Meeting: University of Michigan-Flint Gary Weisserman

UM-Flint goes global with new program

Posted by Beata Mostafavi July 25, 2007 20:30PM

Categories: Flint, Higher Education

FLINT -- On the other side of the ocean, thousands of miles away in Geneva, Switzerland, Amy Meister waved hello to husband Kent and 13-year-old daughter Ashley here in Flint.

But Meister, of the local United Way, is learning to use technology in a way that could even kick satellite video out of the cutting edge club.

She is among 24 students in University of Michigan-Flint's new "Technology in Education Global Program" that was officially inaugurated Wednesday with a live feed from Geneva, where students are studying.

It's a first of its kind master's degree program in education at UM-Flint that requires global residency and research. The degree highlights the use of technology to teach topics of global importance, ranging from human rights to environmental issues.

The new 15-month program that has drawn students from as far as the Cayman Islands comes just as UM-Flint seeks to "internationalize" campus by giving students more international opportunities and lure more non-local and international students to the university.

The program will help students "re-think the role of technology in education and truly understand the way it can and does transform student learning," Acting Chancellor Jack Kay said from Geneva. "This program is poised to reinvent education for the needs and opportunities of the 21st century."

Acting provost Vahid Lotfi said the university has found partners in Geneva -- chosen because it is home to more than 100 non-governmental agencies -- that will help students focus on issues of social justice, civic engagement and education reform.

The program is mostly online but involves two 3-week-long trips to Geneva where students meet with international non-governmental agencies through the World Federations of United Nations Associations and the Federation of International Institutions in Geneva.

"They're focusing on issues sort of larger than the students themselves," said Sharman Siebenthal Adams, assistant professor in education technology. " They need to connect to the world around them.

"We are looking at all of these issues from a global perspective and using technology."

Students spend days doing Web development and video work. Examples of specific projects could include research on labor issues, K-12 schooling, social justice issues related to human rights or people with disabilities, parks and museums or environmental conservation efforts.

Via satellite, students Jennifer Holladay of Attica and Jeremiah Holden of New York said they are gaining a unique global perspective to using technology to teach in meaningful ways.

Gary Weisserman, a UM-Flint faculty member who is in Geneva with the program, said it's "not just about making a Web site."

"The goal is to make Web-rich communities that can make a difference," he said.

"This is teaching for social and educational change."

TEDTalks: Nicholas Negroponte (2006_

"Urgency of the Digital Emergency"

STEM Prospectors: Find GOLD!

Thousands of middle and high school students packed Ford Field Thursday for the 2007 YES Expo.

The Expo -- the YES stands for youth, engineering and science -- is a collaboration led by Michigan Technological University among state agencies, corporations, youth organizations, professional societies, business development groups and other universities from throughout Michigan. It offers a hands-on educational experience with the goal of inspiring students to pursue education and careers in the science and engineering fields.

Headline speakers included Dr. Steven Squyres, a Cornell University astronomy professor whose repeated project applications to NASA turned into the wildly successful Mars rovers Spirit and Opportunity. Squyres told the students he was once intimidated by math. Now he drives $900 million remote-control cars around Mars. He showed the students near-live pictures from the Martian surface, where one rover was busily digging into rock.

The event also featured a robotics demonstration from Toyota, which believe it or not has built a robot that can play the trumpet. (Not bad, but no threat to the mastery of Miles Davis just yet.)

While the major presentations took place on the Ford Field turf, the entire lower concourse was ringed by corporate and university exhibits. Included were major displays from General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co., Toyota, Faurecia (whose exploding airbag was by far the LOUDEST exhibit), the Michigan Department of Transportation, Chrysler LLC, Caterpillar, 3M, Kellogg, Radio Shack, Stryker Corp., Yazaki, Pulte Homes and Dow Chemical.

Michigan Tech, as founder and the lead university behind the event, had by far the largest number of university exhibits, featuring everything from a hovercraft to a polygraph to live satellite mapping.

Photo highlights are available at http://www.yes.mtu.edu/gallery/2007_pictures.php#.

The Shape of Things to Come!

Going the distance

Posted on 11/6/2007 11:05:58 AM Through the window it might look as if Nancy Ernst, lecturer in Applied Mathematics at Kettering University, was teaching Calculus II to an empty classroom. In reality, she is using the latest in distance learning technology to deliver lessons to 13 students in four different school districts, without the students having to leave their home schools. Ernst is teaching the pilot class in Kettering’s new distance education classroom, which enables the university to have a direct link to students and teachers in the Genesee Intermediate School District, and beyond the county boundary. The classroom was funded by the Community Foundation of Greater Flint, Citizens Banking Charitable Foundation Trust, Loeb CharitableTrust, and a Department of Education collaborative grant involving Genesee Intermediate School District and Kettering University. “This project is part of Kettering President Stan Liberty’s vision to collaborate with the K-12 education system in Flint and Genesee County,and collaborate with other higher education institutions in the area,” said Robert Nichols, director of External Affairs at Kettering, of the distance learning classroom. “The opportunity to offer dual enrollment through distance learningwas made possible because of the GenNET and FANET project in all the area highschools and the leadership of the Greater Flint Educational Consortium." GenNET, the Genesee Network for Education Telecommunications, and FANET, Genesee County’s higher education network, allow local school district classrooms to link together with FANETclassrooms through a fiber optic cable network that links voice, video and datacapabilities. “All of this came to fruition within the last year,” Nichols said. “Through the collaboration of the GFEC, the local higher educationinstitutions: Baker College, Mott Community College, the University of Michigan-Flint and Kettering, met with the superintendents and principals of highschools within GISD’s service area to ask what academic topics they needed helpproviding their students." Nichols credits Robert Hahn, coordinator of K-12 projects office of the associate provost at UM-Flint, for being the driving force that kept the project moving forward and launching within 12months. Kettering’s distance learning focus, along with the dual enrollment program, is to help middle and high school teachers make math and science relevant to all students, accordingto Bahram Roughani, professor and chair of physics at Kettering. Within the new Michigan curriculum, graduation requirements include four years each of science and mathematics. For many students, these subjects are abstract, said Roughani. The Kettering faculty's specialized talents inapplications of mathematics and science are ideal for assisting teachers in helping students answer that question, "Why do I need to know this?" In addition to making math and science relevant, other advantages to using distance education for dual enrollment include: students are not on the road attending classes at the colleges and universities and can participate in their extra-curricular activities; both teachers and students save time and the cost of transportation by remaining at their school sites; students receive quality instruction and K-12 teachers benefit from professional collaboration with their higher education counterparts. Students also get a jump start on earning college credits and school districts can provide advanced courses without hiring additional teachers. While the pilot class is still underway at Kettering, there has already been a growing interest among K-12 educators in partnering with the university through distance education technology. “Educators from Grand Rapids and Big Rapids, Michigan, have contacted me about working with us to build enthusiasm among their students for math, science and engineering programs,” Roughani said. “My hope is that by expanding our outreach and K-12 education programs through our new distance learning capability, within the next few years we will experience the need to build a second room to accommodate all programs. We would like to offer a broad selection of courses that would enable high school students to plan ahead for their college careers.” In addition to Kettering’s Calculus II class, as part of the project this fall, Mott Community College is offering courses in Arabic and College Algebra; Baker College is offering a course in Human Relations and Psychology; and UM-Flint is offering courses in Introduction to Ethics and Anthropology.

Transparency: Behind the Scenes at YES!

Behind the Scenes - YES! Expo 2007

Michigan Tech Alumni Association invites you to tour the setup and rehearsal of exhibits for YES! Expo 2007. The event will feature a guest appearance by Dr. Steven Squyres, chief scientist on NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Project.

Encouraged for ages 12 & up

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WHEN: Wednesday, November 7th, 2007
START TIME: Arrive between 6:30 and 7:00pm
WHERE: Starts at the Corner Lounge in Ford Field - Detroit, MI
FREE PARKING: Lot 6 (St. Antoine St. Parking Ramp - Walkway to Ford Field)
Directions to Ford Field
Map of Area
COST: Free (Appetizers w/ Cash Bar)

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What is YES! Expo
The Michigan Youth Engineering and Science (YES!) Expo is presented as a public service by Michigan Technological University to show middle and high school students the fascinating world of engineering, science, and technology.

In a hands-on setting, corporate exhibitors will inspire students to consider exciting science and engineering careers. Universities and community colleges will showcase the educational pathways to these careers and demonstrate the interesting things students can do in college within these fields. For more information visit: www.yes.mtu.edu/

Intentional Risk-Immersive Partner!

Investing in Detroit

Hoop hopes

Ex-NBA star aids neglected neighborhood

November 5, 2007

BY ALEJANDRO BODIPO-MEMBA

FREE PRESS BUSINESS WRITER

Local sports legend Derrick Coleman has traded in his basketball jersey for a white-collar shirt and is setting about breathing new life into his childhood neighborhood, which bears one of Detroit's deepest scars.

The retired NBA star is now a developer and entrepreneur, his latest project being the opening of a Snyx Sneaker Studio in a new 1,400-square-foot retail plaza on Linwood near Clairmount.

Coleman, who still has a home nearby, hopes to open several other business ventures in the west-side neighborhood, including a catering hall, farmers market, car wash, laundry and restaurant. He has purchased several parcels of land and says he plans to spend up to $6 million to accomplish his vision of transforming the fortunes of his old neighborhood, which was the starting point of Detroit's 1967 riot.

"People I talk to tell me there has been no new" commercial "development in that community for 40 years," he said. "I've been working hard on this project and everybody is excited about it. We can have commerce in our neighborhoods and our community."

The Snyx store is the third in a fledgling chain of sneaker stores Coleman is involved in with partners in Chicago. The shop sells Nike apparel priced from $75 to $280, including the signature shoes of LeBron James, Kobe Bryant and Rasheed Wallace.

"This is a real opportunity to create jobs and give people hope," Coleman told the Free Press on Friday. "The vision is to get rid of these vacant lots and start businesses and help people."

The store, which opened Tuesday, is part of a $1-million strip mall project that will house Snyx, as well as the Barber Lounge, a Hungry Howie's Pizza & Subs restaurant and a bill payment center.

Financing for the project came from Comerica Bank, the Detroit Economic Growth Corp. and Coleman. In addition, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services provided a $300,000 grant.

Along with the commercial strip mall project, Coleman is involved with former Detroit Pistons great and businessman Dave Bing and former Pittsburgh Steelers running back and Detroit native Jerome Bettis in the development of the city's waterfront.

Coleman also has started the Derrick Coleman Foundation (www.derrickcolemanfoundation.com), a nonprofit focusing on providing education, health and recreational programs for young people in the city.

"This is Derrick's community, and he's always made a commitment to the community," said Jeanne Wardford, president of the Derrick Coleman Foundation.

That's why Coleman sees the project on the corner of Linwood and Clairmount as a stepping-stone to the rebuilding of the community that helped launch him on a professional basketball career.

Coleman, 40, was born the summer of the riot.

The '67 riot began that July 23 when police vice squad officers raided an after-hours nightclub on the corner of 12th Street and Clairmount, near the site of Coleman's strip mall.

A melee that followed the raid resulted in five days of rioting, the torching of more than 2,000 buildings, the arrest of more than 7,000 people and 43 deaths. President Lyndon B. Johnson dispatched National Guard troops to the city.

"My vision is to keep creating opportunities and services in that community," said Coleman, who was a basketball star at Northern High School in Detroit and later at Syracuse University. He played mostly for New Jersey and Philadelphia in the NBA, and was on the Pistons squad in 2004-05. "It's going to be a viable community and come back to life like before the 1967 disturbances."

Contact ALEJANDRO BODIPO-MEMBA at 313-222-5008 or abodipo@freepress.com.

DO THE RIGHT THING! From Risk-Adversive to Risk-Immersive

Better to DO the right thing wrong then the wrong thing right.
http://www.archfoundation.org/aaf/audio/Events.Summit.Ackoff.mp3