IMPACT: Guidelines for Media and Technology Programs is a document that provides the set of standards used by North Carolina school districts to develop and maintain quality library media and instructional technology programs. IMPACT is aligned to current research in both School Library Media and in Instructional Technology.

IMPACT guidelines address : Teaching and Learning, Information Access and Delivery, Program Administration, System-Level Guidelines, and Research and Evaluation.

In 2003, eleven North Carolina schools were selected to implement the IMPACT Model through a competitive grant process. Enhancing Education Through Technology (EETT) funds, allocated to state education agencies through No Child Left Behind, provided the funding for this project. All EETT funds require that 25% of the grant funds be spent on professional development. The other 75% can be used for hardware, software, personnel, or other technology-related purposes. Additional North Carolina requirements consisted of participation in an external evaluation conducted by NC State University-College of Education, annual week-long academies, hiring a technology facilitator and assistant, and a school-wide focus on flexible access to both computer labs and libraries in combination with collaborative planning.

At these eleven schools, funds were provided so that students, like the one in this picture, have access to both current and appropriate technology in their classrooms. Professional development is provided for their teachers so that they can select the appropriate hardware and software for their students. They are assisted by both a school level technology facilitator and their media coordinator. Teachers collaborate in grade-level meetings to plan thematic units based on North Carolina's Standard Course of Study.

The Instructional Technology Division of the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction responded to a US Department of Education Request for Proposal to fund evaluation studies of state-level instructional technology initiatives. The proposal submitted included an evaluation of the IMPACT Model Schools Project. In October 2003, the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction was notified that it was one of 10 states awarded an evaluation grant. This grant funds LANCET (Looking At North Carolina Educational Technology).

LANCET includes partners who are conducting research and validating instruments for use in improving educational technology. The William and Ida Friday Institute for Educational Innovation at North Carolina State University is conducting a research study using metacognitive reading strategies while South East Initiatives Regional Technology Consortium at SERVE is responsible for leading the development and validation of instruments for formative evaluation. For more information, visit the LANCET Web site.