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Press Release: June 17, 2004  A video of this press conference is available.
The overall goal of the TIP initiative is to increase student achievement in the core subject areas of reading/language arts, mathematics, science and social studies. This project is part of a groundbreaking research study commissioned by the US Department of Education to study the impact of technology immersion on student achievement. Starting in fall 2004, every student and teacher at Floydada JHS will receive an Apple iBook laptop computer for use at school and home. Teachers will participate in extensive professional development training prior to the start of classes in August 2004, as well as continued training during the school year. Floydada ISD is hiring a "Technology Integration Coach" to provide on-site support person for teachers at Floydada JHS. As part of their TIP vendor package, Apple Computer is providing a "Coaching and Orchestration Manager" who will coordinate professional development as well as technical support needs for the campus. TIP funding from TEA for this project is provided for the 2004-2005 and 2005-2006 school years. Background Planning for our TIP partnership began in April 2004 when the Texas Education Agency released a request for application for TIP. Potential district applicants throughout West Texas were sought, and representatives met in the Texas Tech College of Education to consider options. Early on, prospective partnership members identified Apple computer as the technology vendor with the most experience and proven track record in one-to-one technology implementations like that called for in the TIP project. To meet the research study requirements, the TIP solution from Apple (selected by our partnership) includes:
The definition of what it means to be literate has changed dramatically in recent years. It is imperative that teachers at all levels help students develop authentic literacy skills that will serve them well in our dynamic society and workforce environment. Technology immersion will be a hallmark of effective education in the twenty-first century, and we are excited to be working with superb regional partners in this ambitious and farsighted project. Partnership Roles Pre-Service teachers enrolled in classes at the Texas Tech College of Education will be involved in supporting TIP grant teachers, as well as involved with students through field-based experiences. The College's innovative "LiveLink" project, which allows virtual field-based experiences for students and faculty with videoconferencing technologies, will be expanded to include TIP grant classrooms in 2004. The College of Education at Texas Tech is committed to not only helping prepare future teachers for success in the classroom but also helping in-service teachers acquire and share 21st Century literacy skills with students. As a research institution, our college is also committed to making significant contributions to the body of research about effective instructional practices. Our TIP partnership is properly understood as a broad-based instructional initiative, impacting students and teachers in multiple grade levels and content areas, rather than a strict "technology" project. This TIP grant partnership is a tangible example of these ongoing commitments by our College of Education faculty and staff to impact positively teaching and learning opportunities for students and educators in our region. Education Service Center Region 17 provides internet service to Floydada ISD presently and will be involved in helping expand internet bandwidth available to Floydada JHS students and teachers involved in this project. In addition, they will assist with the expansion of the Floydada JHS wireless network to provide connectivity for all students and teachers in all classrooms throughout the campus. Partner school districts will also benefit from the existing Texas Tech Wireless Backbone Project, which is managed by AMA-TechTel. This existing network project will permit TIP partner districts to realize cost savings by increasing their Internet bandwidth with AMA-TechTel and by joining the Texas Tech wide area network. Three other school districts also applied for TIP grant funding as members of our partnership. Ropes ISD applied for funding as an entire district but was not selected. Post ISD and Slaton ISD both applied for junior high school campus funding and were not selected in TIP Round 1 but are again being considered in TIP Round 2. We hope to receive an annoucement from TEA in July about the status of these two additional partnership applications. For More Information More information about the TIP grant project is available from the Texas Education Agency in their June 3rd, 2004 press release. Our TIP Partnership website address is www.educ.ttu.edu/tip, and we will post news, photos, movies, and other information of interest here throughout our grant project. Information about the Apple TIP Vendor package is also available as a PDF file. The Maine Learning Technology Initative (www.mainelearns.org) highlights the well publicized initiative to provide every student in grades 6-12 in the state of Maine with an iBook laptop computer and extensive training and support for Maine teachers. Apple has been deeply involved and committed to researching the impact of technology use in education since the early 1980s with the Apple Classrooms of Tomorrow (ACOT) project. Educational leaders in "TIP Partnership: West Texas" hope to make the classroom of tomorrow a reality today for students and teachers involved in our project.
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Copyright 2004, TTU College of Education, Floydada ISD, Post ISD, Slaton ISD , & ESC Region 17.
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