Our Mission

To provide resources for and training in the use of modeling and visualization tools for inquiry based instruction in science and mathematics

The Verona Computational Science Teacher Leader Award

John Meinzen, Edwardsville High School in Illinois, and Scott Sinex, Prince George's Community College, Largo, Maryland, were selected as the 2008 Verona Computational Science Teacher Leader and Outreach Leader Award winners, respectively. Both educators have set an example for the effective integration of computational models to enhance student learning in their own classrooms. In addition, they have worked diligently to share computational science strategies with other teachers through professional development workshops. The awards were announced at the SC08 Education Program in Austin, Texas on November 15, 2008.

Featured Student Projects

Research Projects

 

  

Parallel Programming Contest

Under the sponsorship of MVHS Project Director, Susan Ragan, three students from the Montgomery Blair Science, Mathematics and Computer Science Magnet Program competed against eight other teams in a parallel computing contest hosted by the Teragrid '09 Conference held June 22 in Arlington VA. Each team had nine hours to solve eight problems ranging from the benchmarking of scientific software packages to the design and implementation of models using NetLogo to the design and coding of parallel algorithms to solve complex problems. Teams of up to five students each were composed of students from high schools, community colleges, colleges, and universities. The Magnet team, composed of junior Andrew Das Sarma and seniors Anand Oza and Rohan Puttagunta, was the youngest and fewest in number, yet they out-scored all other teams except a team of graduate students from Carnegie Mellon University and a team of undergraduates from Earlham College. The team is looking forward to Teragrid 2010 to be held in Pittsburgh.

Featured Computational Science Activity

Modeling Oscillatory Systems, a project designed by MVHS teachers Don Higdon, Bud Rorison, Allen Skinner and Charlotte Trout, was recently referenced in the textbook, Introduction to Computational Science, written by Angela B. and George W. Shiflet.

Teacher Workshops

MVHS is collaborating with the Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center to provide computational science training to Pittsburgh area teachers through the Computation and Science for Teachers (CAST) project. See Computational Resources for Teachers for a collection of modeling and visualization activities for science classes.

MVHS in the News

Computer simulations from Maryland Virtual High School were recently featured in the Future Schools section of Scholastic Administrator magazine. Charlotte Trout, science specialist in Washington County, Maryland, described how she used computer simulations with her students to extend their "wet" lab experiments. Through the use of simulations, students are able to analyze data and graphs, test hypotheses, and critically evaluate the reliability of a model.