Washington Education Centers Receive $75,000 Grant to "Train the Trainers" Using Thinkfinity

The WA Education Technology Development Center has received its second $75,000 grant from the Verizon Foundation to further educate teachers on Thinkfinity.org's educational resources. Lin Fogg, Verizon Dir., External Affairs (left), presented Anne Anderson, Dir., Puget Sound Ed Tech Development Center (center), and Dennis Small, Ed Tech Dir., Research/Educator Development, OSPI (right) with the grant at the Northwest Council for Computer Education (NCCE) Conference, at the WA State Convention Center in Seattle.

The Verizon Foundation and The Washington Education Technology Development Center partnered once again to optimize student and teachers'' educational resources through Thinkfinity.org. The Education Development Center recently received its second $75,000 grant from the Verizon Foundation at the Washington State Convention and Trade Center in Seattle.

Washington State's Educational Technology Support Centers (ETSC) provide awareness for Thinkfinity.org, and this grant will aid in the continual efforts to do so. Through their "train the trainers" program, teachers throughout the state of Washington are educated on the free educational resources the website has to offer, and in turn, will incorporate the beneficial teaching and learning materials in their classrooms.

ETSC gives free on-site and online training courses which help teachers navigate through Thinkfinity's vast catalogs of educational resources. The courses help teachers to organize and locate material specific to their needs, all while learning how to use the information effectively in a school setting.

"These funds will go a long way toward helping Washington teachers find quality content and make learning fun," said Anne Anderson, Director of the Educational Technology Development Center in Washington. "Washington's Educational Technology Support Centers are now geared up to do so".

So far, 60 trainers from school districts throughout the state have been trained for ETSC's "train the trainers" program this year. Ninety sessions have already been completed, educating a total of 1,200 teachers through online courses, face-to-face, and webinars.