What’s Inside: Music video filmed at Tiger Stadium, page 8
66th Year--Vol. I
Northeast Mississippi Community College--Booneville, Miss.
September 2, 2014
College embraces technological advancement Special to The Beacon
To give their students the best learning environment possible, Northeast Mississippi Community College officials have taken a huge step in the ever-changing world of technology. ONE Northeast … an iPad initiative has as its mission “to better prepare students for tomorrow’s workplace by leveraging technology while providing an engaging learning environment and a cost savings to the student.” Northeast is the first community/junior college in the state of Mississippi to make iPads available to its faculty campus-wide and executive vice president Ricky Ford believes this step puts Northeast at the forefront of technological innovation in higher education in the state. “Northeast is very excited to begin this new phase of learning in the educational process,” said Ford. “As always Northeast is on the cutting edge of classroom instruction. Technology now provides a way for us to aid the student in the learning process by engaging them more in the subject material. Through technology we can now pull in more ideas and instructional techniques from a variety of avenues.
“The most important thing is the fact that Northeast can now engage the student more within the classroom setting,” Ford continued. “We have received many positive comments from the educational community and we are looking forward to implementing this method of instruction. Any student that attends Northeast Mississippi Community College can be assured that they will receive the highest level of classroom instruction that will be superior to any institution of higher learning.” Starting in the fall of 2015, Ford hopes Northeast will place iPads in the hands of every student that enrolls at the school. Students will then have the choice to actively participate in the way the college carries out classroom instruction from a more traditional printed book-based environment or from one that embraces the ever-changing world of technology. “Even though we are integrating a high level of technology in the classroom, we do not want to eliminate the traditional lecture method of teaching,” Ford said. “I don’t think the lecture method would or should ever be eliminated from the teaching process. We are constantly looking for ways to enhance the learning atmosphere
within the classroom.” A few of the college’s programs have already embraced the technology such as the Medical Laboratory Technology (MLT) program, which started with a pilot program of 12 students in 2011 to see how Apple iPad could be integrated into traditional courses. Northeast’s radiology programs and other health science fields soon followed suit. Northeast has been quick to embrace the Apple iPad as one of the essential learning tools of the twenty-first See College, on page 3
Twins donate to Locks of Love
hair cut. According to both twins, it took an “epic paper, rock, scissors match” of over 10 minutes to decide that Michael would be the first in the chair. Twins seem to do everything together. “Doing that with a twin is pretty hard,” Especially identical twins. Thus it was only suiting that identical Matthew Franks said. Since graduating high school in twins Michael and Matthew Franks would Hamilton, Alabama, the twins have been decide to an important event, together. growing their hair out Once known for the four semesters as the redheaded that they have been at twins in the band, Northeast. Michael and However, while their Matthew decided follicle growth was to cut off their spurred by their time red, curly hair for at Northeast -- in a reason that was high school, the twins near to their hearts. were under a dress On Thursday, code and had to keep April 17, both their hair cut, the idea headed to College for the donation came Street Salon for from their varsity something that years. each had waited “We had a couple over two years to of friends that were do. diagnosed with cancer Under the back in high school,” supervision of said Michael Franks. cosmetologist Leah “That really hit home Houston, who for us, so we figured served as the Tiger it was a good thing to Dancer coordinator for 2013-14, the Northeast Mississippi Community College do.” and Franks twins students and identical twins Michael Franks Michael watched as their (left) and Matthew Franks (right) share a Matthew’s donation two-year project moment with cosmetologist Leah Houston to the Locks of Love after the twins were able to donate over 21 helped the duo join came to fruition inches of hair to Locks of Love, due to the with a donation to length of their hair, both twin was able to rare company. First, most donations to Locks of Love. donate over 10.5 inches of hair apiece. Locks of Love come In just under two hours, Michael and Matthew were able to from women and the twins also donated red donate over 21 inches of hair to Locks of and curly hair to the national organization. “If anybody is thinking about doing Love, due to the length of their hair, both twin was able to donate over 10.5 inches of Locks of Love, I would recommend it 110-percent,” said Michael Franks. “It’s hair apiece. Locks of Love is a non-profit charity totally worth it.” However, while the donation to Locks organization that provides hairpieces to financially disadvantaged children in the of Love was the end of a two-year plan, United States and Canada under age 21 both said they would miss the amusing suffering from long-term medical hair loss moments their long hair brought them such as getting their hair caught in a car from any diagnosis. Nonetheless, growing up with an identical door, rolling the window up on it, having twin can have its drawbacks as the other it caught in a crash cymbal during band often finishes a sentence and the same was practice or almost getting it caught in a the case on who was to go first to have their ceiling fan.
By Blake Alsup, Staff Writer
Northeast Mississippi Community College students and identical twins Michael Franks (left) and Matthew Franks (right) share a moment with cosmetologist Leah Houston after the twins were able to donate over 21 inches of hair to Locks of Love, due to the length of their hair, both twin was able to donate over 10.5 inches of hair apiece.
“We have had some people pretty upset with us,” Matthew Franks said. “Some were in tears when they found out that we cut
it.” Nonetheless, the twins still say it was See Twins, on page 5