The Journal

Southwest Open School announced Wednesday that it has received a $4,000 STEM grant from the Toshiba America Foundation to support the school’s computer build-out project.

The project will integrate technology into the curriculum by having students build personal computers from component retail parts, SWOS Director Matthew Keefauver said. The students will budget, select components and styles, program, and by the end of the program have constructed a working personal computer.

“This project is the perfect example of hands-on, experiential learning at SWOS,” Keefauver said. “This is what we do best!”

Toshiba America Foundation’s grants fund projects designed by classroom teachers. The “direct-to-teacher” approach brings immediate results, Keefauver said, by allowing them to teach science, technology, engineering and math using hands-on experiments and inquiry-based approaches to the curriculum.

According to Toshiba, its grants help teachers become more effective, and classes more exciting.