Harvest time: a new culture of students armed with laptops is cropping up. But what makes this story different? You'll never believe who's involved.Hysham is a small town of about 300 people in the southeastern part of Montana. Seen from the air on a spring day, a sea of bright green fields surround several buildings that dot the landscape. In late May, migrant workers A migrant worker is someone who regularly works away from home, if they even have a home.[] Although the United Nations' use of this term overlaps with 'foreign worker', the use of the term within the United States is more specific. start arriving to hoe hoe, usually a flat blade, variously shaped, set in a long wooden handle and used primarily for weeding and for loosening the soil. It was the first distinctly agricultural implement. The earliest hoes were forked sticks. sugar beets sugar beet, variety of beet used commercially as a source of sugar. sugar beet Variety of beet (Beta vulgaris) that accounts for about two-fifths of global sugar production, making it second only to sugarcane as a source of the world's sugar. on those fields. They stay until mid-July before moving on to cultivate or harvest another seasonal crop. The U.S Department of Labor estimates that there are about 800,000 migrant mi·grant n. 1. One that moves from one region to another by chance, instinct, or plan. 2. An itinerant worker who travels from one area to another in search of work. adj. Migratory. agricultural workers in the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. . These workers are primarily Hispanic, and represent one of the poorest populations in the country, with an average annual income of about $5,000 to $6,000. Migrant workers are mostly undocumented, seldom fluent in English, and, on average, have completed less than eight years of formal schooling. Working beets is hot and hard work, but at night many youngsters get down and dirty again doing homework. As isolated as their lives sound, they are as high-tech off the beet beet, biennial or annual root vegetable of the family Chenopodiaceae (goosefoot family). The beet (Beta vulgaris) has been cultivated since pre-Christian times. fields as any other student in the nation. They use laptops to keep in touch with their home school district and to complete their school work. That's right, their laptops are Toshiba computers with at least a 2 GB hard drive, 166MHz (MegaHertZ) One million cycles per second. It is used to measure the transmission speed of electronic devices, including channels, buses and the computer's internal clock. A one-megahertz clock (1 MHz) means some number of bits (16, 32, 64, etc. processor, CD-ROM CD-ROM: see compact disc. CD-ROM in full compact disc read-only memory Type of computer storage medium that is read optically (e.g., by a laser). , floppy drive See floppy disk. floppy drive - disk drive , and 33.6 fax modem fax modem n. A modem that sends and receives fax transmissions. . The software includes Windows 95/98, Microsoft Office Microsoft's primary desktop applications for Windows and Mac. Depending on the package, it includes some combination of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access and Outlook along with various Internet and other utilities. 97, Encarta and Targus portfolio cases. Where Do They Find The Phone Lines? If there's no phone line, we'll get them one," says Richard Trevino, director of special programs at the University of Texas Pan Am in Edinburgh. Trevino is one of several dozen educators who coordinate Estrella, a five-year interstate initiative funded by the U. S. Department of Education, Office of Migrant Education The Office of Migrant Education (OME) is a program within the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Elementary and Secondary Education (OESE) that administers grant programs that provide academic and supportive services to the children of families who migrate to find work in the . Its goal is to demonstrate the applicability of technology to the education and advancement of migrant farm-worker students. Estrella, which means "star" in Spanish, is one of five projects across the country chosen to develop and disseminate dis·sem·i·nate v. dis·sem·i·nat·ed, dis·sem·i·nat·ing, dis·sem·i·nates v.tr. 1. To scatter widely, as in sowing seed. 2. methods and materials that effectively use technology as a tool in the education process. Through the program, laptop computer technology and telecommunications are brought directly into the hands of migrant students. This distance-learning project is modeled after an earlier pilot program, The Lone Star Lone Star (or Lonestar) may refer to:
At Fromberg (Mont.) Elementary School elementary school: see school. , about 60 students in pre-K through high school participate in Estrella, Project Smart, NovaNet and several other computer-aided activities. Through NovaNet, students get a comprehensive instructional delivery system consisting of both middle and high school courses, GED GED abbr. 1. general equivalency diploma 2. general educational development GED (US) n abbr (Scol) (= general educational development) → and proficiency testing proficiency test n → prueba de capacitación preparation as well as school-to-work planning and advice. A Collaborative Effort At the heart of Estrella is the collaborative effort between the migrant students' home-base state of Texas and the "receiving states" of Illinois, Minnesota, Montana and New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of , where students move during the agricultural season of planting, cultivating and harvesting. Coordination is essential for continuity of instruction, credit accrual accrual, n continually recurring short-term liabilities. Examples are accrued wages, taxes, and interest. and seamless service delivery. Collaboration is supported through the Estrella Web site home page, which offers both instructors and students a place to share ideas and information. In addition, collaboration exists when teachers, family and friends communicate with one another using electronic mail and the NovaNET distance learning program. Estrella students can remain connected with curriculum approved in their home school despite being far away. According to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. Trevino, most kids in the program have a hard time juggling all-day work and homework at night. "But one of the advantages of Estrella is that the instruction doesn't have to take place during the normal school day. The lessons are waiting on the server until the students have time to settle down and complete them." Estrella also encourages writing through its visual learning component. Combining the technologies of instant photography, scanners and computers to motivate students to write, the project collaborates with the Polaroid Education Project to develop students' written communication skills. The Estrella newsletter, Estupendas Estrellas' Laptop Talk, gives students the opportunity to see their work published. Family members can also access educational materials on NovaNET to find a broad range of information that helps the family, such as Blue Web'n Learning Library (www.kn.pacbell.com/wired/bluewebn/), Family.com (family.go.com/), Family Friends School (www.familyfriendlyschools.org/) and KidsHealth (kidshealth.org/). College-Age Cyber Mentors Besides laptops and distance learning, a cyber mentor component to Estrella assists migrant students in the transition from high school to post-secondary education, helps to inform them of career options and provides them with positive role models. Became most migrant families have no experience with post-secondary education, the link to a mentor provides a critical bridge to opportunities beyond high school. "We have a federal program on campus called CAMP," or College Assistance Migrant Program, says Trevino. "What we do is support migrant or seasonal farmworking students during their first year in college. We identify kids in the Estrella program who are college-bound and pair them with 20 to 25 volunteer cyber mentors who work with CAMP. The mentors will keep contact with mentees about financial aid, college preparation--all by e-mail. At least twice during the year they meet face-to-face." Enedelia Rios, 21, is a junior at University of Texas Pan Am and one of CAMP's cyber mentors. "I volunteered during my freshman year", says the mathematics major. "Right now I have two mentees--a boy who's a senior in high school and a girl, who's a junior. We e-mail each at least four times a month, and sometimes more." Rios says the e-mail conversations cover a gamut See color gamut. gamut - The gamut of a monitor is the set of colours it can display. There are some colours which can't be made up of a mixture of red, green and blue phosphor emissions and so can't be displayed by any monitor. of topics about getting ready for college--choosing a college, choosing a major, taking standardized tests A standardized test is a test administered and scored in a standard manner. The tests are designed in such a way that the "questions, conditions for administering, scoring procedures, and interpretations are consistent" [1] and filling out applications. Sometimes, Rios says, her mentees drift off into talking about their families and friends, but she has been trained through CAMP to steer them back onto school-related topics. Rios says her career plans are to teach and then move into school administration and "hopefully" become a principal. The Latest Technology The laptops issued to students are generally the latest in hardware and software. Older models are upgraded on a regular basis. An ongoing review of available software ensures the needs of students and their families can be met. In addition, students are provided with an individual Internet account. To limit their Internet access See how to access the Internet. , monitoring and control software is installed as a filtering device. An extensive list provides students with hundreds of educationally sound and safe sites to explore. Estrella also has an acceptable use policy for the Internet. As high school students travel with their laptops, they have access to online course work provided through NovaNET. This online instruction allows for continuity with the curriculum of their Texas homebase school district. Students work at home, at school, at the library--anywhere at anytime. They can work toward earning credits and meeting requirements for graduation. They also may prepare for exit-level, standards-based testing, such as the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills The TAAS, or Texas Assessment of Academic Skills, was a standardized test used in Texas between 1991 and 2003, when it was replaced by the TAKS test. Prior to 1990, the test was known as the Texas Educational Assessment of Minimum Skills. , which is required for high school graduation. Parental Involvement For students to participate in Estrella, their parents must join with their children in computer training and become active partners in their children's educational journey. Each family signs a contract promising to protect and maintain the computer equipment. In addition, parents promise to provide an atmosphere that encourages their children's participation in the program. Currently, there are 60 students enrolled in Estrella. Of the first 35 students who participated in 1997, eight graduated from high school and the rest showed educational progress including course credits earned, grade level promotions or standardized tests attempted and passed. Nationally, about half of all children in migrant families drop out of school before entering high school. Of the eight high school seniors who graduated, five enrolled in college. Parents and other family members can access NovaNET online resources, which offer a broad range of information to help the family. There are GED materials, courses for learning English and other basic skills resources to assist parents and family members in reaching their educational goals and interests. Professional Development Finally, professional development is a critical feature of Estrella. Teachers and staff participate in training sessions related to the various components of the project, including NovaNET, visual learning, Internet style of learning, and computer software applications use. Hands-on computer workshops focus on the integration of technology applications available on students' laptop computers into the online curriculum at NovaNet. Teachers also receive the "InTouch with Learning" subscription which offers the chance to participate in face-to-face workshops, online workshops and self-paced learning resources. Subscribers may access the workshops and resources via the "InTouch with Learning" Web site. A CD-ROM provides access to a library of professional development resources. "InTouch with Learning" is also developing an online community for teachers to share ideas and materials. "We would prefer that the kids in Estrella stay in school year-round, but economics mandates that they get up and supplement the family income," Trevino says. "Most parents will not sacrifice by leaving their children behind. But now with the technology at our disposal, these migrants kids can take school with them." Collaborating Partners with Estrella NoteSys www.notesys.com NEC Foundation www.nec.com North Central Regional Educational Laboratory www.ncrel.org NCS Learn www.novanet.net Texas Migrant Interstate Program www.hiline.net/~psjaisd/migrant/tmip.html Resources for Districts with Migrant Students BOCES Geneseo Migrant Center Director: Robert Lynch, bob_lynch@migrant.net Illinois Migrant Council Project Director: Brenda Pessin, brenda_pessin@msn.com META Associates Susan Duron, duron1@aol.com Minnesota Migrant Education Resource Center Director: Kathleen Bibus, kbibus@gw.hamline.edu Montana Office of Public Instruction Migrant Education Director: Angela Branz-Spall, angelab@state.mt.us Texas Education Agency Program Director: Patricia Meyertholen, pmeyerth@tmail.tea.state.tx.us University of Texas Pan American Director of Special Programs: Richard Trevino rich_trev@panam.edu Charles Shields, cjshields@mindspring.com, is a contributing editor A contributing editor is a magazine job title that varies in responsibilities. Most often, a contributing editor is a freelancer who has proven ability and readership draw. and 20-year veteran educator based in suburban Chicago. |
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