North Carolina IT Teachers:  Want to provide your students some hands-on, real world experience?  Do some good in the community?  Build your program's reputation? 

QTL is joining forces with Kramden Institute for the 2007 Geek-a-Thon.  We're looking for a dozen schools across the Tar Heel State to participate in a student computer refurbishing event on February 24. Students at participating schools will meet at their schools to upgrade donated computers, which will then be put in the hands of local students who don't have computers of their own. Kramden has standard processes to make it all run smoothly, and will send volunteers to participating sites to help with the process.

Sound like fun?  Sign up now: the deadline to let us know you would like to participate is Nov. 17!  Signup forms and complete rules and logistics are available on our website.  If you are interested in participating but can't get all the paperwork and approval done by the deadline, email us to let us know you want to take part.  

Here's what you would need to do:

* Get approval from the appropriate administrators at your school.
* Fill out, sign and return the agreement form.
* Solicit computer donations from the community.  Minimum specs are listed in the Geek-a-Thon agreement document.  We would like each participating school to refurbish between 15 and 24 computers.
* Find a sponsor or raise money to fund software.  Kramden asks that participating schools raise $25 per computer to be refurbished.  Details are in the agreement document.
* Arrange your student teams and prepare for the big event.
* Alert the local media to let them know your students are part of this statewide event (we can help if you like).  
 
Kramden has had impressive success putting computers into the homes of students in the Durham area.  If this statewide event proves successful spreading that good work to other communities, we hope to expand it to Arkansas and Mississippi in the future.  We hope you can take part!