Already home to more than 3,000 international students, Penn State welcomed another group of foreign students Oct. 8.

A group of 20 Chilean teachers are at the university to participate in the Institute for Technology Enhanced Teaching and Learning.

Patricia Nelson, associate dean in the College of Education and a sponsor of the event, said, "This is a wonderful example of international outreach."

During the six-week training session taught entirely in Spanish, the Chilean teachers are learning how to develop a Web-based training unit through hands-on technology training, a course of study in a public school, and group discussion techniques. They also will learn to coordinate Web-based curriculum units in science, social studies and the arts and humanities.

Eileen Pennisi, assistant coordinator for the Education Technology Center and one of the program's teachers, said the language barrier wasn't as big of a problem as she initially thought.

"In technology there is a common language," Pennisi said. "They are coming in with a good set of skills, so in some ways we are already speaking the same language."

Bilingual lecturers and graduate assistants aid in translation for the Chilean teachers, who don't speak English. Through a translator, one of the Chilean teachers described her experience in the program so far.

"I'm very happy to be with the program. We were surprised at how much we already knew. Eileen goes at a very good pace so everyone can understand," Ingrid Riquelme said.

The course's main project is for the Chilean teachers to work in a group to create a Web site. Some topics for the site include: teaching fourth graders to use e-mail, teaching youth how to develop Web sites, educating students about student government and a site geared towards teachers on how to incorporate technology into education.

The program will not end when the Chileans go home.

"We will follow them. I'm going to create a discussion board not only to get feedback, but also to see how they are implementing their skills in Chile," Pennisi said.

Chile's Minister of Education, who has been committed to improving education in Chile for the past six years, awarded a grant to one of the program's sponsors, the Inter-American Distance Education Consortium (CREAD is its Spanish acronym).

Rosa Palominos, a Chilean teacher, said the school she works in has 700 students and one computer room with eight computers. She added there usually are 45 students in the computer room at one time with only one teacher, and that she and her fellow teachers must beg their principal to use the technology.

"We are very grateful to Penn State, CREAD and all the people who gave us the opportunity to be here. We learned not only about technology, but about different things with relation to our profession," Palominos added.

Jeff Deitrich, the coordinator of college relations, said the Chileans, along with educators from the university, traveled to Washington, D.C. to meet with officials from the Department of Education and the National Education Association, and have trips planned to Niagara Falls and Lancaster County. A trip to New York City for a tour of public schools has been cancelled. Visits last week to the Professional Development School at Park Forest Elementary and Shaver's Creek Environmental Center were two local activities the Chileans took part in.

The United States is one of eight countries that provide this technology education with Penn State being the only location in the nation. Canada, the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Australia, Spain and Germany collectively host 400 Chilean teachers, said Armando Villarroel, executive director of CREAD.