HP and the National Basketball Association today announced the six regional first-place winners of the HP Digital Assist education grant competition.
In early 2010, NBA players, league representatives and HP executives will deliver more than $80,000 in HP mobile digital classroom technology and other NBA related awards to Higgins Elementary Community Academy in Chicago, John B. Hood Middle School in Dallas, Galena Park Middle School in Houston, Howard A. Doolin Middle School in Miami, Anthony W. Ochoa Middle School in the San Francisco Bay Area and Charles Carroll Middle School in the Washington, D.C., metro area.
Nearly 90 middle schools signed up to participate in HP Digital Assist in early September. Using a seed grant of two HP Tablet PCs, an HP Photosmart All-in-one Printer and access to NBA photos, footage and other materials, teams of students at participating schools produced nearly 300 digital, sports and basketball-themed submissions that demonstrated their knowledge of math, science and reading concepts.
HP, NBA Cares, NBA team representatives and education experts from the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) selected the first-place winning schools, which will receive an HP mobile digital classroom technology grant and a special NBA award package valued, collectively, at more than $80,000. The technology component of the grant includes 25 tablet PCs, inkjet and LaserJet printers and a mobile storage cart from HP and professional development from the ISTE for teachers and staff. The NBA award component of the first-place grants features 50 NBA game tickets, NBA merchandise and public recognition at a game. Second- and third-place winners in each city also were announced. Descriptions of these awards, project submissions and a full list of winners are available at www.hpdigitalassist.com.
“The collaboration among HP, NBA Cares and ISTE has helped schools reimagine and enhance their approach to the teaching and learning process, which is vital to developing the next generation of high-tech leaders and entrepreneurs,” said Engelina Jaspers, vice president, Corporate Marketing, HP. “We are thrilled to see the excitement for education and creativity the HP Digital Assist grant program has fostered within these students and schools, and look forward to seeing the winners use HP technology to invigorate the learning experience within the classroom.”
The HP Digital Assist competition, which ended Nov. 20, is a component of the ongoing efforts of HP and NBA Cares to improve student academic success in vital subjects including math, science and reading. HP and NBA Cares also worked with ISTE, which provided learning kits, judging rubrics and training for the competition and will provide professional development for teachers and staff of first-place schools.
“The HP Digital Assist grant competition has proved to be a great addition to the NBA’s educational outreach efforts,” said Kathy Behrens, executive vice president, Social Responsibility and Player Programs, NBA. “Providing more than a thousand students across the country with the opportunity to combine their passion for basketball with innovative technology can encourage creativity and enable students to comprehend key concepts in a more engaging and meaningful way.”
The competition’s submission criteria rubrics, set by ISTE, were divided into five categories, including content, creativity and innovation, communication and collaboration, digital citizenship, and technology operations and concepts. Submissions were judged on these criteria, which, more specifically, included how well the students demonstrated their knowledge of math, science and/or reading using technology, as applied to sports-related themes.
Second-place winners in the six regional markets will receive an HP Classroom Digital Printing Grant, including four HP Photosmart, Officejet and/or LaserJet printers and printing supplies, services from Snapfish by HP, tickets to an NBA game, in-arena recognition and other NBA merchandise. Third-place grant winners will receive a class kit of 30 HP graphing calculators, 10 indoor/outdoor Spalding basketballs, other NBA merchandise and an NBA-hosted pizza party. All participating schools will keep the two HP Tablet PCs and the HP Photosmart All-in-One Printer seed grants they received to develop their submissions.
