Siueiris is very pleased to share the news that Dr. Jessica DeSpain, co-founder of the IRIS Center at SIUE, is a co-Principal Investigator of an $846,000, three-year collaborative grant (the P.I. is Sharon Locke of the STEM Center at SIUE and the other co-P.I. is Liza Cummings of the School of Education at SIUE).

Other funded collaborators include Dr. Howard Rambsy (English Language & Literature) and Dr. Jeff Manuel (Historical Studies). Other partners in this exciting project include Virtual East St. Louis Historical Society, Harris Stowe State University and the East St. Louis School district. The main goal of this project is to experiment with new content and methods for engaging students who are underrepresented in STEM fields in the computing sciences via a place-based curriculum that asks students critical questions about the environment and culture of their own region. Working with East St. Louis teachers and project partners, students will produce a richly annotated web-based community map with associated images, texts, audio and video that highlight features and events deemed important by students and the community.

Please stop by the IRIS Center to learn more about this and other exciting projects that are hosted there!