6A
NEWSWiie Cliarlone
Thursday, December 21,2006
Fashion, technology meet at MLK
Continued from page 1A
web log or blogs now avail
able through Microsoft.
“The idea was first intro
duced to me by Cary
Mitchell,” said Juan Flowers.
“He and I met some months
ago at Microsoft and had a
meeting to dis-
' cuss his
vision.”
Mitchell said
he was “trying
to do some
thing different
to let the stu-
Mitchell dents know
that someone is doing some
thing special for them.”
“Fashion in the Schools is a
way I can do something to
help a child feel better about
fthemselvesj,” said Mitchell.
And by joining with
Microsoft, they are able to
capture the entire process of
the design experience in the
students own words, thus
allowing them to share with
others if the program did
make them feel better about
themselves.
“From our perspective, we
felt it was a great opportunity
for us to engage with the stu
dents, as well as Cary, and
help with the technology
side,” said Flowers. “We’re •
helping them to set-up a web
blog...that can bo publicly
available for viewing...to
show the progress from the
vision to fhiition. From our
standpoint, we thought it was
best for us to jump on.”
From a technology stand
point, keeping a web diary or
blogging is one of the fastest
growing trends. In
November of 2006, blog
search engine Technorati
tracked nearly 60 million
blogs. And, as with most
newer technologies, it is very
popular with the younger
generation.
“The unique thing about a
blog is it’s pretty much a
mechanism where you can
tell your own story,” said
Flowers. “That technology
has been very attractive to
youngpeople...and the acces
sibility of using it is so avail-
Historians
dispute
aviators’
record
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
MONTGOMERY, Alabama
- It has been part of the lore
of America’s first black fight
er pilots since the end of
World War II: The Tuskegee
Airmen never lost a bomber
to enemy fire.
But now, more than 60
years later, a leader of the
group says he has uncovered
records proving the claim is
not accurate.
The Tuskegee Airmen were
the first group of black fight
er pilots allowed into the U.S.
Army Air Corps. They got
their name from the Alabama
town where they trained.
With nearly 1,000 pilots
and as many as 19,000 sup
port personnel ranging from
mechanics to nurses, the
group was credited with
shooting down more than 100
enemy aircraft and - for
years— with never losing an
American bomber under
escort. But Air Force records
show that at least a few
bombers escorted by the red
tailed fighters of the
Tliskegee Airman were shot
down by enemy planes,
William F. Holton, historian
of Thskegee Airmen Inc., said
in an interview with The
Associated Press. And the
group’s losses may have been
much greater, he said.
Holton’s research was first
reported Sunday by the
Montgomeiy Advertiser.
Some surviving Airmen
were offended by the findings
of Holton and Daniel
Haulman of the Air Force
Historical Reseiirch Agency
at Maxwell-Gunter Air Force
Base in Montgomery, who
came to the same conclusion.
able now. Everywhere you
look there’s MSN spaces,
Myspace...just to name a few,
which are available for stu
dents to actually log their
whole life if they wanted to.”
But rather than their whole
lives, Mitchell and Flowers,
both graduates of Johnson C.
Smith, have taken a slice of
the students lives to share
with the world.
“As far as the blog is con
cerned, for this project, it’s a
perfect platform for the stu
dents. [They} can just jot
down rather than in a note
book or loose leaf paper but
actually electronically record
the progress of the whole pro
ject.”
Flowers is also a member of
the diversity advisory council
at Microsoft, who work to pro
mote diversity in the work
place. As president of Blacks
at Microsoft, for Flowers it
was more than an opportuni
ty to create access to popular
technology and promote
diversity, it was a chance to
get involved with the commu
nity.
“It was perfect for BAM,
Cary Mitchell and other part
ners to collaborate and come
up with a great idea to pro
mote team spirit...and school
spirit around the character of
the students,” Flowers said.
‘With that the blog is a
great way you can pretty
much introduce to the whole
world an idea for education
and technology to collaborate
together as well as show com
munity involvement, commu
nity outreach and philan
thropic ways in which you
can benefit many.”
In addition to the students,
faculty that were involved
with the program also have
the opportunity to share their
thoughts online. The website
includes the uniform designs,
photos from the kickoff event,
the trip to Atlanta, and the
final event, and students
thoughts on the whole
process which began On
October 2, 2006 and conclud
ed with the final unveiling
last week.
The Eighth graders at the
school felt their uniform
design would be the legacy
they left at the school, yet
with their online blogs and
discussion of their experi
ences, they are able to leave
their mark in more ways
than one.
“It’s a great way...and a
great responsibility to assist
students in being the best
they can be,” said Flowers.
“And it’s great when you have
positive people come together
to make positive things come ■
to life. That’s the best reward
you can give anybody, partic
ularly our youth today.”
Cljarlotte
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