Electronic Field Trip, a program that uses Web sites, television broadcasts, classroom activities and Webisodes to teach school children of all ages, has a new director.
Jeffrey Molh has taken the position as interim director, replacing Mark Kornmann, a Ball State University alumnus, who helped begin the program over 10 years ago.
"We had to find a replacement for my position really last-minute, so we looked internally at the staff," Kornmann said. "Molh really knows the program and has been continually talking to partners. He'll do a great job."
Molh will be working as an interim official, filling the role for the next year until proper hiring processes are conducted. He has worked for EFT for more than 3 years as the manager of media, a role he will continue doing after assuming the director role.
"When I was the manager of media I oversaw the Web sites, which included the main EFT page and the pages from each individual field trip that included teacher and student pages," Mohl said. "I will continue to do the work on the Web site, but I will also be taking on larger responsibilities, including watching budgets and making sure everything is running smoothly."
Kornmann has taken the position as senior vice president of grants programs at the National Park Foundation. He said he will still be in contact with EFT at the foundation, which is has a strong partnership with the program.
EFT was developed to give school children the chance to visit museums, national parks and landmarks around the world without leaving their classroom. It operates at Ball State through the Teachers College.
Since 1996, Ball State has produced more than 50 electronic field trip programs and distributed them to more than 80 million students and teachers across the country, according to the EFT Web site. Some of the field trips include the International Space Station, the waters of Belize and the Grand Canyon.
The program has won multiple awards, including 21 Telly Awards and 16 trophies from the World Media Festival, and has become nationally and internationally recognized.
"It's a lot of fun to create things with kids in mind," Mohl said. "I'm able to travel and design Web sites while thinking like a kid, to make it fun for them."
Kornmann said he'll miss working with all the partners and developing content for teachers and kids.
"EFT is an incredible program and great way to engage kids," Kornmann said. "I hope it continues in the years to come."
Molh said he doesn't have any plans of changing how EFT operates while he is director, and he will be working with the staff to see where his talents lie.
"EFT has always been experimental," he said. "We're always looking for new and unique ways to create EFTs for the kids and I imagine we will continue to do that."
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