Vermont's Title II-D Enhancing Education Through Technology Program: Fall 2010 Interim Report

The federal Enhancing Education Through Technology (Ed-Tech) program provides grants to state education agencies. The goal of these grants is to improve student achievement by using technology in elementary and secondary schools. Administered by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of School Support and Technology Programs, the program is a funding source authorized under Title II, Part D, of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB, 2002). In Vermont, Ed-Tech funds have been allocated to local school districts by both formula (on the basis of their proportional share of Title I funding) and competitive grants administered by the Vermont Department of Education (VTDOE).

Evaluation of the Vermont Ed-Tech program provides formative and summative feedback to VTDOE. There are four phases to the evaluation. The first phase, February 2010 to April 2010, sought to describe the different grant programs in terms of their goals, activities, expected outcomes, and available data sources. During this phase, evaluators interviewed program administrators of the competitive grant programs. The deliverable of this phase was a revised evaluation plan and detailed profiles of each program. The second evaluation phase, from April 2010 to August 2010, reported on the initial implementation of programs. During this phase, the evaluators conducted surveys and interviews with teachers and grant managers. The deliverable of this phase was an interim evaluation report on program implementation, submitted to VTDOE in August 2010.3 The third evaluation phase, from September 2010 to January 2011, provided a more focused study of implementation in a small number of schools in each program based on interviews and classroom observations. Its deliverable is this evaluation report. The fourth evaluation phase, from February 2011 to June 2011, is designed to collect additional data via surveys and interviews, as well as extant data about program participation, to arrive at summative conclusions about the entire program.

For more information about this study or to request additional copies of this report, please contact Michele Cranwell Schmidt, Evaluation Coordinator, at mschmidt@uvm.edu, call (802) 656-0256 or visit www.uvm.edu/crs/.

Bridging the generation gap accross the digital divide: teens teaching internet skills to senior citizens.

With the intent of closing the digital divide, the Teens Teaching Internet Skills Pilot Project engaged youth from 4-H Technology Teams in six states in training senior citizens to navigate and obtain information from the Medicare Web site. The teens perceived an improvement in working with seniors, project management, teaching, public speaking, and leadership. The workshops had a positive effect on seniors' comfort and skill levels towards technology.

This intergenerational experience in leadership and technology training provided learning and skill development for both groups and led to positive changes in attitudes towards the other generation.

Cranwell, M., J. Kolodinsky, and E. Rowe. (2002). Bridging the generation gap accross the digital divide: teens teaching internet skills to senior citizens. Journal of Extension, 40(3).