Computer Learning Foundation Announces 13th Annual Computer Learning Month

COMPUTER LEARNING FOUNDATION ANNOUNCES
14TH ANNUAL COMPUTER LEARNING MONTH® IN OCTOBER

Activities and Annual Contests Emphasize the Power of Desktop Movies
in Children’s Learning and Teaching Teachers

SUNNYVALE, Calif., (August 25, 2000)—The Computer Learning Foundation announced today the 14th annual Computer Learning Month in October, with the release of their annual publication, Computer Learning 2001. Each October since 1987, the Foundation hosts Computer Learning Month to focus attention on the important role technology plays in children's learning. Computer Learning Month activities involve thousands of educators, children and community members in learning new ways to use technology effectively with children. This year, the Foundation’s theme is Teacher Teaching Teachers, in recognition of almost 20 years of exemplary teachers taking the initiative to learn new technologies on their own, and then sharing their knowledge with their colleagues. The Foundation is also emphasizing learning to create and use Desktop Movies to enhance children’s learning, to improve professional development opportunities for teachers and to recognize exemplary teachers who are teaching other teachers. Complete details are available at the Foundation’s Web site (http://www.computerlearning.org) and in Computer Learning 2001, along with articles and information on other Foundation programs and resources to help parents and educators. Computer Learning 2001 is available free of charge to hundreds of thousands of parents and educators, thanks to support from Apple.

Computer technologies have dramatically changed the ways we can communicate, and nowhere is the impact greater than in education. In the early days of computers in schools, word processing software changed written communication forever. Children now had a tool that allowed them to change their written work easily which encouraged them to edit their work to learn to communicate better. The advent of desktop publishing, graphics and presentation software tools enabled even very young children to communicate more powerfully. The Internet and the World Wide Web brought communication another major leap forward by allowing children access to information far beyond the limits of their school libraries and classrooms and the ability to interact with others on projects and to communicate with people all over the world at lightning speed. Now the latest in technologies —digital video cameras that interface with desktop computers with powerful, yet easy-to-use, editing software—allows even early elementary school children to create and edit Desktop Movies that are not only fun to create but also enhance learning, improve the impact of children’s communication and enable them to share their projects with others all over the world on the Internet.

“When you put all these exciting technologies together, learning comes alive for children, and they become truly engaged in learning and excited about learning to communicate better,” notes Sally Bowman Alden, Executive Director of the Computer Learning Foundation. “We believe the new Desktop Movie technologies not only provide significant learning benefits for children, but also offer powerful opportunities for teachers to learn from one another how to be more effective as teachers.”

"Apple is delighted to be involved with Computer Learning Foundation’s Computer Learning Month,” said Tony Lee, Apple’s senior director of Worldwide Markets. “The iMac DV, featuring iMovie 2, is the perfect solution for teachers who want to use Desktop Movies to foster creativity and build excitement in the classroom.”

To provide inspiration and ideas for expanding professional development for teachers, the feature article in Computer Learning 2001 is on teachers teaching teachers and includes ideas collected in one of last year’s Computer Learning Month competitions on professional development. Computer Learning 2001 also provides information to help people get started creating Desktop Movies, including tips for making good Desktop Movies, information on how to transfer video to computers and a listing of other resources. Additional information and links are provided at the Foundation’s Web site. Computer Learning also includes a catalog of hundreds of resource materials developed by or endorsed by the Computer Learning Foundation to help parents and educators use of technology effectively with children.

Computer Learning also includes complete information on its popular annual Computer Learning Month contests, open to students, educators, community groups and schools in the United States and Canada. This year, the Foundation is offering three sweepstakes and four merit competitions to provide activities for Computer Learning Month. Computer Learning Foundation will award a total of 16 grand prize winners and schools a complete easy-to-use system for creating Desktop Movies—Apple’s iMac DV computer, pre-installed with Apple’s iMovie 2 software and a Canon ZR 10 Digital Video Camera (a $2,000 value). A total of 75 second prize winners will be awarded Adobe® Premiere® Software, a powerful yet easy-to-use digital video editing software tool available for Macintosh and PC computers (a $459 value). A total of 36 third prize winners will receive a complete set of technology how-to brochures from Children’s Software Press (a $56 value). Contest entry deadlines range from November 30 to December 31, 2000.

The Computer Learning Month Event Sweepstakes is an annual contest to encourage and recognize people who host local Computer Learning Month events to help others in their community learn more about the benefits of technology.

The 13th Annual Computer Learning Foundation Certified School Program and Sweepstakes encourage and recognize schools and educators for developing new ways of using technology in their classrooms. All Certified Schools are recognized with a Certified School certificate and automatically entered in the Certified School Sweepstakes, in which several lucky schools are drawn at random to receive prizes. To earn certification, every teacher in the school must develop at least two new lesson plans that incorporate the use of technology by November 15, 2000. The Foundation provides a free application program for schools (downloadable from its Web site) to use to develop their lesson plans, that allows the Foundation to quickly share the new lesson plans created for others to use.

Desktop Movies and Web Pages for Professional Development invites educators to share their professional development ideas and materials in today’s new mediums so the Foundation can make them available to teachers everywhere through its Web site. Winners will be drawn at random from qualifying entries.

To recognize teachers who have been helping other teachers learn, the Foundation is launching the Computer Learning Foundation Hall of Fame with a contest that asks individuals to nominate exemplary educators worthy of this honor. Entries must be in the form of a Desktop Movie or Web page tribute that honors and showcases the nominated educator. The Foundation is also hosting a lesson plan com-petition, in which teachers develop teaching ideas for incorporating Desktop Movies in their classroom activities. Entries for these merit competitions must be submitted online at the Foundation’s Web site.

Two competitions for students expand the Foundation’s Our Town Initiative. In the Our Town Merit Competition, students must create or participate in the development of a Web site about their town. In the second merit competition, Desktop Movies About Your Town, students create Desktop Movies that showcase the special features and attributes of their town and share them on the Internet.

Complete information on Computer Learning Foundation contests, programs and materials and a downloadable pdf version of Computer Learning 2001 are available at the Foundation’s Web site (http://www.computerlearning.org) or by mail by writing to: Computer Learning Foundation, Dept. CL2001, P.O. Box 60007, Palo Alto, CA 94306-0007.)

The Computer Learning Foundation, based in Sunnyvale, California, is an international nonprofit educational foundation dedicated to bringing businesses, schools and communities together to improve the quality of education and preparation of youth for the workplace through the use of technology. Founded in 1987, the Foundation serves as a clearinghouse of information for parents and educators on using technology effectively with children. In addition, the Computer Learning Foundation hosts Computer Learning Month each October, a major national grass roots educational effort, and motivates and recognizes innovative uses of technology through annual competitions for children, educators, community groups and schools. The Foundation's Our Town Initiative provides schools with an innovative way to involve students in learning about the Internet, their community and other academic studies by working with others in their community to develop a Web site for their town. The Computer Learning Foundation is funded by corporate and individual donations and is endorsed by and collaborates with 56 U.S. State Departments of Education and Canadian Ministries of Education and 26 national nonprofit organizations.

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