July 06, 2010

Worldwide Leader in Classroom Management Software Awards $10k in Grants for Educators

Portland, OR – Educators from three U.S. schools will receive a combined $10,000 in grant funding to provide technology and tools for their classrooms in order to provide students with 21^st century skills. Netop, the worldwide leader in classroom management software, announced today that William B. Woodrum from Robert A. Long High School in Longview, Washington, and Ranella Franklin from Everman Joe C. Bean High School in Everman, Texas, will each receive a $2,500 grant, while Irene Parisi from East Windsor High School in East Windsor, Connecticut, will receive a $5,000 grant.

“The 21^st Century Classroom Makeover Grants are a response to the current economic state, as well as Netop’s mission to provide every educator the tools to prepare students to be successful in the 21^stcentury,” said Kurt Bager, Netop CEO. “With MyVision, we’ve given educators free classroom management software, but they’ve told us they need other tools in their classroom updated as well.”

Woodrum will use the funding to purchase computers and video equipment to supplement his high school philosophy course, where students write their own short story, translate the story into a script, act it out and create a film short. Franklin will use her grant to purchase tools to empower and enable her special-needs students to increase their potential for success in the 21^st century.

Parisi will allocate her grant to a large-scale project. Within East Windsor High School, Parisi is planning a full television studio. With a green screen, two cameras and a video switcher, students with varying interests will benefit and engage as they produce morning announcements, cooking shows and how-to videos from the career center in their own television studio. The will partner with a local communications company to film town meetings, sporting events and after-school activities as well.

“To participate in today’s knowledge-based, technical economy, students must be explicitly taught to know how to learn, manage new technologies, and interact skillfully in diverse social and economic environments,” Parisi said. “The proposed program this grant will fund…will support the developments and mastery of 21^st century skills, such as professional competencies and habits of mind that extend the basic literacy skills of reading, writing and mathematics.”

One of the components of the grant application was to provide a letter of support from the applicant’s financial decision-maker ensuring that the funding would be spent in close alignment with the applicant’s proposal.

“We really want this funding to make a difference,” Bager said. “All of the applicants are deserving, and we feel the recipients will use the funds to measurably improve the skills of the students they interact with daily, effectively preparing them for the 21^st century.”

About Netop Classroom Management Software

Vision6 is Netop's most popular classroom management software, used by educators in more than 75 countries around the world. The ten largest school districts in the United States use Vision6 classroom management software, as do schools large and small throughout the world. In addition to Vision6, Netop also offers Netop School, for schools with advanced classroom management needs, and MyVision, for educators looking for an entry-level classroom management solution. With more than twenty years of experience, seven offices worldwide, 142 Netop team members, and products offered in fifteen languages, Netop is the world leader in classroom management software.