For further information, contact:
Karen Sanborn, (313) 223-7194, karen.sanborn@ameritech.com

Ameritech Teacher Excellence Awards Recognize Five Michigan Teachers

DETROIT Michigan teachers are using technology to research endangered African fish from Jackson, help Detroit elementary students build and repair an IBM computer, burn astronomy lessons onto a CD-ROM in Detroit, study global companies without leaving Midland and publish a magazine in Holland. Ameritech has chosen the five teachers responsible for creating these innovative learning experiences to receive its 1998 Teacher Excellence Awards.

Now in its sixth year, the Ameritech Teacher Excellence Awards program honors educators from around the state who use creative approaches to technology in their curriculum. Each of the following teachers will receive a $5,000 cash award at a special dinner on Oct. 7:

Terry J. Clifton Jackson High School, Jackson
Angela Greer Carstens Elementary School, Detroit
Fred Page Northwestern High School, Detroit
Patricia Tuma Midland High School, Midland
Lisa Voss East Middle School, Holland

"Ameritech's Teacher Excellence Awards program is another way for us to demonstrate our commitment to a strong, technologically-advanced educational environment," said Bob Cooper, president of Ameritech Michigan. "I'm proud to recognize these teachers for their commitment to excellence. They truly exemplify the spirit of the awards," Cooper said. "Their understanding and unique use of telecommunications technology is revolutionizing teaching and learning in this state."

It is only fitting that the guest speaker at the awards dinner will be Dr. Frank Biocca, Ameritech endowed chair at Michigan State University and expert on virtual reality. He will speak to these pioneers in classroom technology about the exciting uses of virtual reality.

In addition to its Teacher Excellence Awards, Ameritech commits nearly $2 million to various education programs in Michigan each year. More than 500,000 miles of Ameritech fiber-optic cable delivers the power of the information superhighway to Michigan schools.

Ameritech (NYSE: AIT) has a strong tradition of giving back to the communities it serves. Last year, the company contributed more than $26 million to over 3,800 nonprofit organizations, and Ameritech Pioneers -- some 46,000 employees and retirees throughout the Midwest -- volunteered 419,000 hours of community service by supporting health and human services, civic and community projects and educational and arts programs. Ameritech provides a full range of communications services, serving millions of customers in 50 states and 40 countries.

Below is a list of the 1998 Ameritech Teacher Excellence Awards winners and a summary of their winning projects.

Terry J. Clifton
Jackson High School, Jackson

In this project, students researched endangered cichlids (fish) from Lake Victoria in Africa. Students monitored the fish in seventeen aquariums and researched topics such as water chemistry, breeding, growth, genetics and behavior. They used a Calculator Based Laboratory System to collect water chemistry data and record temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen, turbidity, chlorine, ammonia and nitrate/nitrite levels in the aquariums.

Using personal computers, students developed databases, wrote reports and communicated with other schools via the Internet. The Internet served as a research tool that supplied information for student reports and presentations and also provided a means for online chats.

Students recorded fish development, external features and behaviors through the use of digital photography and a video camera. Digital photographs were integrated with image processing technology in order to enhance images of the fish.

Endangered lake fish researched in this project were sent to the University of Colorado - Denver to initiate a similar program for teachers in the Denver area. A film produced by the students showing fish reproductive behaviors was sent to the New England Aquarium.

Angela Greer
Carstens Elementary School, Detroit

Angela Greer teaches learning-disabled students from ages twelve to fourteen who have reading and math scores at the second- and third- grade levels. Her objective in this project was to teach these students how to build and repair an IBM computer.

She recruited a computer engineer to talk with her students about computers. She showed movies about technology and computers to the students who reenacted highlights of the films they viewed.

She required her students to learn, spell, define and assemble the twenty main parts of the computer. She composed an alphabet song and designed a BINGO game to help the students learn the computer terms. Her students took weekly spelling quizzes and received prizes for performance. Ms. Greer required that the - more- students design a unique computer gadget. She also timed the students on their ability to locate a computer part from dictation, remove, dismantle, reassemble and submit it to her.

On a biweekly basis, students wrote reports and presented speeches about computers to the class. Her students also created three highly creative project boards for the schools Math and Science Fair.

As a result of the project, attendance, teamwork, self-esteem, desire to learn, reading, spelling and test scores improved. From this experience, students proved to themselves that they could have self-discipline and learn about technology.

Fred Page
Northwestern High School, Detroit

In this project, Astronomy Explorations students captured materials on astronomy on a CD. This CD production and "burning" took place so that elementary school teachers from the Detroit Public Schools who visited the Northwestern High School planetarium would have materials to use in teaching astronomy in their own classes.

To get the project underway, students learned how to use the Internet to find NASA images, movie clips, star maps, solar system HyperCard stacks, Hubble telescope pictures and astronomy lesson plans. During the visit, digital pictures were taken of children working on astronomy activities with the high school class. Students learned how to download these pictures into a Macintosh computer and used software to manipulate them for placement in a folder for the teachers to use after their field trips.

After each visit, astronomy students used PhotoShop and other software for image cropping and enhancement. Images were placed in a presentation that utilizes Hyperstudio software. Teachers used the disk images to print pictures of the trip and star maps.

CD burning was useful in providing multimedia lessons and instant, updated materials in a way that previously would have been impossible.

Patricia Tuma
Midland High School, Midland

In "Around the World in 40 Days," students researched global businesses. For companies such as McDonalds, Coca-Cola and Microsoft, students researched global locations, marketing, personnel, finance and communications. Based on their research, they produced written reports, books, displays and presentations on these global companies.

To gain information, students visited country/company Web sites and used the Intercultural E-mail Classroom Connection to post surveys on the companies they researched. Using a digital camera, they took pictures of their displays. They used PhotoPaint to process pictures and PowerPoint to prepare presentations. They used Microsoft Publisher to produce banners, signs and mission statements and to illustrate country locations for displays and brochures about the companies. These high school seniors also used Microsoft Word and Excel to produce books and graphs about the global businesses.

A stockbroker, an Internet service provider, a McDonalds and Coca-Cola representative, as well as an international business professor spoke with these Integrated Business Systems II students. At "Technology Night," students displayed their accomplishments for the community.

This comprehensive project taught students about not only how companies operate in the global marketplace, but also time management and teamwork.

Lisa Voss
East Middle School, Holland

Quality Press is a desktop publishing company comprised of middle school students who produced "Extraordinary People," a magazine about all aspects of humanity. The magazine included articles on math, science, world studies and communication arts. Using technology, students researched, wrote articles, created diagrams, designed illustrations and developed interactive puzzles for their readers.

Students learned to use the Internet to explore diverse types of writing. They used e-mail to correspond with students in other schools and throughout the world as well as to communicate with interview sources for social studies articles. They performed telephone interviews and used tape recorders to gather oral histories. Various CD-ROM software programs were used to enhance research. A Web site was established to publish student work and has been a way of sharing the magazine with other students, educators and parents. Students utilized Claris Works software for drafting, editing and publishing magazine issues. To take digital photographs of themselves and their daily activities at the school, they used QuickTake cameras. Images, student drawings and photographs were scanned into the publications. AlphaSmart keyboards enabled students to have equal access to a limited number of computers regardless of computer lab availability.

The use of technology transformed this project from a handwritten magazine to a publication of higher quality. Students who participated in the project improved their writing skills and became better computer users.