IS THERE AN EDUCATION SOCIETY CHAPTER NEAR YOU?
A review of the 2003 IEEE All-Society Review reveals that 50% of the Education Society (EdSoc) members do not know if there is an EdSoc Chapter in their local area. We need to address that as Chapters serve several purposes and could prove useful to you, or, you may want to start a Chapter in your area!

ASEE RELEASES COMPREHENSIVE REPORT ON K-12 ENGINEERING EDUCATION
ASEE has released a new report detailing the current state of K-12 engineering education. This report also suggests where K-12 engineering education can go in the future. This article is entitled "Engineering in the K-12 Classroom: An Analysis of Current Practices and Guidelines for the Future." The report, which can be viewed at the EngineeringK12 Center website, is a result of the Leadership Workshop attended by top K-12 engineering educators from the K-12 community, higher education, industry, and government that was held last summer in Salt Lake City.

The report includes a comprehensive analysis of how K-12 teachers view engineering, an in-depth look at the effectiveness of current K-12 engineering outreach programs, and a concrete outline for how to improve and strengthen current K-12 engineering curricula and outreach programs.

A BRIEFING ABOUT STUDENT BRANCHES/CHAPTERS
Surprisingly, there are more Student Branches (student chapters) in the IEEE than there are Chapters of all IEEE Societies put-together! There are approximately 1,200 Chapters of all Societies and there are approximately 1,300 Student Branches (student chapters)! With this data and given the fact that there are 24 EdSoc Chapters it is far more likely that there is a Student Branch very close to you.

"A Student Branch gives students the opportunity to meet and learn from fellow students, as well as faculty members and professionals in the field. A good IEEE Student Branch can be one of the most positive elements in an Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering or Engineering Technology department. IEEE Student Branches are established at over 1,000 universities and colleges throughout the world. Student Branch activities offer numerous educational, technical, and professional advantages of IEEE membership through special projects, activities, meetings, tours and field trips" [IEEE Student Web site].

Listed below are some programs and projects that keep students interested in the Branch and its activities and their chosen profession:

• participation in regional conferences, leadership training workshops and develop leadership, interpersonal and team building skills
• participation in awards, scholarships and project/design programs and student paper contests
• establishment of a Student Branch Library with IEEE's publications
• access IEEE online resources and merchandise
• establish a World Wide Web page

HOW TO ANNOY YOUR STUDENTS BY USING INSTRUCTIONAL TECHNOLOGY
In a Chronicle of Higher Education article entitled How to seriously irritate your students, Jeffrey R. Young lays it on the line about the misuse of instructional technology in higher education.

Young indicates that there are three dominant failings among professors:

• reading their PowerPoint slides (which have far too many words on them to be functional 'slides' anyway);
• wasting time fumbling with equipment, and,
• not moderating chat rooms they set up.

REPORT ON THE WORKFORCE OF THE FUTURE SOUNDS ALARM!!
Educause attendees -- bushed and bleary-eyed, perhaps from a Wild West-themed party Thursday night -- filed into an auditorium this morning for a final presentation. It did not brighten their day.

Diana Natalicio, president of the University of Texas at El Paso, talked about the technology work force of the future. Long-term trends, she said, indicate that science and engineering jobs are increasingly important to the work force, and also that American students are largely uninterested in those disciplines. Women and minorities in particular are underrepresented as science and engineering students and employees.

CONTINGENT FACULTY TRENDS
In ASEE's November issue of the Prism, Thomas Grose reports that US higher education engineering departments tend not to employ non-tenured (adjunct/visiting), contingent faculty in significant numbers. "An accounting of engineering teaching faculty members shows 10,793 full professors, 5920 associate professors, 4868 assistant professors, and 2129 nontenure-track teaching personnel (full-time equivalent of 1253). Outside the classroom, however, many engineering schools have significant numbers of full-time, nontenured researchers."