Return to the June 1996 Table of Contents
So long, Power Rangers. Move over, Animaniacs. The children in Baltimore County, Md., are rushing home on Wednesday afternoons to watch Adam Up, the wisecracking puppet star of a local cable show called "Math Homework Helpers."
The call-in show, which has been on the air since November, combines long division and fractions with humor and splashy graphics. It features elementary school teachers Ilene Uram and Bea Lozinsky, who sit at a bright pink desk, answering questions from students who call in. The puppet Adam Up sits between them, introducing callers and joking in a New York accent. "It's a show just for [children] that shows them it's OK to ask for help . . . and it gives them a chance to be a star," says Uram. When it's their turn to ask a question, callers see their names, and that of their school, fly onto the screen in a comic-book style explosion.
The 30-minute show is similar to cable help shows in other parts of the country. But its popularity might set it apart. An hour before show time each Wednesday, the phones start ringing. And when the show isn't on, eager children call the cable station's business line. Producers have gotten the message: They are planning to experiment with extending the show to an hour.
The creators of "Math Homework Helpers" took the idea from a neighboring county's show, which takes a more traditional pencil-and-paper approach. They added the puppet and gimmicks like the Super Think question, which can win young callers a prize. "How many tacos can a 1,000-pound man eat on an empty stomach?" was one recent Super Think question. (Answer: One, after which his stomach isn't empty anymore.) The teachers also give out special tricks to remember concepts. For instance, one is "Dear Mom, Send Big Doughnuts," which stands for "Divide, Multiply, Subtract, Bring Down," which are, of course, the steps in long division.
Getting through to the show can be harder than answering the Super Think questions, however. "After a while you get tired of pushing redial," says Shelley Lichtfuss, whose son Justin is determined to win a prize but hasn't gotten through to the show yet.
"Math Homework Helpers" has made teachers Lozinsky and Uram local celebrities. "Some kids look at me and say, 'I know you; you're the math lady,'" says Uram.
For more information about the show, call Paul Walsh at (410) 887-4292.
Here's good news for high school seniors who are looking at colleges far from their homes: A simple click of a computer mouse can take students to some college campuses via the World Wide Web.
These days, the technological resources to help students pick the right college are growing. Computer-savvy students don't always have to take long interstate drives, or costly airline flights, to help them make a decision. Electronic visits to colleges, as well as electronic applications processes, are becoming more common as universities take advantage of the Internet's ability to link them with prospective students.
The University of Oregon was one of the first to provide admissions information on the World Wide Web, allowing prospective students to cruise through course offerings, faculty publications, and a wealth of information about campus life listed on its home page. "The real beauty of this technology," Oregon admissions director Martha Pitt says, is that it "allows people to gain access to a whole new world of information no matter where they live."
Penn State University has a goal of processing at least 80 percent of its applications electronically by the year 2000. The university system now receives about 50,000 applications a year. "We're really setting ourselves up to join the electronic world," says Steve Mostert, the university's communications director. "That's where everybody's moving."
Penn State, as well as the University of Minnesota and the University of Oregon, plan to have their entire applications processes on-line soon so students can complete forms, participate in e-mail interviews, and even send tuition payments on the Internet, in addition to viewing the campuses.
But J.Q. Johnson, an Oregon researcher who coordinates the university's admissions project, says the change will be gradual because many families still lack computers. Parents and students who do not have Internet access will have to take the traditional approach--printed brochures, paper mail, college recruiters, and an actual tour--instead of a virtual tour.
"[Technology's] certainly not going to replace all that anytime soon," Johnson says. "The Internet may be faster, but it's not the only way to get to school."
You've heard all the rhetoric about students having trouble in the workplace, but in Bushnell, Ill., some students are proving they can handle the work environment just fine. The B-PC Printing Company--run by 14 students taking part in a Bushnell-Prairie City High School class--is flourishing.
The company grew out of the school's new communications-technology applications class. Students who participate first learn and then apply the desktop-publishing skills necessary to keep their business up and running. In its short existence, the company and its student-workers have filled local orders for business cards, applications, prom and party invitations, certificates, mailing labels, thank-you cards, tickets, bookmarks, and programs for school functions.
"One of our main concerns was whether the students would have enough work to keep them busy, but it's turned out great," says Cindy Arthur, a teacher in the program.
Because student computer knowledge varied widely, the first weeks of class were devoted to teaching students everything from computer basics to how to operate computer accessories such as scanners and laser printers. Students design their products on new Power Macintosh computers. "The district had made a commitment to up-to-date technology, and that's one of the reasons we're able to have this class," says teacher Connie LaRue.
Arthur and LaRue agree the class provides a variety of ways to combine business and English skills. The students develop business acumen by going to the customer, explaining available services, filling out order forms, meeting deadlines, and billing with invoices. Because accuracy in spelling and grammar is essential to draw in repeat customers, the students' English skills get plenty of exercise, teachers say.
Students are among those who praise the class. Junior Peter Murfin says he took the class because he's thinking of going into the computer field. "I just like being able to work with the computers," he says. "It's pretty neat what you can do with something like this."
For more information about the B-PC printing company, call Arthur or LaRue at (309) 772-2113.
The age of the computer is taking its toll on teachers' attitudes toward the literary classics. A Public Agenda survey of America's teachers found most believe computer literacy is a key to success but that studying classic authors such as Shakespeare and Plato is not.
In the survey, less than 25 percent of 1,164 teachers polled believe classic works by Shakespeare and Plato or writings by American novelists such as Ernest Hemingway or John Steinbeck are "absolutely essential." But 70 percent of the teachers said computer skills are absolutely essential for success in today's society.
"They don't think Shakespeare is the be-all, end-all for kids," says Steve Farkas, who worked on the Public Agenda survey. "Computer skills emerge from the pack because the teachers connect that with survival in the real world."
Some educators were disappointed by the teachers' attitudes toward the classics.
Chester Finn, a former education department official in the Reagan Administration, says he's not surprised when the general public gives a low ranking to the classics or American literary works. But he was disappointed teachers didn't rank them higher.
"I think teachers have been brainwashed by the political correctness crowd to think that anything associated with classics is tainted as dead, white, European-male imperialism," says Finn.
Keith Geiger, president of the National Education Association, the nation's largest teachers' union, disagreed. He says teachers reflected their pragmatism when they ranked computers over classics.
"I think teachers believe they have a lot more students in their classrooms who will have jobs that require dealing with computers than with reading the classics," says Geiger. "We have to prepare kids to get jobs."
Patricia Tuma, who teaches computer programs and integrated business systems at Midland High School in Midland, Mich., adds that computer classes are not just about mastering the keyboard. "Through the learning of computer skills, you can learn all these other things at a much faster rate," she says. "You can use a computer encyclopedia to study American history."
The survey was based on a telephone poll of teachers in grades four through 12. The margin of error was plus or minus three percentage points.
Three California high school students have learned crime doesn't pay in cyberspace, either. Somehow (and this should suggest a security tip for your schools), the teenagers got hold of a high school's America Online password and school credit card account numbers, and started shopping, United Press International reports. The trio allegedly charged high-tech products, including a Beavis and Butthead computer game, to the stolen card numbers.
But the cyber crooks themselves were not exactly molded in the image of Beavis and Butthead. They're reportedly good students, not experienced juvenile delinquents.
"These are bright kids," Alameda County police officer Casey Nice told UPI. "They just kind of did something foolish and got in over their heads."
The felonious stunt was a first in Alameda County, according to UPI. And it came less than a month after President Bill Clinton and Vice President Al Gore visited California to launch a program connecting schools to the Internet.
The students were charged with computer crimes, a felony carrying a minimum prison sentence of 16 months, according to UPI. They were released to their parents.
Nice told UPI the kids stole about $5,000 worth of products using the credit cards, and at press time, items they ordered illegally were still being sent to the address of a vacant home near where one of the students lives.
According to Nice, the stealing began after a 15-year-old Castro Valley High School student got the school's America Online screen name and password. His two accomplices and friends--a 15-year-old San Lorenzo High School student and a 14-year-old from Alameda's St. Barnabas School--logged onto the Internet using the school code and one of the students' home computers, according to UPI.
Nice told UPI police learned of the crime when products ordered by the boys started showing up at a vacant home near where one of the boys lives. What the kids failed to predict was that the owner of the vacant home would be checking up on his house. The owner called police to report a host of mail shipments--such as CD-ROM games, computer equipment, and compact disks--arriving at his address with names of people he didn't know, according to UPI.
"They thought they were smarter than America Online, the credit card companies, and the police," Nice told UPI. "But all these people have their records, and [kids] leave [electronic] footprints wherever they go."
Imagine you're a straight "A" high school student. But on the day your school passes out report cards, suddenly you are failing most of your classes. Or better yet, imagine you are struggling to pass your classes, but on report-card day you suddenly become an honor-roll student.
That's what happened at Valparaiso High School in Valparaiso, Ind. School administrators there discovered a computer was giving out the wrong marks. But the discovery was not made before report cards were handed out to students. Some of them might have believed that miracles do come true, while the usually stellar students knew that something had gone terribly wrong.
"Kids who normally get high grades were complaining to the office," says Superintendent Michael Benway. "The computer was reading high grades as low and low grades as high." Students had received their report cards in the morning, but after students complained and school officials identified the problem, students were asked to return their report cards to teachers. "Some kids were [pleasantly] surprised [by the grades], and they didn't want to give their cards back," says school principal Ken Brist.
Like many students who are schooled at home because of medical problems, Paul Ward often felt isolated, depressed, and lonely. But not any longer. A computer system provided by his school district lets the 16-year-old Texan reach beyond the walls of his house, doing homework and hanging out with a newfound friend. "I can actually have regular school friends to visit over the computer, and that's great," says Ward.
Ysleta Independent School District, near El Paso, provided Ward's link to the outside world this year. The teen and his friend, Christina Gonzalez, were given the use of computer equipment with cameras, microphones, and speakers. The hookup allows the two to speak to and see each other over their computer terminals. Gonzalez, also 16, is homebound because she has lupus. Ward was forced to leave high school because of an inflammation of the large intestine and borderline diabetes.
The equipment is part of Ysleta's Homebound Student Program. It operates across a cable company's transmission line. The program is still being tested and is limited to Gonzalez and Ward. But district officials plan to expand it using the Internet and other technological advances.
"It has opened a new world for me," says Gonzalez, who will begin taking an English class through a video conference. "It's really hard to be away from school and friends. But to be able to talk and do homework with Paul is really great. He knows how I feel and can relate."
Go to the top of this document Return to the June 1996 Table of Contents
Return to the Electronic School home page