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Middle School Partners with University To Establish Center for Excellence for Mobile Learning

• By Leila Meyer
• 07/29/13

The South Carolina Commission on Higher Education (CHE) has awarded $143,000 to Anderson University (AU) to establish a Center for Excellence for Mobile Learning (CEML). AU is partnering with George Washington Carver Middle School in Spartanburg School District 7 for the project, and the middle school will receive funding for the program for five years.

As part of the program, teachers at G.W. Carver Middle School and faculty at AU will take part in a week-long professional development seminar on best practices for teaching and technology integration. According to SCCHE, the seminars will focus on the Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) framework, reform-based teaching strategies, college readiness strategies, and formative assessment practices. As a result of the program, the SCCHE expects teachers at the middle school to "design and deliver effective, learner-centered lessons and activities that fully integrate mobile technologies."

AU's Center for Excellence for Mobile Learning will be located on the AU campus and will be led by Dr. Benjamin Deaton, director of instructional design at the university. According to the university, the CEML will "prepare and examine the role of educators integrating mobile learning principles and technologies into teaching and learning in K-12 and university classrooms." The $143,000 awarded by the SC CHE will fund the first year of the CEML.

The goals of the Center for Excellence for Mobile Learning include:

• Developing and modeling a state-of-the-art teacher preparation program;
• Designing and implementing innovative school-based projects to improve student and teacher achievement at AU's partner school and district; and
• Serving as a statewide leader for training and professional development for in-service teachers, teacher educators, and faculty in higher education.

One of the reasons G.W. Carver Middle School was selected as the program's first partner school is because of its focus on STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) education, Deaton told the Spartanburg Herald-Journal.

The Center for Excellence for Mobile Learning will build upon and expand AU's Mobile Learning Initiative, a program that is entering its third year and provides students and educators with iPads for mobile learning in and out of the classroom.