22/01/2008
No Child Left Behind Mandate met by Free ICDL IT Education Program from ALISON
A free IT program has been commended for meeting the requirements of the ‘No Child Left Behind, Enhancing Education through Technology’ mandate
The ALISON IT training program for the ICDL-US Certification has been recognized as meeting most of the requirements set forth in the 'No Child Left Behind, Enhancing Education through Technology' mandate. This high-quality program is available free to the individual learner, on the new online learning service found at www.alison.com
Teachers and students alike benefit by implementing the ICDL program, according to the Chief Academic Officer at ALISON, Martin Galvin. He said that teachers can utilize this basic IT training program as a tool to integrate technology into their classrooms, but it also a great program for their own IT professional development. “Its appeal is broad”, according to Galvin, as “IT training has value for individuals at all stages of their careers.”
ALISON CEO Mike Feerick described his organization as being committed to Article 26 of the United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights. "Education is a human right" according to Feerick, and "at ALISON we believe that making high-quality IT e-learning freely available to students across the US, is vitally important if we are to turn this era of ‘digital divide’ into an era of ‘digital opportunity!’"
Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs are using ICDL certification to help ensure their students’ future success as they progress onto college or into the workforce. For example it is used in several Philadelphia School District Career Academies, such as the Automotive Academy at West Philadelphia High School. According to Simon Hauger, the Automotive Academy Director, ICDL is a valued part of the students’ ninth grade course requirements. At the Technology Small Learning Community in Northeast High School Philadelphia, teacher Colleen Yaremko recently described the ICDL program as an “important foundation stone for all further IT training”.
The ICDL program is a fully-integrated solution of training components, certification testing and administrative tools, that assure an educational institution that basic digital skills have been successfully demonstrated and are ready to be put to use.
