Looking to produce their next generation of employees (and customers), technology giants such as Cisco Systems, Intel, and Microsoft are setting their sights beyond just the United States and are investing heavily in global education reform initiatives.

Developing nations such as India, Jordan, and Kenya are among the beneficiaries of these efforts, which underscore the need for U.S. schools to prepare their students for an increasingly global, information-based workforce.

Intel Corp., a company with four decades of educational reform initiatives—including the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair, the Intel Computer Clubhouse Network, the Learn Program, and the Model School program—has incorporated its Teach program throughout many parts of India.

According to Intel, by 2011 the Teach program will have helped 13 million teachers in more than 40 countries develop new skills to incorporate technology into their curriculum.

Intel introduces the Teach program in communities that are chosen based on the strength of their commitment to the program. The company works with an initial group of teachers to help them learn 21st-century teaching methods, and these teachers then train other educators in these methods.

One teacher, B. Magdalene Premalatha, at Panchayat Union Middle School in the village of Karakottai, India, became involved with the Teach program to expand opportunities for her students. In this rural community in southern India, more than 90 percent of the population works in the agricultural industry, and a majority of families cannot afford permanent housing.

Using the project-based approach to learning emphasized by the Teach program, Premalatha’s students quickly learned 21st-century skills and even gave up play time to work in the school’s computer lab. The students completed a social research project on child labor, conducting research on the internet, says Premalatha.

As part of this project, students created public presentations, plays, and songs using online software, and they conducted public rallies to reach their goal of a child labor-free village. As the community began noticing these actions, major reforms took place, and “seven children regained their childhood enjoyment, their rights, and their education,” says Premalatha. “Thanks to the Intel Teach program, our children are marching toward the technological era with confidence.”

Another organization with ties in India is Curriki, a free online community for creating and sharing open K-12 curriculum resources. Through a recent partnership with Education Development Center Inc. (EDC), Curriki now offers EDC’s standards-based algebra course for the middle grades, allowing teachers not only to access the curriculum free of charge, but also adapt it for use in their own classrooms.

Thanks to this partnership, Curriki has been working with Indian education officials to create a content development platform for a national education portal. India is now the second most active country in Curriki, with more than 40,000 unique visitors per month. (For an overview of Curriki in India, see here.)