
AT&T
AT&T Presents Grant for Star-Online
Western Illinois University's College of Education and Human Services'
(COEHS) STAR-Online program received a $50,000 grant from the AT&T
Foundation at a reception December 4, 2007 at the WIU-QC campus.
STAR-Online
provides technology resources to WIU teacher-education students, as
well as to teachers in the field. The grant funding from AT&T will
allow the COEHS to further expand its online outreach resources to
student teachers and first-year teachers. According to COEHS Dean Bonnie
Smith-Skripps, the enhanced program builds upon the STAR-Online Virtual
Teaching and Learning Community (VTLC), which provides interactive
self-paced modules or lessons that promote the effective use of
technology in the classroom and facilitates collaboration among teachers
across Illinois.
"We are appreciative of AT&T's ongoing
commitment to and support of Western's STAR-Online program, which
provides online resources to pre-service and practicing teachers," said
Smith-Skripps. "Through STAR-Online and other outreach efforts, Western
is able to further its mission of preparing quality teachers for
placement in Illinois schools and for providing professional development
opportunities to Illinois educators."
STAR-Online offers
anytime, anyplace online professional development opportunities to
accommodate teachers' schedules as they learn new methods to engage
students through the integration of technology into instruction.
STAR-Online staff will work with WIU student-teacher supervisors and
mentor teachers in the Rock Island Regional Office of Education school
districts in the development of five new comprehensive online modules to
support student-teachers and first-year teachers in these districts. In
addition to the new training modules, the program will also provide
access to existing professional development modules to teachers
participating in the grant, according to Rodney Greer, assistant to the
dean and coordinator of STAR-Online.
The STAR-Online project
originated 10 years ago as an extension of the 1993 Governor's Ameritech
Ed/Tech Grant program to infuse technology into teacher education
curriculums. Since its creation, STAR-Online has provided resources and
services to more than 15,000 Illinois teachers.
"I want to thank
AT&T for providing Western Illinois University with the high tech
tools that a teacher in the 21st century needs to engage the students of
tomorrow," State Sen. Mike Jacobs said. "Our young people are our
greatest asset, and we need to promote these kinds of creative programs
that will pay important educational and economic dividends for years to
come."
In addition to serving Illinois teachers, Western's
College of Education and Human Services has partnered with Black Hawk
College in Moline and Technology Now in the Quad Cities to further
enhance technology opportunities in the region.
"It is absolutely
vital for our teachers to instill a love of learning because that gift
will last a lifetime," State Rep. Pat Verschoore added. "AT&T's
investment in Western Illinois University means these promising teachers
will be able to reach their students more efficiently and more
effectively."
Since 1996, AT&T and the AT&T Foundation
have contributed more than $439 million to nonprofit organizations
across the country. With its strong giving record, the AT&T
Foundation is among the five largest corporate foundations in the United
States and was ranked by Forbes magazine among the most generous
corporate foundations in 2006.
According to Dennis Pauley,
director of external affairs for AT&T Illinois, The AT&T
Foundation invests in educational programs that are enhanced by
technology and that teach the necessary skills in order to succeed in an
ever-expanding global economy.
"AT&T is proud to continue
this partnership with Western Illinois University as it strives to use
the latest technology to better educate its students who are committed
to a career in education," Pauley added. "By making these kinds of
investments in innovative institutions of higher learning, we are laying
the foundation for a better future for us all."
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