Apply today for Compaq’s Teaching with Technology Grant Program!

Compaq’s 1999-2000 Teaching with Technology Grant Program recognizes K-12 educators from U.S. public, private and Department of Defense schools for their effective uses of technology to create challenging and inspiring learning opportunities for students.

The grant program provides educators national recognition for their work, the opportunity to share best practices with teachers around the country, and a chance to win Compaq products for their schools.

As an expansion of our national partnership with Compaq, TECH CORPS has been chosen to disseminate information, solicit applications, and facilitate the judging process, utilizing its vast industry resources. TECH CORPS will recruit distinguished leaders in education and technology to serve as judges for the program and will manage the application selection process. TECH CORPS is proud to be working with Compaq on this special program.

For more information or to apply online, visit: http://www.compaq.com/education/k12/success/devgrant_2000.html. The deadline for submissions is April 15, 2000. Winners will be notified in May 2000.

TECH CORPS Executive Director Karen Smith Receives the Impact 30 Award from eSchool News

With the statement “Technology doesn’t transform education; people do,” eSchool News has named the 30 most influential people in education technology. TECH CORPS executive director Karen Smith is #9! Karen received special recognition for TECH CORPS’ development of techs4schools, an online mentoring program that provides technology mentors to rural or underserved school districts.

While featured in their print magazine, their selection has also been posted online at http://www.eschoolnews.org/impact30/ for you to read. We’re pleased to have TECH CORPS represented!

TECH CORPS / CIS Partnership Aims to Bridge Digital Divide

TECH CORPS and Communities In Schools, Inc., the nation’s largest stay-in-school network, headquartered in Alexandria, VA, will begin working together to support students in schools where each has a presence in the community. The two organizations signed a Memorandum of Agreement that calls for TECH CORPS to help introduce CIS to its school sites, and for CIS to do the same. Additionally, TECH CORPS and CIS will make mutual plans to enter communities new to both, and to fund special projects to advance their missions.

CIS’s mission is to champion the connection of needed community resources with schools to help young people successfully learn, stay in school, and prepare for life. The CIS network is in 243 school districts in 32 states and the District of Columbia, serving over 1,500 schools. More than 1 million children and their families have access to services and resources thanks to Communities In Schools. The organization’s strong commitment to helping students overcome the digital divide makes TECH CORPS a natural partner, said CIS, Inc. CEO Janet Longmore. “Our success with youth in this area depends on mobilizing the community’s technology resources in exactly the way that TECH CORPS champions.”

InDefense, Inc. Donates Virus Detection Software
to TECH CORPS

InDefense, Inc. has donated 20,000 product licenses for its InDefense Virus Protection System to TECH CORPS. These licenses will be used both internally to protect chapter offices, and externally through distribution to TECH CORPS schools. InDefense is also making another 10,000 licenses available to individual TECH CORPS volunteers in appreciation of their work.

“TECH CORPS is fulfilling an important need to our nation’s school system, and we are proud to be in a position to assist them in their mission”, said Steve Garfink, CEO of InDefense. For information on the InDefense virus protection system, visit www.indefense.com

Cruise Control Internet Guide for Kids and Families

On September 26th and 27th Ameritech shipped 14,000 Cruise Control CD-ROMs to schools in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio and Wisconsin. Cruise Control, an Ameritech.net program, offers teachers and families a variety of safety-focused resources, including free CD-ROMs, a web site, seminars and comprehensive teacher training through TECH CORPS volunteers. Please visit www.ameritech.com/education/cruisecontrol for additional information.

Comp/USA Hearst Teach-in

In April and May, Comp USA, Hearst Publications, Epson and TECH CORPS collaborated to sponsor Internet workshops utilizing webTeacher’s guided tour of the Internet. Parents and teachers from Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles and San Francisco participated in the hands-on training seminars. Workshops were taught jointly by TECH CORPS members and Comp USA trainers. WebTeacher’s in-depth tutorial lessons in homepage development, information security and accessibility, and the integration of Internet training into the curriculum of K-12 classrooms is available on-line at www.webteacher.org.

International Symposium on Information

Executive Director Karen Smith delivered a keynote speech at the International Symposium on Information in Tokyo this month. The symposium is held annually and attended by approximately 1,000 members from Japan’s corporate sector. This year’s conference focused on the need to integrate and incorporate technology into Japan’s classrooms. TECH CORPS was chosen by the “Yomiuri”, a major Tokyo newspaper, to illustrate the United State’s effort to promote technological literacy through strategic partnerships between the public and private sectors.

Connellsville, Pennsylvania

On April 9, 375 teachers received hands-on Internet training utilizing webTeacher and Electric Library at state-of-the-art facilities in Connellsville, Pennsylvania. Instructors for the training included TECH CORPS state leader Wes Vogel, Connellsville High School teachers and California State University students. Connellsville Director of Federal Programs Bill Wilson facilitated the partnerships between Armstrong Cable, 3Com, and the Connellsville Area School District.

Web Night 2.0

TECH CORPS Rhode Island will host a gala reception at Johnson and Wales University on June 2, 1999. Business leaders, students and educators are invited to join in the celebration of teaching and learning with technology. Web Night 2.0 activities include hors d’oeuvres and wine, a showcase displaying projects by Rhode Island students and teachers and, a school-to-career technology fair. For more information please call (401)454-1061 or email tcri@ride.ri.net.

Addy Awards for TECH CORPS Ads

Weber Harris Witt created ads for TECH CORPS that have been recognized by the American Advertising Federation. Addy Awards will be presented for three creative ads in California, March 12, 1999. As the largest advertising awards program in the United States, the AAF includes 14 districts across the country.

The award-winning ads &#822#8220;Little Green Men,” “Grants,” and “Blackboard” can be viewed at techcorps.org/ads.

The Addy Awards program is a national competition conducted annually by the American Advertising Federation. Weber Harris Witt, an integrated marketing communications agency, is located in San Francisco.

Carol Hyatt, Task Force Chair for TECH CORPS Maryland,
Has Been Honored by the Montgomery County Board of Education

The award for Pioneer Individual was given to Carol M. Hyatt, a pioneer in the introduction of telecommunications throughout the school system, for her leadership in developing the global access plan, membership on the global access oversight committee and the Montgomery County Technology Education Advisory Council, among other important contributions. Click here to access the TECH CORPS Maryland web site.

Education Technology: The Public-Private Partnership
Washington, DC September 9, 1998

TECH CORPS was invited to exhibit in the Dirksen Senate Office Building for the second year in a row. Videoconferences connected several senators with students and teachers in schools in their respective states. webTeacher was demonstrated to attendees. Click here to view these activities on our Washington DC site.

PictureTel provided equipment and support for the videoconferences, and Gateway 2000 supplied a computer. Click here for details.

Thanks to Gateway 2000 for Continuing Support

We are pleased to announce that Gateway 2000 is continuing as a TECH CORPS Patron for the coming year. In addition, Gateway 2000 has generously donated computers for our use at COMDEX spring and the Educational Technology event in Washington DC.

TECH CORPS Leadership in the Classroom Awards
National Educational Computing Conference ’98
San Diego

TECH CORPS presented Leadership in the Classroom awards to four educators who have successfully integrated technology into their classrooms. The following award recipients were selected by the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE), a national leader in supporting teachers and technology.

Terry Bailey, Pinkerton Academy, New Hampshire
Lindy Bingham, Conroe High School, Texas
Bill Lee, Winifred Public School, Montana
Peter Wholihan, Sts. Peter and Paul School, Saint Thomas, Virgin Islands

Equipment awards for each teacher included:

a HiNote laptop donated by Digital Equipment Corporation;
a camera and scanner from Polaroid Corporation;
a Micro Webserver from Cisco Systems; and
a year of Internet access from MCI

See press release for complete details.

MCI’s Smart-Surfing Workshops
Parents and Children Learn How to Navigate the Net Safely

TECH CORPS volunteers will participate as trainers in MCI’s Internet safety workshops in Washington DC, Los Angeles, Chicago, New York and Atlanta. A typical workshop consists of two 90-minute sessions on a Saturday; one in the morning and one in the afternoon. Each site will accommodate 50 families, 150-200 people.
TECH CORPS Georgia has moved into a 10,000-square-foot, warehouse-office facility, which will become the central location for a computer refurbishment program. Three rooms have been dedicated to computer training for teachers, and future plans include creating a “Teachers’ Technology Resource Center” where they will explore the classroom of the future.

TECH CORPS Rhode Island Web Night

“Web Night,” a gala event hosted by Brown University, was held in support of TECH CORPS’ initiative to help Rhode Island schools meet their escalating technology needs. K-12 students from around the state interacted with guests and demonstrated creative classroom projects. Digital Equipment Corporation donated two desktop computers for the best Internet project teams’ classrooms.

E. Gordon Gee, president of Brown University; Patrick Canning, partner in KPMG Peat Marwick LLP; and Rodger B. Dowdell, CEO and president of American Power Conversion were co-hosts for an evening of Internet activities in the CIT building.

Guest speakers included Evan Schwartz, author of best seller Webonomics, Rob Atkinson, former executive director of the RI Economic Policy Council, John Gage, co-founder of Sun Microsystems and Gary Beach, founder of US TECH CORPS and Senior Vice President of International Data Group.

TECH CORPS Vermont

This new chapter is off to a rousing start. Susan Johnson, their energetic state coordinator, has received a grant for a “Telementoring” project. This program connects 7th and 8th grade girls with women working in technology.

NCTA webTeacher Workshops

Affiliates of the National Cable Television Association are hosting all day webTeacher workshops for teachers in various locations across the country. The first of these workshops took place in Washington, DC and New York.

The Internet Driver’s Ed Workshops
Co-sponsored by
AOL and The American Library Association

The Internet Driver’s Ed program helps raise awareness of the safety tools parents and teachers can use to ensure a safe online experience for children.

TECH CORPS volunteers will participate in a series of workshops throughout the country. Events will occur on Saturdays in Chicago, Boston, Denver, St. Louis, Miami, San Francisco and Dallas.

TECH CORPS Honors

TECH CORPS web site nominated for a GII Award — Third Annual Global Information Infrastructure US Awards

GII awards honor people in all areas of society and industry who use the Internet and network technology to create extraordinary results. GII awards honorees represent best practices and new models in a new era of knowledge and communication.

TECH CORPS Web Site recognized by Classroom Connect

“As technological advances increase and the Internet becomes more and more of a necessity in K-12 schools around the world, educators and administrators need help not only in obtaining the essential computer hardware and software, but in training schools to use the Net and other technologies effectively. That’s where TECH CORPS comes in.”

TECH CORPS Honors John P. Morgridge of Cisco Systems With TECH CORPS Leadership in Technology Award

BEDFORD, MA — March 25, 1998 — John P. Morgridge, Chairman of the Board of Cisco Systems, Inc., received the TECH CORPS Leadership in Technology Award from TECH CORPS at AIM Technology’s Spring ’98 Hot Iron Awards ceremony held at The National Press Club in Washington, DC.

Complete details in the press release.

“Building a Community of Learners”
A TECH CORPS Hawaii Project

Students, teachers and community members participated in the “Hawaii High Performance computing Challenge” exhibition. The Challenge, a learning experience and competition, was sponsored by TECH CORPS Hawaii High Performance Computing Center, Hawaii State Department of Education, and other organizations.

For complete details, please click here.

TECH CORPS National Sponsor

We welcome Cisco Systems, Inc. as a national sponsor. We look forward to collaborating with them at the state and national levels to offer new training opportunities and resources to benefit TECH CORPS volunteers and the schools in which they offer their time and expertise.

New Jersey Founders

The Prudential Corporation, Bell Atlantic New Jersey, KPMG Peat Marwick and The New Jersey Chamber of Commerce were the founding organizations for TECH CORPS New Jersey. Together the four Gigabyte Sponsors have contributed nearly $250,000 in cash and in-kind services.

The Chamber of Commerce’s support consists of in-kind services which includes providing office space and amenities. Other in-kind support includes hosting of the TECH CORPS New Jersey discussion forums and online registrationa databases (Prudential), printing of promotional materials (Bell Atlantic) and piloting a virtual help desk project (KPMG).

TECH CORPS Rhode Island Responds

TECH CORPS Rhode Island just launched a Virtual Help Desk for K-12 district level technology specialists, a group often overlooked when it comes to support. A team of 20 resource people from 14 different companies, universities and agencies will answer technical questions and have discussions with the 67 school district technology specialists in Rhode Island. They will use an email listserve and post the dialogs on a website.

TECH CORPS In the News

Read about TECH CORPS New Jersey in The Philadelphia Inquirier. Information about the chapter’s sponsorship and activities is featured in “tech.life@inquirer”.

“Don’t Throw That Old PC Away” in the January ’98 issue of PC World includes an interview with a TECH CORPS Rhode Island volunteer. Find out how he and his company demonstrate their commitment to education and preparing Rhode Island’s students for the 21st century.

Thanks to a partnership between TECH CORPS and the cable television industry, teachers across the country now have at their fingertips a free, on-line tutorial called webTeacher. Written by teachers and for teachers, this self-paced, step-by-step source for Web knowledge provides both basic and in-depth instruction for using the World Wide Web – and it’s available 24 hours a day via the Internet.

E-mail, video conferencing, chat rooms, Web page design, Internet safety, curriculum searches – you choose the topic you want to explore, you choose your own pace, you choose the depth of knowledge you desire, and webTeacher guides you through the information. Then, because webTeacher is an interactive guide, you get to put your new knowledge to work immediately through the online exercises and activities.

webTeacher…it’s your own private Web tutor!

In case you missed our previous articles, please click here.

“Year 2000”
Workshops and Kits
TECH CORPS New Jersey/Prudential Partnership

Prudential’s Year 2000 program manager developed a “Year 2000” kit to help schools assess their technological vulnerability in a step-by-step process. The kit is offered in conjunction with a series of workshops organized by TECH CORPS.

See TECH CORPS New Jersey web site for details.

Donovan Group To Contribute Public Relations Services To TECH CORPS

NORTHBOROUGH, MA — March 18, 1998 — Donovan Group will contribute public relations services to TECH CORPS, a national non-profit organization dedicated to giving America’s students a chance to have the most technologically advanced education possible.

“TECH CORPS has many new and exciting things already underway in 1998-and we’re convinced the best is yet to come,” said Michael Donovan, Donovan Group President. “We are honored to be part of the TECH CORPS team.”

Donovan Group’s unique integrated marketing strategy is successfully meeting the needs of its high technology, financial services, and business-to-business clients by combining advertising, public relations, marketing, Internet, and design counsel and services. Donovan Group, a $20 million agency based in Northborough, MA is on the World Wide Web at www.donovangroup.com.

Complete details in the press release.

National TECH CORPS Week

October 22-28 — It was a great week! Catch up on what happened by reading the Special Edition of the TECH CORPS News.

Cox Communications — 1st Cable Company to Sponsor a State

TECH CORPS Rhode Island’s newest sponsor is Cox Communications, one of the largest cable companies in New England. With a cash contribution of $10,000 plus $10,000 in-kind services, Cox joins American Power Conversion as a major supporter of TECH CORPS in Rhode Island. Cox has a long standing history of community involvement and educational support. Watch the TECH CORPS – Cox Communications partnership for exciting things this year.

Intel & TECH CORPS
Join Forces
West Virginia Students Benefit

In a partnership initiative with TECH CORPS West Virginia, Intel Corporation donated more than 8,000 200 MHz Pentium processors with MMX technology to benefit West Virginia schools. Ann Brotherton, chair of TECH CORPS – WV said “This donation represents an approximate value of about $2M and results from the efforts of Intel, TECH CORPS, the governor’s office, the State Department of Education, and the four companies – IBM, Jostens Learning, Compaq, and Pomeroy Computer Resources – that supply technology in our schools.”

For more information about this outstanding industry/education partnership, please click here.

A Winning Story

The CyberEd Tour: Taking the Internet on the Road by Karen Smith, the Executive Director of TECH CORPS, is one of the winners of the National School Network’s Call for Stories Competition. The winning stories cover a range of activities demonstrating that schools and their communities can draw closer through educational technologies.

TECH CORPS and Technology Visionaries Lauded by
Vice President Gore

Sudbury, MA — “TECH CORPS has been so successful because you have put your roots down deeply into your communities…,” stated Vice President Gore. “You were there yesterday, you’ll be there tomorrow and after that. You’ve helped schools from (the) beginning…..and you’ve stayed there to assist the teachers and the students so that they can optimize their use of the newly available technology. Educational technology is about so much more than connecting computers. It’s about connecting people with their communities, connecting people with one another.”