UF to serve as evaluation partner for the BellSouth 20/20 Vision for
Education initiative
ATLANTA, May 23 /PRNewswire/ - The BellSouth Foundation today announced
that the University of Florida College of Education will receive a $600,000
grant to develop a comprehensive strategy for measuring and assessing the
outcomes of the BellSouth 20/20 Vision for Education initiative. The $20M
initiative commemorates the Foundation's 20th anniversary and is designed
to bring engaging, rigorous, online instruction to students throughout the
Southeast -- particularly low-income and minority students -- to address
the growing achievement gap and improve graduation rates. The initiative
focuses on strengthening state-led virtual schools and supporting
e-Learning in the communities BellSouth serves.
Under the five-year grant, UF education researchers headed by education
technology specialist Richard Ferdig, will develop standardized methods for
evaluating the effectiveness of online education for students. In
collaboration with BellSouth's virtual high school partners, the
researchers will then use the new evaluation tools to determine the best
teaching practices and strategies for online instruction, particularly to
students of diverse backgrounds.
"Studies have already proven that learning through online schooling is
effective," said Ferdig. "Our study will move beyond the question of
whether virtual schooling works, focusing instead on when and how online
instruction works most effectively. Our aim is to provide a comprehensive
set of tools for regional virtual schools to improve the quality of online
instruction and student performance."
Ferdig's co-researchers at UF are Tom Dana, professor of education and
chairman of the college's School of Teaching and Learning, and education
technology doctoral students Erik Black and Meredith DiPietro.
The centerpiece of the evaluation plan for BellSouth 20/20 Vision for
Education will include drawing on existing research and current virtual
school practice to create a database of metrics useful for school
improvement. The online database will provide multiple reporting mechanisms
that will provide implications for funding, policy, and practice. It will
also be used by the virtual schools to provide timely, continuous feedback
for data-driven decision making and evaluation of existing policies and
practice.
In addition, University of Florida researchers will test evaluation
instruments to improve student performance and increase the quality of
online instruction.
"University of Florida has a national reputation for innovative
education research and this grant recognizes their expertise in virtual
learning," said Marshall Criser III, State President - Florida, BellSouth.
"Our partnership with them will be instrumental in supporting our work with
state-led virtual schools and furthering our e-Learning efforts."
About BellSouth Corporation
BellSouth Corporation is a Fortune 500 communications company
headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. BellSouth has joint control and 40
percent ownership of Cingular Wireless, the nation's largest wireless voice
and data provider with 55.8 million customers.
Backed by award-winning customer service, BellSouth offers the most
comprehensive and innovative package of voice and data services available
in the market. Through BellSouth Answers(R), residential and small business
customers can bundle their local and long distance service with dial-up and
high-speed DSL Internet access, satellite television and Cingular(R)
Wireless service. For businesses, BellSouth provides secure, reliable local
and long distance voice and data networking solutions. BellSouth also
offers print and online directory advertising through The Real Yellow
Pages(R) and YELLOWPAGES.COM(TM) from BellSouth.
BellSouth believes that diversity and fostering an inclusive
environment are critical in maintaining a competitive advantage in today's
global marketplace. More information about BellSouth can be found at
http://www.bellsouth.com.
About the BellSouth Foundation
The BellSouth Foundation is an endowed trust of BellSouth Corporation
that is devoted to education in the South. Since its creation in 1986, the
Foundation has funded over 595 grants and operated numerous special
initiatives, with a total investment of more than $56 million. For more
information about the BellSouth Foundation, please visit
http://www.bellsouth.com/foundation.
About the University of Florida College of Education
The UF College of Education ranks 22nd among public education schools
of the elite AAU institutions and is the state's top-ranked education
college. The college also has four nationally ranked academic programs:
counselor education (ranked No. 2), special education (9), elementary
education (12) and curriculum and instruction (22). The college enrolls
more than 1,900 students in more than 40 bachelor's and advanced degree
programs, offered within five academic units: Counselor Education;
Educational Administration; Educational Psychology; Special Education; and
Teaching and Learning. Over the past century, UF education faculty have
pioneered landmark initiatives such as: - Head Start - the community
college system - the middle-school movement - Florida's first laboratory
school - and school counseling programs. To sustain the college's
innovative edge deep into the 21st century, college faculty are exploring
ways to adapt cutting-edge technologies to increase student learning in the
classroom. The college provides university-wide leadership in outreach to
at-risk public schools through novel partnerships with schools and school
districts throughout Florida. For more information about the UF College of
Education, please visit http://www.education.ufl.edu.
SOURCE BellSouth Corporation
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Related links:
http://www.bellsouth.com
http://www.education.ufl.edu
http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/095650.html/
CONTACT:
Nadine Randall of BellSouth Corporation,
+1-404-829-8724, or i-pager, nadinerandall@imcingular.com; or
Larry Lansford of University of Florida, +1-352-392-0726 ext.
266, or llansford@coe.ufl.edu
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