The Baltimore Sun on Notre Dame's ACES program: Preparing teachers for the future

From the Baltimore Sun, April 12, 2015

By Michelle Murray
Contributing writer

Notre Dame of Maryland University School of Education participates in the Academy of Catholic Educators, a program established in 2013 that provides professional development to a total of 475 teachers. One of the focus areas is teaching teachers how to integrate technology/digital devices into the classroom.

The school has been awarded a grant by the Marion I. & Henry J. Knott Foundation to equip a 21st-century classroom in Gibbons Hall to support Catholic educators on how to integrate technology into lesson plans.

The grant will fund the creation of ACES to provide professional development for teachers in K-12 schools in the Archdiocese of Baltimore. ACES plans for the technology-rich classroom to open in April of this year and offer teachers at 19 partner schools hands-on training to enhance learning through active engagement, participation in groups and frequent feedback using a variety of mobile devices and connections to real-world applications.

ACES director Gail Donahue, Ph.D., says that integrating technology into the curriculum has been identified as a top priority for professional development by most ACES partner schools. “The program is designed to meet the needs of every school . We’re designing a 21st century classroom at Notre Dame. Through interactive projects, we will bring teachers there to train them further and teach them how to better integrate technology into the classroom.”