What is the Intel Teach programme and what does it comprise?

Irinel Burloiu: The Intel Teach Programme is a proven, worldwide professional development programme for teachers, which helps them learn ways to integrate technology tools and resources into their lessons to promote student-centered practices in the classroom.


Nearly four million teachers in more than forty countries have been trained as part of Intel Teach. The quality of the programme is proven by the evaluation of teachers themselves, who say that the program has a measurable impact. Thus, 84% among them declared they increased their usage of information technology for lesson planning and preparation. Ninety-one percent of teachers said students were motivated and actively participating in lessons. The Intel Teach Program is part of the Intel® Education Initiative, a sustained commitment to equip today's students with the skills required to thrive in the knowledge economy.


How are the teachers selected? Are there any priority areas?


Irinel Burloiu: The programme is designed as a two-stage project: in the first phase, a number of selected teachers will be invited to join the training session, and in the second stage, they will become -œambassadors- for the programme. Local implementation will consider factors such as the level of infrastructure development and comfort of the trainees, who will be able to attend the training sessions in their own towns.


It is planned to train more than 60,000 Romanian teachers as part of the programme. Intel's intention is a gradual approach toward the Romanian education system through which teachers are offered the opportunity to develop their abilities by integrating information technology in day-to-day curricula.


What is the duration of a training session?


Irinel Burloiu: A complete training will take about thirty hours in total. As part of the training, teachers will be able to develop technology-enriched projects that enhance student learning. They will use computers and the Internet as tools for research, creativity, and communication, and learn how to align their curricula to modern standards for learning and evaluation of student work. The training will conclude with a formal examination and certification.


Who performs the training sessions and what specific software applications are used?


Irinel Burloiu: The programme will use the infrastructure already in place in Romanian schools, including IT educational software applications. The implementation of the Intel Teach programme in the Romanian schools will be carried out by SIVECO Romania.


Training will be performed in Centres of Competitiveness and Development, using standard applications such as MS Office and web browsers.


What exactly is Intel's part in the project - funding, technology, know-how?


Irinel Burloiu: Through cooperation with governments and educators in more than fifty countries, Intel invests approximately US$100 million yearly to improve teaching and learning by effectively using technology, and to advance mathematics, science, engineering, education and research. We also bring in the international know-how and experience. Thus, first Intel brings in the curriculum, which has been developed by the Institute of Computer Technology (ICT) and which is constantly being improved with the latest developments in pedagogy; it also incorporates feedback from the already-trained teachers. The curriculum development as well as the translation and localization are fully financed by Intel.


SIVECO's role is essential in implementing the programme in Romania. Experts trained by programme authors will work on a local version of the curriculum, train the lecturers in training centers, and manage the programme execution while constantly evaluating trained teachers' feedback.