Alliance+
Internet in Education Project
A Model Internet-in-Education
Teacher Training Program
(A PDF version of the Alliance+
flyer is available below)
Alliance+ is a Department of
Education funded project that prepares teachers to integrate
technology into the curriculum in innovative ways that enhance
student learning and support higher levels of achievement.
Alliance+
unites the expertise of 35 state, local, and higher education
partners and builds on a training model that has been proven
through extensive experience in the state of New Jersey. Alliance+
has been successfully implemented in Cleveland (OH), Phoenix
(AZ), and Miami (FL). The project addresses three key needs
shared by the participating states of Arizona, Florida, and
Ohio. These include the need to:
-
Enhance
and support student learning in core content areas,
-
Improve
teacher content knowledge across the curriculum, and
-
Provide
leadership through a network of locally distributed peer
experts.
Alliance+ focuses
on developing the abilities of classroom teachers
while creating a training and support infrastructure designed
to have a lasting, systemic impact beyond the life of the
grant. Drawing on successful experience gained from over ten
years of helping teachers use technology in the classroom,
Alliance+ employs four discrete approaches in providing teachers
with professional development. These approaches include the
use of:
-
Supporting
materials in a variety of formats,
-
The train-the-trainer
outreach model,
-
Continuous
follow-up and support, and
-
Community-college/K-12
school district partnerships.
Central to Alliance+ is the Savvy
Cyber Teacher workshop series--three 30-hour in-service courses
that address progressive applications of the Internet in K-12
education. Faculty from Maricopa Community Colleges, Cuyahoga
Community College, and Miami-Dade Community College participate
in special workshops that prepare them to train mentor teachers
from their corresponding local school districts (Phoenix,
Cleveland, and Miami, respectively). These mentor teachers,
in turn, use Alliance+ resources to provide training for colleagues
in their home schools.
Through both on-site and online
training activities, Alliance+ will reach approximately 9,000
K-12 classroom teachers from 19 school districts, having a
direct impact on over a quarter million children. Support
for this ambitious initiative includes an estimated $12 million
in matching funds and in-kind services.
Exponential Results
The Alliance+ Class was
the most practical and helpful of any Internet integration
classes I've taken. It helped me launch several projects
in the classroom last year. We did a collaborative project
with the San Diego Zoo, and we learned the latest treatments
for 20 different diseases by contacting experts at the CDC
(Center for Disease Control) in Atlanta. This year we plan
to do more math and economics with our Ontario Friends.
Regina Bender, Mentee Teacher, St. Vincent De Paul High
School, Cuyahoga County, OH
The collaborative options, once
projected, are now recognized as endless teaching and learning
opportunities through Alliance+ project efforts. In
the case of Miami-Dade County Public Schools (M-DCPS) and
Miami-Dade Community College
(M-DCC), 48 Miami-DCPS middle school teachers have been trained
as mentor teachers by M-DCC professors, and, in turn, they
have trained 736 of their colleagues.
In Arizona, Maricopa Community
College District (MCCCD) started delivery of Alliance+ training
and services to 12 elementary school districts, one high school
district, all 10 Maricopa County Community Colleges, and Arizona
State University. In this 3rd year of project funding, MCCCD
has developed collaborative relationships with 10 additional
public school districts, three parochial schools, one charter
school, and a private university. To date, MCCCD has trained
134 elementary and high school staff as mentor trainers. These
mentors have trained more than 650 K-12 classroom teachers.
New Prospects
Reaching towards new horizons,
Miami-Dade Community College Alliance+ Project partners are
introducing the Savvy Cyber Teacher curriculum materials as
a faculty training class to train professors in the Schools
of Education at Florida International University and Barry
University. These professors are responsible for pre-service
teacher training to over 5000 student education majors.
In response to local school needs,
the Implementation Specialist at Maricopa Community College
District has been working with Arizona State University's
College of Education and Stevens Institute of Technology toward
the development of an English as a Second Language (ESL) version
of the Savvy curriculum. The new version consists of five
additional modules and will add 15 hours of instruction. The
ESL version is being approved for three hours of ASU credit
and will count for state endorsement and certification.
Alliance+ Rollout Guide
Download
the Alliance+ Rollout Guide in Word Format (112kb)
The Alliance+ Rollout Guide includes,
among other information, questionnaires that will assist community
colleges and school districts determine their community’s
readiness to participate in Alliance+. This document also
includes cost-to-participate information, job descriptions,
etc.
For Additional Information
Visit http://k12science.ati.stevens-tech.edu/alliance/
or contact:
Edward J. Leach
Vice President, Service Division
League for Innovation in the Community College
4505 East Chandler Boulevard, Suite 250
Phoenix, Arizona 85048-7690
(480) 705-8200 x233
leach@league.org
or
Edward A. Friedman
Director, CIESE
Stevens Institute of Technology
Castle on the Hudson
Hoboken, NJ 07030
(201) 216-5188
friedman@stevens-tech.edu
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