The National Commission on Teaching and America's Future to Collaborate With Qualcomm, Kajeet for Education, and HTC to Launch Initiative to Empower Student Teachers With Advanced Wireless Technologies

WASHINGTON, Aug. 30, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- The National Commission on Teaching and America's Future (NCTAF) is pleased to announce the launch of a new initiative in collaboration with Qualcomm Incorporated, through its Wireless Reach™ initiative, Kajeet for Education, and HTC designed to empower pre-service/student teachers with advanced wireless technologies. This exciting project will enable communication, collaboration, and the availability of limitless resources for teachers as they enter classrooms for the first time.

The project is launching at five universities across the United States: Arizona State University, Georgia State University, University of New Mexico, University of North Carolina Greensboro, and the University of Texas at El Paso. Two hundred wireless mobile devices, donated by HTC and supported by Kajeet for Education, have been delivered into the hands of pre-service/student teachers at each university.

"HTC is pleased to provide the necessary hardware for NCTAF's initiative," said Brent Wilkins, managing director, HTC. "HTC mobile technology can truly improve teaching, learning, assessment and productivity, which benefits both preservice/student teachers and students themselves."

With the generous support from Qualcomm, NCTAF's project "Teachers Learning in Networked Communities ® 2.0" (TLINC 2.0) builds on over five years of research and implementation of professional learning communities. Created to overcome the isolation of stand-alone teachers in self-contained classrooms with the help of advanced mobile technologies, TLINC 2.0 offers digital-age teacher preparation.

"Qualcomm is proud to support this critical and timely project to help ensure our teachers have the tools and training they need to succeed in a mobile classroom," said Kristin Atkins, director of Qualcomm Government Affairs. "Wireless devices have revolutionized how we do business and we look forward to learning how this same access to technology can support our educators and positively impact education in the 21st Century."

"The time has come to transform teacher education through building a collaborative culture, creating a seamless transition between preparation and practice, and instituting online and face-to-face feedback loops," says NCTAF president, Tom Carroll, Ph.D. "Using these cutting-edge devices, this transformation will be accelerated and deepened."

NCTAF is honored to be partnering with several companies and organizations to make this project happen. Kajeet for Education focuses on high-impact mobile services with controls for appropriate use and cost containment to improve education outcomes. Kajeet for Education is providing data services, powered by the Sprint Nationwide Network™, for all devices in the NCTAF project.  "Enabling new teachers with the latest smartphones and tablets will improve teacher collaboration and allow further exploration of mobile devices as educational tools in the classroom," says Michael Flood, VP of Education Markets for Kajeet for Education.

About NCTAF: The National Commission on Teaching and America's Future (NCTAF) is a non-profit, non-partisan advocacy organization based in Washington, D.C.  NCTAF is dedicated to providing every child with competent, caring, qualified teaching in schools organized for success.  With a network of state coalitions and partnerships with school districts and professional education organizations across the nation, NCTAF provides leadership on innovation and improvement in teaching and learning in America's schools.  For more information, visit www.nctaf.org.

About Kajeet: Kajeet for Education provides an affordable, safe, scalable solution to bring Internet-capable mobile devices to students everywhere. Based in Bethesda, MD, Kajeet for Education is operated by Kajeet, Inc., creators of the award-winning safest cell phone for kids™. Founded in 2003, Kajeet was designed to provide kids with everything they need to safely explore the world of mobile technology. It includes a full suite of online parental controls to help families customize and manage every aspect of their Kajeet cell phone experience. Kajeet for Education leverages Kajeet's expertise in the classroom to provide students with a safe mobile learning experience. For more information about Kajeet for Education, please visit http://www.KajeetforEducation.com.

About HTC: HTC Corporation (HTC) is one of the fastest growing companies in the mobile phone industry. By putting people at the center of everything it does, HTC creates innovative devices that better serve the lives and needs of individuals. The company is listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange under ticker 2498. For more information about HTC, please visit www.htc.com.

Qualcomm is a registered trademark of Qualcomm Incorporated. Wireless Reach is a trademark of Qualcomm Incorporated. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

SOURCE National Commission on Teaching and America's Future