NATCHEZ — More than 300 teachers and support staff from five counties have a chance to be schooled this week on the latest issues in education at this year’s Southwest Mississippi Educator’s Summer Conference in Natchez.

Luckily for the teachers attending the conference at the Natchez Conference and Convention Center all day Monday, today and Wednesday, instruction these days is less about lecturing and more about getting engaged.

“Sitting and listening is boring for every level, but it’s hard to (transition to technology) when you’re taught to teach that way,” said Roxanne Batson, a partner with Technology Solutions Provider.

Many of the seminars and presentations included technology training, which involved interaction with attendees.

TSP is a partner with eInstruction, an educational company that gave a $3,500 to help sponsor the conference, Natchez-Adams School District Superintendent Anthony Morris said.

The role of Batson’s company, which NASD hired to train teachers how to use Promethean boards and other technology, is critical for teacher and students, she said.

“In my seven years (at the job), there are (a number) of schools that buy technology and don’t set it up — I find that its just like algebra. You can’t learn it in a day,” Batson said.

Batson said teachers should spend enough time to really learn how to use the new classroom tools for the benefit of the students, who often enjoy using technology.

“If it’s fun, they want to learn,” Batson said.

While some of the conference’s focus was on technology, sessions also hit on other big issues in education.

Morris said teachers from public and private schools in Adams, Amite, Jefferson and Claiborne counties, Yazoo City and East Jasper got a chance to catch up on issues while also earning required Continuing Education Units at the conference.

The conference kicked off Monday with an update on changes to ethics and other policies within the Mississippi Department of Education, said Tracy M. Cook, the assistant superintendent at the Jefferson County School District who helped coordinate the conference.

Also discussed was the new common core curriculum standard that will seek to raise Mississippi’s standards and align them with the rest of the nation by 2014, Morris said.

Kimberly Hunt, an Educational Consultant with Practical Parent Education, said she will present a session today called “Parent Engagement: It’s Everybody’s Business.”

Hunt said the seminar will focus on making parent engagement a priority at all levels of education, not just for counselors and parent liaisons.

Attendees heard from two nationwide speakers, Larry Bell and Mac Fuller in sessions called “The Power to Make a Difference” and “Amazing Face Reading, Creating an Immediate Connection,” respectively.

Morris said a Southwest Mississippi conference in Natchez has been sponsored by the participating school districts the last three years since he and others had the idea to plan one closer to home to avoid the expense of traveling to Hattiesburg. And the residual effect of gathering that many educators in one place is the networking that takes place, Morris said.

“It’s a strong opportunity (for teachers) to bounce ideas off of their colleagues in different districts,” he said.

In addition, approximately 16 vendors set up tables to display the latest, most engaging technologies and educational resources to wow even the most old-school instructors.