Sprint today announced that it is providing Sprint 4G service and 4G-enabled notebooks from Dell to classrooms across the country. In total, 31 teachers affiliated with the Teach For America non-profit organization will receive the following:
• Up to a year of unlimited free Sprint service, including access to the Sprint 4G network, allowing quick connection at speeds up to 10 times faster than 3G
• Dell Inspiron 11z Notebooks, complete with access to the Sprint 3G/4G network
• Overdrive™ 3G/4G Mobile Hotspots by Sierra Wireless, connecting up to five additional Wi-Fi-enabled devices to the Sprint 3G/4G network
The selected Teach For America classes will also receive unlimited free access to the Sprint 3G network, allowing additional connectivity if they use their Inspiron Notebooks or Overdrives in Sprint 3G areas.
Classrooms receiving service and equipment are all part of the Teach For America program. These classrooms were selected to receive the technology donations by Teach For America based on their teachers' answers to this question: “What could America's best and brightest do with 4G?” Answers included innovative and inspired ideas like educational teleconferences with college students and professors, virtual tours of college campuses, and online visits to historical and cultural locations around the world.
All recipient classrooms reside in markets where Sprint has launched its 4G wireless services. Sprint, which is headquartered in the Kansas City suburb of Overland Park, Kan., will provide service/equipment bundles to 10 classrooms within the Kansas City metro area. In addition, Sprint will provide services/equipment bundles to three classrooms each in the markets of Atlanta, Baltimore, Charlotte, Chicago, Las Vegas, Philadelphia and St. Louis.
“We are pleased to support Teach For America and its hard-working students and teachers by providing technology that will help them learn and develop to their maximum potential,” said Matt Carter, president-Sprint 4G. “Our nation’s young people represent the next generation of leaders, so it’s fitting that they benefit from Sprint’s leading, next-generation 4G network. We are excited to see the great results this program will bring.”
The ultra-thin Dell Inspiron 11z Notebook is the first 3G/4G-enabled notebook from Sprint. Slightly larger than a standard netbook, the Dell 11z will enable teachers and students to access information anytime and virtually anywhere for 24/7 learning.
Teach For America is the national corps of outstanding recent college graduates of all academic majors and career interests who commit two years to teach in urban and rural public schools and become leaders in the effort to expand educational opportunity. Teach For America’s mission is to eliminate educational inequality by enlisting our nation’s most promising future leaders in the effort.
The technology from Sprint and Dell will allow Teach For America corps teachers to better address their students’ needs and to allow these students to learn and study with tools that may not have otherwise been available in their homes or classrooms. Through this technology teachers now have the opportunity to expand their students’ horizons with access to virtual field trips or communicate with students from across the globe, all supporting the end goal of increasing student achievement and enhancing 21st century skills.
“The spirit behind this civic-minded work with Sprint and Dell is a reminder that we all have a role to play in ensuring an excellent education for every child,” said Alicia Herald, executive director of Teach For America – Kansas City. “We appreciate Sprint and Dell for their support of Teach For America’s work in urban and rural schools across the country.”
