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May 31, 2005 - Vol. 6, No. 22
TechLearning News
- NASA will work with 50 additional NASA Explorer Schools in a partnership designed to increase interest in math, science and technology among K-12 students and educators.
- Internet2 is connecting students worldwide to share experiences, lessons and culture.
- Four school systems in the Atlanta metropolitan area are testing a program that allows parents to check on what their children purchased in the school cafeteria.
- Tired of waiting for the Hawaii Department of Education to make good on its promise of a school for the area, the founders of Kihei High School are offering a virtual charter school to fill the void.
NASA Names New Explorer Schools
NASA is doing its part to increase interest in math, science and technology among K-12 students and educators. Fifty new schools were just named as NASA Explorer Schools, joining the 100, 000 students, teachers and administrators from all over the country already re taking part in the three-year old program. NASA has expanded its effort to reach out to traditionally underserved populations. This year 98% of schools selected to participate are high-poverty and 82% are high-minority. The Explorer Schools program is designed to increase student interest and participation in science, mathematics and technology; increase the active participation and professional growth of educators in the three fields; and increase the students' ability to apply science, mathematics and technology concepts. During the three-year partnership, schools will work with NASA education specialists in an effort to spark innovative science and mathematics instruction for students in grades 4 through 9. While partnered with NASA, Explorer School teams will acquire new teaching resources and technology tools using NASA's unique content, experts and other resources. Partner schools are eligible for up to $17,500 for technology tools. School teams participate in a one-week summer professional development workshop at one of ten NASA field centers and benefit from a continuing partnership with NASA.
Source: The Houston Chronicle
Internet2 Expands Students' World
Internet2 is connecting students worldwide to share experiences, lessons and culture. The high bandwidth network was created by more than 200 U.S. universities, in partnership with business and industry, to develop and deploy advanced network applications and technologies for research and higher education. Increasingly, universities are making their Internet2 connections available to K-12 schools. About 23,000 U.S. K-12 schools have on-site Internet2 access to some degree. In Minnesota, for example, about 100 school districts have used Internet2 at one time or another, and about 25 of those are active users. While on-site access is slower than being logged directly onto the Internet2 backbone, it is still well beyond anything else available to K-12 schools and the speed enables real-time chats, streaming video and remote manipulation of scientific equipment such as microscopes and telescopes. Using Internet2, students in Cambridge, MN have taken realistic excursions to the International Wolf Center in Ely, MN, zoos in Buffalo, N.Y. and San Diego, CA, the Mille Lacs Indian Museum in Onamia, MN, and even a Rhode Island, N.Y., operating room during heart surgery. Language students get to practice their skills with native speakers in Latin America, Japan or Russia. TVbyGirls participants used Internet2 to collaborate with students in Michigan to assemble a movie focusing on women's contributions to history and culture that earned an honorable mention in a student-video contest.
Source: St. Paul Pioneer Press
An End to Junk Food?
Four school systems in the Atlanta metropolitan area are testing a program that allows parents to check on what their children purchase in the school cafeteria. The Gwinnett County, Cobb County, Atlanta and Marietta school systems already use a computerized cafeteria checkout system that allows parents to deposit money in an online student account, thereby eliminating the sometimes frantic morning search for "lunch money." Students simply "charge" their meals electronically, entering a numeric pass code. Parents will now be able to use that same pass code to access an online archive that enumerates what items the child has purchased. The system itemizes which a la carte items, such as hamburgers, pizza slices, french fries and desserts, were purchased. If the student orders the cafeteria's hot lunch — the day's entree plus a couple of vegetables — the record will simply show that a full meal was bought. Several state legislatures have recently passed laws outlawing the sale of soda and other junk foods in school cafeterias and vending machines, but for places where such choices are still available, the new system could give parents more control over what their children eat while at school.
Source: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Hawaii Community Turns to Virtual High School
Tired of waiting for the Hawaii Department of Education to make good on its promise of a school for the more than 1,000 students from Kihei-Makena that are bused across the island daily, the founders of Kihei High School are offering a virtual charter school to fill the void. Serving 105 students, the high school operates in 6,000 sq. ft. of classroom and office space in an industrial park. Kihei High School provides personalized instruction addressing individual needs and interests, encouraging project-based earning and engagement with the community Partnering with the Virtual High School, course offerings in the 2005-06 school year will include over 150 courses, ranging from AP Science, Math, Foreign Languages, History and Language Arts to Technology, Computer Science, Web Design and Entrepreneurship. Level I, II, and III students will participate in 4 one-hour teacher facilitated classroom periods from 8 a.m. to noon with extended time from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. for science, physical education, job shadowing, school sports or other projects. Level III and IV students must attend school from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. and also participate in supervised internships, Running Start classes at Maui Community College, community projects, teacher facilitated science field work, school sports or additional lab time.
Source: Hawaii Reporter
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