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

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

Study reveals what kids are reading for school.(NEWS)(Brief article)
June 1, 2008... According to the first study of its kind released in the United States, kids are reading an average of 26 books per school year. That's the great news. The less-than-great news is that their volume of reading peaks in second grade, and the...

Site provides free interactive school security awareness.(RESOURCES)(Brief article)
June 1, 2008... A free, interactive school security awareness map and blog went live online in April at www.school safetynews.com. Developed by SafePlans and designed to inform stakeholders of the need for improved school safety, the site includes a map that...

21st-century teaching and learning: assessing new knowledge.(OPINION)(Brief article)
June 1, 2008... As technology continues to change and affect how students think and process information, instructors must realize that there is now an opportunity to capture and assess student performance in ways not formerly possible, www.thejournal.com/...

Report: half of high schools could be online by 2019.(what's ONLINE)(Brief article)
June 1, 2008... Low-cost delivery and tailored learning opportunities could drive up to half of all high school courses online by 2019, according to a report from researchers that's set to appear in the summer issue of Education Next, published out of the...

Study: top web application vulnerabilities remain unfixed.(HOT TOPICS)(Brief article)
June 1, 2008... Organizations still aren't doing enough to protect their data from web application vulnerabilities, according to a study released by security firm Cenzic. The study, titled "Application Security Trends Report, Q1 2008," identified 1,409 unique...

Consolidation bringing IT budgets down in 2008.(HOT TOPICS)(Brief article)
June 1, 2008... Information technology executives were focused on cutting costs during the spring quarter rather than investing in technology, according to a report just released by research analysts at IDC. www.thejournal.com/articles/ 22517

Colorado virtual high school launches.(HOT TOPICS)(Brief article)
June 1, 2008... Colorado's Julesburg School District has partnered with Insight Schools to launch a new online public high school. Offered tuition-free to students throughout the state, the new virtual school, Insight School of Colorado, will begin its first...

Osage County: security in a small school district.(CASE STUDY)(Brief article)
June 1, 2008... The Osage County R-II School District (MO) is tiny--600 to 650 students, according to Richard Becker, the district's technology coordinator. The district's scarcity of resources includes staffing, with Becker himself making up half of the...

Don't filter out responsibility: the use of web filters runs counter to 21st-century learning.(our SPACE)
June 1, 2008... "Over there, thanks to solid teaching, the filters are in the students' heads." THE PROBLEM WITH WRITING A COLUMN is that you're led to say in 500 prim and overly manicured words what someone can lay bare in a single sparse, extemporaneous...

A winning vision: this year's Sylvia Charp Award recipient brings a clear and determined purpose to its technology innovations.(commentary)
June 1, 2008... "ALTHOUGH SMALLER THAN MANY school systems in size, Tennessee's Greeneville City school district plays large in the business of educating students with technology. Our ultimate goal is to equip our students with the requisite skills to enable...

Keynotes.(Brief article)
June 1, 2008... "What we're approaching here isn't so much a convergence as a big bang. "--Gary Brown, Washington State University, on the potential explosive changes to K-12 education with the addition of Web 2.0 functionality to e-portfolios (50) ...

Tech watch: this issue's ups and downs.(Brief article)
June 1, 2008... [up arrow] ENERGY CONSERVATION: Green schools movement compels students to revise old method of settling disputes. Who's up for a best two out of three of Rock, Scissors, Paperless? [up arrow] VIRTUAL COLLABORATIONS: Log shows students...

What do 'games,' 'George Washington,' and 'sharks' have in common? They can all be found on new rankings of the most frequently searched keywords by K-12 students.
June 1, 2008... EVERY SCHOOL DAY, MILLIONS OF K-12 students throughout the US sit at computers and enter keywords into internet search engines--but what, exactly, are they searching for? While educators may hope that their students are using search engines...

Brookes and get integrate products.(Industry News)(Global Education Technologies)(Brief article)
June 1, 2008... Brookes Publishing (www.brookespublishing.com), known for its line of early childhood books and assessment and intervention tools, has partnered with Global Education Technologies (GET; www.excent.com), a developer of innovative products for...

InfoComm merges with NSCA Expo.(Industry News)(National Systems Contractors Association)(Brief article)
June 1, 2008... InfoComm International (www.infocomm.org) will host InfoComm 08 June 14 in Las Vegas. The annual audiovisual trade show showcases cutting-edge technologies in display and projection, lighting and staging, digital signage, collaborative...

ClassLink and ClassMate form alliance.(Industry News)(Brief article)
June 1, 2008... ClassLink, whose suite of platform management products provides school districts with 24/7 access to software and files from any computer at any location, is now offering ClassMate software for both student administration and curriculum...

Spectrum K12 and Thinkronize join forces.(Industry News)(Brief article)
June 1, 2008... The first step in an agreement to share complementary products and services, Spectrum K12 School Solutions (www.spectrumk12. corn) has authorized Thinkronize, developer of the NetTrekker d.i. search engine, to sell its Encore Clarity...

Weidenhammer acquires EduTeam.(Industry News)(Brief article)
June 1, 2008... Weidenhammer (www.hammer.net), a provider of K-12 IT solutions, has acquired EduTeam (www.eduteam.com), a specialist in student information system implementation and training. As a result of the deal, K-12 customers of both companies will be...

NEC display offers purchase rewards.(Industry News)(Brief article)
June 1, 2008... NEC Display Solutions (www.necdisplay.com), a provider of LCD and plasma displays and projectors, recently announced that schools registered with its Star Student program will receive money-back rewards on purchases of NEC display products....

Berger joins Math/Science commission.(People)(Larry Berger)(Brief article)
June 1, 2008... Wireless Generation (www.wirelessgeneration.com) CEO Larry Berger has joined the Commission on Mathematics and Science Education, an organization formed by the Carnegie Corporation of New York (www.carnegie.org) and the Institute for Advanced...

ISTE honors outstanding educators.(People)(International Society for Technology in Education)(Brief article)
June 1, 2008... The International Society for Technology in Education (www.iste.org) has named Carol Anne McGuire, vision specialist with Orange Unified School District (CA), and Thea Jones, office of instructional technology supervisor for Baltimore County...

Wikimedia Foundation appoints board treasurer.(People)(appointment of Stuart West)(Brief article)
June 1, 2008... The Wikimedia Foundation (http:// wikimediafoundation.org) board of trustees has appointed Stuart West to the position of board treasurer. West will join the foundation's efforts to create a broad fundraising and development strategy, as well...

One-stop shopping with learning management systems: virtual course delivery is only one of many options afforded by an LMS, which allows educators to transfer online a host of educational and administrative tasks.(e-learning)
June 1, 2008... ASK BERT ROSS of the Baltimore City Public School System (BCPSS) what the district's course learning management system can do, and he'll ask you what can't it do--for students, parents, and educators. Need to take a course online due to a...

Virtual teamwork: for a group of remote, rural school districts, web-based collaborative projects are opening up new vistas of learning opportunities.(collaboration)
June 1, 2008... SITTING DOWN WITH A COHORT OF GE (www.ge.com) executives after a late-afternoon tour of the company's facility in Charlottesville, VA, a group of educators from the surrounding region could not have known what was in store for them. The meeting...

Green is the new black.(GREEN SCHOOLS)(Cover story)
June 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Environmentally friendly technologies are king conservation efforts all the rage in K-12, while also helping to slim down district energy costs.

The color of money: school districts are discovering the abundant financial gains to be had by going green.(GREEN SCHOOLS)
June 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] WHEN ARTHUR STELLAR came to Massachusetts' Taunton Public Schools in 2005, he knew that part of his job as superintendent would be cost cutting. That's no easy task without sacrificing the quality of education the...

Electric youth: students from Montgomery County Public Schools light the way to energy efficiency.(GREEN SCHOOLS)
June 1, 2008... A STUDENT COMMITTEE whose main duty is changing light bulbs may sound like the punch line to a bad joke, but as the students and faculty at Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) in Rockville, MD, know, changing a light bulb is no laughing...

NEEF challenges high schools to innovate.(news)(National Environmental Education and Training Foundation)(The Weather Channel Inc.)(Brief article)
June 1, 2008... The National Environmental Education Foundation (www.neefusa.org), in partnership with The Weather Channel (www.weather.com), has launched the first phase of its new Classroom Earth program, designed to support environmental education in high...

Canon program plants seeds of accountability.(news)(American Park Network)(Brief article)
June 1, 2008... Canon USA (www.usa.canon.com) and the American Park Network (http://americanparknetwork.com) have announced the Canon Forest Program, adding to Canon's growing list of environmental initiatives. Beginning last month and extending through...

Crestron joins USGBC.(news)(U.S. Green Building Council)(Brief article)
June 1, 2008... Crestron (www.crestron.com), a provider of audiovisual and control solutions, has joined the US Green Building Council (www.usgbc.org), the organization responsible for creating the Leadership in Energy and Environmental (LEED) Design Green...

Students unanimous: ethanol not the answer.(news)(Brief article)
June 1, 2008... Launched in 2006, the annual Moody's Mega Math Challenge (http://m3challenge.siam.org) asks teams of high school students to use applied mathematics to solve challenging, real-world issues. For this year's competition, held in April, the...

PC Mall Gov gives the green light to environmentalism.(news)(Brief article)
June 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] TO HELP CHILDREN learn about and become leaders in green technology, PC Mall Gov (www.pcmallgov.com) has created the Green Light Contest for students in grades 5 through 12. Entrants must submit a short essay about...

In the driver's seat: web 2.0 is turning the traditional electronic portfolio into a diverse personal learning space, putting students at the helm of their academic experience.(web 2.0)
June 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] WHEN JULIE BOHNENKAMP director of technology for the Center Grove Community School Corporation in Greenwood. IN, introduced the Epsilen Environment to her district last August, she expected a few of the more...

Which side are you on? In the debate over how to best prepare students for the global economy, some favor teaching practical technology know-how; others argue for abstract cognitive skills. The answer may be a balance of both.(21st-century skills)(Discussion)
June 1, 2008... IF YOU'RE UNDER 18 and you're looking to acquire the latest and greatest 21st-century skills, you might want to try to figure out a way into Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Alexandria, VA. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]...

ETA/Cuisenaire.(product FOCUS: The latest releases, services, and new product versions)(Brief article)
June 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] ETA/CUISENAIRE is debuting Classroom Jeopardy! StandardsLink, a new series that uses the format of the popular TV game show to offer standards-based content in math, science, and language arts for grades 3 to 8. Game...

Yamaha.(product FOCUS: The latest releases, services, and new product versions)(Brief article)
June 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] YAMAHA gives high school bands and choruses a boost with its newest technological advancement, the HD-200 Harmony Director. This comprehensive tool brings together harmony training, rhythm training, and ensemble...

Hitachi.(product FOCUS: The latest releases, services, and new product versions)(Brief article)
June 1, 2008... HITACHI brings widescreen compatibility to presenters in a variety of environments with its CPX3 3LCD mobile short-throw projector. The device is specially designed for widescreen-format laptops and imaging applications that use 16:10 aspect...

Crestron Electronics.(product FOCUS: The latest releases, services, and new product versions)(Brief article)
June 1, 2008... CRESTRON ELECTRONICS is now offering the CEN-UPS1250 power supply and conditioner to protect and monitor any fully integrated system. Ideal for use with control systems, media servers, and video displays, the CEN-UPS1250 instantly transfers...

Calypso Control Systems.(product FOCUS: The latest releases, services, and new product versions)(Brief article)
June 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] CALYPSO CONTROL SYSTEMS has announced ezRoom, a K-12 AV classroom solution that includes everything needed to quickly build, manage, and use a multimedia classroom or presentation room. The bundle includes fully...

Extracurricular: for technologists who do their homework.
June 1, 2008... As seen in these three case histories--described in detail in our special Green Schools section starting on page 27--the district-vendor relationship is coming together on K-12 campuses to reduce energy usage and its associated costs. 1)...