Institute outreach in focus at state legislature event

The William and Ida Friday Institute for Educational Innovation - part of North Carolina State University's College of Education - showcased its outreach and connectivity efforts at a North Carolina General Assembly event in Raleigh on Feb. 13.

Legislative School Technology Day was held at the General Assembly Building from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The event demonstrated the exciting ways that technology is being used to support the teaching and learning of 21st century skills in classrooms across the state.

As a part of its 21st Century Teaching and Learning Initiative (21CTL), the Friday Institute is collaborating with educators from northeastern North Carolina school districts to create innovative classroom practices - and a technology infrastructure to support them - in rural public schools.

Dr. Eric Wiebe, associate professor in the Department of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, and Director of Learning Technologies Dr. Lisa Grable, are principal investigators for the project.

"This was an exciting opportunity to show the progress these schools have made to integrate technology and learning," Wiebe said. "They are setting an example for what can be accomplished when schools, universities and other partners work together."

The Friday Institute is collaborating with educators from school districts including Franklin, Roanoke, Granville, Weldon City, Northampton and the Roanoke River Valley Educational Consortium, forming the cornerstone of the 21CTL.

"The aim is to have technology-based learning tools that enable interactive, collaborative and engaging learning experiences that boost communication and self-directed learning skills," Grable said. "The 21st Century Teaching and Learning Initiative is a primary example of how this can be done."

For more information about the 21CTL Project, please see http://www.fi.ncsu.edu/projects/21st_initiative.html.