2014 EAST Beyond the Bell Grant Recipients

Batesville High School – Technology Boot Camp

EAST students at Batesville High School want to host a Technology Boot Camp for younger students in the Batesville area!  The students would like to offer two camps, one week each. Grades 3-6 and 7-12 will be included. The camps will consist of an introductory lesson for several higher level software programs. Each day will focus on a different software program with a culminating activity in the end. Hopefully this camp will increase the project sophistication and the rigor of projects not only in the EAST classrooms but also in the core subject classrooms within the Batesville School District. 

Clinton High School – Clinton High School Farm

The greatest problem in Clinton and its neighboring high-poverty communities is hunger. The local food bank, a non-profit organization in Choctaw, serves over 480 area families in need. Our students have collaborated with the manager/owner of the food bank, the University of Arkansas Extension Service’s Division of Agriculture, local Master Gardeners, elementary teachers, and the high school’s Agriculture Science department to create a working farm which will provide fresh farm produce to the food bank, while also serving the school with educational opportunities.

Dardanelle High School - STEM 3-D Building at Dardanelle High School

STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, & Mathematics) 3-D Building at Dardanelle High School is designed to create an opportunity for students at this school with the opportunity and ability to gain experience in the STEM career area and provide 3-D printing capabilities to our science department. The STEM 3-D Building project utilizes technology to support instructional design for the science and math curriculum. This project addresses a need in the science department for teacher to assist kinesthetic leaners in their education and create more hands-on projects in the classroom. As a result, a partnership with the teachers and the EAST students is formed to address the use of visual aids in lessons to appeal to all types of learners more efficiently.

Dover High School - Hiking Thru Habitats (hikingthruhabitats.org)

Hiking Thru Habitats is a student developed, technology-driven educational initiative focused on learning about our natural world. The program reaches beyond the walls of Science classrooms and builds upon traditional teaching with experienced-based learning. Students will learn about habitats by being IN habitats, engaged in hands-on activities, guided hikes, and exploratory scavenger hunts. All of which utilize technology through interactive identification field guides, GIS/GPS and QR-coded outdoor learning environments. Hikingthruhabitats.orgis an expansion of this one-on-one educational program by providing resources, lesson plans, and self-led learning experiences to area students as well as their parents, community members, and educators.

Dumas High School - Apping Up Dumas

The initiative of this project involves the development of a mobile application that integrates information about local businesses for local businesses, local clients and visitors.  The EAST team will include ten students who will collaborate with AltConsulting, Dumas Chamber of Commerce, and the Delta Technology Education Center to create a mobile app for the Dumas community to promote businesses, services, products, food, and recreation/events which are available in the community and information about each.  Students will create Apps using IIOS and Android therefore some instruction with coding will be available through DTEC.

Fountain Lake High School - EAST Foundation Building: Outplan, Outperform, Outdo

This one week day camp will allow us to EAST-ize a small group of FLMS students. We will facilitate and model the entire process of project development. Students will gain a broad knowledge of the capabilities of our software and hardware. The week will culminate with our students pitching their projects to a panel of teachers, administrators, and community partners. We will follow up with one day workshops each week during the month of July. By educating these younger students, we will strengthen our middle school, but also reinforce the foundation of our high school program.

Greenbrier High School - GHS EAST Program Drone Project

Greenbrier High School is excited to partner with BHP Billiton, CAST and the Director of the Launch Pad at the Innovation Hub to create two modules to connect to a multirotor helicopter.  Module one will collect data to create orthoimagery using 3D mapping tools. Module two will allow clients to use thermography to scan surfaces that could be a potential problem in the community. We feel that this would be beneficial to our community and students in providing our business clients and students access to cutting-edge technology while collecting research and data during the project.  

Helen Tyson Middle School - Showcasing Springdale:  Touring Our City’s Most Historic Spots

The objective of this project is to spotlight the 10 buildings, and their surroundings, within Springdale that are on the National Historical Register. Through the creation of both print and digital materials, the significance of these locations will be shared with our community. Through a partnership with Arkansas Historical Preservation and Shiloh Museum of Ozark History, students will create a community tour using GIS, video, photography, and publication design. Information on each of these buildings, including photographs and video, will be made accessible through a printed brochure and an online digital map. Individuals will be guided through visiting all 10 sites in person, or could even experience them remotely online.

Huntsville High School - Madison County Disaster Response Planning Project

Last summer, EAST at Huntsville High School students collaborated with the Madison County Disaster Action Team in developing a plan to be implemented in the event of a magnitude 7.7 earthquake striking our state. While reviewing the county’s potential shelters and available services, many serious deficiencies were revealed in the city of Huntsville’s response plan as well as a lack of an overall county response plan.  This summer, EAST at Huntsville High School students will collaborate with the American Red Cross, the Huntsville Police Department and the Huntsville Fire Department to expand on the emergency response plan developed in the event of a natural or man-made emergency.  Students will use ArcGIS, GPS, ArchiCAD and other necessary technologies to develop maps of fire department response areas that include hydrant locations, population and shelter centers, staging areas and potential hazard sites. Additionally, students will develop a system to identify rooms from the outside of the building to enable police and firefighters to better respond in an emergency situation.  Furthermore, students will be actively involved in developing a variety of resources to be used by the Madison County Disaster Action Team and other county emergency response agencies in preparation for a natural or man-made disaster.

JD Leftwich High School - 24/7 Restoration Collaborative

Restoring the pine-bluestem ecosystems in western Arkansas is a Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Program (CFLRP).  The 24/7 Restoration Collaborative will provide EAST students with the equipment and time necessary to support this 20+ year old initiative sponsored by multiple state, national, and local agencies to restore 200,000 acres of the Ouachita National Forest to a historic native state. This project will allow students to collaborate with representatives from US Forest Service and Native Expeditions and gain invaluable experience in GIS application, photography, videography, editing, documentation, forestry, ecology, biology, research and development, as well as responsibility and civic engagement.

Lakeside High School (Lake Village) - Video Book Technology Camp

EAST at Lakeside High School’s Video Book Technology Camp will give students in grades 3-6 the opportunity to be actively engaged in learning to read, write, research, and apply literacy skills in the pursuit of planning, creating, producing, filming, editing, and publishing a video production about their project. Each camp will be designed by a team of EAST students at a school site that wants to use technology tools to enhance students learning. The teachers and EAST students who will conduct the camp will be given specialized training in the EAST classroom at Lakeside High School prior to the camp. The students who attend the camp will celebrate what they have learned in a showcase event at a parent’s night.

Mountain View High School - Tech Time for Teachers

Mountain View School District will become a Google school next year. The district Information and Technology Department has identified that many faculty members do not possess experience in using Google accounts, Google Chrome, Chrome Books, extensions, applications as well as other basic PC skills all of which are needed for this transition. The IT Department has asked EAST students at MVHS to offer Professional Development for faculty on use of these technologies. After further discussion with the district superintendent and district building principals, the need for this experience and the desire to address it was confirmed. In addition to faculty instruction and Professional Development credit, this four part project will include tutorials created by EAST students and posted on the MVHS EAST website.

North Little Rock High School East Campus - EAST Camp IMAGE

EAST at NLRHS-East Campus recognizes that technology is growing day by day, and many staff and students have limited opportunities for exploring technology within our schools due to internet connectivity issues, lack of funding, and limited resources.  Therefore, we would like to pilot a technology camp this fall with a school located in a “technology desert” (meaning an area with limited access to technology and limited resources within the school neighborhood).  EAST students will provide an after-school 2-Day Camp for all classroom teachers at the specified school.  In exchange for receiving the training, teachers will go back and help recruit students from their classrooms to attend the student camp in the Fall.  Students will be divided into teams, and each will receive a total of 10 hours of technology training ranging from Food Science Technology, LEAP Motion, Digital Film Making, Virtual Reality, Game Design, and Coding. 

Pottsville High School - App on Fire

EAST students at Pottsville High School will collaborate with the Pottsville Fire Department to create an App specific to the department’s needs. Data will be collected on businesses and public buildings which will facilitate firemen in emergency situations. Data will include floor plans, photos and pertinent emergency information. A senior EAST student who has successfully created an App (search Pottsville High School on the App Store), will teach the basics of Xcode and Objective C to younger students by offering a beginning class in coding to any student in the district interested in learning this technology.

Searcy High School - Cutting Across the Core

While educators are making great strides at integrating technology in the classroom, connecting lessons to “real-world applications” remains elusive to many students. Through this project, EAST students will serve as mentors to both students and educators bringing together technology and real-world application in frameworks based core subjects. Cutting Across the Core will introduce Searcy’s Ahlf Junior High School students to the principles and foundations of EAST and encourage intercurricular planning among AJHS teachers while simultaneously integrating technology which reaches across the boundaries of core subjects (history, English, science, and math). EAST students will train and mentor AJHS students in the use of industry-grade software as they interview veterans, gather research and data for the creation of an interactive Story Map, and create a lasting memorial using 3D printing technology.