Oracle Turkey and the Oracle Education Foundation today
announced the launch of Think.com to help promote technology skills to students
across the country. Turkish students will be able to build knowledge, collaborate
on projects and share educational content with the 300,000 students and teachers
from 50 countries who are already members of Think.com's protected online learning
community.
During his visit to Turkey, Oracle President Charles Phillips conducted the
official launch of Think.com in Istanbul. "Think.com provides students
and teachers with access to the latest technology and the collaborative learning
skills needed in today's global workforce," said Mr. Phillips. "The
highly interactive, educational environment encourages students to use technology
to share ideas and information in ways that help prepare them for future success."
Mr. Phillips continued, "Technology skills are an important part of a
21st century education that will prepare tomorrow's citizens to become part
of the global society. With the assistance of the Turkish Ministry of Education,
we are proud to introduce Think.com to Turkey as a component of our global commitment
to education."
Think.com is sponsored by the Oracle Education Foundation. It provides schools
with a protected, interactive online learning community where students and teachers
can share educational content, collaborate on projects, and build knowledge.
As members of the Think.com community, students and teachers have access to
protected e-mail accounts, personal web pages where they can publish text and
upload images, and an interactive working environment where they can engage
in learning projects with other members globally. Think.com is available in
nine languages, including Chinese, English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese,
Spanish, Thai and Turkish. Oracle provides specific training so that the school
community can take advantage of all of Think.com's functionality.
The Turkish Think.com pilot will include 20 schools with 1,684 students and
teachers participating. Oracle has trained a total of 22 lead teachers to guide
and manage the students' online participation.
Speaking on behalf of the Republic of Turkey Ministry of National Education,
Prof. Nizami Aktürk, Education Technologies Office General Manager said,
"The 'Think Together' program with Oracle and the Oracle Education Foundation
is a pioneer in integrating technology to the Turkish education system. With
Think.com we have taken another important step in Turkish education as our students
can now make effective use of computers and the Internet, and exchange opinions
with their peers around the world. Introducing technology into education will
bring significant value to our efforts towards uplifting the Turkish education
system to world standards."
"Think.com is a truly unique, global education program, designed to connect
students and technology in ways that positively impact their lives and the communities
in which they live," said Atilla Kiral, General Manager, Oracle Turkey.
"Turkish students will now be able to join the thousands of students worldwide
that have benefited from the Oracle Education Foundation's Think.com program¾building
vital technology and collaboration skills."
Mahmut Börekçi, Manager of the 75 Yil Yesilpinar Primary School
in the Eyüp district of Istanbul, praised the Think.com program. "Think.com
provides both our teachers and students with a new vision and understanding
of education. Thanks to Think.com, our students are becoming aware of the importance
of knowledge sharing and are creating their own web pages. The ability to express
themselves in a global interactive environment contributes greatly to their
self-esteem and self-realization. Our students have learned how to use Think.com
in a very short period of time and are now carrying out productive studies."
About Think.com
Think.com is a program of the Oracle Education Foundation that provides
schools with a protected, interactive online learning community where students
and teachers can share educational content, collaborate on projects, and build
knowledge. Think.com includes more than 300,000 students and teachers and is
available in 50 countries and nine languages. For more information, visit http://www.think.com.
About Oracle
Oracle is the world's largest enterprise software company. For more information
about Oracle, visit our Web site at: http://www.oracle.com
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