Technology's promises are many, but those dreams have not been realized for everyone. The goal of the WestEd RTEC is to deliver on technology's promise to improve education for the children who need it the most -- the disadvantaged students in the lower performing schools in our region (Arizona, California, Nevada, and Utah).

In partnership with private enterprises, education agencies, institutions of higher education, and professional organizations, the WestEd RTEC's mission is three-fold:

1. Disseminate information about promising practices and quality benchmarks for technology use in a variety of learning environments.
2. Provide technical assistance, professional and leadership development, and collaborative efforts that seek to improve technology use by students, parents, teachers, administrators, and policymakers.
3. Assist with technology planning and policy issues, and conduct research and development activities that enable educators and developers to more effectively employ a variety of technologies for improved educational decision-making, enhanced student achievement, and quality lifelong learning.

Whether you are just getting started with technology in the classroom or are interested in creating innovative data systems to manage an entire school district -- learners, teachers, administrators, parents and community members will benefit from the innovative delivery system and quality network of service providers in our Consortium.

WestEd RTEC Themes

The work of the WestEd RTEC focuses on five areas of interest related to educational technology. We have designed our website around those five interest areas, or Themes, and have further divided those Themes into Topics and Subtopics. Related information, resources, links, tools, and services are featured in each Theme, as well as the name of an RTEC staff member you can contact for further assistance. To learn more about each theme and the resources and services it offers, select on the name of the theme in the descriptions below:

• No Child Left Behind
  A presentation of overviews, policy and planning reports, and perspectives covering the entire field of educational technology, in the US and internationally.
• Access and Equity
  An examination of the issues and challenges of meeting our national mandate to provide quality education to all learners, plus help and resources to meet that goal.
• Learning and Teaching with Technology
  Resources, information, and guidance for integrating technology into the classroom and curriculum.
• Leadership and Administration
  A collection of resources to help clarify the issues and inspire and guide administrators through the sometimes murky waters of technology planning and integration.
• Innovation
  Up-to-the-minute information, explanations, and critiques regarding the latest developments and applications of technology in education.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q1: What does the acronym RTEC mean?

RTEC stands for Regional Technology in Education Consortia, and refers to a group of ten organizations that provide technical assistance, professional and leadership development, information dissemination and collaboration work in helping educational institutions better integrate technology in their instructional and administrative efforts. You can find out more about the ten Regional Technology in Education Consortia through the National RTEC web site: http://www.rtec.org

Q2: What is the primary focus of the WestEd RTEC?

While each regional RTEC may choose a different emphasis, the WestEd RTEC primarily aims to improve the effective use technology-related resources for schools that are annually identified by each state in its region as "low performing," and to build the capacity of educational agencies and service providers to better serve all learners.

Q3: Which states does the WestEd RTEC serve?

The WestEd RTEC's region includes Arizona, California, Nevada, and Utah, however we offer services to educational institutions and individuals from other states, and internationally as well.

Q4: How does the WestEd RTEC assist the "low performing" public schools in its four-state region?

WestEd RTEC lends its considerable wealth of expertise and resources to work on making the promise of technology more of a reality for all learners in our region, especially for those not yet benefiting from technology's potential. WestEd has a long history of working with low-performing schools and disadvantaged students in the Southwest Region. The starting point for the RTEC's assistance begins with our internal partners. By working with other existing federally-funded regional/national programs, such as the Regional Education Laboratory program, the Comprehensive Assistance Centers, the WestEd Eisenhower Regional Consortium for Math and Science, the Comprehensive School Reform Demonstration Project, and the Equity Assistance Center, we too are working toward helping these schools institute reform efforts and raise their students' achievement levels as they integrate the use of technology in their instructional and administrative work.

Q5: What are the five RTEC Themes?

The WestEd RTEC has focused its work around five areas of interest, or themes, in educational technology. The services offered by the WestEd RTEC and our partners, as well as the information and resources we disseminate have been organized around these five themes. The five themes are:

1. No Child Left Behind
2. Access and Equity
3. Teaching and Learning with Technology
4. Leadership and Administration
5. Innovation