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| navigate: home: magazine: winter 2000: article | |
| Penn State and Drexel host first Governor’s School for Information Technology | |||||||
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Programming robots, designing Web sites and building computer networks were among the challenges facing 128 Pennsylvania high school students selected to attend the first-ever Governor’s School for Information Technology. Penn State and Drexel University jointly hosted the program last summer. “The Governor’s School for Information Technology is part of Gov. Tom Ridge’s ongoing commitment to technology education,” Education Secretary Eugene W. Hickok said. “Through the Governor’s School for Information Technology, Pennsylvania’s students received high-tech training and education from two cutting-edge universities. Industry experts helped prepare these students with information technology skills that will help launch technology-driven careers in Pennsylvania’s new economy.” This newest Governor’s School, created by the 1999–2000 budget signed into law by Ridge, joins Governor’s Schools of Excellence in the arts, agricultural sciences, health care, international studies, sciences and teaching. The schools are modeled after the curriculum in the Governor’s School for Agricultural Sciences. Created 25 years ago, these Schools of Excellence prepare artistically or academically talented high school students to serve as tomorrow’s leaders. Sixty-four high school juniors entering their senior year attended the Governor’s School for Information Technology at each university. During the intensive five-week program, they studied information technology, including networking, multimedia development, computer training, programming and technical communications. Students were assigned a computer, which they used to explore technology, current events, possible careers, problem solving and critical thinking in a variety of settings. The curriculum also included field trips and tours of technology companies, guest lectures by technology company executives and team-oriented, client-focused service learning projects. Both Penn State and Drexel were selected to host the Governor’s School because of their national reputations in the information technology field. Penn State is a leader in the application of information technology for education and outreach. The University housed its Governor’s School program in the newly created School of Information Sciences and Technology. This program offered strong industry support and educational partnerships with several major Pennsylvania institutions, including Susquehanna University, Juniata College, the University of Pittsburgh and Cheyney University of Pennsylvania. “Penn State is very pleased to serve as a host institution for the Governor’s School for Information Technology,” President Graham Spanier said. “We have a long history of providing outreach programs for youth, including the Governor’s School for Agricultural Sciences. The new Governor’s School for Information Technology will allow us to contribute further to the Commonwealth’s goal of preparing youth to pursue advanced education and careers in the field of information and technology.” Drexel University was selected based on its pioneering history in the field of technology. Ranked first in the nation by U.S. News & World Report for its graduate program, the College of Information Science and Technology offered students state-of-the-art facilities. “Drexel is proud to serve as Southeastern Pennsylvania’s host for the Governor’s School for Information Technology,” Drexel President Constantine Papadakis said. “Drexel’s selection affirms the university’s leadership in the use of technology in education. This newest Governor’s School puts Pennsylvania in the forefront nationally in preparing young people to meet the challenges in technology and business of the new millennium. It also will provide the Commonwealth with the highly trained workforce needed to continue Gov. Ridge’s initiative of making Pennsylvania a leader in high-tech commerce, research and education.” Marian Sutter, director of the Governor’s Schools of Excellence, said that plans for another information technology school are already under way, because the “joint endeavor between Penn State and Drexel has been so successful.” Penn State units providing support to the Governor’s School for Information Technology included the School of Information Sciences and Technology, the Schreyer Institute for Innovation in Learning, The Mary Jean and Frank P. Smeal College of Business Administration, the College of Engineering, the College of Education, the College of Arts and Architecture, the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences, the College of the Liberal Arts, the University Libraries, Penn State Abington, Penn State Altoona, Commonwealth College, the Center for Academic Computing and Outreach and Cooperative Extension. Penn State’s corporate partners were AccuWeather Inc., AT&T, C-COR Electronics Inc., Concurrent Technologies, Lockheed Martin, Lucent Technologies, Raytheon Systems, Unisys and VRTelecom. | ||||||
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| Robots rule during one session of the Governor’s School for Information Technology. Bob Avanzato, associate professor of engineering at Penn State Abington, conducted the Mobile Robotics Workshops at the University Park campus. He taught students how to use computers to program small robots to complete a variety of tasks. Each team of students learned to control the robot’s motion, use its sensors and instruct it in how to move. The students tested their programming abilities, compiled data and analyzed the results. Then the teams competed against each other in a series of contests to see which robot did the required task precisely.
Photos by Dave Shelly—University Photo/Graphics |
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