On Oct.29, 2004, IT Teachers Training Center of Gansu province, which is supported by MOE – Microsoft (China) “Partners in Learning” Initiative was established Formally in Northwest Normal University. Keli Bai, Section Chief of Pedagogic Office of Gansu Province, Jingyun Zuo, Director of Education Department from Microsoft (China), and the President of Northwest Normal University Wang Limin attended the establishment ceremony; meanwhile, the training DVD curriculums were also formally published on this ceremony. And it is a symbol of the first stage success of the Partners in Learning Initiative. In addition, its further development will be a long-term promotion to ICT of education in Gansu Province and even in western China.
In order to improve the pedagogical level in northwestern areas, PiL chose Northwest Normal University as one of the three training centers, which will train 300 backbone IT teachers for Gansu Province within one year. All the teachers will come from the front line of k-12 education, and they will spread the latest skills and teaching ideas acquired from the training center to broad northwestern areas and benefit thousands of northwestern rural teachers and students.

Besides establishing training centers to provide opportunities for collective studying, PiL also, relying on Microsoft’s powerful technology and combining advanced pedagogical resources home and abroad, has developed a set of training curriculums in form of DVD with contents including computer hardware, software, network, Internet and information security, multimedia equipments and FAQs, etc. IT teachers of rural elementary and secondary schools, through self-study at spare time, can grasp basic knowledge of software and hardware of multimedia computer and network, and get access to the latest technology and tools related with IT education. This training way play an important role in the Cooperation Framework sighed by MOE and Microsoft (China) and as the elementary training before collective study in training center.
Keli Bai states, “Implementing the strategy of western areas development is an important decision made by our government in the new century. Education is a key element of the strategy. Facing the fact that the education situation in western areas does not suit for the requirement of development, people have already realized the significance of expediting and developing western education. Beyond all doubt, the IT Teachers Training Center settled in northwestern area is the evidence that our country has already adopted feasible countermeasures and actions. We believe, under the guidance of MOE, the Training Centers will play an important role in promoting the development level of education in northwest areas. The Education Department will support the development of the training center, at the same time, we will fulfill rigidly the providing of teaching DVD, guarantee a set for each school in principle, and try to give study chance to all the IT teachers of elementary and secondary schools in our province.”

Zuo Jingyun said, “Microsoft has always committed to redounding upon society and hoped the establishment of training centers in northwest China can make contributions to western education.”

Wang Limin, the principal of the training center and president of Northwest Normal University, said, “Northwest Normal University has always committed to promoting the Pedagogical level of northwestern. It’s an honor for us to cooperate closely with MOE and Microsoft, for the long-term development of education informatization, we will try our best to build the training center into one of the most advanced and influential training bases of west China.”

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