NETS•T Program

"The [JMU] NETS•T Certification has been the most valuable professional development experience of my career."

So summarizes the consensus of opinion that teachers in the Shenandoah Valley Technology Consortium (SVTC) have regarding the JMU NETS•T Certification Program, as expressed by Kelly Lineweaver, Manager of the consortium. Kelly says that she does not attribute the quote to a single person because it has been expressed by so many teachers and Instructional Technology Resource Teachers (ITRTs).

The NETS•T Certification program began in 2003, with the pioneering work of the SVTC and James Madison University. It was initially funded by the Enhancing Education Through Technology (EETT) program and later by Microsoft Corporation's Partners in Learning initiative in 2005. The program has produced many NETS•T-certified teachers and ITRTs. There have been more than 28,000 separate submissions of evidence, reflecting more than 14,000 hours of professional development. * More than 27,600 of these submission have been formally evaluated to date, reflecting more than 9,000 hours of mentoring and professional guidance by Evaluators.**

All in all, it is estimated that the overall collection of teacher portfolios include over 2,000 reusable instructional objects (e.g., lesson plans). To benefit teachers and students, James Madison Partners for Education will make available the very best of these objects soon.

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