• I. Message from the Editor

HELPFUL IDEAS

• II. Sharing Ideas
• III. Great Site in PA

NEWS ABOUT YOUTHTOUCH

• IV. Grant Winners
• V. Workshops and Trainings
• VI. Summer Opportunities
• VII. New Teacher Trainer
• VIII. Upcoming Contests

• IX. Free Resources
• X. Real Teachers

ALL ABOUT GRANTS

• XI. Important Grant Deadlines
• XII. Free Gateway Computers
• XIII. Grant Writing Services
• XIV. Upcoming GRC Grant Program

HOW TO FIND US

• XV. Publication
• XVI. Contact the Editor

Our Tech Buzz subscriptions have grown tremendously, and it gives me pause when I consider how many people will read these words instantly. I am awed by the power of e-technology to deliver my message to so many, so quickly and economically. I am equally mindful of my need to harness the power of our language to communicate at all. It is humbling to realize that the Internet technology at my fingertips is only powerfully effective as a communication tool for those who can write a good sentence, and writing a solid sentence is an elementary school skill.

Over and over I see in my life and work that the skills I learned in elementary school are far more than the foundation for learning later in life. They are the essential skills I rely upon most heavily, day in and day out. That's why Tech Buzz is dedicated to meeting the needs and interests of elementary educators: so much rests on your ability to do your job well.

Tech Buzz is not about technology, per se, because that is not what we at Goldenrod believe is important either. Tech Buzz is first and foremost about your teaching elementary school children--- using modern "high tech" tools is one means to the end. We believe the needs of children and the curriculum drive the infusion of technology, not the other way around. In various eras those tools have been the blackboard, the mimeograph machine, the controversial ballpoint pen, the SRA box, the overhead projector, and the calculator. The tools change, but the fundamental importance of a quality elementary education remains.

According to the Secretary of Education, "It's not enough to have a computer and an Internet connection in the classroom if they are not turned on. It's not even enough to turn them on if they are not integrated into the curriculum," Secretary Paige said. "And it's pointless to integrate them into the curriculum if they don't add value to student performance." Right on, Mr. Secretary.

We are winding down one school year, but in a flash we will be starting another. Be sure and check out the articles about the upcoming student and teacher contests with cool prizes coming next school year and note that the YouthTouch Matching grant program is planned again for the 2002-2003 school year.

Sincerely,
Lea Melchior
Editor

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Tech Buzz wants to showcase some of your helpful ideas. If you have a special tip that you'd like to share with other educators, something that benefits both teachers and students, let us know about it. We're always looking for new thoughts to share with our community. Email us and tell us what you have to share at techbuzz@goldenrodresearch.com. Please include your name, position, school, and state. We look forward to hearing from you.

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In rural Pennsylvania, south of Pittsburgh, you'll find the campus of the South Fayette Township School District, home to one of the nations outstanding YouthTouch programs. A YouthTouch site since 1997, South Fayette started out with a vision of what they hoped to accomplish, and they made a clear plan for phasing in the YouthTouch Technology Integration system. They have since seen it flourish.

Tech Buzz recently spoke with Mr. Peter Abdulovic, the Dean of Students and Robotics Instructor at South Fayette Township School. "Mr. A" is the driving force behind their YouthTouch success. He shared information about how his school has integrated YouthTouch into classroom learning.

Achieving a clear vision was the first key to their success. Input was gathered from teachers at different grade levels. South Fayette's large campus is home to the district's single elementary school, middle school, and high school. The unified site provides an opportunity for interaction among the schools©faculties. There is a degree of coherence in the articulation across the grades, K-12, that is rarely seen in other school districts.

When the very first YouthTouch Training was presented, the high school technology teacher participated, along with Mr. Abdulovic, and a first grade teacher. Participants focused on the skills incoming freshmen needed solidly under their belts in order to advance properly in the high school program. Working backward, adjustments were incorporated at the elementary level to make the articulation across the grades as seamless as possible. As student skill gaps were discussed and analyzed, surprising discoveries were made: for example, dimensional analysis. When students began 9th grade work, valuable time was spent re-teaching them how to solve problems involving several different units of measure. The children claimed never to have been taught this skill, while their elementary teachers knew they had solved countless conversion problems. The stumbling block for many students was the simple fact that their problems, presented vertically with words in elementary school, were now displayed horizontally as fractions in 9th grade. They didn't recognize them as the same. Once identified, that issue was easily addressed. At South Fayette the kids can't go into secondary school and say "no one ever taught us that before"; their teachers know!

After piloting YouthTouch in the 1997-98 school year, and refining their plan, South Fayette joined a consortium of 3 area districts to apply for a Goals 2000 grant to install/expand YouthTouch in each district. Their application was successful. With the funding South Fayette secured equipment and additional training. Now all 5th and 6th grade students at the South Fayette Township Elementary take Mr. Abdulovic's Robotics class, part of South Fayette's Explorer program. By using a 12-week group rotation, with each student having access every other day, all of the students in these grades take this special class. In fact, with 24 students in each class, they enjoy much hands-on time. Thanks to the Goals 2000 grant the robotics room is equipped with sufficient robots and computers so that each team of two students has their own workstation.

The 5th grade students focus on the use of RoboAC, the joystick operated robotic arm used in the YouthTouch system, while the 6th graders use RoboArm which calls for programming the movements of the arm. The students are introduced to the arms by comparing them to human arms that have similar movements and movement limitations. Then they earn their Operator's License by testing their skills. They move on to a study of angles and then launch into their progressive learning projects. Throughout the non-graded course they learn not only valuable math and problem solving skills, but they also learn to cooperate with one another to get the results they desire.

One day last year while a Goldenrod's president was on hand, an administrator from another district came to see the lab and visit with Mr. Abdulovic. He expressed his pleasant surprise when twenty-four 6th graders entered the room and went right to work at their stations. The only sounds in the room were whirs of RoboArm motors and the quiet collaboration of teammates. The visitor was impressed that the kids did not fool around while Mr. Abdulovic was occupied with his guests, and that they had to be "shooed out" when the class period was ended. Mr. A, to the contrary, was not surprised at all. He commented that it was near the end of the 12-week rotation and his students really wanted to finish their projects before their lab access ended. The projects had become an issue of personal pride and fulfillment, rather than an assignment.

Another unique aspect of the South Fayette installation is the use of older computers--the sort that many other schools simply discard. According to Mr. Abdulovic, "The old Macintosh computers are ideal for this. I would recommend them to other teachers using Goldenrod's robots. The only thing they need to change is the connector." This has also allowed for a classroom full of computers that didn't cost more than $50 each, a great idea for any teacher wanting to establish a robotics lab with a large number of stations at a reasonable cost.

An advantage of these old computers for Mr. A is the short learning curve students encounter in operating them. A simple computer permits the focus of the class to remain on the robotics, not the computers. Mr. A's students joke that their computers are older than they are, and they're right! The short learning curve is further accelerated because Mr. A removed all software from the Macs except for the operating system and RoboArm software. The students flip the on/off switch and everything they need appears on the screen. The obsolete computers, dedicated to this single use, still perform like champions.

Three years ago Mr. Abdulovic gave his students a chance to use their robotics skills in a way that students their age had never done before. They participated in the annual Student Robotics Challenge sponsored by the International Society of Manufacturing Engineers. Competitions were held that year at nearby Robert Morris College, and South Fayette Township Elementary was there to compete. The Challenge brought together 800 students in 250 teams from 12 states to compete head to head in a number of contests pitting their robotic skills against teams from across the U.S. and Canada. While most other competitors were from high schools, technical schools or universities, Mr. Abdulovic's students were the only elementary students in attendance. Without the extremely expensive and advanced robots many competitors had access to, his students, with the use of the YouthTouch equipment, were able to win 1st place in the Pick and Place event and 2nd place in the Block Scramble event.

As the Robot Programming event progressed, college professors expressed their astonishment and admiration to Mr. A as his team labored writing their code in RPL (RoboArm Programming Language). The professors had no idea 11-year-olds could do the work they were seeing produced. For the students the hardest part of the competition was sustaining intense concentration for a long time. The strain of thinking really hard showed on their faces. A photographer for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette captured their expressions of mental effort. The photographer's photo of the two-man South Fayette student programmer team at work was printed on the front page of the Sunday edition of the Pittsburgh newspaper.

Last summer, Mr. Abdulovic, his students, and their RoboArms were invited to travel to the Governor's Institute at California University of Pennsylvania. Educators from around the state were gathered there for a week to study educational issues. The special interest session presented by the South Fayette students, under Mr. A's direction, was well received.

We thank Mr. Abdulovic for sharing with us how he and the district have used YouthTouch to benefit students, and his wonderful stories of student achievement. Mr. Abdulovic has taught at South Fayette for 28 years. Next year he is passing the robotic program torch to a successor as he assumes the position of Assistant Principal.

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• June 5th - Breton Woods School, NY

If you are interested in more information check "How to Find Us" at the end of the newsletter.

Trainings: Teacher Training sessions will be held for sites that are introducing YouthTouch in their schools.

• June 4th - Breton Woods School, Long Island, NY
• June 13th - Lee M. Waid School, Rocky Mount, VA
• July 17th - Parkview Elementary, Columbia, IL

A special training session will be held June 12th - 14th at Castle Heights Elementary in Lebanon, TN. "Training the Trainers" will be open to those interested in learning how to teach others to use the YouthTouch Technology Integration System. This training would be helpful for teaching other educators in your school to use YouthTouch, and you could potentially be eligible to earn extra income by training other schools that acquire YouthTouch in your area. For more information send an email to lea@goldenrodresearch.com.

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Goldenrod Research Corporation will offer students a chance to show off their creativity in the 2002-2003 school year. The challenge will be to design a YouthTouch logo. Prizes will be given both to the student with the winning entry and to their teacher.

For teachers there will be another chance to reap a reward by developing new topics and activities for YouthTouch. So put on your thinking caps now, and look for all the details in upcoming issues of Tech Buzz.

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XIII. GRANT WRITING SERVICES

Goldenrod Research provides grant-writing services to qualified schools/districts at no charge. Contact Goldenrod (888/827-2260) or your area sales representative for further information.
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XIV. UPCOMING GRC GRANT PROGRAM


Goldenrod Research Corporation will once again offer the YouthTouch Technology Integration System matching grant for the 2002-2003 school year. Goldenrod will accept grant applications from schools who wish to become pilot/referral sites for YouthTouch. When awarded, the grant provides 50% of the cost of a comprehensive YouthTouch package ($9,500). The schools will be responsible for matching the other $9500. Keep reading Tech Buzz as dates for this competition will be announced in a future edition. For more information call 888-827-2260 or send an e-mail to pilot@goldenrodresearch.com.

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TECH BUZZ is published by
Goldenrod Research Corporation.
204 W. Saint Joseph St.
Spalding, NE 68665
308/ 497-2447
Goldenrod is solely responsible for its contents.

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Contact lea@goldenrodresearch.com to communicate with the editor.

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