News from MAR*TEC
MAR*TEC Sponsors a
2-day Invitational Conference, "Acquiring Technology for All Students:
Accessibility in the K-12 Classroom."
In collaboration with the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE), this
conference was held on May 21-22, 2003 at Temple University and gathered
interested practitioners, vendors, and policymakers. Focused on evaluating
technology-based instructional materials for accessibility, this conference
included hands-on interactive sessions on topics like effective software
evaluation, evaluating website accessibility, accessible distance learning,
making teacher-created websites accessible, accessible hardware, and designing
alternative instruction.
For more information, visit the conference
website.
Testing Time: The
Need for a New Focus On Technology and Results. This article-written by
MAR*TEC Director, Laurence Peters, Ph.D.-states that the current need is not for
expansion in educational technology but for maintenance of whatever technology
exists. He also talks about the need for accountability and results of
technology investments. To find answers to which technology approach works best,
the author proposes considering multiple approaches, engaging in a series of
third-party evaluations with their pre- and post-test models, and classroom
observations. For the full article, check the T.H.E Journal
Website.
MAR*TEC Staff
Members Present at International Conference of the Society for Information
Technology & Teacher Education, SITE 2003. On March 27, MAR*TEC staff
members Johann Sarmiento and Barry Mansfield presented at the international
conference of the Society for Information Technology & Teacher Education, SITE
2003. It was organized by The Association for the Advancement of Computing in
Education (AACE). Their session was entitled "Looking at Student Work Online:
Building Distributed Communities of Inquiry and Practice" and discussed research
questions, prototype implementation, and pilot studies planned for the
Reflection Connection project .
Three New EdTech Reports added to MAR*TEC
website:
Three new reports have been added to our EdTech report list:
The Growing Technology Gap Between Schools and Students: A Report by Bell South
Foundation
A Nation Online: How Americans Are Expanding Their Use of the Internet by NTIA
and the Economics and Statistics Administration
The Digital Divide: Where We Are Today by Norris Dickard and Diana Schneider in
Edutopia.
What is new around the region?
Pennsylvania
Technology Inventory (PATI) deadline is May 30. PATI is an online data
collection and reporting tool designed to streamline the process while enhancing
the delivery and distribution of the data. The PATI deadline is being extended
to May 30, 2003. Over the past 6 years, both school and local education agency
(LEA) technology data have been collected through the LEAs. This latest online
version of the Inventory will enable schools as well as LEAs (not including
intermediate units) to enter technology-related data directly into the online
database.
The Delaware
Instructional Technology Conference held on April 9-10, 2003 in Dover, DE
was a great success! All conference programs, instructional materials, and
resources can be found online at the
website.
MICCA
Spring Meeting! "Acquiring Educational Technology for All Students: Considering
Instructional Software" The MICCA spring meeting was held on Thursday,
May 15, 2003 at Maryland Public Television. The keynote speaker was Patty
Hendricks, MAR*TEC's Technology Coordinator. Ms. Hendricks provided information
that would help in developing practical strategies for implementing the new
federal accessibility legislation. She discussed structures that need to be in
place to develop effective technology evaluations for accessibility and shared
"best practices" in this area. Ms. Hendricks also demonstrated the MAR*TEC
toolkit and provided illustrative examples of both accessible and nonaccessible
software using the accessibility guidelines.
Technology Use in
Maryland Schools. The Progress Report on Technology Resources in Maryland
Schools was prepared by the Maryland Business Roundtable for Education /
Committee on Technology in Education. The results show a slight decline in
student-to-computer ratios in some districts, although the state average
remained steady at 5:1. It means that most districts are continuing to invest in
updated computers to keep up with the technology change. Maryland continues to
make steady and significant progress towards the goal of having 100% of
classrooms connected to the Internet. Currently, 92% of classrooms have the
capability to take advantage of this important resource. To read the complete
report, check the website.
The
Rutgers University Center for Mathematics, Science, and Computer Education -
Summer Institutes .The Rutgers University Center for Mathematics,
Science, and Computer Education (NJ DOE PPD #2) has announced a summer of
technology-based institutes that will provide New Jersey educators with a
farsighted vision for the uses of technology in the K-12 classroom. Institutes
are held on Busch Campus, Piscataway, NJ from 9 a.m. - 3 p.m. (unless otherwise
indicated). Deadline for registration is June 1, 2003.
CIPA
Resources Website: This site is designed to provide Pennsylvania schools
and libraries centralized access to information on the Child Internet Protection
Act, CIPA compliance requirements for funding opportunities, and Internet
content filtering tools.
