Stevens receives $250,000 grant from AT&T for Science Link
HOBOKEN, N.J. — Today Stevens Institute of Technology received a $250,000 AT&T Learning Network grant to enhance teachers’ Internet teaching skills in three districts in New Jersey. This grant brings AT&T’s total support for the program at Stevens to $500,000.
The program, known as Science Link, is a collaboration between Stevens and AT&T Learning Network. The program helps middle school teachers make the best use of high-quality Internet resources as they teach science. Science Link was implemented last year in cooperation with the New Jersey Department of Education.
"We’re excited by this AT&T Learning Network grant because it makes it possible to enhance an already successful program," said Edward A. Friedman, director of Stevens’ Center for Improved Engineering and Science Education (CIESE). "We know from talking with participating teachers that Science Link offers an especially rewarding experience with many practical applications in the classroom," he added.
Science Link directly involves teachers from Passaic, Paterson and Plainfield school districts in a long-term, professional development experience designed to provide them with both Internet skills and innovative Internet-based curricular resources. Science Link will allow the teachers to engage students in authentic science investigations using Internet-based resources that promote and reinforce the New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards.
To maximize the impact of the Science Link training, participating teachers also take on mentoring roles, assisting their colleagues’ use of Internet-based resources. Stevens works closely with districts to ensure appropriate plans to use these mentor teachers across school districts.
"AT&T is happy to be collaborating with Stevens to bring science into the classroom in a way that textbooks never could," said Frank Ianna, AT&T Vice President, Network Systems. "Today’s grant continues AT&T’s commitment to improve teaching and learning through the effective use of technology."
Participating school districts were selected on the basis of AT&T’s philanthropic and geographical priorities, technological readiness, coherence of districts’ priorities with the goals and aims of this project and input from the New Jersey Department of Education.
The Science Link program is modeled in part on several Stevens teacher training programs throughout the New York and New Jersey area, including CIESE’s "New Jersey Networking Infrastructure in Education (NJNIE)." The NJNIE project, created by a $2.9 million National Science Foundation grant, reached more than 3,000 teachers from more than 700 K-12 New Jersey schools through training sessions and consultation on the integration of Internet into K-12 science and mathematics.
Stevens is a national leader in helping teachers incorporate the Internet into their classrooms. Last year, the U.S. Department of Education awarded CIESE a $9.3 million "Technology Innovation Challenge Grant" to provide Internet training for teachers in three states. That program, "Alliance+ (plus)," will allow more than 9,000 teachers in Arizona, Ohio and Florida, to receive hands-on training to integrate Internet technology into classroom instruction. Support for this program includes an estimated $12 million in matching funds from project partners.
The AT&T Learning Network, created in 1995, is AT&T’s five-year, $150 million program to help families, schools and communities use technology to enhance teaching and learning. The program provides free online training, mentoring by teachers and links to education resources for educators and families. The program also includes AT&T Learning Network grants which are managed by the AT&T Foundation, the principal arm of AT&T’s philanthropy.
Science Link is on the web at: http://k12science.stevens.edu/sciencelink/index.html .
AT&T Learning Network is on the web at: http://www.att.com/learningnetwork
(Note: A photo of today’s check presentation will be available. Please contact Cass Bruton-Ward at Stevens Institute of Technology, (201) 216-5238.)
About Stevens Institute of Technology
Founded in 1870 and celebrating 140 Years of Innovation, Stevens Institute of Technology, The Innovation University TM , lives at the intersection of industry, academics and research. The University's students, faculty and partners leverage their collective real-world experience and culture of innovation, research and entrepreneurship to confront global challenges in engineering, science, systems and technology management.
Based in Hoboken, N.J. and with a location in Washington, D.C., Stevens offers baccalaureate, master’s, certificates and doctoral degrees in engineering, the sciences and management, in addition to baccalaureate degrees in business and liberal arts. Stevens has been recognized by both the US Department of Defense and the Department of Homeland Security as a National Center of Excellence in the areas of systems engineering and port security research. The University has a total enrollment of more than 2,200 undergraduate and 3,700 graduate students with almost 450 faculty. Stevens’ graduate programs have attracted international participation from China, India, Southeast Asia, Europe and Latin America as well as strategic partnerships with industry leaders, governments and other universities around the world. Additional information may be obtained at www.stevens.edu and www.stevens.edu/press.
