A research paper written by EDC’s Center for Children and Technology (CCT), based on their evaluation of an educational technology assistance program in New Mexico, has been selected for an award at this year’s National Educational Computer Conference in Seattle, Washington.

CCT researchers Wendy Martin, Naomi Hupert and Noga Admon and New Mexico State University researcher Carmen Gonzales are the 2003 recipients of the SIGTE Research Paper Award for their paper, “Real Teachers Making Real Changes: The RETA Model for Professional Development.”

The award, which is given by the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE)’s Special Interest Group for Teacher Educators (SIGTE), honors the conference paper that best addresses issues in either pre-service teacher education or in-service professional development related to technology. Each year, members select one paper from among the dozens submitted to the conference.

This year’s award winner, “Real Teachers Making Real Changes,” draws on research gathered from CCT’s evaluation of New Mexico’s Regional Educational Technology Assistance program. This program offers professional development opportunities in the integration of technology into academic content to educators across the state of New Mexico, while at the same time emphasizing regional expertise among classroom teachers who can act as peer technology mentors in their communities.

The four authors will be honored at the ISTE Membership Meeting June 30.

The research paper will be published in the JCTE journal.