SAO Kicks Off Benefit Gala to Support Education

By Geraldine Power

On November 12, 2005, the SAO featured a benefit wine-tasting gala, with the theme “Uncork-ED,” to benefit its subsidiary organization, the SAO Foundation (SAOF), and the Foundation’s education activities. Uncork-ED took place at the Tiffany Center in downtown Portland, with Debora Knapp, news anchor and reporter for KATU news, as master of ceremonies. Various wineries took part in the event including Willamette Valley Vineyards, Hip Chicks Do Wine, Namaste Vineyards, Lange and Willakenzie Estate. A band of accomplished high school students played jazz music, and many from the software community came out to support the foundation and the SAO.

In the more than ten-year history of this annual event, this was the first time that 100% of the proceeds went to the SAOF. Attendees were encouraged to buy raffle tickets and join in a silent auction for the chance to win such items as flat screen TVs; vacations in exotic places; a month of unlimited yoga from Yoga in the Pearl; a lunch cruise for two on the Portland Spirit; and computer accessories, software for fun and work, and a laptop bag to boot.

The SAO created SAOF as a means for the software industry and other interested parties to formally fund and support programs to improve the availability and quality of information technology education in Oregon public schools.

SAOF programs include:

• SuperQuest. The SAOF produces SuperQuest, a two-week professional development institute that is held during the summer and provides a forum for IT teachers to learn new technologies, interface with industry, sharpen their pedagogy, and learn from peers. The program is currently presented at Western Oregon University and many of the participants stay in dorms, creating a further opportunity for both formal and informal learning exchanges. SuperQuest is a unique offering in Oregon, and in 2005, it matriculated more than 80 technology teachers with leveraged impact on approximately 7500 students.
  
• Technology Educator of the Year Award. The SAOF honors an outstanding technology teacher annually with the Oregon IT Educator of the Year Award. A stipend accompanies the award to assist the teacher with his or her classroom technology costs.
  
• Willamette-SAO Programming Contest. The SAOF co-presents the Willamette-SAO High School Programming Contest, a statewide competition in computer programming hosted by Willamette University. Teams solve challenging programming problems in a limited time, encouraging teamwork and programming achievement at diverse skill levels, and simulating a real-world work experience.
  
• ORTOP. The SAOF is an active supporter of the Oregon Robotics Tournament and Outreach Program (ORTOP), providing financial and industry support to this statewide extracurricular program. Students (ages 9-14) form teams and work to meet a given objective over multiple months – in 2003/04 the challenge was to build a Mars rover robot capable of performing specific tasks related to the actual NASA mission. Many activities include the use of Lego robotics. The program emphasizes teamwork, research, presentation skills, and software/engineering problem-solving.

South Salem teacher named Technology Educator of the Year

According to Jim, the SAO’s involvement in technology programs validates for teachers the importance of the work they do with kids. The SAO has demonstrated a commitment to working with educators to provide the best possible opportunities for students to experience quality IT education.

“There is a huge need for computer science teachers to keep current with changes in industry – especially in respect to technology,” said Jim. “Kids put a huge amount of energy into learning technology. Kids take notice when industry professionals step up and take an interest in their education.” The SAO’s partnership with the Computer Science Teachers Association (CSTA, pronounced “siesta”) helps accommodates these needs.

The students of Catlin Gabel School’s robotics program were on hand to provide live demonstrations for gala event attendees. The students developed software programs; downloaded them into robots; and manipulated the robots to perform specific maneuvers.

Cathy Swider, ORTOP program administrator, oversaw a group of 12-to-16-year-old ORTOP participants who provided live demonstrations for gala event attendees. The students developed software programs; downloaded them into robots; and manipulated the robots to perform specific maneuvers such as moving through a course, lifting and stacking objects and even starting a windmill. The students were excited to show off their projects and many event attendees were surprised by the level of sophistication of the robots.

The students were excited to show off their projects and many event attendees were surprised by the level of sophistication of the robots.

Don Domes, 2004 IT Educator of the Year winner, also worked with Cathy on the Lego project, and believes that we need to do more to awaken students’ passion for technology. “At the rate we’re going, we will lose our global position as innovation power house of the world,” he said.

Dale Yocum sold his company, Clientel Software, in the late ’90s, and in his quest for a new direction, decided he wanted to teach technology. Dale now volunteers full time at Catlin Gabel School as program director of the robotics program, explaining, “We don’t give students enough opportunities for exposure to engineering. I’ve enjoyed every minute of working with the kids and find it very rewarding.”

Cathy Swider believes kids need more role models when it comes to engineering or being an engineer. “If you look at TV, there are plenty of shows on lawyers and doctors, but no shows on engineers.” ORTOP is almost entirely volunteer-driven, and the organization is always looking for more coaches, mentors, judges, and other volunteer positions. For more information on ORTOP and getting involved, go to its web site www.ortop.org.

Fritz Ruehr, associate professor and department chair of computer science at Willamette University, helps coordinate the Willamette-SAO programming contest. At the gala, Fritz explained the impact of this program. “Some of these high school students solve a programming problem in one hour that takes a college sophomore or junior a period of classes over several weeks to solve. A fair number of these students go on to prestigious universities such as MIT and Carnegie Mellon. While this is a regional contest, this has an effect nationally.”

By providing challenging, fun and educational activities for high school students, those students are better prepared for college and make a greater impact once they enter the workforce. Fritz admires the efforts he sees by teachers to bring technology into the classroom, even though the state education system doesn’t support these needs and some schools don’t have computer science or technology classes at all. Volunteers from industry going into middle and high schools to talk to classes or support teachers can have a huge impact.

Some professionals from industry, however, are not only volunteering, but have moved into teaching at the middle school or high school level themselves. Sara Zuckerman, one of the computer science teachers interviewed by Debora Knapp at the Uncork-ED event, was formerly a software engineer, but discovered she prefers teaching technology to high school kids much more.

Andrew Shakman, chair of the SAOF board, says, “Industry needs to take an interest in awakening a passion for technology. For kids, this is fun. It builds self-esteem and exposes them to technology, along with building problem-solving skills, teamwork, and public speaking skills.”

With hardware companies such as Intel receiving a noticeable amount of press, it may be easy for community members outside the software industry to lose sight of the prevalence and importance of software. In reality, many products today are less hardware oriented, and much more software-centric. This change offers opportunities for the Oregon software industry, and drives the need for software-savvy graduates from Oregon schools.

Chris Rosebrugh, group director of R & D at Synopsys, said, “It is imperative that we get kids interested in technology at a younger age. Currently, our education system is not supporting the technology needs that we have here in Oregon, to keep our kids rooted here in Oregon. We need to push more in that direction.”

Mayor Robert Drake of Beaverton, who also attended the gala, said, “We fight every two years in Salem just to barely fund our basic education needs. We need to create outstanding students to create outstanding workers. It’s urgent that we close the gap between barely funding basic needs to providing the technology education to maintain our role as the world innovation leader.”

How can you make a difference?

We in the community can get more involved in bringing technology to students at a younger age. The SAO and the SAO Foundation offer many opportunities to volunteer for programs such as ORTOP, talk to classes about technology, or promote contests such as the Willamette-SAO programming contest. The personal rewards in seeing students growing and learning are enormous. 

Financial contributions to the SAO Foundation and support for Foundation benefits make a difference in students lives, and ultimately, in our industry. For more information on the SAO Foundation, please contact Kathryn Schwartz at (503) 228-5443 or email at kschwartz@sao.org.

About the author

Gerrie Power worked at Intel Corporation in marketing, editing, and writing and has an M.A. in professional writing from Carnegie Mellon University. She is based in Portland, OR. 

Photography courtesy of:

Daniel Payne Photography