Puerto Rico Department of Education Recognized for Leadership in Complying with Digital Literacy Standards
Presented Certiport's Technology School Leadership Award for providing training and Certiport IC3 certification to country's educators


AMERICAN FORK, UT, June 18, 2010 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Certiport (www.certiport.com), the leading provider of test delivery services for the global workforce and academic markets, presented the Certiport Technology 2010 Leadership Award to the Puerto Rico Department of Education (PRDE), honoring visionary leadership in promoting the foundational knowledge needed to succeed in environments that require the use of computers and the Internet.

Certiport recognizes the PRDE for the sweeping impact they have made in utilizing the Certiport Internet and Computing Core Certification (IC³ ) to assess, develop and validate the digital literacy skills of Puerto Rican students, teachers and school administrators.

Details about Certiport IC³: http://www.certiport.com/ic3

The IC³ Certification Project was approved by the PRDE in May 2009 to help bring the territory into compliance with the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), federal legislation that requires states to develop assessments in basic skills in order to close the achievement gap in schools.

Based on the belief that setting high standards and establishing measurable goals improves academic achievement, the PRDE certified 113 train-the-trainers technology specialists and school librarians in collaboration with Certiport, the International Society of Technology in Education and the Department of Continuing Education of the Inter American University of Puerto Rico at Metropolitan Campus.

Phase I of the IC³ Certification Project included:

• Assessment of technology literacy based on technology global standards

• IC³ digital literacy skills curriculum and instructional materials

• Validation of digital literacy skills through IC³ Certification

• Introduction to the National Education Technology Standards

"We appreciate the recognition from Certiport in our initial efforts to align ourselves with
standards-based assessments aimed to close the achievement gap in our schools," said Dr. Robert Lee Turner Lugo, Associate Secretary of Special Education Programs, PRDE. "Puerto Rico is committed to meeting our national education technology goals, and we are working hard to effectively utilize the IC³ exam to ensure all of our students and teachers possess basic digital literacy skills."

The Certiport IC³ Global Standard 3, an internationally recognized standard for digital literacy, validates the most relevant computer skills with three individual examinations: Computing Fundamentals, Key Applications and Living Online. The IC³ certification pathway maps to the National Education Standards for Teachers (NETS-T) and Students (NETS-S), allowing states to leverage the IC³ program to comply with standards and NCLB digital literacy development imperatives.

The PRDE achieved the following results:

• 85% of participants passed all certification exams to obtain the IC³ Certification

• 99% of participants felt prepared to effectively use technology in their classroom

• 100% of participants indicated this professional development opportunity
will enhance their teaching careers

• 98% of participants indicated they will be capable of providing support to other teachers, students and school administrators working towards IC³ certification

"Certiport chose to recognize the PRDE with the Technology School Leadership Award for their diligence in working to bring the entire territory into compliance with the No Child Left Behind Act through the IC³ Certification Project," said Quinn Sutton, Senior Vice President, Certiport. "We were impressed with the results of their train-the-trainers seminar, and are excited to work with them to ultimately deliver the IC³ exam to all Puerto Rican teachers and students."

Certiport is the exclusive solution provider of the Certiport Internet and Computing Core Certification (IC³) program utilizing an expansive network of more than 10,000 centers in 142 countries worldwide.
For more information about these globally recognized certification programs, please visit our website at www.certiport.com.

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Allison Yrungaray
Certiport
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