General News
Update
on NCLB: This educationworld.com article has transcripts of John
Bailey's, (Director of Educational Technology for the U.S. Department of
Education), talk in a teleconference called, "Enhancing Education Through
Technology." He discussed technology, offering different solutions to help in
accomplishing very specific education goals. He said that the most important
thing to think about is what one wants to do in terms of an educational goal,
and the second is for one to ask how technology can solve an educational
challenge or help to accomplish an educational goal. He also said that at least
25% of the funds would be spent on professional development. For more
information on the article, check the Education World
website.
Virtual
Village Helps Teach Hearing-impaired For ages, teachers have been
finding it tough to teach hearing impaired children, but now there seems to be
an easier solution. This bizjournal.com article talks about how teachers have
been working with computer engineers to build a high-tech village for teaching
severely hearing impaired children. The system, officially called Virtual
Reality Education for Assisted Learning, can be used for teaching simple lessons
like looking both ways before crossing the street or more complex exercises such
as reading charts. To learn more about this product by Veridian Inc., check the
website.
Play
It Cyber Safe: Playitcybersafe.com is a newly launched website whose
goal is to empower children, parents, and teachers to prevent cyber crime
through knowledge of the law, their rights, and how to avoid misuse of the
Internet. This website, created by the Business Software Alliance, has numerous
resources for parents and teachers. The kids' section has games and tools to
educate children about Internet usage.
Viewpoint:
Seven Leadership Challenges for the Digital Age by James Bosco eschoolnews.com:
Discussions of the status of information and communications technology (ICT)
in U.S. schools over the past couple of decades too often attempted to convince
others that ICT has been successful or to argue that it has failed. Just as
opponents of the use of ICT often overstate the irrelevance, waste, or harm from
the use of ICT in schools, proponents often overstate the positive consequences
that have accrued from the use of computers and other technologies in education.
Bulk
Pricing Possible for EdTech Buying Options by Corey Murray eschoolnews.com:The
General Services Administration (GSA) is considering giving public schools and
universities unprecedented access to a pre-negotiated list of deeply discounted
technology tools and services once reserved solely for federal government
agencies. GSA officials say the plan potentially could spare schools millions of
dollars in technology-related costs each year. For more about this article from
eschoolnews.com, check the
website.
Data-Driven
Decision Making: CoSN launched its newest leadership initiative,
Data-Driven Decision Making: Vision to Know and Do (www.3d2know.org),
in February 2003 to help educators realize the power of data in improving
learning and teaching. Corporate partners of Vision to Know and Do are ETS, IBM,
and SAS. COSN's next Internet & Education Web Telecast Series on Data-Driven
Decision Making is scheduled for June 4, 2003. Members and non-members can
register for $39 and $59 respectively.
A
Quick Guide to Education Data Resources This tabletop reference focusing
on selected NCES website tools was designed for librarians, students, and
parents. This brochure has directions for turning it into a freestanding display
for reference desk and Internet workstations.
FCC
Takes Steps to Curb Waste, Fraud, and Abuse (fundsforlearning.com) By
broadening the definition of the term "educational purpose," it appears the
Federal Communications Commission has made virtually all otherwise eligible
services to schools and libraries eligible for E-rate discounts. Read the
complete article from
fundsforlearning.com to see what steps the FCC is taking to stop the abuse.
Technology
Rich, Computer Poor: Integrating Technology into the Two Computer Classroom by
Brandi Evans techlearning.com This article by Brandy Evans talks about a
principal's push for technology that resulted in effective integration of
technology in classrooms and labs; it discusses how each tech-savvy teacher, in
turn, helped other teachers to find practical ways to integrate technology into
their classroom curriculum. The article goes on to point out that any technology
that is chosen should enhance the existing curriculum, not cause a new one to
have to be created.
