health & education progress 2011

8
By Ann Bailey Herald Staff Writer Mayville State Uni- versity is expanding its reach. Both the number of students taking on- line classes and seek- ing a de- gree have increased over the past sev- eral years, said Gary Hagen, Mayville State University president. For example, in 2002, 22 students were earning degrees online and now there are 132. The number of stu- dents taking online classes, meanwhile, has grown from 125 in 2002 to 407. One of the university’s most popular online programs is anatomy and physiology, Hagen said, noting that med- ical students across the United States are taking the classes. Mayville State University also has increased its reach in area high schools through its dual credit program. Twenty- two school high schools repre- senting 50 communities, Bower said. The university also is reaching out to stu- dents through its Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics grant. The $900,000 grant is being used to increase the opportunities for students and teachers in the areas of science and math. Mayville State has used an- other grant, the American Re- covery and Reinvestment Act Early Head Start expansion grant, to broaden its services to the Grand Forks commu- nity. The university is using the grant to provide Grand Forks with Early Head start services, which are housed in a building on the UND cam- pus. As Mayville State University has worked to learning oppor- tunities outside of its borders, it also has maintained a strong presence on campus. Last fall, Mayville State Uni- versity had a record enroll- ment of 982 students, 58 more than the previous record set in 1969. That number included a 50 percent increase in the number of freshman enrolled and a 43 percent increase in transfer students. The university is working to maintain its strong programs, which include teaching and early childhood education, at the same time it introduces new programs such as the clin- ical laboratory science degree program. Mayville State Uni- versity is collaborating on that program with the UND School of Medicine and Health Sci- ences so students take their classes at Mayville State and to UND for their laboratory work. In the future, Mayville Sate wants to offer more programs aimed at place-bound adults, Hagen said. “Many of those are single family mothers who need help. We really need to deliver the information to them.” The university also wants to continue to increase its dis- tance program learning avail- ability. “There are lots of people out there who haven’t completed degrees,” Hagen said. Learning online, something that was virtually unheard of 10 years ago, has opened the university’s doors to people who wouldn’t otherwise be able to enter them. “We’re providing services in different areas without addi- tional buildings and facilities. It’s taking education where people are,” Hagen said. By Ann Bailey Herald Staff Writer Lake Region College is growing. Fall 2010 enrollment was a record 524 full- time students, said Erin Wood, Lake Region di- rector of marketing and communication. Mean- while, the number of high schools that have a dual credit agreement with Lake Region Col- lege continues to in- crease. About 50 North Dakota schools, located in cities including Grand Forks, Edinburg, Surrey, Velva, Wing and Rugby have dual credits with Lake Region College. Under the dual credit program, high school stu- dents can receive col- lege credits. Courses are taught by high school faculty who meet certain criteria, by a college in- structor who comes to the high school, online or through interactive television. More options Besides the dual credit program, Lake Re- gion College also offers some of its college courses in towns across eastern North Dakota. For example, Lake Re- gion nursing students can take courses in Mayville, N.D. In the past, Lake Region has of- fered nursing classes in the North Dakota towns of Grafton, Northwood, Langdon, Carrington and Cooperstown. During the summer Lake Region’s peace officer program also has off-campus sites in Fargo and Grand Forks. “I think it’s helping an- swer industry and em- ployer needs and all about a flexible way for people to get the careers they want or advance in the careers they have… If we can bring the de- gree to them, it’s win- win,” Wood said. Lake Region College also is collaborating with Mayville State Uni- versity on business ad- ministration and elementary education degrees and with UND on a master’s in business administration program. Having a presence off campus is beneficial to both and Lake Region College and the commu- nities in which they are located, Wood said. “We’re always looking for different partner- ships and collaborations with other colleges in the state to meet work force needs and to make college accessible.” Growth Another key to Lake Region College’s growth is to offer new programs, such as the wind pro- gram. Students can ei- ther get a one-year certificate or a two-year associate degree in ap- plied science in the wind program. Looking at the job op- portunities in North Dakota and developing educational programs that will give students the tools they need to take advantage of them is one of the goals of Mike Bower, Lake Re- RESOLUTION REALITY! to Make It Happen…Lose Weight This Year! The LA Rapid Results Diet System takes you from resolution to reality faster than you ever thought possible. Breakthrough approach to losing weight that’s scientifically proven to work • Techniques that help keep your metabolism fired up • ACCELERATEDWEIGHT LOSS RESULTS. Lose up to 7lbs in 7 days!* The L A Rapid Results Diet System A goal you can reach. Results you can see. “I love this program because I can still eat the foods that I love!” – Erica H. Minot, ND Erica lost 46lbs * 1375 South Columbia Rd Grand Forks, ND 58201 *Achieving and maintaining weight loss, and achieving a specific amount of weight loss, depends on numerous individualized factors.Your results will differ based on your overweight status. Results not typical. When used in conjunction with the LA Weight Loss diet and exercise program.**Based on enrollment in a Full Service Program. Supplements and products essential to the program cost extra. Offer expires 02/28/11. N00581 ©2011 Weight Loss Services, LP 50% OFF ** Start Up Package and Weight Loss Weeks! Limited Time Offer, Call Today! 701-795-1500 Health Education 2011 & Progress January 23, 2011 H Section Submitted photo Students participate in a nursing lab practice at Lake State Region College. Reaching out Off-campus presence is beneficial to both and Lake Region College and the communities in which they are located Lake Region College President Mike Bower. LRS: See Page H2 Taking education to the people Mayville State College posts record enrollment; broadens its services A child paints during Mayville State University Child Development Program, which has been providing comprehensive programming to Head Start families since 1991 and to Early Head Start families since 2002. The program provides collaborative programming designed to meet the changing needs of families across the rural service area of Traill, Steele, Griggs, Nelson and Grand Forks counties in eastern North Dakota. Mayville State University students interact during a science experiment with some children during the STEM Carnival. Gary Hagen, Mayville State University president. Submitted photo Submitted photo A new look By Ann Bailey Herald Staff Writer Altru Health System is giving new life to its family birthing center. Remodeling is under way at Altru Family Birthing Center, which will give rooms an updated look and im- prove technological access. The rooms also will be handicapped ac- cessible so mothers with special physical needs will be better served, said Karla Miller, Family Birthing Center patient care coordinator. As the number of smaller hospi- tals in the area with obstetrics capa- bilities has declined, the number of patients at Altru birthing center has increased, Miller said. The last time the birthing center was remodeled was nearly two decades ago. Remodeling of the first six rooms is expected to be completed by the end of the month or early next month, Miller said. By the end of the year, remodeling is expected to be complete on the center’s remaining rooms. Six of the rooms are being remod- eled now and updates include bath- rooms that feature new lighting, new fixtures and walk-in showers with ceramic tile. Some of the rooms also Eric Hylden, staff photographer Altru Family Birthing Center patient care coordinator Karla Miller holds a bulletin board that displays fabric and ceramic tile samples and the new floor plan for the Altru Family Birthing Center. Altru Health System updates its family birthing center LOOK: See Page H2 Produced by the Grand Forks Herald’s Features team

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Page 1: Health & Education Progress 2011

By Ann BaileyHerald Staff Writer

MayvilleState Uni-versity isexpandingits reach.Both the

number ofstudentstaking on-lineclassesand seek-ing a de-gree haveincreasedover thepast sev-eral years, said Gary Hagen,Mayville State Universitypresident. For example, in2002, 22 students were earningdegrees online and now thereare 132. The number of stu-dents taking online classes,meanwhile, has grown from125 in 2002 to 407.One of the university’s most

popular online programs isanatomy and physiology,Hagen said, noting that med-ical students across theUnited States are taking theclasses.Mayville State University

also has increased its reach inarea high schools through itsdual credit program. Twenty-two school high schools repre-senting 50 communities,Bower said. The universityalso is reaching out to stu-dents through its ScienceTechnology Engineering andMathematics grant. The$900,000 grant is being used toincrease the opportunities forstudents and teachers in theareas of science and math.Mayville State has used an-

other grant, the American Re-covery and Reinvestment ActEarly Head Start expansiongrant, to broaden its servicesto the Grand Forks commu-nity. The university is usingthe grant to provide GrandForks with Early Head start

services, which are housed ina building on the UND cam-pus.As Mayville State University

has worked to learning oppor-tunities outside of its borders,it also has maintained a strongpresence on campus.Last fall, Mayville State Uni-

versity had a record enroll-ment of 982 students, 58 morethan the previous record set in1969. That number included a50 percent increase in thenumber of freshman enrolledand a 43 percent increase intransfer students.The university is working to

maintain its strong programs,which include teaching andearly childhood education, atthe same time it introducesnew programs such as the clin-ical laboratory science degreeprogram. Mayville State Uni-versity is collaborating on thatprogram with the UND Schoolof Medicine and Health Sci-ences so students take theirclasses at Mayville State andto UND for their laboratorywork.In the future, Mayville Sate

wants to offer more programsaimed at place-bound adults,Hagen said.“Many of those are single

family mothers who need help.We really need to deliver theinformation to them.”The university also wants to

continue to increase its dis-tance program learning avail-ability.“There are lots of people out

there who haven’t completeddegrees,” Hagen said.

Learning online, somethingthat was virtually unheard of10 years ago, has opened theuniversity’s doors to peoplewho wouldn’t otherwise beable to enter them.“We’re providing services in

different areas without addi-tional buildings and facilities.It’s taking education wherepeople are,” Hagen said.

By Ann BaileyHerald Staff Writer

Lake Region College isgrowing.Fall 2010 enrollment

was a record 524 full-time students, said ErinWood, Lake Region di-rector of marketing andcommunication. Mean-while, the number ofhigh schools that have adual credit agreementwith Lake Region Col-lege continues to in-crease. About 50 NorthDakota schools, locatedin cities including GrandForks, Edinburg, Surrey,Velva, Wing and Rugbyhave dual credits withLake Region College.Under the dual credit

program, high school stu-dents can receive col-lege credits. Courses aretaught by high schoolfaculty who meet certaincriteria, by a college in-structor who comes tothe high school, onlineor through interactivetelevision.

More optionsBesides the dual

credit program, Lake Re-gion College also offerssome of its collegecourses in towns acrosseastern North Dakota.For example, Lake Re-gion nursing studentscan take courses inMayville, N.D. In thepast, Lake Region has of-fered nursing classes inthe North Dakota townsof Grafton, Northwood,Langdon, Carrington andCooperstown. During thesummer Lake Region’speace officer programalso has off-campus sitesin Fargo and GrandForks.“I think it’s helping an-

swer industry and em-ployer needs and allabout a flexible way forpeople to get the careersthey want or advance inthe careers they have…If we can bring the de-gree to them, it’s win-

win,” Wood said.Lake Region College

also is collaboratingwith Mayville State Uni-versity on business ad-ministration andelementary educationdegrees and with UNDon a master’s in businessadministration program.Having a presence off

campus is beneficial toboth and Lake RegionCollege and the commu-nities in which they arelocated, Wood said.“We’re always looking

for different partner-ships and collaborationswith other colleges inthe state to meet workforce needs and to makecollege accessible.”

GrowthAnother key to Lake

Region College’s growthis to offer new programs,such as the wind pro-gram. Students can ei-ther get a one-yearcertificate or a two-yearassociate degree in ap-plied science in the windprogram.

Looking at the job op-portunities in NorthDakota and developingeducational programsthat will give studentsthe tools they need totake advantage of themis one of the goals ofMike Bower, Lake Re-

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Health Education 2011&Progress

January 23, 2011 HSection

Submitted photo

�� Students participate in a nursing lab practice atLake State Region College.

Reaching out� Off-campus presence isbeneficial to both and LakeRegion College and thecommunities in which

they are located

�� Lake Region CollegePresident Mike Bower.

LRS: See Page H2

Taking education to the people� Mayville State College postsrecord enrollment; broadens

its services

�� A child paints during Mayville StateUniversity Child Development Program, whichhas been providing comprehensiveprogramming to Head Start families since 1991and to Early Head Start families since 2002.The program provides collaborativeprogramming designed to meet the changingneeds of families across the rural service areaof Traill, Steele, Griggs, Nelson and GrandForks counties in eastern North Dakota.

�� Mayville State University students interactduring a science experiment with somechildren during the STEM Carnival.

�� Gary Hagen,Mayville StateUniversitypresident.

Submitted photo

Submitted photo

A new lookBy Ann BaileyHerald Staff Writer

Altru Health System is giving newlife to its family birthing center.Remodeling is under way at Altru

Family Birthing Center, which willgive rooms an updated look and im-prove technological access. Therooms also will be handicapped ac-cessible so mothers with specialphysical needs will be better served,said Karla Miller, Family BirthingCenter patient care coordinator.As the number of smaller hospi-

tals in the area with obstetrics capa-bilities has declined, the number ofpatients at Altru birthing center has

increased, Miller said. The last timethe birthing center was remodeledwas nearly two decades ago.Remodeling of the first six rooms

is expected to be completed by theend of the month or early nextmonth, Miller said. By the end of theyear, remodeling is expected to becomplete on the center’s remainingrooms.

Six of the rooms are being remod-eled now and updates include bath-rooms that feature new lighting, newfixtures and walk-in showers withceramic tile. Some of the rooms also

Eric Hylden, staff photographer

�� Altru Family Birthing Centerpatient care coordinator KarlaMiller holds a bulletin board thatdisplays fabric and ceramic tilesamples and the new floor plan forthe Altru Family Birthing Center.

� Altru Health System updatesits family birthing center

LOOK: See Page H2

Produced by the Grand Forks Herald’s Features team

Page 2: Health & Education Progress 2011

By Jon MarcusThe Hechinger Report

SEATTLE – Laid off atthe start of the recessionas the marketing directorfor a regional home-builder, Leah Schedinquickly realized shelacked something essentialfor a new job: a universitydegree.Schedin had completed

courses here and there at acommunity college, butnever enough for a bache-lor’s degree. Without one,she found, her 18 years ofexperience didn’t matter.“These days, you’re ap-

plying online, and you’refiltered out as soon as youget to the question aboutwhether you have a de-gree,” said the 46-year-old,who’s married and has ateenage daughter.So Schedin put her tal-

ents to work finding a uni-versity where she could getacademic credit for herwork experience. Shefound one: City Universityof Seattle, a private, non-profit institution that’s atthe vanguard of a move-ment catering to the grow-ing numbers of adultlearners and military vet-erans who are changing ca-reers in the worsteconomic downturn sincethe Great Depression. Atthe end of next semester,she’ll head back into thechurning job market with afour-year degree in market-ing after just 18 months.Universities and col-

leges are being pressed toincrease graduation ratesand speed up the time ittakes for students to com-plete degrees by awardingcollege credit for their lifeand work experience. Anational campaign thatstarts Friday will promotethe sometimes-deridedpractice with a program tohelp adults prepare onlineportfolios of their job ex-perience that independentfaculty will evaluate for ac-ademic credit.

One hundred institutionsin 30 states are on board.Top higher-education asso-ciations back the coalition,and major foundations arebankrolling it. It hopes toreach tens of thousands ofpeople within five years.

Obama goalThe push coincides with

President Barack Obama’sgoal of boosting the num-ber of college graduates by5 million before the end ofthe decade, and it comes asstates and higher educa-tion institutions are mov-ing away from strictdemands for seat time andcredit hours.There’s a growing aware-

ness that Obama’s goalcan’t be reached withoutencouraging older studentssuch as Schedin.“My goal is to be back in

my career,” Schedin saidas she enjoyed some raredowntime in a corner ofthe CityU cafeteria. “Iwanted to get through fast,and I wanted some creditfor those years I’ve put in.”Only a handful of people

take advantage of the op-portunity to cash in onwork experience: Just twodozen out of CityU’s 2,500American students havesought such credits, a ratiothat’s similar to what otherschools report.“It’s just not happening

at the pace or scale itshould be, given all thesepeople out there withlearning that has occurredin other venues,” saidPamela Tate, the presidentand CEO of the Council forAdult and ExperientialLearning, which is behindthe new campaign.One reason is that many

faculty members lookdown their noses at thepractice and discouragetheir institutions and stu-dents from participating.“They still believe that ‘ifyou weren’t in my class,you couldn’t possibly knowit,’ “ Tate said.

The idea of credit forlearning from experiencealso took a hit when Wal-Mart announced in Junethat it would team with aprivate, for-profit univer-sity to offer employees aca-demic credit for thingsthey did at work.“People thought employ-

ees at Wal-Mart were get-ting college credit forlearning how to use thecash register,” said MarieCini, the vice provost at theUniversity of MarylandUniversity College, the on-line branch of the Mary-land state universitysystem. “If you use a reallyrigorous assessmentprocess, that is not thecase.”

DownsideCredit for work experi-

ence can have its down-sides. The credits aredifficult to transfer if youchange universities, andsubstituting them for intro-ductory requirements cancause problems for stu-dents later in their ca-reers, when they can’t keepup with classmates in writ-ing or other basic aca-demic skills.Experiential learning

was first tried after WorldWar I, when returning sol-diers who enrolled in col-lege were allowed to skipstraight to sophomore yearas a reward for their mili-tary service. But theyproved unprepared formore advanced work, andthe practice largely lapsed.Low U.S. college gradua-

tion rates are helping todrive a revival. Less than60 percent of college stu-dents earn bachelor’s de-grees within six years, andthe U.S. has fallen fromfirst in the world to 10th inthe proportion of 25- to 34-year-olds with associate’sdegrees or higher.For a variety of reasons,

increasing numbers of thenation’s 16 million univer-sity and college students

are older than traditionalhigh school graduates.Forty percent are 25 andolder.A study of 48 schools by

the Council for Adult andExperiential Learningfound that students whoget credit for their experi-ence are more likely tocomplete degrees.“All of our institutional

frameworks have been cre-ated around 18-year-oldscoming out of high schoolswithout any experience.They’re the empty vesselsinto which we pour knowl-edge. But when you’re aworking adult, you’rehardly an empty vessel,”said Lee Gorsuch, the pres-ident of CityU.“You learn by doing,”

Gorsuch added. “We’re notanti-intellectual, but canyou balance a spreadsheetor can’t you?”

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PROGRESS: HEALTH & EDUCATIONH2 www.GrandForksHerald.com Grand Forks Herald, Sunday, January 23, 2011

will have bathtubs whichwill be available for moth-ers who want to take a bathto help them become morecomfortable before theygive birth. There will notbe water births availableat the birthing center,though, Miller noted.

RoomsThe birthing center

rooms are designed to look“homier” and less hospi-

tal-like so items, such asglove holders, will be re-cessed and computerprocessors will be hidden.Screens will be mountedon the wall and each roomwill have a flat-screen tele-vision.The rooms also will be

more inviting and comfort-able for the families andfriends of the mothers andbabies. Each room willhave a sofa that can bemade into a bed. The sofaremains the same sizewhen it is made into a bed,so it won’t have to bearound to fit and guests

won’t feel like they’re inthe way.

Besides the remodeling,the Altru Family BirthingCenter also will be sendingits patients home withsome new products, Millersaid. For example, theywill receive a small bag ofBee Kind natural products,which will include, sham-poo, soap and conditioner.Proceeds from the BeeKind products will go backto bee keepers. Mothersalso will be sent home witha new combination tote-di-aper bag.

Continued from Page H1LOOK/

�� Erin M. Wood is director of marketing andcommunications at Lake Region State College.

gion college president. “We have to be alert to

what is happening so wecan prepare them,” hesaid. Lake Region re-evalu-ates its programs every twoyears to make sure thatthey are meeting the edu-

cational needs of students.“We don’t want to offer a

program… that I felt likethe opportunity would notbe there to pursue. We’revery careful about what toadvise our students. Eventhough they may be deter-mined to go into a field,we’ll make them aware ofwhat does or does notexist,” Bower said.

Continued from Page H1LRS/

World NewsTo subscribe 780-1215 or 1-800-811-2580

Colleges pressed to givecredit for work experience

WORK: See Page H6

Page 3: Health & Education Progress 2011

Grand Forks Herald, Sunday, January 23, 2011

� Erin M. Wood is director of marketing andcommunications at Lake Region State College.

gion college president. “We have to be alert to

what is happening so wecan prepare them,” hesaid. Lake Region re-evalu-ates its programs every twoyears to make sure thatthey are meeting the edu-

cational needs of students.“We don’t want to offer a

program… that I felt likethe opportunity would notbe there to pursue. We’revery careful about what toadvise our students. Eventhough they may be deter-mined to go into a field,we’ll make them aware ofwhat does or does notexist,” Bower said.

By Nicole TsongThe Seattle Times

SEATTLE – Startingone recent Monday, TannerLeCount, 16, began callinghis mom instead of textingher to let her know whathe’s doing. Eimanne ElZein, 17, gave up Facebookfor runs with her dogs.Nicholi Wytovicz, 16, re-placed status updates withchores and homework.Whose children are

these?For one week, Shoreline,

Wash., high-school stu-dents were testing a lifewhere text messages andFacebook don’t exist. Aspart of a project dubbedThe Social Experiment,more than 600 studentsgave up texting, e-mail,Facebook and Twitter for aweeklong social-mediablackout. It ended Dec. 12.Under the rules, stu-

dents could call each otherbut until the experimentbegan, many of them neverhad.Cole Sweeten, 17, found

out some of his friends areawfully awkward on thephone.“They don’t know what

to say,” he said.But the Shorewood High

School junior likes gettingcalls. He prefers a real“Hey, how are you?” to a“Hello” text with a smileyface.“People sound different

when they’re on thephone,” he said. “It’s emo-tion, not just little lines.”

Idea inspirationThe idea for The Social

Experiment started withTrent Mitchell, a video-

production teacher atShorecrest High School. Inearly October, he saw themovie “The Social Net-work,” a story about thefounding of Facebook.Mitchell wonderedwhether his students, whooften walked into classheads down, typing awayon their phones, could cutthemselves off from textand Facebook.Mitchell, 36, who remem-

bers when big, clunky carphones were the rage inthe 1990s, talked to hisvideo-production class andtold the students that hedidn’t think they could tearthemselves away from so-cial media. Then he polledthem. Half the studentssaid they could do it; theother half thought it wasthe worst idea they’d everheard, he said.Mitchell pulled in friend

and teacher Marty Ballew,Shorewood’s video-produc-tion teacher, and together,they created The SocialExperiment.The theme: What was life

like in 1995?“Things are so much dif-

ferent than when we wentto school,” said Ballew, 37.“It’s kind of unfathomable,the leap we’ve taken fromthe early ‘90s to now.”To promote the project,

students made video trail-ers spoofing “The SocialNetwork” and the HarryPotter series. Video stu-dents are documenting theprocess with confessionalvideos and interviews withstudents and staff, some ofwhom also volunteered tocut themselves off. Theschools will combine theresults for a final docu-mentary film on the experi-ment.

Some students went toextremes to make surethey didn’t break the rules.Five Shorewood studentshanded their cellphonesover to Ballew. One girlgave him her Facebookpassword and asked him tochange it for the week toavoid temptation.The experiment was

based mostly on an honorsystem, but secret spiesroamed the halls, sendingtext messages to studentsand instant messages topeople breaking the ruleson Facebook. Answer thetext (some students did)and you might get the re-sponse: “You’re out of theSocial Experiment!”Kids who made it

through the week were en-tered in a drawing for agift card, Mitchell said.“Some are doing it for a

gift card,” Mitchell saidmid-experiment. “Someare seriously challengingthemselves.”

Cold turkeyCount Sweeten among

the latter. He deleted textsas they came in, but itcould be hard to remem-ber he wasn’t supposed toanswer text messages. Onthe second day, he heardthe familiar buzz-buzz,grabbed his phone, readyto hit the button to readthe new text message,when he remembered.“No!” he shouted, anddropped the phone to thefloor.“I miss texting,” Sweeten

said.Last year, El Zein was

sending or receiving 200texts per day, or about6,000 per month. It was

enough to get her phoneconfiscated by her parentsfor a week. This year, shesaid, she has averaged 20to 50 a day, until the exper-iment week that is.It was “weird” not check-

ing her e-mail, text andFacebook as soon as shewakes up. But each day goteasier. She has gottenmore exercise, for onething.“I run my dogs, other

things I like to do but don’talways do because I spendall my time on Facebook,”she said, as the experimentwas ongoing.Wytovicz has done

chores with his free time,an idea that sounds like itcame from his parents, buthe claims he wanted to do

it. He also figured out ac-tivities such as shootinghoops or watching basket-ball are better distractionsthan ones that take 10 or 15minutes, he said.“Do something that fills

time in large segments,” headvised.Tanner’s mom, Pam

LeCount, said cutting outtext messages changedhow she talks to him dur-ing the day. She missedgetting quick responsesfrom him. But she alsoliked getting calls fromTanner and having conver-sations with him.“I’ve had more calls

from him in these last fourdays than in six months,”she said.

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H3www.GrandForksHerald.comGrand Forks Herald, Sunday, January 23, 2011 PROGRESS: HEALTH & EDUCATION

Teens go old school, quit social media

McClatchy Tribune

�� Shorecrest High School students Jesse Hoefer, left,Nicholi Wytovicz, Mara Harris, Samuel Chudler andCorey Smith are video documenting “The SocialExperiment,” a project where hundreds of Shorelinehigh-school students are giving up social media forone week.

Page 4: Health & Education Progress 2011

By Sarah AveryMcClatchy Newspapers

It drives people nuts.Ringing. Buzzing. Hiss-

ing.For people with tinnitus,

a phantom sound only theycan hear plagues theirevery waking moment.Imagine a Salvation Armybell ringer camped out inyour head every day, allday.Despite afflicting an esti-

mated 50 million people inthe United States, often asa result of injury or re-peated exposure to loudnoises, the condition hasno cures and few effectivetreatments, though a newerapproach is now availableat Duke University.The intervention, called

Neuromonics, retrainspeople to manage how theyhear the internal sound.But it’s not covered by in-surance and is expensive– about $4,500 for a devicethat resembles a portablemusic player and for ses-sions with an audiologist totailor the treatment.Teri Kim, 48, of Cary,

N.C., started the therapy inAugust, and almost quit amonth into it when she stillhadn’t gotten relief fromthe high-pitched whinethat has blared in her headfor years. Then she gradu-ally began having gooddays and even good weeksas the whine began to di-minish.“It was wonderful,” Kim

said.The therapy works on

the finding that many casesof tinnitus (pronouncedteh-NYE-tus or TIN-eh-tus)are produced inside thebrain, not the ear.Rebecca Price, an audi-

ologist at Duke who pro-vides the therapy, said theinternal sound is often ac-companied by hearing loss.When the ear can nolonger pick up a certainsound frequency, scientiststheorize, the brain fills thevoid, causing a non-stopdin.For most, the sound is a

minor nuisance, but about

12 million sufferers in theUnited States find it sotroubling they seek med-ical help, according to theAmerican Tinnitus Associ-ation, an advocacy group.About 2 million peopleclaim some degree of dis-ability from the disorder.

Unraveling themysteryBrain imaging has pro-

vided researchers withclues to the cause, homingin on areas involved in au-ditory processing, as wellas regions associated with

memory and emotion.And that’s where sound

therapy can be effective.Using the Neuromonics

device, people like Kimcan reprogram their brainsto filter out most of the of-fending sound. The processstarts by creating a record-ing of the person’s uniqueinternal menace, as the pa-tient describes the soundand the audiology teamworks to mimic it. Thesound is then maskedunder a benign “white”noise such as waves or aradiator hissing.That combined sound is

then layered under a se-ries of four different musi-cal compositions,including classical andNew Age selections. Eachof the pieces has been fur-ther modified to reducethe bass and amplify thehigher tones.For at least two hours a

day for two months, pa-tients listen to the specialmusic with a portableplayer – any combinationof the four tunes they want.The doctored musicdrowns out the ringing.“Patients love it,” Price

said, adding that by easingthe phantom sound, pa-tients begin to associaterelief with the music.After two months, the

second phase starts, thistime with the white mask-ing noise removed, leavingjust the music and therecording of the patient’ssound.“We’ve already trained

their brains to respondpositively to the music, sowhen they hear ringing,they don’t freak out aboutit,” Price said.After about four to six

months in the secondphase, the brain is re-trained to filter out muchof the phantom sound.Kim, who has stayed in

the first phase for fourmonths, possibly becauseher case was so severe, re-called that before thetreatments, the ringing inher head grew so loud asthe day wore on, she suf-fered physical pain.“It made my teeth hurt,”

she said.Although the sound has

diminished since shebegan the therapy, it hasnot been silenced. And the

cost was a huge hurdle.

No. 1 goalFor those reasons, find-

ing a cure is the primaryobjective of the nationaltinnitus advocacy group.Jennifer Born, director

of public affairs for theAmerican Tinnitus Associ-ation, said research fund-ing into the condition hasincreased ten-fold in fiveyears, to $10 million, inlarge part because of inter-est from the U.S. Depart-ment of Defense.Born said tinnitus is the

leading cause for disabilitypayments to service mem-bers returning from Iraqand Afghanistan, whosetraining and combat mis-sions involved heavyequipment, explosions andloud gunfire.

The Department of Vet-erans Affairs reports thatmore than 760,000 formerservice members havebeen diagnosed with thecondition, which is typi-cally grounds for a partialdisability payment“It’s staggering, but it’s a

fact,” Born said. “It’s agrowing problem amongvets and the general pub-lic, and it’s been neg-lected.”Many of those in the gen-

eral public who have thecondition blame loudmusic. Born traces her tin-nitus to a concert she at-tended at age 15. And thethreat of a widening epi-demic grows larger withthe use of ear buds for MP3players, which blare musicdirectly into the ear.Kim offered a cautionary

tale: “I had to give up lis-tening to music because itmade it worse.”Now after treatment, she

said she can at least listento some music, althoughsongs in upper pitches stillcause discomfort. The realtest will be when she canagain listen to her much-loved ABBA without hit-ting the roof.

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PROGRESS: HEALTH & EDUCATIONH4 www.GrandForksHerald.com Grand Forks Herald, Sunday, January 23, 2011

Tinnitus treatment music to some sufferers’ ears

McClatchy Tribune

�� Teri Kim of Cary, North Carolina, puts on the twoearpieces for her Neuromonics tinnitus treatmentduring a test session in Duke Hospital’s Department ofSpeech Pathology and Audiology in Durham, N.C.

�It�s a growing problem among vetsand the general public, and it�s been

neglected.�Jennifer Born

director of public for the American Tinnitus Association

Page 5: Health & Education Progress 2011

By Larry GordonLos Angeles Times

LOS ANGELES – It wasjust before midnight andhundreds of students inthe Caltech cafeteria weredigging into plates piledhigh with eggs, bacon,doughnuts, french toastand fruit. Nearby, severaltop administrators, includ-ing President Jean-LouChameau, whipped upomelets for the noisycrowd of future physicistsand engineers.The idea was to make it

easier to swallow the nextitem on the menu for thesestudents: final exams.Caltech junior Jessica

Davis, who was about tolaunch into a four-hourtake-home exam in quan-tum mechanics, said sheappreciated the social in-terlude and free food atthe “Midnight Munchies”party last week. “It cer-tainly is a way of forcingstudents out of their roomsand de-stressing beforetaking their finals,” saidDavis, 21, an astrophysicsmajor from Kansas.Lowering student stress

during end-of-term exams,scheduled for this week atmany colleges, is the goalof a growing number of se-rious and wacky events atcampuses in Californiaand across the nation. Col-lege students have alwaystensed up during finals,but school officials say thebad economy and scary jobmarket are increasing thepressure even more thisyear.So, along with extended

library hours, extra coun-seling and quiet studyspaces, colleges are offer-ing bounce houses, lasertag, pajama runs, pettingzoos, oxygen bars andchicken soup deliveries.There are karaoke sing-alongs, labyrinth walks, ar-tificial snowfalls, comedyhours and miniature golf.And of course, hot choco-late and neck massages.At Harvey Mudd College

in Claremont, 10,000 tinyrubber balls are scheduledto be dropped from a dormroof to eager students wait-

ing below. At Oberlin Col-lege in Ohio, the librarysponsors single-song dancebreaks. Johns HopkinsUniversity in Marylandholds a gingerbread housedecorating contest. EmoryUniversity in Georgia has aHarry Potter-themed snacknight, with non-alcoholic“butterbeer.” Cal Lutheranin Thousand Oaks ran anight of car decorating andcaravanning to view Christ-mas decorations. And stu-dents at Illinois’ RooseveltUniversity wrote their anx-ieties down on postcardsand mailed them to coun-selors.

High anxietySkeptics may see this as

childish indulgence of ageneration of college stu-dents who grew up pam-pered and overprotected.School administrators con-cede some of that is true.But they also emphasizethat tough competition forjobs and graduate schooladmission, along with wor-ries about higher tuitionand loan burdens, are mak-

ing today’s collegians moreanxious than previousclasses about grades andtheir futures.In addition, colleges

have been paying more at-tention to students’ mentalhealth in recent years, sev-eral experts said. Theexam week programs arepart of that change, andare healthy alternatives toalcohol and drugs for “get-ting through this tensetime,” said psychologistKeith Anderson, who is ac-tive in the American Col-lege Health Association.“More schools are will-

ing to invest a little morein prevention along thoselines,” Anderson, a staffpsychologist at New York’sRensselaer Polytechnic In-stitute, said of exam-timeactivities. “That does notnecessarily mean the stu-dents are more coddled,but they do have more op-tions available.”Brian Van Brunt, presi-

dent of the American Col-lege CounselingAssociation, compared thepre-finals yoga and snacks

to the bicycle helmets stu-dents were urged to wearin childhood. “It helpsmake a safer, easier jour-ney,” he said. And currentcollege students do expectmore services, he said:“The word I’m tempted touse is ‘entitled.’ “Still, campuses should

be genuinely concernedabout student stress andoffer good care with “somefun attached to it,” saidVan Brunt, who is directorof counseling and testingat Western Kentucky Uni-versity.That was evident re-

cently at Pomona Collegeas classes ended for the se-mester and a finals studyperiod began. On a lawn atthe Claremont campus, twofenced pens were set up,one containing six bunniesand the other with 10 pup-pies. Over two hours, about300 students took turnsclimbing inside and play-ing with the animals at thestudent-organized event.Adam Griffith, a fresh-

man at ClaremontMcKenna College, which is

also a member of theClaremont University Con-sortium, said he had onlyseven hours sleep overthree days last month as hefinished four papers forclasses. “It was rough, but Igot it done,” said the gov-ernment major fromDanville, Calif. Now, hesaid, he was taking a breakfrom studying for a Span-ish exam to romp with thedogs.“Stuff like this is a re-

ally, really good idea, espe-cially since it doesn’t taketoo much time,” Griffith,18, said. “I appreciate see-ing that from the facultyand staff, acknowledgingthat we are under stress.”

Study breakStanding by was Neil

Gerard, Pomona College’sassociate dean of students,who said the school alsoprovides late-night break-fasts and free massages atthe semester’s end. Seniorsparticularly feel “an auraof pressure,” as manyworry about the possibilityof moving home after grad-uation and competing witholder people for entry-level jobs, Gerard said. Butmost students cope welland just need a fun break

from studying, he said.At Caltech’s midnight

breakfast, Tom Mannion,the school’s senior directorfor student activities,agreed that such eventsmight have been unthink-able a generation ago. “Ithink we know a little bitmore of what is good forstudents now,” he said ashe prepared to help withthe cooking. “It’s not justabout the grades. It’s aboutbecoming a whole person.”Across the San Gabriel

Valley, meanwhile, CalPoly Pomona held its once-a-quarter “Midnight Mad-ness” event last week.About 1,000 studentsplayed laser tag, sangkaraoke, ran a portable ob-stacle course and ate freehot dogs, kabobs and icecream.Organizer Pulkit Jain, a

third-year biotechnologymajor from Diamond Bar,said he thinks the festivalhelps improve many stu-dents’ performance on fi-nals. But the 20-year-oldconceded that some class-mates are too anxious toattend.“There are still students

who really just want tostudy and don’t care aboutanything else,” he said.

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H5www.GrandForksHerald.comGrand Forks Herald, Sunday, January 23, 2011 PROGRESS: HEALTH & EDUCATION

Laser tag, karaoke keep finals from being a test of nerves

�� Dylan Sures, 19, a sophomore chemistry major, guesses he has about one poundof bacon on his plate, as he looks for friends inside Chandler Dining Hall on thecampus of California Institute of Technology (Caltech), in Pasadena, Calif., during“Midnight Munchies.”

McClatchy Tribune

�It�s not just about thegrades. It�s about becoming

a whole person.�Tom Mannion

student

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Page 6: Health & Education Progress 2011

By Bill GlauberMilwaukee Journal Sentinel

GREEN LAKE, Wis. –Tall and folksy, ThomasWillett is the living,breathing definition of acountry doctor.For decades, he has

tended the aches and painsof patients who live onfarms and in small citiesand communities across alush, rolling stretch of Wis-consin.But little did anyone

here know that beneaththe doctor’s calm, authori-tative demeanor beat theheart of an honest-to-good-ness radical out to changeAmerica’s health care sys-tem one patient at a time.For the last seven

months, Willett has beenengaged in a remarkableexperiment to bring afford-able healthcare to thosewho need it most, patientswho either have no insur-ance or only catastrophiccoverage.What he has done is cre-

ate a clinic with reducedrates, a tiny staff and onevery prominent feature: Hedoesn’t accept insurance.He has cleared away theback-office overhead re-quired for the care and fi-nancial feeding of thehealth insurance industryand passed on the savingsto the patients.Need a 15-minute

checkup? That’ll be $39.The rates are set rightwhere the patients can seethem, in an easy-to-under-stand two-page menu.Prices range from an $8blood draw to a vasectomyfor $500. He doesn’t pre-scribe narcotics. He’ll takecash, check, credit card ordebit card.

Experiment“I’m independent, and

everyone else works forthe man,” Willett says witha broad smile on his face.He’s giving this experi-

ment two years, roughlythe time it takes to estab-lish a practice in a smalltown. He wants to see if hecan deliver the lower-costcare to the patients whilealso making a living. Don’tworry for him, though. He’s68 and financially set aftera long, successful career.And he hasn’t turned

away his longtime patients,either, although, an areahospital handles the back-office insurance work.So far, through word of

mouth and two advertise-ments in a local paper, hehas attracted 70 patients amonth to the new practice,called Access Affordable

Healthcare.The clinic has drawn at-

tention of state Sen. LutherOlsen (R-Ripon), who rep-resents the area.“He’s an honest, real

guy,” Olsen says of Willett.“He just wants to see if thiswill work. He’s genuine.”Olsen recently invited

Willett to testify before aSpecial Committee onHealth Care Access in Mil-waukee. Willett lightenedthe mood when he told thepanel: “This is going to berefreshing for you. I’mgoing to save you money.I’m not going to ask you formoney.”Willett has been stewing

about the health care sys-tem for years. He ex-pressed his frustrationwith his longtime officemanager Holly Thorp andher son, Andrew, a nursewho now attends medicalschool and helped himcraft the plan for theclinic.

Cutting overheadWillett often lamented

how much his own healthinsurance premiums cost,saying, “This is really stu-pid. What did medicinecost when I started?”He looked at his own of-

fice.

“I have 62 percent over-head,” Willett says. “So, Iwork until the end of July,seven months, for nothing.If you cut out all that stuff,that is what medicine isworth.”Some parts of overhead

can’t be cut. Buildings costmoney to buy and main-tain. Good staff costsmoney, too. But Willett ze-roed in on two items:billing and third-party pay-ment, the insurance cod-ing, claim filing andappeals that tend to swellthe back offices of medicalpractices.Cut the overhead and he

could cut prices by up totwo-thirds. Moreover, hissalary could remain thesame. He would chargeonly what he was receivingfrom insurance companies,through their reimburse-ment.At least, that’s the theory.He doesn’t know if it will

work. And he doesn’t knowif the model could be ap-plied to Medicaid andMedicare patients. Afterall, those programs requirerecord keeping.“The big debate in

health care is if it’s a pa-tient’s right or not to getmedical care,” he says.“Yeah, that’s one thing Iwish we could take care ofevery patient. On the otherside, you’re in a capitalistsystem. Why should weabandon that system? Or, isthere another way withoutinvolving the governmentto get health care to every-one.”

PatientsRight now, he’s making a

big difference in the livesof his patients who other-wise might not be able toafford medical care.Some of his longtime pa-

tients, who are no longerinsured, now see him inthe new program.Jodi Jaeger, 62, a breast-

cancer survivor, likes thepeace of mind of knowingexactly how much an examwill cost.“You’re paying for what

you get,” she says. “You’renot paying for the paper-work. You’re here, you payand you’re done.”Guy Rossberg, 62, a can-

cer survivor, comes to theoffice frequently to havehis blood tested – a substi-tute, albeit an imperfectone, for a far more expen-sive CT scan that he cannotafford.“People around town

can’t believe they can see adoc for $39,” he says.Linda Rather, 53, an in-

dependent crop consult-ant, says she can get herblood work done throughthe clinic for half the nor-mal going rate.“Doc Willett is someone

you can implicitly trust,”she says. “He doesn’t beataround the bush and wastetime but he takes time. Hegives it to you straight.”Willett is hopeful that

the plan will work. And, ifit doesn’t, he says he won’thave any regrets.“I work for the people,”

he says. “I try to work forthe patients.”

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PROGRESS: HEALTH & EDUCATIONH6 www.GrandForksHerald.com Grand Forks Herald, Sunday, January 23, 2011

Physician cuts prices, overhead by refusing insurance

McClatchy Tribune

�� Getting a blood test to monitor if his lymphoma is still in remission, GuyRossberg, left, talks with family practice physician Thomas Willett at his clinic inGreen Lake, Wis. Rossberg, who has no insurance, was charged $5 for the test inlieu of a CT scan that would cost him thousands of dollars.

GainingacceptanceEven more established

institutions such as theUniversity of MarylandUniversity College andValdosta State Universityin Georgia are beginning toaccept credits from experi-ence.“It’s coming back now in

a big way because there isthis national push from thefederal government,”Maryland’s Cini said.“We’re looking for newways to help people realizethat, even if they’ve beenout in the work force andhave three kids and a busylife, there are ways to get acollege degree that won’ttake 20 years.”Universities aren’t doing

this solely out of altruism.Adult learners increas-ingly seek schools that givethem credit for experi-ence, according to a survey

by the higher-educationmarketing company Sta-mats. That means the po-tential for more tuitionand more applicants,which enhances an institu-tion’s reputation.While no one tracks the

number of credits awardedin this way, Servicemem-bers Opportunity Colleges,a consortium whose mem-bers offer academic creditfor military experience, re-ports that 45,892 studentsearned 805,473 credits lastyear for their militarytraining and experience.For those military studentswho are pursuing four-yeardegrees, that’s an averageof about 22 semester cred-its each out of the 120 to180 credits that usually areneeded.Navy veteran John Mc-

Gowan was awardedenough credits for his elec-tronics training and othermilitary experience thathe got a bachelor’s degreein half the usual time fromIrvine, Calif.-based Brand-man University, even while

working full time. “I wentfrom zero college to abachelor’s degree in twoyears,” McGowan said.Some universities offer

institutional or standard-ized tests, while othersthat accept work-experi-ence credits require stu-dents to take, and pay for,courses in which they puttogether autobiographicalportfolios for faculty re-view.“From the outside, it

looks easy, but it takes a lotof work,” said AnthonyBoben, 49, who earnedcredit from his work expe-rience toward a bachelor’sdegree in economics atLehman College in theBronx, N.Y., after he waslaid off from a six-figureaccounting job.“What they’re rating is,

‘Does this person have theequivalent amount oflearning I would expect astudent to have when theyfinish a course with me?’ “Cini said.Schedin found the

process “ridiculously

hard.” She prepared a 250-page portfolio to apply forcredits, and ended up re-ceiving the maximum 45 to-ward the 180 she neededfor a degree.Her classmate Mark

Ball, who also lost his jobwhen the economycrashed, was awarded 25credits for 22 years as arestaurant manager andmusic producer. He’ll fin-ish his four-year bachelor’sdegree next semester afteronly 18 months.“It’s like the game of

Life,” said Ball, 41, sittingin an empty classroom inthe Seattle suburb ofBellevue. “Except I startedlife first and went to schoolsecond.”

Continued from Page H2WORK/

National NewsTo subscribe 780-1215 or 1-800-811-2580

Page 7: Health & Education Progress 2011

By Bruce NewmanSan Jose Mercury News

SAN JOSE, Calif. – Be-fore, during and even be-tween classes at HillbrookSchool this fall, seventh-graders have been spottedon the Los Gatos, Calif.,campus, sometimes bur-bling Spanish or Mandarinphrases into the glowingscreen in their hands,other times staring into itlike a looking glass.iPads – the Apple of al-

most every adolescent’seye – are being providedto students at several BayArea public and privateschools this year, includingHillbrook, which claims tobe the only K-8 school inAmerica using tablet com-puters in class and sendingthem home. This has led toa lot of 12-year-olds swan-ning around the woodedhillside campus, talking totheir iPads.Summoning up a virtual

keyboard recently, SophieGreene quickly typed anote to herself in iCal, acalendar program, thenplayed back an audio filein which she was speakingSpanish. “We record a con-versation, e-mail it to ourteacher, Senorita Kelly,”she explained, “then shecritiques the lesson inSpanish and sends thatback to us.”For the 28 seventh-

graders entrusted withiPads at Hillbrook, the pic-tures that flash across thedevice’s screen open a win-dow to a wider world. TheiPad allows them to takedaily excursions acrosstime and space to such ex-otic ports as ancientMesopotamia and modernChina.

No excusesThe only drawback is

that with their assignmentsall composed on iPads, theone excuse that no longerworks for Hillbrook’s sev-enth-graders is, “The dogate my homework.”At Archbishop Mitty

High School in San Jose –which introduced 32 iPads

into the classroom this fall– the devices are usedonly in class. And Stan-ford’s School of Medicinegave 92 iPads outright toits first-year students thisSeptember. At Hillbrook,which received its iPadslast summer as a gift fromthe parents of two stu-dents, seventh-graders likeSophie slip the handhelddevices into backpacks atthe end of the school day.Hillbrook’s program hasbeen such a hit that it willbe expanded next year toinclude eighth-graders.As the high-tech tablets

complete the first phase ofthese academic tests, thefuture of the iPad as an ed-ucational tool is raisingquestions about whetherthe most plugged-in tech-nology will be remain theexclusive digital domain ofthe wealthiest schools.With studies about the

value of computers in theclassroom indicating thatresults are “all over themap,” according to onelocal educator, low-income

schools aren’t even surewhat they might be miss-ing.“The achievement gap is

alive and well,” said Ju-dith McGarry, RocketshipEducation’s director of de-velopment. “Privateschools and very wealthypublic school districts areabsolutely going to have allsorts of resources to throwat their kids. We believethat in our society, all chil-dren need to be technolog-ically literate.”Rocketship, the award-

winning nonprofit charterschool network with threeSan Jose schools, recentlydeclined a donation ofiPads from two large Sili-con Valley companies, pre-ferring to wait until moretextbooks are publisheddigitally.Woodside High School

recently acquired about 25iPads for Mandarin lan-guage classes, but quicklyreassigned a handful forAaron Blanding’s specialed classes for studentswith orthopedic impair-

ments. “It’s maybe not asimportant academically,”Blanding said, “but ourkids like that when theytake them into general ed-ucation classes, they hearthe other kids talkingabout how cool they are.”

No looking backHillbrook English

teacher Tom Bonomahopes he never has to goback to teaching the oldway.“The iPad has really

been a game-changer,” hesaid. “It allows us to do alot of things in real timethat weren’t possible be-fore.” During a class dis-cussion of “A Raisin in theSun,” a play about a strug-gling black family set inpost-war Chicago, studentsused Animation CreatorHDto record their inter-pretations of a scene. “Itputs the sugar in the medi-cine of taking notes,”Bonoma said. “They sud-denly look forward todoing that because they getto interact with this

gadget.”Apple essentially had

cornered the consumertablet market when admin-istrators at Hillbrook,Mitty, University HighSchool in San Franciscoand San Domenico inMarin were consideringthe iPad last summer as aneducational implement.“It seemed clear to us

that it’s a revolutionarykind of tool,” said BrentHinrichs, Hillbrook’s headof middle school. “It getseveryone involved all thetime. That interaction iscritical in having themthink and experienceevery moment that they’rein the classroom.”Revolutionary or not,

using it as an educationaltool was so untested that“tech mentor” EliseMarinkovich had to config-ure the iPads herself. Try-ing to figure out how toblock Facebook, and to in-stall the kid-friendlybrowser from Mobicip, shemade countless visits tothe Genius Bar at the LosGatos Apple store. All theeffort paid off.During a recent Hill-

brook history class, stu-dents fetched files on theachievements of ancientMesopotamians, wrote sev-eral paragraphs aboutthem on the Pages app, in-serted photographs fromGeo Photo Explorer, thene-mailed their work toteacher Christina Pak. Sheprojected results onto aninteractive “smart board”for discussion. You can al-most imagine Elroy Jetsonasking her a question byinstant message.

So far, only one of the$500 tablets has been dam-aged badly enough to re-quire repair. “It’s aneducational tool,” saidMarinkovich, who wasthrilled when head of

school Mark Silver decidedthe kids should be trustedto take their iPads home.“If we just stop it at school,how is that helping them?”Mitty administrators

weren’t ready to make thatleap, although the schoolmay loosen its policy nextyear. “The interface is veryopen and collaborative,and I think it fosters a lotof independent inquiryand research,” said LisaBrunolli, an assistant prin-cipal in charge of theschool’s test program. “Butit quickly became frustrat-ing that students couldn’ttake them home and usethem for homework.”

Old schoolRocketship’s schools

don’t use computers of anykind in the classroom, be-lieving them to be a dis-traction from “the sociallearning experience,” ac-cording to McGarry. Butthey do promote online lit-eracy with computer labs,and are conducting re-search of their own onwhether computers are ahelp or a hindrance tolearning. “We think they’rehelping,” McGarry says.Books for the current

school year had alreadybeen purchased wheniPads were added to back-packs at schools wheretablets are being tried out.Educators cling to thehope that they will be ableto buy selected chapters oftextbooks for use on thetablets, the way music fanspick individual songs oniTunes.That would suit Sophie

just fine. “In sixth grademy backpack was 27pounds,” she said. “Ohhhh,my back! It was so sore.This would definitelylighten it. And it would beway more eco-friendly.”Spoken like a true iKid.

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H7www.GrandForksHerald.comGrand Forks Herald, Sunday, January 23, 2011 PROGRESS: HEALTH & EDUCATION

Rise of the iKids

McClatchy Tribune

�� Teacher Christina Pak, left, helps Chase Kerley use his iPad during history classat Hillbrook School in Los Gatos, Calif. The school is one of a handful that hasissued iPads to students to use in the classroom as well as home.

� Schools test iPads inclassrooms

United Way of Grand Forks • East Grand Forks & Areaunitedwaygfegf.org

Page 8: Health & Education Progress 2011

By Lisa GutierrezMcClatchy Newspapers

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Whenthe Seetins of Kansas City, Kan.,gather around the dining roomtable – Mom, Dad, two grownsons – they have eight kidneysamong them.They’re just not where you’d

expect them to be.Oldest son Scott has three kid-

neys. So does his mother.Scott’s brother has one kidney.

So does his father.Over the last two years the

Seetins have made a medicaljourney that has brought them towhere they are now: healthy andalive.For that, they are grateful in

this new year. So they took a re-cent vacation to California (de-spite the cold rain) “to kind ofcelebrate the second chance atlife we’ve had,” says Scott, 30, agraphic designer.They went to watch Scott ride

on the Donate Life float in thevenerable Tournament of RosesParade, sharing a spotlight withother organ recipients anddonors.Scott intended to be a living

donor, too, until a twist of fatewound up saving his own life.More than 108,000 people

across the country are waitingfor a life-saving organ transplantright now.“The numbers speak for them-

selves,” says Erin Gregory,spokeswoman for the MidwestTransplant Network in West-wood, Kan.Sandy Seetin, Scott’s 53-year-

old mother, could have been oneof those waiting. The Seetins’story begins with Sandy, whoworks part time in a floral shop.She learned about five years agothat her kidneys were failing.She began dialysis in 2007, and

it did not go well.“I knew I couldn’t stay on dial-

ysis the rest of my life,” shesays.Watching their mother

struggle, Scott and hisbrother volunteered to do-nate the kidney she needed.Though he would haveliked to, Sandy’s husband,Dennis, couldn’t help be-cause he has his own kid-ney issues.Dennis, 55, who works for

Philips Medical Systems,learned about 15 years agothat one of his kidneys hadnever fully developed and

had stopped functioning. He hadit removed.So in the spring of 2008, the

Seetin brothers started down thedonor path. After weeks of count-less blood draws and tests, Scottand Kyle, 26, a mapper/drafterfor Kansas City Board of PublicUtilities, were both pronouncedmatches for their mother.For reasons still unknown to

the family, the transplant teamtapped Scott for the surgery.“It was kind of bittersweet that

they did because that’s how hefound out,” Sandy says. “If theyhad just taken Kyle, then...”

Bad newsIn May 2008, Scott was sitting

in a doctor’s office waiting toclear a final hurdle before thetransplant. When the doctorwalked into the room, “he justhad this look on his face like ‘Ihave something bad to tell youbut I don’t know how to tell you,’”Scott remembers.You can’t donate, the doctor

told Scott. You need a kidney asbadly as your mom.Scott couldn’t believe what the

doctor said next – that his ownkidneys were functioning at only18 percent.There’d been no signs. Well,

maybe his ankles did swell andache, and he got overly tiredsometimes.“It’s kind of a silent killer,” he

says. “The kidneys deplete atsuch a gradual pace. It couldhave been happening for years,and I never really knew.“I was pretty upset, but I think

I was more upset at the fact that Iwasn’t able to help my mom. Shegave me life, and I was ready torepay the favor.“I didn’t know how I was going

to tell Mom that not only is shelosing a donor but a son to thesame disease that she was fight-ing so hard to beat.”Just as Scott

could read hisdoctor’s face,his mom couldtell by his thatall was notright when hewalked in thefront door ofthe familyhome a fewhours later.When Scott

told her that hecouldn’t donate

his kidney after all, she said,“Well, that’s fine. I’m glad you of-fered, and I still have Kyle. And(Scott) said, ‘I have to have a kid-ney, too.’“That was pretty shocking. I

don’t think I heard what he saidat first.”She insisted that Kyle’s kidney

now go to Scott.Back at square one, Sandy’s

younger brother and sister, whohad both earlier offered to bedonors, began the cross-matchingprocess.Sandy’s sister, who lives in

Florida, was scheduled for thetransplant, but two weeks before,doctors found plaque in the kid-ney’s arteries.Once again, Sandy lost her

donor. Eventually her brother,Don White, a Kansas City fire-fighter, was cleared to donate,and on Nov. 13, 2008, they under-went their surgeries.The brothers came next. In yet

another wrinkle, the week beforetheir transplant operations inOctober 2009, an anesthesiologistnoticed an irregularity on Kyle’sEKG.He was quickly green-lighted,

though, and Kyle “saved my life,”says Scott, who, like his mother,now has three kidneys in hisbody – standard practice whenkidneys aren’t infected or can-cerous.Scott and his mother got their

second chances, and Scott isn’tabout to waste his.He met Mandi Clifton, a North

Kansas City schoolteacher, abouta month before his transplant.On their first date he told herthat he had some “medical prob-lems.”She stuck with him through the

transplant and his recovery, andbefore they left for Californialast week, he proposed to her.She said yes.“No matter how hard life

punches you or puts you down,no matter how many curveballsor doors they slam in front ofyou, never give up,” Scott says.“Stay positive. The negative lightshines very bright, but if you staypositive it’ll get you throughthat.”

By the numbersEvery 13 minutes another

name is added to the nationalorgan transplant waiting list.On average, 18 people die

every day because they don’t getan organ they need for a trans-plant.In 2008 (the most recent year

statistics are available), therewere 7,984 deceased organdonors and 6,218 living organdonors, resulting in 27,961 organtransplants.One donor can save or enhance

the lives of more than 50 people.

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A new day is dawning for the Education Building at the University of North Dakota.Originally built in the 1950s, the building was little changed until last summer. `anks toStimulus funding appropriated by the North Dakota Legislature, a renovation and expansionof UND’s Education Building is setting the standard for merging e]ciency, environmentalprotection, and educational impact.

`e LEED® Silver-certi_ed project has been designed for optimized energy e]ciency.`at means, in part, the renovated and expanded building will use 24 percent less energythan other buildings of comparable size and type. More energy e]ciency means betterstewardship of state resources, lower water use, environmental protection, and improvedclimate controls for comfort and economy.

If you would like to partner with us on this groundbreaking project, please contact Dan Rice,Dean of the UND College of Education and Human Development, or Jena Pierce, Director ofDevelopment, at 701-777-2674. To learn more about the project, visit our Web site at:

www.edbuilding.und.edu701-777-2674Ie LEED® Green Building Rating System TM is the national

benchmark for design, construction and operation ofhigh-performance “green” buildings. It promotes a whole-building approach to sustainability. Visit the U.S. GreenBuilding Council’s Web site at www.usgbc.org to learnmore about LEED rankings and standards. (Renderingscourtesy of JLG Architects Ltd., of Grand Forks)

The College of Education andHuman Development is proud tobe working on the project with

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JLG Architects

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PROGRESS: HEALTH & EDUCATIONH8 www.GrandForksHerald.com Grand Forks Herald, Sunday, January 23, 2011

Family members rely on each other for kidney transplants

McClatchy Tribune

�� Scott Seetin received akidney from his brother KyleSeetin, back right, and hismother, Sandy Seetin, center,received a kidney from herbrother. Also pictured isSeetin’s father, Dennis Seetin,who has only one kidney andwas crucial in getting familymembers to donate theirkidneys. The family posed for aportrait at their home inKansas City, Kansas.