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What began as an inexpensive way to incorporate technology and authenticity into a social studies curriculum has grown into an amateur ham radio club and class that bring the world to the classroom's door.
"CQ CQ CQ- this is AAOOF AAOOF AAOOF from Andover Middle School, andover Kansas, standing by.."
Will today's call bring our students in contact with a fisherman in Alva, Florida? An amusement park owner in Chicago? A missionary in Mexico? Or, perhaps, an astronaut aboard an orbiting space shuttle? We'll soon see. Welcome to the amazing world of amateur radio, commonly called ham radio. In our lingo, CQ is calling any station, and AZ4 f)OF is my very own call sign, issued by the Federal Communications Commission.
During the past five years, students in our amateur radio club and class have sent and received Morse code messages, assembled and soldered circuit boards, designed and built antenna systems, and used computer programs to analyze radio communications problems. They have also searched for hidden transmitters (fox hunts), helped launch balloons resembling weather balloons with a transmitter as a payload, and assisted in our county storm-spotting program.
Thanks to a bond issue that residents passed, our middle school moved last year into a new state-of-the art building, featuring a media center with interactive television and labs for various technology programs. The building was designed to accommodate the influx of new students in our rapidly growing district eight miles west of Wichita. Our amateur radio club and class now have a specially built ham shack adjacent to the communications technology lab. The ham shack, with its outstanding antenna and tower system, enables students to operate amateur radio equipment and also to build and test electronic projects.
The Local Funding Circuit
We've come a long way since I first arrived at Andover in 1992. I launched the club as a relatively inexpensive way to incorporate technology into my social studies curriculum. Although the curriculum was good for what it covered, it failed to capture the essence of other cultures. I also found it difficult to integrate technology in an out-of-date classroom-one with two electrical outlets, only one of which worked.
Determined to make a positive difference in my students' lives, I turned to my...