2009 Alabama Council for Technology in Education (ACTE)
Frank Parris, IEEE Section Educational Activities Committee Chair
Sylvia Dean , ACTE Chairperson and Coordinator
Sue Zupko, Team Programming Challenge (TPC) Chair
Emily Kraft, TPC Randolph School Coordinator
March 27-28, 2009

The IEEE Huntsville Section participated in the Alabama Council for Technology in Education (ACTE) Northwest Region Technology Fair on Friday, March 28th, at the Von Braun Center. Jim Covington, Willie Fitzpatrick, Frank Parris, Bob Robinson, and Jim Kennedy (pictured at right) judged a variety of projects ranging from robotics to web pages for different grade levels, elementary to high school.

Jim Covington, Willie Fitzpatrick, Eric Grigorian, Jim Kennedy, and Bob Robinson also had a great time judging the Team Programming Challenge (TPC) categories of the Northwest Alabama Council for Technology in Education (ACTE) programming category on March 26, 2009. Together with a diverse team of area engineers, scientists, and managers, Jim, Willie and Eric judged ACTE Level 4 programming teams, while Jim Kennedy and Bob Robinson judged the ACTE Level 5 programming teams. Bob Jones High School and New Century won first and second place in the Level 4 Team Programming category, while two of Bob Jones teams took both first and second place in the Level 5 Programming category.

Although IEEE did not award any IEEE-specific special awards - we participated as regular judges across all age groups and categories- our Section was recognized for sponsoring the Skype student collaboration activity incorporated into the day's activities. Sylvia Dean, Jones Valley, event coordinator, orchestrated a very well organized, enriching event (as usual).

The ACTE fairs are organized for the purpose of enhancing the use of technology in education in both public and private schools and to give students the opportunity to demonstrate how they are using technology in their schools. Students in grades 3-12 are encouraged to participate.

Frank

Frank Parris
IEEE Huntsville Section
Chairman, Educational Activities

Student projects setup for judging at ACTE.	Is Bob a robot? We don't think so, but he did collaborate with Willie on robotics judging...	Sue Zupko, TPC Chair, holding Jacer, Canine Companions for Independence dog, and surrounded by students and coworker.
ACTE Coordinator Sylvia Dean and the judging staff at the judges table.	Students participated in a Skype exercise to find other students located remotely at other Skype terminals. The event was sponsored by IEEE.
ACTE award winners	Sue Zupko and ACTE facilitator at awards table	Skype awards table
ACTE audience awaits competition results		ACTE awardee
Sylvia Dean and sponsor poster