BHSU will use grant to prevent tobacco use
among young people - Top
Nov. 21, designated as “The Great American Smokeout” by the
American Cancer Society, is a day set aside to encourage Americans to
quit smoking. A grant at Black Hills State University will seek to
expand on that message throughout the year with activities on many
levels to prevent tobacco use.
Sandy Klarenbeek, instructor in the College of Education at BHSU,
plans to use a $14,250 grant from Black Hills Special Services
Cooperative to involve college students, high school students and
elementary students in activities that will prevent tobacco use among
young people and educate students, local businesses and the general
public about the dangers of second-hand smoke.
All of the grant activities will be aimed at reducing exposure to
tobacco smoke, preventing youth from beginning to use tobacco,
encouraging program to help smokers quit, and to encourage and increase
youth empowerment, positive development, civic involvement as well as
leadership and decision making responsibilities.
According to Klarenbeek, this grant will be used for a variety of
on-going activities that involve students and the public at several
different levels.
“We know that healthy students learn better. Healthy teachers will
teach better too,” Klarenbeek said.
One of the first activities was a forum at the university last night
as a means to get a conversation started on campus concerning tobacco
use especially among young people.
BHSU students who participated in the forum are Christa Authier,
Lyman; Teresa Daiss, Hill City; Kim Eberhart, Sheridan, Wyo.; J.D.
Harris, Spearfish; Brenna Johnson, Kemmerer, Wyo.; Chase Kistler,
Sheridan, Wyo.; Michelle Meyer, Spearfish; Amber Phillips, Spearfish;
Darcy Schmidt, Spearfish; Alysha Schwarting, Gordon, Neb.; Janelle
Skaggs, Powell, Wyo.; Laura Thomas, Rapid City; and Becca Wharton,
Byron, Minn.
As a part of the grant, Spearfish fourth grade students will receive
tobacco education at East Elementary. Tara Neisent, a BHSU student
majoring in elementary education, received a scholarship a part of this
grant to work with Spearfish teacher Jill Tiffany. The two will use
activities and materials from the American Lung Association, the Cancer
Association and the Tobacco Free Kids to teach students about the
dangers of secondhand smoke and encourage the students to participate in
a letter-writing campaign.
High school students will create counter marketing messages in an
attempt to raise awareness and discredit the tobacco use messages that
young people are exposed to daily in the media. A local high school
graphic arts class, working with a department of health media
specialist, will create ads as slides that will be shown as public
service announcements in area theaters.
University students will be an integral part of these grant projects
as good role models will be recruited to speak to campus news sources
and health classes and serve on the health awareness committee.
University students will also train others in the use of tobacco
curriculums and work through coalition meetings throughout the year to
organize and promote tobacco education opportunities.
Another goal of the grant is to promote the use of the department of
health quit line, a toll-free telephone line that offers counseling
support for tobacco users as they try to quit. This toll free number
will be posted in key locations both on- and off-campus and will be
included in live radio advertising sports announcements and in local
sports programs in an effort to make quitting easier for current tobacco
users.
Klarenbeek encourages BHSU students to be involved with this project.
She noted that the grant includes funding opportunities for students.
Contact Klarenbeek at 642-6042 for more information.
BHSU
faculty members use grant to create a system for high school internet
electronics classes - Top
An
innovative idea, probably considered implausible by some, to offer
electronics classes to rural high school students over the internet
became a reality as a result of a grant that technology faculty members
at Black Hills State University received to implement the concept.
For
nearly five years, Tom Termes, project coordinator and assistant
professor at BHSU, has been working to develop, test and perfect a
system that has proven to be an effective alternative way to offer these
classes. Now at the halfway point of this $750,000 grant from the
National Science Foundation, Jerry Miller, principal investigator for
the grant, and Termes report that the project has exceeded expectations
and that the potential future uses is vast.
Faculty
from BHSU have been working with Western Dakota Technical Institute in
Rapid City on this project to allow high school students in South Dakota
to take electronics without leaving their classrooms.
“The
idea of teaching a laboratory-based technical course at a remote site
was impossible just a few years ago, but the World Wide Web and some
pretty sophisticated equipment makes it possible today,” said Termes.
The
internet electronics courses are currently offered at six high schools
in western South Dakota: Belle Fourche, Douglas, Cheyenne-Eagle Butte,
Lead, Spearfish, and Sturgis. Electronics
courses have been taught in high schools in South Dakota in the past,
but small student enrollments make it difficult for most high schools to
support a full-time electronics instructor according to Termes.
“This
new system allows for the sharing of our limited resources and the
improvement of course offerings at the high school level,” Termes
said. “This project is yet another example of how South Dakota schools
are using the wired classrooms.”
As
the first to use this technology, Termes says that from the beginning
this has been a learning process for everyone involved. After a
disappointing first attempt with a poorly developed system, Termes began
to work with NIDA, a corporation in Florida that has developed learning
software applications for the military, to create a system that would
incorporate all the components needed and be available over the
internet.
“NIDA
didn’t have the system we wanted when we started, so together we
developed it. We are actually testing it for them and they continue to
support our project,” Termes said.
Termes
gives this brief overview of how the system works. Computer
workstations, connected to an electronics trainer and to the World Wide
Web, are available at each of the high schools. The student uses the
computer to access the instruction
and works through the electronics curriculum while a computer program
records everything the student does in the curriculum. Then the student
uses the electronics trainer to perform the laboratory portions of the
instruction which are based on problem solving. The computer, in a
fascinating way, injects “faults” into the student’s electronics
circuitry, forcing the student to figure out what is wrong. This method
of using the computer to enhance the laboratory exercises creates a
great experience for the student, an experience that cannot be
duplicated outside of computer-based instruction.
Termes
sees great potential for this type of internet course. Enrollment at the
high schools continues to grow and plans are underway to add a seventh
school.
“We
are in the process of making connections with several of the technical
institutes in the eastern part of the state, increasing our institution
base. Additionally we are
attempting to expand the project to institutions in other states,”
Termes said. “We believe that our project is truly ‘world class’
and that we have something that can be duplicated all over the United
States.”
He
notes that the model and experience gained in this first attempt could
be applied for other disciplines as well.
As
an educator, Termes points out there are drawbacks to the course
delivery. He notes that it works best for visual learners and may not be
as effective for those more inclined to audio learning. He also cites
the low faculty-student interaction and the absence of
student-to-student interaction as disadvantages. Termes is working to
develop solutions to these problems possibly with chat rooms or other
technological communication processes.
This
fall, Miller and Termes along with project evaluator Robert Magelky,
from the Technology in Education Office in Pierre, attended a three-day
conference in Washington, D.C. to meet with other national Advanced
Technological Education principal investigators. At the
conference/workshop, sponsored jointly by the National Science
Foundation and the American Association of Community Colleges, they had
the opportunity to exchange ideas with educational and industrial
leaders from all over the U.S.
Students
who have already completed this course have gone on to related fields.
Two students are now studying engineering and another student is
involved with electronics in the military. This unique method of
offering electronics classes via the internet gives students, especially
those in rural and small schools, the opportunity to learn electronics
while still in high school. Students have the option to take this course
as a dual enrollment course to get an early start on their college
coursework.
 Sturgis high school student Kayla Davison
looks on as her instructor Mr. Don Ericson demonstrates a computer
application for her internet electronics class. Davison is one of
several high school students participating in the course
made possible through a grant with BHSU technology faculty members.
Black Hills State University will present
jazz concert Nov. 19 - Top
The Black Hills Gold singers and the Black Hills Jazz Ensemble will
provide an entertaining evening of vocal and instrumental jazz
arrangements Tuesday, Nov. 19 at 7:30 p.m. in the Jacket Legacy Room of the David
B. Miller Yellow Jacket Student Union on the Black Hills State
University campus.
Black Hills Gold, under the direction of Steve Parker, will sing such
standards as Route 66, How High the Moon, Sweet Georgia
Brown, and God Bless the Child. The singers will also present
a humorous selection entitled Save the Bones for Henry Jones, cuz
Henry Don’t Eat No Meat. Solos will be performed by Isaac Waring,
Spearfish; Matt Dewey, Rapid City; Jennifer Bailey, Lead; Greg Glodt,
Upton, Wyo.; Kristine Schaffer, Custer; Lynette Daum, Newcastle, Wyo.;
and Andrea Farr, Colstrip, Mont. In addition one song features solos by
all the Black Hills Gold members.
The Jazz Ensemble, conducted by Randall Royer, will play swing tunes,
Latin tunes, a ballad or two, and even a rock-type number. Featured
soloists include Ashley Custis, Spearfish; Jeremy Kroon, Virginia Beach,
Va.; Michelle Mahlen, Rapid City; Danielle Mahlen, Rapid City; Ginger
Irwin, Green River, Wyo.; Lynette Daum, Newcastle, Wyo.; and faculty
member Christopher Hahn on trumpet. The entire trombone section is also
featured on one tune.
For more information contact Steve Parker at 605-642-6628.
Walt Disney World College Program
representative coming to
BHSU Nov. 21 - Top
 A
Walt
Disney World College Program representative will be at the Student Union Marketplace
Thursday, Nov. 21 at 2 p.m. to deliver an informational
presentation and to conduct interviews with BHSU students.
The
Walt
Disney World College Program offers paid internship opportunities in a
variety of fields. Their internship program is recognized as one of the
top internship/training programs in the country. According to Sarah
Chase, career counselor and internship coordinator at the Career Center,
former
BHSU student Tara Brodkorb participated in the
program last year.
Students
in all majors and at all grade levels are
invited to attend. Interviews take place immediately following the
presentation. Students must attend the
presentation in order to interview.
More
information can be obtained at the BHSU Career Center in the lower level
of the Student Union or by contacting Chase at 642-6219 or sarahchase@bhsu.edu.
Memorial
for Sara Sanford will be Nov. 25 - Top
A memorial service for BHSU student
Sara Sanford will be held Monday, Nov. 25 at
2 p.m. in the Young Center Hall
of Fame Room.
Sanford died as a result of injuries
sustained in an automobile accident near Spearfish Oct. 12, 2002.
Sanford was a recent transfer student
who was majoring in psychology and sociology at BHSU. Her classmates
have established a memorial to plant a tree in her memory. Donations may
be brought to the service or may be sent to Dr. David Salomon at 1200
University Street Unit 9063, Spearfish, SD 57799-9063.
University Assessment Committee minutes - Top
The University Assessment Committee met Nov. 12 at 3:30 p.m. in Jonas
103.
Present were G. Earley, D. Siewert, K. Pearce, D. Calhoon, S.
Schamber, D. Altmyer, & H. Johnson. L. Cook and J. Haislett were absent.
The chair reported that the Higher Learning Commission made a
preliminary recommendation of accreditation for ten years without any
stipulations and that the progress of the University Assessment
Committee was acceptable.
Annual assessment reports received this fall include American Indian
studies, art, art communication/mass communication, history, human
services, political science, social sciences/SS composite, sociology,
Spanish, and speech/theatre.
Of the initial three reviewed at today’s meeting, Calhoon moved and
Pearce seconded to accept the art report with suggested minor
modifications for next year. Motion approved. Pearce moved and Siewert
seconded to accept the art communications/mass communications report
with suggested minor modifications for next year. Motion approved. The
committee recommended to return the human services report for revisions.
Finally, the committee discussed the need for all reports to include
the program’s mission statement and professional standards (if
available) to guide the assessment report. Then, the identified goals,
student outcomes, and measurement tools flow from the program’s
purpose so that the data can be used to make informed programmatic
decisions (such as, new courses, etc). Likewise, a comprehensive
presentation of the collected data provides a clear rationale for
drawing conclusions and making these program recommendations. The
committee is hopeful that a template could assist in writing the
assessment reports and standardize the assessment efforts for the
university. The plan is to distribute the template for next year’s
reports.
The next meeting dates and reports for review follow:
- Nov. 26 at 3:30 p.m. in Jonas 103 - history, sociology, social
science
composite, political science, and Spanish
- Dec. 3 at 3:30 p.m. in Jonas 103 - American Indian studies,
speech/theatre, math
- Dec. 10 at 3:30 p.m. in Jonas 103
Faculty research
funds available - Top
The Faculty Research Committee has
funds available for the current fiscal year. Write a short (about
three-page) proposal. Proposal forms are available at the Grants Office,
Woodburn 218, or can be printed from their website.
It is anticipated that successful
applicants will request support for faculty release time, research
equipment, travel to research sites or research support for the
production of creative work. Preference is given to new applicants,
particularly in the areas of education, business, social sciences and
humanities. The next application deadline is Friday, Nov. 22 at 12 p.m.
The applicants are encouraged to
contact the committee members for advice prior to completing their
proposals. The members are John Alsup, Steve Anderson, Tom Cox, Abdollah
Farrokhi (chair), Jim Hess, Kathleen Parrow, Shane Sarver, and Rob
Schurrer.
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