All 50 States Receive Tech. Challenge Funds
U.S. Secretary of Education Richard W. Riley appeared at a national conference in Washington, D.C., in May to present all fifty states with grants from the Technology Literacy Challenge Fund (TLCF), a $2 billion, five-year initiative designed to help schools use technology to improve teaching and learning.
In its first year, the TLCF totals $200 million. President Clinton has requested an increase to $425 million for fiscal year 1998. Overall, the administration's proposed FY98 budget requests $500 million for educational technology -- about double the current appropriation.
"Technology is an investment in our children and their future," Riley said at the conference. "Effective use of new technologies can broaden and strengthen the curriculum and provide every student with new tools to explore the world and to master challenging work."
The TLCF grants target the presidentís four goals for educational technology: (1) all teachers will be trained to help students learn through computers and the Internet; (2) all students and teachers will have access to modern computers; (3) all schools and classrooms will be linked to the Internet; and (4) high-quality software and online resources will be part of the curriculum.
"Achieving these goals," Riley noted, "will require partnerships and hard work, as well as planning and commitment." To qualify for the grants, all states submitted long-range technology plans with strategies for financing and placing technology into the classroom.