The Innovation Exchange — 8:00 AM

Author's Note: This blog written in close proximity to a jazz band playing the greatest hits of Styx and Bachman - Turner Overdrive (BTO) . (Someone likes 70s Canadian rock.) Apologies in advance for any typographical, contextual, or other errors resulting from the hardship of working in this environment.

Executive Summary
Useful session on new uses of novel and existing technologies, with small-group work on fleshing out the specifics of a specific initiative. The session's outcome was a jump-start of a new database of educational technology initiatives.

Details
During initial discussions with other technology administrators, I saw a wide array of strategic technology initiatives that folks in my group are undertaking:

• Tyler Dunphy from Maine is using low-cost online collaboration solution using OpenFire, a real time collaboration (RTC) server dual-licensed under the Open Source GPL and commercially. It uses the only widely adopted open protocol for instant messaging, XMPP (also called Jabber).


• Paul Ross of the University of Denver has set up a v ideo-streaming solution using a MySQL database, ColdFusion middleware (administration views), and Flash and QuickTime media servers to enable staff members to manage their own multimedia libraries, create playlists for instructional use, and enable commenting by fellow faculty and students. Outstanding, and almost all grant-funded!


• A number of folks working on what we collectively termed "Whole-Class Technology Initiatives," solutions to deploy projector, interactive white board, and professional development "packages" throughout schools and districts.


• Moodle for professional development and course management.


• Classroom Cubed, an "iMax in a Box" solution that enables teachers to bring 3D imagery into their classrooms. The implementation hasn't delivered on its promise, with high long-term costs because of a dependency on third parties to produce content.

Our team settled on a collective project to define and support: the use of a wiki within an Oahu school to earn its accreditation. You can see our work at the following link:

http://innovationexchange.wikispaces.com/Innovation+Team+Eleven

Resources
I encourage you to visit the root site of the Innovation Exchange:

http://innovationexchange.wikispaces.com, which should grow in the future as others contribute their ideas.

The real mother lode of searchable initiatives will reside at

https://www.quickbase.com/db/bcf7z3wsj

To learn more about the initiative, visit the Emerging Technologies blog, http://isteemergingtech.wordpress.com/about/.

You can watch an online video by Kathy Schrock about the Emerging Technologies Database here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fbqZCybJMTY.

If you are a member of Second Life, you can visit the supporting site to the Emerging Technologies Idea Library at the following address:

http://slurl.com/secondlife/Eduisland%20II/155/146/22

Birds of a Feather... D3M

This session promised little beyond it's title.
Data Driven Decision Making...
Something we've heard said so much in the last few years.
I greedily hoped for more.
I imagined a group of people sharing their application of

• easily acquired, timely classroom data that was
• linked to curricular resources for assessment responses, regardless of right or wrong, and
• coupled with professional learning community tuning protocols so that they would have a safe means of describing why Mary's first graders bombed on Patterns while Debbie's first graders
• further supported by a menu of professional development opportunities that could be mapped directly from student challenge patterns emerging out of each classroom.

The folks in Oklahoma and Mid-Del school districts are working hard to get themselves there.
I can see where they are going, how they are creating their future, building it out of the very tangible challenges of the present, and how they have brought current thinking and emerging technologies into their setting.

Looking at the group sitting on the other side of the audience, I saw a collection of committed young-ish educational professionals, bejeweled with the best thinking of their age. They were a determined lot, polished and cool in the air conditioning, with the beads of wisdom breaking out as the audience asked tough questions.

They had walked through the fire.

It was clear.

They had quite determinedly brought the hand of assessment across the cultural abyss, and from another world, drawn the wisened hand of curriculum, and there in the bright white light of technology, the two were joined in an instructional space that I can see clearly will coexists well into the future of our educational processes.

Who can't see great things here?


Best,
BS

Differentiating Teaching & Learning with Technology

Resource site: www.differentiatingnecc2007.wikispaces.com
Presenters demonstrated a number of reading and writing tools for assistive tech (AT) and diverse learners. Issues of equity, fairness and bringing assistance to where it’s needed most were discussed. The site listed includes links to many readily accessible, free or low cost, online resources.

Two examples: as an alternative graphic organizer, Mind Domo (http://www.mindomo.com/) has features similar to Inspiration, but it’s free & web based. Another tool, Word Web (http://wordweb.info/free/) has a dictionary, thesaurus and word finder with applications for younger students and world language instruction. They also showed many text readers, such as Natural Reader (http://www.naturalreaders.com/ )Application: you want to listen to this blog posting because you can’t find your glasses, select the text you want read and press play! Note: not all applications are dual platform. See their wikispace above for lots more information.

Knezek, Wolf and Key.... More 21st Century Education....

21st Century Education: Technology is making it happen
Don Knezek, Mary Ann Wolf, and Ken Key

Some of the take away message included reinforcing some ideas that have emerged out of the edtech literature in the last six months:
- It’s not enough to know the content, we need to focus on the skills.
- We are trying to bring the focus onto knowledge and skills, and this really represents what the 21st Framework is about.
- A large part of the technology community continues to talk about the technology. The new NETS standards are a tool to better articulate the end game: Technology has a role to play with regard to every aspect of the model presented.

Are we graduating students who are capable of 21st Century jobs?
Anecdotal descriptions were offered of High School grads who fail to take initiative, described by the presenters as not being able to think, who can’t manage entry level positions. The panel called out for self-directed people.

An example was promoted from within the audience, of initiating self-directed
thinking:
- In the context of a remedial writing class, children set the
performance goals for themselves, selecting from within a rubric, reworking
their ideas and submission until it met the targeted acheivement. This aligns
with the goal of Bernhardt, for students to collect and monitor their own
performance, and the overriding goals of social cognitive theory, for children
and young people to grow into life-long, self-regulated learners.

When we were given the charge to solve these challenges with examples from our environments I turned to introduce myself to the 2 people nearest to me.

I met Pamela Randall of Monroe College and Bob Graver of DeVry University, and we talked about what we might like to add to the new NETS model, as well as examples of application we have observed and where they integrate into the new NETS model. Our ideas were not nearly close enough to the classroom.

There were some very good examples from the audience.
Here is the one I found most interesting....
An Application from the audience:

Technology Convocation: What is that – a day of conversation with 130 people in
a room – what do we know about changes in kids, what are we doing for the
graduating class of 2020, and what are we doing for the leadership of 2020 – the
first year teachers.

The session wound down with a question, and a reiteration from the panel regarding the importance of the work that resulted in the new ISTE NETS standards.

What are we doing to teach teacher educators to integrate technology tools into their instruction? Ken Keys reinforced the expectation that tech-champions need to work harder in their learning environments to reinforce the drive for technology.

The panel concluded by stating that the ISTE-NETS process has broadened and brought into alignment the International goals and the national expectations.

... all of which I might have learned if I read Doug's blog about the release of the new NETS2 earlier in the week.

Best,
BS

this new century
is getting old...

Tuesday's Key Note: Creativity and the Emerging Face of Education... from BS

Tuesday’s Key Note Panel: Creativity and the Emerging Face of Education

Wow! I have never met a person like Elizabeth Streb. She is ON FIRE with the energy of movement. Visit her site at http://www.strebusa.org/

She was one of four engaging speakers sharing their expectations for schools of the future. Perhaps the most unusual background, she is a renowned choreographer with a degree in Physics, hosting a dance and performing arts experience in New York City. Her most powerful suggestions arrived in three parts:
- To seek creativity and innovation, begin with seemingly impossible questions
o She offered some of her own, such as, “How can I make two objects occupy the same space at the same time?” When you watch her videos you will see how she manages this.
- Read the title of every book in the book store in the section that interests you
o Hmmm…. An interesting idea. Even before you can begin to organize your own thoughts, Streb recommends that you survey the things that interest you to form the contemporary scope, a conceptual framework
- Pursue what interests you, and what comes naturally to you
o How many times, as a child, was I warned, “Don’t take the course of least resistance!” Elizabeth Streb instead recommends that young people do just that, to pursue their interests – and, after earning my own degrees, as well as supporting other people in the pursuit of advanced degrees, I couldn’t agree more. Often, the course of least resistance will guide you to the right place for you to do your best learning and make your greatest contribution.

Other sound morsels that were appetizing included:
Mike McCauley, creative director of a Major Chicago Communications agency:
o Seek out your own cathedrals in finding creativity and innovation
§ What do you revere?
§ What has long-standing significance in your own history?
§ Use these ideas to frame your work and ambitions
Mike shared a heartfelt experience he had of creating a Hero’s Welcome for the LA Marathon. He described Mile 20, where even the heroic of heart struggle with quitting, his company placed an inspirational experience, in the form of a short Tunnel in which played the theme from Rocky, propelled people forward. It worked, in a way that was far greater than his original vision.


When building the alchemy of the creative team, Mike also suggested that you add and remove people, and not just those people with the right titles, but those who bring in a different perspective. He recommended a secretary on a distant floor, or a person in the lobby.

Mary Cullinane, the classroom teacher and assistant principal that Microsoft hired to help with the design of the Philidelphia School of the Future, was also a panel member. One of the most engaging descriptions she offered was her transition to the Microsoft culture. Not only do employees all have an office with a door, but her office and Bill Gate’s office were very similar. The Microsoft work setting is also designed around conversational spaces, where people can gather around ideas, and draw in contributions from passers-by. What Cullinane found most interesting about her new setting was “thinking time.” The Microsoft culture expects that people will sit and think. It almost looks like you are doing nothing, Cullinane noted, and this is not only ‘OK’, but expected from people.

Why Whyville? www.whyville.net

This session introduced an alternative to the highly touted Second Life virtual community. A highly engaging Twitch game gets them started, and then leads to deeper exploration. Students play educational simulations to obtain currency in your virtual world. Status awarded to the avatar/face you create, that increases with each login. Economy is a critical piece of the process and feedback loop, as students earn ‘clams’ for various tasks.

Example: nutrition project; citing real nutrition facts re: healthy food consumption practices. Interesting overlap between real life choices and playing in this virtual world. They also have a bio-tech simulation activity, and will be releasing a tropical storm in the community today. The speaker suggests that this form of virtual online community is potentially more valuable than 2nd Life because it is focused on and built around actual science and factual information. The National Science Foundation is involved and supportive of this project. For more info: see Virtual Playgrounds by Yasmin Kafei

The entire trend of simulations and virtual communities was a clear theme at the conference, and raises some challenging questions for educators. As mentioned, whether we like it or not, our kids are in these kinds of environments. One finding from the site is that the content seems to matter less then the opportunities and depth of collaboration. They are also tracking gender difference regarding site use, noting that girls tend to work in groups, and boys will pursue independent games/tasks. More info: www.whyville.net

Framing Research on Educational Technology

Hosted by members of the National Technology Leadership Coalition, this session explored current research on the impact of technology aligned with primary content areas. One of the threads of the discussion was the unfortunate gap between those in higher education doing the research, and the practioners in the K12 environment. Apparently this national organization (NTLC) is interested in helping public educators make connections with researchers.

Concept: Technology as a Trojan horse for educational reform. As hardware, networks and software become part of the educational fabric, there is an understated assumption that teachers will adopt new pedagogy and adapt their practice. Then we are surprised when the resistance goes up. This is worth further discussion. There was an article by Judi Harris cited and I will provide that link on this posting.
SN

SIF: Connecting Today for Interoperability Tomorrow — 3:30 PM

This session brilliantly started with a discussion of trains.

Yes, trains.

Like so many historical examples of standardization challenges, the railway system provides a wonderful metaphor for and real-life parallel of the challenges that face the world of enterprise-level educational systems. One hundred and fifty years ago or so, the railway industry began its boom, with many companies and collaboratives building railways to reap the rewards that commercial and personal transportation offered through this new mode of locomotion. The only problem was with, you guessed it, standards. One company built its cars with a 6-foot axel width, while another built its cars with a 5.75-foot axel width, etc. With all of these different standards, the railway industry and the network it needed to succeed was, literally and figuratively, threatened by derailment.

Larry Fruth, SIFA Executive Director, used this as a point of discussion to underscore the importance of SIF as a means of ensuring a standardized pathway over which student and school data can pass. SIF is all about data normalization, entering and revising information once and having it populate to many other systems. So when a new student comes into your district, entering her demographic information into your student information system results in updated records in your school library, cafeteria, transportation, and other systems. Some day schools may have more comprehensive systems that combine these functionalities, but for now SIF does a fine job at defining how and supporting the logistics of ensuring authoritative and normalized information management.

You could study the subject for weeks, but here's a quick rundown of the session and related resources:

SIFA

• Develop and champion the SIF standard
• Lead in Federal Longitudinal Data Grant Program

Specification

• Not a product but a blueprint for managing school data
• Describes the data (what) and the infrastructure (how)
• Works cross-platform via Web interfaces
• Platform independent and vendor neutral
• Has a mature, developed certification program

Architecture

• Local (district) implementation
• Regional or state implementations, migrating data from the district up to the state department of education; 19 states nationwide implementing a state-wide SIF initiative

Online Graduate Certificate Program in Administration and Supervision — 12:30 PM

For those of you looking into a fast-track and well-credentialled certification program in the administration of school technology, look into the joint Johns Hopkins - ISTE offering described in more detail at http://education.jhu.edu/otherspecializations/iste/.

The site provides far more detail than I have below, but here are some general details:

Background

• 18 credits
• A&S certification in Maryland, provides reciprocity with Connecticut (and all 50 states)
• Online platform provided by CTE’s Electronic Learning Community and Digital Portfolio environments
• Starts and ends at NECC; next cohort just started; applications will apply to cohort starting at the next NECC, June 2008 in San Antonio
• Cohorts include participants from across the country (current cohort has participants from 16 states)
• Jim McGowan, program director, interviews applicants and makes admissions decisions immediately following the discussion

Admissions and Costs

Admissions
Apply by April 2008 to participate from June 1, 2008, to August 31, 2009

Costs

• Core costs: $1,284 per 3-credit course, paid at two at a time per semester (fall, spring, summer)
• Additional costs: Lab fees ($200 per course), ISTE membership, NECC registration (2008 and 2009) and travel, and books
• Total: ~$10,000
• Financial aid is available

EMS SIGMS Forum: The Changing Landscape of 21st Century School Information Centers — 10:30 AM

Members of the audience responded well to this discussion among leaders in the Media Specialist (MS) Special Interest Group (SIG). Discussions included use of free, collaborative, social networking tools (I cannot bring myself to use the overwrought "Web 2.0" term), including the following:

http://www.blogger.com
http://www.wikia.com
http://www.wikispaces.com
http://www.secondlife.com

Frankly, I found too much enthusiastic head-nodding at the "cool" features of these tools, including a lengthy discussion of the different avatar options in Second Life. I am looking for more wide-spread and quantifiable evidence as to the efficacy of these tools among students, evidence that did not make its way into this morning's discussion. Much new media Kool-Aid was present, with few specifics about how these tools improve learning.

This is not to say that online journaling (a technology that has been around for more than a dozen years, by the way) or collaborative workspaces don't have real benefits to students and teachers, especially those looking to reach less-engaged students. I just felt that there needed to be more substance behind the enthusiasm.

One tasty nugget that came out of the discussion was a watchdog site that tracks the use and abuse of online journals, giving educators using these tools a great resource to help protect students as we empower them with collaboration tools:

http://www.BlogSafety.com

On to the next session...

Monday June 24, 2007 Reflections from BS

Mondays have been, for the longest time, my favorite day of the week.
I love trying to get everything into a Monday that might actually fit an entire week... just to challenge myself.
Today was, by far, an exception to a typical Monday.
It was almost .... a month of Mondays.

There is an analogy here, of course.
It has to do with packing large days into small sound bites and stringing them like Christmas lights, traveling at 75MPH, across the darkness of my own ignorance.
I have entered the age of hyper enlightenment.
There is more to learn, and more immediacy in the need to own it all, intellectually.

The conference is an info-fest, and although I cannot possibly get it all in, I can certainly try.

The best learning I experienced today:


I realized, as I listened to the smarties at the Verizon-sponsored Thinkfinity.com panel discussion, that I was obsolete. I have been technically surpassed by my 10 year old, the new 'Screenager' , as Jim Rubillo, Exec Dir, NCTM, called her. Just like the distant stars in our aging galaxy whose light arrives long after the star has expired, by the time I arrived at this idea, I could easily be thought of as an intellectual granny. Information is changing so rapidly, that the next generation of techno-savvy is only a next younger sibling to a five year old.

Ok - enough reflective rambling.... let me tell about what I learned, and what I did...

Between 8:30 and 10:30

Armed with my conference canvas bag, it’s chipper black and green handles perched lightly on my left shoulder, I explored.
Where is Murphy?
It promised a wealth of different applications of technology in classrooms and schools that I was quite honestly starving to see.
I wanted to see what happens when trained professionals bring technology into the lives of children, instead of just ‘mom’.

As it turned out, Murphy was a large, open space that was tagged with numbers, in a random-assignment format.

I learned this from a person in a bright yellow shirt holding a sign with a big question mark on it. She was born to tell me where to go … and I was grateful.

There were whole constellations of ideas, plastered up in million color displays, blinged out with glitzy projection tools, gadgets, and gizmos. Arthur C. Clarke saw me coming when he spouted his theory about technology appearing to be magic.

It certainly was a Hogwarts experience, to look into the ordinary lives of our contemporary learners.

What was the best part? There were kids there! They were sharing their work, in an articulate, polished, thoughtful way. There were a number of poster presentations that I wanted to see in my own children’s schools.

The one that might be helpful across the board was the Warrior Wizards, offered by Jan Farnam of Sanchez Middle School in Texas. This was a rich and rigorous application of Harry Potter meets his ‘Second Life’ avatar at Sanchez. Ms. Farnam brought the literary elements into the lives of reluctant readers in a manner that I found enticing, and her students found irresistible.

After a walk-about of reading, listening, and learning about more than 30 applications of educational technology, I headed off to room B201, where the research was. I was hoping to discover the meaning to life, or at least the evidence to account for spending money on technology. I wasn’t disappointed. In a cramped, out-of-the-way room with too many chairs and not nearly enough room for ideas, Hancock, Christensen, and Knezek shared their work linking student achievement and technology rich learning environments. I was familiar with Christensen’s work because one of my former doc students had requested and readily received permission to use her survey tools in his dissertation research, and I knew her work to be of quality.

It turns out that these three researchers have brought together a substantial national sample of Iowa Scores and corresponding technology integration data that speaks to increased student achievement.

They were cautious in the presentation of their findings, hinting at the possibility that techno-rich pedagogy implied achievement gains, while reiterating the need for further investigation.

When they were finished, they invited school districts to participate in their research, as they would be continuing it.

Thank goodness.

We emphatically need strong empirical evidence to support the decisions we make, ‘technology’ or, innovation, is not always effective at presenting a solid investment-benefit argument.

Around 11:30… I proceeded to the lowest level… where all the sales people were, to buy a cup of coffee and seek out a potential pen or highlighter. I had also noted on my book of vendors (holy cow! There was a whole book dedicated solely to what was for sale!) that I should visit a host of assessment-related booths, to ask questions and learn about where the technology for the field is headed.

Conferences are a great place to learn, and top notch sales people are generally very good teachers.

I secretly wondered if I would be able to find a pen as I rode three sets of escalators, thinking how I needed a cup of coffee. Looking toward the ceiling for guidance, I realized the aisles sported dangling numbers… 900… 1000… 1100… all the way up toooooo … who knew. I would have to map it out and plan a strategic review. There were 100's of vendors here. 45 minutes later, coffee drunk and the canvas bag leaning heavily into my right shoulder, I muscled my way toward the escalators and headed upstairs.

I had successfully obtained a pen, a set of pencils, a pink highlighter, four demo cd’s, an armload of assessment literature, a pokemon pen, a Quizdom air freshener, two tee shirts that would make for wonderful kid-jamas, 36 business cards from new friends, and did I mention a new pen? I had four that were readily accessible in the handy front pocket of my small canvas bag.

I needed to get to the next big thing… a session in progress about Passing notes in Cyberspace, room B405. The presentation is excellent, offering timely information and some actual examples that Mr. Calen Tichenor knows we will all be downloading and integrating into next year’s Acceptable Use Policy (AUP). I make a mental note to write him an email, request permission to modify his work and cite him at the end of the document…

Deciding to skip lunch in order to get into the Thinkfinity.com presentation, I whistled my way to room B402… I didn’t want to miss a word of what Verizon and their corporate friends had to say about teaching for the 21st Century Workforce.

In fact, I am very interested in what corporate minds are thinking about where our graduating students need to be.

Having listened intently to Thomas Friedman and Malcolm Gladwell at the CT Forum, and having called a service number for a credit card, insurance policy, and product warrantee in the last two years, I know the world is getting flatter… the Indian accents retreating behind typical American names with cool, Northeastern dialects.

I loved Macomb’s books and knew, as a nation, we were nearing a tipping point.

It was the best presentation of the day.

The President of the Verizon Foundation, who, I am happy to report, was a very distinguished, eloquent man, apparently not yet 45 and non-white, Mr. Patrick Gaston made me glad to be a US citizen, along side him. He talked about MarcoPolo, the wonderful teacher resource that Worldcom had started all those years ago… and how it had been reborn as ‘Thinkfinity.com’.

He introduced the session facilitator, the Senior VP of HR at Verizon, who managed, with some techno-challenges… to graciously maneuver through the session in a manner that celebrated and honored the distinguished panel effectively, and supportively. I was very happy to see that this person of power was also non-white, and a female.

Hats of to Verizon for making this flat world nod to skill and intellectual capacity, while embracing diversity.


Each panelist offered valuable insight into the future of our world. Especially profound were Mr. Rubillo’s insights. He made it very clear that as a nation,

the US is competing with other societies that value math and science as a
culture.

Anecdotally supported by the evidenced offered in Mr. Fari Ebrahimi’s brief survey of neighborhood HS grads, not one of the ten of which was planning a career in engineering, science, or mathematics, and further empirically supported by college graduation trends, as a culture these are not areas of value in the US, and this is becoming a problem. Mr. Ebrahimi went on to say that if we want to compete globally, we need rock stars… in science, and math, to shine a light on the path of success. He described an atypical LA, minority boy who went on to earn an MD from Harvard… powered by the remorse and powerlessness of watching his own brother’s death. He encouraged us to use what influence we have as educators to set learners on a path toward science, and personal best, even when their humble beginnings don’t trumpet, “I am ivy-league”.

My head still vibrating from the stretch of wrapping around the great ideas presented in the panel, I headed out… Murphy again… Murphy 4… copyright issues… Darn, but this is a vexing issue in these times, I arrive too late to do anything more than get a business card from the presenter, along with a promise to write… back to room B201… another group of research papers was being shared.

I met up with Kellah Eden, from the University of South Carolina. She talked about two different learning theories, behaviorism and social cognitivism, and the use of classroom clickers. Interestingly enough, through her research she learned that students using classroom assessment clickers as formative learning tools, which she defined as group quizzes not impacting final grades, were more engaged and interested in the class. Students in the behavioral framework class, who were required to participate with the assessment system as a component of their formal grading experience, reported greater anxiety about their learning.

I needed to fit just a little more into this Monday… so at about 11:30pm, when my day was finally over and my blog written, I planned to post my notes…. However, the technology failed me! The wireless connection was down... I had to wait until this morning.

Perhaps I tried to put too much into my Monday.

I'm so glad I get another two days!

CSI: NECC—Computer Forensics and Data Recovery for Educators

Executive Summary
One of the best seminars I've attended in a long time! The two hour session demonstrated tips, tricks and techniques for performing a forensic search on computer hard drives. The first half of the session was an overview of what to consider before initiating a forensic search. The second half included a brief hands on exercise of safely duplicating a suspect hard drive and then using tools to perform analysis on the contents of the hard drive at various levels (byte level, sector level, directory/file level). The presenter discussed and demonstrated various software tools (booth freeware versions and fully licensed) for use in a forensic search of a hard drive.
While the presenter didn't discuss it, it may be possible to use the demonstrated tools to perform data recovery from hard drives that are going bad.

One of the most significant things I took away from the session was a greater appreciation to carefully assess any situation requiring forensic analysis. If the situation could culminate in legal action, careful documentation and a very structured process must be followed.

See the presenter's home page for the power point slideshow that includes references to the software tools and useful websites. If you're a true tech geek, be sure to try out the utilities mentioned in the presenter's slide show, they'll be good to have in your toolbox.

Presenter
Brent Williams, Kennesaw State University

For anyone attending NECC, the presenter is doing a session about wireless networks on Wednesday June 27th from 12:00-01:00 .
"What's Wrong with WiFi in Schools? 10 Common Mistakes" Location=GWCC B217
If this session is half as good as his other seminar, I would suggest it for tech support people.

Presenters homepage:
http://www.speakwisdom.com/

Presenter's NECC slideshow on computer forensics:
http://www.speakwisdom.com/brentdocs/CSI%20NECC%20Introduction%20to%20Forensics.ppt

Presenter's other slideshows:
http://www.speakwisdom.com/Presentations.htm

Distance Learning Funding — 2:00 (Doug)

Executive Summary
For a session sponsored by a vendor (Polycom), this workshop remained extremely non-salesy and full of great references for districts looking for funding resources. If you have interest in securing local, regional, or federal dollars for distance learning, make sure that the scope is at least national, if not international.

Details
Presenters
· Andrew Knox – Eastern Area Grant Manager
· Kristen DeProspero – Grants Director

Education Programs

• Honors Program: Reduced prices, memberships, application training
• Tuition Reduction Program: Professional development through technology from Nova Southeastern University
• Free Industry memberships with purchase
• Polycom Content Access Program: Polycom Collaboration Center that matches interests of people using videoconferencing equipment worldwide
• Case studies, blog, and special events
• Content Provider Program

Trends

• The U.S. DoE has cut more than 65% of educational technology grants in the past three years
• The fourth year of NCLB IID saw 28% reduction in funds and more stringent guidelines
  

Demands

• Demonstrate models
• Include research on current hot topics

Sources

• Federal Grants
  § Competitive: Provide compelling argument for funding
  § Formula: Meet certain requirements and get funded automatically
• State governments
• Private foundations
• Foundation Center
• Organizations
  § Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
  § Toyota
  § AT&T
  § Verizon
  § Kellogg
  § Coca-Cola
  § Exxon-Mobil
  § Aetna Foundation
  § Grants.gov
  § Law suit reconciliations (Microsoft, Toshiba, others)
• Freedom of Information Act requests, allowing for the release of information on any federally funded program
  § Winning grant applications
  § Scoring
  § Other relevant information

A Reflective Look at Online Professional Development — 12:30 PM (Doug)

Executive Summary
Excellent overview of current standards in online professional development as well as research proving the efficacy of distance learning.

Details
Facilitator: Michael Murray, Assistant Director of Technology, Southern Regional Education Board
· Regional effort to bring together best practices among ESAs and districts from states from Tennessee to Delaware
· Standards available through Multi-State Online Professional Development MOPD) consortium:
o Learning communities
o Resources
o Evaluation
o Design
o Collaboration
o Quality Teaching
o Leadership
o Data
o Research
o Learning
o Equity

Barbara Treacy, EdTech Leaders Online
· Goal of building capacity to use online learning to meet local goals
- Online Instructor: Semester-long course that prepares instructors
- Online Course Developer
- Online community to provide support to fellow facilitators
- Participating organizations include state departments of education, school districts, regional consortia, and professional development providers

E-Learning for Educators
· Multiple programs and initiatives across many states and cities: Mississippi, West Virginia, Kentucky, Alabama, Delaware, Oregon, Boston, Milwaukee
· Measurement
- Boston College 5-year study
- 2,297 teacher participants
- 98% rate quality of good to excellent
· Harvard Graduate School of Education Study
- Chris Dede, author
- http://gseweb.harvard.edu/~uk/otpd/
· Future Directions
- Further analysis of existing research
- Research on engagement: How to get teachers to commit to platform
- Balance between evaluation and research: analysis as well as data capture and reporting
· Opportunity to mainstream online professional development at the National Staff Development Council

Assessing Students’ and Teachers’ Technology Skills: NETS-S as Benchmarks — 10:00 AM (Doug)

Executive Summary
A nice overview of free and (relatively) low-cost student technology assessment tools. This session was light on the standards themselves and heavier on assessment platforms.

Details

Current Assessments

• PBS TeacherLine — Tim Lum




• 130 courses in math, language arts, science, instructional technology, and instructional strategies


• Funded through grant from US DoE


• Research-based on PD practices that lead to “highly qualified” instructors


• Aligned to NCLB, state, local, and professional standards


• Capstone Program




• Three courses that lead to an ISTE NET-S Certificate of Proficiency as well as a portfolio of work that teachers can use in the classroom


• Geared toward teachers with several years of experience in integrating technology in the classroom


• Multimedia-rich with samples and library of resources


• Facilitators with at least a master’s degree provide support and feedback to participants




• In the state of Virginia, a mandate exists to require at least one technology coordinator for each 1,000 students




• State Education Technology Directors’ Association — Mary Wolf




• Federal 8th-grade proficiency requirement does not mandate the collection of data from students; however, DoE is now requesting that states provide data on how many students were assessed and how many passed




• Learning.com — Alia Jackson




• Technology literacy curriculum


• Elementary (grades 3 – 5) and middle school (6 – 8) versions, grade-3 and grade-6 reading levels, respectively


• Multiple-choice as well fully interactive questions (hands-on demonstrations of student proficiency in solving problems with software)


• Standards based on Angoff standard-setting method


• Statistical computation of ratings to compute cut scores


• Enables teachers to assess and respond to technology strand needs




• Certiport — Anita Brooks




• Based on IC3 standard


• Assessment mode provides feedback on proficiency and feeds into Mentor mode


• Mentor mode provides a year-long subscription to materials to support technology proficiency

New Assessments

ATTAIN

• Achievement Through Technology and Innovation (ATTAIN) Act
• Introduced in House, soon to be introduced in Senate; stronger wording over EETT standards ("must" versus "should")
• Aims to make significant improvements to the federal Enhancing Education Through Technology (EETT) block-grant program
• Read the U.S. House bill
• Read CoSN (key supporter) news release

NETS-S Refresh Release — 8:30 AM (Doug)

Executive Summary
Good news: ISTE is releasing its revised standards on student technology proficiencies.
Bad news: This session was 45 minutes of nonstop self-congratulating on behalf of the many contributors to the new standards. A small price to pay for a great benchmark.

Background:
· Input from all 50 states and 22 countries
· Emphasis on technology literacy as a basis for learning
· Preparation for 8th-grade assessment, rather than an immediate cram for skills
· Using technology to learn rather than learning technology
· Alignment with standards introduced through the Partnership for 21st-Century Skills

View the draft NETS-S standards

CREC Tech @ NECC

One of the target outcomes from the NECC conference is to gather useful materials, research, and instructional strategies that we can then use for the summer Tech Leadership Academy. To that end, I would ask each of you to keep an eye out for those applications. Ultimately we're hoping the TLA is more about change leadership and educational reform than about technology. However, we're looking for clean way to embed the technology solutions into the discussion.
SN