MONTEREY, Calif., Sept. 9 (AScribe Newswire) -- The Monterey Institute for Technology and Education today announced the receipt of a $1.5 million grant from The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation to support the distribution of high-quality online courses to students and teachers worldwide. The National Repository of Online Courses (NROC) will house high school, Advanced Placement, and higher education courses that will be distributed through a network of state departments of education, online schools, teacher groups, charitable organizations, and free, public web sites.
"MITE's objective in launching the National Repository of Online Courses is to increase access to quality education for everyone, especially underserved populations. With public moneys for education shrinking while student enrollments continue to grow, launching NROC could not have come at a better time," said Gary Lopez, Executive Director of MITE.
Courses in the NROC library are contributed by a community of leading online learning programs from across the country. All courses selected for NROC must meet very high standards of scholarship, instructional value, and presentational impact. "To be an effective teaching tool, an online course must use great design and great presentation to grab the student's attention," said Lopez.
"We see a growing demand for access to affordable education in this country and the world. Web-based content is one of the solutions to meet this need and MITE is an organization with the skills and vision to make the project a reality," said Mike Smith, Education Program Director for The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation.
NROC courses will be available beginning in September 2005.
CONTACT: Butch Gemin, Monterey Institute for Technology and Education, 719-783-9637, cell 719-660-3058, bgemin@montereyinstitute.org
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ABOUT MITE: NROC is a project of the Monterey Institute for Technology and Education (MITE), an educational non-profit organization committed to helping meet society's need for access to effective, high-quality educational opportunities in an era of rapid economic, social, and personal change. The Monterey Institute for Technology and Education was founded as a 501(c)3 non-profit organization in 2003. Learn more at: http://www.montereyinstitute.org.
ABOUT THE HEWLETT FOUNDATION: The William and Flora Hewlett
Foundation has been making grants since 1966 to help solve
social and environmental problems at home and around the
world. The Foundation concentrates its resources on
activities in conflict resolution, education, environment,
performing arts, population, and U.S.-Latin American
relations. In addition, the Foundation has initiatives
supporting neighborhood improvement, philanthropy, and
global affairs.
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