University News
COEHS Wins National Award
November 25, 2002
MACOMB, IL -- Bonnie Smith-Skripps, dean of Western Illinois UniversityÂ’s College of Education and Human Services (COEHS), traveled to Washington D.C. last week to accept the grand prize award from SBCÂ’s National Telecommunications Partnership Awards program, sponsored by the SBC Foundation and the National Association of Partners in Education.
The competitive national award recognizes Western as an exceptional educational partnership that helps teachers integrate telecommunications technology into classroom instruction. COEHS was one of two national grand prize winners honored at the National Association of Partners in Education and International Partnership Network 2002 Global Partnership Summit on Learning, Employability and Citizenship.
"The SBC National Telecommunications Partnership Awards are important because they recognize those teachers and partnerships that effectively incorporate telecommunications technology into instructional activities," said SBC Foundation President Laura Sanford. "It is extremely important to build new opportunities for learning through creativity and innovation in telecommunications. SBC recognizes and congratulates WesternÂ’s COEHS for its achievements."
COEHS received a $10,000 award for its STAR-Online Virtual Teaching and Learning Community (VTLC), an online professional development system that enables teachers who have little experience in using computers to create technology-rich learning environments in their classrooms without having to attend workshops or classes. The partnership delivers the program to a national audience, building communities of engaged learners through distance-learning technology. In 2002, more than 3,000 educators from 936 educational sites have participated in STAR-OnlineÂ’s VTLC, impacting more than 8,000 students.
To win the national award, STAR-Online VTLC leveraged a partnership between COEHS, SBC Ameritech, and the United Star Distance Learning Consortium.
"COEHS is committed to forming and nurturing partnerships which improve teaching and learning nationwide," said Smith-Skripps. "STAR-Online VTLC is a result of this commitment and a long-standing partnership with SBC Ameritech based on a shared vision of the benefits of telecommunications and instructional technologies in education."
The SBC National Telecommunications Partnership Awards program was established in 1998 to recognize outstanding education partnerships that integrate telecommunications technology into classroom practice and document positive outcomes on student achievement and success. The awards support local efforts to improve teaching and learning by increasing access to information technologies and strengthening technology training programs.
National Association of Partners in Education is the only national education organization that focuses solely on developing and managing school partnerships. For more than 30 years, the organization has helped local leaders develop and manage business and community partnership programs for schools. Partners in Education and its diversified membership represent more than seven million volunteers involved in more than 400,000 partnerships nationwide.
SBC Foundation is the charitable giving arm of SBC Communications, Inc. and its family of companies. The SBC Foundation has supported the National Telecommunications Partnership Awards every year since 1998. Last year, SBC, through the SBC Foundation and other areas of corporate giving, donated nearly $99 million to support efforts that enrich and strengthen diverse communities nationwide. A significant percentage of SBC's philanthropic efforts help support innovative programs that emphasize the importance of integrating telecommunications in learning environments. The SBC Foundation also supports programs that increase access to information technologies, broaden technology training and professional skill development, and effectively integrate new technologies to enhance education and economic development -- especially among underserved populations.
Posted By: Darcie Shinberger (U-Communications@wiu.edu)
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