The Tech Museum and its partners announced the 2008 Tech Awards Laureates, an international accolade in recognition of innovators applying technology to the betterment of humanity.
Awards are presented in five categories: Health, Education, Environment, Economic Development, and Equality. Five Laureates in each category are honored and one Laureate per category receives $50,000. Laureates are honored at an annual Gala event and inducted into the Tech Laureate Venture Network (TLVN).
Under the Education category, the winner innovations are:
Aaron Doering’s Go North! Adventure Learning Series engages satellite communications and multi-media technology so students can learn about culture and climate change. Aaron Doering created free, online Arctic expeditions. Satellite communication and interactive web connections take students from around the world on real-time, virtual trips, where they learn from scientists and indigenous people. Students also collaborate on research projects that teach cultural understanding and the science behind issues such as global warming, oil exploration and deforestation. In the process, they realize how their own decisions impact the environment.
The Center for Puppetry Arts employs interactive video conferencing technology to bring creative, hands-on learning experiences into the classroom. The Center for Puppetry Arts uses two-way interactive video conferencing technology to connect students with real-time art workshops. They guide students through making and manipulating their own puppets, and use the puppets to explore a range of topics, from rainforest ecology to African culture. The hands-on programs have engaged 130,000 students, and are especially valuable to those with autism, learning disabilities, and language barriers.
Curriki uses Internet technology so that educators can share and co-develop free, high-quality instructional materials. Curriki uses the Internet and social networking technology to provide universal access to excellent teaching materials and curriculum, free of charge, to anyone, anywhere in the world. The materials are submitted by users and partners, including publishers and universities. And, unlike other online education resources, Curriki provides unique tools for users to collaborate on the development of new resources. A comprehensive peer and expert review ensures that the free materials are also the very best available.
Dániel Rátai developed technology to provide teachers with interactive three-dimensional blackboards so that far more students can master math and science. Dániel Rátai created a three-dimensional PC work environment called Leonar3Do. Sensors are placed on a computer monitor, the teacher and students wear 3D glasses, and the teacher uses a stylus to manipulate images in three dimensions. The affordable, easy-to-use system can turn abstract problems, from calculating volume to visualizing molecules, into concrete lessons. As a result, students develop the ability to think in more complex ways.Digital StudyHall uses digital video technology to extend the reach of skilled teachers into underprivileged classrooms in India and Bangladesh.
Digital StudyHall is building a repository of digital videos to share lessons from the best local teachers. The DVDs of real classroom sessions in regional languages are loaned by mail to underprivileged schools. Students watch while interacting with their own teachers for questions and activities. The program maintains the in-person connection between students and teachers, gives students the opportunity to learn from their region’s most talented educators, and helps train local teachers.
The first three projects are from USA while the later two are from Hungary and India, respectively.
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