IBM today announced a $1.5 million grant program designed to promote higher-quality training for local teachers by creating a technology-rich collaboration between teacher education programs and the public schools they serve.
The technology-based initiative will link the Clark County School District, the Nevada Department of Education and the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. The project involves integrating IBM Learning Village tools into the BLOCK Program, a new field-based initiative which includes methods courses and practica.
The IBM grant is part of a $15 million Reinventing Education grant program announced today that will pave the way for teachers at more than 20 leading schools of education in nine states to receive new levels of quality training and professional development that help meet the requirements of the President's No Child Left Behind Act.
"For nearly a decade, IBM has dedicated both its expertise and technical resources to help crack some of the toughest problems facing our public schools. This latest grant opens a new dimension in that quest," said David Asay, IBM's Senior Location Executive and Senior State Executive in Nevada. "It's obvious that the schools have little chance of achieving at world-class levels if we can't equip and sustain a world-class teaching force. This grant will help our students by helping their teachers -- with better training, professional development and technology deployment for the people we're asking to lead in every classroom."
Through IBM Learning Village -- created during the first round of Reinventing Education grants which began in 1995 -- teachers can build and share standards-based lesson plans, implement proven instructional practices and strategies, and seek answers from peers and teacher educators in other institutions. The online tools were further refined during the second phase of Reinventing Education in 1997 and will now be incorporated into colleges and universities of education with the most recent round of grants. All told, IBM has invested $70 million in its school-reform program.
In Clark County, the BLOCK Program brings together university faculty, pre-service teachers, experienced teachers and principals into learning teams that will use IBM Learning Village for lesson planning, sharing effective practices and mentoring. Pre-service teachers will create electronic portfolios that incorporate video and other materials to demonstrate their progress, and the project will use these to document the link between student learning and teacher performance.
"The Clark County school district is pleased to participate with the University of Nevada, Las Vegas and IBM to integrate this technology as a tool to support student achievement," said Dr. Christy Falba, director of literacy and elementary instructional technology, Clark County School District."
UNLV serves 1,600 undergraduate students in its college of education and an additional 800 students are enrolled at the graduate level. More than 80 percent of its students become Clark County teachers after earning their degrees.
"We are very excited about participating in this project with IBM and the Clark County School District," said UNLV President Carol C. Harter. "UNLV's College of Education is pursuing a number of innovative programs aimed at meeting the needs of the Clark County School District, and we welcome this opportunity to work with IBM and the school district to contribute to the professional development of teachers."
The Reinventing Education grant team -- the school district and UNLV -- will receive approximately $1.5 million in resources from IBM in the form of research and technical expertise, technology, and cash. Phase one helps each partner build and deploy a common Web-based platform to support new instructional practices and strategies.
"IBM's grant gives us a wonderful opportunity to refine communication among UNLV teacher education candidates and CCSD classroom teachers," said Drs. Quinn, Olafson, Giorgis and Mahler. "With the help of IBM we will be able to expand the BLOCK program to include additional schools, more teacher education candidates, and as a result, have the potential to influence the learning of a greater number of school children. We are thrilled to have the support of IBM in this enterprise."
Expanding the Reach of Reinventing Education
Since 1994, Reinventing Education has been the centerpiece of IBM's global commitment to educational improvement, supporting school reform efforts and higher student achievement through the development of innovative technology solutions.
An independent evaluation conducted by the Education Development Center, Inc. in 2001, found Reinventing Education to have "a significant positive effect on student achievement" and documented "substantial gains in performance for students in grades 7 - 11 as a result of Reinventing Education solutions breaking down significant barriers to high academic achievement."
For more information on IBM's Reinventing Education program, visit www.ibm.com/ibm/ibmgives.
