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![Previous (earlier) Story](/images/sty-down.gif "QRP Community: Make Mine "To Go""){kind=small} Previous: QRP Community: Make Mine "To Go" | ![Next (later) Story](/images/sty-up.gif "Second "Space Tourist" En Route to ISS; Amateur Contacts Planned"){kind=small} Next: Second "Space Tourist" En Route to ISS; Amateur Contacts Planned |
NEWINGTON, CT, Apr 25, 2002--Thanks to the generosity of the amateur community, the ARRL Education and Technology Program--"The Big Project"--is better than one-quarter of the way to its 2002 Phase I funding goal. The program already has signed on 18 pilot schools. Several pilot schools already are sporting new ham stations, paid for by donations. A curriculum is under development and will be ready for beta testing this fall.
 Students at Big Project Pilot School C-4 Columbus North High School, in Columbus, Indiana, construct a beam antenna for the school's Amateur Radio club station. |
"The strength of the membership campaign is vitally important to our corporate and foundation grant appeals," said ARRL Chief Development Officer Mary Hobart, K1MMH. "It sends a message that the membership supports this initiative." Hobart said members already have contributed $70,000 during the membership appeal that began in March with a goal this year of $252,000--much of that expected to be from individual contributions.
The ARRL Education and Technology Program--the educational initiative of ARRL President Jim Haynie, W5JBP--is aimed at providing a turnkey Amateur Radio curriculum, station equipment and classroom resources to schools. Program Coordinator Jerry Hill, KH6HU, reports that most of the initial pilot schools now are "up and running" with amateur equipment provided through the program. The experiences of the pilot schools will help to shape the ultimate project design.
Another six schools have been approved for "progress grants" of up to $500 each. These grants are for schools already using Amateur Radio but which need a little assistance, Hill explained, "so teachers don't have to always spend their own money."
As the current school year winds down, Hill has been turning his attention to curriculum development. Initially aimed at the middle school classroom, the planned curriculum--to be embodied in The Radio Lab Handbook--will offer educators a lot of flexibility in choosing how to use it. When completed, the curriculum will be posted on the ARRL Web site. Hill says it will be able to serve as a half-semester standalone unit of classroom study, but teachers will be welcome to use the material in whole or in part as it works best for them.
Most schools, Hill predicted, will use the ARRL Education and Technology Program as an enrichment program--perhaps outside of regular classroom hours--or as a separate ham radio licensing class.
"We want schools to make this their own program," Hill said. "We want teachers to look at this as a way to supplement or support what they're already doing in the classroom--not replace it."
 DeGolyer Elementary School student and Amateur Radio club member Nick, KD5OJB, at the microphone of club station K5DES in Dallas. [ARRL Photo] |
The wide-ranging, multidisciplinary curriculum will dovetail information on Amateur Radio within the broader topic of wireless communication. Discussion will include devices that youngsters might more readily recognize such as pagers, cellular telephones, GPS and wireless Internet access devices. Amateur Radio rules and regulations, operating and procedures will be covered in separate units. "The licensing-specific material actually will be an addendum," Hill explained, "since licensing is not the main focus of what we're trying to do here." Several pilot schools already have a few students licensed, however, and others have classes under way.
The Radio Lab Handbook also will weave in much of the same information that prospective amateurs need to know to pass a license examination--such as basic electrical theory, radio wave propagation, types of receivers, various transmitting modes, antennas, electronic components and RF safety. He said that teachers already using Amateur Radio in the classroom favor a multidisciplinary approach.
"A strong focus of the curriculum will be hands-on activities, to increase the depth of the students' understanding," Hill said. For starters, those might include such things as building a simple crystal radio or conducting experiments that demonstrate wave-propagation theory. "These are types of activities that require the student to physically do something and take some responsibility for their own learning." Hill said that even multi-layered Jell-O has been put to use to demonstrate ducting propagation.
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Amateur Radio Education and Technology Program at Columbus Area Career
Connection (C-4 Columbus North High School, Columbus, Indiana)
The Amateur Radio program is in full swing here at C4. Since we got a late start with this, I am only offering it to the seniors in my electronics class this year. Next year we plan to expand it to all students in electronics as well as some of the technology and communication classes. Full story |
Hill would like to see pilot school participants sharing ideas, experiences and activities, but he also wants the schools to establish ties with the local Amateur Radio community--as some already have done. "We're asking the schools to partner up with a local ham club," he said. "The idea is to build a relationship between the school and the club and provide some technical assistance." For one thing, clubs can buy the ARRL publications library at cost for donation to a school library--something that helps to keep down costs for the school.
He also envisions program schools eventually participating in on-the-air operating events or perhaps in other technology-related activities outside of ham radio, such as hidden transmitter hunts or geocaching--a type of hidden treasure hunt for GPS users. Some pilot schools already are using public service activities such as weather spotting as a main focus. In a post-September 11 world, Hill said, public service is something the youngsters will want to get involved with, "and we hope to promote their involvement."
Right now, Hill said, he's open to ideas and suggestions from both educators and amateurs "so we can involve more than just the schools." He wants to see the ARRL Education and Technology Program involved in communities, not just schools.
"They're the next generation," Hill said of Big Project participants, present and future. "We're going to need these people to take our places."
Schools interested in applying to become pilot schools should visit the ARRL Amateur Radio Education Project Pilot School Application page, or contact Jerry Hill, KH6HU, jhill@arrl.org.
Teachers now using Amateur Radio in the classroom are welcome to apply for a Progress Grant to assist them in maintaining their stations or enhancing their programs. Visit the ARRL Progress Grant Application page for details.
Donations large or small from individuals and organizations are encouraged. Visit the ARRL Amateur Radio Education and Technology Program Web site for details on how to contribute.
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ARRL Education and Technology Program Pilot Schools |
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C-4 Columbus North High School, Columbus, Indiana |
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Central Square Middle School, Central Square, New York |
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Clark Wood Elementary School, Elkland, Pennsylvania |
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DeGolyer Elementary School, Dallas, Texas |
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Gowanda Senior High School, Gowanda, New York |
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Greenfield-Central High School, Greenfield, Indiana |
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Halifax County High School, South Boston, Virginia |
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Iowa Street School, Fallbrook, California |
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J. E. Richards Middle School, Lawrenceville, Georgia |
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Morgan County R-2 School, Versailles, Missouri |
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Richwood High School, Monroe, Louisiana |
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St Antoninus School, Cincinnati, Ohio |
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Stehekin School, Stehekin, Washington |
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University High School, Spokane, Washington |
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Vallivue High School, Caldwell, Idaho |
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Wasilla High School, Wasilla, Alaska |
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William Byrd High School, Vinton, Virginia |
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Winchell Elementary School, Kalamazoo, Michigan |
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