ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, March 11, 1997 TAG: 9703110075
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOEL TURNER THE ROANOKE TIMES
Tech has begun to use university research and technology to improve teaching in public schools.
Soon, schoolchildren in Virginia might have healthier hearts because of Virginia Tech and the World Wide Web.
They can learn about the heart, nutrition, physical activity and tobacco usage. They will be able to question experts, log their physical activities and take quizzes on cardiovascular health.
Virginia Tech researchers have developed an Internet module on healthy hearts for elementary and middle school children. They hope it will be available to schools by next year.
Children also can study endangered species and monitor water quality on the Internet in lessons that have been developed by Tech's College of Forestry and Wildlife Resources.
High school teachers can take courses by computer in literature, political theory and other fields to earn a master's degree at Tech.
Across the state, high school students will benefit from research by Tech professor David Kingston in the rain forest in Suriname for plants that might become the ingredients of new drugs.
Virginia Tech has embarked on a program of using university research and technology to improve the teaching of mathematics, science and technology in public schools.
With the support of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the National Science Foundation, Tech has established a new Institute for Connecting Science Research to the Classroom.
The school has brought 300 public school teachers to Roanoke for a two-day conference to help schools upgrade teaching through the practical application of university research. The conference began Monday.
Tech's "Cyberschool" also uses technology to enhance courses and programs for students both on and off its Blacksburg campus.
Tech athletes might improve their grades because they can use the Internet to do their schoolwork while they are on long road trips for games.
The school is using a $200,000 grant to develop a program that combines technology and curriculum innovations to help athletes improve their academic achievement.
Len Hatfield, an English professor and a coordinator of the Cyberschool, said players can take laptop computers with them on road trips so they can keep up with their studies.
Tech now has about 200 different courses on line in some form for students on and off campus.
The Cyberschool's outreach program is designed to serve alumni, public school teachers and others who live off campus, Hatfield said.
Timothy Luke, a political science professor and Cyberschool coordinator, said a student in one of his classes lives in New Zealand.
Joy Colbert, director of the Institute for Connecting Science Research to the Classroom, said public school teachers will have direct access to Tech research in mathematics, science and teaching technologies.
"We want to connect university research to the classroom," Colbert told the teachers. "It is an opportunity to share in the wonder of exploration and discovery."
During the conference, Tech researchers demonstrated the practical application of university research in manned space simulation and the design of race cars in public school classrooms.
There were also sessions on reforms in mathematics teaching, the smart highway and mining research at Tech and its classroom application.
In addition to the conference, the institute offers training for teachers in technology and assistance for schools in choosing new technology. It also has outreach programs to encourage women and minorities to participate in math and science educational and career opportunities.
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