Project Lead The Way Selects National Instruments LabVIEW for High School Curriculum

National Instruments today announced it will work with Project Lead The Way, Inc. (PLTW), one of the nation’s leading providers of pre-engineering and science curricula, to implement new biomedical science courses for high school students. Through the collaboration, PLTW will integrate National Instruments LabVIEW graphical system design software to help facilitate PLTW’s hands-on learning approach. NI will also provide training to support the new biomedical sciences and the existing engineering programs.

“By integrating experiential learning opportunities into the classroom, Project Lead The Way and its affiliates are helping students jump-start their engineering and science careers,” said Ray Almgren, National Instruments vice president of product marketing and academic relations. “Students participating in this program are progressively learning to use the same applications professional biomedical engineers and scientists use on a daily basis.”

As a supplier for PLTW, NI will help incorporate NI LabVIEW into a sequence of four new high school biomedical science courses. Students will learn concepts through project-based curricula using LabVIEW software; Vernier SensorDAQ hardware, developed jointly by Vernier Technologies and NI; and additional Vernier sensors. With the ease of use offered by LabVIEW and the simple USB-based data acquisition interface in Vernier SensorDAQ, students will design, analyze and control sensor-based systems such as devices used for measuring blood pressure and electrical activity of the heart.

“It is our belief that students will be better prepared and be more successful in pursuing a college degree in science, engineering or engineering technology because of exposure to rigorous and relevant coursework in high school,” said Tom White, director of operations and technology at PLTW. “This future workforce will need to be creative and innovative to compete in the world market, and, with LabVIEW, they can push the boundaries of innovation.”

The first course, Principles of the Biomedical Sciences, will be field-tested this fall at 42 high schools in seven states. Over the next three years, the remaining three courses – Human Body Systems, Medical Interventions and Science Research – will launch sequentially, one per year. The key concepts in the first course focus on the relationship between structure and function, feedback loops and the process of design – all of which are also biomedical science concepts.

To learn more about the biomedical sciences curriculum please visit www.pltw.org/curriculum/hs-biomedical-science.html. For more information about the collaboration between NI and PLTW as well as other NI engineering education initiatives, please visit www.ni.com/academic/k12.

About Project Lead The Way
Project Lead The Way is a not-for-profit organization that aims to create dynamic partnerships with schools across the nation as a way to prepare an increasing and more diverse group of students for successful careers in science, engineering and engineering technology. The PLTW curriculum engages students in hands-on, real-world projects, giving students an understanding of how the skills they are learning in the classroom can be applied in everyday life. For more information, please visit www.pltw.org.