East Central Region

FIRST - FOR INSPIRATION AND RECOGNITION OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

The FIRST Robotics Competition challenges teams of young people and their mentors to solve a common problem in a six-week timeframe using a standard "kit of parts" and a common set of rules. Teams build robots from the parts and enter them in a series of competitions designed by a committee of engineers and other professionals. In 1992, the first robotics competition was held in a New Hampshire high school gym, with 28 teams participating in the game, "Maize Craze." Now, the competition involves more than 1,300 teams competing in more than 40 Regional Events, and The Championship held at the Georgia Dome and World Congress Center in Atlanta where more than 8,500 high-school-aged young people participate.
View the web stream on March 27-29 and cheer on our North Dakota teams!

North Dakota schools with teams include:
Hatton-Northwood, Mayville-Portland-CG, Rugby, Cando and Minot

You can view the web stream and find out more about the competition at the Minneapolis Regional site.

Posted by Charity Nix at 11:45 AM | Permalink-1006 | Comments for North Dakota teams to compete in Regional FIRST Robotics Competition March 27-29, 2008 (0)

February 25 - March 4, 2008 twenty-five North Dakota teachers and their
students traveled around the globe virtually with the use of interactive
video equipment connecting classroom to classroom around the world.
Activities included reading a favorite book, skits, plays, raps or songs.
This years' total number of registered classrooms hit an all time high of
nearly 1,650 which is an impact of approximately 50,000 students.

Read Around the Planet, an annual reading motivation and awareness program,
calls every child in every community to celebrate reading on or around Dr.
Seuss's birthday. Two Way Interactive Connections in Education (TWICE), an
organization headquartered out of Michigan, sponsored the seventh annual
National Read Around the Planet (RAP).

Participating North Dakota schools included: Ashley, Beulah, Bismarck,
Cavalier, Devils Lake, Fairmount, Glen Ullin, Gwinner, Jamestown, Kindred,
Maddock, Medora, Oakes, Williston and Wolford.

Conference technical services and facilitation of RAP in North Dakota was
provided through the collaborative efforts of the Information Technology
Department (ITD) and EduTech Education Technology Services.

For more information on RAP visit http://www.twice.cc/read/ or contact Kari
Sauer at EduTech 1.800.804.8550.

Posted by Charity Nix at 12:01 PM | Permalink-995 | Comments for North Dakota's K-12 Participation in Read Around the Planet is on the Rise! (0)

Student to Student – Thoughts on Emergency Preparedness from Two Midwestern Towns Struck by Tornadoes in 2007

On Tuesday March 11 elementary and high school students from Northwood, ND will interact in a live videoconference with students in Greensburg Kansas, Nebraska, Missouri and Oklahoma when they discuss the impact of a major natural disaster on their small Midwestern towns. The purpose of the event is to bring students together to discuss their experiences and share similarities and differences in the recovery efforts in each town. Classes from participating states will communicate in real time through interactive videoconferencing available at their school. In addition, the live videoconference will be streamed live and also recorded for later viewing. Both will be available on the Internet by visiting the website http://www.more.net/services/videostreaming/events.html

Northwood students were invited to participate in this event because of the similarities in their experience with the tornado that hit their town in August to those of the students in Greensburg, Kansas whose town was also devastated by tornadoes in May of 2007. Both towns are similar in size and characteristics; both are located in rural areas in the Midwest. In addition to the interactive sessions between both elementary and high school classes, students and teachers will have the opportunity to learn about project-based curriculum resources on topics related to emergency preparedness and natural disasters.

In North Dakota, K12 classes are invited to view the live web stream during Tuesday’s events or the recorded events at a later time.

The event is coordinated by the Kansas Association for Interactive Distance Education and state education networks, KanREN and KAN-ED. Northwood’s participation is made possible through the school’s interactive videoconference system and it’s connection to STAGEnet, North Dakota’s broadband network for education and government. Technical support and event coordination is provided by EduTech and the Information Technology Department (ITD) of North Dakota. For more information about the event, contact EduTech at 1-800-804-8550 or visit EduTech’s website at www.edutech.nodak.edu

JASON Project Stream will feature the Storm Chaser and National Geographic Emerging Explorer Tim Samaras. You can learn more about him by registering (for free) at www.jason.org and checking out Mission 3 or look at his web site at http://thunderchase.com/ See below for time of live stream on JASON.

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Emergency Preparedness Events
Tuesday, March 11, 2008

8: 45 a.m. – 9:45 .am. CST Northwood grades 3-6 participate in live videoconference with sites in partner states (*Live event to be streamed over the Internet - see instructions on EduTech’s website to view)

11:00 a.m. – 12:00 noon CST JASON project most appropriate for Grades 4-8 ( *Live event to be streamed over the Internet – see instructions on EduTech’s website to view)

1:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m. CST Northwood grades 7-12 participate in live videoconference with sites in partner states (*Live event to be streamed over the Internet - see instructions on EduTech’s website to view)

Posted by Charity Nix at 10:34 AM | Permalink-990 | Comments for Thoughts on Emergency Preparedness (0)