NETC Circuit Spotlights

Technology Grant

by Basha Krasnoff

E2T2 sounds like the name of a robot, and thus may be a fitting moniker for the new federal educational technology program, Enhancing Education Through Technology. Established when the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 consolidated existing educational technology grant programs, E2T2 is the new federally funded, state-run program featured in the Winter 2003 NETC Circuit, the newsletter of NWREL's Northwest Educational Technology Consortium.

The Circuit article, "Crossing the Digital Divide: Using Educational Technology To Leave No Child Behind" reviews the process each of the five Northwest states uses to distribute its federal funds based on the poverty and low performance of its school districts. One half of the E2T2 funds are distributed by formula based on poverty, and the rest are awarded competitively to those schools that are also underperforming. NETC is busy assisting states and their districts with the implementation of E2T2, specifically with the development of mandated technology plans and professional development programs.

Intended to support the use of educational technology for school improvement to increase student achievement, the E2T2 funds may be used for a broad array of purposes: increasing access to technology by "high-need" schools, supporting state and district educational technology infrastructure, integrating technology into curriculum and instruction, supporting the use of electronic networks and distance learning, promoting family involvement in the educational process, and evaluating the effectiveness of technology programs. The law, however, stipulates that 25 percent of each district's award must be allocated for staff development on the integration of technology into the teaching and learning process.

Other articles in this issue of the NETC Circuit focus on the pros and cons of open source (nonproprietary) software for educators, revisions to the Digital Bridges and Technology Planning strands of the NETC Web site, and the National K–12 Interactive Videoconferencing Symposium.

For a free subscription to the NETC Circuit call (503) 275-9485 or e-mail www.netc.org. The newsletter can also be found at http://netc.org/circuit/.