Project RED: Revolutionizing Education, Investigating How Technology Saves Money...

Project RED: Revolutionizing Education, Investigating How Technology Saves Money
in Schools

WASHINGTON, July 9, 2009 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Today, at the National Education
Computing Conference (NECC), the Project RED coalition announced the launch of
their new Project RED initiative. "This project is an effort to put technology
on a more stable basis within the challenging environment of education funding
," said Tom Greaves, lead author of this project and CEO of The Greaves Group,
an education technology consulting organization. "We all have anecdotal stories
about how technology works and saves money while improving teaching and
learning. But we need a full-bore national study to investigate cost-savings and
revenue enhancement at the state level."

The Project Red team will research the schools in its database of approximately
3,000 K-12 technology-rich schools. The characteristics of technology use to
transform learning will be analyzed to create a model for other schools. These
technology-transformed schools (those with at least 95% of students using a
computing device with Internet access) will also be studied to determine what
cost savings schools realize when they use technology as part of their everyday
teaching and learning. "States know that high-school students frequently enter
college with inadequate skills and that much money is spent on remedial courses.
That additional cost is one that frustrates state legislators who feel they are
paying for educating the same students multiple times. One of the bright spots
in technology's investment pay-off has been the ability to reduce costs while
improving both learning and attendance through online credit recovery courses,"
said Jeanne Hayes, a co-author of the project and President of the Hayes
Connection, an education market consulting organization.

"Data mapping is a significant factor in cost savings in the districts in which
I consult," said Ric Peterson, CEO of Peterson Public Sector Consulting, LLC.
"Because a typical district has so many disparate data files from state-required
reporting to parental forms, the overlap of data collection costs both time and
money. Technology is the practical way to address these issues and bring down
the costs of education."

"The Project Team has the ability to make a national impact -- to revolutionize
the way we look at technology -- not as a cost, but as a way to personalize
learning and to change the way our students learn by making technology-assisted
learning among recognized best practices, rather than an exception. Our basic
premise is that technology holds the promise of allowing us to re-engineer our
educational system. We can hold on to what is important, but the methods of
achievement can be transformed through the use of technology, just as has
occurred in almost every other segment of our society," says Leslie Wilson,
President of One-to-One Institute, a non-profit leader in ubiquitous education
technology.

Project RED's importance has been recognized by a number of national education
associations, including National School Boards Association (NSBA), American
Association of School Administrators (AASA), Consortium for School Networking
(CoSN), State Educational Technology Directors Association (SETDA),
International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE), and Software
Information Industries Association (SIIA).

Ensuring Complete Coverage of Technology-Rich Schools

The Project RED team wants to ensure that every technology-rich school is
included in this study. These technology-transformed schools are defined as any
elementary and secondary school where students have consistent daily access to
the Internet. The team asks educators to go to www.ProjectRED.newswire.net to
find out if their schools are already included or to request that a school be
added. The first 250 persons to recommend a school not already on the Project
RED database or to provide data about cost savings or revenue enhancement in
their schools will receive a complimentary Project RED bag or cap at NECC, Booth
2364, titled "Revolutionizing Education."

About the Creators of Project Red

Leslie Wilson, President, One-to-One Institute

Leslie is a founding member of the One-to-One Institute and served public
education as teacher, administrator and state-wide director for 31 years. She
created and implemented the Institute programs and services model based on
Michigan's Freedom to Learn Program. Leslie directs and manages the Institute's
programs and operations while working with a collaborative cadre of state and
national service providers. Leslie ensures hands on, shoulder to shoulder
collaboration with each client wherever they are on the continuum of development
or implementation. This includes help with planning, design and launch,
curriculum and content integration, on-line assessment, leadership, and
sustainability. Leslie and the team offer comprehensive professional development
and/or program templates for teachers, administrators and technology personnel
to ensure success around the organizations' project goals.

Michael Gielniak, Ph.D., Projects and Development Manager, One-to-One Institute

Mike is Projects and Development Manager for One-to-One Institute and is
currently working with staff to develop internal procedures, development and
marketing strategies, as well as key programs and services. Both a Fulbright
Scholarship and an Emmy Award winner, Mike has been working with innovative
educational environments around the globe for 25 years. Within the one-to-one
educational environment, he developed and implemented the Freedom to Learn (FTL)
Site Advisors program, an assessment protocol that was used with thousands of
students and teachers in nearly 200 one-to-one schools.

Thomas W. Greaves, CEO and Founder, The Greaves Group, LLC

Mr. Greaves is recognized as a visionary in the conceptualization, design,
engineering and marketing of technologies for schools. He holds multiple patents
and patent disclosures for student computing technologies and has been involved
in hundreds of 1:1 computing projects at the district, state and federal level.
He has published widely and is currently the Software Information Industry
Association (SIIA) Mobile Computing Trends Watch Report Editor. Mr. Greaves'
recent work is highlighted by the 2006 and 2008 America's Digital Schools
surveys which have extensive coverage of 1:1 computing devices and
implementations.

Jeanne Hayes, President, The Hayes Connection, Inc.

Jeanne Hayes has 30 years of experience in tracking the K-12 school market,
first in her role as founder and CEO of Quality Education Data, now a Scholastic
Company, and second in her current role as a consultant to publishers and
producers of K-12 products and services. A nationally recognized keynote speaker
and panelist covering a wide range of education topics, Hayes is most proud of
identifying the disparity in technology access between poor and affluent schools
in the early 90s. As co-author of America's Digital Schools 2006 and 2008, she
continued the research she had pioneered at Quality Education Data.

Eric Peterson, President and CEO of Peterson Public Sector Consulting, LLC

Eric Peterson, as President and CEO of PPSC, and through his prior affiliation
with Michigan School Business Officials (MSBO), is known by educators, State of
Michigan executives and legislators throughout the state. Mr. Peterson has
worked with the Michigan Departments of Education, Treasury, and Management and
Budget, Michigan Legislators, and both the House and Senate Fiscal Agencies over
the last nineteen years. He has collaborated with departments and the
legislature in the state of Michigan to solve challenging public policy issues,
served as legislative resource, developed organizational development, process
compression, and informational seminars encompassing all areas of public school
administration. Mr. Peterson has consulted with over 500 school districts.

The Project RED logo is available at
http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=6376

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CONTACT: Project RED
Jeanne Hayes
720-922-8676
jhayes@projectred.org
www.ProjectRED.newswire.net
6233 Buffalo Run
Littleton, CO 80125