Pleasant Hills Middle School soon will be $20,000 richer in software and technology, thanks to one of its teachers.

Jennifer Cramer, who teaches seventh-grade science, submitted one of 101 winning essays nationwide in the second annual Hope for Education contest.

"I was speechless. I felt as if I had won the lottery," said Mrs. Cramer, 28, after learning about the prize in a telephone call from a contest representative in October.

The competition was created by Samsung Electronics Co. to enhance children's education through the latest technology. This year, Samsung was in partnership with Microsoft Corp.

The 100-word essays from pupils, teachers, parents or anyone wanting to aid a particular school, addressed the question, "How will the growing use of technology in the classroom benefit students in the future?"

The grand prize of $200,000 was awarded to a North Carolina high school.

The other 100 winners received $20,000 worth of Microsoft software and Samsung technology for their respective schools.

While the software choices were limited to one of two packages totaling $10,189, the technology "menu" featured items which could be selected, and in various quantities, to a total of $10,000.

Mrs. Cramer and Principal Suzan Petersen chose five high-definition television sets, eight combination DVD/VCR players, four digital camcorders and two multifunction print/copy/fax/scanning machines.

Mrs. Cramer said the latter item, costing $500 each, would fill a great need for the library because a new copier and scanner were cut from its budget.

Mrs. Cramer said that, because she worked at Indiana University of Pennsylvania's College of Education as an instructional designer and multimedia specialist before the middle school, she understood the need for technology at both levels.

"This will be a great thing to write about," she thought after learning of the contest in the online eSchool News, which focuses on technology in education.

In her essay, Mrs. Cramer cited critical thinking and real-time assessments as "possible with the new technology in today's classroom."

Pupils are encouraged to collect, organize and analyze information through electronic devices such as personal digital assistants, she wrote, and to maintain accurate records with electronic journaling.

The other Pittsburgh area winner was St. Sebastian School in Ross.

Both area winners will receive a Samsung digital audio player.