More than 40 U.S. teachers showcased ed-tech projects in national forum; winners move on to world competition in Brazil
Primary Topic Channel: Social studies , Microsoft Corp. , Consortia and cooperative activities
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A tic-tac-toe game based on the Industrial Revolution that uses the principles of universal design to give students multiple ways of learning will be the U.S. representative in a worldwide competition that showcases effective teaching with technology.
The project's creators, teachers Harriet Armstrong and Autumne Streeval of Columbus East High School in Columbus, Ind., took top honors at Microsoft's U.S. Innovative Teachers Forum, held Aug. 17. Armstrong and Streeval will travel to Brazil in November to compete in the software giant's Worldwide Innovative Teachers Forum.
"It is really an honor to have won the U.S. Forum," said Streeval, who teaches social studies. "We are excited to go to Brazil to learn more about what is going on in education on a global scale. Teachers often struggle with similar challenges, even in very unique settings, but the Worldwide Forum will allow us to collaborate and tackle obstacles together."
Armstrong, who teaches family and consumer science, added that she hopes to return from Brazil with more ideas and connections to other teachers.
"I see my students as needing a more global view of [the] world in which they live. It would be great to find ways to connect with students in other parts of the world," she said.
Too often, teachers work in isolation, with few opportunities to show their projects to others and learn from their colleagues. That's why it was especially beneficial for Armstrong, Streeval, and nearly 40 other educators to be able to demonstrate their projects before a panel of NASA scientists and educational technology experts earlier this month.
Microsoft's Innovative Teachers program seeks to break through that isolation, while highlighting effective ed-tech teaching practices in the United States and abroad.
"We recognize that innovation is happening in classrooms every day and that teachers are equipping their students with the skills they need to be creative problem solvers and critical thinkers," said Mary Cullinane director of U.S. Education for Microsoft. "We're honored to recognize and celebrate the accomplishments of these teachers, and we hope that they inspire others to take risks and raise the bar higher for what's possible in classrooms across the nation."
Nearly 40 teachers were honored by Microsoft at the U.S. forum, where they showcased their projects for a panel of judges from NASA, the Silicon Valley Education Foundation, and the Puget Sound Center for Teaching and Learning Technology.
Armstrong and Streeval explain their project at the U.S. Innovative Teachers Forum
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Building momentum in schools
For the older kids, there are a lot of opportunities to help the school by leveraging no-charge Linux and open source in each classroom. All the software can be taken home for free as well. Free and under your control is better. Ask Google or Yahoo or any of numerous companies that customize free open source extensively to meet their needs. Some open source is tops, and what lacks polish or features offers excellent opportunities for classroom projects. Everyone benefits every time a new contributor joins the party. There is always a lot of work to be done, and it's not just major corporations, governments, independent consultants, and universities that participate. There is room for everyone. [Note, that some proprietary vendors modify and repackage open source.] Open source operating systems (just like the one I use on my desktop, daily) dominate the supercomputing field: http://www.top500.org/stats/list/33/osfam Linux powers invisibly many gadgets (like TiVO) and helps run the Internet, stock markets (eg, NYSE), militaries, scientific centers, etc. In the last few years, especially, we have been trying to make open source more friendly and usable on the desktop so that everyone can benefit from its strengths. A little bit of Linux in action, today: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DTeUbx_nnM4 . Yes, schools and individuals can get Linux to use for no charge -- ever -- thanks to the liberal (academic) licenses used: http://www.gnu.org/fry/ Get your "distro" loaded with free applications, here: http://distrowatch.com or from a specific vendor. ["Vendors" usually charge for services and support, but obviously they can be bypassed.] Free really is a better investment: http://www.getgnulinux.org/ It's not easy cracking into a market dominated by a multi-time convicted monopolist that has a large industry dependent and locked-in on their software: http://www.groklaw.net/staticpages/index.php?page=2005010107100653 Fortunately, it can actually be pleasurable to contribute to open source and many many have (originally, strictly as hobbyists). It's a long road, but proprietary vendors can't forever fight free and growing trends towards $0 and openness. http://windows7sins.org/ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LAr3XbqUbjo If you still need or want to use Windows after you adopt Linux, you can run Windows on top of Linux (or on a separate PC, of course). Here is a video I found of one way to do this (using VirtualBox): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ch8X86R6d-g Linux is safer for use on the Internet. Linux runs on older hardware with good performance. Linux has eye candy. Linux and a load of open source software to accomplish virtually anything costs $0 and all comes prepackaged and upgradable for life. Since we all need a helping hand when starting something new, it's good if you can rely on friends nearby.. or on savvy students. ;-) Jose Lorenzo PS: For anyone that has not heard of Linux, try googling it. PS2: Unlike some other Linux users, I find Microsoft's bad behavior and deceptions, marketplace control, attacks on innovative companies, and encroachment into our privacy to be completely unacceptable. I am not shy about sharing these views with others, as I believe Microsoft and some others stand in the way of a revolution in computing where people will have access to a lot more software, much more control, and under much better terms.
Posted By: jose_x, 2009-08-31 11:12 PM