SUNNYSIDE UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT, ARIZONA
one of the fastest growing school districts in the U.S.

The Challenge: Sunnyside Unified needed a way to train teachers in technology that was affordable, effective and could be delivered after school at home. By implementing Teacher Universe’s online professional development courses, Sunnyside District is successfully providing its 836 teachers with effective and affordable technology training. As a result of this training, Sunnyside teachers are creating, sharing and using technology-rich, standards-based, lesson plans to enrich their classroom teaching.

Teacher Universe Solution: In August 2000, in order to meet the needs of its rapidly growing district, Sunnyside began working with Teacher Universe to accomplish its goal of quickly providing its teachers with convenient training aimed at integrating technology into the curriculum. In order to provide cutting-edge technology and avoid the expense and time constraints of scheduling classroom substitute teachers, Sunnyside chose the anytime, anywhere convenience of Teacher Universe’s IntegrateOnline courses for its teachers. Sunnyside chose to use the Teacher Universe bridge model which introduces teachers to online courses via live one-day workshops. This ensures all teachers receive the support and guidance they need to be successful using online professional development courses. Because of the initial success in Sunnyside, additional schools and districts have decided to participate in Teacher Universe's online training

The Challenge: The Georgia State Legislature wanted to make a difference in science education, using technology. By offering the Galaxy curriculum and professional development training as a state-wide initiative, the state of Georgia has made significant strides towards accomplishing its goal of creating a level playing field for all Georgia students by providing teachers with a scalable, technology-rich science curriculum.

Teacher Universe Solution: In 1996, the state of Georgia, prompted by dramatic learning improvements demonstrated in 2 elementary schools piloting the Galaxy program, proposed a state-wide initiative which offered all Georgia elementary schools the option to implement the Galaxy curriculum in their classrooms. In partnership with Georgia Public Broadcasting and the Georgia State Legislature, Galaxy embarked on an initial training program for over 1200 teachers. By providing on-going training and extensive classroom resources including media-rich lesson plans, hands-on science kits, weekly interactive video and fax activities, Galaxy Classroom has been embraced by 40% of the elementary schools in Georgia. Galaxy in Georgia has grown to provide elementary science education in 40% of the elementary schools, to include regional training sessions, a network of 15 "Teacher Navigators," and a comprehensive set of web-based content, investigation, and collaboration tools for teachers and students.

Teacher Universe Solution:
In 1997, Moore County began working with Teacher Universe to formulate a detailed technology plan that met the district's goal of charting future growth in both technology and professional staff development. By utilizing Leadership and Planning courses, Moore county was able to identify its needs and decide upon a course of action. Moore County adopted the Train-the-Trainer model. By using our unique AssessOnline, Moore County can easily identify individual training needs, which result in more effective training and lower training costs. In three years, Teacher Universe has provided training and courseware supporting the implementation of Moore County's district-wide technology plan.

Teacher Universe Solution:
In addition to the Laptop Introductory training, Teacher Universe instructed all program directors in the Department of Education in the Integrate 101 and 201 series of classes. Teacher Universe, working with Puerto Rican teachers and international translators has created live and online Spanish versions of its Integrate 101.