Educational Technology Ray Schroeder, editor, OTEL - University of Illinois at Springfield |
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News, Techniques and Theories of Effective Use of Technology in Education 
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Saturday, August 14, 2004
What Do They Need to Know About Cyber Safety? - Diane DeMott Painter, techLearning
Each school year in celebration of October's Computer Learning Month, we focus on Cyber Safety and Ethics Awareness issues at our school, Deer Park Elementary. This paper outlines our cyber safety and ethics initiatives, and addresses what we have learned about what our students know and what they need to know in order to be safe when using the Internet. (0) comments
Long-term cost of laptops estimated at $28M per year - Victoria_Wallack, Times Record
Of the state's 118 public high schools, 34 have agreed to foot the bill to get laptops into the hands of ninth-graders this fall, but the question remains: Who will pay to continue the program long term when the cost reaches $28 million or more annually for grades seven through 12? The enormity of the bill has yet to hit home, because the program is only in its third year. The laptop initiative championed by former Gov. Angus King has provided computers to seventh-graders for the last two years, and to eighth-graders for one year. (0) comments Friday, August 13, 2004
The Mandate of Digital Literacy - Charles W.P. Finn, techLearning
Controversy in the U.S. over standards outlined in the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act has riveted the public and private sector on issues surrounding academic standards. With the expansion of NCLB to cover technology in Title II, Part D, there is increased urgency surrounding technology skills standards. A recent release from the U.S. Technology Administration stated that "America's competitiveness in the knowledge-based economy depends on the skills and abilities of our workforce...Advanced technologies have the potential to boost the capabilities, productivity, and flexibility of American workers." (0) comments
FCC adopts new eRate rules - Cara Branigan, eSchool News
The Federal Communications Commission has adopted new eRate rules to address many of the waste, fraud, and abuse issues unearthed during audits by the agency's Office of Inspector General. The rules changes were approved unanimously at an Aug. 4 hearing, though Commissioner Kevin Martin dissented in part with the agency's decisions. (0) comments Thursday, August 12, 2004
New schools mean new technology - NOEMI HERRERA, The Kansas City Star
When students step into one of three new schools this month, they will also step into a new world of technology. Clearwater Creek Elementary and Manchester Park Elementary have the latest technology available to Olathe's elementary students, and the new Prairie Trail Junior High boasts classrooms full of 21st Century equipment. Both elementary schools will have flat-screen computers as well as ergonomically improved chairs and desks for students. (0) comments
Classroom Computer Integration at the High School Level - Matt Gildersleeve, techLearning
As a Continuation High School teacher in a rural central California town, I seldom cease to be amazed at the many different routes my students took to find their way to my classroom. My students' computer proficiency varies as much as the ways they came to Continuation school (a school for students who have fallen far behind their peers in the amount of units required for a high school diploma). One day, after working on a technology assignment during my prep period, I decided to determine the level of computer literacy of my class. I discovered that all of the students had experience with the Internet and Microsoft Word; about half of my students were comfortable with PowerPoint; 20% of the class knew how to use Excel, and one student had created his own Web site. (0) comments Wednesday, August 11, 2004
Classroom Computer Integration at the High School Level - Matt Gildersleeve, techLearning
As a Continuation High School teacher in a rural central California town, I seldom cease to be amazed at the many different routes my students took to find their way to my classroom. My students' computer proficiency varies as much as the ways they came to Continuation school (a school for students who have fallen far behind their peers in the amount of units required for a high school diploma). One day, after working on a technology assignment during my prep period, I decided to determine the level of computer literacy of my class. I discovered that all of the students had experience with the Internet and Microsoft Word; about half of my students were comfortable with PowerPoint; 20% of the class knew how to use Excel, and one student had created his own Web site. (0) comments
Visionlearning
Funded by the National Science Foundation and written by educators, "Visionlearning is an innovative educational resource designed for students, teachers, parents, or anyone interested in learning science." The Library link contains excellent learning modules for a variety of subjects including chemistry, general science, physics, astronomy, and earth science. The modules contain clear explanations, interactive animations, a glossary, current news and events, practice exercises, and biographies of prominent scientists. Educators can find additional materials to help them use technology in their classrooms. In order to obtain access to all of Visionlearning's great educational resources, users do have to complete the free and easy online registration. From The NSDL Scout Report for the Physical Sciences, Copyright Internet Scout Project 1994-2003. http://scout.wisc.edu/ (0) comments Tuesday, August 10, 2004
What Do You Mean COPYRIGHT Does Not Mean I Have the Right to Copy? - Diane D. Painter, techLearning
....I began to search for instructional materials that would help me present copyright and fair use issues in a manner that elementary age students would understand. A member of our technology committee saw such materials geared for elementary students advertised in Weekly Reader. The Business Software Alliance (BSA) created the Play It CyberSafe materials for elementary and middle school-age students. The curriculum, available for download, is widely used by parents and teachers to assist in conversations about responsible cyber behavior. Co-produced by children's publisher Weekly Reader, the curriculum was first distributed last year to schools nationwide and is anticipated to reach more than seven million kids, parents and teachers by the end of 2004. (0) comments
College tours with a virtual twist - Jack Gillum, USA TODAY
Come fall, tour guides here will have software for brains. It's not quite a scene from I, Robot, but Arizona State University is providing an alternative to standard tour guides on its 700-acre desert campus: handheld GPS-assisted tours that use satellite-guided technology to help prospective students and their families find their way around. The PDA-style devices, with their bright color displays, know when users get to designated "hot spots" and point out nearby buildings and activities. The system, weighing in at just a few ounces, weaves in pre-recorded audio scripts — broadcast to users via wireless headphones — from upbeat students who share anecdotes about the university. The GPS (global positioning system) tour is just one example of innovations schools are offering to woo increasingly tech-savvy students. (0) comments Monday, August 09, 2004
Brandeis lab asks, how is learning spelled? Online game tests theory of education - Gretchen Weber, Boston Globe
The key to winning a spelling bee has always been pretty straightforward. Spell the most words right, you win. Misspell a word, kiss the trophy goodbye. But times are changing, and a team of researchers at Brandeis University has put a new spin on the traditional spelling bee format in an effort to prove their theory: that neither head-to-head competition nor pure cooperation is the best way to motivate students. The environment that best engenders education and innovation, they say, is somewhere in the middle. To test the hypothesis, they've developed http://spellbee.org , an online, interactive, multiplayer spelling bee geared for students in grades 2 through 8. (0) comments
Report: States lag on teacher quality - Corey Murray, eSchool News
More than two and a half years since President Bush signed the landmark No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), only a handful of states--Connecticut, Kentucky, New York, Oklahoma, and Pennsylvania--are on track to fully implementing the law, according to a report from the Education Commission of the States (ECS)....When it comes to technology, states have adopted several innovative approaches to collecting and using student data as required under the law. (0) comments Sunday, August 08, 2004
Can you be a techie if you can't type? - Rebecca L. Weber, The Christian Science Monitor
Ms. Eastman's computer classes at this Washington, D.C., elementary school used to focus on using technology to enhance academic skills. But three years ago, after watching some kids spend as long as 10 minutes searching for the letters to enter a single Google query, she decided to start formally teaching touch-typing.... In some schools, typing classes disappeared at least a couple of decades ago. A skill that once seemed vital - particularly to prepare young women for secretarial jobs - no longer appeared relevant in an age that urged more kids to consider going on to at least some form of higher education. And yet, argue some teachers, the ability to touch-type - or to "keyboard," the term more often used today - has perhaps never been more essential. (0) comments
Bridging the Digital Divide: Teens Help Seniors Go Online - Jim Buie, The Washington Post
Senior residents of the Hebrew Home in Rockville are learning their way around the Internet, mastering elements such as e-mail and videoconferencing, and maybe changing their lives in the process. Ben Avin, a 91-year-old retired history professor from the University of Virginia, is exchanging e-mail with his daughter in Texas. Walter Morse, 77, a retired government attorney, is doing caricatures with the help of advanced computer technology. And Lillian Kline, 80, just wowed her family by sending a video e-mail. She also receives frequent dispatches from her grandson in Russia. In a way they've become pioneers in a collaboration between the Hebrew residence and Wootton High School that organizers hope will help combat loneliness and depression among residents of long-term care facilities. (0) comments Educational Technology News Blog Archives OTEL - Ray's Home Page - Notebook - UIS Online - U of I Online - UIS Home Fair Use |
