The Vermont Software Developers Alliance {vStDA} announced today that it received 21 excellent applications for the Bentley Award and is seeking additional contributions to fund them all. The Alliance sought applications from Vermont schools to develop projects related to science, technology, engineering, arts and math (STEAM.) In just a few weeks, they received 21 applications from schools all over the state competing for three iPads and a $3,000 prize.
The decision to try to fund all the applications came after John Canning, President of Physician’s Computer Company, found it difficult ‘to choose among the many excellent applications received’. The projects ranged from using iPads to teach disabled children to read to expanding weather data observation
capabilities on an existing weather station located at the school. Canning said that, ‘It’s tough to say no to kids, especially when you understand the importance
of these projects to their education. It benefits us all for kids to become savvy in science and tech related projects. ‘
The Bentley Award was created after the death of 12 year old Bentley Davis Seifer who had a knack for creating inventions out of found objects and a strong interest in science, engineering, art and math. Bentley is the son of Bruce Seifer, a founding member of the Software Alliance and his wife Julie A. Davis.
The total amount necessary to fund all the awards is about $100,000. The Alliance has raised about $15,000 to date that include contributions from Apple®, Vt. Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) and the Bluehouse Group, a software company located in Richmond, Vermont. Bluehouse Group Founder Greg Brand stated that, "Bluehouse Group is happy to offer this contribution in memory of Bentley. We also want to acknowledge the leadership role that his parents, Bruce Seifer and Julie Davis, have played in supporting education and a vibrant Vermont creative-tech economy."
Anyone interested in contributing to the Bentley Award Project can do so by visiting the Vermont Software Developer’s Alliance website atwww.vtsda.orgor mailing a check to the Vermont Software Developers’ Alliance, 70 South Winooski Ave. #270, Burlington, VT 05401.
About the VtSDA
The vtSDA is an 8 year old trade group that was founded by entrepreneurs, for entrepreneurs, to celebrate the creative technology sector of Vermont’s economy.
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BENTLEY AWARD GRANT REQUEST SUMMARIES
2012
#1 Flipping the Classroom:. 'Lectures' are recorded as Vodcasts which students can access anywhere/anytime freeing up class time for more engaging pursuits in which teachers can help students with their own thinking. The Bentley Award could help by allowing the purchase of computers and software to set up a recording studio
#2 Geocaching: is an adventure game for GPS users where students will set up caches all over their community and then share these locations on the internet. They will learn to use GPS technology and will further document their travels using iPads and digital cameras.
#3 Interdisciplinary Study of Weather: As part of a recent renovation of our science laboratory, ABC School installed a weather station on the school roof which is certified by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Our goal is to expand weather data capabilities to include more outdoor observations, measurements and data collection and expand this curriculum to our elementary school, grades K - 4.
#4 Digital Media: Expand digital media into their integrated approach to STEM activities which already includes building balsa structures, rocketry, magnetic levitation vehicles, rubber band powered airplanes, electric terrain vehicles, computer- aided design, and Photoshop collages.
#5 Study the habitat and life cycles of different animals: Currently fourth grade science students have the opportunity to study the habitat and life cycles of different animals. Throughout the year the focus is on: dwarf frogs, fiddler crabs, worms and ducks.We would like to expand this project into a 2 year study which would follow the students into fifth grade.
#6 Botball Education Robotics annual competition: 14 Students in an after school program want to enter this competition in Massachusetts. As part of this project, they are working on software design, mechanical design and developing an overall project plan.
#7 iPads into our classroom: A grades K’2 school in an increasingly impoverished and largely rural community in northern Vermont added iPads to the classroom last year in an effort to engage students and diversify what they learned. Initial reception has been quite positive. The most noticeable improvements coming from students with social and emotional disabilities; the mobility of the iPad allows these student to relocate to a less stressful area when necessary. The Bentley Award would allow the school to increase the number of mobile devices available.
#8 Science Fair: Ten years ago, our school launched a science fair for grades 4 through 8 that places an emphasis on the scientific process and STEAM related projects. Winners from the upper grades go on to compete in the state wide science fair. The science fair is funded solely by donations; the The Bentley Award would provide additional resources for the student body.
#9 Support a student organization focused on a Sustainable Future: The organization introduces students to sustainability and modeling and encourages them to investigate and apply their learnings to addressing global challenges such as renewable energy. The Bentley Award will allow the school to purchase additional computers that the students can use on a daily basis.
#10 Create Video with iPads of town to share with pen-pals in Germany, Italy and France: Using media, data, pictures, and video students would collaboratively create a dynamic movie on their community that gives their pen-pals the opportunity to see what life is like in ABC while communicating through Skype, email, and blogs.
#11 Integrate Physics, Industrial Technology and CAD: Produce tangible student projects using computer modeling, graphic design and finally computer controlled fabrication to make a low cost pellet stove for heating, wooden truss structures fabricated with a computer controlled router, and sports equipment.
#12 Lego League Competition: Students use their math, technological, and engineering skills to design a robot for international competition with people competing from 55 countries. The Bentley Award would allow more students from our school to enter the competition.
#13 iPads to teach Astronomy: My sixth grade science classes focus on the solar system. The iPads provided by the Bentley award would augment our current curriculum thanks to the many wonderful applications that help students understand the solar system and the night sky.
#14 iPads as tools in field science: The project, focused on the LaPlatte River and Champlain Basin, is innovative because it will introduce the use of iPads as tools in field science to elementary age students, thereby linking stewardship of nature with technology tools which are increasingly a part of their daily lives.
#15 Create an outdoor classroom and attached greenhouse : Renovate shack on school grounds to create an outdoor classroom and attached greenhouse with the goal of studying the natural areas. The Bentley Award would provide a much needed boost to the fund raising efforts for this project.
#16 Science Inquiry Project: Incorporate technology use in classrooms in order for students to access the greater world. Science is one area where students are encouraged to have authentic experiences, (instead of being talked to by the teacher) with topics that they would not necessarily have access to in a typical school environment.
#17 The Benefits of Technology in Kindergarten: Podcasting, video, SmartBoards and iPads are all wonderful technological tools that inspire young children to think deeply about their ideas while also allowing important collaboration with others. iPads double up as a digital video/camera that will allow me to instantaneously email what is being captured during class time, as well as provide a myriad of opportunities via either educational applications or iBooks.
#18 Set up an online Academy: Student will create teaching videos and other learning materials on STEAM topics, so that other students and their families can use them in school and at home. The Bentley Award would support the costs associated with hosting the web site, video conversion software so that all the videos on our site would be in the same format, styluses and other accessories for the iPads, and digital projectors so that students could see and use the videos in their classrooms. We would use the iPads themselves for creating and editing videos.
#19 Place based science program: Continue innovative project because it combines a study of local biomes with a technology component using a WIKI and connecting different schools with local experts and residents
#20 Purchase 15 electronic readers for struggling students: E-readers have certain functions that are beneficial to students struggling with reading such as: the ability to get the definition of a word at a touch, the ability to ‘talk’ to one another electronically, the ability to store many books on a single device, and to read at a comfortable font size and with a lighted background.
#21 NASA Kids Science Challenge ‘ Meals on Mars: Provide funding for computers used by students competing in the annual NASA Challenge. This competition encourages students to be real scientists and problem solvers. The computers will be used to conduct research, organize and analyze results, prepare reports and presentations.