Project Background Information

ALLIANCE+ PROJECT
National Internet-in-Education Teacher Training Program
Technology Innovation Challenge Grant
funded by the U.S. Department of Education
A professional development project that prepares teachers to integrate technology into the curriculum in innovative ways that enhance student learning and support higher levels of achievement, Alliance+ unites the expertise of 35 state, local, and higher education partners and builds on a training model that has been proven through extensive experience in the state of New Jersey and successful adaptation as a demonstration phase program implemented in Cleveland (OH), Phoenix (AZ), and Miami (FL). The project addresses three key professional development needs shared by the participating states of Arizona, Florida, and Ohio. These include the need to:
  1. enhance and support student learning in core content areas
  2. improve teacher content knowledge across the curriculum
  3. provide leadership through a network of locally-distributed peer experts.
Its dual set of objectives focus on developing the abilities of classroom teachers while creating a training and support infrastructure designed to have a lasting, systemic impact beyond the life of the grant. Drawing on successful experience gained from over ten years of helping teachers use technology in the classroom, Alliance+ employs four discrete approaches in providing teachers with professional development:
  1. use of supporting materials in a variety of formats
  2. train-the-trainer outreach model
  3. continuous follow-up support
  4. community-college/K-12 school district partnerships
Central to Alliance+ are the Savvy Cyber Teacher™ workshops series—three 30-hour in-service courses (one each at K-5, 6-8, and 9-12 grade levels) that address progressive applications of the Internet in K-12 education. Faculty from Maricopa, Cuyahoga, and Miami-Dade Community Colleges participate in special institutes that prepare them to train mentor teachers from their corresponding local school districts (Phoenix, Cleveland, and Miami, respectively). These mentor teachers, in turn, use Alliance+ resources to provide training for colleagues in their home schools. Through both on-site and online training activities, Alliance+ will reach approximately 9,000 K-12 classroom teachers from 19 school districts, having a direct impact on over a quarter million children. Support for this ambitious initiative includes an estimated $12 million in matching funds and in-kind services