Four R.I. teachers to bring technology skills to Brazil Students in R.I. will be able to follow their
adventures on the web

KINGSTON, R.I. -- May 1, 2000 -- Four Rhode Island public school teachers will leave the state Saturday for a three-week trip to Brazil as part of an exchange program to provide teachers and students there with training in the use of technology and its integration into the curriculum.

The four teacher-trainers, all trained through the Rhode Island Teachers & Technology Initiative, will travel throughout the country until May 26. They will work with their Brazilian counterparts on a number of activities in which schools can participate by clicking on http://www.ri.net/Travel/Brazil/index.htm.

The teacher-trainers are: Diane Morris, technology facilitator of the Bristol-Warren School Department; Linda Poulton of Thompson Middle School's Science Department in Newport; Luis Oliveira of Middletown High School's Foreign Language Department in Middletown; and Vin Doyle of Toll Gate High School's English Department in Warwick.

Their visit to Brazil is the second part of the exchange. Last summer, three guests from Brazil's ProInfo program, Renata de Carvalho, Helenice Barcello, and Joas dos Santos, worked with trainers and teachers in Rhode Island.

The Teachers & Technology Initiative, now in its fourth year, is funded through a $5.7 million grant from the Rhode Island Foundation, with major support from the University of Rhode Island and the Rhode Island Department of Education.

"We're returning to help build learning connections between teachers and students in the U.S. and teachers and students in Brazil," said Ted Kellogg, the URI professor who has spearheaded the training program.

Kellogg said Poulton and Morris both spent a sabbatical year at URI learning about technology applications in the classroom.

The governments of Brazil and the U.S are supporting the trip starting Saturday.

"The underlying purpose is to extend communication to the fifth largest country in the world. We in some small way want to build better bonds," Kellogg said.

"We're maintaining an e-mail list and web site, and the teachers will be posting daily activities to the web site, so schoolchildren all over the world can be involved. There is an automatic translator on the web site so students and teachers can talk with each other."

Brazil's primary language is Portuguese. "Our teachers will be traveling with their computers and digital cameras, so students will be able to track their journeys and see images of where they've been."

-xxx-

For further Information: Ted Kellogg 401-874-4191
Dave Lavallee 401-874-2116