DATE:     9/23/02
CONTACT:  Stephen Lance, director of marketing, Youth Learning
          Institute, Slance@clemson.edu, (803) 414-1735
WRITER:   Howard Brown, director of grants and applied research,
          Youth Learning Institute

Clemson's YLI to help Clarendon schools
improve the use of technology education

     SUMMERTON -- A partnership between Clemson University's Youth
Learning Institute and Clarendon School District II has led to a new
program called "All Hands on Tech."
     Part of a $200,000 grant awarded on Sept. 16, "All Hands On Tech"
is a program designed to improve the use of technology education in
relation to student achievement, teacher professional development
and involvement by parents.
     The program offers an opportunity for students, teachers and
parents to join together in a learning community.
     About 1,000 students in grades four through six will spend three
days and nights acquiring technology skills and experiencing the
integration of technology into curriculum at the R.M. Cooper 4-H
Leadership Center in Summerton between October and February of this
school year.
     Students will learn a technology-integrated science curriculum
aligned with state standards. In addition, the grant will fund three
new computer labs in Clarendon District II and will pay for teacher
training in the area of technology.
     "This grant will have a tremendous impact on both our students and
teachers by giving them exposure to new learning opportunities and
better preparing them for their future," said John Tindal,
superintendent of Clarendon School District II.
     Also included in the grant are 100 summer camp scholarships to
attend a week long high tech summer camping program that is being
developed for Camp Cooper.
     "This is a great opportunity to teach students and teachers how to
use technology in a very non-threatening environment," said Howard
Brown, director of grants and applied research for the Youth Learning
Institute. "Parents, teachers and students will work together, live
together and learn together as they find themselves immersed in
activities that allow them to discover how to use technology."
     For more information on the "All Hands on Tech" program or to find
out how your school can participate in similar hands-on programs,
contact Stephen Lance at (803) 414-1735 or e-mail slance@clemson.edu.

                            END