UH Hilo one of 39 schools nationwide selected as HP technology grant recipient

University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo
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Posted: Aug 22, 2008

The University of Hawaii at Hilo was selected as one of 39 two-and four-year colleges and universities in the United States and Puerto Rico to receive a 2008 HP Technology for Teaching grant, which is designed to transform teaching and improve learning in the classroom through innovative uses of technology.

UH Hilo will receive an award package of HP products and a faculty cash award valued at more than $77,000.

Each of the HP Technology for Teaching grant recipients will use wireless HP Tablet PCs to enhance learning in engineering, math, science, or computer science.

UH Hilo Computer Science students, under the direction of Dr. Keith Edwards, will use the tablet PCs to develop custom software applications for field volcanology applications in conjunction with the Center for the Study of Active Volcanoes. The tablet PCs and associated software will be used in conjunction with the advanced field volcanology courses offered by CSAV to enhance the reliability and quantity of data collected in the field.

"The HP Technology for Teaching Grant will enable us to provide our students with access to the latest technology in the classroom while allowing them to create tools that will advance the abilities of volcanologists to collect data that protects the lives and property of people who live in volcanically active regions of the world," said Edwards.

The Computer Science department at UH Hilo offers a B.S. degree in computer science, certificate programs in database management and e-commerce technology and business as well as many specialized courses for non-majors. Students in the program have scored above the national average on the major field achievement test for 19 out of 20 years, and graduates are employed by major companies in Hawaiʻi and on the mainland.

HP is awarding 149 two- and four-year colleges and universities, and K-12 public schools in the United States and Puerto Rico more than $7 million in mobile technology, cash and professional development as part of the 2008 HP Technology for Teaching grant program. Since 2004, HP has contributed a total of $60 million in HP Technology for Teaching grants to more than 1,000 schools in 41 countries worldwide. During the past 20 years, HP has contributed more than $1 billion in cash and equipment to schools, universities, community organizations and other nonprofit organizations around the world.

"Around the world, HP partners with pioneering professors and schools to discover how technology can improve student success," said Sid Espinosa, director of Global Social Investment programs at HP. "While technology is not the answer to every educational challenge, we have witnessed its incredible and transformative impact in the classroom. This innovation is happening every day as teaching and learning are fundamentally changing."

More information about the 2008 HP Technology for Teaching program and grant recipients is available at www.hp.com/go/hpteach.

More information about UH Hilo is available at www.uhh.hawaii.edu.