A r c h i v e d  I n f o r m a t i o n

Digital Divide Projects

Technology Literacy Challenge Fund
$425 million in FY2000; $450 million requested for FY2001 (a $25 million increase)
TLCF provides funds to states, which award 95 percent as sub-grants to districts to help carry out state and local education technology plans, and to help bridge the digital divide in our nation's public schools. Districts with the highest poverty and greatest need for technology receive priority. This year $425 million was awarded to 50 states, Washington, DC, Puerto Rico and the territories that in turn hold competitions to select approximately 3,200 school districts to receive funds. States and districts have substantial discretion over the use of funds to meet the needs identified in their technology plans. Awards range from several thousand to several million dollars. Many have focused substantial effort on professional development. States and districts are encouraged to coordinate the use of Technology Literacy Challenge Fund grants with other funding sources. For more information, contact Charles Lovett at (202)401-0039 or your State coordinator, listed at http://www.ed.gov/Technology/statetech.html, or visit the Web site at http://www.ed.gov/Technology/TLCF/.

Illinois: Maine Township High School District #207 is a three-school high school district that recently experienced a dramatic increase in the numbers of culturally diverse and economically disadvantaged students entering its schools. The TLCF subgrant was targeted to those students who entered high school two grade levels or more behind in math and/or reading. Maine West High School is approximately 30% Hispanic and Maine East High School has 73% students who do not speak English at home (43 different languages). As a result of the TLCF, data show that at-risk students targeted to receive technology have made significant gains in reading.

The faculty in the district as well as local partners (elementary districts whose students attend Maine East and West) participated in numerous engaged learning workshops, technology training, curriculum design and mapping initiatives to improve the school curriculum. Partnerships with the Chicago Historical Society, National Louis University, and Northeastern Illinois University provided outstanding staff development opportunities for teachers and learning opportunities for students. Northeastern Illinois University provided tutors for at-risk students in engaged learning classes. Another partner, AVENEW, provided free Internet accounts for up to 400 students.

North Dakota: Kindred Public School and neighboring Richland Public School are two rural schools in eastern North Dakota. Kindred School had a well-developed technology implementation program they had planned and supported over several years. Richland School, however, was not as advanced. A joint TLCF grant used Kindred's experience to train Richland teachers through a combination of onsite sessions and telementoring. Before this project, no Richland teachers were using Internet resources in their classrooms, or using information problem solving in their instruction; this percentage is now over 60%. Many groups of teachers in both districts are now involved in cooperative telementorships in different configurations, including teacher-teacher/professional, teacher-student, student-professional and classroom-professional. These relationships provide role modeling, guidance and support. As part of their professional development, teachers rewrite lessons and post them for their colleagues to see and use. The results of this project have been phenomenal. The technology base of the two schools has been equalized, their teachers have access to similar resources, training uses the best resources of both schools, and new learning experiences have been made available to their students.

Technology Innovation Challenge Grants
$115 million in FY 1999; $146.2 million in FY 2000
TICG provides five-year funding for school districts, in partnership with businesses, community organizations, and educational researchers, to implement, evaluate, and document innovative applications of information and computer technologies to systemic educational reform. Each consortium of partners must include at last one local educational agency with a high percentage or number of children living below the poverty line. These grants, 99 of which have been awarded since 1995, are a stimulus for creative applications of technology in support of high standards for all students. For more information, contact Jenelle Leonard at (202) 219-2200 or visit the Web site at http://www.ed.gov/Technology/challenge.

Dove, Delaware: Capital School District
The Capital School District and its partners are establishing and improving home-school connections in order to improve student learning in the elementary grades. Use of interactive instructional programming to support Delaware's core curriculum standards in Reading/Language Arts, Mathematics, Science and Social Studies is effected by placing four set-top computer workstations in every elementary classroom and one station in every child's home. The project addresses the following needs: (1) increasing student learning time; (2) increasing parental involvement; (3) offering opportunities for staff to participate in comprehensive professional development programs; and, (4) addressing equity concerns across-the-board. Project partners include Comcast Cable Communications, the Lightspan Partnership, and the Cable Television Association of Maryland, Delaware, and the District of Columbia.

Preparing Tomorrow's Teachers to Use Technology (PT3)
$75 million in FY1999, $75 million in FY2000 (no increase)
PT3 is a national teacher preparation reform initiative to ensure that all future teachers are technology-proficient educators who are well prepared to teach 21st Century students. The following grants were awarded fiscal year 1999: 138 Capacity Building grants, averaging $122,000 for one year, that enable consortium partners to develop a comprehensive technology-based teacher preparation program; 64 Implementation grants, averaging $390,000 for three years, supporting colleges, schools, and state agencies that are implementing innovations to prepare technology-proficient educators; and 23 Catalyst grants, averaging $640,000 for three years, to support national, regional, or state consortia with the expertise to stimulate large-scale teacher preparation improvements. In 2000, a new competition with a $48 million budget funded approximately 80 Implementation grantees and 15 Catalyst grantees. For a complete list of the 225 grants or for more information on this program and the grant competition, visit the PT3 website at: http://www.ed.gov/teachtech/, call (202) 502-7788, or send an e-mail to teacher_technology@ed.gov.

Learning Anytime Anywhere Partnerships (LAAP)
$10 million in FY1999, $15 million in FY2000
LAAP seeks to bridge the "digital divide" by creating new postsecondary and career training learning opportunities for under served learners. LAAP supports partnerships among colleges and universities, employers, technology companies, and other organizations to create postsecondary programs that deliver quality distance education not limited by time or place.

Examples of LAAP-funded projects that seek to breakdown the "digital divide" include:

• The Hispanic Educational Telecommunications System (HETS) widens the access of Hispanics/Latinos to postsecondary education and training opportunities by networking Hispanic serving colleges and universities, faculty, scholars, mentors, and professionals through a virtual community for learning, collaboration, and support. The Virtual Learning and Support Plaza that HETS is now building with its corporate partner expects to provide new learning opportunities to 100,000 Hispanic learners to address a severely underrepresented group in higher education.
• PBS Adult Learning Service and five university, school, public broadcasting, and industry partners addresses the growing educational needs of the non-English speaking U.S. population through online instruction. CONNECT will couple PBS's existing national technology project (Literacy Link) with new modalities of ESL instruction and field testing in Texas, Kentucky, and Nevada, before being launched nationally, to provide non-English speaking adults with the skills to enter postsecondary education and the workplace.
• Arizona State University and its two corporate partners provide adult learners, including recent GED recipients, individuals with disabilities, and individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds with low-cost, high-quality Cisco networking instruction and industry certification through the e-Learning Network. Community colleges and other access sites deliver a combination of online delivery with human mentoring, virtual laboratories, and assessment.
• The National Telecommuting Institute and its business, vocational rehabilitation, and national partners represent the first attempt to provide training and career opportunities for individuals with severe disabilities in a highly interactive, "anytime anywhere" training format for the newly emerging virtual customer service jobs, which can be performed from the home.

In LAAP's FY 2000, a $4.3 million fund supported approximately 12-14 innovative partnership grants. For more information, contact the LAAP Coordinator, Brian Lekander at (202) 502-7520, Karen Levitan at (202) 502-7520, Joan Krejci at (202) 502-7518, or e-mail LAAP@ed.gov, or visit the website at http://www.ed.gov/offices/OPE/FIPSE/LAAP

Developing Hispanic Serving Institutions
This grant program helps eligible Hispanic-serving institutions of higher education expand their capacity to serve Hispanic and low-income students. Funds may be used for activities such as faculty development; improving administrative and fund management; developing and improving student services; and improving student services. DHSI awarded approximately $42,250,000 in FY 2000, with an average yearly award of a five-year grant of $408,000. Contact: Jorge Diaz at (202) 502-7777 or Jorge.Diaz@ed.gov for further information.