The Achieving Technological Literacy in Arizona for Students and Teachers (ATLAST) is a three-year $880,000 project supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF) Advancing Technology in Education Program. ATLAST is a project for increasing technological literacy in secondary education.

The performing unit is the National Center for Teacher Education (NCTE) of the Maricopa County Community College District in Arizona. This project provides teachers and future teachers with the knowledge and skills needed to prepare students for an increasingly technology-driven society. The grant focuses on teachers and students who participate in the Arizona Department of Education’s Education Professions Program, a high school Career and Technical Education (CTE) program for students who have an interest in pursuing a career in the field of education.

• Provide Arizona participants with knowledge and understanding of regional
  high-tech industry, impact on Arizona residents, and future career opportunities for students.
• Enable participants to leverage Web 2.0 and other open-source, free emerging technology tools to attract students to technology subject matter and improve their overall technological literacy.
• Enable participants to understand the purpose of technological literacy and its impact on student success.
• Integrate research within the ATLAST project that addresses key issues and questions about technological literacy in education.

The design of ATLAST training is based on recent technological literacy research and proven best practices for teacher preparation and professional development. They include maximizing hands-on work and guided experience while minimizing “talking head” presentation; ongoing collaborative engagement with other teachers and students; provision of modeling to increase perceptions of self efficacy relative to the use of computer tools; and teacher competencies for using instructional technology.

ATLAST training balances its focus between knowledge of technology industry in the community and ability to use instructional technology to raise the level of student technological literacy – using technology to teach technology. A key factor in helping teachers build their confidence toward technology is to teach relevant skills for the classroom. Taking what they learn at ATLAST workshops, teachers design and develop their own technological literacy learning materials using Web-based tools and collaborative learning. In addition, teachers and students work together in teams to implement technological literacy training in their schools and to promote knowledge sharing, mentoring, and peer support.

Access content from ATLAST project workshops and the open online series, Tech Explorations, on the ATLAST Google website

Benefits for Teachers & Students:

• Stipends for teacher participation
• Participating in a community of learning
• Knowledge of Arizona’s technology industry
• Sharing of learning objects that meet standards
• Opportunities for collaborative projects
• Classroom support when integrating technology in classroom
• Access to technology

To learn more about the ATLAST project, visit the ATLAST Google website.This site includes detailed information about the ATLAST project, workshops and presentations content; educational resources for educators; and project reports.

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