Three Queens schools win HP grants

Exactly how do those $300 noise-canceling headphones work, anyway?
Physics students at Bayside High School will have a better chance to find out thanks to a grant the school has been awarded by California-based technology giant Hewlett-Packard (HP).
One of three public schools in the borough to receive a 2007 HP Tech for Teaching Grant, Bayside High School is joined by P.S. 62 Chester Park in Richmond Hill and Queens High School of Teaching in Bellerose in receiving cash and equipment packages valued at over $31,000.
In the coming weeks, five teachers at each school will receive his or her own HP Tablet PC, a multimedia projector, digital camera, an all-in-one printer, scanner and copier, software, accessories and a $500 cash stipend.
They will also receive customized professional development opportunities to support the use of technology in their teaching and support from a mentor with experience integrating technology in the K-12 environment.
A total of 130 primary and secondary schools in the United States received the HP grants, which were designed to improve student achievement through innovative uses of technology in the classroom as well as to encourage student interest in careers in technology, engineering, math and science.
The company also awarded 42 two- and four-year colleges and universities in the United States and Puerto Rico with grants.
HP worked with the International Society of Technology in Education and several screened and trained HP volunteer reviewers to select the winning proposals, according to a company spokesperson.
Chester Park principal Angela O’Dowd said that both teachers and students would benefit from the award. The equipment and stipends will make it easier for five fifth-grade teachers there to integrate technology into their classrooms. “This will broaden their horizons to be more tech savvy,” she said.
That, in turn, could help students become more enthusiastic about learning.
“Anything involving the Web—kids get more excited about,” she said.