Educational Technology Ray Schroeder, editor, OTEL - University of Illinois at Springfield |
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Saturday, January 15, 2005
Tolerance.org
While some groups only give lip service to spreading the good word about the importance of tolerance, the Southern Poverty Law Center has created this fine website to disseminate valuable materials for people interested in dismantling bigotry and creating communities that welcome and value diversity. The site has much to offer, including daily news updates about groups and individuals working for tolerance and fighting hate, guidebooks for adult and youth activists, and educational games for young children. The site is thematically divided into areas for teachers, teens, children, and parents. The parents section has some great resources, including a feature titled "10 Ways to Nurture Tolerance" and a list of helpful books on the theme of tolerance for parents that is quite handy. Educators will find the "Teaching Tolerance" area a welcome find, as it contains a number of classroom activities and the current edition (along with an archive) of their Teaching Tolerance magazine. From The Scout Report, Copyright Internet Scout Project 1994-2004. http://scout.wisc.edu/ (0) comments
Women in World History Curriculum
Under the able direction of educator Lyn Reese, the Women in World History Curriculum project has been developing materials that introduce women's history into the secondary level classroom for more than two decades. Teachers and parents will enjoy perusing the online materials here, which include reviews of various curricula, reviews of women's history books that may be useful in the classroom, and of course, some historical background essays on topics such as women and the Crusades and historical perspectives on Islamic dress. The site also contains 13 activities that educators may use in their classrooms. The topics covered by these activities include the role of women in the early Industrial Revolution period in England and the fight for global suffrage. Additionally, some of the educational materials featured here are available for purchase. From The Scout Report, Copyright Internet Scout Project 1994-2004. http://scout.wisc.edu/ (0) comments Friday, January 14, 2005
Mariner unveils specialty program - TANYA SOMAROO, News-Press
Mariner High School will become a Center for Creative Technologies and Small Learning Communities in August. The program is designed to offer students more advanced academic and technology-based courses through 11 "ports of study" or academies.... The Port of Online Learning would be a franchise of the Florida Virtual School, an entirely online school where students can take courses that are not offered at their school. The district must first receive approval for Mariner to offer the program. Roles said the online school will allow students to accelerate their learning or catch up on courses they failed. The port will also include courses on how to be successful in online courses. The course will give high school students an advantage if they decide to pursue a college degree online. (0) comments
Schools use web to deepen tsunami study - Robert Brumfield, eSchool News
In the aftermath of the deadly tsunami that devastated parts of South Asia and the east coast of Africa on Dec. 26, educators and their students are using online resources to help explain the geological, geographical, cultural, and political elements of the disaster. Kathy Schrock, technology administrator for the Nauset Public Schools on Cape Cod, Mass., said she received many eMail messages over the holiday vacation from teachers asking for resources on the subject. "Teachers who wrote to me seemed to be more interested in first explaining how such a disaster occurs so in my [weekly listserv for educators] I listed sites at all levels that dealt with the geologic and safety forces behind the event," she said. (0) comments Thursday, January 13, 2005
Videoconferencing in Education - Jody Howard-Kennedy, techLearning
Teaching has taken on a whole new meaning these days at the Eastview Middle School in White Plains, New York. The classroom walls are seemingly becoming invisible as students are interacting with people from all over the world right from their classrooms. Over the past three years the videoconferencing initiative at Eastview has caused tremendous excitement and change in our school district. Through the use of videoconferencing, teachers at Eastview Middle School have been able to plan and coordinate experiences for their students that not only fulfill the objectives of their curriculum, but also address the larger goals that our school district has for its students, such as fostering and developing leadership skills, promoting the concept of global citizenship, and providing students with experiences that develop their emotional intelligence. (0) comments
Kentucky to launch online testing pilot - eSchool News
This spring, Kentucky will join the growing number of states implementing computer-based testing of students. A state pilot program will offer online testing to more than 3,000 students in more than 30 high schools across Kentucky. Select students at the schools will take 10th-grade reading or 11th-grade social studies tests on computers, while the rest of the students will continue to take pencil-and-paper tests. (0) comments Wednesday, January 12, 2005
Virtual Schools for Jocks - Deborah Fowler, Time
Tennis hopeful Jamie Hunt, 16, felt he could not become a world-class junior player while attending a regular school. The international circuit has players on the road 50% of the time—and it's hard to focus on your backhand when you're worrying about being on time for homeroom. So in 2003 Hunt, who hones his ground strokes at Elite TNT Tennis Academy in April Sound, Texas, enrolled for academics in the $9,750-a-year University of Miami Online High School (UMOHS), a virtual school that caters to athletes. "The online school gives me the flexibility I need," says Hunt. "The workload is the same, but I can do it anywhere. It's nicer to ask a question face-to-face with a teacher, but in some ways it prepares me better for college because I have to be more independent." (0) comments
School boards curb eMail exchanges - eSchool News
Wary of violating their states' open-meetings laws, some public school officials are looking to limit the volume and content of the eMail messages they send each other--even as other school employees are increasingly turning to eMail to enhance communication. Victor Begg, a trustee with the Bloomfield Hills, Mich., school district, asked his fellow trustees at a recent board meeting to consider a policy that discourages board members from discussing public matters via eMail. (0) comments Tuesday, January 11, 2005
Massive wireless network may be net gain for schools - Chris Kahn, South Florida Sun-Sentinal
Students trying to get out of class work are going to need to get more creative than simply faking a sore throat. Homework assignments, class notes, lesson plans and other school material soon could be available from the beach to the shopping mall through a wireless broadband network that Broward school officials will begin testing next year. "We want students to be able to learn anytime, anyplace," said Jeanine Gendron, who is supervising the expansion of the district's online computer content. "Technically, they could be learning and following up on assignments while on vacation, if they choose." (0) comments
Schools map out wireless strategy - Tony Dobrowolski, Berkshire Eagle
The School Department will present a draft of its plan for participation in a state-sponsored wireless learning initiative at an informational forum in Pittsfield on Thursday, Jan. 27.... The program is intended to use wireless technology as an instructional tool with laptop computers available for both students and staff at Herberg and Reid middle schools, St. Mark Middle School in Pittsfield and Conte Middle School in North Adams. Plans call for the initiative to begin in September with sixth-grade students. (0) comments Monday, January 10, 2005
Tech Ed increasingly important for students - Ken Wiswell, Gilford High School Principal; Laconia, NH Citizen Online
One of the most important transformations taking place in American high schools is in the area we refer to as "Tech Ed." Technology Education is quickly replacing the old industrial arts programs that were part of the curriculum back when I was in school. This transformation is also taking place at Gilford High School. Anyone who has taken a car to a garage lately knows that the first thing the mechanic is likely to do is hook the vehicle up to a computer for a diagnostic check. The American work place is rapidly changing, and employers are looking for workers who have a high level of knowledge and skills. So, it makes sense that in order to help our students enter that work force, we have to continuously upgrade our technology education program. (0) comments
Center to help struggling school music programs - MIKE JOHNSON, Milwaukee Journal Sentinal
At a time when public school band and arts programs are being cut or eliminated because of budget crunches, a bright note is being sounded on the statewide music scene. Right now, that note can be heard in the rumble of construction equipment in Waunakee, where ground is being broken for the Wisconsin Center for Music Education. The center will feature, according to Thays: A digital sound studio for teaching, rehearsing, recording and editing music. An "innovation center" with regional and statewide video conferencing capabilities, distance and online learning, and rooms for workshops and classes. A music technology center, including an electronic keyboard lab with computer interface, Musical Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI) and sequencing capabilities, and technology for music study, composing, arranging and performance. (0) comments Sunday, January 09, 2005
Law Aids School Technology - Scott Lanman, Bloomberg News
With the new law, the government can resume distribution of subsidies to schools and libraries at the normal pace, Blackwell said. On Dec. 13, the FCC decided to increase the rate that determines the surcharge by 20 percent to collect $1.76 billion in the first quarter. The law is designed to "ensure continued service for educational programs in schools and libraries across the nation and to avoid an unnecessary increase in consumer phone rates," said Walter B. McCormick Jr., president of the U.S. Telecom Association, which represents SBC and other local-phone companies. (0) comments
State to try some CATS exams online, hopes for quicker results - Nancy C. Rodriguez, Louisville Courier-Journal
Each April, students in Rebecca Nicolas' English class are tested to see if they meet the state's academic expectations. But Nicolas has to wait six months to see the test results — too late to help students who have long since left her class. "It's frustrating," said Nicolas, who teaches at Doss High School in Jefferson County. "We have to plan our school year, and make our professional development plans and our instructional plans, and we don't really know how our students have performed on the test.".... This spring, a state pilot program will offer computer-based testing to more than 3,000 students in more than 30 high schools, including Doss in Jefferson County. Select students at the schools will take 10th-grade reading or 11th-grade social studies tests on computers, while the rest of the students will continue to take pencil-and-paper tests. (0) comments Educational Technology News Blog Archives OTEL - Ray's Home Page - Notebook - UIS Online - U of I Online - UIS Home Fair Use |
