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ThinkQuest is a protected, online learning platform that enables teachers to integrate learning projects into their classroom curriculum and students to develop critical 21st century skills. It includes a project environment where teachers and students engage in collaborative learning; a competition space where students participate in website development contests; and the award-winning ThinkQuest library, a learning resource visited by millions.

Saugus Union School District in Santa Clarita, CA is launching a new program for its fourth-grade students that couples writing and science using ultra-mobile devices and collaborative learning software, among other technologies. According to information supplied to us by the district, the initiative is being funded through a $1.4 million EETT competitive grant the district recently won. The initiative, dubbed "Student Writing Achievement Through Technology Enhanced Collaboration" (SWATTEC), focuses on writing achievement within the science curriculum. EETT funding will provide access to Asus wireless ultra-mobile devices (UMDs) for all 1,700 fourth-grade students in the district, Web-based writing tools, and an online collaborative learning environment. It will also provide teachers with laptops, projectors, printers, interactive pads, mobile carts, and wireless hardware. Teachers are also receiving professional development for the initiative.

"ETAN provides a forum for educators and others to engage in the political process and project a unified voice in support of a common cause - improving teaching and learning through the systemic use of technology. ETAN's mission is to influence public policy-makers at the federal, state and local levels and to increase public investment in the competitiveness of America's classrooms and students."