• Calendar of Events
• Academic Awards Banquet
• Colonial Williamsburg Teacher Institute
• Colonial Williamsburg Electronic Field Trips
• Schusterman Mentor Program
• Local Education Foundation Outreach
• Teacher Scholarships for Professional Development
• Return to OFE Home

OFE News Release

Free Colonial Williamsburg Electronic Field Trips Available for Oklahoma 5th, 8th-Grade Teachers

July 21, 2004
OKLAHOMA CITY -- The Oklahoma Foundation for Excellence is offering more than 150 grants for Oklahoma public school teachers in grades 5 and 8 to receive free subscriptions to Colonial Williamsburg Electronic Field Trips. Applications, which will be accepted Aug. 9 through Sept. 10, are available here.

The Electronic Field Trips, produced by the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, bring early American history to life through a series of live television broadcasts and interactive web site activities. In addition, students have the opportunity to call toll-free and speak directly to historians and character interpreters during the live television programs.

The grants are administered by the Foundation for Excellence and funded through the Oklahoma State Department of Education with additional assistance from Bank One and Oklahoma City businessman Ed Joullian, a longtime supporter of the foundation’s Colonial Williamsburg Teacher Institute Scholarship Program.

The broadcasts, which focus on different aspects of colonial life, are presented monthly on OETA between October and April. The schedule is posted on the Oklahoma Foundation for Excellence web site.

While the broadcasts are available to all Oklahoma schools with OETA access, the Electronic Field Trip subscription provides educators with additional resources, including a teacher’s guide, web site access, 1-800 and e-mail access to Williamsburg historians, technical support and classroom posters.
Electronic Field Trip subscriptions are awarded on a first-come, first-served basis, with preference given to teachers who have attended the Colonial Williamsburg Teacher Institute. Only one grant will be awarded per school, but the subscription may be shared among all the school’s American history teachers and students.

This marks the third year that the Oklahoma Foundation for Excellence has provided the grants to Oklahoma teachers. During 2003-04, 144 Oklahoma teachers received electronic field trips through the program.
Anadarko teacher Susan Battershell said the curriculum “made historical names and events more real” for her students. Shirley Johnson of Edmond said her students “loved” the series. “They really enjoyed the call-in segments and voting online.”

The Oklahoma Foundation for Excellence is a statewide, non-profit organization that recognizes and encourages academic excellence in Oklahoma’s public schools. Among its many activities, the foundation coordinates a scholarship program to send teachers to the Colonial Williamsburg Teacher Institute for a full week each summer.

For more information, contact the Oklahoma Foundation for Excellence at (405) 236-0006 or e-mail bwheelock@ofe.org.

CONTACT:
Brenda Wheelock,
OFE Communications Director
(405) 236-0006; e-mail bwheelock@ofe.org