Web site at

www.necvisualsystems.com. The public will be able to vote on that Web

site through June 4. NEC will announce the winner on June 5.

“We need this money,” McGann said.