QTL News & Best Practices
NCTA Federal Demonstration Projects Show Results
Clear Link Exists between Technology,
Quality Teaching and Student Achievement
RALEIGH, NC - The North Carolina Technology Association (NCTA) Education Foundation has completed nine federal education technology demonstration projects with the help of the state’s congressional delegation.
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These projects, which have placed more than $2 million, have helped seven schools implement their five year technology plan in one year and provided high quality professional development for the teachers (QTL™ from The Centers for Quality Teaching and Learning).
The result of this effort by NCTA clearly demonstrates that when schools have necessary technology tools and the appropriate training to use them that teachers are more effective and students are more engaged, which research indicates results in higher achievement levels.
From this page, you can access reports on the schools and school districts that benefited from the NCTA demonstration project and you can read the entire reports on the successes of some of these projects by an independent external evaluator. Demonstration sites to date have been:
Efland Cheeks Elementary, Orange County
Congressman David Price calls the first NCTA demonstration "a demonstration of what can be done, and what needs to be done."
Read the story.
Oak Lane Elementary, Person County
This elementary highlighted what teachers and students can do with the right tools. Find out why the results impressed observers, and read the outside evaluator's report.
Liberty Elementary, Randolph County
The formal evaluation report on this demonstration site shows the impact classroom technology and professional development can have on a school, helping students obtain the skills they need to succeed in the 21st Century. Read about the project.
Aberdeen Elementary, Moore County
Participants in Aberdeen's demonstration site wrapped up QTL participation in 2007. Read the evaluation of the impact of the demonstration.
McGee's Crossroads Elementary, Johnston County
Collaboration is key in a large school like McGee's Crossroads; the NCTA demonstration illustrated the powerful ways technology can facilitate the development of a Professional Learning Community. The final evaluation report is available here. You can also read about some of the teachers' projects.
Southside-Ashpole Elementary, Robeson County
The NCTA demonstration at this resource-poor, underserved school prompted one veteran teacher to remark, "Technology is the key to the door of our children’s future. Thank you for making a difference." Read the final evaluation.
Riverbend Elementary, Haywood County
Media Specialist Teresa Cook says the NCTA grant brought about exciting opportunities that changed the school environment and helped this small rural school "lessen the digital divide." The formal evaluation is available here.
Taylorsville Elementary, Alexander County
Principal Susan Campbell says the NCTA demonstration project at her school during 2008-09 is opening a new world to students, and giving them accesss to the 21st Century skills they'll need to thrive. The formal evaluation report concludes that "all the teachers attending the QTL classes stretched themselves far beyond their starting point, growing in technology sckills and in teaching knowledge." It also says data gathered during QTL participation helped quantify the impact of the technology. Read it here, or listen in on the celebration of the culmination of the project in 2009.
Northside Elementary, Warren County
Congressman G.K. Butterfield says the U.S. must continue funding the increased and improved use of technology in the classroom. Results of the 2010 NCTA demonstration project in Warren County back him up. Read about the project or watch highlights of the celebration at Northside Elementary in June 2010.
The NCTA demonstration projects were made possible by the efforts of from North Carolina’s US Senators, Elizabeth Dole and Richard Burr; former Senator John Edwards; and Congressmen David Price (4th District); Brad Miller (13th District); Howard Coble (6th District); Bob Etheridge (2nd District); Mike McIntyre (7th District), Charles Taylor (11th District), Virginia Fox (5th District) and G.K. Butterfield (1st District).
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