KSU ETTC

ETTC and Capitol Tech Video Link

2006-01-09T23:59:00.000-05:00

Synching Up With The iKid

2006-01-09T22:43:00.000-05:00

A great read!

Teachers who once struggled for students' attention mainly against daydreams, passed notes, class clowns, and cross-aisle flirting now also face a formidable array of gadgets and digitized content. Smart schools -- and smart educators -- are scrambling to figure out how to use these same tools and information- distribution techniques to reach and excite young minds. "You have to work with the kind of brains we've got now," says Susan Blackmore, who holds a PhD in psychology from Oxford and frequently writes and lectures on new technology's effects on consciousness.

According to Blackmore, today's brains are shaped by various information streams -- sometimes referred to as memes -- constantly popping and sparking and competing for attention. This new generation of digital learners -- call them the MEdia Generation -- take in the world via the filter of computing devices: the cellular phones, handheld gaming devices, PDAs, and laptops they take everywhere, plus the computers, TVs,and game consoles at home. A survey by the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation found that young people (ages eight to eighteen) mainline electronic media for more than six hours a day, on average. Interestingly, many are multitasking: listening to music while surfing the Web or instant-messaging friends while playing a video game.

Educators must figure out how to compete with this frenetic memestorm coming at them from marketers and other students. Many are. The last few years have seen a rapid class- and districtwide use of collaborative course-management systems such as DyKnow as well as so-called social technologies -- blogs, wikis, and media-syndication systems based on the Really Simple Syndication (RSS) protocol -- that allow anyone to shift from consuming media to being a media creator. (Blogs, from weblogs, are simplified personal Web sites, and wikis are Web sites, either password-protected or public, that anyone can easily edit.) Giving students powerful media-authoring tools means relinquishing a degree of control, but doing so also makes it possible to help them learn in more effective ways (and tighter time frames) than ever before.

Link to full article

Capitol Tech - January 30th

2006-01-09T22:34:00.000-05:00

Capitol Tech, a collaborative effort between Georgia's schools and the state's Educational Technology Training Centers (ETTC), features Georgia's students demonstrating the application of 21st century skills to the educational process.

Annually, Capitol Tech spotlights Georgia's students using the fundamental technology tools necessary to succeed in the 21st century. These Capitol Tech School representatives are selected from the Spotlight on Technology Innovative School Award recipients by each local ETTC.

Students and teachers are eager for their local legislators to see how these tools are helping to increase student achievement and build community partnerships.

Also, we got mentioned in the State Impact Initiatives in the Technology Impact in Education Month website.

21st Century Collaborative Blog

2005-11-12T14:29:00.000-05:00

Here is an outstanding blog written by Sheryl Nussbaum-Beach, who is a doctoral student and adjunct instructor of educational technology at the College of William and Mary.

This blog will be used to explore, exchange, and create ideas around 21st century collaborative learning and virtual learning communities and how these communities can be used to help teachers prepare their students for success in the 21st century.

21st Century Collaborative Blog

World Map Counter!

2005-11-11T20:11:00.000-05:00

Running Excel from a Server

2005-11-08T21:43:00.000-05:00

Here's a preview of a new feature of Excel 12.

Excel Services is brand new server technology that will ship with Office 12. Excel Services supports loading, calculating, and rendering Excel spreadsheets on servers. There are two primary interfaces: a web-based UI that lets you view spreadsheets in the browser, and a web services interface for programmatic access.

Link to Article

Teacher gleans federal kudos for bookless classroom

2005-11-07T17:01:00.000-05:00

This is outstanding!! From Utah:

Jerry Mangus' textbook-less teaching has dazzled the U.S. Department of Education.

Mangus, who teaches fifth- and sixth-grade math at Plymouth Elementary, uses only computers to teach fractions and other numerical concepts to kids. He's built computer labs in his school, each of his students has his or her own machine, and their test scores have leaped.

For his efforts, the federal education department on Wednesday bestowed Mangus with its No Child Left Behind Act American Star of Teaching Award. The award, for which the department received some 2,000 applicants, goes to one teacher in every state and Washington, D.C.

"He's someone who has gone far and above," said Carolyn Snowbarger, director of the department's Teacher-to-Teacher Initiative, who presented the award.

Link to Article

Getting tuned in: iPod-enhanced reading a hit

2005-11-01T10:52:00.000-05:00

The San Bernadino Sun published a nice article on iPods, but they took the article down. Here it is in its entirety.

C.L. Lopez, Staff Writer

REDLANDS -- Silence enveloped the classroom.

Students listened raptly as pet mongoose Rikki-tikki-tavi fought a battle to the death with Nag, the cobra.

Rikki-tikki-tavi won, as the 19th-century story was brought to life on a 21st-century device for the 15 children in Linda Bomar's seventh-grade English class at Clement Middle School.

The difference was the iPod Shuffle, a digital audio player about the size of a pack of gum and weighing no more than a car key.

The widely publicized Shuffle is the latest alternative to books on tapes or compact discs. Since its arrival at Clement, pupils are finding it easier to tune in to the audio versions of books and stories.

``The iPods are great tools to have in the classroom because they support the students' reading,'' said Bomar, who uploaded the audio version of Rudyard Kipling's story about the heroic mongoose onto the devices for her students.

The children listen to the story through earphones as they read it from the book. It gives each student the power to move at his or her own pace, moving ahead or going back to listen again to an earlier segment or skip around in the story, something that is awkward to do on a tape or CD.

Digital devices like the iPod have random access memory. On a tape, if the listener is near the end of a story or lesson and wants to go back and check a fact at the beginning, he or she must wait for the tape to rewind.

The iPod also allows the pupil to learn the pronunciation of difficult words as they are read by actors, professional storytellers and sometimes by the author.

Clement got its iPod Shuffles at the end of last school year, but teachers have been using them more this school year, said Principal John Massie.

Massie came up with the idea for using the iPod Shuffles after he began listening to audio books during his commute to Clement from his Rancho Cucamonga home.

Representatives from other school districts have visited the campus to see how the iPods are used in the classroom.

``Any time the kids get excited about learning, we feel successful,'' he said.

He said that students have the technology to make their own audio stories for the Shuffles. Drama students can use them to make programs patterned after old radio shows.

The school also has a cart filled with notebook computers that have wireless Internet access and Alphasmarts, a portable keyboard and notetaker.

The school has about 40 Shuffles, valued at $99 each. Some are for students to check out, and the rest are for teachers to use in their classes. More iPods will be bought as the need arises, Massie said.

``At Clement, the technology is being used for all students -- kids are kids here,'' Bomar said, noting that students of all abilities get to use the Shuffles.

Some of Bomar's students are in the school's resource-specialist program or on an individualized education plan, meaning they have average to high IQs but low grades.

English can be challenging for students with language problems or learning disabilities, and on English-language learners, she said, adding that hearing the story on the Shuffle sparks their interest and helps them understand. Sometimes the students answer questions listed in their textbooks while listening to the story.

Bomar doesn't use the Shuffles in the classroom every day, but she said they are an important part of her program.

Before the Shuffles were introduced into the classroom, Richard Pfeifer, 13, admitted English was not one of his favorite subjects, but since listening to the stories on a Shuffle, he likes it better.

``It adds more to the story and makes it more interesting,'' Richard said. ``Instead of reading the whole story, you can browse through it and listen to the whole story.''

It's a departure from the days of students reading a story silently or aloud in class.

``It's one person reading it, and I like that it is not just my teacher or us kids reading it,'' said Sara Archuleta, 12. ``I pay more attention.''

Reading on their own boosts some students' confidence.

``I am by myself reading it,'' said Harrison Fakas, 12. ``It is fun because you can hear the story without everyone else talking.''

Apple, which makes the iPod, has a list of lesson plans and ways to incorporate iPods into the classroom for various subjects. So far, only the English teachers have checked out the device.

Their use also goes beyond the classroom. Students talk about the audio stories and then recommend them to their friends.

A sign in the library lists what's playing on the library's iPods, their length and a picture of each. Students can check out Shuffles from the library as they would a book, but only for a day. And they can request audio books they would like to hear be loaded onto a Shuffle for them.

``They are always out and circulating,'' said Robert Weber, the school's librarian. ``As soon as one comes back, another student is waiting to take it.''

Depending on length, the 512-megabyte-capacity Shuffle can hold three to five books. Weber said if students bring in their own iPods, he will put the audio books on them.

All of the school's audio books are downloaded from audible.com. The Web site features audible books, stories, newspapers and magazines. Textbooks might be available on the site in the future.

``The data we have shows that 30 percent of people are auditory learners they learn more from hearing than learning,'' said Stevan Allen, a spokesman for publisher Pearson Education. ``This provides a new way for people to learn and study. It is an exciting approach to learning and teaching.''

Here is the original link, which has now been taken down.

You can also find it, for a limited time, in Google's cache.

Thanks Tony!

Got MERLOT?

2005-10-30T12:05:00.000-05:00

Here is another one to add to your favorites.

MERLOT is a free and open resource designed primarily for faculty and students of higher education. Links to online learning materials are collected here along with annotations such as peer reviews and assignments.

MERLOT is also a community of people who are involved in education. Community members help MERLOT grow by contributing materials and adding assignments and comments. Many community members make their professional information available in MERLOT's member directory.

Click here for MERLOT

Kathy Schrock Whiteboard Resources

2005-10-30T10:16:00.000-05:00

Our good friend Kathy Schrock now has a blog, and she made a great post with lots of whiteboard resources.

Link to Post

New Teachers in Arizona Must Prove Skills Via Videotape

2005-10-29T18:02:00.000-04:00

This is something that more states may decide to institute.

Novice teachers in Arizona will soon have to pass a test of classroom skill via videotape to get a long-term license.

The new requirement is expected to make Arizona one of just three states that require a videotaped lesson to advance from an initial credential to a more permanent one, according to data collected by Education Week. The others are Connecticut and Indiana.

State officials argue that the assessment will set a much higher standard than the existing licensing system, which includes only one test—on subject matter for beginning high school teachers.

“Now, we don’t even know if the teacher at least has the capacity to communicate with students,” said state schools Superintendent Tom Horne, who has been an advocate of the change, which the state board of education approved this summer.

Teachers first licensed after the current school year will need to pass the assessment to get a license that’s good for six years. They will have three years from the time they start teaching to produce a videotape of a classroom lesson and submit it along with a written analysis to independent evaluators.

The assessment is the same as one used by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards as part of its voluntary program for certifying experienced teachers. Arizona has hired the Educational Testing Service of Princeton, N.J., to set up the new program, and the privately organized Arlington, Va.-based board has licensed use of the test to ETS.

Link to Complete Article (requires free registration)

NCLB and Turoring - Some Interesting Questions

2005-10-24T23:15:00.000-04:00

Here is an article from the Washington Post which deals with tutoring and No Child Left Behind.

Under No Child Left Behind, schools that fail to make adequate yearly progress and are deemed in need of improvement must offer eligible parents a choice: Change schools or use free after-school tutoring services. Eligibility is offered to low-income children who attend Title I schools, institutions at which a percentage of children qualify for free and reduced-price lunches on the basis of family income.

State officials have said they need broader, more precise measurements. The first systemwide effort to attempt an evaluation was released recently by the Chicago school system, which had more than 60,000 students in 343 schools tutored under Supplemental Education Services in 2004-05. Officials concluded that they could not make broad conclusions about whether the tutoring programs were working.

Link to Article

iPods become music to teachers’ ears

2005-10-22T21:19:00.000-04:00

It looks like this technology is really gaining in popularity.

Podcasting is just one of the interactive technologies, like blogging and hand-held computers, being used to motivate students nationwide. It took off across the country last year, an offshoot of the surging popularity of iPods. A survey of 470 high school students released this month by analysts with Piper Jaffray & Co. found that 61 percent of students had some kind of MP3 player, up from 40 percent in their spring survey.
"This is the kind of technology they use for their daily lives. If schools want to reach today's learners, they can't ignore it," said Don Knezek, chief executive of the International Society for Technology in Education.

Link to Article

Tux Paint for Kids

2005-10-22T21:03:00.000-04:00

Thanks again to Jef from the SEGA Tech Blog for this.

Tux Paint is a free drawing program designed for young children (kids ages 3 and up). It has a simple, easy-to-use interface, fun sound effects, and an encouraging cartoon mascot who helps guide children as they use the program. (See the full list of features.) It provides a blank canvas and a variety of drawing tools to help your child be creative.

Tux Paint

Physical Education Online?

2005-10-22T20:13:00.000-04:00

That's exactly what's happening in Minnesota!

The Minneapolis school system's online physical education allows kids to choose a physical activity they enjoy, do it for 30 minutes three times a week — on their own time — while keeping an online journal. A parent or coach must confirm the student did the activities, and a fitness test at semester's end will turn up any cheaters.

Course choices have ranged from weight-lifting to swimming to horseback riding.

The course is proving phenomenally popular in Minneapolis, and teachers and administrators who developed the course believe they've hit on a way to help kids grow into adults with lifelong healthy fitness habits.

Link to Article

Pennsylvania students using handhelds

2005-10-21T00:48:00.000-04:00

Here is a great article from the Keystone State.

It's 10:30 a.m. at South Fayette Elementary School and Scott Sundgren's third grade class is unusually quiet. The 21 students are busy writing and editing essays on tiny, handheld computers.

"They're cool," says a freckle-faced boy holding up his Palm Zire 72. "They're a lot more fun than using pencil and paper."

Through a $10,000 Hands On Learning grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Education and a 25 percent match from the school district, Sundgren was able to purchase 30 "Palms" for his classroom.

The devices, which are manufactured by palmOne Inc., come equipped with a calculator, calendar, notepad, 1.2 megapixel camera, MP3 player, voice recorder, spreadsheet, slideshow and animation capabilities and an infrared port for sending information and pictures from one user to another.

Link to Article

iPods become music to teachers’ ears

2005-10-19T23:12:00.000-04:00

An interesting take on one of the most popular items out there.

At some schools, the rules are clear: Kids can chill out to downloaded music on portable players, but once they're inside, iPods and other learning distractions must be stowed in backpacks or lockers and kept there.
At Jamestown Elementary School in Arlington, Camilla Gagliolo took another approach. Rather than fighting the fad, she's capitalizing on it by giving students iPods and re-imagining them as a learning tool.

In a private school near Detroit, middle-schoolers podcast performances of student-composed musical works. From East Oakland, Calif., high-schoolers paint an audio portrait, in English and Spanish, of their troubled community: "It's hard to see someone die in front of you." Gunston Middle School, in Arlington, has a cheeky student-made podcast that includes poetic commentary on Virginia's standardized testing: "SOLs are not your friends; they'll bring your life to an end."

Teachers say the benefits of making podcasts are clear: The trendy technology and the possibility of a wider audience motivate students. "My students research better, read more, write better and understand the material," said Beth Sanborn, a fifth-grade teacher at Willowdale Elementary School, near Omaha, where students have been making podcasts since last spring.

Link to Article

I Love that Teaching Idea

2005-10-19T22:01:00.000-04:00

Here is another very good "All in One" site with lots of goodies for teachers.

I Love that Teaching Idea!

Thanks to the SEGA Tech Blog!

The Top 101 Web Sites For Teachers

2005-10-16T23:26:00.000-04:00

Tim Stahmer, an Instructional Technology Specialist in Farifax County, Virginia, has an excellent resource site for teachers. You can choose your category on the left side of his site, and he has some outstanding resources for teachers of all levels.

The Top 101 Web Sites For Teachers

Jupiter's Red Spot

2005-10-16T00:54:00.000-04:00

One of many great photos from NASA.

Click here to see more!

What is RSS?

2005-10-15T22:02:00.000-04:00

RSS is a relatively new term for educators. It allows you to read multiple news feeds without having to visit each site separately. Here is a good site which explains what it is and how to use it.

How to Use RSS

The Da Vinci Glow

2005-10-06T09:05:00.000-04:00

This is an interesting article for science teachers.

When you think of Leonardo Da Vinci, you probably think of the Mona Lisa or 16th-century submarines or, maybe, a certain suspenseful novel. That's old school. From now on, think of the Moon.

Little-known to most, one of Leonardo's finest works is not a painting or an invention, but rather something from astronomy: He solved the ancient riddle of Earthshine.

Link to Article

Designing Handheld Software to Support Classroom Assessment

2005-10-01T15:07:00.000-04:00

Here is a very interesting article that is well worth the read.

Abstract: Since 2002, Project WHIRL (Wireless Handhelds In Reflection on Learning) has investigated potential uses of handheld computers in K–12 science classrooms using a teacher-involved process of software development and field trials. The project is a three-year research and development grant from the National Science Foundation, and it is a partnership between SRI International and a medium-sized district in South Carolina, Beaufort County School District.

In addition, this paper provides some preliminary answers to two of the key research questions we outlined at the outset of our project:

What kinds of software designs can be feasibly implemented in classrooms that support effective assessment practice?
What are the conditions under which teachers can adopt handheld tools to support classroom assessment?

Link to Article

Create Office Files Online for FREE!

2005-09-30T00:41:00.000-04:00

I just finished trying this out, and I must say that I was very impressed.

ThinkFree Office!

Help for Dyslexics

2005-09-27T22:37:00.000-04:00

This looks very interesting. If you have dyslexic students or children, it seems worth looking into.

There has been growing innovation to combat dyslexia, especially
for children, in the form of computer software. However, relatively
little design research has been done in the area of typography
and type design that might support dyslexics. Read Regular is
a typeface designed specifically to help people with dyslexia read
and write more effectively.

Read Regular aims at preventing a neglect of dyslexia, creating
a more confident feeling regarding the problems that occur
with dyslexia.

Link to Site

HANDHELDS - Benefits come with costs

2005-09-25T17:21:00.000-04:00

This article is from the Kansas City Star. It requires registration, which is free but annoying. I have posted the entire article.

Since integrating handheld computers into her curriculum at Olathe Northwest High School, Misia Hollenbeck has seen the benefits firsthand.

“Motivation, first of all, to complete assignments has increased,” the special education teacher said.

She’s seen her students meet their goals more quickly, and in some cases, the handheld computers have even helped them overcome writing disabilities, she said.Hollenbeck has found that handhelds help her measure goals better; track data better; give more immediate feedback to parents; and put more energy into class projects rather than paperwork.

The Olathe School District supplies all students and staff at Olathe Northwest and Olathe North high schools with handheld computers.

Olathe East and South provide students with classroom sets, while some of the junior high and elementary schools use classroom sets on a pilot basis.

The cost

The benefits Hollenbeck has seen don’t come without costs.

The district has dedicated hundreds of thousands of dollars each year to purchasing new handhelds, and replacing lost and damaged units.The school district began distributing the technology in 2003, with an initial investment of nearly $424,000. The following year, the district spent more than $402,000 on new handhelds for North High, Prairie Trail Junior High and four elementary schools.

This year, each high school received 30 new handhelds with wireless capabilities. Frontier Trail also received additional handhelds, and five elementary schools purchased handhelds with their building funds.

The cost: $265,000.

At a July meeting, school board member Jim Churchman asked about the loss rate of the handhelds and asked for a review of the benefits of supplying individual students with the technology.

“This was an issue presented to me by parents and students,” Churchman said during a recent interview. “I don’t claim to be an expert on the value of these handhelds; but we need to take hard look at (it) and question.”

Rita Lyon, director of technology, has said the district replaced about 60 lost or damaged units from last year at a cost of about $12,000.

“That is extremely low,” Lyon said. “We are very pleased with the loss ratio on that.”

With about 4,200 handhelds in the hands of students and staff, a loss of 60 would be lower than 2 percent.Handheld purchases are largely made using bond money or capital outlay money, which is funded from local sources.

Handhelds are issued and managed like textbooks, band uniforms or football helmets, Lyon said. They are issued to students and are to be returned to the school at the end of the year.

Students who do not return their handhelds are required to pay for them at the depreciated value.

Depending on the model, one handheld and keyboard combination averages about $300 or less, she said.

The current handheld/keyboard model used at the high schools and junior high schools is $250.

The handheld/keyboard model used at the elementary level, which includes a digital camera, costs $300.

With those amounts, the 60 handheld computers the district had to replace could have cost as much as $18,000. But Lyon said that sometimes the district must replace only one piece of the combination, making it difficult to pinpoint an exact amount. She estimated the cost was closer to $12,000.

The benefits

Administrators continue to tout the academic benefits of handhelds.

Superintendent Pat All calls handhelds key instructional tools.

She said handhelds benefit students who do not have access to a computer at home.

One of the goals of the Olathe School District is to give each student equal access to technology.

But whether handhelds are being used as intended by the district is a question.

Last school year, a group of students gathered by district staff to help in the search for a new superintendent talked about handheld computers.

A handful of them said they knew of students who didn’t use their handhelds, and one student admitted she used her handheld to play games.

“I think you would have to talk to larger number of students than that for a good feel for their use,” said Superintendent All.

However, she did acknowledge that use of handhelds varies from student to student.

“Like any other technology,” she said.

She also pointed to the element of time, saying that last year was the first year Olathe North students received the handhelds. She said it takes a while for students, as well as teachers, to use the handhelds at the level desired.

“We would see higher levels of use and more pervasive use at Olathe Northwest than at…Olathe North,” she said.

The superintendent is confident teachers at North are integrating handhelds into their curriculum more this year.

For Hollenbeck, at Northwest High, there’s no doubt about the value of the technology.

The teacher’s classroom curriculum is based 90 percent on handheld computers, and the technology has been invaluable for the education of her students with mental disabilities, she said.

“My students have their own opinions about it too,” she said. “But I’m sure none of us would go back to the old way. This is too empowering.”

Link to Article

Brain-Based Learning: Possible Implications for Online Instruction

2005-09-24T16:55:00.000-04:00

Dr. Stephanie Clemons from Colorado State University has written a very interesting article on this subject:

Issues concerning student learning involve how they accept, retain and process information delivered in a course. This paper briefly defines and describes brain-based learning, a theory that is under investigation in higher education, and offers suggestions on how that theory may be implemented in the delivery of information and facilitation of online classes in higher education. Implications for online educators are also presented.

Link to complete article

ePALS Translation

2005-09-22T23:11:00.000-04:00

Need to do some quick translating? The ePALS site has a good online translator. Online translators aren't always perfect, so don't rely on them for lengthy or complicated selections.

ePALS Translation

Technology Integration Resources from Edutopia

2005-09-12T20:48:00.000-04:00

Here is a great list of resources from Edutopia Magazine. Lots of fantastic ideas and video clips as well.

Technology Integration Resources from Edutopia

Emerging Teacher-Leaders in Elementary School Mathematics Grants for Grades K-5 Teachers

2005-09-08T22:10:00.000-04:00

$6K for elementary teachers who focus on math Grant Title: Emerging Teacher-Leaders in Elementary School Mathematics Grants for Grades K-5 Teachers

Organization: National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) and the Irene Etkowicz Eizen Fund

Eligibility: Full-time elementary school teachers with at least 3 years of experience, who teach mathematics on a regular basis, and who belong to NCTM Value: Up to $6,000 per award

Deadline: November 4, 2005

The purpose of this grant is to increase the breadth and depth of the mathematics knowledge of one elementary school teacher who has a demonstrated commitment to mathematics teaching and learning. The applicant must have the support of the school principal in becoming a mathematics teacher-leader within her or his school or district. For the 2006-2007 school year, grants with a maximum of $6,000 each will be awarded. Only one teacher per school may receive the award. The desired outcome of the funded project is the development of an elementary school mathematics teacher with mathematics content expertise. The grant recipient will be expected to provide ongoing professional development to teachers within the school or district to strengthen their mathematical understandings and instructional practices. This professional development must include sustained in-service programs focusing on improving the content knowledge of the elementary teachers within the school or district and working with teachers in their classrooms through demonstration teaching or co-teaching. The applicant will be expected to select, in collaboration with the school principal and other teachers, specific mathematics content aligned with the Content Standards of Principles and Standards for School Mathematics (NCTM 2000) and develop expertise in this mathematics content.

Contact: http://www.nctm.org/about/met/eizen.htm

One of the Best Handheld Computing Sites

2005-09-07T12:31:00.000-04:00

Tony Vincent has a wonderful site that has tons of great resources for both Palm and Pocket PC devices. He has has a great blog there as well.

Learning in Hand

Nice Collection of Elementary PowerPoints

2005-08-26T00:44:00.000-04:00

Some of these are very good!

Elementary PowerPoints

Thanks to SEGA Tech!

Photo from Arizona laptop school

2005-08-21T13:36:00.000-04:00

This is a photo of one of the teachers from the Arizona school that has ditched textbooks for laptops. I hope we see more of this in the future!

Teacher Becky Ogle, standing, holds her laptop computer as she explains how to use a spreadsheet to students at Empire High School in Vail, Arizona, on Tuesday. Empire High School issued Apple laptop computers to every student instead of traditional textbooks.

No textbooks for this school!

2005-08-18T22:12:00.000-04:00

This is from the Atlanta Journal/Constitution. Since it requires registration, I will post the entire article.

Ariz. School Trades Textbooks for Laptops

By ARTHUR H. ROTSTEIN
Associated Press Writer

VAIL, Ariz. — Students at Empire High School here started class this year with no textbooks — but it wasn't because of a funding crisis.

Instead, the school issued iBooks — laptop computers by Apple Computer Inc. — to each of its 340 students, becoming one of the first U.S. public schools to shun printed textbooks.

School officials believe the electronic materials will get students more engaged in learning. Empire High, which opened for the first time this year, was designed specifically to have a textbook-free environment.

"We've always been pretty aggressive in use of technology and we have a history of taking risks," said Calvin Baker, superintendent of the Vail Unified School District, which has 7,000 students outside of Tucson.

Schools typically overlay computers onto their instruction "like frosting on the cake," Baker said. "We decided that the real opportunity was to make the laptops the key ingredient of the cake. ... to truly change the way that schools operated."

Two years ago, about 600 school districts nationwide had pilot projects to provide laptops for each student — a figure that's likely doubled since then, said Mark Schneiderman, director of federal education policy for the Software and Information Industry Association in Washington.

But most still issue textbooks — for now.

"Because most schools are not starting from scratch ... most districts are using a blended approach now and will phase out their printed textbooks," he said.

For example, in the Henrico County school system near Richmond, Va., students in 23 middle and high schools will be using laptops for the fifth straight year, though teachers still use textbooks, said spokesman Mychael Dickerson.

Many publishers of traditional textbooks are offering digital formats to address the growing use of computers, and that provided some of the material for Empire High's curriculum. Teachers also used subscription services and free Web resources.

Students get the materials over the school's wireless Internet network. The school has a central filtering system that limits what can be downloaded on campus. The system also controls chat room visits and instant messaging that might otherwise distract wired students.

Students can turn in homework online. A Web program checks against Internet sources for plagiarized material and against the work of other students, Baker said. "If you copy from your buddy, it's going to get caught," he said.

Before Empire High opened, officials looked at the use of laptops in other schools and decided that high school students were more engaged when using computers. Unlike many adults, teens weaned on digital material seem to have little difficulty adapting to reading primarily on computer screens, Baker said.

But educators also decided they could do more with the technology.

In addition to offering up-to-date information, teachers can make the curriculum more dynamic. For example, lessons in social studies, which might previously have been done in summaries, can include links to full Supreme Court rulings or an explorer's personal account of a discovery.

Social studies teacher Jeremy Gypton said the transition was easier than expected. Gypton said he assigns readings based on Web sites, lists postings to news articles, uses online groups and message boards to keep the students connected on weekends and asks them to comment on each other's work.

One of the more surprising things, he said, was finding that students' proficiency at video games and e-mail hasn't always translated into other computer skills.

"One of the greatest challenges actually is getting the kids up to speed in using Word, in using an Internet browser for other than a simple global search," Gypton said.

All of Empire's students knew about the laptop-only setup when they enrolled, and students who were uncomfortable with it were allowed to enroll in the district's other, more traditional schools. But Empire has a waiting list.

Julian Tarazon, a freshman, said he doesn't miss lugging around a bag full of books.

"It was kind of hard at first, because you had to put things in folders," Julian said, referring, naturally, to virtual folders on his computer's desktop. "After a couple of days, you kind of get used to it."

Freshman Morgan Northcutt said the computer system has made it easier to do assignments, and she isn't as likely to lose them.

"There's complications like hooking up with the Internet, but other than that it's been pretty easy," Morgan said.

The school isn't entirely paperless, however. It has a library, and students are often assigned outside reading.

"We're not trying to eliminate books," Baker said. "We love books."

Link to System Site

Science Teacher Resource - Ask Dr. Bob!

2005-08-17T00:08:00.000-04:00

A great resource for students and science teachers.

Teaching is a remarkable profession. One of the many jobs taken on by a teacher is to correct any preconceived notions held by a student. One of the preconceived notions students bring into the classroom is that the teacher knows everything about every subject under the sun. We teachers know a lot about many subjects,but not everything. We can always use some advice from an expert oceanographer.

Fortunately for us, our team has an expert. Dr. Bob is a professor of oceanography. He is a wonderful resource for those tough to answer questions about the oceans posed by our students. Please feel free to tap into his knowledge.

Link to Site

Great site for maps!

2005-08-14T17:06:00.000-04:00

You would think that National Geographic would have some fantastic online maps you could print.

Well, you would be correct!

National Geographic Maps Online

edHelper.com

2005-08-10T23:54:00.000-04:00

You owe it to yourself to add edHelper.com to your bookmarks or favorites. It has a lot of great sections for educators of all levels. They also have a cool logo!

edHelper.com

All About Podcasting

2005-08-06T23:47:00.000-04:00

Here are a couple of great links about Podcasting.

What is Podcasting and why should I use it?

Podcasting is a way to automatically download and synchronize digital audio files from the internet to iPods, Palm OS handhelds, Pocket PCs, or other devices that play digital audio files. These audio files are usually in MP3 format and can be recorded and distributed by anyone. Podcasts are free of charge, though you may need to purchase some software to make the download and synchronization process work seamlessly. There are podcasts recorded by educators for educators. There are also podcasts recorded specifically for students. And best yet—there are podcasts made by students!

How do I create Podcasts?

Creating podcasts has many educational benefits. Students are able to create a product to share with a potentially world-wide audience! The process of putting together an audio recording is extremely valuable and is certainly a cross-curricular experience. I've divided up the process into four parts: preproduction, recording, postproduction, and publishing.

Blog Meister from David Warlick

2005-08-02T00:04:00.000-04:00

David Warlick is very famous in the field of educational technology, and is very involved in blogging as well. He has a tool that he is working on for teachers called Blog Meister. David says:

There are many freely available tools that facilitate blogging, but none seem especially suited for the classroom. That is the reason for BlogMeister. This online blogging tool is explicitly designed with teachers and students in mind, where the teacher can evaluate, comment on, and finally publish students' blog articles in a controlled environment. Give it a try and let me know what you think.

Blog Meister

Pressure Builds for Effective Staff Training

2005-07-31T23:03:00.000-04:00

A very good article on Staff Development

Back in the early 1990s, when Amy C. Orr started her teaching career in the Rockwood, Mo., school district, her colleagues dreaded the professional-development workshops they had to attend, she remembers.
“It was a lot of what we would call ‘sit and git’ workshops,” said Ms. Orr, now a reading specialist in the district’s Wild Horse Elementary School. “It was very fragmented, and there was no understanding that staff development could lead to student achievement.”
More than a decade later, the take on professional development has changed—and not just among Ms. Orr’s co-workers. Now many national policymakers and experts believe that professional development, which teachers often have regarded as wasted time, is potentially an important tool for improving student learning. But as often happens in education, the research on such programs and their effectiveness hasn’t kept pace with the rhetoric.

Link to Complete Article

Microsoft Vista

2005-07-27T21:34:00.000-04:00

Microsoft has announced that the name of its new operating system will be Windows Vista. It's set to be released sometime in 2006. Here is one screenshot:

Click here to see more.

Journey North

2005-07-26T01:48:00.000-04:00

Journey North engages students in a global study of wildlife migration and seasonal change. K-12 students share their own field observations with classmates across North America. They track the coming of spring through the migration patterns of monarch butterflies, bald eagles, robins, hummingbirds, whooping cranes -- and other birds and mammals, the budding of plants, changing sunlight and other natural events. Find standards-based lesson plans, activities and information to help students make local observations and fit them into a global context. Widely considered a best-practices model for education, Journey North is the nation's premiere "citizen science" project for children. The general public is also welcome to participate.

Teachers and Communication

2005-07-23T23:32:00.000-04:00

Here is an outstanding post concerning communication skills and teachers.

More importantly, we need to understand how to help students learn to use the tools to better communicate with the world. It’s not about telling the teacher and the class what you know and think anymore. Students should be able to tell everyone they can.

Link to Article

The Hunt is on for Ed-tech Visionaries

2005-07-22T13:11:00.000-04:00

By Corey Murray, Associate Editor, eSchool News July 22, 2005

The search is on for the nation's top education visionaries. Not long after Intel Corporation staged its own Visionary Conference in Washington, D.C., two more technology giants are on the hunt.

Dell Inc., the nation's leading provider of computers to schools, and the world's leading software maker, Microsoft Corp., have announced the creation of a Visionary Award. The program seeks to empower forward-thinking educators by providing the tools and resources to help them upgrade the nation's classroom for the 21st century.

Three educators committed to turning their vision for the future into a reality will each win $250,000 in technology and services for their school, according to the companies. The visionaries will be chosen based on personal essays detailing how technology can transform education and help their students prepare for the future.

The awards are part of a larger million-dollar grant initiative, dubbed FutureReady, which seeks to equip educators with the skills, resources, and technology necessary to prepare the nation's students for success in the ultra-competitive global economy.
Winners will be announced at Dell's Global Education Day in early 2006, where they will be given the opportunity to share their vision of education and technology with education stakeholders around the world.

Link to Article

Instructional Technology & Distance Learning Journal

2005-07-21T09:10:00.000-04:00

"This Journal was established to facilitate collaboration and communication among researchers, innovators, practitioners, and administrators of education and training programs involving technology and distance learning.

An academic institution, Duquesne University, was chosen for its commitment to academic excellence and exemplary programs in instructional technology and distance learning. Duquesne University is supporting the Journal through its graduate program in Instructional Technology and its Center for Technology Education Innovation and Research (TEIR Center). In addition to its educational programs, Duquesne University has major training contracts for industry and government.

The Journal is refereed, global, and focused on research and innovation in teaching and learning. Duquesne University and its partner, DonEl Learning Inc., are committed to publish significant writings of high academic stature."

Link to Journal

Navigate between windows in Excel workbooks

2005-07-21T00:17:00.000-04:00

Do you frequently open and work in two or more Microsoft Excel workbooks simultaneously? If so, here are a few basic ways to efficiently navigate between workbooks.

Open Excel's Window menu, and either type the number corresponding to the workbook you want to view, or click the workbook's name.
Press [Ctrl][F6] or [Ctrl][Tab]: Each time you press either one of these key combinations, Excel will switch to the next open workbook.
Press [Alt][Tab]: This causes Windows to display a set of icons corresponding to all open applications, not just your Excel workbooks. Hold the [Alt] key, and press [Tab] to cycle between icons. As you access the Excel icons, Windows will display the name of that workbook. When you find the one you want, release the [Alt] key to display it.
Click the appropriate item in the Windows taskbar. By default, Excel displays a separate taskbar item for each open Excel window.

Thanks to Mary Ann at TechRepublic

An Interesting Debate

2005-07-19T22:03:00.000-04:00

Tim Stahmer, author of the very good AssortedStuff blog, has made a great post in response to a well-known critic of technology in education. It seems that Cliff Stoll, a physicist and writer who is a longtime opponent of educational technology, recently wrote an article which typfies his ramblings on this subject. Here is an excerpt:

The computer changes the ecology of the classroom. Attention is diverted away from the teacher and toward the magic screen. Electronic media are emphasized at the expense of the written word. Books feel boring compared with their online competitors. As a result, school libraries have morphed into media centers, where Internet feeds and DVDs push aside books and magazines. Increasingly, schools teach the easy stuff: how to change fonts, surf the Web or make a PowerPoint show.

Stahmer offers a well written response to Mr. Stoll:

Stoll is right, however, that the computer changes the "ecology" of the classroom. It should! We should be using technology to alter teaching and learning by giving kids more control over both; by offering more individualization; by offering the teacher more options for helping their students understand the world.

Ten Tips for New Trainers/Teachers

2005-07-18T22:48:00.000-04:00

Very good article!

Just because you've used lots of software doesn't mean you can write code. Just because you've been in lots of buildings doesn't mean you can be an architect. And just because you've logged a million frequent flyer miles doesn't mean you can fly a plane.

But if that's all ridiculously obvious, why do some people believe that just because they've taken classes, they can teach? (Or just because they've read lots of books, they can write one?) The problem isn't thinking that they can do it, the problem is thinking they can do it without having to learn, study, or practice.

Link to Article

Top 101 Web sites for Teachers

2005-07-17T22:17:00.000-04:00

This is certainly worth saving in your bookmarks!

Top 101 Web sites for Teachers

Two handy PDF tips

2005-07-17T14:29:00.000-04:00

Using PDF files has become a lot more common lately. The ability to convert a document to PDF is essential. This site will allow you to upload a file and have it converted to a PDF. There is a limit of 2 megabytes, and it is free. You can convert the following files types:

DOC PPT GIF
RTF PPS PNG
XLS BMP WMF
TXT JPG EMF
HTML TIFF

PDF Online

Next, I found a handy little program that is a good replacement for Adobe Reader. Foxit lets you read PDFs with no problem, and it a download of less than 1 megabyte.

Foxit PDF Reader

Technologies by Intelligence

2005-07-16T01:12:00.000-04:00

What does Gardner's work on human cognition have to do with instructional technology? Well, for starters, we can look at hardware and applications by intelligence. This can be an excellent exercise for examining one's inventory and identifying your strengths and deficits in accommodating all the intelligences through technology. Consider these lists:

Verbal
Textbook, pencil, worksheet, newspaper, magazine, word processing, electronic mail, desktop publishing, web based publishing, keyboard, speech recognition devices, text bridges

Logical
Lecture, Cuisenaire rods, Unifix cubes, tangrams, measuring cups, measuring scales, ruler/yardstick, slide rule, graphing calculators, spreadsheet, search engine, directory, FTP clients, gophers, webquests, problem solving tasks, programming languages

Click here for the rest

Guide to Grammar and Writing

2005-07-16T01:05:00.000-04:00

Capital Community College Foundation has a good site on Grammar and Writing which contains a very intensive guide from word and sentence, paragraph to essay and research paper level for grammar and writing.

Link to Site

One of the Best Online References Sites

2005-07-14T01:08:00.000-04:00

You'll love this one!

Bartleby.com began as a personal research experiment in 1993 and within one year published the first classic book on the Web (Whitman’s Leaves of Grass).

Since its incorporation in 1999 and the release of preeminent contemporary reference works, Bartleby.com becomes the most comprehensive reference publisher on the web, meeting the needs of students, educators, and the intellectually curious.

Link to Site

Taxonomy for Distance Education

2005-07-12T21:52:00.000-04:00

Here is an interesting taxonomy related to distance learning. It is a first draft created by a doctoral student in Maine, and it is worth taking a look at it.

Link to Article

Create Graphs Online for Free!

2005-07-12T20:48:00.000-04:00

How about a website where you or your kids could make as many graphs or charts as you like? Yes, they are free and you can save or print them. Here is an example:

Link to Site

Arizona School Will Not Use Textbooks

2005-07-11T23:09:00.000-04:00

This has been coming for a while, but it's still a long way off for most places.

A high school in Vail will become the state's first all-wireless, all-laptop public school this fall. The 350 students at the school will not have traditional textbooks. Instead, they will use electronic and online articles as part of more traditional teacher lesson plans.

Vail Unified School District's decision to go with an all-electronic school is rare, experts say. Often, cost, insecurity, ignorance and institutional constraints prevent schools from making the leap away from paper.

Link to Article

20 Technology Skills Every Educator Should Have

2005-07-11T21:31:00.000-04:00

How many do you have?

During the last 15 years, we in education have moved at light speed in the area of educational technology. Whether you are involved in higher ed, secondary ed, elementary ed, or special ed, all of us find it difficult to catch up, keep up, and put up with fast-moving computer-based technology. Not since the introduction of the blackboard have we seen a piece of equipment make such a difference in how we teach. Today, not only do we use computers, but we also have laptops, wireless laptops, and tablet PCs. In addition, we have the World Wide Web, scanners, CD burners, USB drives, digital cameras and digital video cameras, PDAs, as well as video and DVD players. And most educators use a variety of tools-including video, e-mail, desktop conferencing, online programs such as WebCT and Blackboard, as well as video conferencing-to teach. Thus, it is no longer acceptable for educators to be technology illiterate.

Link to Article

Michigan laptop program shows early success

2005-07-11T21:28:00.000-04:00

Some good news from Michigan.

In Bendle Middle School in Burton, Mich., reading proficiency scores on the Michigan Education Assessment Program (MEAP) test administered in January reportedly increased from 29 percent to 41 percent for seventh graders and from 31 percent to 63 percent for eighth graders.

Seventh grade reading scores in the Flint school district reportedly jumped from 29 percent to 41 percent, and eighth grade math scores increased from 31 percent to 63 percent.

Link to Article