Tech Prep News and Notes

Thought we would share with you some of the links that we have read over the last couple of days.

If you have not looked at our OK CareerTech Flickr page we just added some pics from Francis Tuttle Tech Center. We also are adding the pics into Wikipedia were they make sense. Each tech center has a Wikipedia entry, and the pics will only enhance the feeling of location to those that read the articles.

Francis Tuttle on Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_Tuttle

USC Contest.
Turbo Tax is running a contest for people and user submitted content. They are asking people to send in their best tax related jokes for a chance to win $10K and to open for Jay Mohr. This is just another example that you could use with students submitting content for technology center or career major related commercials. What are you waiting for?

iTunes U
iTunes has a Web page devoted to the iPod user and education. It makes higher education information available for download. right on your computer! Lectures, archival footage and other content from Texas A&M, Duke, MIT, Stanford and others is available on subjects from the business, leadership and technology. There is even an hour long download of Thomas Friedman, author of The World is Flat, lecturing at MIT. Talk about application to the classroom!!
http://www.apple.com/education/itunesu_mobilelearning/itunesu.html

Education Consistency Sought in State Schools
http://newsok.com/article/3199501/1201839101

Middle School Students Build Models of Future Cities for Engineering Competition
(From 1/24/08 CareerTech Update)
Edmond and Deer Creek seventh- and eighth-grade students met at Oklahoma Christian University [last week] for the National Engineers Week Future City Competition. The program, run by the nonprofit National Engineers Week Foundation, seeks to promote technological literacy and engineering to more than 30,000 middle school students representing 1,100 schools from across the nation.

ALLIANCES AND COLLEGE TRANSITION

Graduation Coaches
Governor Brad Henry has called for Graduation Coaches for at risk students modeled after a program in Georgia..
http://newsok.com/article/3199093/1201755182

The Economic Impact of Early College Opportunity Programs at Iowa’s Community Colleges
http://www.economicsgroup.com/reports/2008%20Early%20College%20Opportunity%20Study.pdf
MIT Highlights for High Schools
http://ocw.mit.edu/OcwWeb/hs/home/home/index.htm

CAREER MAJORS

Robots at Meridian
Robots are being used at Meridian Technology Center to simulate medical conditions. Learn more: http://ocolly.com/2008/02/04/robots-to-simulate-medical-situations-at-meridian/

K20 Center
The University of Oklahoma has begun an initiative to create 21st Century Interactive Learning Communities.
http://k20center.ou.edu/

MIT TV
From MIT, a resource that aims to share with the world all kinds of technology, science and engineering related information.
http://techtv.mit.edu/

PREPARATORY SERVICES

Oklahoma Hispanic Students
Oklahoma’s Hispanic student population has risen 10%, how are you working with your students?
http://www.okinsider.com/readstory.oki?type=headline&storyid=09N0ZSP3T

NCAA Eligibility Center
Today is Signing Day for Seniors making their way to college next fall. At a recent meeting, part of the discussion included the NCAA Eligibility Center and what it means to CareerTech students. If you have a student that will be participating in NCAA Athletics, talk to them and make sure that they are doing everything that they need to do with the NCAA Eligibility Center and make sure that you are up to date on what they need to know and do. Transcripts and the like can be confusing and the NCAA has additional rules for student-athletes.
https://web1.ncaa.org/eligibilitycenter/common/

Digital Visual Literacy
We are living in a digital visual world. When else could you make customized US Postal Stamps? The Digital Visual Literacy Project is seeking to establish a national dissemination of DVL education. Need another reason to go check it out? Free downloads for the classroom!! It includes stuff on E-Commerce, 3d Graphics, Excel, PowerPoint, and much more!!
https://web1.ncaa.org/eligibilitycenter/common/

Teens Unprepared
The newly released 2008 Lemelson-MIT Invention Index indicates that 3 out of 5 students feel that they are not prepared for careers in technology and engineering.
http://www.eschoolnews.com/news/top-news/index.cfm?i=51750;_hbguid=a3bd4267-11ec-4f3c-8f11-6183271a3220

Visit the Lemelson-MIT Program

Forbes
Forbes interviewed 20 people in various business, education and industry positions on what American needs to do to better educate our children. You can read the opinion piece here:
http://www.forbes.com/2008/01/23/solutions-education-teaching-oped-cx_hpm_0123solutionsland.html