Oak Ridge Today

Oak Ridge Schools seeks to become top STEM district in country

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Bruce Borchers Introduces Discovery Education

Oak Ridge Schools Superintendent Bruce Borchers introduces Discovery Education to members of the PTA Council on Thursday, April 10. (Photos by Sara Wise)

Superintendent: ‘It’s a big deal nationally’

Oak Ridge Schools is attempting to become the premier district in the nation for science, technology, engineering, and math, or STEM, education. Superintendent Bruce Borchers has a $3.4 million plan to make that happen using Microsoft Surface tablets and Discovery Education. The money will be spent over a five-year period.

Borchers calls the needed changes a “digital transformation” that will, he hopes, bring a tablet to every student in the school system. This is especially important in Oak Ridge, a district with a free and reduced lunch rate of more than 50 percent. The digital transformation would allow every student in the district to have the same educational opportunities, regardless of income.

The first of three steps toward transformation is to create a technological infrastructure capable of handling all the tablets. Those improvements have a $1 million price tag that the Oak Ridge Board of Education and the city have already approved. Borchers hopes for the upgrades to be completed before students return to school in the fall. The upgrades are projected to last until at least 2022. [Read more…]

STEM standards training for informal educators, tutors, community members

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Oak Ridge Schools is partnering with Oak Ridge Associated Universities, the Children’s Museum, and American Museum of Science and Energy to do a STEM standards training for informal educators, tutors, and community members from 6-8 p.m. Monday, April 21, at the Children’s Museum.

“This training will be beneficial to those who are interested in learning more about helping students advance their skills in science, technology, engineering, and math and have been wondering what the Common Core and Science Standards are as well as how they can be applied to informal and after-school education programs,” a press release said. “The training will be led by Oak Ridge Schools’ staff.”

Light refreshments and childcare will be provided. You can register at www.orau.us/informaledworkshop.

ORAU Annual Report highlights impact of early career researchers on U.S. scientific mission

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Jason Hayward

Jason Hayward, who has a doctorate in nuclear engineering from the University of Michigan, holds a high-resolution instrument, which is part of his research to benefit facilities like Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s Spallation Neutron Source. (Photo credit: University of Tennessee)

With U.S. falling behind China and India in numbers of STEM graduates, strengthening U.S. scientific talent is critical, according to report

Jason Hayward is applying his nuclear engineering research expertise to develop the next generation of high-resolution instruments for facilities like Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s Spallation Neutron Source.

Hayward, who has a doctorate in nuclear engineering from the University of Michigan, hopes his work will eventually help curtail the spread of nuclear weapons and assist in identifying viable alternative energy sources. Hayward is an assistant professor of nuclear engineering at the University of Tennessee, a joint faculty member with ORNL’s Nuclear Security and Isotope Technology Division, a U.S. Department of Energy research award recipient, and a participant in the Higher Education Research Experiences Program.

He and many other early career researchers are participating in fellowships and internships managed by Oak Ridge Associated Universities with DOE and other federal agencies, and they are the main focus of ORAU’s “2013 Annual Report,” which has just been released. [Read more…]

ORHS Wildbots going to world championships after regional robotics win

Posted at
By 3 Comments

Secret City Wildbots FIRST Robotics Team

Oak Ridge High School’s “Wildbot” #4265 was among the winners at the Smoky Mountains Regional Robotics Challenge held this past weekend, and the team will now go to St. Louis for the World Championship. (Photo by D. Ray Smith)

By Mike Wehrenberg

The Smoky Mountains Regional High School Robotics Competition had an extremely successful event this past weekend, and Oak Ridge High School was one of the three regional winners. Collierville High School outside Memphis won the Rookie All Star award.

Both of these Tennessee high schools will receive an invitation to the world championships at the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis, where the Rams football team plays. About 50,000 people will be in attendance at the end of April for that competition.

This was our fourth year of competition at the Knoxville Convention Center in a game called Aerial Assist. Thirty-five teams from Tennessee competed, along with 14 teams from the surrounding states of Missouri, Kentucky, West Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina. It was a fantastic, “graciously professional,” and exciting event, with all the teams representing themselves, their STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) programs, and their ability to set and achieve goals in an powerful and emotional way.

Other Tennessee news of note: [Read more…]

Letter: Chamber task force did not choose to ‘weigh in’ on traffic cameras

Posted at
By 4 Comments

Note: The following letter was written in response to an earlier letter on traffic cameras by Oak Ridge resident T.J. Garland.

The Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce “weighs in” on issues of importance determined by a Pro-growth Advocacy Task Force, which recommends positions to the Chamber’s member-led Board of Directors. That task force did not choose to address the traffic camera issue and instead focused on other important matters such as widening Edgemoor Road, moving copy signs, and STEM education.

The City of Oak Ridge provides no operating funds to the Chamber. Those are provided through the financial support of our members. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge Schools announces six-year digital learning, STEM partnership

Posted at
By 2 Comments

Bruce Borchers

Bruce Borchers

On Wednesday, Oak Ridge Schools announced a new collaboration with Discovery Education, the leading provider of digital content and professional development for K-12 classrooms, to create authentic digital learning environments in classrooms district-wide. Through a six-year partnership, Discovery Education will support Oak Ridge Schools’ plan to implement a 1:1 learning initiative with engaging digital content and sustained, customized professional development.

This new partnership also supports Superintendent Bruce Borchers’ recently announced plan to transform Oak Ridge Schools into the premier preK-12 STEM school district in the nation. The district’s goal is to become a leader in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) education through continuation and expansion of Oak Ridge’s already well-regarded educational opportunities for students along with additional enhancements to technology infrastructure, professional development, and access to devices, which will place dynamic digital content in the hands of each student.

As part of this new collaboration, all K-12 classrooms will have access to Discovery Education Streaming Plus. Discovery Education Streaming Plus features more than 155,000 dynamic digital learning objects that support all subject areas and learning styles, including videos, skill builders, games, audio files, images, writing prompts, and encyclopedia articles. It also includes hundreds of model lessons and instructional exemplars. [Read more…]

UT, ORNL, NASA, TVA help robotic ‘football’ kick off this week

Posted at
By 1 Comment

FIRST Robotics' Aerial Assist

This image shows what a game of FIRST Robotics’ Aerial Assist, a football-like game played by robots, might look like. (Photo courtesy University of Tennessee)

KNOXVILLE—Football season is still months away, but those needing a quick fix before fall can get a chance to see a version of the game played by competitors functioning like well-oiled machines.

The FIRST Robotics Competition Smoky Mountain Regional returns to the Knoxville Convention Center March 26-29, and is centered around a game featuring strong elements from football and soccer called Aerial Assist.

The idea behind Aerial Assist is that the 50 teams at the competition—from as far away as St. Louis and as close as the L&N STEM Academy across World’s Fair Park—will each build a robot capable of throwing, kicking, or running with a round ball with the goal of scoring a goal at each end of a field, or one capable of playing defense.

The University of Tennessee’s College of Engineering in Knoxville helps sponsor the event along with various technology and industry organizations such as NASA, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and the Tennessee Valley Authority. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge Schools selects Teacher Leaders

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

The Oak Ridge School system has announced its selections for Teacher Leaders for the 2014-15 school year.

The Teacher Leader initiative was conceived and launched as a result of the Tennessee Department of Education’s push to create a differentiated pay scale for teachers in all counties. The department encouraged systems to either adopt a structure where teachers receive pay bonuses based on student test scores and eliminate increases in pay for advanced degrees or years of service, or adopt programs that ask teachers to take on greater responsibilities in schools.

“When presented with the opportunity to reward teachers for their dedicated and outstanding service, we decided not to get rid of our steps and lanes that reward teachers for their time and dedication to the classroom and earning advanced degrees, but rather recognize teachers that step up and take on greater leadership roles around STEM, analyzing data, and reinforcing professional learning communities,” said Bruce Borchers, Oak Ridge Schools superintendent. [Read more…]

UT professor tapped to lead national STEM education effort

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Lou Gross

Lou Gross

KNOXVILLE—Part of a national effort to advance science, technology, engineering, and mathematics undergraduate education is being directed by a professor at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville.

Three five-day National Science Foundation Ideas Labs—one for biology, one for engineering, and one for geosciences—are being held this month through April 4 in the Washington, D.C., area. Each lab involves participants from various disciplines and backgrounds, as well as prospective employers and representatives of scientific and professional societies. The goals of the labs are to incubate innovative approaches to improve undergraduate STEM education and produce research agendas that address workforce development needs.

A UT press release said Louis Gross, director of the university’s National Institute for Mathematical and Biological Synthesis, will serve as director of the Biology Ideas Lab, to be held March 30 to April 4 in Leesburg, Va. [Read more…]

Letter: Chamber endorses tablets for all students, tech infrastructure improvements

Posted at
By 2 Comments

Note: This is a copy of a resolution adopted by the Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce on Thursday.

Whereas, the Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce has a long-standing tradition of supporting education in our community as education and training are critical in the development of the workforce;

Whereas, Oak Ridge Schools is an internationally recognized system of excellence;

Whereas, the educational opportunities, rigor, and performance provided by Oak Ridge Schools have been, and continue to be, the key attraction for new residents to our community; [Read more…]

DOE-ORO employees teach Woodland students the fun of math, science

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

DOE Environmental Management at Woodland STEM Night

Employees from the U.S. Department of Energy Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management took part in Woodland Elementary’s Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) night on Thursday. (Photos by DOE/Lynn Freeny)

Employees from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management participated in Woodland Elementary’s Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math, or STEM, night on Thursday. Employees volunteered to help students from kindergarten through fourth grade forge a love for math and science and realize the possibilities these disciplines offer.

“It’s rewarding any time you can participate in the education process,” said Jay Mullis, director of the Engineering, Safety, and Quality Division with DOE’s Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management. “These kids are in the stage when learning is new and fun, and it’s the perfect opportunity to lay a great foundation and appreciation of the sciences.”

The event involved numerous local sponsors and community groups that helped design and share fun, educational activities for students at Woodland Elementary in Oak Ridge. Kids had the opportunity to learn through robots, Legos, gummy bear catapults, astronomy, spaghetti and marshmallow tower-building competitions, and math code busters. Specifically, Environmental Management employees taught participants how to create their own lava lamps. [Read more…]

Knoxville Regional LEGO tournament Saturday at Hardin Valley

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Knoxville Regional LEGO Tournament

About 100 students representing 18 Knoxville area teams will compete in a regional LEGO tournament Saturday at Hardin Valley Academy, working with miniature robots that perform required tasks on a table.

Robertsville Middle School is the defending state champion. Under the new format this year, the team needs to qualify in this regional tournament before advancing to the state tournament.

“This year’s theme in ‘Nature’s Fury,’” said John Tilson, a Hardin Valley science teacher and Saturday’s tournament director. “The students have a lot of problems they need to solve. They design and build a predominantly LEGO robot. They perform a certain number of challenges and they get points for each challenge. They have to do certain rescues, and they have to move certain items from place to place.” [Read more…]