June 12, 2007

Village Elementary School recipient of $31,000 "Technology for Teaching" Grant from Hewlett-Packard; one of 130 schools nationwide; unveiling of new wireless tablet technology

"This will be a plus for instruction," said Hilton Village Elementary sixth grade teacher Michael Strauss, "and it will be a great help for our kids to see, record, understand and learn about the research project we're launching next fall."   Hilton Central School District's Village Elementary School was selected as one of 130 K-12 public schools nationwide to receive the 2007 Hewlett-Packard [HP] Technology for Teaching grant, which is designed to transform and improve learning in the classroom through innovative uses of technology.  The $31,000 grant includes HP wireless equipment and faculty stipends to improve student achievement.  During the 2007-08 school year, HP Technology for Teaching grant projects will impact more than 36,000 K-12 students.

The Village Elementary School will receive an award package of HP products and a cash stipend for each teacher with a total value of more than $31,000.     The equipment was unveiled Tuesday, June 12, at the Village Elementary School. Each of the HP Technology for Teaching grant recipients will use HP wireless Tablet PC technology to enhance learning in a science project focused on "Environmental Habitat for Bird Migration" according to Hilton Schools Learning Through Technology Coordinator Patti Sullivan.  "The five teachers who will be working on the grant are Michael Strauss, Kate Bolinger, Jonathan Goosey, Derek Warren and Mary Phillips.  They will be training over the summer and in the fall, sixth graders will be using the tablet technology to record data and study it with additional projectors and printers in the classroom."

"I learned about the grant possibility in the fall," Mrs. Sullivan said. "It piqued my interest in what technology can do to engage students. One of its strengths is in its interactivity in the classroom between teacher and student. It is one way to make learning more dynamic." In 2007, HP is awarding 172 K-12 public schools and two- and four-year colleges and universities in the United States and Puerto Rico more than $7 million in mobile technology, cash and professional development as part of its 2007 HP Technology for Teaching grant program. Since 2004, HP has contributed a total of $36 million in HP Technology for Teaching grants to more than 650 schools worldwide. During the past 20 years, HP has contributed more than $1 billion in cash and equipment to schools, universities, community organizations and other nonprofit organizations around the world. “HP empowers students and teachers to succeed through innovative uses of technology and training,” said Sidney Espinosa, director, Philanthropy Program, HP.  “We invest in schools to increase educational attainment and contribute to the development of a skilled, diverse workforce in the future.” More information about the 2007 HP Technology for Teaching program and grant recipients is available at www.hp.com/go/hpteach.   

More information: Learning Through Technology.