Educational Technology Ray Schroeder, editor, COLRS - University of Illinois at Springfield Educational Technology - a blog published daily since 2002 by Ray Schroeder, Professor Emeritus, University of Illinois at Springfield |
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Saturday, March 20, 2004
A Tour of Online Tutors - Jeffrey Branzburg, techLearning
When help from a tutor is needed to aid a child's academic growth, the Internet provides parents and teachers — especially those in areas where it is difficult to find qualified instructors — with many more options than ever. The stand-alone services reviewed here all provide online, real-time, one-on-one tutoring in core subject areas over the Internet. Some require students to install software (which is provided as part of the service), others function through a standard Web browser. All five services require tutors to have college experience; while some only use licensed and certified teachers, others use graduate students and other professionals as tutors. All the companies conduct background checks of the tutors they employ. (1) comments
State finds educators bought phony advanced degrees - The Associated Press
Ten Georgia educators purchased phony advanced degrees from an online university based in Liberia, according to officials with the Professional Standards Commission. A two-month investigation found that the educators obtained doctorates and master's degrees from St. Regis University, a school that investigators learned sells degrees without requiring any course work. Six of the teachers were from Gwinnett County, and four from other counties. (0) comments Friday, March 19, 2004
Data: Mining with a Mission - Judy Salpeter, techLearning
For some districts, the current obsession with data grows out of the need to comply with No Child Left Behind and additional accountability-related mandates. For others, it dates way back before the phrase "data-driven decision making" rolled so frequently off the tongues of educators. In either case, there is no denying that an integral part of the business of K-12 education today is to collect, manage, analyze, and learn from a wide array of data. In response, the past few years have witnessed an explosion of technology-based tools, consulting services, professional development opportunities, and other resources designed to help schools move beyond being data rich but information poor. (0) comments
Cheating in the Digital Age - Bernhard Warner, Biz Report
Loads of reports -- from essays to thesis papers, on topics ranging from "Trade Relations between Salem, Massachusetts and China" to "Cuban Immigration 1950s to 1980" -- are floating around the Internet, available for free or on the cheap. And if you're feeling more brazen, you could crack into your school's computer network and steal a classmate's paper. Welcome to the world of cheating in the digital age. (0) comments Thursday, March 18, 2004
'Ultra-communicators' demand more eMail access, better software - Corey Murray, eSchool News
A recent survey suggests the pervasiveness of internet-connected computers at home and in the nation's schools has given rise to a new breed of tech-savvy student: "ultra-communicators," who say they approach their daily lives differently as a result of technology. The survey's findings have important implications for school leaders as they seek to design learning environments that meet the needs of today's students. "Voices & Views from Today's Tech-Savvy Students"--part of a national report sponsored by the nonprofit group NetDay--surveyed more than 210,000 K-12 students from all 50 states to learn what role technology plays in their day-to-day activities. (0) comments
School buses to get fingerprint security system - eSchool News
Assured that student privacy would be protected, a Florida school board has approved a $2.26-million system to use children's fingerprints to track their movements on and off school buses. A division of Laidlaw International Inc., the Illinois-based transit giant that owns Greyhound, was awarded the contract to outfit the Pinellas County Schools' 750 buses with electronic devices that will identify individual students by their fingerprints beginning next fall. (0) comments Wednesday, March 17, 2004
Students Follow Trek to North Pole With Customized Curriculum, Interactive Projects and Live Updates Directly From the Arctic Ice
World Wide Learn, provider of the world's largest directory of e-learning courses and online education resources, today announced it has partnered with Global SchoolNet Foundation (GSN) to enable children from around the world to follow Wave Vidmar live on his expedition to the North Pole. GSN is a non-profit international network of 70,000+ online educators who engage in online project-based learning activities. Last month, Vidmar, a lifelong adventurer and athlete, launched his WorldWideLearn.com North Pole Solo 2004 (http://www.worldwidelearn.com/northpole). His historic quest -- to walk, ski and swim over 660 miles across the constantly moving Polar ice -- is especially notable, given that Vidmar is aiming to pull off this tremendously difficult trek solo and completely unsupported. At the completion of his approximately 60-day expedition -- around the start of May -- Vidmar will become the first American ever to attempt and accomplish this extremely challenging feat, the third person ever to attain this goal, and the second person to reach the North Pole from the Russian side. (0) comments
VIPs cast their eyes over Luton's state of the art centre
High-tech help for education is the name of the game at Luton's state of the art new learning centre, which was officially opened on Tuesday morning. Since the elearning@luton complex in Sundon Park Road opened for business in November more than 2,000 pupils have passed through its doors from every one of the town's secondary schools and 30 junior schools. They've been quick to take advantage of a 16-station cybercafé, two suites of 13 high-power computers kitted out with software that can help with studying a range of subjects from Shakespeare to symphonic composition, a music and technology studio and a performance area – facilities which are also available for community use. (0) comments Tuesday, March 16, 2004
Web campaign calls for Paige's dismissal - eSchool News
A federal lawmaker has joined the heads of two grassroots political organizations in launching an online petition seeking the removal of Education Secretary Rod Paige. U.S. Rep. Betty McCollum, D-Minn., Campaign for America's Future Co-director Robert Borosage, and MoveOn.org's Peter Schurman have created a web site, www.firepaige.org, asking President Bush to fire Paige for calling the nation's largest teachers union a "terrorist organization." At press time, the site reportedly had more than 200,000 unique signatures. (0) comments
New drive to give pupils laptops in UK - BBC
Essex is the latest education authority to urge parents to make tax-deductible contributions to a charity so schoolchildren can have laptops. Its e-learning project aims to provide a "digital learning device" to all 200,000 of its school pupils by 2007. Essex says it has planned the endeavour cautiously - and has been "inundated" with interest from its schools. (0) comments Monday, March 15, 2004
Hand-held PCs lure students: Districts ask parents to buy tools for classroom use - Janet Sugameli, Detroit News
Lauren Nickels, 12, convinced her parents that purchasing a hand-held computer would help her in class and keep her organized. The sixth-grader from L’Anse Creuse Middle School-North is one of more than 130 students whose parents bought the devices after officials encouraged parents to assist a pilot program that lets students use the devices regularly in class. “I saw how all my friends had one and that they were having so much fun with them, so I wanted one, too,” she said. “I use it for lots of things. Like in social studies, I use it for writing essays. It’s more fun since you are typing with a wireless keyboard.” (0) comments
Evergreen, blind teens log into school on the Web - GREGG SHERRARD BLESCH, Columbian
At midnight it's time for school, and Raena Frakes opens a Mountain Dew Code Red in her family room. She turns on the television and puts on a CD to kill the distracting silence. Then she signs on to the Evergreen Internet Academy's Web site and settles in for five or six hours of work before going to bed. That's a routine that works for Raena ---- even her mother says so. The 16-year-old has been taking the bulk of her classes online since eighth grade. She made the switch from Frontier Middle School because respiratory problems were making her miss weeks of school. (0) comments Sunday, March 14, 2004
New trend in membership web sites could help schools - Robert Morrow, eSchool News
As they search for new revenue sources for cash-strapped schools, education technology leaders might want to investigate a growing trend from the consumer web arena--membership web sites. A recent conference in Orlando, Fla., sponsored by the Subscription Website Publishers Association (SWEPA) suggested that the benefits of setting up a membership web site could apply to schools. "People like to belong to a private and secure web site. It improves collaboration, and peers are more likely to share innovative ideas," said Peter A. Schaible, SWEPA director. "Schools should consider a membership web site to improve stakeholder relations and communications and perhaps even investigate using a subscription web site membership model to raise funds for their school." (0) comments
The Library of Congress Online for Educators - Leni Donlan, techLearning
The Library of Congress is the nation's oldest federal cultural institution. Established in 1800 as a legislative library, it grew into a national institution during the nineteenth century and, since World War II, has become an international resource. It is the largest library in the world, with more than 126 million items on approximately 530 miles of bookshelves. The collections include nearly 19 million books, 2.6 million recordings, 12 million photographs, 4.8 million maps, and 56 million manuscripts. The Library is an institution of tremendous diversity. Among its many roles it is: the major research arm of the U.S. Congress; the copyright agency of the United States; a government library heavily used by the executive branch and the judiciary; and the world's largest repository of maps, atlases, printed and recorded music, motion pictures and television programs. (0) comments Educational Technology News Blog Archives OTEL - Ray's Home Page - Notebook - UIS Online - U of I Online - UIS Home Fair Use |
