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WA8SME

Joined: Sat, Apr 4th 1998, 00:00 Roles: Super Moderator Moderates: N/A

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Sea/Spece Buoy Project May 30th 2012, 19:08 6 17,491 on 6/6/12
Remote Sensing Balloon/Water Buoy May 27th 2012, 14:16 1 12,526 on 27/5/12

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Topic Author Posted On
International K9GSW on 13/8/14
Thought I'd give some time for others to respond. A while back there were a few teachers who mentioned during the Teachers Institute that they were interested in using EchoLink as part of their cross cultural units of instruction. I believe there was some success reported, however it was not wide spread and the technology did not seem to catch on in the classroom. Perhaps other technologies that include video, like Skype, was found to be a more robust resource for this kind of activity, but I am only speculating. Ham radio is a great way to connect our students outside of the local boarders (city, state, country) and there are pockets of activity where the teachers have discovered the value of using Ham radio in their classrooms. The quest is on-going.

Mark WA8SME
Does your school have and use an HF or VHF Station K9CPO on 19/7/14
Hi Rick, your post made it just fine. Monitoring here.

Mark WA8SME
license herbies2 on 8/7/13
I believe you should get a new ticket in the mail for the upgrade.
Running A High School Amateur Radio Club; What to do and what not to do? N8ERF on 28/3/13
Dennis,

The majority of your questions need to be answered at the local level of the school because the answers depend on the culture of the school and the community, the proclivity and talent of the lead teacher, and the support of the school administration. Gather ideas that others are doing, but there is no easy cookie-cutter approach that can be copied and be effective in your particular school setting. There are going to be some local policies on the procedures and expectations of extra-curricular activities and clubs; if the ham content is done during the school day, you have to deal with state standards and mandates. On culture, what do the parents expect of the school's after school programs? Do they expect them to be an extension of the school day that supports regular in-class learning or is the expectation to keep the kids out of trouble and off the streets and entertained until the parents come home from work? How does the community feel about athletic participation? Are athletic programs very competitive or are they all inclusive? Will your program provide an alternative for those students that are not athletically inclined? The bottom line is it all depends on the local situation.

On the topic of volunteers in the school, make sure you check with the administration and are aware of local school board policies. Unfortunately in today's environment, many schools have significant restrictions on outsiders being in contact with students. Many schools are required to do background checks on volunteers who will be interacting with students on less than a casual basis (this even goes for parents too). Some volunteers might find this requirement offensive and obtrusive of their privacy. It is what it is. Many schools require that volunteers are shadowed by faculty or school staff. So it is very important that you are aware of and follow the school board policies on volunteer access to schools to the letter.

Even if given access, choose your volunteer help wisely. Students look at all adults in the schools as teachers, so the volunteers need to conduct themselves as teachers, dress, mannerisms, preparation, content knowledge…a well intentioned and hoped to be humorous off-color comment can quickly be misconstrued and turn into an ugly sexually charged situation that you don’t want to taint your whole program. I gave volunteers this advice in dealing with students, “you need to be friendly with the students, but you can never be their friend.” That sounds harsh and cold, but remember, students expect the adults to conduct themselves as teachers. Classrooms are serious business, during and after school. Too much fraternization with the students in the classroom often sends mixed messages and can lead to disciplinarily and behavior problems at the drop of a hat. The best advice I can give any volunteer in a school is to never, ever, be alone with a student…NEVER, especially a student of the opposite sex. That is asking for trouble. Even when I was a school principal, I never violated that rule even when I had to deal with confidential and sensitive situations. There was always another qualified adult stationed such that they could at least visually see and monitor the interaction I had with individual students. This is not paranoia, as I said, this is the sign of the times…tragically.

Take the above for what it is worth.

Mark
Running A High School Amateur Radio Club; What to do and what not to do? N8ERF on 22/3/13
Dennis,

My first recommendation is to get the lead teacher to attent a teachers institute this summer, the applications are being accepted right now. During the TI the teacher will receive a number of resources and lesson ideas to "do ham radio" in the classroom. There are a number of resources and lesson ideas listed on the education tab of this web site, that is the first place to look for what is avaialble. There are many ideas that may not be directily applicable to the school or teacher, but they may stimulate the most important ideas, those generated by the teacher and the students. The majority of the resources are avaialbe via the grant program, which sounds intimidating, but in reallity we have made it as easy and simple as possible to access those resources through the grants. If you have any questions, ask. I am at mspencer@arrl.org, or you can contact Nathan at k9cpo@arrl.org. The initital e-mail will start the dialog.

Mark

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