Grants Help Prepare Students for Technical Jobs
Forty-eight middle and high school teachers nationwide will receive more than $1.3 million in software licenses as part of the
Microsoft Curriculum Grant Program, an initiative created to help educators develop information technology curricula and courses. Launched in 1998, the program is part of Microsoft’s efforts to help address the IT workforce shortage. It rewards faculty members at middle schools, high schools and vocational and technical schools for innovative uses of technology in computer science, programming, Web development and information systems curricula. The two-year competitive grants include the latest technology tools used in the workplace, such as the Visual Basic, Visual C++ and Visual J++ development systems, Office 2000 Developer Edition and the Visual InterDev Web development system, as well as the Windows 98 or 2000 operating systems, if needed.
As part of the award, faculty members agree to post current curricula and course materials on the MainFunction Web site, www.mainfunction.com, to share the resources with other educators. The MainFunction Web site features a newsletter and online resources for high school computer science, programming, information technology and Web development teachers. The newsletter focuses on information technology trends and issues, while the Web site includes a curriculum database, downloadable projects, bulletin board forums and quarterly chat sessions. Microsoft Corp., Redmond, WA, (425) 882-8080, www.microsoft.com.