TOOL FACTORY AND OLYMPUS LAUNCH GRANTS FOR STUDENTS AND TEACHERS

 

East Dorset, VT. June 29, 2005 - Tool Factory and Olympus announced the winners today of their Spring 2005 Classroom Grants and Student Photo Contests. The two companies joined forces this spring to provide teachers and students with over $17,000 in state-of-the-art Olympus digital cameras, Tool Factory software, and cash. Tool Factory and Olympus share a common desire to strengthen young minds with educational technology and digital imaging.

 

CLASSROOM GRANTS

Over a thousand educators entered the Tool Factory and Olympus Classroom Grant program this spring with hopes of winning the supplies they needed for specialized classroom programs. The four grant winners were chosen based on their project’s effective use of digital imaging and technology in the classroom, high degree of student involvement, creativity and fun. They each have been awarded three Olympus D-545 cameras, up to $2,000 worth of Tool Factory Software, $500 cash and 30 student digital camera workbooks, a total worth of $3,550. The four winners are:

 

• Alicia Tucker, Ford Elementary School, Laurens, SC; Solid shapes are all around us.
  The project explores three-dimensional solid shapes in a child’s world.  Students will use digital cameras to take pictures of solid shapes, write short descriptions of each shape and then use Multimedia Lab V to create slide shows, memory games, picture books, or web magazines to share with the class and family/community members.
• Mary Jo Opgenorth, Sheridan Elementary School, Sheboygan, WI; Exploring wetlands.
  Students will use digital cameras to capture the types and functions of wetlands.  They will use the resulting photographs to create an educational calendar, complete with images and text, that will be printed and sold with the proceeds used to buy conservation duck stamps.
• Crystal M. Rotherforth, Minetto Elementary School, Minetto, NY; Exploring Surrealism, Cubism and Impressionism. 
  The project introduces students to these three major art movements. Using digital cameras, students will take pictures of each other and then create artwork in the style of each of these distinctive movements.  The project will culminate in a book or a web page showcasing the art.
• Barbara Mozina, Frankstown Elementary School, Hollidaysburg, PA; Book Making.
  The project will encourage students to discover the joys of reading while developing skills in technology.  “Struggling” young readers will work on creating books of their own on a variety of topics.  The final books will be hard-bound and collected in a class yearbook.

 “The teachers submitting applications are transforming instruction to reach the 21^st century learners. Today’s students crave visual images as they try and make sense of the curriculum. The use of digital cameras and powerful software help students construct knowledge in ways we can not dream of with 'print based teaching'. Truly eye opening ideas have been submitted!” said Meg Ormiston, educator and one of the Classroom Grant Contest judges. Read the winning applications at www.toolfactory.com/olympus.

 

STUDENT PHOTO CONTEST

More than 800 students submitted brilliant and inspired photographs for the Student Photo Contest for judging. Out of countless pieces of art, four top winners were selected and received awards. Megan Gensler, 16, from Pennsylvania won the top prize for her remarkable black and white shoot, Agony of Defeat. She was awarded an Olympus C-7070, $200 worth of Tool Factory Software and $500 cash. The three second-prize winners and receivers of Olympus D-545 cameras, $200 worth of Tool Factory software and $200 cash are:

• Maggie Banks, 18 from Wisconsin, Unwanted Beauty.
• Alex Hossick, 16 from Maryland, Peacock.
• Jonathan Reiman, 14 from Illinois, Under the Dock.
  

"I was really impressed with the submissions," said John Isaac, esteemed photojournalist and Judge of the Student Photo Contest.  "Photography is about seeing beyond the obvious and there were a great many evocative, visually stunning images that told a story." It is Tool Factory and Olympus’ hope the cameras, software and money will help further these aspiring young photographers' careers. See the winning photos at www.toolfactory.com/olympus.

 

ABOUT OLYMPUS

Olympus is a precision technology leader with a longstanding commitment to education, bringing the benefits of digital imaging to all subject areas and grade levels. Olympus provides complete solutions for the classroom, from educational products to professional development and free co-curricular materials for teachers. To learn more about Olympus and its educational programs, visit: http://www.olympusamerica.com/education/.

Media Contact: Kim Newman
Link Marketing Communications
Telephone: 212-500-5882 Fax: (212) 500-5848
Email Address: knewman@linkmc.com

 

ABOUT TOOL FACTORY

Tool Factory is a woman-owned, Vermont-based business with the goal to make a difference in US education by providing superior educational software. The catalog offers over 150 titles, including a suite of digital imaging products designed to maximize the use of digital imaging in the classroom. Teachers, students, and parents join the Tool Factory staff in testing products to ensure that they are easy to navigate, fun to use, and beneficial to the learning process. Tool Factory is now combining many of the special education and mainstream products to better serve the inclusion classroom.

Media Contact: Kendra Ericson
Tool Factory Inc., 3336 Sunderland Hill Road, Sunderland, VT 05250
Telephone: (802) 375-6549 Ext. 201 Fax: (802) 375-6860
Email Address: kendra@toolfactory.com
Website: http://www.toolfactory.com