From Electronic Education Report

Copyright 2002 Simba Information Inc.
August 16, 2002
SECTION: Vol.9, No.15
LENGTH: 447 words
HEADLINE: Technology News...

Four-year-olds participating in the More at Four programs in-North Carolina will be using computers in the fall, after a donation from Armonk, N.Y.-based IBM. The company donated 229 Kid-Smart early learning computers paired with Riverdeep/The Learning Company software and teacher training.

The More at Four programs target at-risk 4-year-olds to prepare them for kindergarten. A Pittsburgh group, Three Rivers Connect, has received a $100,000 grant from the Department of Education Fund for the Improvement of Education to continue its program to provide technology training and hardware to underprivileged students in the Pittsburgh area.

Students who take a 15-hour computer technology course are supplied with a surplus computer from the federal government. In 2003, the project will begin a phase of Internet connectivity to provide a broader hometo-school connection. MathSoft Engineering & Education, a Cambridge, Mass.-based provider of interactive math, science and engineering and education software products, awarded the Brady, Texas, school district its StudyWork Innovative Teaching Grant.

The company will provide the district with site licenses for StudyWorks software, a supplemental program to support texts and access online materials. The district will use the software in algebra, geometry, biology, chemistry and physics classes. Bachmann Software, a Sparta, N.J.-based provider of software products and services for wireless and handheld devices, has conformed its Print Boy application to support printing from Palm operating system devices to Freemont, Calif.-based Clarinet Systems' high-speed infrared local area network access system. IndiVisual Learning, a St. Paul, Minn., company that provides academic intervention programs for grades five through 12, is cosponsoring "Read for Life" scholarships with Palo Alto, Calif.-based Hewlett-Packard. On Oct. 30, the companies will award two $25,000 scholarships to two schools that demonstrate financial need and have a high population of English-as-a-second-language learners. GTCO CalComp, a Columbia, Md.-based developer and manufacturer of large format digital technology hardware, has introduced the InterWrite school suite, comprising the SchoolPad and SchoolBoard.

The SchoolPad uses Bluetooth wireless connectivity, enabling teachers to control a computer with a connected projector from 25 feet. Multiple pads can connect to the same computer for group collaboration. The School-Board interactive whiteboard also uses Bluetooth networking, is available in 60" and 77" and can be connected to a computer or projector. Both the pads and boards will be available by Sept 1.