T H E Journal (Technological Horizons In Education) articles from February 2006

T H E Journal (Technological Horizons In Education) archives from February 2006

Giving back the magazine: as the new year rolls out, so too does a welcoming message from T.H.E.'s new editorial director.(editor's:: NOTE)
February 1, 2006... EVER RELUCTANTLY GIVE away something you dearly treasured? I recently had such an experience. No big deal, really. But life is filled with such little moments that ripple forward and by whatever principles of physics and fate, make bigger waves...

Back to the future: an old interview has a lot to say about how far educational technology has come, and how much further it has to go.(commentary)
February 1, 2006... AT THE END of each year, I make a deal with myself to clean out my office. Some things get put into an archive box. In perusing the archive box this year, I came across a copy of an old education and technology magazine called Electronic...

Event:: calendar.(educational organizations)(Brief Article)(Calendar)
February 1, 2006... February 2006 FEB 25-MAR 1 National Association for Year-Round Education NAYRE 2006 Conference San Diego, CA www.nayre.org/06%20Conference.html#AASA FEB 27-MAR 1 Technology Information Conference for...

TCEA 2006 takes educators on high-tech safari highlights include keynote address from actor-director Henry Winkler and a new Technology Village.(Texas Computer Education Association)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2006... THE TEXAS COMPUTER Education Association's 26th Annual Convention and Exposition (www.tcea.org) is expected to draw more than 8,000 technology education professionals to the Austin Convention Center from Feb. 6 to 10. Organized around the theme...

National survey to examine use of 1-to-1 computing.(Industry News)
February 1, 2006... A national survey of US educators will help provide answers to questions concerning the progess districts are making toward 1-to-1 computing. To take the survey and learn more information about "America's Digital Schools 2006: A Five-Year...

ETS, TaskStream deliver online PD management system.(professional development, Educational Testing Service)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2006... The nonprofit Educational Testing Service (www.ets.org) and TaskStream (www.taskstream.com), a provider of Web-based tools to organize, assess, and showcase learning, have announced a strategic alliance to give educators an enhanced, Web-based...

Bridging the 'knowledge divide' with a $100 Laptop.(Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Quanta Computer Inc., contract)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2006... THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS of One Laptop Per Child (laptop.media.mit.edu)--a nonprofit group created by faculty members at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) to design, manufacture, and distribute inexpensive, hand-crankable laptops...

Private school strives for 1-to-1 tablet PC environment.(District-Vendor Partnerships)(Lenovo Group Ltd.)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2006... Saint Mary's all-girls college-prep school in Raleigh, NC, is the first institution to deploy Lenovo's www.lenovo. com) ThinkPad X41 tablet PCs to its students and faculty. The writable slate and unique functions of the tablet PCs will help...

Kansas offers educators online test-creation tool.(District-Vendor Partnerships)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2006... The Kansas State Department of Education (KSDE) is working with Learning Station (www.learningstation.com) to deliver an online application that allows teachers to create standards-based, formative practice tests in reading and math for grades...

Course offers techniques to spur student learning.(Online Education News)(new service from Curriculum Associates Inc.)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2006... Curriculum Associates has added a new free, online professional development course with techniques that trigger students' desire to learn, available at www.curriculumassociates.com/codies. Developed by a retired special-education administrator,...

Virtual public school honored.(United States Distance Learning Association awarded Florida Virtual School)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2006... The Florida Virtual School (FLVS; www.flvs.net), the first statewide public virtual school established in the US, has received the United States Distance Learning Association's (USDLA; www.usdla.org) 21st Century Best Practices Award for its...

A conference call to arms: the upcoming CoSN gathering arrives at a critical time for educators, who in the face of dwindling funds must continue their push for more technology in schools.(policy & advocacy )(Consortium for School Networking)
February 1, 2006... IT COMES AS no surprise that, according to Webster's dictionary, the words policy and politics derive from the Greek word for citizen (politicos), since it was Classical Greece that invented citizen politics. A unique opportunity to act like a...

Don't be out'smart'ed: the new breed of smart mobile phones will soon pose the biggest danger to your data security. Software companies are gearing up to nullify the threat.(data security)
February 1, 2006... LIKE KIDS COMING in from the playground, digital devices entering your schools carry a lot of germs. Increasingly, today's students carry cell phones and so-called "smart phones" with e-mail and instant-messaging capabilities. These devices are...

Create your best online course with Camtasia Studio[TM].
February 1, 2006... In 2005, Professor Imig was given the Michigan State University SBC Award for the best total online course. He carefully matches online technologies with the needs of his students to enhance teaching and to foster an atmosphere of lifelong...

Extreme makeover computer edition: Computer refurbishers are equipping cash-strapped schools with used hardware made good as new--or even better.(hardware)
February 1, 2006... IT'S THE GOLDEN RULE of economizing: Those who can, buy; those who can't, refurbish. What's common practice with living rooms and automobile interiors has proven to be good enough for computers. In the effort to acquire enough...

Data driven: Savvy school administrators are using data to improve instruction districtwide.(ISKME Special Series: Part 1)
February 1, 2006... CHRISTMAS CAME EARLY for the School District of Philadelphia (PA). In early December, the district announced that, for the fourth consecutive year, students showed measurable improvement on standardized, nationally normed TerraNova tests. ...

In their hands: handheld devices empower teachers with assessment data they can put to immediate use.(assessment testing)
February 1, 2006... AT THE ORANGE COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT in Orlando, FL, assessing reading skills among the youngest students used to be quite a process. Relying on rudimentary products such as paper and pencils, the strategy hinged on the bubble sheets...

How do you spell parental involvement? S-I-S: student information systems are engaging parents, benefiting kids, and--finally--winning over teachers, too.(student information systems)
February 1, 2006... THERE WAS A TIME when parental meant packing the child a sack lunch every day up on Back to School Night. That level of participation would pass for neglect nowadays, given the opportunities new Web-based technologies are providing parents to...

Enter the tech director: whether it's in the classroom or behind the scenes, the leadership necessary to successful technology integration comes from an oft-overlooked resource.(mac educator)
February 1, 2006... WE ALL KNOW how important it is for teachers to incorporate the use of robust technologies in their classrooms. But who robustly supports and encourages them when they use technologies? Enter the technology director. The technology...

Sharp.(new product Sharp XG-MB50X)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2006... SHARP'S (www.sharplcd.com) new full-featured, 8.6-pound XG-MB50X DLP projector was designed with the classroom in mind, starting with its built-in RS-232C network connectivity for remote monitoring and operation so that support departments can...

Imagination Suite.(product FOCUS: The latest releases, services, and new product versions)(new product from Tech4Learning)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2006... WITH ITS PIXIE ImageBlender, and WebBlender programs, Tech4Learning's (www.tech4learning.com) Imagination Suite is an affordable software package that provides tools which help K-12 students express their creativity. Each of the tools has a...

The Dino Digital Microscope-Webcam.(product FOCUS: The latest releases, services, and new product versions)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2006... THE DINO DIGITAL MICROSCOPE-WEBCAM (www.dinomicroscope.com) is the perfect addition to any science classroom or lab looking to go high-tech. The device is equipped with both USB and TV outputs that let users see what's on the microscope in real...

MPC computers.(product FOCUS: The latest releases, services, and new product versions)(NetFRAME 1420)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2006... MPC COMPUTERS (www.mpccorp.com) is offering schools its latest server technology at an affordable price. The new NetFRAME 1420 server features hot-swap SATA II hard drives and DDR2 memory in a 1U rack-mountable form factor. The system also...

Piano Wizard.(product FOCUS: The latest releases, services, and new product versions)(Allegro Multimedia)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2006... PIANO WIZARD from Allegro Multimedia (www.pianowizard.com.) combines the fun of a video game with the fundamentals of piano lessons, allowing users to play songs while learning musical logic, theory, and notation through gameplay. Piano Wizard...

Inspiration Software's.(product FOCUS: The latest releases, services, and new product versions)(Inspiration 8.0)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2006... NEARLY 10 YEARS in the making, Inspiration 8--the latest version of Inspiration Software's (www.inspiration.com) popular visual learning tool--has just been released. With Inspiration 8 comes a full lineup of new capabilities to help strengthen...

The digital classroom: a New Jersey teacher imagines a learning environment sparked by the powers of the Internet.(views of Denise Averill from River Vale Public School District )
February 1, 2006... Denise Averill is an elementary grade teacher in the River Vale Public School District (www.rivervaleschools.com) in New Jersey, which includes roughly 1,350 students across two elementary schools and one middle school. Averill wants to use the...