Iowa State’s College of Education has received a $1.5 million grant from the U.S Department of Education to prepare future teachers for using technology in the classroom.

Pre-service teachers, undergraduates in the education college, will receive in-classroom experience to help them teach with the aid of computers and other forms of technology, said Ann Thompson, professor of curriculum and instruction.

Every course students take will be affected by this increased emphasis on technology, she said. Thompson and Denise Schmidt, program coordinator for curriculum and instruction, are co-principal investigators for the three-year project.

Schmidt said they will be acting as liaisons between the entities involved.

“We feel very fortunate for being selected,” Schmidt said, “but we also feel that we have the capabilities to design a model teacher-education program that provides technology-rich experiences for our pre-service teachers.”

Thompson said four other Iowa schools received grants as well. Iowa Central Community College in Fort Dodge, Clarke College in Dubuque and Iowa Western Community College in Council Bluffs received capacity grants, which will help their teacher education programs gain technological footing.

The University of Northern Iowa received the largest grant of $1.6 million dollars, according to a press release.

Thompson said this money will be used as a catalyst grant to bring together several universities to collaborate on issues of technology.

“The pre-service teachers will be given the ability to go out and work with teachers and students in the Des Moines and North Polk community school districts,” she said.

Thompson said ISU’s grant is categorized as an implementation grant. “These were given to schools that have strong programs already,” she said.

Currently, the teacher-education program at ISU emphasizes the use of technology to improve children’s learning in the classroom.

“The focus of this type of grant is to create national models in how technology can be used effectively in teacher education,” Thompson said.

Thompson said most of the work they will focus on will involve computers and computer technology.

Schmidt said one of the most unique aspects of the ISU grant is that it will bring some departments on campus together in a collaborative effort to enhance education.

Faculty members in the College of Engineering and the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences are working with the College of Education to help the students develop their potential, Schmidt said.

“We couldn’t do any of this without them,” she said.