NCTI Announcment

[Mechelle De Craene]

I just received this via email and thought I'd share. Cheers, Mechelle : )

NCTI National Center for Technology Innovation (Advancing Technology Innovations for All Students)
For Immediate Release
January 16, 2008

Contact: Becky Powell
[phone]


National Center for Technology Innovation Announces Award Competition for Innovative Research Enhancing Learning Opportunities for Students with Special Needs

Washington, DC — The National Center for Technology Innovation (NCTI) announced today the Technology in the Works 2008 competition, a unique award promoting excellence in short-term, quasi-experimental evaluation studies examining the impact of assistive and learning technologies to improve educational outcomes for all students.

The competition calls for “quick turnaround” collaborative research efforts that inform the development of innovative assistive and learning technologies for students with special needs. The mission of the competition is to encourage researchers and developers to work collaboratively to study a particular K–12 intervention or technology over a short period of time and provide a current “snapshot” of its effectiveness. Study findings have the potential to guide future research and development activities, as well as investments in effective technology solutions in serving students with special needs.

“Past Technology in the Works award winners, including Access Technologies Group and CyberLearning Technology, LLC, have made significant contributions in shedding light on effective programs and emerging technologies for students with special needs. We look forward to identifying high-quality teams with innovative ideas and providing them the seed money to contribute to the limited body of research on what is working for students with special needs,” commented Tracy Gray, Director of the National Center for Technology Innovation at the American Institutes for Research.

The Technology in the Works competition will offer up to five awards of $15,000 each and will be announced on May 1, 2008. Letters of intent must be received no later than 5:00 p.m. ET on March 3, 2008, and the proposal must be received no later than 5:00 p.m. ET on April 2, 2008. Award recipients must secure matching funds of at least $15,000 to be eligible. Funds may be used to support an expansion of an already existing research project.

More information regarding the competition, including a detailed Request for Proposal (RFP), eligibility guidelines, and deadlines, is available on the NCTI Web site.


About the National Center for Technology Innovation
The National Center for Technology Innovation (NCTI) (www.NationalTechCenter.org), established in 2001, advances learning opportunities for all students, with a special focus on individuals with disabilities, by fostering technology innovations. Funded by the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) at the U.S. Department of Education, NCTI offers technical guidance to facilitate the growth and sustainability of assistive and learning tools. NCTI broadens and enriches the field by providing high-quality resources and developing meaningful partnerships with innovators, entrepreneurs, researchers, and practitioners. The National Center for Technology Innovation is housed at the American Institutes for Research in Washington, DC.