In his latest editorial, "What to do about mediocre teachers?," Mike Petrilli writes that he cannot think of any national foundations that are experimenting with using technology to turn average K-12 faculty into effective teachers.
The Hewlett Foundation has been in this business or its close relation for the past seven years in the Open Education Resources area. For example: Hewlett was the original funder of the North American Council for Online Learning. In 2002, Hewlett funded (created) the Monterey Institute of Technology in Education in Monterey, California. At the same time in 2002, we also funded the Carnegie Mellon Open Learning Initiative. We've done much work on this front since then, too. Mike Petrilli should take heart--he's not alone in his desire to see new, innovative teaching techniques for K-12 students.
Marshall Smith
Education Program Director, William and Flora Hewlett Foundation