This item originally appeared in the Oct. 23, 2003, issue of The Tech Talk.

By ANNA HOLTON

Staff Writer

The College of Education received a $65,000 grant from BellSouth to fund a new education program, STAR Professional Schools: Digital Edge Program.

STAR stands for Subject-Matter Qualified, Technology Integrator, Advanced Communicator and Research-Based Proficient.

Digital Edge is the establishment of a collaborative learning environment to support the integration of technology in the student-teaching experience, which means each classroom with a student teacher is equipped with laptop computers for every elementary student to enhance the educational process.

Lajeane Thomas, project director and a professor of curriculum, instruction and leadership, said the funding was confirmed July 1, but the check presentation ceremony was held Oct. 8 in the President's Conference Room in Wyly Tower of Learning.

Out of 100 applicants, the Digital Edge project was chosen as one of nine grant recipients in the southeastern United States.

Tech President Dr. Dan Reneau said the grant will give Tech and the participating schools a technological advantage.

"I think it is a wonderful grant," Reneau said. "BellSouth has been very generous to Tech. It gives us an edge and, in this case, a digital edge.

"It is a tremendous and worthwhile project. I congratulate and commend Lajeane and the College of Education for this project."

Thomas said, "schools have to meet certain criteria, but the program primarily reaches out to under-served schools.