| July 12, 2001 |
Contact: Lance
Wallace |
Atlanta, Ga. -- The Department of Teacher Education in Mercer University's Tift College of Education has been awarded a $304,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Education as part of its "Preparing Tomorrow's Teachers to Use Technology" program.
Mercer is one of four institutions in Georgia and 74 in the nation to receive the one-year technology training grant. With classes taught on its Atlanta and Macon campuses and off-campus centers in Douglas County, Covington, Griffin and Eastman, Mercer is the largest private preparer of teachers in Georgia.
"The federal government is providing support to selected institutions to implement programs that will help teachers integrate technology in the classroom," said Bruce Sliger, Ph.D., associate professor of education in Mercer's Tift College of Education, and the leader of the grant-writing team. "It's a joint effort to help teachers make the best use of technology in their instruction."
Participating in the project with Mercer are public school systems in DeKalb, Douglas, Gwinnett and Bibb counties. After completing a teacher preparation program infused with technology training, teacher education students will do their student teaching in these four counties, mentored by teachers from the systems. The program will allow Mercer students to practice teaching lessons using technology. The lessons will be videotaped, then critiqued by teachers from the participating school systems.
The program targets potential teachers for kindergarten through 12th grade. The goal is to prepare new teachers on the best uses of technology in the classroom, thereby increasing the consistency of technological proficiency in schools.
Although technology has been used in classrooms for 20 years, educational software has made significant strides in recent years. This program will teach educators how to use the very latest in educational software, which will in turn greatly benefit their students.
"This grant will allow the Department of Teacher Education to offer our students a distinct advantage as we prepare them for using technology effectively in their classrooms," said Associate Dean Allison Gilmore, Ph.D. "As one of only four sites in Georgia awarded this grant, Mercer's Tift College of Education is taking a leading role in teacher preparation in Georgia."
Dr. Sliger and Dr. Penny Smith will serve as co-directors of the project and will travel to Washington, D.C., for training in early August before implementing the program this fall. The other sites in Georgia are Andrew College in Cuthbert, Georgia College and State University in Milledgeville and the State Data and Research Center in Atlanta.
Founded in 1833 in Penfield, Mercer University has more than 7,400 students and 1,400 faculty members on campuses in Macon and Atlanta, and is one of the largest Baptist-affiliated institutions in the world. It is the only independent university of its size in the country to offer programs in liberal arts, business, engineering, education, medicine, pharmacy, law, theology and nursing.
Led by President R. Kirby Godsey, Mercer has been ranked among the leading colleges and universities in the South by U.S. News and World Report for 11 consecutive years.
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