posted by: Cindy Omlin
| April 11, 2012, 01:44 AM
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Congratulations to Mr. Dave Weidkamp, an engineering, architecture and computer-aided design software teacher at Lynden High School in Lynden, WA! A member of Northwest Professional Educators (NWPE), Mr. Weidkamp has been awarded a $500 NWPE classroom grant to purchase “Scan and Solve” software. Mr. Weidkamp and his students won a $10,000 grant from the Lemelson MIT Foundation to build a recumbent tricycle for a student with spina bifida as part of an initiative to assist student inventors. The "Scan and Solve" software will help the students test the structural integrity of parts they design for the trike.
With the software purchased with the NWPE grant, Mr. Weidkamp states that students will be able to conduct analysis of the trike parts and review their findings with the engineers at Janicki Industries giving students real world experiences applying real world software.
Mr. Weidkamp believes that the professionalism of education can be improved by bringing current technology and technology experiences into the classroom and abandoning practices that are outdated. "It is simple. If you are trying to promote carrers that reflect today's trends, don't use exercises from 20 years ago. There should be smart phones in the classroom, not debating if we should use calculators."
NWPE awards classroom grants and teacher scholarships up to $500. The deadline for fall 2012 applications is October 31. Teachers can apply online at NWPE's website.
Picture: Dave Weidkamp
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