More attention for Van Meter

Good to see Van Meter schools getting more attention. WHO-TV in Des Moines went for a visit to the school for a story recently. Jannay Towne filed this report on the Van Meter way.

Here’s the link to the Channel 13 story.

The Van Meter way is 1:1 laptop computers for all students. Schools leaders say this has opened up a new way of learning for students in the school.

We featured Van Meter and Sigourney in this piece.

John Carver is the superintendent and was on our discussion with Judy Jeffrey, the director of the Iowa Department of Education. Our topic that night was innovations in Iowa schools.

On a small world note, Mr. Carver used to teach at Johnston High School. One of his student teachers was Brian Tate, who was on our May 20th Iowa Journal discussing childhood obesity. Here’s the link to that show which also features the PE4Life program in Grundy Center. Here’s the link to the blog post about the show.

Last week we talked about overweight kids in Iowa. Next week we’ll talk forgiveness and the importance of the act. Find the preview here.

Press Release for Innovative Education in Iowa

We are recording Thursday’s show today, so this week may seem a bit out-of-order. So, please, bear with me.

I will post more this week about the show, but here’s a little background from earlier this month.

Here’s the official release on Thursday’s program from the IPTV press release shop.

Innovative Education in Iowa:

On the Thursday, April 1 edition

of The Iowa Journal

(Johnston, Iowa) –Thursday’s episode of The Iowa Journal will look at how some Iowa schools are using innovative ways, including the use of virtual reality technology, to help children learn. This program airs Thursday, April 1 at 8 p.m. It will be rebroadcast Friday, April 2 at 6:30 p.m. on statewide Iowa Public Television and Saturday, April 3 at 8:30 a.m. on IPTV WORLD. It will also be available online at iptv.org/iowajournal.

For this episode, The Iowa Journal visited the middle schools and high schools in Van Meter and Sigourney to see how the use of virtual reality equipment, personal computers and online programs engages students and prepares them for the future.

In the studio to discuss the effectiveness of such innovations are: John Carver, superintendent of Van Meter schools; and Judy Jeffrey, director of the Department of Education.

The Iowa Journal will also present an update on the travels of Iowan David Thoreson who is on a 25,000 mile sailing trip around North and South America. Thoreson, from West Okoboji, is a watch captain, photographer and videographer on this voyage that has a mission to educate those they meet along the way on ocean conservation. The Iowa Journal caught up with Thoreson via Skype, while he was in Chile just days before the earthquake there.

For more information about The Iowa Journal, visit http://www.iptv.org/iowajournal or call (515) 242-3146. For information on how to watch IPTV WORLD in your area, visit Iptv.org.

Innovative Education in Iowa: On the Thursday, April 1 edition of The Iowa Journal
(Johnston, Iowa) –Thursday’s episode of The Iowa Journal will look at how some Iowa schools are using innovative ways, including the use of virtual reality technology, to help children learn. This program airs Thursday, April 1 at 8 p.m. It will be rebroadcast Friday, April 2 at 6:30 p.m. on statewide Iowa Public Television and Saturday, April 3 at 8:30 a.m. on IPTV WORLD. It will also be available online at iptv.org/iowajournal.For this episode, The Iowa Journal visited the middle schools and high schools in Van Meter and Sigourney to see how the use of virtual reality equipment, personal computers and online programs engages students and prepares them for the future.In the studio to discuss the effectiveness of such innovations are: John Carver, superintendent of Van Meter schools; and Judy Jeffrey, director of the Department of Education. The Iowa Journal will also present an update on the travels of Iowan David Thoreson who is on a 25,000 mile sailing trip around North and South America. Thoreson, from West Okoboji, is a watch captain, photographer and videographer on this voyage that has a mission to educate those they meet along the way on ocean conservation. The Iowa Journal caught up with Thoreson via Skype, while he was in Chile just days before the earthquake there.For more information about The Iowa Journal, visit http://www.iptv.org/iowajournal or call (515) 242-3146. For information on how to watch IPTV WORLD in your area, visit Iptv.org.

Quick Hits of the week Feb 22, 2010

I’m about to head out the door to Van Meter Community schools to see what they have going on there. Superintendent John Carver and I have talked a few times and he’s extremely excited about what’s happening in his hallways. Part of the fun is 1:1 ratio of computers to students. Only 12 or 13 schools are like that in the state of Iowa. And only 3 schools are virtual reality schools. Van Meter is one of them.

Monday, videographer John Torpy and I went to Ames High School to talk to standout player Harrison Barnes. Barnes has already committed to playing for coach Roy Williams at the University of North Carolina. Barnes leads the state in scoring average at 27.1 points per game. According to KASI sports director Dave Sprau, who we interviewed for our piece, Barnes has stepped up his game even more this year. That is hard to believe. We also talked to head coach Vance Downs. If Ames can win out, they’d be the first 4A team in Iowa to repeat as state champions and going undefeated. I think they’ve won 48 or 49 straight games. The story on Barnes will air March 4.

Market to Market producer Andrew Batt is headed to Decorah Tuesday to talk with author and college professor Michael Pollan. He’s an interesting guy who gets under the skin of traditional agriculture. Pollan was a main source for the guys of King Corn and several books including In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto, The Omnivore’s Dilemma: the Secrets Behind What You Eat, Food Rules, Second Nature, The Botany of Desire, and A Place of My Own. Pollan appears in Food, Inc. a documentary on the food industry.

The link to this week’s Iowa Journal is here. We are talking about refugees in Iowa.

Copyright: Around the America's by David Thoreson

And I forgot to add we were talking with David Thoreson today. David is with Blue Water Studios. He’s West Lake Okoboji. You’ve seen him on IPTV before with his documentary “Arctic Journey in a Changing World.” That was about his travels through the Northwest Passage. He did that first trip in 2007 and now this time going a different direction with the crew of Ocean Watch. He started in Seattle in early summer 2009. Today he was in Chile. We talked to him for a web extra that you’ll be able to see on http://www.iptv.org soon. His journey is incredible.

His new site Around The America’s is impressive. There are learning opportunities for all ages, even free classroom materials available on the. The science of this trip is amazing. Also the pictures. Take a look at his Flickr stream and you can follow him in Twitter as well.