Highlights for High School response 'overwhelming'Tens of thousands flock to MIT site since its launchAn MIT web site aimed at giving an edge to high school students and teachers has seen an "overwhelming" response since its launch six months ago, MIT President Susan Hockfield said Wednesday. The Highlights for High School portal, part of MIT's OpenCourseWare initiative, allows students and teachers to easily find MIT course material that can help them prepare for Advanced Placement courses--at no charge. Since its launch about six months ago, more than 260,000 visitors from 190 countries have used the site, Hockfield said. Thirty-seven percent of those are high school educators, 16 percent are high school students and 13 percent are parents. "The response has been overwhelming," Hockfield said. "It is clearly already beginning to have an impact with the populations we are looking at." Hockfield talked about the web site during an event held at MIT to kick off a new state program designed to boost enrollment and achievement in Advanced Placement courses, particularly among minority students. MIT helped the Mass Insight Education and Research Institute win a $13.2 million grant for the state from the National Math and Science Initiative for the program, known as the Massachusetts Math and Science Initiative (MMSI). Hockfield said she has high hopes for MMSI, which will be launched this fall in 10 schools across the state. "MMSI fosters the dignity of high expectations and gives students in tough circumstances the confidence to start on a different path," she said at the event, held in the Vannevar Bush Room. Hockfield also highlighted some of the efforts MIT is already making to help prepare high school students for rigorous education in math and science. For the past four years, MIT has had a close relationship with the John D. O'Bryant School of Math and Science in Roxbury, coordinated by Professor J. Kim Vandiver, dean for undergraduate research. Hockfield announced that this fall, MIT will enroll its first two graduates of the O'Bryant School. "That is wonderful proof of what can happen when you invest energy and resources into a school, and then stick with it," Hockfield said. |
Photo / Donna Coveney
From left, MIT President Susan Hockfield, William Guenther, president of Mass Insight Education & Research Institute, Joel Stembridge, headmaster of the John D. O'Bryant School of Math and Science in Roxbury, Mass., and J. Kim Vandiver, MIT professor of mechanical engineering and dean for undergraduate research just prior to their announcement of the launch of the Massachusetts Math & Science Initiative. President Hockfield hosted the statewide kick-off for the program.
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MIT Institute Professor Thomas L. Magnanti, left, who was instrumental in the founding and funding of OpenCourseWare Highlights for High School, and Michael Contompasis, chair of the Massachusetts Math & Science Initiative, survey graphs of projected AP course enrollment at the kick-off event for the initiative Wednesday morning at MIT.
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RELATEDMIT launches web site for high school students - MIT President Susan Hockfield announced Nov. 28 the launch of a new web site, Highlights for High School, that will provide resources to improve science, technology, engineering and math instruction at the high school level. 11/28/2007 Highlights for High School - MIT OpenCourseWare MIT K-12 educational outreach programs Mass Insight Education & Research Institute More: Education / teaching More: National relations and service More: Volunteering, outreach, public service |
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