BUILDING FUTURE ENGINEERS

THE GLOBAL DEMAND FOR ENGINEERING

There is a worldwide need for engineers to meet the demands of future economies. Industry and science leaders are calling for workers, discoverers, and innovators versed in engineering, design, and manufacturing. Moreover, due to ongoing advances, societies require professionals skilled in not only mechanical, civil, and electrical engineering but also nano- and bio-engineering. Yet schools often overlook engineering. Schools of the future specializing in engineering can inspire students for careers in fields ranging from civil engineering to bio-engineering, nano-engineering, and robotics.

MEETING TODAY’S

Schools of the future specializing in engineering meet this challenge by integrating engineering into math and science curricula. They bolster learning with a multidisciplinary approach that merges science, math, and technology into an engineering focus. They provide authentic engineering labs with cad, cam, and modeling applications, and tools for 3d scanning, rapid prototyping, robotics, laser engraving, and computer-controlled machining, all integrated with a hands-on, project-based curriculum.

THE CLASSROOM AS WORKPLACE

Students learn engineering by conceiving, designing, and prototyping everything from gears and devices to models of molecules and large protein chains. They use the same processes and tools that they will deploy as professionals in tomorrow’s workplaces. Learning and innovation start with ideas. Students develop concepts, refine them, and then create 3-dimensional designs in cad applications. On the left, students use Dimension catalyst™ software to prepare their designs.

MOVING BEYOND YESTERDAY’S CONSTRAINTS

In most engineering curricula, the design process ends when students produce computerized blueprints of their ideas. Rarely do they touch, see, and analyze physical renditions of their concepts. Students do not experience the thrill of handling objects that they designed, engineered, and manufactured. As a result, their education is incomplete and often little more than mental exercises.

FROM COMPUTER SCREEN TO PRODUCTION IN ONE STEP

Contrary to traditional teaching, classrooms of schools of the future specialized in engineering are transformed into laboratories that reflect state-of-the-art engineering departments. Students bring their designs to life using computer-aided manufacturing. They deploy innovative 3-d printers to create precise physical models of their designs. Made of durable composites, the models are high-definition prototypes of students’ work.

RAPID PROTOTYPING

Thanks to 3-d printing, students create physical prototypes of complex objects and machines. The lawn mower at the left was “printed” as a single object that required no assembly. Moreover, they use handheld 3-d scanners to scan physical objects into their cad applications. They then modify the objects and “print” new prototypes. They even use computer-controlled lasers to engrave on the surfaces of their models, ensuring true fidelity to original concepts.

BECOMING A VIRTUAL SCULPTOR

From thought to design to manufacturing, students experience engineering as a seamless process. Engineering is no longer abstract, but hands-on and self-directed. Students hold in their hands the objects they designed. From their initial idea to examining the object for fit and functionality, students complete the engineering design and manufacturing loop. With a 3-d modeling solution at the left, students have virtual chisels to create sculptures on their computer screens, producing complex, highly-detailed, organic shapes faster than with traditional cad tools.

MULTIDISCIPLINARY APPLICATIONS

BFE enhances learning across multiple disciplines. For life sciences, students build physical models of DNA molecules, microscopic organisms, or body parts. They model tectonic plates or geological formations when studying geology, or 3-d relief maps for geography. Electronics classes build simulated circuit boards or transistors, and art classes digitally create jewelry and sculptures. Moreover, students gain a historical perspective of engineering by tracing advances in engineering with the rise of civilizations. They also consider the social and economic impacts of emerging engineering fields like bioengineering and nanotechnology.

COMPLETE SUPPORT

ILAET offers BFE as a turnkey solution to schools of the future specializing in engineering. We deliver advanced curricula and leading software and hardware solutions. We work with school administrators, department heads, teachers, and communities to design an integrated curricular framework across high-school grades that reflects local needs. Moreover, we provide teachers with training and support, ensuring they effectively deliver hands-on, project-based engineering curricula in their classrooms.

FOSTERING EXCELLENCE

When a school of the future specializes in engineering, its resources can be leveraged beyond formal classroom training. Instruction in fields from engineering and design to architecture and computer graphics can be offered as after-school activities and summer camps and can support an entire school district.

A COMPLETE EDUCATION

From mechanical engineering to industrial arts, bfe engages students in authentic design and prototyping. They work like professional designers and engineers, using the tools and techniques they will encounter in cutting-edge engineering facilities. They are prepared for achievement in engineering, science, math, and technology.

SPECIALIZED SCHOOLS OF THE FUTURE

NURTURING THE NEXT GENERATION

Educators call for schools to foster skills as well as mastery of content. Schools, however, traditionally teach science with textbooks and structured lab experiments. When learning is passive, students merely memorize selected content and fail to build essential competencies. To cultivate students’ interest in science and grow their knowledge and skills, science needs to be taught as a dynamic, open-ended process of exploration and knowledge construction. SSL schools of the future meet this need.

REAL SCIENCE

Students experience the rigors of real science and the thrill of discovery. They learn that science is a dynamic process for building knowledge as they discover key concepts upon which they build more sophisticated ideas and understanding. They use computers and scientific tools to investigate the real world and work with peers in a global community of practice. They learn to pose questions, collect data, analyze findings, and discover answers. The reason, communicate, and collaborate, developing foundational skills for science as well as all other endeavors.

LOCAL AND GLOBAL

Students conduct age-appropriate inquiries on a familiar object—their local environment. Starting in middle school, they explore a study site with increasingly sophisticated projects. They join a web-based community of other SSL schools and jointly conduct investigations using shared protocols to collect, analyze, and exchange data. They present their findings to the community for peer review and take responsibility for their work. They master content and develop skills like critical thinking, problem-solving, communication, and teamwork.

AUTHENTIC TOOLS

Ssl builds computer-based science learning laboratories with affordable, state-of-the-art technologies. Students use digital microscopes, probes, and sensors with data acquisition software to capture and display data in real time. They share their information in a community-wide, searchable database and use visualization and data analysis tools to make sense of their findings.

ADVANCED MODELING

Students dynamically model scientific processes using computer simulations. With 3-d models, they explore the atomic and molecular structures of matter and the forces acting upon them. They are introduced to nanotechnology and biotechnology and use virtual atomic force and scanning tunneling microscopes to learn how to manipulate atoms and molecules. They understand the science of macroscopic phenomena down to molecular and atomic levels. Capabilities, once reserved for scientists, are now available to SSL schools of the future.

PROVEN PEDAGOGY

SSL builds on the pioneering global lab project that ILAET president Dr. Boris Berenfeld developed with scientists and educators from TERC and Concord consortium. Piloted in 300 schools in 30 countries with support from the U.S. National science foundation, the world bank, intel, and the Russian national training foundation, this acclaimed initiative was the world’s first full-year, internet-based science course built around hands-on, collaborative investigations. The U.S. White House cited it as one of America’s two best telecommunications-based k-12 projects.

MULTIDISCIPLINARY LEARNING

Scientific advances occur across multiple fields, yet science is often taught as discrete domains. SLS instead integrates concepts from physics, chemistry, and biology. Students investigate their study site’s physical, chemical, biological, geological, and climatic characteristics, and assess similarities and differences with study sites worldwide. They research their site’s natural history, hypothesize about the causes of its changes over time, and examine its social and economic uses. In SSL, science is relevant, immediate, and rooted in the real world.

BUILDING KNOWLEDGE

SSL empowers students with an intellectual framework in which they learn increasingly advanced content and skills. Over the grades, they build upon basic science concepts to grasp more complex ideas. They elevate their scientific reasoning and progressively construct knowledge. They grasp the interactions of atoms and molecules, for example, to better understand chemical reactions, the carbon cycle, and nanoscience. They learn about photons and quanta to later grasp the underlying science of photochemistry and photosynthesis.

LEARNING THE NATURE OF SCIENCE

In SSL middle school, students experience science as a collaborative process and understand the importance of verifying discoveries by peers. They realize the need for standardized protocols and acquire skills like communicating clearly to remote peers. They acquire the molecular literacy necessary to explain natural phenomena in terms of the interactions of atoms, molecules, and their interactions. They conduct both real-world explorations and computer-based simulations. They learn science by practicing science.

GRADUATE-LEVEL LEARNING

In SSL high school, students perform authentic research to advance their knowledge and skills in preparation for higher education. In addition to required courses, each student selects elective courses from a library provided by SSL, allowing them to pursue their interests in specific science topics. For chemistry, for example, courses include food chemistry and chemistry and water. Elective courses require one semester and consist of reading, writing, and hands-on projects.

A COMPLETE EDUCATION

SSL education is comprehensive. Science is threaded across mathematics, history, the social sciences, literature, and even the arts and sports. Students do science problems in math and explore how scientific advances contributed to the rise of civilizations. They study the history of science, its social impacts, and its current and future applications. They grow into well-rounded young adults with the knowledge, skills, and focus to excel in higher education, and then as professionals.

A TURNKEY SOLUTION FOR STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT

Ilaet offers SSL as a comprehensive solution for schools of the future. We deliver curricula, including assessment strategies, and web-based resources. We work with leading software and hardware vendors to offer affordable solutions. We help school administrators to develop comprehensive curricular frameworks and design technology plans. We train and support instructors so they can teach science as an exciting, hands-on process of collaborative discoveries. We even can design after-school and summer camp programs for remedial or advanced studies.

NANOSCHOOL

BUILDING AN ELITE LEARNING ACADEMY

Nanoschool transforms a school of the future into a graduate high school for nanotechnology and molecular science. It delivers the curricula, technologies, and teacher training to make nanoscience a coherent curricular focus throughout high school. Students will graduate with an advanced understanding of nanoscience at the foundation of their education, preparing them to pursue the field professionally.

MOLECULAR LITERACY — THE CORE COMPETENCY OF NANOSCIENCE

From the state of matter and chemical reactions to photosynthesis and heredity, the interactions of atoms and molecules are responsible for natural phenomena and central to all sciences, particularly nanoscience. The ability to reason about complex phenomena in terms of the structures and dynamics of atoms and molecules is molecular literacy. Molecular literacy is the fundamental competency of nano school. In computer models, students see that despite the differing properties of graphite and diamonds, the only difference between them on the nanolevel is the spatial arrangement of their carbon atoms. In graphite, atoms are arranged in layers that peel off easily (top image). The same carbon atoms in diamonds are tightly interlocked, making diamonds an extremely hard material (bottom image).

COMPUTER MODELING & EXPERIMENTATION

Students gain molecular literacy through hands-on modeling and experimentation. From fullerenes and carbon nanotubes to nanoparticles and nanowires, they design nano-devices on computer screens and explore their behaviors and properties. They understand the links between what these devices can do and their underlying molecular and atomic interactions. Students investigate, for example, why carbon nanotubes (see image) are stronger than steel but much lighter.

CONCEPTS INTEGRATION

Successful science, especially on nano-scales, is interdisciplinary. Nanoschool integrates concepts from physics, chemistry, biology, and computer science. To ensure coherent learning across domains, students apply the concepts they learn in physics to chemistry. They then transfer the concepts from these domains to biology, creating an intellectual framework for grasping more complex ideas. In nano school, technologies, and computational resources help students learn progressively through a process of guided discovery.

SUPPORTING TEACHERS

Nanoschool provides the support science teachers need to deliver a multidisciplinary curriculum, concept integration, innovative modeling techniques, and hands-on projects in nanotechnology. Working in teams, teachers use interdisciplinary modules, helping students to build upon concepts from one science domain to another as they advance in their education. Cutting-edge frontier science usually does not reach secondary education for many decades. In 1989, the image on the left heralded the dawn of modern nanotechnology for the public. Scientists used an atomic force microscope to position 35 xenon atoms to spell their corporation’s name. Only twenty years later, nano school offers a comprehensive curriculum centered around the revolution in nanotechnology and its promise, thus accelerating the pace by which advanced knowledge is taught in classrooms.

AUTHENTIC SCIENCE

Thanks to the award-winning molecular workbench, an advanced modeling application integrated with inquiry curriculum and teacher resources, nano school offers dynamic molecular- and atomic-scale simulations that were once available only to scientists and researchers. Developed by scientists and educators at the concord consortium with support from the U.S. National science foundation, this modeling environment allows students to model atomic and molecular systems the same way scientists do. They gain hands-on practice manipulating atoms and molecules using virtual atomic force and scanning tunneling microscopes. In the image, students can model the tip of a scanning tunneling microscope. The tip explores a molecular surface atom by atom.

AN INNOVATIVE VIRTUAL LEARNING ENVIRONMENT

Students explore the atomic and molecular structures of matter and the forces acting upon them. Working with user-controlled 3-d models, they view molecules as chains of interacting dipoles. They dynamically probe scientific processes, changing such parameters as the amount of heat in the system and the size, mass, and charge of particles. They work with large polymer chains and complex molecules like proteins. They ask “What if…?” and discover their own answers. In the image, students learn how nanotubes can capture specific atoms depending on the type of atoms and properties of the nanotubes.

PUTTING THE FUTURE INTO PERSPECTIVE

Nanoschool extends into history, the social sciences, and economics. Students study how manufacturing has evolved over the ages and why nanotechnology is poised to revolutionize design and assembly. They consider the social implications of nanotechnology and its potential impact on commerce, industry, and society. They meet with scientists, visit science museums, and tour science labs to better understand the latest advances in nanoscience. These images illustrate how the way we make things has not changed much since prehistory. We still create things by banging, chiseling, drilling, heating, moving, and chipping away large masses of atoms from a “dummy”—a rock, piece of wood, clay, or metal—removing those atoms that are not needed. In nano school, students learn how things can be made by manipulating individual atoms or by self-assembly as it occurs in living organisms.

DISSECTING” MOLECULES

Using simulations, students explore the electron clouds that surround each molecule and determine its properties. Each atom within a molecule is in a tug-of-war for electrons. As a result, every molecule gets a unique distribution of electron densities on its surface that defines its characteristics. Whether a substance is sweet or sour, water-soluble or rock solid, brilliant paint, or medicine is determined by the properties of the electron clouds surrounding its molecules. Students compare the distribution of electrons, discover the electrostatic potential on the molecular surface, and then, using computer simulations, “dissect” the molecule to see what atomic groups lay underneath an area of polarity. This is the most powerful way to link the structure and function of molecules.

A NEW GENERATION OF MACHINES

Students use nanotubes and buckyballs to build virtual nanodevices such as nano-gears, nano-engines, or nano-conveyors. They experiment with nanosensors and explore the basics of molecular recognition. Like nanoscientists, they manipulate objects they are unable to see. They learn about the science and tools that are transforming industries and opening new vistas of knowledge. These images show dynamic models of four different nanodevices. Designed in molecular workbench, molecular models allow students to explore nano gears, study a molecular sorter capable of precisely separating one kind of molecule from a mixture, examine the workings of nano cams, and even to design a nano car.

EMPOWERING STUDENTS

Molecular literacy and nanoscience are increasingly important as nanotechnology and biotechnology emerge as engines of the next industrial revolution. They empower people to understand phenomena and anticipate the properties of matter under new conditions. Teaching molecular literacy and nanoscience is crucial for future scientists and engineers as it promotes the imaginative thinking needed to create new nano-structured and bio-mimetic solutions to critical healthcare, energy, and environmental challenges.

EDUCATING THE NEXT GENERATION OF RESEARCHERS & DISCOVERERS

From sub-atomic particles to macromolecules, students will acquire the molecular fluency and reasoning skills needed to pursue careers in nanotechnology. The u.S. Alone will require a million workers knowledgeable in nanotechnology by 2015. With nano schools, specialized schools of the future can engage, motivate, and educate the next generation of researchers, discoverers, and nano-workers.

MATH & COMPUTER SCIENCE

EDUCATING THE BRIGHTEST STUDENTS

Math & computer science schools of the future identify mathematically-talented children at early ages and provide them with a math-intensive education from elementary grades through high school. Students also take advanced courses in humanities, languages, and the arts to help them develop into responsible, well-rounded, and highly-skilled young adults.

A COMMUNITY OF PEERS

Standard schools can offer strong educational opportunities for bright children, but they cannot meet the needs of truly gifted learners. When exceptionally bright children enroll in a math & computer science school of the future, they join a community of peers in a learning environment that will challenge, stimulate, and motivate them.

ADVANCED FROM THE BEGINNING

In courses that integrate math, language, and computer science, elementary students are introduced to algorithmic thinking and mathematical logic in a friendly, playful way. Along with building arithmetic skills, they use advanced, but age-appropriate software like Informatica, co-developed by the Institute of new technologies (int), a strategic ILAET partner, to nurture their analytical and computational reasoning.

REASONING & PROBLEM-SOLVING

Learning is experiential and hands-on. Using the acclaimed logo application, co-developed by mit and the int, children explore mathematical thinking as they command a turtle on their computer screens. They computationally control robots using logo lego and logo robotics, seeing their algorithms come to life. They are introduced to geometry and perform mathematical research in the geometer sketchpad application. They discover variables and equations, refine their problem-solving skills, and develop higher-order thinking.

A HOLISTIC EDUCATION

Math & computer science schools of the future nurture the complete child. Students take courses in the sciences, social sciences, literature, and art. They participate in sports to encourage physical fitness and engage in cultural activities to refine their social skills and awareness.

BUILDING KNOWLEDGE

By middle school, students have advanced well into algebra, geometry, trigonometry, and pre-calculus. In high school, they engage in differential, integral, and multivariable calculus, advanced statistics, and complex problem-solving. They explore their talents and interests as they learn to think and reason like professional mathematicians.

EXPLORING COMPUTER SCIENCE

As in math, students learn computer science through investigations and discovery. They explore programming methodologies and languages, software engineering, computational functions, and database design. They consider the applications of information theory in biology, the life sciences, and economics. Working both individually and in teams, they apply their knowledge to solve real-world problems. They also study the history of computing; computing applications in science, research, and industry; and the advances and social impacts promised by computer science.

INTERDISCIPLINARY STUDIES

Mathematics is infused throughout the curricula. Students apply their math skills to solve problems in physics, chemistry, and biology. They learn about the development of mathematics in history classes and perform graphing and statistical analyses in social science courses. Music, with its mathematical underpinnings, is emphasized.

MENTORING

Advanced mathematics demands careful training and mentoring plays an important role in math & computer science schools of the future. Older students and faculty mentor younger children and as students advance, they learn from mentors in universities and industry. All are in a supportive community of practice that encourages them to explore, reason, and advance their talents.

FINDING THE MOST TALENTED CHILDREN

To develop mathematicians of the highest order, gifted children must start training when very young. Ilaet can help identify such children to recruit them for advanced learning. We can conduct math olympiads in metropolitan areas or regions to find children who love and excel at problem-solving. This strategy creates a pipeline of future mathematicians and computer scientists for both the private and public sectors.

SPURRING INNOVATION & CREATIVITY

Math & computer science schools of the future prepare future generations of professionals and innovators in math, computer science, science, and other fields demanding sophisticated computational skills. From the earliest ages to their graduation, they prepare precocious students for higher education and then for leadership and achievement.

A MODEL SCHOOL FOR THE 21ST CENTURY

PIONEERING 21ST CENTURY EDUCATION EDUCATION

Moscow educators and Moscow mayor Yuri Luzhkov wanted to build a new type of urban school with an open learning environment and cutting-edge technologies. The result is School 2030, Moscow’s School of the Future, which was constructed for $40 million U.S. Its design was facilitated by the Moscow Institute of Open Education in collaboration with ILAET. With 20,000 square meters for 1,100 K-12 students, it is Europe’s most spacious school. And it's the most advanced.

A COMPREHENSIVE LEARNING ENVIRONMENT

Konstantin Stanislavsky said “The theater starts with the cloakroom” and this is true of education at Moscow School 2030. Upon entering its foyer, it differs from traditional schools, even good ones. In School 2030, learning is everywhere, it is experiential, and it is fun. Learning often begins when students enter the hallways and other open spaces where they explore hands-on, interactive models, simulations, and displays.

HANDS-ON LEARNING EVERYWHERE

School 2030 is akin to San Francisco’s Exploratorium or the Explore-At-Bristol Science Discovery Centre in Bristol, England, where children explore complex ideas by playing with hands-on exhibits. The water-installation model in the school’s halls invites students to build dams and change the flow of streams. The exhibit also demonstrates how Archimedes’ screw moves water. Here, the concept of hydroelectric power takes root.

USING THE TECHNOLOGIES OF SCIENCE

Children are introduced to physics, chemistry, and biology through hands-on explorations. The chemistry lab combines traditional instruments with advanced technologies like probes, sensors, and data loggers. Unlike many schools, technologies are not tacked onto the curriculum; they are integral to teaching and learning. In addition to data loggers in science classrooms, all students have wireless laptop computers that they take home. The devices are loaded with learning software ranging from text editors to interactive dynamic molecular simulations.

COMBINING EMOTIONAL & COMPUTING POWER

Technologies transform learning at Moscow’s School of the Future. There are no blackboards and, consequently, no hazardous chalk dust. Instead, teachers use interactive whiteboards that open classrooms to the world that students will inherit. Teachers write on the boards with virtual ink that is digitally stored. They manipulate displayed objects, whether molecules or continents, using handheld styluses. They combine their emotional power with the power of computers and connectivity to make learning dynamic and interactive.

DEVELOPING INTELLECTUAL & SOCIAL SKILLS FOR SUCCESS

At School 2030, educators make sure that students explore the world around them not just with computers but with their hands as well. The school seeks to build healthy, well-rounded individuals knowledgeable in all key content and empowered with the intellectual tools needed to prosper in a rapidly changing world. It fosters such essential skills as critical thinking, problem-solving, information literacy, math literacy, collaboration, communication, decision-making, and lifelong learning.

LEARNING BY EXPERIMENTATION

Students experientially discover that science is a process for building knowledge. ‍Using age-appropriate labs and probes to measure length, area, volume, temperature, time, growth, and distance, they gain first-hand experiences with light, acoustics, heat, magnetism, and other phenomena that they build upon in later science courses. They learn to pose questions, make observations, collect data and evidence, and find answers.

TEACHING TOMORROW’S KNOWLEDGE & SKILLS

Whereas most high-school science labs have traditional, if not obsolete, equipment, those in School 2030 feature resources that would make some scientists envious. Students construct their knowledge using digital microscopes, data loggers, probes, molecular modeling software, and other tools. They discover fields like electrical engineering, nanotechnology, computer-aided design and manufacturing, and robotics. They graduate with basic knowledge in key domains, and the competencies needed to succeed as citizens and professionals.

INTEGRATED, MULTIDISCIPLINARY LEARNING

When students study music, they study music theory and then use both traditional and digital instruments to compose their music. At School 2030, arts, humanities, math, and science are all integrated for deeper understanding. Driven by their inquiries, students chart the rise and fall of empires, explore language and literature, and study the history of technology. The walls separating school domains are broken, making learning contextual and multidisciplinary.

UNLEASHING EACH CHILD’S POTENTIAL & CREATIVITY

Every child is inspired to personal fulfillment. By engaging in the visual and performing arts, students unleash their imaginations and spur creativity for all endeavors. School 2030’s comprehensive art facilities range from music rooms and a 638-seat performance hall to a movie studio and a publishing center. Students learn to express themselves and effectively communicate ideas and emotions.

A K-12 EDUCATION FOR LIFE

Teachers embrace the best pedagogy, technology, and design to make learning fun and relevant. They cultivate in each child curiosity, a passion for knowledge, and a desire for lifelong learning. They seek to develop real-world skills for tomorrow’s workers and professionals, not just for elite scientists. School 2030 prepares every student for science, math, the humanities, the arts, and life.

TRUE, INTERDISCIPLINARY LEARNING

What students learn at School 2030 is just as modern as how they learn. When they study core physics, chemistry, and biology, they are also introduced to vital new fields like nanoscience, biotechnology, and robotics. Moreover, they learn that these domains are richly interdisciplinary; to succeed in robotics, for example, students must apply science, engineering, and electronics.

FUN & ENGAGING

At School 2030, science and math are celebrated at early ages. Teachers appeal to student’s natural curiosity, showing them that science can be fun and rewarding. Even in the elementary grades, students are empowered to discover, question, and understand the natural phenomena around them.

NURTURING EVERY CHILD’S COMPLETE WELL-BEING

School 2030 tends to the body as well as the mind by stressing students’ physical health. Its facilities are clean and pollutant-free. Its campus offers well-equipped sports facilities and swimming pools where students routinely exercise and play. Moreover, the school’s staff includes a doctor, dentist, and physical therapist. School 2030 is a comprehensive and holistic institution for children.

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

LEARNING FOR TOMORROW

The Sustainable Development Academy puts relevance and motivation at the core of education. It addresses two questions that are of pressing concern today to students of all ages: What will the world I inherit look like, and how can I make it better? Over the course of their 5-12 education, they seek to answer both questions using collaborative, hands-on, inquiry-based projects, preparing them for professions that contribute to a green and sustainable world.

LEARNING ABOUT LIFE IN THE PAST, PRESENT & FUTURE

Across all academic disciplines, students are introduced to the themes and issues of sustainable economic and social development. They learn the science of current and future energy sources and then perform economic projections and cost/benefit analyses in math classes. They study the history of agriculture, water management, and urban development to gain holistic views of these and other fields. They harness their knowledge to examine global climate change, biodiversity, and land use. At the academy, education is uniquely interdisciplinary and comprehensive.

REAL-WORLD RELEVANCE

Academy students master content and acquire skills through hands-on projects. They join the global environmental lab—a community of practice with peers worldwide based on the acclaimed global lab project—to jointly investigate environmental, energy, and development practices in their communities and nations. They study everything from the entire planet to their local environment, to individual atoms. Throughout, their learning always touches upon sustainable development, from the carbon cycle and photovoltaic cells to how aqueducts supported the development of Rome.

LEARNING SCIENCE AS A PROCESS

A thread throughout the academy is the study site, a piece of students’ local environment that they investigate across grade levels. Students begin by asking what is the quality of the air they breathe, the water they drink, the soil on which they walk, and how they compare with other locations. They measure and monitor the physical and chemical characteristics of the study site and use bioindicators to assess its overall quality. Learning is no longer abstract but directly applicable to students’ lives.

INTELLECTUAL RIGOR

Starting in the middle grades, students use scientific tools like digital probes and data loggers to gather and visualize their own data, and draw conclusions. They share their findings with other schools using a community-wide database, learning why scientists precisely follow protocols for data to be comparable. Empowered by intellectual rigors and methodologies to understand their streets and playgrounds, students work as scientists to construct and apply their own knowledge.

DISCOVERING MEANING IN SHARED DATA

From pollution controls and co2 reduction to waste management and water desalinization, sustainable development will be addressed by advances in nanoscience and biotechnology. As a result, the academy focuses on molecular science using advanced computer modeling with age-appropriate curricula. Students are introduced to nanotechnology and biotechnology as they gain molecular literacy—understanding the atomic and molecular interactions underlying such phenomena as climates, crops, biodiversity, and solar, nuclear, and electrical power.

ENGINEERING & TECHNOLOGIES

Sustainable development must balance the needs of society, commerce, and people. Students explore how technology and engineering, intertwined with the social sciences, are developing viable solutions for sustainability. They engage in engineering when considering methods for designing and building energy-efficient homes, schools, buildings, and automobiles. They learn about new technologies that promise renewable energy, efficient transportation, clean water, and abundant crops. They assess the merits of different strategies and technologies as well as their costs today and for future generations.

THINKING CRITICALLY & CREATIVELY

Academy students apply progressively complex knowledge and processes as they use their own greenhouses and mini-versions of biospheres to investigate energy flows, water cycles, and crop development. They gain environmental literacy as they consider what people need to survive on this and other planets. They learn to critically review data and conclusions as they collaborate with peers in joint enterprises. They are encouraged to communicate clearly, take responsibility for their work, and above all, to reason, think creatively, and innovate.

A COMPLETE SOLUTION

Ilaet offers the sustainable development academy as a complete, turnkey solution for schools of the future seeking to specialize in sustainable development education. We provide advanced curricula and work with leading software and hardware providers to deliver age-appropriate, cost-effective technologies. We collaborate with school administrators, department heads, and faculty to design an integrated curricular framework that meets local and national standards. Very importantly, we offer full teacher training and support, ensuring project-based, technology-supported curricula is taught effectively.

VERY MODERN EDUCATION

Who will produce tomorrow’s innovators, leaders, scientists, engineers, and professionals? What kind of education do children need to become informed citizens who can make reasoned decisions on sustainable development in both personal lifestyles and public and commercial policies? The academy enables schools of the future to uniquely educate students for tomorrow. Students will envision a vibrant, viable future and become empowered with the skills and knowledge to prosper in it.

DIGITAL ART & DESIGN

ARCHITECTURE & INTERIOR DESIGN

Digital arts offer a thorough introduction to architecture and interior design using themes of creative functionality and energy and space efficiency. Students study the goals and principles of modern architecture and energy conservation. With advanced cad applications and rapid prototyping to generate 3d models, they create structures for various uses and environmental settings that artfully blend form and function. They investigate town and urban planning strategies for long-term sustainability and explore the color, lighting, spatial composition, and ergonomics of residential and commercial interior designs.

AN ACADEMIC & IMAGINATIVE EDUCATION

Students’ education is comprehensive and interdisciplinary, not only within the arts but across all domains of study. When students study music or film, for example, they also research the field’s history and its current and future applications. In science, they explore acoustics, the science of colors, and the physiology of perception. They work individually and as teams, and are routinely called upon to draw from their knowledge, skills, and imaginations.

CREATIVE COMMUNICATIONS

The core competency instilled in digital arts is communicating clearly. Across all fields of study, self-expression, and creativity are stressed. Regardless of the medium—a still life, a fugue, a video broadcast, or a website—students learn to lucidly frame ideas, emotions, and messaging to ensure their art is understood and impactful. Moreover, they routinely practice with advanced multimedia technologies, gaining hands-on experiences with the modes of communication already available and those that are emerging.

WEB & COMPUTER DESIGN

Students learn the art and science of designing and building next-generation websites to effectively deliver professional content and branding. They explore the current and emerging collaboration, networking, and information-sharing capabilities of Web 2.0 technologies and other interactive media. They study graphics, typography, and digital audio and video to gain proficiencies in computer-generated communications like web broadcasts. They acquire the practical and creative skills that are increasingly valued in a world dependent on the internet.

ARCHITECTURE & INTERIOR DESIGN

Digital arts offer a thorough introduction to architecture and interior design using themes of creative functionality and energy and space efficiency. Students study the goals and principles of modern architecture and energy conservation. With advanced cad applications and rapid prototyping to generate 3d models, they create structures for various uses and environmental settings that artfully blend form and function. They investigate town and urban planning strategies for long-term sustainability and explore the color, lighting, spatial composition, and ergonomics of residential and commercial interior designs.

FILM & VIDEO

Using the tools and processes of production and broadcast studios, students learn digital film and video by producing shorts, documentaries, and video broadcasts. They practice by building a video database of classes and lectures. From scripting and storyboarding to direction, sound, and lighting, to post-production editing and mixing, they engage in the entire process of visually telling both fictional and journalistic stories. They also plumb the possibilities of 2d and 3d computer animation and visual effects, as well the design and art for video games.

GRAPHIC DESIGN

Students first perform guided discoveries into the elements of visual communication like composition, imagery, typography, color, and techniques. They then engage in graphic and industrial design projects to develop portfolios of work. Always with a focus on impactful communications, they develop logos, display ads, corporate branding strategies, product packaging, and social advocacy messaging. They hone their talents and develop the expertise they will need as professional graphic designers and artists.

FINE ARTS

Digital arts offer an array of training in the fine arts, including painting, drawing, sculpture, ceramics, and jewelry design. Meshing academic rigor with formal training, students study the history of each art form, examine its materials and techniques, survey current styles, and then engage in their own acts of creation. They are particularly encouraged to develop skills in computer-generated illustration by developing art for posters, book covers, and stories. They even explore the thematic, storytelling, and artistic styles of graphic novels and comic books.

PHOTOGRAPHY

Digital Arts offer professional-grade photography studios in which students work with medium- and large-format digital cameras. They apply classroom theory with real-world shoots for both artistic expression and practical applications like industrial, nature, fashion, fine art, advertising, and journalistic photography. They learn to digitally manipulate images in the most advanced editing applications. They gain the knowledge, technical skills, experience, and creativity needed for careers as commercial artists and photographers.

MUSIC

Digital arts nurture and trains budding musicians with a curriculum that stresses both theory and practice. The curriculum integrates traditional instruments with digital technologies, giving students’ imaginations full rein. Working in classical, jazz, blues, rock, and contemporary forms, students master their instruments, create compositions, learn to score, and conduct studio production and mixing. In addition to studying music in classrooms and creating it in studios, students periodically showcase their works in live-audience performances.

IDENTIFYING THE MOST GIFTED

Artists, especially musicians, are like mathematicians; they need to be nurtured at early age. Ilaet can help digital arts academies to identify artistically-gifted and motivated children to ensure the most promising have the educational opportunities to reach their full potential. We can conduct art and music olympiads in metropolitan areas or regions to find children with exceptional artistic talents and recruit them for local digital arts academies.