CUIP—In the Schools

CUIP Office Move is complete

CUIP Staff — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 18:35:26 +0000

As we previously posted, during the Spring and Summer quarters the CUIP staff packed up our assorted equipment and furniture in preparation for a move to an entirely new building, along with our gracious hosts, the Astronomy and Astrophysics Department. Though the move didn’t take place as early as those previous posts anticipated, it did get done over the Thanksgiving weekend and the week of December 1st. The thorough planning and preparation on the part of the Astronomy Department’s relocation committee and the professional moving company resulted in a very smooth and comfortable transition.

We are now happily ensconced in the TAAC Building (Temporary Astronomy and Astrophysics Center) which fronts on Drexel Avenue. We hope to have an opportunity early in the new year to welcome as guests visiting our new facility any of our colleagues in the schools and our NSP Tech students.

Here are some pictures in the new office.

CUIP At Beasley

CUIP Staff — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 19:14:30 +0000

CUIP is pleased to be engaged in some tech support and setup work at Beasley Academic Center. Working closely with Assistant Principal Ms. Jaidah Wilson and Media Center Specialist (Librarian) Mr. Chris Dowell, CUIP has been assembling some of the school’s older and some newer computers into a working Library Computer Lab.

The school’s plan for the Library also includes enrolling it in the CPS-wide SOAR web-based library automation system, initiated and managed by CPS’s Department of Libraries. CUIP anticipates helping Beasley with the “retrospective conversion” process used to enter their current holdings into the SOAR database.

Mr. Dowell has already begun using the Library Computer Lab with classes, leading them to helpful web sites explaining the use of libraries. When the SOAR enrollment is complete, the student stations will get links to the SOAR online catalog specific to the school, and the teacher/librarian station adjacent to the Library Lab will be set up for live operation of the SOAR circulation system.

Student assistants working with CUIP over the summer

CUIP Staff — Fri, 01 Jul 2011 17:04:21 +0000

During the summers, when we are not visiting our partner schools on a regular schedule, CUIP’s In-The-Schools group works on a variety of behind-the-scenes projects and also some CPS-teacher and CPS-student special programs on campus.

This summer we are very happy to have the help of two UChicago students who during the school year have been working with two CUIP partner schools in CPS through the Neighborhood Schools Program (NSP), and this summer will be working with CUIP under the auspices of NSP’s summer program.

Katie Schilling has worked at Alexandre Dumas Technology Academy during the previous school year, and this summer will work with the In-The-Schools group of CUIP on our infrastructure status, tech procedure documentation, and CPS classroom blogging.

Gracie Sonnabend has worked at John Fiske Elementary School during the previous school year, and this summer will work with staff of eCUIP The Digital Library and Chicago Web Docent on developing new modules and documenting metadata for the related media holdings.

Capstone 2011

CUIP Staff — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 19:48:59 +0000

This Summer, CUIP Founder Don York and CUIP Staff Members Mitch Marks, Russ Revzan, and Terry Jones plan to continue work with the CPS Office of Math & Science on the Capstone Course for Space Science. The summer course will continue to provide learning opportunities for teams of CPS High School Students and their Teachers to work with University Space Science researchers and NASA data, with the ultimate goal of developing classroom content and activities that can be used widely in CPS.

The University of Chicago group plans to work with CPS Teachers and Students again.

We plan on adding Blogs and Wikis to the mix this summer. The blog-based website for the program is at http://capstone2011.cuipblogs.net/

CUIP Office Moving

CUIP Staff — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 19:19:16 +0000

Along with the Astronomy and Astrophysics department, our host at the University of Chicago, CUIP’s campus offices will be moved during the summer of 2011, to make way for a renovation of the Research Institutes. We will be housed in a “temporary” structure while the current Astronomy and Astrophysics Center (AAC building) is cleared away! Despite the designation of temporary, our stay in the new location will likely be a matter of two years or so.

The CUIP staff has been cleaning out desks and planning for the move. In these pictures we are tossing // recycling some items from our office, and packing up other items that we want to bring to our new quarters but don’t need access to for the next six weeks or so until the move.

ICE-CAP Mini-Grant Applications due February 4, 2011

CUIP Staff — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 15:02:43 +0000

If you are a member of the Illinois Computing Educators you are eligible to apply for an ICE-CAP mini-grant. All applications are due on February 4, 2011 and the winners will be notified by February 18, 2011. For more details visit the Illinois Computing Educators Chicago Chapter website at http://www.iceberg.org/icecap.

ICE 2011 Proposals Due October 1, 2010

CUIP Staff — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 15:36:58 +0000

Here’s a reminder that proposals to present workshops at the Annual Illinois Computing Educators (ICE) Conference are due on October 1, 2010.

For more information click here: http://www.iceberg.org/ice_conference

Nicholson & Spencer Win iPads

CUIP Staff — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 13:14:35 +0000

Congratulations to Nicholson and Spencer Technology Academies for being among 20 CPS schools that won an iPad Grant!

Over 175 schools applied for the grant which asked schools to propose a specific classroom project that the iPads would support. 20 CPS schools were selected to recieve the grant which includes “32 iPads, one MacBook for syncing purposes, $200 in iTunes credit for applications, and a storage cart, as well as 8 sessions of professional development which will be provided on integrating the iPads within classroom instruction”.

We’re looking forward to helping out with these classroom projects and seeing how the iPads help make a difference!

CUIP Works with CPS on CAPSTONE Course for Space Science

CUIP Staff — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 22:43:59 +0000

This past Summer, CUIP Founder Don York and CUIP Staff Members Mitch Marks and Russ Revzan, worked with the CPS Office of Math & Science on the Capstone Course for Space Science. The summer course provided learning opportunities for teams of CPS High School Students and their Teachers to work with University Space Science researchers and NASA data, with the ultimate goal of developing classroom content and activities that can be used widely in CPS.

This summer, the University of Chicago group worked with CPS Teachers and Students from:

Chicago Vocational Career Academy
Dunbar Career Academy
Kenwood Academy
George Washington High School

For more detailed information, check out the course blog: http://capstone.cuipblogs.net/

2010 CPS TechXPO: Technology Magnet Cluster Showcase at MSI

CUIP Staff — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 01:19:36 +0000

Check out these pictures from the CPS Technology Magnet Cluster Program’s 2nd Annual “TechXPO”!

This year the celebration was hosted at the Museum of Science & Industry in May and stretched over two days to include a series of technology workshops run by students for their parents, as well as the main attraction — a film festival of short films made by elementary school students in conjunction with the Adobe Youth Voices Program!

As usual, the students did a really great job! They led interesting workshops for their parents that were well-received, and their short films demonstrated how quickly they took to a digital medium to tell stories that were important to them and their communities.