Grant for Project Based Learning

Executive Summary:

My name is Ezra Johnson and I am applying on behalf of University Laboratory High school. I have been teaching at “Uni” for over 10 years and have really enjoyed my time here. The students are very intelligent and eager to learn more. As a “Laboratory” school we are supposed to preform many projects inside the class room. This idea has been thwarted by financial issues for a very long time and thus our equipment is often broken and out of date.

We recently updated a single room to be more technology based, with a projector and touch-screen TV. This room has a had a lot of success with teaching and with engaging the students. We wish to apply a similar concept to other classrooms in hopes of encouraging more project based learning. Many of the students have complained that they get bored with lectures, and want something exciting to do. We really want to encourage this enthusiasm and culture it into something that they can use the rest of their lives.

We would like the Toshiba America Foundation to consider a grant of $10,000 to support our efforts of establishing a more project-based learning environment.

Needs Assessment:

One of the areas we are really lacking is the science department. Multiple times this year my colleague in the physics department commented on how old and broken his equipment is. I would really like to see physics be a class where the students can experiment with the information they learn and apply it in structures or machines. Projects like mouse-trap cars, or building trebuchets, any sort of project that would engage the students and allow them to apply the concepts they learn in their science classes.

One of the problems with this new project based curriculum would be creating new lesson plans and adapting them to accommodate these new projects. Some of the grant money would go to the teachers for their efforts in planning out these new projects for the students. The majority of the money would go to buying new equipment for the students to use. The equipment could include but is no limited to:

1.       New Physics equipment. Including new large magnets, new circuitry sets, materials for building bridges and trebuchets and other projects determine by the teacher

2.       *I’ll add more specifics 

Esports Editorial

The majority of parents, at some time or another, have told their kids to stop playing video games and go do something productive. Well, what if I told you video games could become the child’s career. In the not so far future the world of “ESports” could become a whole new form of entertainment. The emergence of massive online gaming has made it possible for people to become Esport athletes and compete at a pro level. MOBAs (Massive Online Battle Area) such as League of Legends and DOTA 2 have risen to new heights. With over 70 million active players, League of Legends is the largest online game in history. Riot Games hosts an annual international competition with the prize pool in 2015 being $2.3 million dollars. Not only are tournaments huge but viewership is also at record highs. The 2015 League of Legends World Championship final totaled at 36 million unique views across the globe. In comparison the 2015 Super Bowl had a total of 114 million viewers. It is shocking to see that a single video game is approaching the viewership of traditional sports.

Even universities are beginning to recruit young talent and offer scholarships to Esport athletes. Recently UC-Irvine announced that in the coming fall they would be offering scholarships to these athletes. UC-Irvine is one of the first offer scholarships to athletes that will compete in the ULoL (U-League of Legends) collegiate series. Many other schools have school teams that also compete in ULoL. Thirteen of the Fourteen Big 10 schools have collegiate League of Legends teams. In fact, earlier this week Big Teen Network and Riot games agreed to televise the Ohio State vs Michigan State League of legends match. This is the first time an event has been broadcasted on a collegiate network.

Many other games such as Counter Strike: Global offensive have also had huge success in the Esports industry. Many of these pro players are payed salaries similar to those of traditional athletes, some making over 2 million dollars a year. In total the Esport industry is predicted to bring in 17 Billion dollars in 2016. These athletes also can get P-1A Visas so that they can travel to other regions when they are drafted by professional teams. These Visas are given to “Internationally Recognized Athletes” and these Esport athletes fall under this category.

This new generation of Esport athletes could really change the way we look at video games and the way we view traditional sport athletes as well. Parents might rethink their statements about video games and might possibly encourage talented kids to pursue careers in Esports.