Monday, December 18, 2017

State Board Approves Grants to Advance Digital Teaching and Learning

North Carolina’s efforts to advance digital-age teaching and learning in the state’s public schools are getting a boost from a new grant initiative aimed at supporting local districts in the development and dissemination of innovative models for digital learning.
Raleigh, NC
Dec 18, 2017

North Carolina’s efforts to advance digital-age teaching and learning in the state’s public schools are getting a boost from a new grant initiative aimed at supporting local districts in the development and dissemination of innovative models for digital learning.

Under an initial round of grants approved by the State Board of Education last week, 30 school districts and one charter school will share about $1.38 million targeted to better harness technology for instruction and student learning.

The Digital Learning Initiative grants, most awarded at the maximum of $50,000 each, will be used by districts this school year for planning or showcasing promising approaches to digital teaching and learning. Of the 31 grantees, 21 are designated for planning and 10 for showcase purposes. The grants were selected from a total of 61 applications.

“We know teachers will always be the most important part of students learning in school, and now technology can help educators personalize learning while reducing burdens,” said Mark Johnson, state superintendent of public instruction. “We were pleased with the quality of the applications we received and look forward to seeing the projects in action.”

In addition to personalized learning, the work of each grantee will focus on supporting the state’s digital learning competencies for educators and other initiatives such as micro-credentialing and digital literacies. Many of the approved grants focus on providing resources for professional development, seen as a critical foundation supporting the adoption of effective approaches to digital learning the state’s schools.

The grants will help fund a number of different approaches designed to promote digital learning. One district will use its grant to establish a plan for developing digital learning teams in all of its schools and to provide extensive professional development to teacher-leaders in middle and high schools. Another district will use an annual event focusing on robotics and engineering as a professional development opportunity for educators from across the state. Other districts will host conferences, at least one of which will include classroom visits highlighting model practices for personalized learning.

The grant initiative was authorized in 2016 by the General Assembly as part of a collaboration between the State Board of Education and the Friday Institute for Educational Innovation at N.C. State University to advance the state’s Digital Learning Plan. The goal of that plan is to develop a long-term strategy that sets directions and priorities, supports innovation, and provides resources to enable educators and students to benefit fully from digital-age teaching and learning.

Go here (pdf, 64kb) for a list of grantees, and for more information about Digital Learning Initiative Grants, visit www.ncpublicschools.org/dtl/grants/.

 

 

About the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction:
The North Carolina Department of Public Instruction provides leadership to 115 local public school districts and 160 charter schools serving over 1.5 million students in kindergarten through high school graduation. The agency is responsible for all aspects of the state's public school system and works under the direction of the North Carolina State Board of Education.

 

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