CETL (update)
A few months ago, I wrote that 11 Utah men and women had studied, taken, and passed the examinations to become Certified Educational Technology Leaders. This is a program administered by the Consortium for School Networking (CoSN). In the ensuing months, another 14 of our colleagues have studied dilligently and passed the required examinations; there are now 25 CETL designees in our state. Two additional groups will begin their course of study in the next week.
With 25 CETLs, Utah has more than any other state with the exception of Texas (45); Illinois also has 25. This is remarkable for a small-population state; it reflects the strong commitment to educational technology which has existed in Utah for decades.
What does this mean? Why is it important?
At the legislative session last spring, an important piece of legislation was passed: The Digital Teaching and Learning Grant Bill, which will provide funds to Utah schools to assist with the purchase of technology equipment, software, licenses, and professional development. Several of the CETLs were instrumental in getting this bill passed. At least one legislator was of the opinion that few if any district/charter employees were sufficiently trained and knowledgeable to provide true leadership. Our roster of CETL-qualified ed techs in Utah blunted that argument. The State Board of Education Rule implementing the DTL Grant provided that several members of the coordinating committee be "nationally certified." The members of the DTL committee who district technology leaders with CETL certification are Charlie Roberts (Washington SD), Jim Langston (Tooele) and Sam Quantz (Salt Lake City) (alternate). Without this CETL leadership, the requirements of the bill and USBE rule would be much different, and would probably rely on rather uncertain vendor qualifications.
Most of those with CETL certification in Utah are also members of UCET. We are proud of their accomplishments. They are:
Alan Gibbons (Cache)
Cory Stokes (UEN)
Charlie Roberts (Washington)
Cody Spendlove (Alpine)
Darren Draper (Canyons)
David Long (Logan)––David is a true pioneer. He earned his CETL on his own, months before the rest of us.
Duke Mossman (NUES)
Guy Durrant (Daggett)
Jason Eyre (Garfield)
Jeremy Cox (Washington)
Jim Black (Washington)
Jim Langston (Tooele)
Jim Stewart (UEN)
Kathy Webb (USBE)
Kelly Dumont (Canyons)
Kevin Chapman (Millard)
Mark Houtz (NUES)
Mark Sowa (Jordan)
Rick Gaisford (USBE)
Robert Gordon (Canyons)
Robert Potts (SESC)
Sam Quantz (Salt Lake City)
Scot McCombs (Canyons)
Tim Smith (Cache)
Tony Campbell (Washington)