Posted on December 10, 2002 at 8:30 a.m.
BIRMINGHAM, AL — The SBC™ National Telecommunications Partnership Awards program, sponsored by the SBC Foundation and the National Association of Partners in Education, has recognized the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) School of Education’s Preparing Tomorrow’s Teachers to Use Technology (PT3) Program as a Gold Award winner in a competitive national program that recognizes exceptional educational partnerships that help teachers integrate telecommunications technology into classroom instruction.
The UAB PT3 Program was one of 13 organizations from across the country honored by the 2002 SBC National Telecommunications Partnership Award program.
The UAB PT3 Program received the Gold Award, which includes a $5,000 cash prize and was honored with other winners during the National Association of Partners in Education and International Partnership Network 2002 Global Partnership Summit on Learning, Employability and Citizenship held in Washington D.C.
“Technology has changed the way we live, play and learn,” said Laura Sanford, president of the SBC Foundation. “Through the development of innovative partnership programs that integrate telecommunications technology into the classroom and curricula, community collaboratives are creatively and effectively reshaping the educational experience.
“The SBC National Telecommunications Partnership Awards are important because they recognize those teachers and partnerships that effectively incorporate telecommunications technology into instructional activities,” said Sanford. “It is extremely important to build new opportunities for learning through creativity and innovation in telecommunications. SBC recognizes and congratulates the UAB PT3 Program for its achievements.”
To win the award, the UAB PT3 Program developed a partnership involving 75 teachers in 11 Birmingham area school districts and 55 teacher educators at Birmingham-Southern College, Miles College, Samford University and the University of Montevallo. The UAB PT3 co-principal investigators are UAB Assistant Professor Lois M. Christensen, Ph.D., and UAB Associate Professor Betty Nelson, Ph.D. Jeff Anderson of the School of Education’s Academic Computing and Technology Lab is the Project Director and Katie Sheridan is the program’s Assistant Project Director.
The UAB PT3 Program has included nine project activities that address many of the issues of embedding technology in the teaching and learning process through innovative opportunities for education majors in all five partner colleges and universities. Among these are training in assistive technologies to aid students with special needs, using PALM technologies in the classroom, the development and expansion of resource labs, connecting classroom teachers and university professors in mentoring relationships to provide enhanced field based training for university student teachers, and virtual field trips to sites throughout the United States using satellite communication technology.
“The goal is to share resources to address the digital divide and develop relationships and a learning network within the Birmingham community regarding technology,” Sheridan said.
The SBC National Telecommunications Partnership Awards program was established in 1998 to recognize outstanding education partnerships that integrate telecommunications technology into classroom practice and document positive outcomes on student achievement and success. The awards support local efforts to improve teaching and learning by increasing access to information technologies and strengthening technology-training programs.
The National Association of Partners in Education is the only national education organization that focuses solely on developing and managing school partnerships. For more than 30 years, the organization has helped local leaders develop and manage business and community partnership programs for schools. Partners in Education and its diversified membership represent more than 7 million volunteers involved in more than 400,000 partnerships nationwide.
SBC Foundation is the charitable giving arm of SBC Communications, Inc. and its family of companies. The SBC Foundation has supported the National Telecommunications Partnership Awards every year since 1998. Last year, SBC, through the SBC Foundation and other areas of corporate giving donated nearly $99 million to support efforts that enrich and strengthen diverse communities nationwide. A significant percentage of SBC’s philanthropic efforts help support innovative programs that emphasize the importance of integrating telecommunications in learning environments. The SBC Foundation also supports programs that increase access to information technologies, broaden technology training and professional skill development, and effectively integrate new technologies to enhance education and economic development — especially among underserved populations.