BANGKOK, Thailand, 6 May, 2008 – Intel is expanding its Intel® Teach program in Thailand to higher education this year. Three leading Rajabhat universities will run the Intel® Teach Essentials Course for pre-service (before becoming qualified) teachers. The program aims to train 400 Education Faculty students by the end of this year.
The pre-service program is an expansion of the Intel® Teach initiative that was initially designed to help teachers effectively integrate technology with learning and enhance the learning skills of education faculty students who will become teachers in the near future. It will also enhance various 21st century skills to the students including skills in ICT, effective communication, critical thinking, collaboration and problem-solving techniques.
Commenting on the program, Accharas Ouysinprasert, country manager of Intel Microelectronics (Thailand) Ltd. said, “The Intel® Teach program is a great example of Intel working together with the Ministry of Education to develop the teaching skills of Thai teachers. Since its launch in 2003, more than 42,000 in-service teachers have already taken part in the program and the feedback has been very positive. All the participating teachers consider the skills they have learned to be a very valuable addition to their teaching training. With the integration of the program into Education Faculty curricula, these benefits can be passed on to students as the future teachers become better equipped to integrate technology into their lessons.”
For Thailand, this is the first expansion of the program into higher education, being applied at three leading Rajabhat universities (Songkhla Rajabhat University, Valaya Alongkorn Rajabhat University and Uttaradit Rajabhat University). Intel® Teach Essentials Course will be integrated into the curricula of the Education Faculties at each of these universities. It will be implemented after selected teachers have received their training with Senior Trainers from the Intel® Teach Pre-Service program, for five consecutive days starting from mid-May. Once the training has been completed, the teachers will then begin training their education students during the following semester, before these students ultimately apply this experience and knowledge to their own teaching skills in the future.
In Asia Pacific region, Intel® Teach for pre-service students has been applied and implemented in ten countries - Australia, India, China, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Pakistan, Taiwan, Vietnam and the Philippines - with successful results and significant changes in the teaching practices of the participants. Research* shows that more than 90 percent of new teachers noticed that their students were more motivated and actively involved in lessons when technology was involved. Furthermore, reports from the institutions revealed an increased standing with the educational community and greater employability of its graduates.
