International Society for Technology in Education receives $1,050,000 from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

EUGENE, Oregon -- The International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE), in conjunction with Educational Support Systems (ESS), announced today it has received $1,050,000 from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to establish the Center for Applied Research in Educational Technology (CARET).

"The CARET project will translate research language into plain English so that valuable knowledge can be put to use helping all students achieve," said ISTE CEO John Vaille. "CARET has performed careful analysis of how technology is used and accessed in schools today. Our first target is to address educators' most critical information needs expressed by their participation in this technology study."

CARET, an internet-based technology and education research portal, will serve as an information resource for educators, superintendents and policy-makers by providing up-to-date research-based information on teaching and learning with technology. The portal will be a tool for classroom instruction and educational practice as it emerges nationally and, eventually, globally.

"This gift provides a great kick-start to CARET," said ESS President John Cradler. "With CARET, educators will have access to research for planning, procurement and implementation of technology in America's schools. CARET also will help to determine areas needing further study in the field of technology applications in education."

The grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation will allow CARET to become a one-stop online resource for education stakeholders, answering important questions about technology and education, and providing valid and reliable educational information. The funding also will enable CARET to establish a solid framework to organize and categorize research that can be developed into useful and user-friendly formats.

"As teachers and schools become increasingly dependent on technology, CARET will provide a much-needed resource for educators," said Tom Vander Ark, Executive Director of Education at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. "The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is excited to support this new and important project."

ISTE is a nonprofit professional organization supporting a worldwide membership of educators using technology. ISTE is dedicated to helping educators improve all levels of education by integrating computer-based technology into the curriculum. ISTE (www.iste.org) accomplishes this mission by supporting the unique needs of its constituents—providing them with access to instructional resources, initiating and endorsing relevant legislative issues, and creating professional development opportunities.

ESS has more than 20 years of national experience in instructional technology content development, teacher preparation and development, planning, instructional integration and evaluation of technology in a wide variety of schools and learning environments. At the school, district, and state level, ESS ([email protected]) facilitates and guides the systematic assessment and planning for technology-related resources to include hardware, software and multimedia, professional development, connectivity and administrative coordination of resources.