International Internet award goes to CIESE K-12 projects

Another prestigious award has gone to the technology-in-education experts at Stevens Institute of Technology. CIESE, the Center for Improved Education in Science and Engineering at Stevens, which specializes in interactive online science curricula for school-age children, is the recipient of the honor.

Sponsored by the British-based Cable & Wireless plc., the international Childnet Awards bestowed a special commendation on five web-based CIESE science projects aimed at the K-12 age group. CIESE received the citation under the Childnet "Charity/Not-for-Profit" category. It is the sixth major award garnered by CIESE since Jan. 1, 2001. (For further information on Cable & Wireless and the Childnet Awards, please visit www.childnet-int.org/awards/. The award-winning CIESE projects can be viewed on the their website at http://www.k12science.org/curriculum/.)

The Childnet Awards ceremony was held in Washington, D.C., April 19, 2001. Josh Baron, the CIESE manager for curriculum development and training, accepted the citation on behalf of Dr. Edward A. Friedman, the founding director, and the entire staff.

The CIESE project curriculum is accessed internationally through the Internet, facilitating collaboration among teachers and children around the world. According to Friedman, the programs are a foretaste of the "global village of learning" that is now possible through the Internet and other means of high-speed communication.

"One of the really important aspects of our materials," says Baron, "is that they go way beyond simple technology skills and really demonstrate how the technology can be used as a teaching and learning tool."

CIESE was founded 13 years ago by Friedman with the stated mission of "training the trainers" - schoolteachers - to instill a passion for science and technology in their students. By infusing the curriculum with unique hands-on and real-world projects, the faculty at CIESE seeks to help educators in the U.S. and worldwide to fulfill that mission.

One of the Childnet-cited CIESE efforts, "The Global Water Sampling Project" involves international participation from students of middle school and high school age. The popular project, which began April 2 and will conclude on June 8, 2001, is being conducted online for the seventh straight year.

The goal is for the students to team up via the Internet to compare the water quality in local rivers, streams, lakes, ponds or other sources of fresh water. On the project page, the specific purposes are stated as such:

• To identify organisms in the water and see if they are present in other, more distant water sources.
• To assess the quality of water based on physical characteristics, chemical substances, and biological indictors.
• To look at relationships and trends among the data collected by all the project participants.

"We believe that technology can be a powerful catalyst in improving K-12 education by providing teachers and students with enriched opportunities to experience and understand scientific and mathematical concepts," says Beth McGrath, deputy director for CIESE. "We strive to increase problem-solving and critical thinking abilities through participation in authentic, interdisciplinary projects."

The CIESE website has also been recognized for its quality and impact with awards from the Lightspan StudyWeb^® , the Awesome Library (both Feb. 2001), the Math Forum, the ERIC Clearinghouse on Information and Technology, and the International Society for Technology in Education (all Jan. 2001).

In March, the Inter American Development Bank chose CIESE as an international technology-in-education resource to bring training, expertise and new curricula to teachers throughout Central and South America. Concurrently, the Latin American Basic Education Summit held in Miami highlighted the accomplishments of CIESE as a model for educational initiatives throughout Latin America. The IBM Foundation sponsored the summit. Details of these major initiatives will be provided shortly in a separate News Service release.

About Stevens Institute of Technology

Founded in 1870, Stevens Institute of Technology is one of the leading technological universities in the world dedicated to learning and research. Through its broad-based curricula, nurturing of creative inventiveness, and cross disciplinary research, the Institute is at the forefront of global challenges in engineering, science, and technology management. Partnerships and collaboration between, and among, business, industry, government and other universities contribute to the enriched environment of the Institute. A new model for technology commercialization in academe, known as Technogenesis®, involves external partners in launching business enterprises to create broad opportunities and shared value.

Stevens offers baccalaureates, master’s and doctoral degrees in engineering, science, computer science and management, in addition to a baccalaureate degree in the humanities and liberal arts, and in business and technology. The university has a total enrollment of 2,150 undergraduate and 3,500 graduate students, with about 250 full-time faculty. Stevens’ graduate programs have attracted international participation from China, India, Southeast Asia, Europe and Latin America. Additional information may be obtained from its web page at www.stevens.edu.  

For the latest news about Stevens, please visit StevensNewsService.com.