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Main Page Contact Francisco Duque, 912.961.3173 For Immediate Release $1.2 Million NSF Grant Supports Science, IT Education(Savannah, GA, October 30, 2007) A $1.2 million grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) will allow students and teachers in the Savannah-Chatham County Public School System (SCCPSS) to use electronic sensors on Ossabaw, Georgia's third-largest barrier island. The sensors will constitute a weather observatory that will transmit data into their classrooms using the Internet and wireless technology to help advance science and technology education. The NSF's Information Technology Experiences for Students and Teachers program awarded the grant to a team of Armstrong Atlantic State University (AASU) educators, who will carry out and coordinate the three-year project beginning in January 2008. The goal of the project is to increase the preparation and participation of students entering information technology (IT) careers. Both teachers and students will learn about education pathways leading to IT careers. The project, OssaBest: Ossabaw e-Exploration for Students and Teachers, also aims to increase the number of women and minorities in IT careers. OssaBest will prepare 90 teachers and 120 students in grades 7th through 10th over the three-year project. Participants will learn how to use advanced information technologies for the exploration of Ossabaw, being able to observe natural phenomena via real-time transmission of video and data from sensors placed on the island. Sensors will detect ground and surface water temperature, wind speed, and other meteorological data. Digital cameras will also be installed. Data collection will be done over a wireless network, with data transmitted to Armstrong Atlantic and then the classrooms. Students and teachers will collect data and create a web-based multimedia guide of the island. "Students and teachers will use information technologies in sophisticated ways and integrate them in the classroom setting," said Ashraf Saad, department head of computer science at AASU. "Students and teachers will attend a summer institute each year that will include a three-day residential camp on Ossabaw." Lesson plans will be developed each summer to address, among other things, the Georgia Performance Standards. Participating teachers will be required to complete 124 hours of professional development yearly. The Ossabaw Island Foundation, a public charitable corporation, provides the funding and oversight of the network of sensors and all other hardware that constitutes the barrier island observatory. The foundation, in a public-private partnership with the State of Georgia, inspires and manages scientific, educational and cultural programs on Ossabaw, while safeguarding the barrier island's delicate ecosystem. The foundation is raising some $200,000 to help fund the project. Georgia Power gifted the foundation the weather station and the wireless connectivity being used for the project. The project is the result of a collaboration between AASU, SCCPSS, the Skidaway Institute of Oceanography (SkIO), the Ossabaw Island Foundation, and the Coastal Business Education and Technology Alliance. Herb Windom, professor emeritus at SkIO, provides technical assistance for this and other projects on the island. The team from AASU comprises, in addition to Saad, Joy Reed, computer science; Lei He, information technology; Patrick Hannigan and Edward Strauser, middle and secondary education. The Center for Education Integrating Science, Mathematics, and Computing (CEISMC) will conduct the evaluation of the project. CEISMC is a partnership that includes the Georgia Institute of Technology and other educational groups, schools, corporations, and opinion leaders throughout the state of Georgia. The partnership's goal is to ensure that K-12 students in Georgia receive the best possible preparation in science, mathematics, and technology. Teacher and student recruitment for the project will begin in early 2008. For further information, email Ashraf Saad. |
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