I first heard Craig Barrett speak when Mabry received the Intel and Scholastic Schools of Distinction Award for Technology Innovation. He seems to have a genuine interest in education. I also especially appreciate the 5 key 21st century skills Brenda Musilli presents. However, I would love to know more about how the foundation defines collaboration and communications. Just in case you missed it:

Today, Intel announced a new initiative to rapidly broaden the reach of its program, Intel Teach. The Intel effort, started in 2000, focuses on training teachers around the world to use personal computers as a tool in classrooms. The company announced at the Clinton Global Initiative in New York that its program, up to now based on face-to-face instruction for teachers, would add a hybrid online program. In the past, Intel Teach involved 40 hours of in-class training for teachers. The new online offering will include eight to 12 hours of face-to-face instruction, and the rest over the Internet, at the teacher’s convenience.

“This is a way to exponentially expand the program,” Craig Barrett, Intel’s chairman, said in an interview.

The Intel Teach effort has trained 4 million teachers worldwide so far, and the company plans to reach another 10 million or so in a decade. The online teacher training is initially aimed at 1.5 million teachers in 15 countries, from the United States to India, over the next four years.

The Intel approach, largely funded through the company’s philanthropic foundation, revolves around the teacher. “What really drives quality education is quality teachers,” Mr. Barrett said. “Computers are a tool, but no more. Teachers are the most important part of bringing kids into the 21st century with 21st century skills.”

The five, key 21st century skills, says Brenda Musilli, president of the Intel Foundation, are: problem solving, collaboration, communications, digital literacy and creative thinking.

Source: The Intel Ministry of Education - Bits - Technology - New York Times Blog