Sun hits the books

Sun Microsystems hit the books not once, but twice Wednesday.

The server and workstation maker announced plans to spin off its educational-resource program for secondary-school students as a nonprofit organization. The company also plans to sponsor a Solaris 10 operating-system developer contest for college students. The moves come as Sun seeks to bolster the educational level of a potential work force, as well as spread the use of its technology beyond corporate America.

Sun is spinning off its Global Education and Learning Community as a nonprofit so that other companies and government agencies can participate. The GELC enables educators to collaborate on math and science projects, and serves as a means for distributing classroom materials.

"Barriers to education, whether cultural, economic, or physical, are being broken down by the confluence of education content and technology," Scott McNealy, Sun's chief executive, said in a statement. "One such trend is the use of open-source software to make educational materials freely accessible to everyone on the Internet."

Sun develops Java open-source software and markets servers that help power the Internet.

Meanwhile, the company is holding an international developer contest for college students, faculty and IT staff as part of its Solaris University Challenge Contest. The contest begins next month and continues through June of next year.

Teams of up to four members from the same university will develop projects that are based on, or work with, Sun's Solaris 10 or OpenSolaris operating systems. Projects will be judged using criteria such as usability, innovation and originality. Winners receive $5,000 per team member and a Sun Ultra 20 workstation. The winning team's university will receive a $100,000 credit toward Sun products.

[Selina077]

Where does ideas come from and why isn't that funded by Companies with $

I teach art and it appears that due to the decrease funding for the arts programs I will most likely be unemployed in a few years. I never know if I will have a job next year - does that encourage me to continue to teach? I do it for the students but not every teacher feels the way I do. The budget reads like a horror story for my district with over a 1200 students (at three schools K-5) and $554.70 for supplies and $150 of that from competitions the students entered last year. Every art teacher in my district is subject to termination because with each year we sign a new contract. I ask you what is big business doing about the crisis facing the arts in elementary education? Does anyone care about creativity in schools?

My concern is this: Science, Technology and Art Design are integral parts of our society, so what happens when the creativity is not fostered in our young students? Does the creative mind become stagnant and with it we become totally dependent on fact and figures? If this happens how far will our society climb toward innovative building designs without someone there to think and design with the engineers?

The companies that are sponsoring education to promote math, english and science need to remember that art has a part in our society (each image reflects the events or needs at any given time in our history). Without funding for the teaching of art where will our society be in the next 20 years?

Look at the advancements within the last 5 years in Japanese Industry and Technology. Japan's focus on art in their education system has paid off for their youth of tomorrow and for the businesses of today.

Why must everything be a contest if the ultimate goal is to educate our youth? We should pull together to accomplish this - I see my students on average only 18 times a year. How can I or anyone possibly make a difference if my district doesn't have the money to hire the necessary number of teachers to teach art and meet the necessary QCCs or GPS or whatever is currently the trend(three elementary teachers service 7 schools). I have to pick and choose what I teach because of time constraints.

How many other people on the job teach 34 classes a week, go to three different schools and foster learning for over 1,200 minds? I know this is a complaint but it is also a plea for help from big business. Yours Sincerely in the education of young hearts and minds. BLESSINGS to you and those in your heart of those who have the power to help or be heard by those that can.

[Selina077]

Where does ideas come from and why isn't that funded by Companies with $

I teach art and it appears that due to the decrease funding for the arts programs I will most likely be unemployed in a few years. I never know if I will have a job next year - does that encourage me to continue to teach? I do it for the students but not every teacher feels the way I do. The budget reads like a horror story for my district with over a 1200 students (at three schools K-5) and $554.70 for supplies and $150 of that from competitions the students entered last year. Every art teacher in my district is subject to termination because with each year we sign a new contract. I ask you what is big business doing about the crisis facing the arts in elementary education? Does anyone care about creativity in schools?

My concern is this: Science, Technology and Art Design are integral parts of our society, so what happens when the creativity is not fostered in our young students? Does the creative mind become stagnant and with it we become totally dependent on fact and figures? If this happens how far will our society climb toward innovative building designs without someone there to think and design with the engineers?

The companies that are sponsoring education to promote math, english and science need to remember that art has a part in our society (each image reflects the events or needs at any given time in our history). Without funding for the teaching of art where will our society be in the next 20 years?

Look at the advancements within the last 5 years in Japanese Industry and Technology. Japan's focus on art in their education system has paid off for their youth of tomorrow and for the businesses of today.

Why must everything be a contest if the ultimate goal is to educate our youth? We should pull together to accomplish this - I see my students on average only 18 times a year. How can I or anyone possibly make a difference if my district doesn't have the money to hire the necessary number of teachers to teach art and meet the necessary QCCs or GPS or whatever is currently the trend(three elementary teachers service 7 schools). I have to pick and choose what I teach because of time constraints.

How many other people on the job teach 34 classes a week, go to three different schools and foster learning for over 1,200 minds? I know this is a complaint but it is also a plea for help from big business. Yours Sincerely in the education of young hearts and minds. BLESSINGS to you and those in your heart of those who have the power to help or be heard by those that can.