Educational Technology Ray Schroeder, editor, OTEL - University of Illinois at Springfield |
|
  |
Saturday, August 23, 2003
No Lab Coat Required - Mike Brown, techLearning
The two mechanical and chemical engineering programs reviewed this month-The Incredible Machine: Even More Contraptions from Sierra and Chemicus from Viva Media/Tivola-combine high-end computer graphics with learning activities that are interactive, intriguing, and a whole lot of fun. Even the driest scientific principles prove compelling to students when presented within the richly rendered computer environments of these unique problem-solving games. And although these programs are not intended as a formal introduction to the core science curriculum, they should serve well as a complement to middle and high school physics and chemistry classes.
Microsoft, schools mull security improvements in wake of latest worm - eSchool News staff and wire service reports
Too busy to update your flawed software? Software giant Microsoft Corp. is considering whether Microsoft, flaws and all, should automatically do it for you. Microsoft said Aug. 19 it is considering whether to sign up users of future versions of its Windows operating system to a service that automatically downloads and installs software fixes on their computers unless customers specifically opt out of the service. Friday, August 22, 2003
Handhelds in Education - THE Journal
According to the Center for Highly Interactive Computing in Education (Hi-CE) at the University of Michigan: "Computers can be great learning tools when used effectively, but high costs have long hindered educators from providing each student with a laptop or desktop unit of his or her own. Today, handheld devices such as Palms are making technology accessible, affordable and fun for teachers and students alike."
Content Delivery for a Virtual High School - W. Joy Lopez, THE Journal
In the fall of 2002, Visions In Education, a charter school for home-schooled and independent-study children, opened Visions High School Academy (www.visions academy.org), a virtual project-based high school. The five educators who started the program - Mark Jackson, Fred Lamora, Celine Darby, Jennifer Russell and I - identified three beliefs that guided our design of the program.... Thursday, August 21, 2003
Burgettstown Spanish course originates in Utah - Observer-Reporter
Students at Burgettstown Area Junior-Senior High School enrolled in the fourth-year Spanish course this fall will learn via a distance learning course. District Superintendent Terry Kirschler told board members at Monday's meeting the course will be offered through Brigham Young University in Utah. The course costs $2,544, including books, at the district's expense. The district decided to offer distance learning after C. Brian Colucci tendered his resignation last month. Colucci taught German and Spanish.
Teachers' grade books are going high tech - Lisa Von Eberstein, Time Picayune
Teachers, principals and other school representatives across St. Tammany Parish now have instant access to student records, right at their desks, thanks to a new student information system. About 11,000 computers are part of a network being used by all St. Tammany public schools. Classrooms and school support facilities are equipped with the computers, allowing teachers to communicate via e-mail with other teachers and parents, keep electronic attendance records and access student test scores, grade history and medical information Wednesday, August 20, 2003
'PC blades' could simplify upkeep of school computers - Corey Murray, eSchool News
Blade computing might be about to cut to the chase in the school field. Companies such as Dell, Gateway, Hewlett-Packard (HP), IBM, Oracle, and Sun Microsystems all are sharpening their sales messages for these no-nonsense machines, which they say are less expensive to buy and more efficient to operate than regular systems. Computer makers are adapting the concept of server blades--or single circuit boards populated with components such as processors, memory, and network connections that are usually found on multiple boards--and applying it to desktop computers. The resulting machines could save schools and businesses up to 45 percent on the total cost of owning and operating personal computers, HP executives told eSchool News.
Site of the Day:The Periodic Table of Comic Books, Recommended by Ken Royal, techLearning
The Periodic Table of Comic Books is a working periodic table that uses comic book characters to draw students into learning about the elements. The site is the work of two chemistry professors at the University of Kentucky. The Periodic Table of Comic Books will be a big hit with your middle and high school chemistry students. The opening page looks like any other periodic table. Students choose an element and the comic book adventure of that element begins. The element name is used in the bubbles of the super heroes. It may not have you giving up your wall chart, but students will enjoy the comic book / chemistry combination. http://www.uky.edu/Projects/Chemcomics/ Tuesday, August 19, 2003
Site of the Day: Web English Teacher - techLearning
Brief Description of the Site: Carla Beard thinks of her site as the faculty library or workroom on a global scale and it's a real find for English and Language Arts teachers. Links include Advanced Placement, Book Reports, Children's Literature, ESL, Grammar, Mechanics, and Usage, Journalism, Literature, Mythology, Phonics, Poetry, Reading, Shakespeare, Speech, Study Guides, Vocabulary, Writing, and more. http://www.webenglishteacher.com
Back-to-School Software and Web Resources - Michelle Thatcher, techLearning
The new products described below form a broad cross section of educational software and Web releases for summer and fall 2003. The back-to-basics trend continues this year as publishers unveil a number of programs that teach core math, science, and literacy skills. These new curriculum offerings often include assessment tools to help educators meet the strict reporting requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act, and a number of publishers have developed specific products that use technology to assess student learning. In addition, all members of the school community can stay involved with new Web-based collaboration tools. Read on for the whole scoop. Monday, August 18, 2003
On Web, kids hand out the grades - RICK KARLIN, Times Union
In a Web-fueled turning of the tables, students can now grade their teachers. Gossiping about teachers has always been a favorite schoolyard pastime. Everyone has a teacher he or she clearly remembers -- the nerdy math teacher, cool music instructor or macho gym coach. Such thoughts used to be scrawled on bathroom walls or scribbled in yearbooks. Now, the remarks are on an Internet site that lets students rate and post comments about their teachers. It dates to 2001, but the best indication that RateMyTeachers.com has really caught on is that a handful of local schools, including Guilderland and Queensbury, have banned it from computers on their campuses.
Students plug into electronic schools - FREDREKA SCHOUTEN, Gannett News Service
When 6-year-old Elijah Mader rouses his mother at 5 a.m. for school, there's no mad dash to get dressed or race for the bus. School is only as far as the basement of their Appleton, Wis., home. Still clad in pajamas, Elijah and mom Monique flip open a black Compaq laptop and log on to the Wisconsin Connections Academy, a K-8 public school that educates 450 students statewide via the Internet. The Maders are part of a fast-growing trend in U.S. education: virtual schooling. These cyberschools are organized as public charter schools, which means taxpayers pick up the bill for computers, software, printers, textbooks, Internet connections and teaching help, even though the kids may never set foot in a real school building. Sunday, August 17, 2003
The Cutting Edge - Virtual Dissections - Blair Campbell, Teacher Magazine
As technology improves, educators have a new reason to dissect animals virtually: It may be better than the real thing. For three days last May, you could hear a pin drop during Betty Villiard's 10th grade biology class at King Philip Regional High School in Wrentham, Massachusetts. The classroom wasn't empty, nor were Villiard's students taking exams. Instead, they were intently dissecting about two dozen frogs. Absent were the usual shrieks of disgust or pleas for assistance. Villiard explains why: "There was nothing to be squeamish about or offended by," she says, because her students were conducting their dissections on computer screens.
Professional Development: 21st Century Models - Judy Salpeter, techLearning
Research shows that effective staff training is the key to retaining high-quality educators. Here we detail several technology-infused approaches that work. Never before has the pressure been so high to find ways to support successful teaching and learning through effective professional development. With the U.S. education community, driven by No Child Left Behind, focusing on standards, accountability, and pledges to see that every child is taught by a certified and qualified teacher, the National Staff Development Council has proposed an additional goal: That all teachers in all schools should experience high-quality professional learning by 2007. In its January 2003 report, No Dream Denied: A Pledge to America's Children, the National Commission on Teaching and America's Future contends that, contrary to popular belief, the main challenge facing schools in their quest for qualified teachers is not recruiting, but retention. Educational Technology News Blog Archives OTEL - Ray's Home Page - Notebook - UIS Online - U of I Online - UIS Home Fair Use |
