Virginia Governor Bob McDonnel recently announced that Grafton High School in Yorktown will integrate the Microsoft IT Academy Program, a technology education and certification initiative that teaches students everything from basic computer skills to advanced programming, according to the Williamsburg Yorktown Daily.
Giving students access to technology in the classroom, like a tablet computer, interactive whiteboard or
DLP projector, allows educators to connect with their classes in a variety of ways, and computer literacy among students and teachers only strengthens the communicative abilities of evolving technology.
The program will also provide support to teachers in the form of seminars that introduce educators to new devices and software programs that can be integrated into lesson plans. This fall, the program will run in 30 high schools across the state, and the Virginia Department of Education intends to have it in every high school in Virginia by the end of the school year in June 2012, according to the source.
The program includes certification exams that give students entering science, technology, engineering and math fields a distinct and valuable foundation in the computer programs they will likely use professionally.
