645 Middle School Students Converging on UMaine May 30 for Statewide Technology Initiative Conference; $10,000 in Scholarships Being Awarded as Door Prizes
Contact: Mohamad Musavi, 581-2243; Bruce Segee, 581-2212; George Manlove, 581-3756
ORONO, Maine — More than 600 of Maine’s middle school students will converge on the University of Maine Friday, May 30, for a day of pushing the boundaries of their laptop computer skills.
As part of the fifth annual Maine Learning Technology Initiative Student Technology Conference, students from more than 45 schools will learn about new laptop computer software, new applications and new ways to make the best use of laptops for research, classroom activities and 21st Century educational exploration. The conference will take place in many UMaine classrooms. The day begins with registration starting at 8:15 a.m. in D.P. Corbett Business Building and welcoming remarks at 9 a.m. in nearby Hauck Auditorium on the Orono campus.
Students will break up for nearly 40 sessions on new software, educational games and dozens of the latest new media applications.
“This moves beyond classrooms and more into sophisticated and creative uses for the laptop,” says Bruce Segee, the Henry R. and Grace V. Butler Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, who is assisting with the collaborative event. “The laptop really enables a whole different way of thinking about problems, a whole different approach to education. It’s about the state’s laptop people, the state’s middle school students and teachers, and the university getting together to learn about using the laptop in creative ways.”
During the conference, $1,000 scholarships will be awarded as door prizes for 10 students who commit to enrolling in the UMaine Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering when the time comes for college.
The scholarships are expected to encourage Maine middle school students to start thinking about college sooner. Five boys and five girls who will be selected to receive $1,000 will receive the scholarships upon high school graduation and acceptance into the department’s program.
The department will stay in touch with the winning students through the remainder of their middle school years and through high school, protecting their potential investment by showing interest in the academic progress of the winners and providing support and encouragement, according to Mohamad Musavi, chair of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, and Jim Moulton of the Maine Learning Technology Initiative.
“By offering these scholarships, we believe we will be making a clear statement to these students and their families that the time to think about the future is now, and that a career in engineering can be a reality,” Musavi says. “I hope this initiative is the beginning of a transformation for Maine students to get high-tech education and enter into high paying jobs. This is a critical solution for moving our economy forward.”
Musavi says that interest in science, technology, engineering and mathematics is drawing together a nationwide educational focus on the field.
“Students who come to this conference are actively involved in Maine’s unique one-to-one computer program, the MLTI (Maine Learning Technology Initiative),” he says. “They are using technology as a primary tool in their learning, building a practical foundation of technology savvy that we look for in our applicants.
MLTI is not limited to technology, Moulton says. It is as much about increasing student achievement and opportunity, “and what better mark of opportunity for Maine learners than a college scholarship?” Moulton adds.
“We are so excited to be able to offer college scholarships to students during the critical middle school years,” Moulton says. “By getting them connected early, we are confident more Maine kids will be going on to college.
Conference sessions will teach students skills ranging from starting their own student tech teams at their schools to file sharing, blogs and podcasts, making iMovies about their communities and learning about math and science in innovative, imaginative ways.
“We have 645 highly motivated middle school students excited about taking their laptops to a new level,” Segee says. “These students are UMaine’s future students and they’re poised to go out and make the world a better place.”
Information about MLTI and conference details and schedules are available on the MLTI website