The Educators' Royal Treatment

Lightning in a Bottle: My GTAdmin Experience

By Eric Sheninger, Principal at New Milford High School located in Bergen County, NJ.

As I sat in the Houston airport waiting for my flight back to Newark, I couldn’t help but to sit and reflect on my experience at the first ever Google Teacher Academy for Administrators.  The conference was held on March 5, 2010 in San Antonio, Texas.  This was by far the most intense, and rewarding professional development venture that I have ever experienced.   Brought together by innovative practices, and a desire to integrate Google educational tools with sound pedagogy.  I joined with 50 other exemplary administrators all on a journey that took our learning to levels not readily imagined; hence my analogy to “Lighting in a bottle.”

As I mentioned before, the day was INTENSE, which was right in my wheelhouse as a concrete sequential learner.  Each session moved seamlessly from one to the next within an eleven-hour time span.  During the session, I readily observed one of the most important attributes of an effective administrator – MULTITASKING.  This was visible in the form of simultaneously listening, taking notes while utilizing Google Docs, engaging in a Twitter backchannel, and of course, the sharing of ideas on how we as administrators could effectively and efficiently use the array of Google tools. 

The fact that backchanneling was encouraged was cool in itself! Anyone reading the tweets from #GTAdmin could feel the excitement, I am sure.  I found it particularly challenging at times to tweet what I felt was compelling information, due to the fear that I would miss something during the process.  That’s how good the Google Academy was; “Riveting,” is the word that immediately comes co my mind.

The atmosphere in the room was similar to Christmas where we as educational administrators were receiving all of the gifts stipulated on our lists to Santa Clause.  Who doesn’t appreciate FREE educational gifts (I know all of us involved with web 2.0 and technology do)? The energy in the room never dissipated as we learned how these gifts of knowledge could be used to establish collaborative, engaging, and transparent learning environments in our respective schools. You can view my notes for #GTAdmin by visiting GTAdmin Notes 3-5-10

My notes give a pretty good snapshot of our action-packed day.  However, another important take-away here was the presenters, or lead learners as Dr. Mark Wagner referred to them as.  Each lead learner facilitated passionate discussions on virtually every Google app that could be used in education.  They were extremely prepared, modeled effective practices, and applied the tools in a way that we as administrators could use them.  This Academy really was catered to and designed for administrators.  Each presenter’s dedication to ensuring that we fully understood how to implement the various Google tools was greatly appreciated by all.  At the conclusion of the day I was still craving more.  How many of us could honestly say that after a 3 hour professional development training, let alone 11 hours?  In a nutshell the blueprint developed for #GTAdmin was fantastic.

Learning did not stop for one minute at the academy.  In my opening paragraph I made mention to the educational leaders that I was fortunate enough to spend the day with.  Whether it was at dinner, the night before, during breaks, at meals, or late into the night after the academy, conversations on what we had learned and how we were going to utilize this, “Lightning in a bottle,” that was graciously handed to us never ceased.  Talk about bang for my buck!  The additional knowledge and insight that I acquired from my esteemed peers was priceless in itself.  Many of our conversations focused on which specific Google Apps we were going to implement first and how.  Administrators committed to change through innovation, collaboration, sustainability, and transparency were definitely underlying themes and catalysts for the intriguing discussions that took place.

I could go on and on about this experience, but I am just too exhausted and should probably get a nap in before I land.  My goal now is to return to my school and empower my staff to engage all learners, collaborate with each other, and take a more active role in the educational process using Google Apps for Education.  This experience, combined with my Personal Learning Network (PLN) serve as driving forces to provide the very best learning opportunities for the students and staff of New Milford High School.  Who knows, maybe now I will start an official blog using Google Blogger? Wait, I just did. I can’t wait to unleash this lighting in a bottle!

Cross posted at A Principal's Reflections

Great CMS Helps Build Your District Brand

by Katie Brosious

In response to both Eric Sheninger's post about the importance of branding in education, and Trish Rubin's blog, EdVentures in a New York Minute, about branding in education, I started to think about how, with a CMS, schools can use their district Web site to establish a brand.

The Importance of a Brand in Education

Although I will leave this part mostly to the experts (Thanks Eric and Trish!), I will say a few words about the importance of a brand in education. Education is a service. Education is just like any other service in that it must exude value in the business that it is in, in order to attract new students. In education, school districts must show academic value. Bad or good; clear or not, everything--person, place, or thing--has some sort of brand attached to it. It's what others think and feel about what you have to offer.

Why doesn't education take advantage of this? Especially K-12 school districts! Universities have come a long way, and seem to be working on establishing their own individual brand. However, many school districts do not put their best foot forward...To network, to evolve, to improve, and to show the world what they are accomplishing.

But how would they spread their message? It's not like school districts have the advertising budgets of McDonald's or Coca Cola. They have the label of 'school,' which implies education, but it's extremely obvious that no two schools are the same. Its important for schools to build their brand because school districts, more than any other educational institution, need to stay updated and in the know. Today's K-12 students are tomorrow's leaders. It is essential for schools to have a cohesive mission, a set of values, and a sense of pride within the district, which can be done by establishing a brand.

Branding on the Web

More and more, school districts are using social networking sites like Twitter to extend and enhance their brand. Some Twitter accounts are for the whole district, some just for a school, and some are from teachers, staff or administrators from the district. Each Twitter account is another point of contact for that district. It improves community outreach, makes the district more personable and personal, and helps to spread the district message. Social media sites like Twitter are great. And they're an extension of the district brand. But they just aren't enough. Even if a district has a great media presence, consistency throughout the district all-inclusive WEB presence is key.

Aside from social media, the school district Web site is often the most important point of contact for the school district. If community members want to know what time the football game is on Friday, the district site is the first source of information. The district Web site is like the Encyclopedia for that district. Students, parents and community members expect to have all of their questions answered simply by clicking over to the district Web site. It must support a cohesive brand and mission along with all other point of contacts for that district on the web.

Using ContentM K-12 to Brand your District

The best and easiest way to build a school district Web site is with a CMS like ContentM K-12. Not only will you be able to design and implement your school district Web site with ease, you (or anyone else) will be able to maintain it with a few clicks. You will be able to update your Web site in seconds when you need to (i.e., for snow day cancellations or delays). You can spread the word about your district's overall academic accomplishments. You can show your students' accomplishments. The best Web sites are dynamic and fluid; they are always changing as new things happen. School district Web sites should be no different.

STEM Professional Development Academy Now Open

By Sandy Fash

The Siemens Foundation, Discovery Education, Oak Ridge Associated Universities, and the College Board are kicking off a new nationwide initiative, The Siemens STEM Academy.  The Academy is designed to advance science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education in the United States by engaging educators across the country through hands-on and multimedia professional development opportunities.

The national Siemens STEM Academy encompasses the following four elements:

- Siemens Teachers as Researchers (STARs)

A two-week residential professional development and research immersion program for select middle and high school teachers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, the country's largest multi-purpose national research laboratory, located in Oak Ridge, Tenn.  Teachers will have the unique opportunity to engage with top scientists and researchers on short-term research projects related to current topics of national interest.  Through authentic research, professional scientific collaboration and educational enhancements, the program offers valuable insights, resources and scientific contacts that educators can bring back to the classroom.  Applications are now being accepted through March 1.

- Siemens STEM Academy Institute

A week-long STEM immersion program that will enable 50 select teachers to gather and engage with today's critical science thinkers and other peers across the nation and visit leading institutions to see real-world applications of STEM subject matters.  In addition, the Institute also will include monthly professional development opportunities, support and additional tools and resources designed to further inspire student achievement in STEM education.

- STEM Academy Online Portal

A national portal and online community designed to foster STEM achievement by providing educators with a dedicated resource to collaborate, exchange and connect about all things related to STEM education.

- Brains of Science Connect Webinar Series

A monthly Webinar series that gives educators the chance to interact with today's eminent scientists, personalities and thought-leaders, and extend that experience to their students through customized, standards-based content.

For more information about The Siemens STEM Academy, check out www.siemensstemacademy.com. 

Engaging Parent Volunteers: A Call for Action

by Karen Bantuveris, founder and CEO of VolunteerSpot, free and easy online scheduling and signup tools.
Involving parents in our schools as volunteers and fundraisers boosts student performance and reinforces the view in the child's mind that school is valued in the family.

The Milwaukee school district, among others, has used federal stimulus funds to experiment with new programs to increase parent involvement with promising initial success. Parents who are involved at school are also more likely to vote for school bonds and participate in school fundraisers.  Making all our schools and classrooms welcoming environments for parent volunteers should be an important priority – both for improving student performance and the budget.

Involvement builds commitment

Most parents welcome a meaningful way to contribute that fits their interests and schedules – but it’s contingent on school leaders and teachers to ask for help in a way that parents successfully respond and engage. As much as many teachers like the thought of having parents help in the classroom, especially in younger grades, they shy away when it comes to implementation. It’s often perceived as too time consuming to coordinate parent schedules and plan their work, or they have had bad experiences with parents disrupting lesson plans and class arrangements.  Providing teachers with quick access to simple volunteer scheduling software and online signup sheets makes it easier for them to ask for specific help and supplies, and proactively manage classroom volunteer opportunities.

Schools that successfully engage parents in the classroom, even in small ways like weekly readers, find more parents willing to take leadership roles in fundraisers and academic and enrichment projects.  Parents at Oak Hill Elementary in Austin, Texas, for example, launched a drop-in after school tutoring program to boost reading skills. Parents in San Carlos, California, provide art instruction, and school gardens are sprouting up across the country thanks to parent/teacher teams. Online volunteer sign up solutions give parent leaders confidence and save time coordinating project like these by letting parents schedule themselves to help, quickly and easily.

Is your school a volunteer-welcoming place?

Does your school offer volunteer jobs to fit a variety of schedules and interests?

• Sporadic classroom opportunities, like readers and science helpers
• Ongoing day-time opportunities in the library, cafeteria or copy room
• Take-home projects like packaging materials and updating the website
• Weekend cleanup/beautification projects involving the whole family
• Special-skill projects like gardening, accounting, and updating computers
• Fundraising and Booster committees

Do teachers, administrators and parent leaders ask for help and solicit involvement regularly, including using online scheduling and sign-up tools?

Are processes for volunteer background checks, confidentiality and security well documented and easy to follow?

When parents show up to help, are they given clear direction and enough to do?

Are parents alerted if a volunteer shift is canceled due to field trips or special schedules?

Are parents promptly dismissed and thanked at the end of their scheduled shift?

Does your school orchestrate one or two large community-building fundraisers like a carnival, book fair or family movie night?

Is it clear how to make donations, including electronic equipment and classroom supplies?

Finding more ways to involve parents at school yields big results in terms of parent commitment to your school community, fiscal fitness, and most importantly, student success.

Save time and get more parents involved in your school community -- please visit VolunteerSpot and take a tour today. VolunteerSpot is ideal for all kinds of school scheduling: classroom helpers, parent-teacher conferences, exam proctors, PTA fundraisers and more...

Schoole Awards: Nominate Your District Web Site!

by Katie Brosious

Looking for the Best District Web Site

A few weeks ago, I launched a contest for my company called the SchoolE Awards.  The SchoolE Awards are an opportunity for school districts to get recognized for their great web design, contest, and overall best Web site practices. In response to Eric Sheninger's post about the importance of branding in education, this contest falls right in line with his idea that in education, to have a brand in education is to promote your institution's value.  More and more, the first contact made with a district is through the district's Web site. It's becoming more of a necessity to have a great Web site, with all the Web 2.0 bells and whistles and great organization, all while being easy to maintain, update and navigate. The goal of the SchoolE Awards is simple--

We want to recognize the districts that have risen to the challenge to put out great attractive, useful, and fluid Web sites that establish a district brand and enhance communication between the community and the school district.

 
Why Should You Nominate Your District?

Not only will your district receive recognition and title for winning the contest, the department in charge of the district Web site will receive donations and plaques to commemorate the achievement.  We will also send out press releases to major news sources both nationally and regionally (focused on your geographical area), along with exposure through social media outlets like Twitter, Facebook and Blogger.

To select finalists for the contest, I have put together a fabulous industry expert panel, including Ken Royal himself, Shelly Terrell, Tom Whitby, and Steven Anderson. The finalists for the contest will receive feedback about their Web site from these panel members, ensuring that what's already good will continue to get better.

Our expert panel will select the 15 finalists for the contest.  From there, anyone can vote for your district, and the district with the most votes will be named the winner.

How Do I Nominate or Vote for My District?

Anyone can nominate or vote for a school district, as long as they have a valid e-mail address. All you have to do is simply go to the contest Web site (http://schoole.allofe.com), click on the red button that says "Nominate your District" and fill out the form.

Or...skip the contest site and click on this one!

The form requires the school district Web site address, the name and location of the school district, and a valid e-mail address (for fair voting practices). It will also ask if you would like to receive an e-mail reminder when voting opens. 

The more nominations your district receives, the more likely your district is to become a finalist. So spread the word!

Nominations are now open and will remain open until March 26. Voting will be open from April 5-16.  Winners will be announced on Monday, April 19.

What about the Competition?

Want to know who you're up against or just check out some of the other nominees? I will be updating a Top Nominees page every few days to show who's in the running to become a finalist. You can see the current top five by clicking here.

Questions?

If you have any questions, I would be more than happy to answer them! Just send me an e-mail at kbrosious@allofe.com.  You can also check out the Contest FAQ page, or follow me on Twitter (@allofek12), where I am constantly sending out updates.

Are you an Innovative Educator?

You are shaping America's future by grooming tomorrow's leaders and helping students develop their academic talents today.  To honor and celebrate innovative educators like you, PBS has launched a new annual PBS Teachers Innovation Awards program to showcase best practices in support of the growth and advancement of the teaching profession. PBS and its local stations are calling all preK-12 educators who inspire and engage students through innovative classroom techniques to enter the PBS Teachers Innovation Awards program by March 12 for a chance to win: 

• behind-the-scenes trip to the Annual PBS Showcase to see sneak previews of PBS programs, meet producers, and attend premiere events
• bag full of PBS gifts including award-winning PBS programs in digital formats and much more
• free enrollment in an online facilitated professional development course from PBS TeacherLine

Whether teaching students physics with rocket launchers, social studies through historical re-enactments, or literature by inviting students to create digital stories, you are innovating and making a difference in the lives of students every day, and you deserve recognition. PreK-12 educators of all levels, including classroom teachers, library media specialists, and homeschooling parents, are invited to enter the PBS Teachers Innovation Awards program. 

To enter, submit a 200-word essay demonstrating why you are an innovative educator, and include a video or photograph showing how you inspire students. A panel of PBS TeacherLine® course facilitators, expert teachers with years of classroom teaching experience and who've earned master's degrees in education, will evaluate the entries. Fifty winners will be selected based on their level of innovation and effectiveness, among other criteria.

 

All of the winners will have the opportunity to partner with PBS and local stations as leaders in classroom innovation, and have the opportunity to contribute their ideas and provide feedback on PBS programming and educational services. The winning entries will be featured on PBS Teachers (pbsteachers.org), the Web portal to PBS' preK-12 educational services and a searchable library of more than 9,000 free local and national standards-based instructional resources, including on-demand video and interactive games.

For more information on content rules and criteria, or to enter, go to http://www.pbs.org/teachers/innovators/. Entries will be accepted until March 12. Winners will be announced on April 5. 

National Science Competition Searches for America's Top Young Scientist

 by Sandy Fash

Discovery Education and 3M have teamed up again to reward students for their science acumen and curiosity, while encouraging them to share that passion by creatively communicating their findings through a national science competition.

Today, Discovery Education and 3M announced the 2010 call for entries for the Discovery Education 3M Young Scientist Challenge, a national science competition for students in grades 5-8.  Ten finalists will be selected to receive an all-expenses-paid trip to New York City to compete in the final challenge in October, where the winner will receive $50,000 in U.S. Savings Bonds, a tour of 3M's Innovation Center in St. Paul, Minn., and the title of "America's Top Young Scientist."

Everyday, scientists around the world rely on communication to help solve scientific problems and transform creative ideas into innovative solutions.  For this reason, U.S.-based middle school students are asked to create a one- to two-minute video communicating the science behind a possible solution for one of the safety and security issues that are present in everyday life listed below:

- Preventing the spread of germs/diseases

- Food safety

- Sun protection

- Wind resistant structures

Evaluated by a panel of judges, all video entries for the science competition will be accessed on the basis of creativity, persuasiveness, classroom suitability, and overall presentation.  (Videos will not be evaluated on production skills and may be recorded on cell phones or simple digital cameras.)

All video entries must be submitted online at www.youngscientistchallenge.com no later than May 27, 2010.

Please share with your middle school-aged scientists!

Calling K-8 Students to Change the World

by Sandy Fash

The Siemens Foundation, Discovery Education and the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) are inviting students nationwide to join the only challenge of its kind that empowers them to create solutions to environmental problems in their own backyards.  Open to K-8 students, the deadline for K-5 students has now been extended to March 15, 2010, for the Siemens We Can Change the World Challenge.

Students can "go green" and team up for the Siemens We Can Change the World Challenge, the nation's premier sustainability challenge where students work with an educator or mentor to identify and create solutions for environmental issues.

Students can compete for a chance to win $100,000 in grants and prizes, including a chance to appear on television, a journey on an amazing Discovery Student Adventures trip, an appearance on the New York City Times Square jumbotron, and much more.

All applications must be completed by March 15, 2010.  Visit www.wecanchange.com for more information and registration details.

DEN Hosts Science-Focused Professional Development Event

By Stephen Wakefield

This January, Discovery Education is hosting a free, virtual professional development opportunity for educators and administrators, focusing on how to incorporate digital content and the latest ed tech into science instruction.  Scheduled for Saturday, Jan. 9, 2010, from 9 a.m. EST to 4 p.m. EST, Discovery Educator Network SCIcon 2010 will highlight best practices and new techniques attendees can apply to their science lessons.

Note: If you are unfamiliar, the Discovery Educator Network (DEN) is a community of more than 125,000 active educators.  Through the DEN, members have access to a wide range of technology training, as well as a resource library of teacher-generated projects and tools.

During Discovery Educator Network SCIcon 2010, sessions will address a variety of science-focused themes, including teaching global climate change issues, paperless instruction, hands-on activities, teaching with the MYTHBUSTERS, and fun, easy and effective science experiments.

The event will be delivered online and through in-person trainings hosted by Discovery Educator Network Leadership Councils across the country.  Those attending in-person gatherings will participate in online presentations, as well as breakout sessions presented by local STAR Discovery Educators. (STAR Discovery Educators are DEN members recognized for their efforts in sharing their insight and expertise with peers through activities such as trainings, workshops or presentations.)

Educators and administrators interested in learning more, or registering for Discovery Educator Network SCIcon 2010, can visit http://blog.discoveryeducation.com/scienceinaction/denscicon/. Sessions are expected to fill to capacity, so participants are encouraged to register for this event today.

For more science-related initiatives, online services and student competitions, check out:

• Be the Future 
• STEM Connect 
• The Siemens STEM Academy 
• Discovery Education Science
• Siemens We Can Change the World Challenge
• Discovery Education 3M Young Scientist Challenge 

Gathering New Education Voices

by Ken Royal

I began The Educators’ Royal Treatment with an idea that didn’t seem valuable to anyone but me—at the time. The idea was to bring together educators making a difference in their schools or districts—and amplify those ideas further. I naively thought that just by asking, educators from bottom to top, and top to bottom to share new ideas, or repost at the ERT—they would.

Tweet, Tweet, Tweet...

It was very slow at first, and I was posting—mostly everything. I feared the ERT would become just another I, Me, My blog, and that was what I didn’t want. And then something really crazy began to happen. It had a lot to do with Twitter. I began to notice others Tweeting similar ideas, and conversations developed—it became easier for me to suggest guest posting at the ERT. I was a little amazed—but not entirely, that almost everyone I asked wanted to post—and the asking seemed to be get easier. Having so many new voices sharing is amazing. The posts could easily be features, articles, columns and how tos if published elsewhere. That has something to do with a goal I'll mention later in this post. 

Marketplace

I also wanted to hear from education marketplace experts, and have them post as well. In my experience, getting  away from press releases, and form-like best practice studies made sense. After all, educators want to know what a product will do for kids, for them as teachers, and how it worked—without trying to decipher a press release. Some marketplace people jumped right in, and recently Wednesday has started to click. I think many were surprised that I've invited them to post.

Crazy and Realistic Goals

My crazy goal was to have the ERT become like a Huffington Post for education, but my more realistic goal was to further publish what authors posted—in other forms and places. At this point, the crazy goal is in my dreams, and the realistic one hasn’t gone too far either. I don’t intend giving up on the latter, and if I fall over a bag of money with my name on it, I’ll make both happen.

It's Good to be the Director

Personally, the best part of it all is connecting people who wouldn’t normally connect, as well as supporting those who didn’t know that what they thought was valuable to others. It’s amazing how much confidence a few words can create. It’s no different with kids—is it? Each day, I ask educators to share, and hope others will ask to share at the ERT. It’s good to be the Director.

New Voices

I believe it’s time to listen to new voices. While I’m aware that the old voices, (and I count myself as one of them) still have some good thoughts to share—it really is time for new energy. Take a good look at the Educators and Administrators joining forces to discuss change. While it's easy to say the same thing for another thirty years, it won't happen. And having one or two rogue technology educators in a school, or district will become history. Too many are share—and too many are listening. The education stars are all around you, and we don't have to look to just a few—anymore.
I, Me, My is being replaced by group sharing—PLNs if you will—and educators are sharing in in organized groups—on Twitter, in Nings, blogs, and who knows what else—will be next.

What an amazing time—and to be part of a movement that is so much bigger than one voice!

30 Students Win Students Speak! Countdown to Copenhagen Contest

by Sandy Fash
Countdown to Copenhagen Winners!

Illustrating their passion for addressing climate change issues, 30 elementary, middle and high school students from around the world have been named winners of the Students Speak! Countdown to Copenhagen Contest, hosted by ePals and Conservation International’s "Team Earth" campaign. The winning submissions will be hand-delivered to world leaders attending the Copenhagen Climate Conference this month.

The Students Speak! Contest was designed to provide world leaders, scientists and other influential dignitaries a representation of what students think about climate change. The contest asked students to address these leaders in the form of a song, poem, speech, presentation, or video, and encouraged students to answer questions such as: What would you say to world leaders about climate change? And what actions would you ask them to take?

Ten winning entries were chosen in each age group category (ages 5-10, 11-13 and 14-18).  Of these 30 winning entries, 15 were chosen as overall winning submissions. To view a list of the top 30 winners, including the top 15 winners overall, and their submissions, visit www.epals.com/teamearth/climatechangecontest.

Earlier this fall, ePals joined national consumer brands Dell, SC Johnson, Starbucks, and Wrigley, and three non-profit organizations, Conservation International, Rocky Mountain Institute and Prince’s Rainforest Project, to announce the formation of "Team Earth," a global sustainability movement.

The Team Earth Focus Area on the ePals Web site (www.epals.com/teamearth) offers an interactive, safe focus area for students worldwide to engage in competitions, voice their opinions and get involved. The Students Speak! Contest encouraged students, parents and educators to countdown to Copenhagen with the help of free resources on sustainability efforts available on the ePals Team Earth Focus Area.

Outside of the contest, students can get involved by joining "Team Earth," getting their classrooms on the map, reviewing resources about important environmental issues, and uploading user-generated content to highlight ideas about how they will help save our planet. To date, students from more than 115 countries have signed on to be a member of "Team Earth."  Have your students?

Technology Fosters Communications and Parental Engagement

by John Bower, CEO of uBoost

Technology Fosters Day-to-Day Communications and Parental Engagement

Communication, recognition, and motivation have long been challenges for educators. Parents often struggle to obtain day-to-day information to support their child’s progress while teachers strive to foster greater parental engagement. Although report cards offer specific performance information several times per year, most schools rely on students to be the main conduit of information regarding their daily performance, supplemented by periodic and often broad-based communications from the teacher or school. However, if we look at fundamental recognition programs in the business world, we see an approach that embodies a complete role reversal.

In professional business settings, most recognition programs are built on the premise that supervisors monitor employee work and recognize accomplishments in “real time” with praise for a job well done, and perhaps even provide rewards on a frequent, ongoing basis as an incentive for extraordinary effort. Imagine if, as an employee, you were required to communicate your progress and accomplishments to your supervisor on a daily basis. Not only would this process be tedious, but this kind of reactionary praise would have much less impact on employee attitudes and performance.

Consider what we ask students to do each day: in the absence of individualized, daily communications from teachers to parents, which are generally regarded as too time-consuming and not feasible, we’re essentially asking students to communicate their progress and accomplishments to their parents on a daily basis. Every parent knows how difficult it is to coax information out of his or her children with the question, “How was school today?” However, this has typically been, until now, our best source of information, thus limiting our ability to foster parental engagement.

Educational research has proven that parental involvement is one of the key elements in the achievement of academic success, with recent studies finding that family participation in education was twice as predictive of students’ academic success as family socioeconomic status. In fact, some of the intensive parental engagement programs studied had effects on students’ academic success that were 10 times greater than other factors.

According to the National Network of Partnership Schools (NNPS), in order for parent involvement to flourish, it must be meaningfully integrated into a school’s programs and community. Within its list of priorities for schools, the NNPS recommends that schools communicate with families about student progress through effective school-to-home and home-to-school communications.

Consistent with the research on this topic, the federal government has made parental engagement and effective home-to-school communications a priority as well. Several sections of the No Child Left Behind Act speak directly to the challenge of parental involvement as an area of focus, providing federal dollars under NCLB and Title I for programs that enhance the role parents play in their children’s education. Many schools are still unaware of the funding streams available for improving these crucial communications programs.

To address this challenge, a growing number of schools are using technology-based reward and recognition programs to improve student and parental engagement. Not only do these programs establish core programs for motivating students; they also close the loop in terms of involving parents in their children’s day-to-day progress.

uBoost is a program that can be used in tandem with a school district’s learning management system to help recognize individual students’ positive behavior and incremental improvement. Students receive recognition in the form of award points and performance-based honor badges, encouraging them to put forth their best effort. Points can be used to help feed a hungry child, plant a tree, adopt a whale, or support other charitable causes. Points can also be redeemed for merchandise, gift cards, and other premium rewards that are shipped directly to the student’s home.

While the students receive recognition and rewards—often on a daily basis—parents are also included in this process. The uBoost system sends daily e-mail notifications to parents regarding the points their child receives, as well as the accomplishments and behaviors for which they have been rewarded. The system is customizable to the needs of each school, and can be used to recognize behaviors such as class participation, homework completion, and attendance.

Secretary of Education Arne Duncan has set a tone for educators to approach educational challenges with innovative solutions. Seeking new solutions to old challenges often requires one to look outside one’s own industry for best practices and to integrate technology when appropriate. The use of technology-based rewards and recognition programs is one of the ways that the education industry can bring an innovative solution to an age-old problem and foster strong school communities and greater parental involvement.

Embed YouTube Videos on Classroom Sites Using CMS

By Katie Brosious

How to Embed YouTube Videos on Classroom sites using CMS

We all know that Web 2.0 in the classroom is more and more becoming a necessity. Content management systems are a way to increase communication with your students outside the classroom. Previously, I stressed the importance and the benefits of using a CMS in the classroom. This post contains quick tutorial about one aspect of a CMS geared toward K-12 classrooms--SchoolEffects--works. SchoolEffects classroom sites are organized into simple, easy-to-use panels that you can move around simply by clicking and dragging. Creating a content- and Web 2.0-rich site is quick and easy. We’ve created some short tutorial videos to show you how easy SchoolEffects is to use. This episode explains how to embed a video into your classroom site.

Teacher Page Tips – Episode 2

Please feel free to leave us some feedback or ask questions on our blog at http://allofesolutions.blogspot.com, follow us on Twitter @allofe, or subscribe to our AllofESolutions YouTube Channel to check out more of our videos.

You can also check out our SchoolEffects Web site at www.schooleffects.com.

SIIA Education Division Innovation Incubator Awards 2009

SIIA (The Software & Information Industry Association) Announced the 2009 Innovation Incubator Awards for its Education Division.

(Participants represent pre-revenue companies, non-profit groups, R&D agencies, and academic institutions, and were introduced during the recent SIIA 2009 conference.)

Here is the Award's short list, led by the two finalists:

• KnowledgeBears.com, Inc., for KBTeachers.com (Finalist)

• Inigral for Schools on Facebook (Finalist)

• Engaged Minds, Inc., for Engaged Minds

• Flat World Knowledge for Flat World Knowledge

• National Geographic Society for The JASON Project

• KidsWrite for KidsWrite

• Livescribe, Inc., for Livescribe Pulse Smartpen

• Coaxis Services, Inc., for PrazAs Live

• Arizona State University for SMALLLAB (Situated Multimedia Arts Learning Lab)

• Waterford Institute for Waterford Assessment of Core Skills™ (WACS)

• Skill-Life, Inc., for Cents City

• Big Universe, Inc., for BigUniverse.com

Additional Recognition:

• The "Most Innovative Education Product or Service" award was given to Livescribe, Inc., for Livescribe Pulse Smartpen.

• The Runner-up award was given to Arizona State University for SMALLLAB (Situated Multimedia Arts Learning Lab).

• The "Most Likely to Succeed in the Education Market" award was given to Waterford Institute for Waterford Assessment of Core Skills™ (WACS).

• The Runner-up award was given to Flat World Knowledge for Flat World Knowledge.

Win a K-12 School Library Acer Makeover

by Ken Royal

Acer is offering K-12 schools—nationwide—an opportunity to add some new, computing technology to a needy library. So if your LCM is missing the Media part, this contest is for you!

The winning school library will get 10 Acer Timeline Notebooks, and 2 Acer All-In-One Desktops.

To enter Acer’s School Library Technology Makeover Contest, school staff members, teachers, parents and students need to submit an application by January 8, 2010, at http://professional.us.acer.com/edu/LibraryMakeover. The winner will be determined by a public voting system.

Here’s How:

• Provide a brief summary statement describing why your school library deserves to win a makeover, and how it would make a difference.

• Optionally, you can provide pictures (Google Picassa album URL) and/or a video (You Tube URL) of the needy school library.

• Only one nomination per school can be accepted.

• 10 finalists from will be selected from the applicants 

• Public voting will select the winner from 10 finalists beginning February 1, 2010, and ending on March 30, 2010.

Someone has to win, and it might be your school library!

Supporting Web 2.0 Use in the Classroom

by Kristen Plemon

The question today is no longer should schools use Web 2.0 technologies for educational purposes; it's how to incorporate these tools safely and effectively in the classroom. A new research report from Lightspeed Systems and netTrekker offers a picture of Web 2.0 use in schools, and provides helpful resources to guide educators in making informed decisions and implementing new strategies and technologies that fit their needs.

The "Safe Schools in a Web 2.0 World" white paper serves as a comprehensive resource to guide districts in using Internet technologies to promote collaborative, participatory learning.  The report comprises:

• a research analysis of recent studies conducted by Interactive Educational Systems Design (IESD), the Consortium of School Networking (CoSN), and Project Tomorrow, among others.
• a checklist to apply research results and facilitate discussions among administrators and teachers by reviewing, evaluating and making decisions about current and future use of Web 2.0 technologies.
• an extensive list of recommended resources, studies, best practices, and policies and procedures.

The research findings indicate that district leadership and support are key to empowering teachers to use Web 2.0.  In the studies, district technology directors offer interesting insight and creative ideas regarding leadership and support for teachers, and ways to incorporate new technologies and approaches:

• "Currently we have a 20 teacher committee looking at how to implement these new technologies. It is starting with getting an understanding of what skill sets teachers and students have and with what technologies they are familiar. For instance we are finding that nearly 90% of 5th grade students have an iPod. This could lead to deve[lo]ping podcasts by teachers.”
• “This year, we are starting an internal Technology Teacher Grant concept in our district. Teachers are writing proposals/grants for pieces of equipment they are interested in utilizing. The grant application is pretty intense—and I’m getting some great ideas—that I will probably fund and would have never thought of! I’m thinking this is another way to encourage teacher collaboration.”
• “In our District there is a decided effort to maintain some level of balance. We provide teachers with access to YouTube to obtain educationally valid content from it while restricting access to students. The other thing we have done is try to bring Web 2.0 technologies inside the firewall. The idea is that blogging with WordPress doesn’t have to occur out on the Internet for it to be useful. So, we set up a WordPress server and provide access to it. We set up similar environments for hosting Wikis, Podcasts, Video-on-Demand, DocuShare for Web-based access to files, etc. All of these are available from anywhere in the world, however, we restrict access to who can participate so that we provide a mirror of the services without the safety issues. It is a reasonable response to a difficult challenge.”

Another key finding from the research is that many district leaders believe Web 2.0 technologies require new or modified instructional practices. What approaches are you or your colleagues using in your classroom? What's worked, or what needs to change?

Sharing ideas, best practices and Web 2.0 learning opportunities with your administrators and peers is one of the best ways to get buy-in and encourage widespread support and use. If you'd like to learn more about Web 2.0 use in schools and advocate for change, check out the white paper at  http://nettrekker.com/pages/iesd-white-paper/ or http://www.lightspeedsystems.com/resources/Information-Papers.aspx.  We welcome your thoughts and feedback.

HP Covers New Education Technology Bases

by Ken Royal

I recently sat down with HP's Brian Becker, director of Education, in New York City, to talk about their new, three-pronged approach for interactive classroom solutions. It seems they have all the bases covered and may have an HP home run in the making. Partnered with Microsoft and Win7, this could be big for getting many more students at computers and giving a new definition to seat work.

Here are the 3 parts—MultiSeat, TeachNow, and SchoolCloud—that make up the complete HP package—as I understand them:

MultiSeat: This is really a thin client solution. Using one sufficiently prepared desktop, a school can connect and operate 10 computers as thin client users. This is a USB, plug and play solution, so you don’t have to be a tech guru to set it up. There’s no need to open a computer to install anything.

TeachNow: This is a server-based application for thin clients that just gives teachers and students what they need without software clutter and application power drain. It’s recommended for 30 users making it perfect for classrooms and computer labs. Teachers get lesson planning areas with plenty of teaching tools, and students get a view of their content and computer desktop. This OS streaming technology is mouse-click easy and safe.

SchoolCloud: This is HP’s entry into private cloud solutions. The idea is that a teacher or student desktop can be anywhere, and access anywhere. The best part of this is that all computing devices can be used. Certainly makes netbooks more valuable in 1:1 solutions. Companies providing these new options will make it possible for more students and teachers to gain computing access—at school and home.
This is the part that that is the most exciting, because companies providing these solutions have a handle on the future. Once the idea is understood, education Clouds, will be the center of our education conversations.

I believe SchoolCloud starts with 200 seats, includes professional development, and useful administration reports on technology usage. It’s nice to know that what the district is paying for is being used, and beyond that, the information backs administrators asking for more technology.

http://www.hp.com/go/virtualEDU

Director’s Note: There are other solutions out there that do each of these things, but HP has put them together for a complete solution.

The Essential Tools For The Connected Teacher—Part 1

by Steven W. Anderson
(Director's Note: Anderson is @web20classroom — twitter.com/web20classroom)

First, a little background. In my role of an Instructional Technologist my goal is to help teachers understand that there are some really awesome tools out there to take their teaching to the next level. I get asked all the time about what tools should teachers be using in the classroom or for professional development.

A few weeks ago I posted my Administrators Technology Toolkit where I wanted to give school administrators some simple tools to get started with to really understand what it means to be a Tech Savvy Administrator.

But I got lots of questions about teachers. What tools do teachers need to use to be Tech Savvy Teachers?
So was born the List of Essential Tools For The Connected Teacher. Of course these are not all the tools teachers need. Nor are the tools in each category the only tools perfect for that category. They are just a jumping off point. A way to get started.

So for the next 4 Fridays I will be posting a different category of connectedness and several tools.

Here we go...

Week 1-Tools To Communicate

Part of being a Tech Savvy Teacher is communication. Communication with students, parents, community and other education professionals is a must today. Here are several tools to get you started.

Class Websites-They are a perfect way to get your classroom message out. Post homework, projects, class photos, videos, lessons and more. Think about it. You do a lesson. Johnny is out of school because of Swine Flu. No need for Johnny to fall behind because he can go to your website and get his lesson and homework for the days he is out. The parent doesn't even need to come to the school to get the assignments because you have taken the time to post your information to your website. I am sure you can think of 100's of other ways to use a class website.

Some schools now provide a website space for teachers. If you are not using it you should! If your school doesn't provide for one, get one! There are lots of great, free, services to have a class website if your school doesn't provide one for you:

Google Sites- Very easy to use, and easy to link to Google Calendar for homework and other important dates. You can also post lots of 0ther gadgets that really provide for a lot of flexibility when putting up lessons.

Webs- Another easy to set up and use website service. The only drawback is their are ads on your pages and there really isn't any control over what ads are shown.

Wix- Has to be one of the best website design programs out there, and the best part, its free! You can create some really slick, Flash-based, pages with no programing knowledge really. Very easy to use but when done, looks like a pro made it.

Blogs- So maybe a website just isn't for you. Or maybe you are looking for another way to keep up the communication. Introducing the blog. There are a couple of ways to use them. It could just be a place to summarize what kids did in class that day and to post your homework. It could be a place that is an extension of the learning. Some teachers will post a question or a reflection that they then have the students go in and comment. Or it could just be a place for you to reflect and talk about what it means to be a teacher...

CMS Tools Help Build Web-Savvy Presence for Teachers

by Katie Brosious

The Internet is the main vehicle of communication in today’s society.  Students spend enormous amounts of time on the web every day, and there is a real opportunity for educators to use this to their advantage. 

The current generation of students is naturally web-savvy and will not be satisfied with websites of mediocre quality and substance.  Therein lays the challenge. Most web content management systems (CMS) and web tools available to teachers just don’t have the ease of use or comprehensive functionality to allow non-technical educators to quickly create and manage effective web-sites with rich content with minimal time or effort. Some of the challenges are as follows:

• Every teacher needs to be able to work on their own web sites, thus creating a need for a much more diverse set of users in terms of technical competency, interests and backgrounds.
• The functionality requirements to make a classroom site useful are much greater than the needs at the district or school level. Classroom sites need a greater feature set for educational content. This includes more Web 2.0 tools as well as complex multi-media functionality.
• Teachers need a lot of flexibility but at the same time it is important that there is consistency with the district’s site – that the district’s brand and image are maintained.
• Teachers have limited time. Therefore, it is even more important that the site management tools are intuitive and fun. Otherwise, sites can quickly become outdated and stale, thus defeating its very purpose of keeping the primary audience, such as parents and students, engaged.
• Teachers need a starting point, from which, in a matter of minutes they can have a base site that is attractive and useful. Without that, most teachers will not even get started, thus creating a situation within a district where only a small group of classrooms actually have any web content.

AllofE’s SchoolEffects, is a culmination of a decade of R&D. SchoolEffects is a vast and extensible platform with a very broad set of functionality.  Innovations, such as the panel based edit-in-place function, focus on implementing web 2.0 technology that empowers teachers to maintain engaging sights that become an extension of their classrooms.  Here, teachers can post assignments and lesson plans, share videos, podcasts or albums, maintain blogs and create a variety of rich content such as slideshows and tabbed panels, or reconfigure layouts of pages intuitively and quickly.

To see the level of flexibility a Content Management System like SchoolEffects offers, click on the links below to see how teachers are taking advantage of this opportunity:

• Example Site 1
• Example Site 2
• Example Site 3
• Example Site 4 

Or check it out at www.schooleffects.com.

LiveBinders: Easy "Trap and Keep" Online Teaching Binders

by Ken Royal

I've just checked out a site called LiveBinders—online versions of the old-fashioned 3-ring binders. There are some samples at the site, but the fastest way to see what they are, and how easily they work, is to view the 90-second video.

Binders can be made on-the-fly, directly from your browser—just by clicking a button in your bookmarks menu.  And yes, there’s a short video to do that as well. Best of all, LiveBinders is free.

Here’s the ticket: It takes a few minutes to learn, start, and create binders. Perfect for educators, who leery about learning technology—or spending more than 10 minutes to do it! This technology is based on something all teachers know how to do—collecting lesson resources—and saving them. It's an easy Web Tech entry for educators.

Find LiveBinders at http://www.livebinders.com/ to begin your own.

The Administrator's Technology Toolkit

by Steven W. Anderson

Most schools and districts spend lot of time and effort trying to get their teachers up to speed on technology and its use/place in the classroom. And honestly that is where a majority of effort should be spent; working with those on the frontlines of instruction. However, rarely, if ever, is much time spent with administrators, working with them on ways they use technology to enhance what they are doing. What can administrators do?

I have put together what I am calling The Administrator's Technology Toolkit. (I really should find something more flashy or fun. If you have ideas leave me a comment.) There are some simple, easy to use tools that administrators can be using right now to, just like teachers, integrate technology into what they do daily.

Tool 1-Twitter
Anyone who knows me, knows that I am a big advocate for educators to use Twitter for professional development and growth. The job of an administrator is a tough one. Twitter can serve as a place to connect with other professionals and see whats working in other buildings or districts that might work in yours. There are tons of assistant principals, principals, superintendents and even a few school board members that I interact with on a daily basis.

Check out this site for tons of resources on getting started and find a several lists of Twittering administrators and other education professionals created by a great friends of mine, Eric Sheninger (@NMHS_Principal) and Shelly Terrell (@shellterrell).

Tool 2-Google Docs/Forms
Its time to go paperless. Flash drives and external hard drivers are great inventions. I carry at least two of them with me where ever I go. However, neither of them have any documents or presentations on them. I exclusively use Google Docs. Everything I need is there. I honestly don't remember the last time I opened a Microsoft Office product. Even if I get an attachment I open it in Google Docs because I know I will have access to that document not matter where I am. No need to hunt down a cable or USB port for my drives. I access the Internet and have all my documents.

Part of Google Docs is a great feature called Forms. As an administrator you are probably constantly giving and receiving feedback from your teachers, parents, colleagues, and community. Again, go paperless. Create a Google Form that instantly captures data and enters it automatically on a spreadsheet for analysis. Having your faculty vote on an important issue? Use the Google Forms. (Then you can create snazzy graphs to impress them at the next meeting!)

Check out this site for some great information on Google Docs. Be sure to watch the "Google Docs In Plain English" and "Principals Talk About Google Docs" videos.

Tool 3-Social Bookmarking
I crave resources. Its part of my job. However, the resources I collect do no good if I don't share them with anyone. Social bookmarking services like Diigo and Delicious allow me to share websites, lessons, videos and more with anyone who wants them. Both these services allow you to tag your bookmarks making it even more easy to find the resources you need.

Administrators can use social bookmarking in one of two ways. If they are like my good friend Eric, they are constantly on the hunt for teaching resources for their teachers. So Eric spends time searching and sharing and making what he finds available through his Delicious Account. The other way administrators can use them is to just search. Sometimes these Social Bookmarking services can be more efficient at finding what you need than a regular Google Search. Also, you can search your friends' bookmarks, further enriching the experience.

There are a couple of "must-see" tutorials that I have collected. The first is another In Plain English Video, this time on Social Bookmarking. Either Delicious or Diigo are great for administrators. Both have advantages and disadvantages. Here is a really good Delicious Tutorial and one for Diigo.

Tool 4-Google Reader
I am willing to bet that there are certain websites you check everyday. Perhaps you even have a blog or two that you read. Instead of wasting time visiting each and every website in the hopes there is a new article or post you can use an RSS reader. What is RSS you ask? —Really Simple Service. Basically it is a web address that you insert into a reader so all you need to do is visit one site (your reader) and see whats new on all your favorite sites.

One of the best readers out there is Google Reader. Its easy to navigate and add feeds. There are also lists of feeds that you can add with one click like news, technology and more. A new feature is Suggestions. Once you have subscribed to a few feeds, Google Reader will offer some suggested new feeds for you to check out.

So how do you get started? Well, you need to see yet another In Plain English Video, this time on RSS. Next you will want to see this great Google Reader Tutorial. Lastly, every tech savvy administrator needs some blogs to follow. Here are several great lists:

• SupportBlogging Educational Blogs

• Moving Forward Educational Blogs

• Educational Blogs You Should Be Following

Tool 5-Ning
As I mentioned before it is important for all educators, including administrators, to create networks of other professionals to connect with. I previously mentioned Twitter. Twitter is great for real-time discussion and resource sharing. However why not take the idea of social networking one step further and enrich the experience with video and file sharing, discussion forums, events and specialty groups. Ning does all that!

Ning bills itself as the social network you create. Nings are very popular among educators because there isn't lot of the "junk" you will find on other social networking sites. Nings are great because you can really customize the content and you can create private spaces for your school or district.

Of course, I want you to check out the Social Networking In Plain English video to get an idea on how social networking works. Then check out this Ning tutorial for more information on how to sign up and get started. You will also need some Nings to visit. Here are just a few:

• Educational Administrators Ning

• The Educator's Personal Learning Network Ning

• More Educational Nings

Five tools. That's it, just five to get started with. Of course that's not all you will need to become a Tech-Savvy Administrator but its a good start.

What do you think? What are some other tools or applications you would recommend for administrators? Maybe you are already a Tech-Savvy Administrator. What tools do you currently use or what suggestions can you offer?

Cross Posted on The Tech and Learning Blog and Blogging About The Web 2.0 Connected Classroom

Why am I doing this?

by Carla Beard

I was planning a lesson on Benjamin Franklin's project to achieve moral perfection. One discussion question asked students to identify the virtues they thought were most important and least important. I decided to use Moodle's Choice module for this. Partway through preparing the two modules, though, I paused to think it through.

In previous years I have used class discussion at this point, letting those who had something to say lead the way but also calling on quieter students. Sometimes we just raised our hands to vote for most/least important. It worked OK. What did I hope to gain by using technology this time?

This is a good question to ask now and then. Teachers who resist integrating technology do so partly because they see limited value added. In addition -- as they are learning -- they see time and energy lost, and they anticipate frustration when things don't go smoothly. They ask, "Why bother?" It's a valid question.

Let me respond from the point of view of my Benjamin Franklin lesson. After students vote, they will be able to see how others have voted. When everyone is finished, we can refresh screens and see a total, which I will also project to the front of the room.

• Because everyone votes, no one hides behind "Everyone already said what I was thinking" or "I agree with Joe." Each student has a voice.
• This activity generates data so that we can clearly see not just which virtue is most valued, but also which ones come in second and third. I'm envisioning a writing prompt along the lines of "A recent survey indicates that American teens prefer X over Y. What, if anything, does this tell us about them?" 
• When they compare the votes of their peers with their own vote, students connect with the text on a personal level.

In a class of 27 or 28 students, I can't work toward this level of engagement with each student with just class discussion. Too many students zone out; too many say what they think I want to hear. Some of that is still possible, I concede. But simple curiosity about the survey results will engage a few.

That engagement is definitely value added. The extra analysis is value added. Connecting 21st century students with the words of an 18th century scientist, businessman, and statesman on a personal level is definitely value added.

And that's why I integrate technology.

All Kids Are Gifted, So Teach Them That Way!

by Ken Royal

Very early in my teaching, an administrator, who had just observed me, said, “You’ve been following Renzulli’s research, haven’t you?” I had no clue what he was talking about. In those days, Google was the school librarian. She handed me some education journals and I began reading about Joseph Renzulli’s Enrichment Triad Model (1977) for gifted and talented students, as well as the Three Ring Conception of Giftedness. I was actually doing something similar with all my students—and didn’t have a clue about Renzulli—but I really liked knowing that I had stumbled upon a similar path.

In my mind, experiential learning worked for all my students—it wasn’t just for those classified as gifted. Giving all students a chance to actually be scientists, writers, or mathematicians made sense, and furthermore, giving them chances to meet and speak to experts for first hand knowledge was far better than the ancient books I was using. It was certainly a slower process then—with in-person invitations, phone conversations, and snail mail, but I stuck to it, and my students enjoyed learning—and controlling that learning—a little bit. I didn’t know it then, but that sort of teaching would be a perfect fit for computers and the Internet.

About two years ago, I had a chance to actually interview Joe Renzulli, The Researcher, and Sally Reis, his wife, and whom I affectionately refer to as The Teacher. We hit it off immediately, as if I had known them for a very long time. I may have said something like that—and for me, it was pretty much true. I had followed Renzulli through reading, and when Renzulli Learning was launched, I checked that out as well. In my last couple of years as instructional technology specialist—I even ran a school pilot program for it. I taught teachers how to do student profiles, and use student appropriate projects. Sometimes life takes some ridiculously cool turns.

If you haven’t had a chance to check out RezulliLearning for differentiated learning it may be time. All kids are gifted, and should be taught that way. Oh, it is so much easier and quicker with today's technology.

Director's Note: Joe Renzulli has been awarded the Harold W. McGraw, Jr. Prize in Education, which recognizes outstanding individuals, who have dedicated themselves to improving education in the United States, and whose accomplishments are making a difference today. ~KR

http://renzullilearning.com/

When It Comes to Websites, Is Your School Logged On?

By Colin Hussey

The World Wide Web may well be a few years your junior – it is a mere spring chicken at just 18 years-old – but in that relatively short time it has revolutionised the way we work, live and communicate. Whether Tim Berners Lee knew back in 1990 what a revolutionary invention he had created is unclear. However, it has grown so exponentially that today no one quite knows exactly how huge it really is. Using the Internet has become an innate part of working life – how did we survive without it 20 years ago? It seems hard to comprehend.

Web sites can provide solutions to various problems in schools such as streamlining paperwork for administrators and simplify processes for students and parents. In fact, a number of schools around the world have been using their web sites in useful and creative ways.

For example, college students at Texas State University’s San Marcos campus access electronic applications to pay for a multitude of charges from housing fees to library fines. Since tapping Serif’s WebPlus and PagePlus in 2000, the university has reduced production time for most e-payment applications and Web sites from months to weeks. Serif’s products have enabled the university to save the time and expense of lengthy development cycles and to present convenient e-payment options to students.

School web sites also can be incorporated into the curriculum or after-school activities. Students can play an active role in the school’s web site at Ormiston Bushfield Academy in Peterborough, UK, which runs a TV station on its web site. During the past year, students have been using the school’s extensive media facilities to film and produce a virtual assembly.

Web sites are quite simply some of the most important communications and marketing tools a school can have. With an increasing number of parents and teachers using the Internet, it is important for schools to make the most of their online space. But, how do secondary schools go about setting up a quality site?

Hub of the school community

In terms of the development of a web site there are two options available for schools: producing the web site in-house or paying a design company to do it for you. Depending on the school’s circumstances, questions such as who will build the site, what it will include and who will maintain it all have to be taken into consideration.

“When making a choice on who will build the site it is important to have a long term view on who will carry out the ongoing development, maintenance and support,” said John Roach, managing director of e4education, web site designers and providers of web-based content management systems. “One option is for a student, teacher or other member of staff to take responsibility. This can keep costs down and means that total ownership of the web site is held within the school. By using some of the web-designing software around you can end up with a personal, professional looking web site, at a fraction of the cost.

“However, some questions you have to consider are: will there be cover during sickness or absence? If they leave, who has the background knowledge to take control? Do they have a grasp of web standards and new technology? It is recommended you address these before you start in case either occurs.”

Going it alone

Web design software with templates to build upon guides you through the processes and makes things simple. Alternatively, you can start from scratch. If you’re already comfortable with the basics of desktop publishing you should find revising text and graphics, adjusting the design of each page and laying out page elements quite easy. If you are a complete beginner, you can learn to use the tools in the software as you go.

To publish to the web, you’ll need a host for your web site – that is, disk space on a server connected to the Internet – so that others can access your site. This usually means opening an account with an online service provider. Try not to set expectations too high design-wise; it will be a lot easier if you stick to the fonts and graphics available in your software program. A clearer structure also means the web site is easier for visitors to navigate when it is published.

Once you have set out layout and design, you can then start to look at features such as buttons, blogs and videos. You can choose to incorporate 3D shapes, podcasts, web animations, order forms and polls, depending on your school’s preferences. The web site can be linked to the school’s learning platform, or contain a link to the school intranet or extranet.

Getting creative

With the basic in place, several multimedia applications can enhance your school’s web site to showcase student class work or activities. Video can be uploaded onto the school web site in a variety of ways, but one school in particular has found a unique way of doing it. St John Plessington Catholic College in Wirral, UK, has a stylish video showcase where students can upload content which is then streamed like YouTube.

Virtual tours are also popular and many schools have these on their site for prospective students and parents to have a look at. Vyners School in Hillingdon, UK, has an impressive array of virtual tours on its web site which gives the viewer a realistic true-to-life experience of being right there in the classroom. 

Roach gives a great example: “In February, when the heavy snow stopped many schools from opening, bandwidth traffic to our servers went up by a massive 500 per cent! Web sites really are making an instrumental difference to school life.”

Conclusion

Whether you choose to go it alone or enlist help, a successful school web site can bring a wealth of benefits. It can act as a school’s “mouthpiece” and a source of information for existing parents, potential parents, students, teachers, schools governors, general staff and extended school communities.

ePals LearningSpace Gives Educators Greater Control of Social Media

by Sandy Fash

ePals, Inc., launched ePals LearningSpace, a controlled, yet flexible, online workspace that provides districts greater management of social media use.  Through the platform, educators can conduct project-based learning opportunities, differentiate instruction and design curriculum in real-time.

Bringing together Web 2.0 tools (blogs, wikis, digital lockers, forums and more), ePals LearningSpace can help educators prepare students for the 21st century workforce, while also allowing administrators to review how these tools are used throughout the district.

Reflecting the real-world organization of schools, collaborative groups can be created to support activities across classrooms, schools and districts.  For example, using the platform, a middle school science class can create a group to conduct a water conservation project, while a high school English department can create a group to write and share curriculum.  Plus, ePals LearningSpace weaves in two other popular products from ePals - ClassroomMatch and SchoolMail - for connecting with other educators and students around the world.

"One of the key components of a project-based learning environment is to include activities that are collaborative by nature," said Ken Graham, Asst. Superintendent, Administration and Technology, from Hauppauge Union Free School District in New York.  "The ePals platform offers our educators a collaborative learning environment in which students can participate in a wide variety of projects across the curriculum while using Web 2.0 technology - all within a school-safe 'gated learning community'  insulated from the chaos and hazards of the public Internet."

A few more features and benefits:

• ePals LearningSpace enables the use of security technologies, including monitoring, language filtering and role-based permissions tools.  (It also is COPPA compliant.)

• Users can create, manage and organize a digital learning history, edit documents quickly and easily, and store a wide range of media.  Administrators and educators can track and view all activity for a given project, group or individual student, regardless of the publishing tool used.

• Students, educators and administrators can safely connect and collaborate with peers around the world through the ePals Global Community, used by millions of educators and students in more than 200 countries and territories. 

• ePals LearningSpace is built on the ePals Distributed Learning Platform (TM), which allows users to easily re-use core functions, integrate legacy systems and incorporate appropriate 3rd-party applications.  (This platform is the underlying technology for the recently announced International Baccalaureate virtual community.) 

• It's eligible for purchase through e-Rate funding.  

Check out ePals LearningSpace at  http://learningspace.epals.com/.

Macs & Web 2.0: Music to My Ears

By Eric Sheninger, Principal, New Milford High School located in Bergen County, NJ

When it comes to effectively integrating technology into the classroom there is no bigger proponent than myself.  As an administrator, I see my role in technology integration as a crucial component in getting new means of teaching embraced and used properly during class instruction.  First, I must constantly tweak the budget and make a commitment to purchasing technology that can be utilized with proper pedagogy to engage students.  Second, I must support my staff as they develop new lessons involving technology and web 2.0 applications by modeling proper use, providing meaningful professional development, and actively touting the benefits this will have on our students.  Another key factor that I have to take into consideration is making sure the technology is easily accessible during the school day.

 

Late last year I became enamored by the Mac Book.  I had always been a PC guy, but soon realized the power of the Mac during a training session that integrated iPods and podcasting into instruction.  As a result, I utilized funds generated through a television show I participated in to purchase a mobile cart with ten Mac Books.  As I became more knowledgeable about using a Mac and Web 2.0 tools from my Professional Learning Network (PLN) on Twitter, I began to encourage my staff to use this technology in the classroom.

 

Last week my vision became a reality.  Joe Andolino, one of my music teachers, approached me about signing out the Mac Book cart for his Applied Music Theory Class.  He informed me that the students would be using the Mac Books to create music based on the course content covered up to this point using the Garage Band software found on all Mac Books.  What I later discovered is that Joe will also be integrating a web 2.0 tool into the project.  Joe provided me the following description of the project:

 

Musically, the lessons leading up to this project were some basic music theory note placement as well assome discussion regarding music arranging. One should be creative but selective. My analogy was a comparison to painting with colors; if you mix every color together on one canvas what do you get? - muddy brown. One must decide which recorded sounds work well together in "layers". The musical layers are the key to spacing out the final sound product that makes sense to the listener.  This procedure gives new music students a sense of accomplishment early on, since later we will be discussing how to write original parts through notation only.

These sound tracks were not even mixed and still sound pretty good. We could also send these tracks electronically to the larger studio if desired. Technically, a fair amount of searching for the right host site was performed by myself and the class using delicious.com and other means. Many sites were either not user friendly or appeared to be intended for the lower grades. Others were too professional in nature and charged fees for distribution. The site I decided on can hold up to thirty tracks, is visually and user friendly, can add viewers and listeners as groups.

 

The students created original music on Garage Band using some loops. The idea was to create a genre that fit each student’s personality.  After creating the music, the next step was to get these tracks live and start building a page that others can view online. As time goes on they can edit the profile and enhance the page.  The site that Joe decided to use is called JukeboxAlive (http://www.jukeboxalive.com).  This is a wonderful web 2.0 application that allows students to listen, share, and enjoy music online.  Listed below are some examples of what the students created:

•   http://www.jukeboxalive.com/pcurley 

•   http://search.jukeboxalive.com/chrisloof18 

•   http://search.jukeboxalive.com/leonardp  

 This project is a perfect example of one that is engaging, meaningful to the learner, integrates technology, and fosters 21st Century Skills.  My role in this was simple in that I provided the technology, encouraged use, and made it readily available.  Teachers like Joe Andolino are to be commended for putting the students first and developing applicable projects that are motivational, allows for the application of knowledge, and encourages critical thought. 

Teaching With Ken Burns' "The National Parks: America's Best Idea"

by Kristen Plemon

Did you catch Ken Burns' highly acclaimed six-part documentary series, "The National Parks: America's Best Idea" on PBS? Now, you can bring "The National Parks" into your classroom to create an engaging tour of the nation’s historic and natural treasures while teaching students core curriculum lessons and 21st century skills.

Filmed over ten years, “National Parks” is the story of an idea as uniquely American as the Declaration of Independence and just as radical: that the most special places in the nation should be preserved, not for royalty or the rich, but for everyone. Using archival photographs, first-person accounts of historical characters, personal memories and analysis from more than 40 interviews, and stunning cinematography, the film traces the birth of the national park idea and follows its evolution for nearly 150 years through the stories of the people who helped create and save them.

Complementing the film project is a collection of new digital education resources that are designed for middle and high school grade levels and cover art, language arts, science, and several social studies disciplines, such as history, geography, economics, and civics. The resources include online video clips, standards-based lesson plans, day-trip activities, and discussion guides for the Untold Stories mini-documentary series, and several digital storytelling modules. All of the resources  are now available through PBS Teachers (pbsteachers.org), the Web portal to PBS’ preK-12 educational services and its searchable library of more than 9,000 local and national standards-based instructional resources, including on-demand video, lessons plans, student activities, and games.

One of the highlights among the unique resources are the place-based digital storytelling modules, which provide video screencasts along with printable quick-start guides to demonstrate how you can use the latest technologies to create digital storytelling projects. The modules cover basic to advanced level technology skills, such as uploading photos to Flickr, using Google Earth, geotagging, video editing and special effects, sharing stories on the “National Parks” site to a part of a public collection, and more.

PBS Teachers and Classroom 2.0 are also hosting a webinar tonight, "Teaching with Ken Burns' 'The National Parks: America's Best Idea,'" which will focus on digital storytelling and other free resources and tools, like ArcGIS. If you miss it, an archive of the webinar will be made available here.

Janet English, award-winning teacher and blogger for PBS Teachers, offers tips on using the “National Parks” resources with VoiceThread, an online tool that allows users to create and share collaborative, multimedia slide shows, on the Media Infusion blog.You can learn more about the "The National Parks" documentary series and accompanying resources, which were produced by WETA and Florentine Films and funded by several companies and foundations, at pbs.org/nationalparks.

'America's Top Young Scientist' Named for 2009

By Stephen Wakefield

Discovery Education and 3M have named Marina Dimitrov of Bozeman, Mont., "America's Top Young Scientist" for the 2009 Discovery Education 3M Young Scientist Challenge.  Dimitrov was one of 10 finalists who competed in a series of live science challenges at Metropolitan Pavilion in New York City.  A student at Sacajawea Middle School, Dimitrov received $50,000 in U.S. Savings Bonds ($25,000 cash value) and a trip to 3M's global headquarters to meet with some of the world's best scientists.

Selected from hundreds of students across the country, the finalists tackled live challenges focused on "The Science of Everyday Life," using their science prowess to: invent a solution to a common problem using only household items; remove impurities from water; restore an historic icon; and build a tower that can withstand a simulated earthquake. 

Finalists were evaluated by a panel of judges on their science skills and ability to communicate scientific knowledge. As the grand prize winner, Dimitrov is the recipient of the 3M "Innovation Prize," for which she will visit 3M's global headquarters in St. Paul, Minn., and learn about technology platforms like microreplication, nanotechnology, advanced materials and processing. Nico Seamons from Socorro, N.M., and Nikita Gaurav from Beaverton, Ore., tied as first runners-up in the nation’s premier science competition.  Seamons currently attends Socorro High School, and Gaurav is a student at Jesuit High School.

These students rounded out the top 10 finalists (in alphabetical order):

• Nate Bloom from Denver, Colo. (Hamilton Middle School)
• Devin Dwyer from Northport, N.Y. (Northport High School)
• Hugh Finch from Burrillville, R.I. (home-schooled)
• Emily Grover from Lehi, Utah (Lehi Junior High School)
• Nicholas LaJoie from Van Buren, Maine (Van Buren Middle School)
• Jason Liu from Hockessin, Del. (Charter School of Wilmington)
• Claire Sheen from Mountain Top, Pa. (MMI Preparatory School)

Finalists were awarded an all-expenses paid trip to New York City, a $1,000 cash prize, a personalized competition medal, an assortment of 3M products, the Science Channel Essential Space Collection DVD, as well as a DVD set from Discovery Education featuring programs such as PLANET EARTH. Discovery Education and 3M are beginning the search for the 2010 "America's Top Young Scientist."  For more information on the 2009 Discovery Education 3M Young Scientist Challenge, or to register for the 2010 challenge, check www.YoungScientistChallenge.com. 

Preparing Teachers to Educate Students with Autism

By Ryan Reid

According to the United States Department of Education, more than 80 percent of children with autism are in general education classes for at least part of each day.  This means that approximately one in four general education teachers works directly with a student with autism, and nearly all school staff members interact with a student with autism on a regular basis.  Challenged by an increasing number of students diagnosed with autism in the school system, districts are struggling to prepare general education teachers and frontline paraprofessionals to educate and care for this growing population.

As an example of the issues districts are facing, in a recent analysis, Virtual Expert Clinics found more than 90 percent of surveyed educators are uncomfortable having a child with autism in their classroom.  Also, frontline paraprofessionals and teaching assistants who work with children with autism often have high turnover rates - every 9 months - which requires districts to train new staff on a consistent basis.

"Autism needs to be demystified for all educators, especially classroom teachers," said Kevin Custer, CEO of Virtual Expert Clinics.  "Districts can provide training that combines flexible online learning opportunities, visual representations such as videos, and examples that can be practiced first-hand in the classroom.  The smallest amount of training can make a huge difference in the education of a child with autism, and leveraging opportunities delivered online provides educators and administrators with a cost-effective and manageable professional development solution."

In addition, a study by the Special Education Expenditure Project (conducted for the U.S. Department of Education) found that special education classes, therapists, aides, transportation, and facilities for a student with autism cost on average nearly $19,000 per year, or roughly triple the cost of a typical student.  Providing cost-effective training and having autism-focused resources available to general education teachers and staff will help significantly to decrease these expenditures for districts nationwide.

And, intervention for children with autism is no longer a "one-size-fits-all" answer.  This places a great deal of pressure on district leadership to design and implement differentiated instruction plans that meet the expectations of all parties.

There are technologies available that can help districts address these growing concerns.  For more information about one viable online solution, visit www.AutismPro.com.

You NEED to Use Technology in the Classroom

by Karyn Keenan

Using technology in the classroom is very important, even if you are a little unsure how to use it. As teachers we often concern ourselves with making sure that we are hitting the curriculum points, that our students respect each other, and that our classroom is well managed. And each of these things has importance. But as we look to the future of education, we’ll need to do much more than this.

 When I was in the 7th grade, my school required us to purchase a laptop and it was integrated throughout the curriculum through 12th grade. Apart from learning how to type very quickly, I realized how much technology could enhance education. If there is a term or concept that the class wants to learn more about, you can easily pull up a search engine. But, what I learned most about was that downloading random songs would surely give your computer a virus, and teachers did not like catching you on AOL Instant Messenger.

The following ideas are important reasons for incorporating technology into your classroom—and easy ways to do it.

1.    We need to teach children how to be safe on the internet

You do this by setting your own example. Make sure to have permission from parents and guardians before you allow students to access the Internet on their own. Also secure permissions to use student pictures and work on your own website or in other places.

When you show your students how to complete a web search, make sure to discuss with them how to pick the best site from the search. It is also important to tell them what the ads are on a search page and how they can decide if they should click on these links or not. If you don’t have a way to show your students a web search live, print off a copy of a search for them and have them look at it in print.

2.    We have to be as “entertaining" as possible.

I once had a parent say to me that her child did a great job of paying attention to the TV at home and she was unsure why he couldn’t pay attention in class!

We might not want to admit it, but most of our students would rather be engaged in technology than learning from us. Rather than demanding attention, we need to work to put technology bells and whistles into our lessons. Think about showing a quick video to introduce a topic, having students create power points on a topic, or making a jeopardy review game.

3.    The Internet and its vast resources offer more than you know.

I wanted to incorporate a daily calendar on the Smartboard. By googling Smartboard and 2nd Grade Calendar I came across www.thewrightroom.com and downloaded an AMAZING notebook file that my students LOVE to use.

4.    Our students have to use technology to navigate their world.

From reserving a book at the library to buying a new transit card, students have to be able to handle technology smoothly and with confidence. By giving them opportunities in school, we are helping them prepare for these experiences. Think about finding an interactive website for kids to use (edheads is a great one for simple machines) and explore on their own.

5.    It’s easier to be prepared for the day.

I have my Morning Meeting schedules created through the end of September. All of my Phonics lessons are in one place and are easily pulled up. The other day my world map fell off the wall and it was no problem. All of this information could be found through my computer and projected for all of my students to see. There’s less transition time and my students receive more visual instruction. Start by putting up your Morning Work directions and your first activity on the computer.