Media Contacts:
Dr. Lisa Grable, 919/515-3054
Anna Turnage, College of Education, 919/755-1677

Oct. 16, 2003

Education Grant Will Help Teachers Use Technology

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

A North Carolina State University College of Education coalition has been awarded a $525,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Education that will be used in a $1.06 million project to better prepare teachers to use technology in the classroom.

The Preparing Tomorrow’s Teachers to Use Technology (PT3) grant program is meant to help teachers become more adept at using technology in their teaching.

The College of Education has teamed with Wake County Public Schools, The National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, SAS, and the Concord Consortium for a three-year project entitled “MiddleData: A North Carolina Consortium to Prepare Future Teachers to Become Middle Grades Technology Teacher Leaders.” The coalition matched the federal grant to reach the $1.06 million goal for the project.

The project is designed to achieve the following goals:

• Improve faculty and student proficiencies in advanced educational technologies
• Influence data-driven decision skills in faculty and students
• Redesign courses for undergraduate middle school licensure in accordance with No Child Left Behind (NCLB) guidelines
• Increase pre-service teachers’ understanding of diverse learners through virtual field experiences with master teachers in rural, underserved classrooms
• Institutionalize and disseminate evidence-based best-teaching practices within and beyond North Carolina.

Since 1999, PT3 has awarded more than 400 grants to education consortia to help address this challenge. The College of Education was one of 25 educational institutions in the country to receive a grant this year.

“It is the mission of the College of Education not only to produce graduates well prepared for the challenges of the classroom and highly qualified to teach in their chosen discipline, but also to produce technologically proficient teachers who are able to ensure all students are competent in the use of technology to support academic achievement,” says Dr. Lisa Grable, coalition leader and director of the Learning Technologies Resource Center at the College of Education. “This program helps us fulfill that mission.”

-30-