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Hewlett-Packard Gives Ten Computers
to Smith College Campus School for New Engineering Lab
NORTHAMPTON, Mass. -- Hewlett-Packard,
the global technology company with headquarters in Palo Alto,
Calif., has donated ten Compaq Tablet portable computers
to the Smith College Campus School for use in its new engineering
education laboratory.
The lab is part of a K to 6 engineering curriculum development
project based on the Massachusetts Science and Technology/Engineering
Framework, a state mandate for elementary education in engineering
and technology. Hewlett-Packard's computer donation follows
an earlier contribution of $10,000 from the company to support
the curriculum development project.
Smith's Department of Education and Child Study is collaborating
with the college's Picker Engineering Program in working
with Campus School teachers to integrate engineering concepts
into their curricula.
"Both engineering and technology are parts of students'
worlds," said Al Rudnitsky, professor of education and
child study, who is working on the Campus School curriculum
project. "Helping students better understand the principles
of technology and engineering enriches their learning in
all subjects, as well as their appreciation of many of the
human endeavors surrounding them."
The Compaq portable computers will enable Campus School
students to explore many applications related to engineering,
including the use of robotics programs within the Pitsco-LEGO
education program, as well as organizational planning software
such as Inspiration, a program used for outlining engineering
projects. The computers' portability will allow for outdoor
use in probing for pH readings and taking temperatures over
time, for example, and other uses outside the lab. Students
will also use the computers in conjunction with other technology
tools such as light meters and time sensors.
The Campus School engineering lab will also be used by faculty
in field testing the school's K to 6 engineering curriculum,
and by Smith education students, who will teach in the lab
as part of their practicum experience. It will also serve
as a demonstration lab throughout the school year and as
a professional development classroom for public school teachers
after school hours and during the summer months.
The Smith College Campus School is a coeducational day school
enrolling 270 children from Northampton and surrounding areas
in kindergarten through Grade 6.
Smith will make history on May 16 when the college awards
the first engineering bachelor's degrees at a women's college
to 20 graduates of the college's Picker Engineering Program.
Established in 1999, the Picker Engineering Program is the
first and only engineering program at a U.S. women's college.
Hewlett-Packard, along with several other nationally prominent
technology companies, has been an active supporter and adviser
of the Picker Engineering Program since its inception.
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Office of College
Relations
Smith College
Garrison Hall
Northampton, Massachusetts 01063 |
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Marti
Hobbes
News Assistant
T (413) 585-2190
F (413) 585-2174
mhobbes@email.smith.edu
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