February 10, 2000 | Read Time: 1 minute
The Intel Corporation has started an ambitious program to train 400,000 teachers in 20 countries in the use of computer technology and teach them how to make it part of their classroom lessons.
Over the next three years, the Santa Clara, Calif., company, which produces computer chips and other telecommunications products, will be putting $100-million in cash, equipment, and services into its Teach to the Future project. The program will establish 20 regional training centers in the United States, each of which will train 100 master teachers per year. The master teachers will then train teachers in their local school districts. Similar centers will be created in 20 countries in Asia, Europe, and Latin America.
The Microsoft Corporation, in Redmond, Wash., will contribute software with an estimated retail value of $344-million to Teach to the Future. Each teacher who completes training in the program will receive a copy of Microsoft’s Office 2000 and Encarta Encyclopedia 2000. The company will also donate software for the training centers and for the master teachers.
Other computer manufacturers, including Hewlett-Packard and Premio Computers, have pledged equipment donations and offered product discounts to school districts whose teachers have received training in the program, bringing the total committed to Teach to the Future to almost $500-million.
Sites in Arizona, California, New Mexico, Oregon, Texas, and Washington will be participating in the program’s first year.
