Challenger Learning Center releases new high school distance learning program with the cooperation of Verizon

August, 2003 -- The Challenger Learning Center at Wheeling Jesuit University ( http://clc.wju.edu ) is honoring Verizon West Virginia for the company's support of the Center by funding the development of a new online educational package.

Challenger Learning Center (CLC) Director Nancy Sturm presented Gale Given, president of Verizon West Virginia, with a plaque during Given's visit to Wheeling, Wednesday. Sturm says the partnership with Verizon has given the CLC the opportunity to provide distance learning simulations to high schools across the state, as well as across the nation.

"With Verizon's investment in education, we are changing the way teachers teach and students learn. We are very grateful for this wonderful partnership," Sturm says.

The telecommunications company awarded the CLC $225,000 to develop and implement a new electronic mission (e-Mission). The e-Mission complements science and biology curricula offered in middle and high school classrooms across the state. The grant consisted of three phases: $100,000 was awarded in the first year, with $75,000 and $50,000 given in the final two years of the grant.

The Challenger Learning Center is a distinctive, hands-on program that enhances classroom learning. The CLC was designed to foster interest in math, science and technology in middle and high school classrooms. The Challenger Learning Center at Wheeling Jesuit is part of a growing network of centers worldwide established by the Challenger Center for Space Science Education in memory of the ill-fated Challenger Space Shuttle.

Phase one of the award allowed the CLC to develop "e-Mission: Space Station Alpha," ( http://clc.wju.edu/ssa ) the new distance learning scenario centered on high school science topics. In phase two, Verizon funded 30 e-Missions in West Virginia schools. The funding also provided training for up to 90 West Virginia teachers for the implementation of the e-Mission into their curriculum. The final phase allowed the CLC to deliver 30 additional e-Missions and train 30 more teachers. It also allowed for the development of a teacher training component and the creation of an assessment tool to measure the cognitive growth and life skills utilized by students during the e-Mission.

The CLC at Wheeling Jesuit consists of a space station that simulates the experience of working in space and mission control, and replicates NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston. The Challenger Learning Center at Wheeling Jesuit University is the recipient of a national award for it's e-Mission and is recognized as the busiest Center in the CLC network for six consecutive years.

Wheeling Jesuit University was named the 14th best master's university in the south region by U.S.News & World Report, making it the highest ranked institution in West Virginia. The 65-acre campus located in Wheeling, W.Va., offers more than 31 undergraduate programs of study and six graduate degrees to about 1,500 students each year. Wheeling Jesuit is home to the Robert C. Byrd National Technology Transfer Center, the Erma Ora Byrd Center for Educational Technologies, NASA's Classroom of the Future and the Clifford M. Lewis Appalachian Institute




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