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OLYMPIA — June 9, 2009 - A total of 200 grants, each worth $11,100 for a two-year period, will be awarded to teachers eager to learn more about successful teaching strategies that integrate technology into class activities, the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction announced today.
The winning applications came from teachers interested in the new Teaching and Learning in the 21st Century Grant Program – a professional development course designed to merge effective instructional and assessment techniques with real-world technologies.
The program is structured in two phases: a hands-on training that develops strong proficiencies with digital technologies, and the study and practice of instructional strategies that integrate technology into standards-based curricula. Teachers will learn how to shift classroom-based activities from teacher-led to student-centered.
"The majority of teachers need the basics of effective technology integration," said Dennis Small, OSPI Educational Technology Director. “This training starts at the beginning. The course is designed to introduce powerful new instructional practices that can take advantage of a technology-rich learning environment, which is step one on the journey toward 21st century teaching and learning.”
Grant eligibility is based on district location and demographics. Districts must meet the following federal eligibility requirements:
- Highest percentage of children from families with incomes below the poverty line (the percentage of children ages 5-17 must be higher than the statewide average of 13.93 percent, as measured by the latest census), AND
- Serve one or more schools identified for improvement, OR
- Did not meet Annual Yearly Progress, OR
- Have a substantial need for assistance with the purchase and use of technology.
The Teaching and Learning in the 21st Century Grant Program is federally funded through the Enhancing Education Through Technology program, a component of Title II, Part D of the federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act. (ESEA, passed in 1965, was re-authorized in 2002 by the No Child Left Behind Act.)
"Technology integration is not an end in itself," Small said. "The hardware and software are just two elements of the learning environment. The key to powerful teaching and learning is to couple the right technology with the right instructional strategy and build every learning activity around strong standards-based curricula. That’s what the Teaching and Learning in the 21st Century grants are designed to do."
Money for the grants will come from the federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. Awardees will be given $7,600 in 2009-10 and $3,500 in 2010-11.
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