o Teachers are often over whelmed by technology programs, projects, or expectations imposed on them.
o Effective teaching of technology requires supportive internal and external communities. These are often lacking in most schools.
o The community outside the teaching establishment is, for the most part, quite uninformed and uninvolved in K-12 science and technology education.
Proposals are evaluated and rated by Committee volunteers according to strict criteria. Awards are made in the August -September timeframe. STEDTRAIN volunteers conduct follow-up visits to assigned grantee teachers. Grantees report on their projects at mid- and end-term. Grantees also prepare poster displays and give brief overviews of their projects at the annual STEDTRAIN Conference, which is held in the Spring.
The program presently is focused on the three north Alabama counties of Madison, Morgan, and Limestone and has been in existence since 1988. Over this period $176,178 has been provided to north Alabama schools and other worthy K-12 programs. Funds for the program are derived from donations from HATS Members organizations, area companies, and individuals. See the link at the upper left for Seed Grant Awards.
o New exciting projects generate interest and enthusiasm in fellow teachers and parents. Teachers who are grant recipients soon become technology transfer agents and mentors in their schools. Other teachers in the school see first hand what is being accomplished, become curious, and ask questions about the new technologies or procedures. These other teachers invariably adopt and adapt the new technologies to their own needs and desires for effective teaching.
o The regional nature of the program (currently North Alabama and Southern Tennessee) helps rapid diffusion of technology education and resources throughout the region. Such diffusion is especially needed in rural and some urban areas of this region. Additionally, the fact that a community organization conducts the program reduces the problem of self-interest barriers often exhibited by school systems - barriers which work against widespread diffusions of technology education and resources throughout the region.
o The STEDTRAIN volunteers, most of who are technical professionals, benefit the teachers by providing them with technical insights and personal interest (shown during visits volunteers make to grantee schools). Furthermore the STEDTRAIN volunteers provide valuable feedback to the technical professional community and to the educational establishments.
o The public exposure grant projects receive at the STEDTRAIN Conference helps to inform the outside community about the advantages of teacher-generated, "hands-on" science projects.
o The poster displays and the verbal overviews the grantees give annually generate a community of grantee teachers who learn from one another's experiences and ideas. This is still another kind of supportive community that hastens technology education diffusion.
o Furthermore, the STEDTRAIN volunteers provide valuable feedback to the technical professional community and to the educational establishments.
An "Amusement Park Physics" grant inspired a middle school math class to win a State mathematics competition.
High school youngsters became so proficient in performing DNA analyses (equipment purchased with grant funds) they amazed professionals.
Teachers who have received grant awards have inspired fellow teachers to apply for their own