Washington State Receives $75,000 Grant to Train Teachers to Use Verizon's Thinkfinity.org Educational Web Site
Poster: SySAdmin
Posted on March 3, 2010 at 1:07:01 PM
Washington State Receives $75,000 Grant to Train Teachers to Use Verizon's Thinkfinity.org Educational Web Site
Verizon Thinkfinity Offers Array of Free Educational Resources for Teachers, Students, Parents, After-School Programs
SEATTLE, March 3 -- The Washington Ed Tech Development Center has received a $75,000 grant from the Verizon Foundation to continue to raise awareness about the free educational resources available on Verizon Thinkfinity and to train teachers to use those resources. The grant was announced Wednesday (March 3) at the Teacher Librarian Summit of the Northwest Council for Computers in Education Conference at the Washington State Convention and Trade Center in Seattle.
Verizon Thinkfinity (http://www.thinkfinity.org) contains thousands of free, engaging educational resources, including K-12 lesson plans, in-class activities and videos that can be found quickly and searched by grade level, keyword or subject. These resources are aligned to state and national standards and offer K-12 resources across eight academic disciplines, from science to English to mathematics.
"Since we entrust teachers with our most precious resource, we have a responsibility to give them the best tools to help them do the great work of educating our children," said Lin Fogg, Verizon director of external affairs for Washington. "Verizon Thinkfinity.org opens up a new realm of possibilities for teachers to find ways to engage and enlighten their students."
Anne Anderson, director of the Ed Tech Development Center, said: "These funds will go a long way toward helping Washington teachers find quality content and make learning fun. Washington's Educational Technology Support Centers are now geared up to make that happen."
Verizon's grant will be used to:
-- Provide professional development opportunities to district trainers
and classroom teachers through on-site and online training.
-- Provide Thinkfinity.org resources aligned to state standards to
educators and students through the Thinkfinity Web site.
-- Raise awareness of Thinkfinity resources and professional development
opportunities to educators statewide.
"The resources offered by Thinkfinity will help teachers around the state, whether they're in urban or rural areas," said Randy Dorn, state superintendent of public instruction. "The interactive games and activities make education fun and will spark kids' interest."
Content for Verizon Thinkfinity is provided through a partnership between the Verizon Foundation and 11 of the nation's leading organizations in the fields of education and literacy: the American Association for the Advancement of Science, Council for Economic Education, International Reading Association, The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, National Center for Family Literacy, National Endowment for the Humanities, National Council of Teachers of English, National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, National Geographic Society, ProLiteracy and the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History.
The Verizon Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Verizon Communications, supports the advancement of literacy and K-12 education through its free educational Web site, Thinkfinity.org, and fosters awareness and prevention of domestic violence. In 2009, the Verizon Foundation awarded more than $67.5 million in grants to nonprofit agencies in the U.S. and abroad. It also matched the charitable donations of Verizon employees and retirees, resulting in an additional $26.1 million in combined contributions to nonprofits. Through Verizon Volunteers, one of the nation's largest employee volunteer programs, Verizon employees and retirees have volunteered more than 5 million hours of community service since 2000. For more information on the foundation, visit http://www.verizonfoundation.org.
Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ), headquartered in New York, is a global leader in delivering broadband and other wireless and wireline communications services to mass market, business, government and wholesale customers. Verizon Wireless operates America's most reliable wireless network, serving more than 91 million customers nationwide. Verizon also provides converged communications, information and entertainment services over America's most advanced fiber-optic network, and delivers innovative, seamless business solutions to customers around the world. A Dow 30 company, Verizon employs a diverse workforce of approximately 222,900 and last year generated consolidated revenues of more than $107 billion. For more information, visit http://www.verizon.com .
VERIZON'S ONLINE NEWS CENTER: Verizon news releases, executive speeches and biographies, media contacts, high-quality video and images, and other information are available at Verizon's News Center on the World Wide Web at http://www.verizon.com/news. To receive news releases by e-mail, visit the News Center and register for customized automatic delivery of Verizon news releases.
Source: Verizon
CONTACT: Jon Davies, +1-805-372-6969, jon.davies@verizon.com; Anne
Anderson, Ed Tech Development Center, +1-425-917-7939, aanderson@psesd.org
Web Site: http://www.verizon.com/
Company News On-Call: http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/094251.html
Verizon Thinkfinity Offers Array of Free Educational Resources for Teachers, Students, Parents, After-School Programs
SEATTLE, March 3 -- The Washington Ed Tech Development Center has received a $75,000 grant from the Verizon Foundation to continue to raise awareness about the free educational resources available on Verizon Thinkfinity and to train teachers to use those resources. The grant was announced Wednesday (March 3) at the Teacher Librarian Summit of the Northwest Council for Computers in Education Conference at the Washington State Convention and Trade Center in Seattle.
Verizon Thinkfinity (http://www.thinkfinity.org) contains thousands of free, engaging educational resources, including K-12 lesson plans, in-class activities and videos that can be found quickly and searched by grade level, keyword or subject. These resources are aligned to state and national standards and offer K-12 resources across eight academic disciplines, from science to English to mathematics.
"Since we entrust teachers with our most precious resource, we have a responsibility to give them the best tools to help them do the great work of educating our children," said Lin Fogg, Verizon director of external affairs for Washington. "Verizon Thinkfinity.org opens up a new realm of possibilities for teachers to find ways to engage and enlighten their students."
Anne Anderson, director of the Ed Tech Development Center, said: "These funds will go a long way toward helping Washington teachers find quality content and make learning fun. Washington's Educational Technology Support Centers are now geared up to make that happen."
Verizon's grant will be used to:
-- Provide professional development opportunities to district trainers
and classroom teachers through on-site and online training.
-- Provide Thinkfinity.org resources aligned to state standards to
educators and students through the Thinkfinity Web site.
-- Raise awareness of Thinkfinity resources and professional development
opportunities to educators statewide.
"The resources offered by Thinkfinity will help teachers around the state, whether they're in urban or rural areas," said Randy Dorn, state superintendent of public instruction. "The interactive games and activities make education fun and will spark kids' interest."
Content for Verizon Thinkfinity is provided through a partnership between the Verizon Foundation and 11 of the nation's leading organizations in the fields of education and literacy: the American Association for the Advancement of Science, Council for Economic Education, International Reading Association, The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, National Center for Family Literacy, National Endowment for the Humanities, National Council of Teachers of English, National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, National Geographic Society, ProLiteracy and the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History.
The Verizon Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Verizon Communications, supports the advancement of literacy and K-12 education through its free educational Web site, Thinkfinity.org, and fosters awareness and prevention of domestic violence. In 2009, the Verizon Foundation awarded more than $67.5 million in grants to nonprofit agencies in the U.S. and abroad. It also matched the charitable donations of Verizon employees and retirees, resulting in an additional $26.1 million in combined contributions to nonprofits. Through Verizon Volunteers, one of the nation's largest employee volunteer programs, Verizon employees and retirees have volunteered more than 5 million hours of community service since 2000. For more information on the foundation, visit http://www.verizonfoundation.org.
Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ), headquartered in New York, is a global leader in delivering broadband and other wireless and wireline communications services to mass market, business, government and wholesale customers. Verizon Wireless operates America's most reliable wireless network, serving more than 91 million customers nationwide. Verizon also provides converged communications, information and entertainment services over America's most advanced fiber-optic network, and delivers innovative, seamless business solutions to customers around the world. A Dow 30 company, Verizon employs a diverse workforce of approximately 222,900 and last year generated consolidated revenues of more than $107 billion. For more information, visit http://www.verizon.com .
VERIZON'S ONLINE NEWS CENTER: Verizon news releases, executive speeches and biographies, media contacts, high-quality video and images, and other information are available at Verizon's News Center on the World Wide Web at http://www.verizon.com/news. To receive news releases by e-mail, visit the News Center and register for customized automatic delivery of Verizon news releases.
Source: Verizon
CONTACT: Jon Davies, +1-805-372-6969, jon.davies@verizon.com; Anne
Anderson, Ed Tech Development Center, +1-425-917-7939, aanderson@psesd.org
Web Site: http://www.verizon.com/
Company News On-Call: http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/094251.html