Pilot and demonstration projects identify new and successful ways to
enrich learning and instruction.
We develop dynamic
learning experiences
and
demonstrate
their effectiveness.
How
do we make
online courses effective?
Many
elementary schools supply teachers with commercial science kits to bolster
science education. But many teachers lack the science background they
need to use the kits as effectively as possible. The Burns Technology Center
closes the loop by offering teachers easy-to-access online courses through
the National Teachers Enhancement Network--Elementary (NTEN) program.
The courses expand on the science concepts elementary educators are
expected to teach when using the kits. They give teachers the background
and thus the confidence that they need to suceed in the kit-based classroom.
Scientists, instructional technologists and in-service teachers team
up to design the graduate-level courses.
How
do we help people to understand technology, so they can use it to reach
their goals?
Montana
Indian reservation residents seek ways to preserve their culture, history,
and language for future generations. In order to help them to use technology
to share defining elements of their culture, the BTC created the Technology
and Cultural Heritage Learning Centers (TeCH). BTC training helps the
residents capture and preserve history, stories and other tribal resources.
Community members of all ages participate; they create electronic modules
that play on kiosks in the Learning Center, sharing sacred songs, oral
histories, Indian languages and other lore.
How
do we use technology to reach a dispersed population?
The
JASON Foundation for Education uses exploration and discovery to inspire
students to pursue learning in science and math. Because JASON delivers
content to central locations, a model that doesn't work well in Montana,
The BTC developed its own. The Montana JASON Project permits over 8,000
students across Montana to plumb dark oceans, trek wet rain forests,
and study red-hot volcanoes with the JASON explorers. Other states are
now adapting the BTC's affordable telecom solution to connect their
remote schools to the JASON adventure..
Many of the projects we undertake use communication
technology to enrich the classroom experience, to connect isolated communities,
and to offer cultural and educational opportunities that would not otherwise
be available.
Many
elementary schools supply teachers with commercial science kits to bolster
science education. But many teachers lack the science background they
need to use the kits as effectively as possible. The Burns Technology Center
closes the loop by offering teachers easy-to-access online courses through
the National Teachers Enhancement Network--Elementary (NTEN) program.
The courses expand on the science concepts elementary educators are
expected to teach when using the kits. They give teachers the background
and thus the confidence that they need to suceed in the kit-based classroom.
Scientists, instructional technologists and in-service teachers team
up to design the graduate-level courses. 
Montana
Indian reservation residents seek ways to preserve their culture, history,
and language for future generations. In order to help them to use technology
to share defining elements of their culture, the BTC created the Technology
and Cultural Heritage Learning Centers (TeCH). BTC training helps the
residents capture and preserve history, stories and other tribal resources.
Community members of all ages participate; they create electronic modules
that play on kiosks in the Learning Center, sharing sacred songs, oral
histories, Indian languages and other lore.
The
JASON Foundation for Education uses exploration and discovery to inspire
students to pursue learning in science and math. Because JASON delivers
content to central locations, a model that doesn't work well in Montana,
The BTC developed its own. The Montana JASON Project permits over 8,000
students across Montana to plumb dark oceans, trek wet rain forests,
and study red-hot volcanoes with the JASON explorers. Other states are
now adapting the BTC's affordable telecom solution to connect their
remote schools to the JASON adventure..