Mt. Everest Connection Takes Learning at Martin Middle School to New Heights
March 10, 2008 - Students at Martin Middle School today began a two-month journey to the top of Mt. Everest. Mobile wireless Internet connectivity facilitated by the school, MCNC, Arch Rock Corporation and Cisco will enable students to interact with mountain-climber and local Cisco engineer Ciprian “Chip” Popoviciu as he attempts to summit the world’s highest peak this spring.
 Principal Wade Martin and Chip Popoviciu join a team of students and educators who plan to follow Popoviciu's climb of Mt. Everest. |
“Connecting with Chip during his climb is an amazing, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for our students to experience first-hand a great adventure and extraordinary real-world learning,” said Wade Martin, principal of Martin Middle School. “Chip’s interaction with our students will offer a wealth of lessons across the subjects of science, social studies, language arts and technology. We’ve challenged our teachers and administrators to leverage his climb fully to extend the 21st century learning model through connectivity and interactive education.”
Students began preparing for the climb in February by designing a Martin Middle School flag for Popoviciu to plant at the summit, and viewing and discussing “Everest,” the story of the 1996 Everest film expedition featuring IMAX photography. Popoviciu’s initial meeting with Martin Middle School students took place today during several school assemblies, during which he, and fellow Cisco engineer Tim Woods, shared the climb equipment, and schedule and route, along with the technology he will use to connect with students from the mountain. Students also heard from Raleigh physician and President and Chief Medical Officer of the American Institute of Healthcare and Fitness James R. Stevens, M.D., who shared some of the effects climbing to 29,035 feet, the mountain’s height, has on the human body. Stevens will return to student classrooms several times to track Popoviciu's health through the use of interactive sensors from Arch Rock that he will carry on the climb. Stevens will also participate in blogs, answering medical questions from students and teachers during the climb.
MCNC, Arch Rock and Cisco are working with Martin Middle School to facilitate connectivity and interactive learning for students throughout the climb. Popoviciu will use a Cisco Mobile Access Router, powered by a combination of batteries and a solar panel, to connect through a satellite modem once he reaches Mt. Everest Base Camp (17,700 feet). He will use a handheld personal computer, a Linksys web camera and Cisco Voice over IP (VoIP) telephone to interact periodically with students through a secure WebEx portal during an estimated two months on the mountain. Communications will be primarily in the form of voice, emails and blog posts, which could include text, video and photos from Popoviciu’s journey, and questions and answers from the students.
Internet Protocol-based wireless sensor nodes and software provided by the San Francisco, California.-based Arch Rock will monitor Popoviciu's heart rate and external environmental conditions during the climb, communicating the sensor readings to the students via standard Internet connectivity. In partnership with Dr. Stevens, students will interpret the readings and compare them to readings taken by identical sensors in the classroom.
MCNC, a non-profit organization in the Research Triangle Park, facilitated the partnership between Cisco and Martin Middle School and continues to play a key role to manage the project as teachers integrate Popoviciu’s experience into classroom instruction, including math, science, language arts, social studies and art classes. The robust and interactive educational experience for teachers and students through Web-based sharing of information is a model for 21st century learning enhanced by network-based collaboration and communication, which MCNC is working in partnership with state government to extend to every school in North Carolina.
Popoviciu will depart North Carolina on March 22 for Kathmandu, Nepal and return no later than May 31. He is expected to reach Base Camp around April 8 and undergo a “climb high-sleep low” acclimation process until early May, when Popoviciu and his climbing group will attempt to summit. After returning to North Carolina, Popoviciu will re-connect with students in-person to share his reflections on the journey and answer any additional questions about the experience on June 9.
For additional details regarding the climb route and schedule, please visit: http://martinms.wcpss.net/
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