Students will turn on cell phone when
entering class
By
Jennifer Stephens
Georgia Gwinnett College
Special to GwinnettForum.com
LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. Jan. 16, 2007 -- As students at Georgia Gwinnett
College head to class in 2007, they will need to include their wireless
phone along with their usual class supplies of pens and notepaper.
A unique partnership between GGC, Rave Wireless and Sprint will
put wireless technology in the hands of students and faculty this
spring in an innovative initiative to build mobile communities into
the learning experience.
As the first college in Georgia to integrate wireless phones as
an integral part of the academic curriculum, GGC will design the
program based on input from 20 students and select faculty members
beginning this spring semester. Plans call for a total program launch
in the fall, according to Dr. Lonnie Harvel, GGC's CIO and vice
president for educational technology.
Dr. Harvel says: "The partnership with Rave Wireless and Sprint
will grant students unique access to information. Students will
be able to connect directly to online class content, receive announcements
for courses, and communicate via text messaging to their professor
and the entire class. With these community building tools in the
hands of both the students and the faculty, new methods of instruction
will be possible."
Wireless phones will be used in class for immediate response to
surveys or quizzes, and global positioning system (GPS) options
will assist in campus security. Students will also have access to
class records as well as the ability to pay certain fees through
the phone. They can check their grades, and find available spaces
to meet for collaboration and reserve them from their wireless phones
before they drive to campus.
The core applications are being provided by Rave Wireless, which
include a full suite of mobile applications that work through a
combination of text messaging and the mobile Internet. In addition,
Rave Wireless will provide GGC with the Rave Extender tool kit that
will allow GGC to build custom learning applications.
Wireless phones will also be used to track academic progress and
receive support. For example, a system will remind students of how
much Hope Scholarship funds remain available, which classes they
should take prior to their senior year, and when a meeting with
an academic mentor might be necessary.
The USG's Interim Vice Chancellor for Information and Instructional
Technology/CIO Tom Maier, says: "Georgia Gwinnett College is
a key player in efforts of the University System of Georgia (USG)
to develop and implement innovative instructional technologies.
A good example of this kind of innovation is GGC's pilot program
for integrating cell phones into the classroom. Leveraging cell
phone technology that is accessible and comfortable to students
for inclusion in the instructional process makes good sense. It's
a good example of taking the educational process to where the students
are rather than having them come to us."
Any student coming to GGC with phones supported by major service
providers will be able to register for basic messaging services
and collaboration tools. However, these phones will not be able
to access services requiring GPS or streaming media capabilities.
Sprint has negotiated a special phone package for students willing
to pay for a video-capable GPS phone at reduced rates. Connection
to campus services and communications will be free. The special
phones will also have additional "anytime minutes," which
students can pay extra to extend.
Six more Gwinnett cities should observe King
holiday
By
Elliott Brack
Editor and Publisher
GwinnettForum.com
JAN. 16, 2007 -- More than any other region of the country, the
South owes a debt of gratitude to the memory of the late Dr. Martin
Luther King Jr. After all, it was by the continued efforts and leadership
of Dr. King that the South (and at the same time the entire nation)
recognized the immorality and harmful effects of segregation, then
threw off these shackles to assure legal civil rights for all.
Brack |
Dr. King, by his moral leadership and position that segregation
was simply Biblically wrong, released this nation from the limits
that it had imposed on itself, and many people, in the past.
Though racism still rears its ugly head from time to time, it's
now viewed with general hostility. Today's it is universally recognized
that the one individual who unleashed this new wave of freshness
in our society was this minister from Atlanta, a person who was
able to show us all that turning the other cheek was stronger than
the laws of the south of that day. Dr. King's inspired non-violent
approach to the war on segregation is a message of peace, redemption
and hope that has not only inspired our nation, but the entire world.
So it is fitting that the United States honors him and his memory
with a holiday.
Unfortunately, some people do not honor that special day which
gave the South new hope for all. While you would expect some die-hard,
perhaps Confederate-flag waving reactionaries would be included
in this lot; unfortunately, some local governments and institutions
are included in the list of those not honoring the King holiday.
Eight cities of Gwinnett mark the King holiday. But the cities
of Duluth, Grayson, Lawrenceville, Lilburn, Norcross and Snellville
were open on the King holiday, and do not observe it. Note that
the Gwinnett County government has observed the King holidays since
the 1980s.
(Also note, in full disclosure, the office of GwinnettForum was
also open for business on Monday, as this is written. It will be
the last time that GwinnettForum does not observe the King holiday.)
For governments in a county with such a diverse population, not
to observe the King holiday is a disgrace. After all, a larger and
larger percentage of the people of this county are from minority
populations. The King holiday is not just a holiday to honor African
Americans. It is a holiday that speaks to the Asian, the Hispanic,
the immigrant, even to the undocumented workers, and yes, most especially,
to the white population.
For Dr. King freed us all from our sometimes unrecognized attitudes
of inferiority towards others, our limiting of people of society,
so that we also were limited. His holiday gives hope for people
throughout the world of all races and religions, so that we can
see clearly how someday reason and justice will prevail in the entire
world.
Gone will he the brutality of race, the sin of prejudice, the pride
of one person being better than another.
So, for all these reasons, we call upon the people of the cities
of Duluth, Grayson, Lawrenceville, Lilburn, Norcross and Snellville
to take legal steps to observe the King holiday next year. Open
your eyes and ears to the world around you, where a son of the South
gave us all a swelling of pride when he led us to what we knew was
right, and guided us many times to do what was right, but especially
in his stirring words in that Washington address, "…..free
at last, free at last, thank God Almighty, free at last!"
 The
public spiritedness of our sponsors allows us to bring GwinnettForum.com
to you at no cost to readers. Today's sponsor is the Gwinnett
County Public Library, named Library of the Year 2000. GCPL
currently operates 13 branches throughout the county. The Dacula
Branch opened on April 15, and Grayson opened on October 28. Library
hours are: Monday - Thursday 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., Friday and Saturday,
9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday 1 to 6 p.m. GCPL offers traditional
books, magazines, CD books, downloadable audio, music and video,
plus online databases such as Morningstar, Science Resource Center,
LitFinder, and Heritage Quest. GCPL also offers Live Homework Help
for students in 4th-12th grade. It is available online 2 p.m. until
midnight daily, with homework help available for math, science,
language arts and social studies. There is no charge for the service
and it is available remotely. Many online resources are available
remotely by computer. All library branches except Centerville (due
to service availability) offer wireless Internet, serving as a remote
office via your computer. Visit a Gwinnett County Public Library
Branch today, www.gwinnettpl.org,
or call 770-978-5154.
Raises questions about Iraq which are difficult to answer
Editor, the Forum:
Are the consequences of failure in Iraq so terrible that there should
be no limit to the men and money that we invest or do I have the
chicken little thing going? What is political rhetoric and what
is reality? Is it reality that we broke it, therefore we own it?
Is Islamic culture so opposed to individual liberty and human rights
that a constitutional republic in Iraq can never work? Will there
be a blood bath in Iraq if we bail out? Is there such a culture
conflict between western civilization and Islamic culture that we
can never live in peace? Are the insurgents and Taliban truly as
evil as they appear to be? What will be the outcomes in regards
to the nuclear weapons situations in Iran and North Korea and will
the outcome in Iraq have an impact?
I do not possess the wisdom or arrogance to claim to know the answers
to these questions. You obviously think that President Bush's leadership
on the matter is in error but you did not say exactly how we get
out of this mess and how we face the future consequences. As much
as I hate the maiming and killing of our people I have to support
the president.
I firmly believe that the Islamofacists are truly our enemies and
that it is either us or them. President Bush seems to be the only
one with the courage to actually state a plan. What are the answers
to these questions?
-- Wayne Buchheit, Dacula
Dear Wayne: You are right. Going in was easy
for some people. Getting out of Iraq is now even more difficult
part. Perhaps someone can show us clearly the correct way out.
These days it seems that more and more people are realizing getting
out is the current problem. --eeb
Points out power that
powerful words can often convey
Editor, the Forum:
Friday's Forum (January
12) is certainly a good example of the power that words have
when used skillfully. First, student Kathryn Fazekas should be commended
for the articulate expression of her views on the conservation of
our water resources. Just when you think you will never get a cogent
thought from a teenager along comes someone like this sixth grader
who restores your faith in the younger generation. Please make sure
to pass along my congratulations on her efforts and well deserved
recognition.
The discussion of "normalcy" and "normality"
was both humorous and enlightening.
Finally after reading and re-reading Elliott Brack's column I had
the following thoughts: It may be a "commitment" not a
"whim." It could be "support" and not "roll
over". President Bush may be simply "determined"
and not "hard headed." But then you would have to replace
"face saving" and "shove money down the rat hole"
with other powerful words and that would change the entire perspective
of the column.
So my congratulation to those who can use words powerfully.
-- Patrick Malone, Snellville
Dear Pat: And we might add, thoughtful people,
using insight, can put lots of matters in perspective.---eeb
Success: More teams
being created for Suwanee-area league
Editor, the Forum:
I am happy to report that my son is no longer on the waiting list
for spring baseball! I guess I sent the letter to enough people
yesterday, including the president of the North Gwinnett Baseball
Softball Association and their baseball commissioner, so that action
was taken. They have decided to add more teams to accommodate more
players.
Now, I just need to be patient for the widening of Buford Hwy. to
begin in my area.
Thank you for printing my letter today and for your support! I appreciate
your words and wisdom.
-- Audra Favre, Suwanee
Parks
Group seeks nominations for Inspiration Awards
Park Pride is now seeking nominations for its 2007 Inspiration
Awards. Park Pride Executive Director George Dusenbury says: "The
awards not only acknowledge a job well done, they increase the visibility
of park issues regionally and inspire others to become more active
in building a world-class park system in Atlanta. Park Pride encourages
residents to take the time to nominate individuals and organizations
who are leading the effort to expand and improve our parks and greenspaces."
The deadline for submitting nominations is February 28, 2007. Nominations
should be for a specific category and should address the four overarching
criteria listed below. Recognized work must take place within Clayton,
Cobb, DeKalb, Fulton or Gwinnett Counties (and municipalities therein).
Recipients will be announced during lunch at Park Pride's 2007
Park and Greenspace Conference on March 19 at the Atlanta Botanical
Garden. The nomination form is attached and available on-line at
www.parkpride.org.
Park Pride will present awards in three categories:
1--Community - an individual or organization who volunteers their
time;
2--Corporate - both profit and not-for profit organizations with
paid staff;
3--Government - elected official(s), employee(s), department(s),
or county or municipality as a whole.
Gwinnett,
Athens Tech win $1.9 million for bioscience institute
Gwinnett Technical College has been named a co-recipient of a $1.9
million grant for the establishment of the Georgia Bioscience Technology
Institute (GBTI) that will serve to advance bioscience educational
opportunities in Georgia.
Gwinnett Tech and Athens Tech partnered with the Atlanta Regional
Workforce Board on this U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) community-based
job training grant. The GBTI grant is one of 72 grants awarded to
community colleges that successfully participated in this competition
from nearly 450 entries across the nation.
The GBTI will use the state-of-the-art teaching laboratories on
both campuses to train secondary school and community college teachers
and students in current bioscience and biotechnology concepts and
techniques. Gwinnett Tech offers an associate's degree in bioscience
technology, and two clinical research professional certificate options.
The GBTI is one piece of the statewide network designed to attract
biotechnology businesses to the state - and to increase bioscience
educational and employment opportunities in Georgia accordingly.
In just two years, Georgia has leapt from the nation's 12th to seventh
state in number of biotechnology companies that reside within the
state, according to Ernst and Young.
Sharon Rigsby, president of Gwinnett Tech, says that the addition
of the GBTI on Gwinnett Tech's campus will supplement the college's
already cutting-edge bioscience program designed to help prime students
for a career in this emerging field. Gwinnett Tech's bioscience
technology associate degree program, plus certificate programs for
basic and advanced clinical research professionals (CRPs), train
students to perform clinical research studies of new drugs, new
applications of approved drugs or new medical devices on humans.
Studies conducted by CRPs determine the safety and effectiveness
of new therapies on human disease.
Gwinnett Tech was one of the first providers to detect a need for
these skilled workers in the region and to develop a program devoted
solely to training individuals for the bioscience/biotechnology
field.
Gwinnett Tech's advanced clinical research professional certificate
program can be completed in two quarters, with prior successful
completion of the basic clinical research professional certificate
program, which can also be completed in about two quarters. The
bioscience technology associate degree can be earned in two years.
To learn more about the grant for the Georgia Bioscience Technology
Institute (GBTI) or bioscience programs at Gwinnett Tech, call 770.962.7580.
Proud, the movie
"Please check out or buy: Proud, a movie/DVD dedicated
to the late Ossie Davis. It is most timely and so neat! Please pay
close attention to just how the crack in the ship is addressed and
to what the mother says to the daughter, in their kitchen, and the
daughter's reply. Hooray for the daughter taking a stand! Lorenzo
DuFau is a hero. As a World War II sailor, he helped save the world
in 1944 on the USS Mason. Now the adventure begins as the men of
the Mason escort convoys across the treacherous North Atlantic,
battle German submarines, and survive the "storm of the century."
"The Mason crew does all this while fighting racism from individual
sailors and from within the Navy itself."
-- Debbie Willis, Peachtree Corners
- An invitation: What
Web sites, books or restaurants have you enjoyed? Send us your
best recent visit to a restaurant or most recent book you have
read along with a short paragraph as to why you liked it, plus
what book you plan to read next. --eeb
Georgia
leading pecan state; crop has value of $121+ million
Although the
pecan has a long history in North America, Georgia farmers were
relative latecomers in realizing the benefits of this tree nut.
By the 1950s, however, Georgia had become the country's leading
producer of pecans. As of 2006 Georgia remains the largest pecan-producing
state in the nation.
Pecan (Carya illinoensis) is a common name for a species of hickory
in the walnut (Juglandaceae) family. According to archaeological
and historical evidence, Asian species of the hickory tree arrived
in North America before the first humans crossed the Bering Strait
from Asia about 10,000 B.C. Other species are native to the Mississippi
River valley. The tree typically grows to a height of 75 to 100
feet and is well adapted to Georgia's sandy loam soil with clay
subsoil. The term pecan is also applied to the tree's edible fruit.
The nuts have a rounded, oblong shape and vary in weight from 25
to 100 to the pound.
In the late 1800s several individual Georgia landowners near Savannah
began producing and marketing pecans on a small scale (about 97
total acres by 1889). By 1910 a "pecan boom" began when
southwest Georgia landowners started planting what became thousands
of acres of pecans. The orchards, however, were not looked upon
as a commercial agricultural venture but as a real estate enterprise.
Most of the acreage planted during the 15-year boom, from 1910 to
1925, were sold as five- to ten-acre units for homes or small farms.
Most of this acreage was concentrated in Dougherty and Mitchell
counties.
Those early-20th-century plantations consistently remain the center
of Georgia's pecan-producing counties today. Modern orchards with
plantings of scientifically improved pecan varieties now yield what
are called "papershell" pecans, so named because the nuts
are easy to crack and shell.
By the 1920s Georgia was producing 2.5 million pounds of pecans.
As of 2006 Georgia pecan orchards range in size from just a few
trees to several thousand acres, with more than 142,500 acres planted.
Georgia is also fortunate to have an early harvest date compared
to other pecan-producing areas, which often results in good prices
for Georgia growers. They produced about 45 million pounds in 2004
and 70 million pounds in 2005. The farm-gate value for the crop
in 2004 was more than $121 million.
Unarmed truth, unconditional
love ... will prevail
"I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will
have the final word in reality. That is why right, temporarily defeated,
is stronger than evil triumphant."
-- Martin Luther King Jr., accepting Nobel Peace Prize, Dec.
10, 1964.
Send your thoughts, 55-word short stories, pet peeves
or comments on any issue to Gwinnett
Forum for future publication.
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is an online community commentary for exploring pragmatic and sensible
social, political and economic approaches to improve life in Gwinnett
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