T H E Journal (Technological Horizons In Education) articles from July 2008

T H E Journal (Technological Horizons In Education) archives from July 2008

Tech Association calls for greater broadband access for schools.(what's ONLINE)(Brief article)
July 1, 2008... The State Educational Technology Directors Association, an education technology advocacy group, released a new report, "High-Speed Broadband Access for All Kids: Breaking Through the Barriers," to call attention to the critical issue of...

Classroom technology 'Woefully inadequate,' study finds.(HOT TOPICS)(Brief article)
July 1, 2008... Educators are, in large part, bullish on the role technology can play in improving student outcomes. But too large a percentage of them aren't receiving adequate training in the areas that matter most: instructional software, technology...

2008 innovators nominations open online.(HOT TOPICS)
July 1, 2008... You're doing great things with technology at school--we want to know about them. We seek exemplary K-12 schools and districts, their visionary technology project leaders, and their innovative vendor partners that have deployed extraordinary...

Van Dyke Public Schools computer labs combine instruction with monitoring.(CASE STUDY)(Brief article)
July 1, 2008... Kathy Zainea, a teacher at Lincoln Middle School in Warren, MI, has had access to interactive classroom tools for about two years now, but it wasn't until a couple of months ago that she was exposed to a new lineup of options she could use for...

Kerry intros education portal legislation.(NEWS)(John Kerry)(Brief article)
July 1, 2008... United States Senator John Kerry recently introduced new legislation aimed at funding state education portals. The legislation, dubbed the Empowering Teaching and Learning Through Education Portals Act, is designed to support professional...

Digital divide? What digital divide?(RESEARCH)(Brief article)
July 1, 2008... Students in low-income families may have more access to technology than previously thought. And according to preliminary research coming out of the University of Minnesota, these students are using technology to boost their 21st-century...

Social networking: learning theory in action.(OPINION)(Brief article)
July 1, 2008... Can social networking both as an instructional concept and a user skill be integrated into the conventional approaches to teaching and learning? Do the skills developed within a social networking environment have value in the more conventional...

Making waves: states and districts are implementing technology integration efforts that recognize the ripples running across the ed tech world.(commentary)
July 1, 2008... AS THE WORLD HAS MOVED from the agricultural to the industrial to the information age, it has become more complex and interconnected. Our society was once like a feather bed--push down on the corner and only the corner is affected. Since...

Keynotes.(Brief article)
July 1, 2008... "This is not about looking at every sixth-grader and saying, 'Okay, what are you going to be when you grow up?'" Linda Pittenger, former member of the Kentucky Department of Education, on the state mandate that students 22 begin keeping an...

Tech: watch: this issue's ups and downs.(Brief article)
July 1, 2008... ONLINE TRAINING: Louisiana offers web-based STEM teaching courses called "Concept of a Variable" and "Measures of Central Tendency." Talk about bringing sexy back to professional development. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] INDIVIDUAL LEARNING...

The time is now: early diagnosis of academic deficits is pivotal to keeping students from falling irretrievably behind. Formative assessment technology gives teachers the tools to respond.(Elementary Schools)
July 1, 2008... DURING A HOLIDAY VISIT LAST WINTER, my aunt asked. "What exactly do you do?" As I explained the work the State Educational Technology Directors Association (SETDA: www.setda.org) does to highlight the power of technology in education, she...

Transforming the classroom.(Kansas)
July 1, 2008... WHEN PRINCIPAL DAVID HAMMER considered his wish list for a new intermediate school (grades 5 and 6) in Winfield, KS, comprehensive technology integration was at the top. To his good fortune, the school's opening coincided with its receipt of a...

A winning afterschool program.(New York)
July 1, 2008... MOST STUDENTS CAN HARDLY WAIT for the last bell to ring. For New York City Public Schools students in Adrienne Wiland's fifth-grade classroom, their eagerness is not to leave school but to stay in it--and enjoy the start of an innovative...

Teaching the write way.(Oregon)
July 1, 2008... IMPROVED STUDENT WRITING has long been a goal of Mapleton School District 32, as district scores on Oregon's yearly writing assessments have ranked consistently below the state average. New writing goals were created five years ago, accompanied...

Peer to peer.(Washington)
July 1, 2008... BRIAN IS 8 YEARS OLD and sports a buzz cut, apple cheeks, and vivid brown eyes. He is an internet explorer, just back from a Googled journey into the virtual wilds of the natural world. Riveting his attention on the teacher, he bursts out with...

Strike up the bandwidth: are districts suitably prepared for the ever-increasing need for faster connectivity in our schools?(Middle Schools)
July 1, 2008... ASKED WHY SHE INTENDS TO increase her district's network bandwidth fivefold this summer--from 20 megabits to 100 megabits--Jennifer Bergland, executive director of technology information for Texas' Bryan Independent School District (BISD),...

That's news to them.(Illinois)
July 1, 2008... LOCATED 65 MILES SOUTH of St. Louis on the limestone bluffs of the Mississippi is the sleepy river town of Chester, IL. Take a stroll around the city and you'll quickly get a feel for days gone by, when steamboat passengers and river men...

A head start on the future.(Kentucky)
July 1, 2008... SCHOOL OFFICIALS IN KENTUCKY HAVE begun preparing students for the 21st century by bringing one of their own systems out of the last millennium. Kentucky's Individual Learning Plan (ILP) is an online version of the state's Individual...

Laptops for all.(Maine)
July 1, 2008... IN 2002, MAINE EMBARKED on a bold educational initiative intent on preparing its students for living and prospering in the 21st century. Since its launch, the Maine Learning Technology Initiative (MLTI; www.state.me.us/mlti) has provided all of...

An equation that works: as secondary students continue to show little interest in the four STEM subjects, combining technology use with engaging instructional practices may be the only way to reach them.(High Schools)
July 1, 2008... I GREW UP HATING SCIENCE. I just didn't see its relevance to everyday life. But first as a teacher and then as a parent, I developed a completely new understanding of what science is, and how it is all around us. I was startled to discover...

Access to opportunity.(Alabama)
July 1, 2008... ENDING HIS PRESENTATION at a recent Alabama State Board of Education work session, Perry County Schools Superintendent John Heard declared, "ACCESS is not the wave of the future. ACCESS is now." One look at the spread of Alabama's distance...

Go EAST, young people.(Arkansas)
July 1, 2008... IN THE SPRING OF 2002, Arkansas' Monticello School District wanted to change the climate in its classrooms, to move away from the conventional teacher-centered approach and make students the hub of activity. The district wanted something that...

Buying power.(Maryland)
July 1, 2008... MARY, A HIGH SCHOOL SCIENCE teacher, was giving her class instructions for a research project on the effects of global warming. "You will have six weeks to complete the assignment," she said, "and you will have full access to the online...

An inside job: one educator's efforts to introduce her colleagues to online professional development demonstrates how a school's most effective technology leaders are often homegrown.(Professional Development)
July 1, 2008... IN THE SMALL TOWN OF Chester, NH, one K-8 school is a model Of teacher participation in online professional development. Over the past two years, the 700-student Chester Academy has financed the online course enrollment of 10 of its 50...

Extracurricular: for technologists who do their homework.(Brief article)
July 1, 2008... As Mary Ann Wolf, the executive director of the State Educational Technology Directors Association (SETDA; www.setda.org) explains at length starting on page 24, technology-aided instructional practices are key to successful teaching in the...