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, April 16, 2005
Intentionally Misleading Web Sites - Frank Westcott, techLearning
There are many intentionally misleading Web sites. Your students need to know that they exist and how to recognize them. They also need to learn how to evaluate the trustworthiness and authenticity of what they read on the Internet. They have to understand that anyone with a computer and Internet access can publish a Web page and promote their point of view. (0) comments
SciGuides help bring web into instruction - Robert Brumfield, eSchool News
The National Science Teachers Association (NSTA), the world's largest association of science educators, unveiled a new web resource, SciGuides, to about 16,000 attendees and exhibitors at its National Convention in Dallas April 1. NSTA describes SciGuides as an online "science toolbox" for science educators. It features specially developed guides to quickly locate science content information on the web. Each subject-specific SciGuide includes teaching resources from NSTA-reviewed science web sites. NSTA says teachers can use SciGuides to transform content offered on the site into effective classroom resources by locating and incorporating online lesson plans, tips for teaching the subject matter, and effective student assessments. (0) comments Friday, April 15, 2005
Unidata K-12 Weather Sites
Unidata is a community, consisting mostly of educators and researchers, which provides "data, tools, and community leadership for enhanced Earth- system education and research." In this section of the website, Unidata members suggest some of their favorite K-12 websites that educators can use to teach about weather. Along with each website link is a short description of the resource. Some websites are described as offering multimedia instructional resources and weather data, while others offer instructional modules or lesson ideas. SkyMath, for example, was developed in 1996 by Unidata and offers a free module that uses "everyday atmospheric science issues to teach math according to the national standards." From The NSDL Scout Report for Math, Engineering, and Technology, Copyright Internet Scout Project 1994-2005. http://scout.wisc.edu/ (0) comments
Articles for Educators
Articles For Educators is a free resource offered by Virtu Software. On this website, teachers will find lesson plans, field trip ideas, tips and tricks for the classroom written by educators. Visitors can browse the directory of articles by subject or search for a specific topic. This section highlights Mathematics lesson plans written by math teachers and is organized into the following main sections: Competition, Fun with Numbers, and Miscellaneous. Membership, which is free, provides educators access to post articles, comment on other articles, or discuss subjects in the community forum. The website does include a few advertisements, but they do not overwhelm the website and its creator, a software developer who is also active in Christian ministry, also includes several Christian education links. From The NSDL Scout Report for Math, Engineering, and Technology, Copyright Internet Scout Project 1994-2005. http://scout.wisc.edu/ (0) comments Thursday, April 14, 2005
How to Overcome Technology Integration Barriers - Peter J. Dragula, techLearning
Are you one of those teachers overwhelmed by the prospect of “integrating technology” into your classroom? Do you secretly laugh when you hear all of this talk about technology and how it is “so important”? “Get real,” you say to yourself. You may teach in a school that allows your class access to the computer lab only once every three weeks – for 30 minutes at a time. You may have only one or even zero computers in your classroom. You may have little or no experience at “surfing on the net.” You are frustrated with all of the new adoptions and are skeptical at any suggestion of “learning something new.” Your “plate is full” and you wonder when the “pendulum of education” will swing back the other direction and allow you to do that which you do best . . . educate. You find yourself thinking: “The students already know how to work on the computer; they will learn it later or from somewhere else; I need to focus on reading, writing, and math.” Does this sound familiar? (0) comments
Don't Leave "Have Nots" in the Dust - Susan McLester, techLearning
In this month's cover feature, "Big Time for Small Schools," Kim Carter takes us on a journey through a variety of new small schools nationwide, with a particular focus on the individual and distinctive ways each school is seeking to successfully implement reform. With common denominators moving beyond size considerations to include such elements as multiple forms of assessment, stronger student-educator relationships, and a very focused, themed program, it is truly exciting to see the rich range of experimentation that is breathing new life into a system that a growing body of research is pointing to as a dinosaur on the American landscape. (0) comments Wednesday, April 13, 2005
SchoolMatters: Data that matter to schools - Robert Brumfield, eSchool News
A new web site, SchoolMatters.com, is offering a free, web-based data service that provides comparative information and analysis on public schools, districts, and state education systems. The site--founded through a $45 million contribution from the Broad Foundation and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation--was created by a group known as the National Education Data Partnership, which includes the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO), Standard & Poor's School Evaluation Service, Achieve Inc., and CELT Corp. (0) comments
Bone-scan tech: Future of web safety? - Robert Brumfield, eSchool News
An Israeli company called i-Mature Inc. believes it has created a new way to protect children from online predators and internet content deemed harmful to minors: a biometric test that reportedly can peg a computer user's age within a certain age range. Mature has teamed up with Massachusetts-based RSA Security Inc., a provider of internet security products, to develop a solution that uses i-Mature's Age Group Recognition (AGR) technology to help keep kids safe online. The companies hope to release a model of the AGR test for a retail price of about $25 per unit sometime next year. (0) comments Tuesday, April 12, 2005
A Profile of the American High School Sophomore in 2002
The National Center for Education Statistics generates important research documents and papers on a regular basis, and this latest report will be of great interest to educators, policy-makers, and the general public. In this 292-page report, released in March 2005, findings are presented from the base year of the Educational Longitudinal Study of 2002, which is a new longitudinal study of high school students. Throughout its pages, the report "provides descriptive information about the experiences and characteristics of a nationally representative sample of tenth-graders who were studied in the spring term of the 2001-2002 school year." As might be expected from such a thorough document, the report contains dozens of statistical summary tables which elucidate both the research findings and the general ethodology of the investigation. From The Scout Report, Copyright Internet Scout Project 1994-2005. http://scout.wisc.edu/ (0) comments
Vanderbilt University: Bioimages
This extensive website of southeastern U.S. plant images was developed by Dr. Steve Baskauf of the Department of Biological Sciences at Vanderbilt University. The site is part of a larger Bioimages website designed to "provide educational information to the public on biologically related topics, as well as a source of biological images for personal and non-commercial use." Site visitors can browse for excellent images of many trees and woody plants by common name, scientific name, or family. Notably, these species pages include close-ups of different tree and plant parts (e.g. flower, bark, leaf, fruit). The site also offers helpful comparison sections for oaks, hickories, maples, and hickory nuts. Other site offerings include a list of Common and Endemic Herbaceous Plants of Cedar Glades by Family, a list of non-seed plants (hyperlinked to images), and a section on Identifying Invasive Plants. This site is also reviewed in the April 1, 2005_NSDL Life Sciences Report_. From The Scout Report, Copyright Internet Scout Project 1994-2005. http://scout.wisc.edu (0) comments Monday, April 11, 2005
Education Image Library
The Education Image Library is part of Dennis Kunkel Microscopy, Inc. (first reported on in the May 2, 1997 Scout Report), a rich image website that was developed by veteran photomicrographer Dr. Dennis Kunkel. The Image Library contains "over a thousand colorized and black & white electron microscope (SEM and TEM) images taken by Dennis Kunkel Ph. D." Simply click on the marvelous images to view a larger version accompanied by a caption. In addition to multiple keyword searches, the search engine offers a drop-down menu with a variety of category options such as Bacteria, Algae, Plants, Insects, Viruses, and more. Who would guess that cyanobacteria could be captured so beautifully? This illuminating site is definitely worth a visit from even the most casual Web surfer. From The NSDL Scout Report for the Life Sciences, Copyright Internet Scout Project 1994-2005. http://scout.wisc.edu/ (0) comments
World Wildlife Federation: Education-Middle School
Middle school students will enjoy surfing the pages of this WWF website about animals, habitats, conservation, and more. One section of the site offers information about different types of carnivores, omnivores, and herbivores such as sharks, giraffes, bears, and zebras. There is also a Remarkable Animals subsection that features short descriptions of animals like the Sidewinder Rattlesnake, Mallee Fowl, Red Piranha, and Snapping Turtle. The Habitats section profiles Grasslands, Mountains, Oceanic Islands, and Tropical Forests, to name a few. Other site offerings include underwater photographs of coral reef dwellers; ideas for projects like making a compost heap or a solar oven; downloadable factsheets; and links to conservation-related websites organized by topic. From The NSDL Scout Report for the Life Sciences, Copyright Internet Scout Project 1994-2005. http://scout.wisc.edu/ (0) comments Sunday, April 10, 2005
KanGIS - GIS Projects for K/12
Dr. Thomas Baker, an Assistant Research Professor at the University of Kansas, developed the KanGIS website to offer technical and educational support in geotechnologies to teachers and schools. The Student Data Mapper allows teachers and students to create in GIS-related projects through the website. Everyone can view and participate in current mapping projects. K-12 educators can join the KanGIS email electronic mailing list to stay up-to- date on the latest K12 GIS events and news. The Resource link offers examples of educational projects using online mapping and many map-making training materials. From The NSDL Scout Report for the Physical Sciences, Copyright Internet Scout Project 1994-2005. http://scout.wisc.edu/ (0) comments
If you had X-ray vision what would you see?
The Cornell High Energy Synchrotron Source (CHESS) created this online brochure to educate users about the history and science of x-rays. The website covers topics in radiography, novel materials, crystallography, CHESS and CESR, microscience, high pressure, and the future in X-ray techniques. Users can read through the materials step by step through the use of arrow links or can skip to a particular topic through the Contents link. With the help of illustrations, students can learn a great deal about X-ray technology including how the technology is used to examine atoms, the growth of semiconductor materials, and unusual phases of matter. From The NSDL Scout Report for the Physical Sciences, Copyright Internet Scout Project 1994-2005. http://scout.wisc.edu/ (0) comments Educational Technology News Blog Archives OTEL - Ray's Home Page - Notebook - UIS Online - U of I Online - UIS Home Fair Use |
