North Carolina Kick-Off for Project K-nect

On February 4, 2008, Dr. June St. Clair Atkinson, North Carolina State Superintendent, Congressman Walter Jones (R-NC), Tim Magner, Director of the Office of Education Technology for the US Department of Education, and Dr. Irwin M. Jacobs, Chairman and Founder of Qualcomm kicked off the Project K-nect program in Jacksonville, NC. Over 100 Smartphones were distributed to 9th grade Algebra I students in Onslow, Durham, and Winston-Salem/Forsyth Schools to measure their achievement in using these tools for advanced purposes.

The highlight of the program lies in the ability of each phone to act as a resource to students, allowing them to connect to other students, their teachers, and participants with the program, including Shawn Gross of Digital Millennial Consulting and the Math Forum at Drexel University in Philadelphia. Tools available to the student include a closed instant messaging system, allowing them contact with only those involving with the program, a series of problem sets created by the Math Forum, and blogs, allowing the students to post questions and provide support for other students.

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