May 10, 2002 - National Semiconductor Corporation has presented $30,000 in "Innovative Idea Grants" to teachers in Arlington and Mansfield recognizing their creative ideas using the Internet in their classrooms.
Winning teachers receive money to fund their Internet projects and put their ideas into practice. The grants, provided by the National Semiconductor Foundation, will be used to purchase technology hardware and software, peripherals such as scanners, printers and digital cameras as well as equipment and supplies -whatever is necessary to implement their ideas.
An independent panel of judges, experts in education technology, reviewed the applications and selected the winners. The winning teachers and their Internet projects are:
ARLINGTON INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT
Jeannine Calhoon from Bailey Junior High - "Multicultural Texas." Establishes a virtual tour of the Institute of Texas Cultures to enable students to research and present information about the various cultures of Texas.
Julia Gray-Lion, Ruby Ruperto-Autry and Tammy Schwartzenberger from Ousley Junior High - "The Science of Strings." Using the Internet for research, students study and experiment with different instrument techniques. Students also videoconference with musicians and scientists to relate their jobs to the music-science principles being studied.
Nancy Prince from Foster Elementary - "Animal Kingdom Project." Pre-kindergarten students in an English as a Second Language class study animals by viewing pictures on the Internet, publishing books of scanned art work, documenting field trips with a digital camera and videoconferencing with veterinarians.
Norma Reynolds from Hutcheson Junior High - "Science Systems with a Texas Twist." Using the Internet and Pasco probes, junior high students research weather systems and conduct experiments to test hypotheses. Students create models and drawings to teach their peers and publish their research on the Internet.
Susan Williams from Foster Elementary - "Global Polar Project." Students research polar climates and monitor local weather and water quality through Web research and emailing scientists. They then report their findings using online journals.
MANSFIELD INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT
Scott Alexander from D.P. Morris Elementary - "Kindergarten Science on Wheels." Exposes kindergartners to science through Web-page exploration, research and hands-on activities.
Dyann Campbell from Mansfield High - "Geometry in the Real World." By collecting and creating visual presentations of geometric concepts, students build a foundation for understanding geometry and the use of technology.
Rae Lynn Fisher from Mansfield High - "Keepin' it Real." Students research an American author and assume the persona of the author. They create a Web page with biographical information and "compete," as their selected author, to write the teacher's biography. After completing this project, students present their Web pages to their peers.
Since 1998, National has provided over $1.5 million to teachers in Texas, California and Maine recognizing their creative use of the Internet in the classroom. Texas is the first location where National has presented idea grants to teachers.
National has a facility in Arlington focused on manufacturing analog and mixed-signal integrated circuits for cellular phones, computer networking equipment and displays as well as information appliances. The company currently employs 1200 people in Arlington.
National's grant to Tarrant County teachers was made through the company's charitable foundation. Despite the economic downturn, National has been able to provide more substantial grants to its community partners through its foundation, which National launched in August 2000 to support education and address critical community needs.
About National Semiconductor
National Semiconductor is the premier analog company driving the information age. Combining real-world analog and state-of-the-art digital technology, the company is focused on the fast growing markets for wireless handsets; displays; information infrastructure, and information appliances. With headquarters in Santa Clara, California, National reported sales of $2.1 billion for its last fiscal year and has about 9,800 employees worldwide. Additional company and product information is available on the World Wide Web at www.national.com.
