Abstract

Background
The 1998 Technology Integration Challenge Grant is a project that has impacted more than 375,000 students and 50,000 teachers. The project focuses on statewide, high-quality professional development that fosters the appropriate integration of technology, curriculum, teaching strategies, learning activities and student evaluation. Partners in the development of the project initiative includes the State Board of Education, the State Department of Education, 55 Local Education Agencies, the EdVenture Group, Higher education institutions and profit and non-profit organizations.

Phase 9, the training component of the project, provides teachers with the guidance, time and strategies necessary for the effective integration of technology in the classroom. Phase 9 training includes a one-day training session for school administrators and a five-day integration workshop for teams of three teachers. Both encompass hands-on training, equipment distribution and the use of a teacher created web site, The Solution Site (http://www.thesolutionsite.com), for technology integration projects and lesson plans.

The need for this type of professional development has been determined collaboratively by those who participated in and facilitated its development. Teachers have expressed a need for tools, time and strategies for integrating technology into the curriculum. This program recognizes and addresses those needs in a way that will benefit the instruction methods of teachers and the learning process of students.