RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA – The International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE), an education nonprofit that supports the use of technology to accelerate innovation in education, and the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction (NCDPI) today announced a partnership to provide more than 94,000 public school teachers in North Carolina with access to year-round professional learning and a network of global education experts by making ISTE membership available at no cost. North Carolina is the first U.S. state to provide ISTE membership to all public school educators.

“As the use of technology in classrooms continues to increase, it is imperative that our educators have continued access to the right resources and professional development opportunities. I am incredibly thankful for the partnership with ISTE, as this membership opportunity will benefit all North Carolina public school teachers, ultimately benefiting students across the state in their path toward a brighter future,” said Catherine Truitt, North Carolina superintendent of public instruction.

“The ability to use technology to create effective and equitable learning experiences in a post-Covid world is more important than ever before. We are excited to partner with Superintendent Truitt and the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction to raise the bar for supporting teachers by providing statewide access to ISTE membership,” said  ISTE CEO Richard Culatta.

Over the past two years, educators have stretched their abilities and increased their confidence as they have tried new tools, new models and new ways of teaching in their classrooms and districts. With ISTE membership, educators can further leverage the new ways of teaching and the new skills learned during the pandemic in order to help students succeed.

Through the partnership, ISTE will support NCDPI’s Digital Learning Initiative by providing resources and professional learning opportunities aligned with the North Carolina Digital Learning Plan. The digital learning plan provides research-based growth goals for DPI, PSUs, and schools to support the best possible learning environments for PK-13 students. The Digital Learning Initiative focuses on providing digital teaching and learning supports and resources for North Carolina public school units (PSUs), including: 

• Providing professional learning around digital teaching and learning pedagogies and resources.
• Curating and developing resources related to the goals established in the Digital Learning Plan.
• Conducting research to inform the design of digital teaching and learning professional learning and resources.

ISTE membership benefits for North Carolina educators include free access to:

• Live and recorded webinars from hundreds of education experts.
• Access to ISTE Connect, an exclusive online community that allows educators with similar interests from around the world to collaborate and share best practices.  
• Recordings of past ISTE conference sessions.
• An ISTE U online professional learning course.
• An ISTE book.
• Monthly access to the Empowered Learner newsletter (featuring stories and best practices from schools around the world).

Also all NC educators will get discounted pricing on any ISTE U online professional learning courses, certifications and ISTE events.  

Additional information on membership will be released to educators throughout the state in August.

About ISTE

The International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) is a nonprofit membership organization that works with the global education community to accelerate innovation in education through the smart use of technology. ISTE sets a bold vision for education transformation through the ISTE Standards, a framework for students, educators, administrators, coaches and computer science educators to rethink education and create innovative learning environments.

ISTE hosts ISTELive, one of the world’s most influential edtech events. The organization’s professional learning offerings include online courses, professional networks, year-round academies, peer-reviewed journals and other publications. ISTE is also the leading publisher of books focused on technology in education.

About NCDPI

The North Carolina Department of Public Instruction is charged with implementing the state's public school laws for pre-kindergarten through 12th-grade public schools at the direction of the State Board of Education and the Superintendent of Public Instruction.

The agency provides leadership and service to the 116 local public school districts and 2,500+ district public schools, 180+ charter schools, and three residential schools for students with hearing and visual impairments. The areas of support include curriculum and instruction, accountability, finance, teacher and administrator preparation and licensing, professional development and school business support and operations.