BellSouth Supports Nine-State Teacher Development Through Grants and ThinkQuest Fellows Symposium

ATLANTA — BellSouth will honor 18 teachers chosen as ThinkQuest Fellows and nine ThinkQuest State Partners from throughout the Southeast during a four-day symposium Feb. 22-25.

The symposium, to be held at the Georgia Tech campus in Atlanta, will recognize fellows and partners for their achievements and provide resources that may be used to train an additional 500 teachers in the nine-state BellSouth region.

The symposium will feature technology demonstrations, training in the ThinkQuest approach to teaching and learning, and community building. Participants will experience a videoconference using Internet 2, wearable technology, shared classroom environments, and virtual technology. Georgia Tech, which is contributing presentations, facilities, and demonstrations, will assist BellSouth in providing a glimpse of future technology and its application in a K-12 environment.

“With a rich history of supporting education throughout our nine-state region, BellSouth provides products and services that create the infrastructure for schools to address important issues such as student achievement, safe schools, professional development for teachers, and home-to-school connections,” noted Dr. Sandi Glass, K-12 Industry Market Manager for BellSouth. “Support of the ThinkQuest programs and the identification of 18 ThinkQuest Fellows reflect thecompany’s commitment to student achievement by the integration of technology into classroom practices. ThinkQuest’s process of learning enables students to participate in interactive, collaborative, and real-life activities.”

BellSouth will present $18,000 to ThinkQuest State Partners in the form of grants for each state. Each state team will use $2,000 to facilitate staff development activities. The goal is to provide ThinkQuest process training for 60 teachers in each state.

ThinkQuest is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to encourage students and teachers to explore and realize their potential to enhance teaching and learning with the use of computer and networking technologies. ThinkQuest programs provide opportunities and resources for participants to collaboratively create and publish high quality, content rich educational Web sites. Programs, which are free to all participants, include the annual ThinkQuest Internet Challenge and ThinkQuest Junior competitions.

Since 1996, students participating in these competitions have created a Web library of more than 4,000 free educational Web sites, which is used by up to 2.5 million unique users each month. International in scope, ThinkQuest has partner organizations in over 60 countries and 37 states, and participants from more than 110 countries. For more information, visit the ThinkQuest Web site and library at www.thinkquest.org.

“These web-based activities provide the chance for students to learn and display the important academic, technology and collaboration skills required in our highly technical and connected society,” said Glass.

BellSouth developed the Fellows program as a contribution to support staff development for teachers. By supporting the training of a group of teachers to serve as trainers in ThinkQuest Internet-style learning, BellSouth contributes to improving teaching and learning in their region. More information about BellSouth and educational opportunities can be seen at the BellSouth Education Gateway, http://k12.bellsouth.net.

The ThinkQuest Partner organization in each state selected the BellSouth Fellows. This partner, usually the state Department of Education, designates a representative to coordinate ThinkQuest activities and serve as the main point of contact for the program.

The following teachers, technology coordinators, and district level technology professionals were selected as 2001 BellSouth ThinkQuest Fellows:

• Georgia: Roger Chenard and Patricia Chenard
• Donna Herring, State Partner

• Kentucky: Bonnie Matlow and Sherry Wheeler – Elaine Harrison, State Partner

• Louisiana: Felicia Colemen and Dr. John Swang – Joana Dieterich, State Partner

• Mississippi: Charlotte Daves and Liz Townsend – Nadine Gilbert, State Partner

• North Carolina: Susan Herring and Lynn Beatty
• Wyn Martin Smith, State Partner

• South Carolina: Arthur Lader and Cherelyn Anderson – Tami Clyburn, State Partner

• Tennessee: John Payne and Cathy Thomley – Jerry Bates, State Partner

• Alabama: Vicki Diane Weber and Alesa Judd – Kathy Birdnow, State Partner

• Florida: Suzy Behel – Cynthia Brown, State Partner

About BellSouth Corporation

BellSouth Corporation is a Fortune 100 communications services company headquartered in Atlanta, Ga., serving more than 44 million customers in the United States and 16 other countries.

Consistently recognized for customer satisfaction, BellSouth provides a full array of broadband data and e-commerce solutions to business customers, including Web hosting and other Internet services. In the residential market, BellSouth offers DSL high-speed Internet access, advanced voice features and other services. BellSouth also provides online and directory advertising services, including BellSouth® Real Pages(SM).com.

BellSouth owns 40 percent of Cingular Wireless, the nation’s second largest wireless company, which provides innovative wireless data and voice services.