T H E Journal (Technological Horizons In Education) articles from November 2007

T H E Journal (Technological Horizons In Education) archives from November 2007

OLPC gearing up for 'get 1, give 1' program.(what's ONLINE: www.thejournal.com)(One Laptop Per Child foundation)(Brief article)
November 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] FOR TWO WEEKS this month, the One Laptop Per Child foundation will let citizens of the United States and Canada buy its XO laptops--as long as each purchaser pays $399 to cover one laptop to keep and another to...

Georgia's largest district gets cooking with new nutrition management system.(HOT TOPICS)(Gwinnett County Public Schools)(Brief article)
November 1, 2007... Gwinnett County Public Schools (GA) will use EatecNetX to put nutrition analysis and menu cycle planning on the front burner. A modular system, EatecNetX also offers tools for inventory, purchasing, recipe management, forecasting, and...

Technology Institute launches open educational resource.(HOT TOPICS)(Monterey Institute for Technology and Education )(Brief article)
November 1, 2007... The Monterey Institute for Technology and Education has launched HippoCampus, a website intended to supplement learning for high school and college students in AP and general ed subjects, free of charge. www.thejournal.com/articles/21298

Kaplan University High School now in session.(HOT TOPICS)(Brief article)
November 1, 2007... Kaplan Virtual Education has opened the virtual doors on Kaplan University High School, a national online high school. The private, accredited school provides an entirely online education for "traditional-and nontraditional-aged" students....

Serious gaming: 'learn math or die trying'.(CASE STUDY)(Brief article)
November 1, 2007... "This reaches more kids than anything else I've ever done," says Wendy Hall, an instructional technology specialist at Piney Grove Middle School, part of Georgia's Forsyth County Schools. She's talking about an action-packed video game called...

Florida Virtual School to study best practices for online learning.(RESEARCH)(Brief article)
November 1, 2007... Florida Virtual School has received a $314,000 grant from the AT&T Foundation for a two-year project in which it will gather best practices and methodologies for developing and delivering high-quality online learning for K-12 students,...

Test prep and math realities.(OPINION)(Brief article)
November 1, 2007... Educators are starting to prepare students for this year's summative standardized testing. The state-mandated math test is often the most difficult for students, notes education consultant Patricia Deubel, who offers some test-prep tips for...

Online safety: combating Web proxies.(ON-DEMAND EVENTS)(Brief article)
November 1, 2007... Find out how to shut down web proxies in your district. Learn which tools can help you track student behavior, identify unwanted content, and pinpoint users attempting to access inappropriate material.

Testy about testing: without assessment, teaching and learning would be perilously haphazard. But some modifications are in order to ensure that the process serves all students.(our SPACE)
November 1, 2007... IN THIS MONTH'S FEATURE STORY on assessment (see "Special Consideration," page 36), writer Neal Starkman points out ways that traditional testing fails unconventional learners. He explores how accommodations such as technology tools and...

Bloggers welcome here: social networking tools appear poised to enter the school system. It's a breakthrough long overdue.(commentary)
November 1, 2007... INDICATIONS FROM the recent Technology + Learning Conference in Nashville, TN, are that social networking may finally be creeping into schools. One sign of the advance of social networking tools is that software publishers are now...

Keynotes.
November 1, 2007... "'Stop this madness! I want my kid to have a phone!'" --Elliot Soloway, GoKnow Learning, on what he believes parents must demand before schools agree to introduce cell phones into the curriculum (18) [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] ...

FETC and cue launch new ed tech conference.(in brief: Technology + Online + Industry + Partnerships)(Florida Educational Technology Corp. and Computer-Using Educators )(Brief article)
November 1, 2007... THE FLORIDA EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY CORP. (FETC; www.fetc.org), part of 1105 Media's Educational Technology Group, has teamed up with Computer-Using Educators (CUE; www.cue.org), a producer of professional development events for the ed tech...

Free web tools vitalize history lessons: an online multimedia series engages students in important events in US history. First up, World War II and the Cold War.(in brief: Technology + Online + Industry + Partnerships)(ABC-CLIO Schools )
November 1, 2007... ONLINE HISTORY RESOURCES are available for a limited time for free from ABC-CLIO Schools (www.abc-clio.com) as part of its "History and the Headlines" series. ABC-CLIO Schools is known for its subscription-based websites, which provide...

Filemaker announces free training materials.(Industry News)(Brief article)
November 1, 2007... FileMaker (www.filemaker.com) has released FileMaker Pro Basics, a free set of tools to help K-12 educators learn how to create FileMaker Pro 9 databases. Schools may use FileMaker databases to collect, manage, and report on student and...

New curriculum teaches web manners.(Industry News)(Brief article)
November 1, 2007... The Business Software Alliance (www.bsa.org) has posted a free education program--available for download at www.b4ucopy.com/kids tot grades 3 through 8, and at www. b4ucopy.ucopy.com/teens for grades 9 to 12--to help teach students copyright...

Tandberg completes acquisition of Codian.(Industry News)
November 1, 2007... Tandberg (www.tandberg.com), a provider of videoconferencing and mobile video, has closed a deal valued at $270 million to acquire Codian. a maker of videoconferencing products.

AMX acquisition extends customer base to smaller orgs.(Industry News)(Brief article)
November 1, 2007... AMX (www.amx.com) has announced the acquisition of ProCon Technology, a UK-based manufacturer of A/V switching and control equipment. Since its inception eight years ago, ProCon has focused exclusively on developing simple, cost-effective...

ISTE updates tech standards for students.(Industry News)(International Society for Technology in Education )(Brief article)
November 1, 2007... The International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE: www.iste.org) published the first edition of National Educational Technology Standards for Students in 1998 to outline what students need to know about and be able to do with...

KAPUT center receives grant to improve math teaching.(Partnerships)(James J. Kaput Center for Research and Innovation in Mathematics Education of University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth)(Brief article)
November 1, 2007... The US Department of Education has given the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth's James J. Kaput Center for Research and Innovation in Mathematics Education (www.kaputcenter. umassd.edu) a $2 million grant to examine new strategies for...

Toychallenge aims to interest girls in science.(Partnerships)
November 1, 2007... Studies show that in elementary school, equal numbers of boys and girls are interested in and successful at math, science, and technology. But as they progress toward sixth grade, more girls than boys drift away from these subjects. To counter...

Texas educator joins researchers in Antarctica.(People)(Lollie Garay joins a PolarTREC research)(Brief article)
November 1, 2007... This winter Lollie Garay, a middle school science teacher at the Redd School, a preK-8 private school in Houston, will join a PolarTREC (Teachers and ResearchersExploring and Collaborating; www.polartrec.com) research team aboard the Oden...

Odic joins Interwrite Learning.(People)(Laurent Odic)(Brief article)
November 1, 2007... Interwrite Learning (www.interwrite learning.com), a manufacturer of interactive whiteboards, wireless slates, and personal voting systems, has hired former National Project Manager for the French Ministry of Education Laurent Odic as its...

Talkin' up a storm: the debate over integrating cell phones into instruction rages: do potential security risks and classroom disruptions negate the promise of academic gains? A North Carolina pilot program may soon have the answer.(mobile technology)
November 1, 2007... THE IPHONE, BLACKBERRY, and Sidekick, as well as the host of other multifunctional smart phones, may be the darlings of Wall Street, cell phone salesmen, and Generations X and Y, but they have yet to endear themselves to one prominent group in...

The teacher becomes the student: the same online technologies that districts have adopted as tools for learning are being used by instructors to augment their own education.(professional development)
November 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] EDUCATORS KNOW the value professional development brings to their teaching, and how that trickles down to their students, but finding the time to participate in scheduled PD activities isn't easy. Some school...

Ready for their closeups: digital technology is putting students in front of the camera as well as behind it.(digital imaging)
November 1, 2007... KATHY SWAN WAS A LATE ADOPTER. As a teacher, she had been slightly intimidated and a little bored by technology. She was more interested in the creative aspects of pedagogy. "I didn't see any compelling reason to use technology," she says. But...

Does the eye spy? Around-the-clock video surveillance is the Holy Grail of K-12 safety efforts. But it raises many questions, including whether or not the cameras are a wholly benign presence.(SPECIAL SECTION: Watching the Watchers)(Cover story)
November 1, 2007... SOME OF THE WORST COLLATERAL damage from a tragedy doesn't occur till after the smoke clears; namely, the usurping of the name of the location where the event took place, which over time gets repurposed into metaphor and served as a caveat....

Tag! You're it: requiring students to wear RFID-enabled badges can ease administrative tasks and tighten security, but some parents and advocacy groups think it insults children's dignity--and may threaten their safety.(SPECIAL SECTION: Watching the Watchers)(radio-frequency identification)
November 1, 2007... BRITTAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL in Sutter, CA, had the best intentions when it implemented a radio frequency identification (RFID) program nearly three years ago. More efficient attendance-keeping and better security were the promise of InClass, a...

Special consideration: year-end testing can produce a false picture of students with unique challenges. They need individualized, frequent assessments--thanks to technology, they're getting them.(assessment)
November 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] SEVERAL YEARS AGO, Sandy Futrell had a fourth-grade special education student who, according to all the tests, couldn't recognize letters or read math problems. "Like other teachers, I assumed that because students...

MFPS: a bundle of possibilities: packaging diverse software with powerful hardware, vendors are turning out multifunction printers that offer educators options galore.(document management)
November 1, 2007... IN THEIR FASCINATING BOOK, The Myth of the Paperlesss Office (The MIT Press, 2001), Abigail J. Sellen and Richard H.R. Harper argue that paper is just too appealing a medium ever to be replaced by electronic documents. Human beings, they write,...

The Lego Group.(product FOCUS: The latest releases, services, and new product versions)(Lego Mindstorms NXT)(Brief article)
November 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] THE LEGO GROUP and education technology developer National Instruments have released an update to the Lego Mindstorms NXT robotics invention system. The new 1.1 release adds support for Intel-based Mac systems and...

Hamilton Electronics.(product FOCUS: The latest releases, services, and new product versions)(Guardian Wired Headphones)(Brief article)
November 1, 2007... HAMILTON ELECTRONICS, a solutions provider for the education market since 1933, is now taking on a new challenge--protecting students from hearing loss. Its recently released Guardian Wired Headphones are equipped with sound-level monitoring...

Sanyo.(product FOCUS: The latest releases, services, and new product versions)(PLV-Z2000)(Brief article)
November 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] SANYO introduced the PLV-Z2000, a high-definition LCD projector. Its high-end features include a 15,000:1 contrast ratio and the ability to reproduce 216 billion color combinations through an adaptive color phase and...

Extracurricular: for technologists who do their homework.(Table)
November 1, 2007... Interactive whiteboards are quickly gaining a presence in US schools. District technology directors tell why. HIGHLIGHTS * BETTER STUDENT ENGAGEMENT MOST OFTEN CITED BENEFIT OF USE * CLASSROOM PENETRATION STILL LOW * GREATEST USE IN...

What is FETC?(Brief article)
November 1, 2007... FETC is one of the largest, most successful conferences in the United States devoted to educational technology. The conference program is designed so educators and administrators have an opportunity to learn how to integrate different...

Conference information.
November 1, 2007... CONFERENCE REGISTRATION Conference registrations are currently being accepted online, by fax, or U.S. mail. Your full conference registration fee includes access to Opening and Closing Sessions, Eye Opener Keynote Sessions, Featured...

Conference schedule.(Calendar)
November 1, 2007... CONFERENCE SCHEDULE Tuesday, January 22, 2008 Ticketed Workshop Registration 7:00 a.m.-3:30 p.m. Ticketed Workshops 8:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m. 8:00 a.m.-11:00...

Conference sessions.(Calendar)
November 1, 2007... CONCURRENT SESSION 1: THURSDAY, JANUARY 24, 2008 9:15-10:10 AM 21st Century Skills Beyond Testing: Nurturing Creativity, Critical Thinking, Collaboration Peggy Healy Stearns Forget About the Future, It's the Present that Concerns...

Ticketed workshop information.
November 1, 2007... FETC is pleased to offer more than 70 workshops at FETC 2008. These information-packed workshops offer participants a chance to learn new skills and strategies, create new materials, and explore topics in more depth than time allows in a...

FETC 2008 exhibitors: (as of September 30, 2007).(Florida Educational Technology Conference)(List)
November 1, 2007... Bold red type indicates FETC 2008 Corporate Sponsors. 3M Visual Systems 3MRT 8e6 Technologies A+ Images, Inc. AAL Absolute Software Academic Superstore AccuCut Achieve 3000 Adobe Systems, Inc. ...

Travel information.(Brief article)
November 1, 2007... Hotel reservations can be made through the FETC Housing Bureau. Please do not call the hotel, as you will be redirected to the Housing Bureau. Housing reservations being secured with a credit card: Online: Visit the Travel section of...

Participating conference hotels.
November 1, 2007... Best Western Plaza International $94 single/double 8738 International Dr. (1.5 miles, about 3 min.) Shuttle: Curbside Austrian Ct. [#] [^] Crowne Plaza Orlando Universal $159 single/double 7800 Universal...