Tufts to train local teachers in technology use

The cities of Medford, Malden and Everett are partnering with Tufts to implement an educational initiative in schools that will produce technology-savvy graduates. This educational program is part of a plan to increase the number of high-quality jobs for city residents.

The program, called Tri-Tec, collaborates closely with the Tufts Education Department and will help educate and spur the interest of middle and high school students in the area of technology.

TriTec is an integral part of a larger plan to build a technology-focused office park called TeleCom City, which grew out of an idea to capitalize on the fast-growing telecommunications industry in the late 1990's. City officials say it will bring in more professional-level and better paying jobs for residents.

"[City officials] wanted to bring in industry, but recognized that they would need a more educated workforce" to fill positions at TeleCom City, said Barbara Rubel, Tufts Director of Community Relations. "They are taking the long view on a more educated workforce."

"Instead of sweeping the floors, [the citizens of these towns] can be computer programmers or hold other positions at TeleCom City," said Bob Simpson, director of the Teacher Learning Center in Malden and a part-time faculty member with the Tufts Education Department.

One of Tufts' important roles in the TriTec Program is to co-write grants with Medford, Malden, and Everett.

"Part of getting the grant is demonstrating you can do what you say you can do," Rubel said. Education Department faculty and researchers convinced grant-makers that money given to these cities would be put to effective use because they were bringing their expertise to the project.

Over the course of four years, Tufts released over $350,000 to each of the three school districts for teacher stipends and other support for the TriTec project according to Linda Beardsley, Director of Teacher Education and School Partnerships. The money came from the federal Department of Education and an initiative called Preparing Tomorrow's Teachers to Use Technology (PT3).

Some of this money was used to establish Teacher Learning Centers in each city where teachers periodically meet for training in technology and workshops on integrating technology into the classroom. Tufts staffs these centers with a director who is also a Tufts faculty member in the Education Department.

"Once you have the computers, you have to do something with that technology," Simpson said. The technology should be accompanied by training so that teachers can effectively use the technology and curriculum development so that students get the most out of it, he said.

To further assist in these areas, Tufts has lent out Education Department Technology Coordinator Dan Cogan-Drew, who Beardsley calls a "technology guru," to train teachers participating in the Tri-Tech program. They have also sent pre-service teachers from the Tufts Master of Arts in Teaching program to work with teachers in Malden, Medford, and Everett.

"[Tufts] worked with teams of teachers from the three school districts to develop and implement web-based and project-based curriculum units that encouraged students to tackle essential questions about issues such as immigration patterns in the US, Renaissance Women, Mystic River Watershed, bio-diversity, language and culture issues," Beardsely said.

Tufts continues to collaborate with some of these teachers as mentors for students taking courses in the Education Department, Beardsley said. Tufts faculty members also benefit from this project because they have a testing ground to implement their ideas.

As for the office park, Simpson said the site for TeleCom City is being put together right now and offices will be built soon. The three cities have been able to buy out the owners of the land and assemble a plot large enough for the office complex. They have been tearing down buildings and developing new roads that will connect the offices to major highways.

The idea for the park has changed slightly, however, as the focus has shifted from attracting telecommunications companies to simply attracting technology companies in general.

"At the time things were coming together, [telecommunications] was a hot industry," Rubel said. "There would be really good jobs for people in the area. Now I think they see it more generically."

Something that the developers of TeleCom City still hope for, however, is to provide "incubator space" for new businesses, Rubel said.

This "incubator space" can be a great benefit to Tufts, Medford Mayor Michael McGlynn said. Tufts is good at creating ideas through academic research, and this park can be a vehicle for Tufts to do prototyping and commercialization of its research, he said.

TriTec is something that McGlynn pointed out as a particularly good example for future collaboration between Tufts and surrounding towns.

TeleCom City is located at the intersection of Medford, Malden, and Everett near the Wellington T-stop on the Orange line on land that was previously used for industrial purposes.

One of the largest obstacles that had to be overcome was the presence of hazardous waste left on the site by these former industrial tenants. But local officials were able to convince government authorities that this land has great potential. Money was obtained from state and federal governments for a cleanup operation that has been completed.

The idea for TeleCom City and TriTec originated with city officials in Medford, Malden and Everett. TriTec was formed between the three district superintendents in meetings with Beardsley and former Tufts Vice President Mel Bernstein.

Both city and Tufts officials are excited about putting the program in place. "As far as I know, there are no other programs that have school districts collaborating with educational partners and businesses," Simpson said.