Tech Directions - December 2008 - (Page 8)

the news report Susanne Peckham susanne@techdirections.com NCCER Releases Free Construction Recruitment Video The National Center for Construction Education and Research (NCCER) announces the release of the 2008 Build Your Future video. The fastpaced video is part of a national recruitment and education campaign created to increase awareness of the rewarding careers available in the construction and maintenance industry. Build Your Future features interviews with craft professionals, construction managers, and company owners at some of the nation’s most exciting construction projects. The video also highlights the dynamic construction career path, excellent earning potential, and the satisfaction and pride of being part of the team that builds America. Build Your Future is funded by leading contractors, manufacturers, and industry associations and is available free of charge. Funders of the 2008 video include Associated Builders and Contractors, Inc.; Associated General Contractors of America; Caterpillar; Industrial Specialty Contractors; and McGraw Hill Construction. To view the video or to request a copy of the video, visit careers.nccer. org or contact NCCER customer service at 888-622.3720. NCCER is a not-for-proﬁt education foundation created by the construction industry to develop standardized curriculum and to help address the skilled construction workforce shortage. IEEE Challenges Students to Change the World The Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) announces the ﬁrst IEEE Presidents’ Change the World Competition. The contest is open to college and university students who demonstrate excellence in the design and implementation of technology that can solve a life challenge for the beneﬁt of humanity. The competition’s goal is to recognize and reward individual students or teams of students who identify a real-world problem and apply engineering, science, computing, and leadership skills to solve it. It offers students a unique opportunity to have their ingenuity and enthusiasm for engineering and technology recognized by IEEE members around the globe. Winners will receive awards ranging from the grand prize of $10,000 and the distinction of being named IEEE Student Humanitarian Supreme, to runner-up prizes of $5,000, $2,500, and $1,000. Winners of the top three prizes also will be invited to accept their awards in person in June 2009 at the annual IEEE Honors Ceremony in Los Angeles, CA. In addition, up to 15 semiﬁnalists will compete for a $500 Peoples’ Choice award, which will be selected by popular vote from the contest web site. The contest is open to individual IEEE student members or teams of college and university students led by an IEEE student member. Entries will be judged based on the results achieved and their impact on humanity or on a community. Sustainability, reusability, transportability of the results to other parts of the world, entrepreneurship, originality, creativity, and leadership are important, secondary evaluation factors. Submissions will be accepted through February 2009.To enter and for complete rules, visit the IEEE 125th Anniversary web site at www. ieee125.org/ChangeTheWorld. 3D printing contest for high school and college students that awards scholarships to the winners. Over the past four years, more than 2,500 entries have been judged and 27 students have been awarded $40,000 in scholarships. The contest calls on CAD students to submit their most creative, useful, and innovative extreme redesigns. Whether it’s a new perspective on an everyday product or a fresh vision for updating a famous piece of art, animation, or architecture, Dimension will award student winners $2,500 or $1,000 scholarships based on the design’s creativity, usefulness, part integrity, and aesthetics. Dimension also will award teachers of the three ﬁrst-place student winners a laptop computer. To enter, high school or university students must identify an existing product and redesign it, making the original design better by adding new functionality or aesthetic qualities. For submissions in the art and architecture category, the emphasis should be on originality and the overall beauty or aesthetic of the design. Once the design is complete, students send an .stl ﬁle of their Extreme Redesign, a completed submission form, and a 200-word description or 30-second video conveying the value and beneﬁt of the Extreme Redesign part via Dimension’s web site. Final submissions must be postmarked by February 1, 2009. Winners will be selected in April. Complete contest rules and submission information is available at www. dimensionprinting.com/education/ extremeredesign.shtml. For video, photos, and descriptions of last year’s winning Extreme Redesigns, visit the web site: www. dimensionprinting.com. Events Dec. 4-6. Association for Career and Technical Education Convention. Charlotte, NC. www.acteonline.org. Dec. 4-6. National Science Teachers Association Area Conference. Cincinnati, OH. www.nsta.org. Susanne Peckham is managing editor of Tech Directions. Extreme Redesign Design and 3D Printing Contest The Dimension 3D Printing Group announces the launch of its ﬁfth annual Extreme Redesign: The Ultimate 3D Printing Challenge, a design and 8 techdirections ◆ DECEMBER 2008 http://www.dimensionprinting.com/education/extremeredesign.shtml http://www.dimensionprinting.com/education/extremeredesign.shtml http://www.dimensionprinting.com/education/extremeredesign.shtml http://www.dimensionprinting.com http://www.dimensionprinting.com http://www.ieee125.org/ChangeTheWorld http://www.ieee125.org/ChangeTheWorld http://www.acteonline.org http://www.nsta.org

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Tech Directions - December 2008

Tech Directions - December 2008 Contents Advertisers Index Technically Speaking Direct from Washington The Report Technology Today Technology’s Past Mastering Computers Digital Portfolios—Powerful Marketing Tool for Communication Students Choosing the Right CC Welding Unit—Student Success Depends on It Think Green—Increasing Awareness of Garbage and Recycling Think Green—Teach Students Smart Ways to Reduce Home Energy Use Go International! Build a Simplified Shortwave Receiver Mooresville Middle School Snags Web Site of the Month Gifts for Geeks More than Fun

Tech Directions - December 2008

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