T&L reports live from Educon 2.2
Educon 22 is an impressive conference held at Philadelphia's Science Leadership Academy, and kicked off with a full house of educators and top edtech names from around the country.Self described as "EduCon


Put to the Test: Math Solutions
Supporting English Language Learners in Math Class was developed for mainstream classrooms with one or more ELL students and includes three main components: a DVD of teachers and students in action, a

Magic Johnson Foundation partners with Cisco
Tech & Learning magazine – along with key sports media -- had the unique opportunity to meet via videoconferencing with basketball legend Earvin “Magic” Johnson today to discuss his new partnership

14 Ways K–12 Librarians Can Teach Social Media by Joyce Valenza
This is the best time in history to be a teacher-librarian. Major shifts in our information and communication landscapes present new opportunities for librarians to teach and lead in areas that were always


Six inspiring schools honored at Intel 2009 Schools of Distinction Awards Ceremony
Every year, the Intel Schools of Distinction awards honors U.S. schools that demonstrate 21st century teaching and learning environments that promote excellence in math and science. This year, Intel received

Safety Net: Web filtering that works
A district can take many steps to ensure that its students are protected from harmful, obscene, or otherwise unworthy websites. It can establish guidelines for appropriate Internet usage, create acceptable


Eight Ways To Use School Wikis
Wikis are a great tool to help a school enrich instruction, and increase communication and collaboration among staff. They are also free (for educators using wikispaces) and provide unlimited storage for


Ready for 1:1? Check this list before you answer
Check this list before you start your 1:1 program -- or to improve an existing program.  Search for more funding:  The state may be providing machines and some training support but I will guarantee it

Calculating the ROI on virtual schooling
When calculating the Return on Investment (ROI) for VHS schools it is important to consider more than just training costs. Also to be considered is the cost to schools to relieve the teacher from teaching


Cover Your Assets: the latest asset management software in action
Quick, tell us: How many laptops are in your middle schools? Which ones are about to come off warranty? Did your tech department finish updating all the software licensing? If you can’t answer these questions,


Spending wisely: DC school funds innovative tech programs
Rick Kelsey, STEM coordinator and technology director at McKinley Technical High School in Washington, D.C., has developed some unique ways for this citywide public high school and career academy to use


Smart Money: How schools are saving big bucks
In these challenging economic times, just about everyone is looking for ways to cut back—even schools. From using virtualization technology to accepting lunch payments online, districts are seeking money-saving


25 ways to teach with Twitter by Sonja Cole
Twitter can feel like a strange new landscape when you first jump in. It is not always clear what its professional uses are, or what to post in 140 characters or less. But when you start to think of Twitter

We have a winner: meet our 1000th Twitter follower
In May, we announced that we would profile our 1000th Twitter follower in the June issue. And the winner is...Easton Area School District, Easton, PA (about 9,100 K-12 students)Director of Technology:


Put students to work: tips for a successful laptop program
One regularly overlooked aspect of implementing a school laptop initiative is student involvement. The education consultants at Generation YES recently outlined some ways to do just that. For the full


Follow the Money, Part II: What to Do With It
Last month, Tech&Learning detailed the funding the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) will provide for education technology. This month we survey innovative schools’ leaders on their


New doc cams in action: pros, cons, and tips
There are as many uses for document cameras as there are styles of product. Teachers are getting more creative in integrating this technology into their curricula, using document cameras to project everything


Create Your Own Content with Videoconferencing
Here’s one way to cut travel costs for field trips. A dozen broadcast-journalism students from Howe, Oklahoma, public schools made the forced migration of Native Americans come alive earlier this year


Saving money with virtualization
School districts across the country always have had to do more with less. Funding only goes so far, leaving administrators and IT staff to find innovative ways to save money while maintaining a high


Follow the Money: Part I
Making Sense of the Stimulus and EdTech: A Cheat Sheet Secretary of Education Arne Duncan last month announced that $44 billion for states and schools is now available under the American Recovery and Reinvestment


The AV Club Next Generation - May 2009
Engaging the digital natives isn’t as daunting as you think. Here’s how three classrooms do it.A MEDIA SHOWCASEPete Episcopo had a vision. When he started at Brevard Public Schools in Viera, Florida, the

Making Sense of the Stimulus and EdTech—A Cheat Sheet
Secretary of Education Arne Duncan last month announced that $44 billion for states and schools is now available under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009. The Feds hope these monies


The AV Club—Next Generation
Engaging the digital natives isn’t as daunting as you think. Here’s how three classrooms do it.A Media ShowcasePete Episcopo had a vision. When he started at Brevard Public Schools in Viera, Florida, the


Nine Reasons to Twitter in Schools
Why should educators get involved with Twitter? Here are nine reasons. 1. Together we’re betterTwitter can be like a virtual staffroom where teachers can access in seconds a stream of links, ideas, opinions,


Profile: Max McGee, President of IMSA, discusses some big ideas shares cutting-edge science and math
What's the big idea? There are a million of them at Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy (IMSA). Its president, Max McGee, shares a few with T&L.Established in 1986 by the state, Illinois Mathematics


Ten Ways To Get Beyond Powerpoint With Classroom Projectors
True tech integrators know the digital projector can be used for much more than projecting. Here is a sampling of some creative ways to use your projector in any curriculum.•    Reading Writing. 

Digital Storytelling Goes Hollywood
Digital storytelling already proves its worth in classrooms across the country, but when Joe Brennan took over a position at Wilkes University teaching a Digital Storytelling graduate course and the Discovery


PC virtualization systems give schools a lot of computer learning for the buck
Sometimes it was a challenge keeping students at Danville (IL) High School focused on interactive-video lessons on the library computers. But not anymore.Now classes, like a group of eight special-needs


When Free Isn’t Free: The realities of running open source in school
Despite the last few years’ growth in awareness of open-source software in schools and the potential savings it represents, its widespread adoption is still hampered. Randy Orwin, technology director of


Follow the Money: Who is doing what with their stimulus cash
*According to The Salt Lake Tribune, state officials intend to spend about $57 million of the $500 million headed their way for Title 1 schools, which serve a high percentage of low-income children. State


Beyond the XO Laptop: Walter Bender on OLPC and Sugar on a Stick
Many people wouldn’t touch coffee or cereal without sugar. And the XO laptop would be useless without Sugar—the standard, Linux-based graphical interface for the little green laptops, nearly a million


PC virtualization systems give schools a lot of computer learning for the buck
Sometimes it was a challenge keeping students at Danville (IL) High School focused on interactive-video lessons on the library computers. But not anymore.Now classes, like a group of eight special-needs


Meet AFT president Randi Weingarten
Former high school history teacher, lawyer, and union counsel, Randi Weingarten, president of The American Federation of Teachers (AFT), was elected to her influential post last July. She has also served

The Blended Classroom Revolution: Virtual Technology Goes to School
Science-fiction aficionados and mainstream media can’t help themselves when it comes to the hype surrounding the emergence of virtual schools. It’s a sexy topic, full of controversies around unions, home

Eleven Tips for Better Laptop Learning by Jon Orech
The goal of installing laptop programs is to increase student learning in the classroom. Follow these eleven tips to get the most learning out of your investment. •    Make students responsible and


We Survived a Japanese Film Documentary
   By Frank Rudnesky, Ed.D.  They followed me around for a week and when they weren’t following me around, I followed them. A team of Japanese documentary filmmakers recently visited our school to do an


Portraits of Learning 2008 Winners (sponsored by Adobe)
Next time someone laments about “these kids today,” point them to this year’s winners of our student photography contest. Selected from an overwhelming six thousand entries, these images are proof that


Awards of Excellence Winners 2008
Each of the products selected for this year’s Awards of Excellence had to do something that doesn’t always happen, even with the most heavily hyped of technologies—work in real life. Honorees are determined


Leaders of the Year Winners 2008
Since 1985, Tech & Learning has recognized professionals in the field who exemplify what it means to be an ed tech leader. Every year, this decision gets more difficult. Over 150 applicants crammed

Vandalism or An Accidental Overwrite: A Wiki Warning by Millersville University’s Oliver Dreon Jr.
Of the Web 2.0 applications that have emerged over the last few years, I find wikis to be one of the most promising tools for education. First, wikis are easy to use. Students may need a short tutorial


Intrusion prevention in primary education
As an information systems consultant who has been working with educational technology and security for nearly two decades, I have seen a lot of security breaches. I have seen students change their own


The Use of Ultra Mobile Personal Computers in the UK vs. US
from Educators' eZineWhen I came to write this article, I had a problem as my brief was to write about how the USA and the UK are using Ultra Mobile Personal Computers (UMPC) and what the differences are.


Let 'em Cheat!
from Educators' eZine Let 'em cheat? That seems like a bizarre thing to say. Let me clarify the statement. First, let's define the word cheat. Go to Google and type in define: cheat. About a dozen


Honoring Veterans: A Community Service Podcast Series
from Educators' eZine Last fall, our new middle school principal visited with a number of students about the topic of Veteran's Day. She recalls, "The question on the table was how do we best honor


Eleven Tips for Better Laptop Learning
from Educators' eZine The goal of installing laptop programs is to increase student learning in the classroom. At Downers Grove South High School, HP laptops are getting a lot of mileage these days.


Aligning Research with Classroom Practice: Internet, Student Achievement and Cell Phones
from Educators' eZine The Internet's Growing Role in Life's Major Moments Life is full of choices. Making informed decisions in isolation is difficult; therefore, we often seek guidance from

Highlights from T&L top classrooms
from Tech&Learning A look back at some of the year's best practices from America's classrooms. For the full stories, go to www.techlearning.com Make Your Own Videos DISTRICT: Horry County,


SPECIAL SECTION: SCHOOL CIO
from Tech&Learning Keeping VoIP from being the Wrong Number Digital phones can save money for schools but there are many pitfalls. By Burain Nadeau In 2004, when Gary L. Allen was

We All Stream For Video
from Tech&Learning More than ever, teachers are using digital video to enhance their lessons. In fact, the number of schools using video streaming increased from 30 percent to 45 percent between


The New Rules of Copyright
from Tech&Learning Complying with, and teaching young people about, copyright in an educational setting often feels burdensome. That's because copyright laws were not designed to facilitate


Special Needs Guide to Tech Products
from Tech&Learning Between the 2003-04 and 2004-05 school years, the percentage of students with disabilities spending 80 percent or more of the school day in a general classroom increased from

School Yourself
from Tech&Learning Top education colleges are giving out real sheepskin for their online graduate programs. Read how it works. Feeling stagnant in your current position or considering


SchoolCIO:10 Essential Strategies
from Tech&Learning For Leading A Technology Department 1. Have a Vision This is really important, and the starting point for any leader. You may be one of those people (like me,


SchoolCIO: The Worry List
from Tech&Learning What they are and how to deal with them How They Handle It The Problem DWAYNE ALTON, Director of IT School District of Lee County, Fort Myers, FL. 107 schools


SchoolCIO: Back Office Business
from Tech&Learning Memphis City Schools (MCS) is going mobile to track tardiness, assign detentions, verify student identities and various other tracking tasks. All middle and high


Free Resources for Tech Integration
from Educators' eZine As a tech-lover, you know the challenges of getting teachers of all experience levels on board with tech integration. Couple this reluctance with the high price tags of some


Open Source Spanish Resource Using Curriki
from Educators' eZine Why develop and use open source curriculum materials? The Wyoming Middle-school Spanish program, which is funded by the Wyoming Legislature and the U.S. Department of Education's


Cyber Bullying: Responsibilities and Solutions
from Educators' eZine A Missouri woman is indicted on federal charges of causing the suicide death of a teenage girl who frequented the social networking site MySpace. An eighth grade student from


Warm and Fuzzy, but Insecure: One School's Journey To the Cutting Edge
from Educators' eZine Walking into the school the atmosphere felt comfortable, but a bit chaotic. Not too different from other schools we had been in over the years. The students seemed friendly,


Preparing the Next Generation of High School Graduates
from Educators' eZine Not many educators would argue that teaching business concepts is challenging. Teaching business to teens, particularly at the high school level, is even more so. With business


The Digital Tipping Point: The Future of Education Assessment and Reporting
from Educators' eZine In the knowledge economy of the 21st Century, a wholesale shift is taking place in the skill sets required for people to participate and succeed. This has tremendous implications

Q&A: Scratch That
from Tech&Learning MIT's Mitchel Resnick says kids should do it for themselves. Here's how. Mitchel Resnick is a researcher, inventor, and professor at MIT's Media Laboratory in Cambrige,


How to Build Better ePortfolios
from Tech&Learning Tech-using educators know the many benefits of ePortfolios. They help get a handle on kids' interests, difficulties, and strengths. Techno-loving student thrive on the real-time

In The Money
from Tech&Learning Where to find extra education tech bucks With the nation's economy in turmoil and the government budget axe falling on educational programs, many corporations and


How They Got So Rich
from Tech&Learning Best practices and lessons learned from cash-winning schools WINNER: LISA MIELKE, EIGHTH-GRADE HISTORY TEACHER AT BURNET MIDDLE SCHOOL, AUSTIN INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT,


The Better Ways to Win a Grant
from Tech&Learning TIPS FROM T&L GRANT GURU Funding from grants is often at the core of a successful technology plan, but writing proposals requires a bit of magic and a lot of time.


What's the Big Idea?
from Tech&Learning Things to consider before you write that RFP Let's say you have a great idea for an ongoing multimedia project on digital storytelling that you want to do with your teachers

Students of the World Unite!
from Tech&Learning GET YOUR CLASSROOMS TO GO GLOBE-AL WITH THE HELP OF UNCLE SAM The promise of the Internet and other technologies to bring the world's classrooms together looks great on


Summer Reading for School Leaders
from Tech&Learning FUTURE CLASSROOM Excerpted from: Disrupting Class: How Disruptive Innovation Will Change the Way the World Learns by Clayton M. Christensen (Author), Curtis W. Johnson


They Can Hear You Now
from Tech&Learning INCREASING CLARITY IN SPEECH AND INSTRUCTIONAL MEDIA REAPS BIG DIVIDENDS FOR BOTH STUDENTS AND TEACHERS. Over the past few decades, school teachers have been embracing

E-Learning Gets Real
from Technology & Learning Call it virtual, distance, or online education. For today's curricula, it's no longer a question of whether or not to try but when to start Our survey of educators


Make Students Info Literate
from Technology & Learning There remains a larger challenge for schools: how to develop a new generation of knowledgeable digital citizens who can operate in the unregulated online world.


School CIO(3)
from Technology & Learning Who's Doing What Recent tech initiatives from the nation's school districts. Columbia, South Carolina, is increasing its schools' security by expanding instant

Digital Age Assessment: Part 2
from Technology & Learning A look at how technology use in formative assessments improves feedback and reporting opportunities. Once teachers have identified and shared the standards with


Caught on Video
from Technology & Learning When cheaper video cameras with built-in USB connectors were first introduced, I pined for one so I could introduce the technology into the classroom. I was positive


Plan and Deliver
from Technology & Learning For technology to really work in the classroom, professional development is key. Here's how to do it the smart way. You've worked diligently to gather support for


Cutting Edge in Carolina
from Technology & Learning Getting one-to-one to work isn't easy. Here's how one district was able to do it. Kershaw County School District may not be the first place that comes to mind when

Surviving Disaster
from Technology & Learning Schools play a unique role in communities when disaster strikes. They serve as shelter for evacuees and first responders. They are a trusted source of information.


Digital Age Assessment: Part 1
from Technology & Learning A look at technology tools that aid formative assessment. Effective observation and diagnosis of student learning can be greatly assisted by 21stcentury technologies.

No Limits
from Technology & Learning Digital technologies have opened up unimagined environments for teachers and students. We take a look at best practices representing systemic change. Studies


Safety and Social Networking
from Technology & Learning How can we maximize the learning power of participatory Web sites while ensuring students are protected and behave responsibly? The various scandals around social networking


CoSN Delegation Visits Scandinavia
from Technology & Learning In November 2007, a delegation from the Consortium for School Networking visited three Scandinavian countries to examine best practices. Following a reselected excerpts

Ten Top Tech Trends
from Technology & Learning A look at the major issues, products, and practices of the day. 1. Data mining is earning its keep. No Child Left Behind may not be the most popular education legislation


ERP makes a comeback
from Technology & Learning Notes from a Centralized Office A renewed interest in ERP has school administrators reconsidering the vast business management systems they abandoned a few short years


Tossing Out Textbooks
from Technology & Learning How a Tucson high school customized its curriculum around its laptop program. In 2005, Tucson, Arizona's Empire High School made headlines for its decision to forgo


LOY Profile Series
from Technology & Learning A Kentucky teacher who gets creative to fund her tech budget. Leader: Vickie Maggard Elswick Teacher, Boyd County Middle School, Ashland, KY School Snapshot:

Leaders of theYear 2007
from Technology & Learning For the 20th year, T&L is proud to honor outstanding educators. In the following pages we bring you profiles of innovation, of courage, of determination, and most important,

Linux Makes the Grade
from Technology & Learning An open source solution that's time has come. In 2001, Indiana officials at the Department of Education were taking stock. The schools had an excellent network infrastructure


Virtual Learning 2.0
from Technology & Learning Professional development is a whole new ballgame for educators who teach online. According to the 2006 report Keeping Pace with K-12 Online Learning, funded by the


The Maine Event
from Technology & Learning At Mt. Abram Regional High School in Strong, Maine, the one-to-one program is student centered—and student initiated. Since 2004, Mt. Abram High School


CoSN Leads Senior U.S. Delegation to Scandinavia: Exploring the Role of Technology in Highly Successful Educational Systems
For Immediate Release CONTACT: For CoSN Jennifer Cummings 202 822-9491 jcummings@fratelli.com Washington, DC (November 12, 2007) – "What is the role of technology in improving teaching and

How Fast Is Fast Enough?
from Technology & Learning The question of adequate bandwidth is increasingly the issue of the day. Just how much bandwidth does the average student in the United States have access to today,


Career Education in the Digital Age
from Technology & Learning What vocational education has to teach mainstream programs about 21st century learning. Traditionally, the industrial arts wing of a typical American high school


Getting it Wrong: Slaying Myths About Video Games (Part 2)
from Technology & Learning Do video games and simulations really belong in the classroom? A growing body of evidence—from education conference sessions to ramped-up gaming research and university

Getting It Wrong: Slaying Myths About Video Games (Part 1)
from Technology & Learning Two years ago I began to play World of Warcraft as a way to stay in touch with my teenage sons while I was on the road. WoW is the market leader of a new generation


Cover Story: SchoolBiz
from Technology & Learning 10 business practices to help your district maximize resources and run smoothly. Education is not a business! That's a typical response when anyone suggests that

100+ New Products: New Products for the New School Year
from Technology & Learning T&L Editors --> Go back to school with the latest tools. Samsung The Q1 Ultra is a 1.5-pound tablet computer with a battery life of 4.5 hours that includes


One-to-One in the Heartland
from Technology & Learning In part six of our one-to-one profiles, T&L shows how personal tablets have impacted a rural Kansas town. Osawatomie School District placed Gateway

Key Technology Trends
from Technology & Learning The latest America's Digital Schools survey highlights key funding challenges for district administrators. In a first-of-its-kind survey, the Greaves Group queried more


Affording 1:1
from Technology & Learning Knowing your district's technology needs and creating workable solutions are key to a successful 1:1 plan. Some schools, districts, and states are tackling the cost of


Open Source and ROI
from Technology & Learning Open source has made significant leaps in recent years. What does it have to offer education? The ROI Advantage A switch to free open source software can minimize cost


Assessing Your Assets
from Technology & Learning Systems for tracking and managing IT assets can save time and dollars. The average school district loses more than $80,000 per year because of lost or damaged IT assets,


Do You Need ERP?(2)
from Technology & Learning In the business world, enterprise resource planning software keeps costs down and productivity up. Should districts follow suit? Enterprise resource planning software does


The Fine Print(2)
from Technology & Learning How schools can get the best value for their printer dollar. Printers represent a big chunk of school districts' IT budgets. Unlike computers, however, most of the money


Technology Funding: A How-To Guide(2)
from Technology & Learning Key factors to keep in mind when building your technology plan. No funding organization wants to give away money to an institution with no vision. Nor should they. The


We Asked the Experts
from Technology & Learning Funding consultants share their best advice on how to win those grant dollars. Get Your Ducks in a Row Key Factors to keep in mind when building your technology plan.


Tips from the Bottom Line(2)
from Technology & Learning A T&L columnist shares dollarwise highlights from the past year. Revisit Past Funding Practices Stymied by how to manage anticipated funding decreases and spiraling

Pushing for the quot;Sputnik Momentquot;
from Technology & Learning A conversation with Arizona governor and National Governor's Association Chair, Janet Napolitano. The governor of Arizona has been described as "tough," "feisty," and


Catching up to the 21st Century
from Technology & Learning We sat down with Sharnell Jackson, Chicago Public Schools' chief e-learning officer, to get her take on the state of education today. A 30-year veteran of education


5 Web 2.0 Time Savers
from Technology & Learning These applications can help busy administrators reclaim precious hours. Web-based productivity tools help people collaborate, communicate, and save time—and the good


The Executive Wiki
from Technology & Learning Wikis can be a multitasking administrators' best friend The poster child for the Web 2.0 movement, the wiki, demonstrates the spirit of open content more clearly than


The Web 2.0 Visual Glossary
from Technology & Learning For Web 2.0 newbies, here is a visual tour of key tools for administrators. Your faculty and students don't have to have all the multimedia fun. As an administrator, you


Surfing Second Life
from Technology & Learning Second Life's unstructured atmosphere and wide-open spaces where student creativity can grow and flourish are two of the reasons Pepperdine University Professor


Banning Student quot;Containersquot;
from Technology & Learning Education is digging in its heels against students' personal tools. When my 17-year-old son, Dan, comes home from school he shouts hello, heads right to his laptop,

Is More Testing the Answer?
from Technology & Learning What are experienced districts saying about the keys to successful differentiated instruction? The answers may surprise you. Testing students once a year, with data reported


One-to-One in the Golden State
from Technology & Learning Despite financial hurdles, one Fresno-area school district is doing whatever it takes to get laptops into all its students' hands. In January 1996, Clovis Unified

The One-to-One Tsunami
from Technology & Learning It's on the horizon. Will you be ready? "Anytime, Anywhere Learning" was coined by Microsoft way back in 1995, yet despite exponential advances in technology and drastic


Blogs Are Not the Enemy
from Technology & Learning How blogs enhance learning. Voices from techlearning.com. There is a problem with blogs in the classroom—a problem that has many educators looking at blogging and

Technology Literacy and the MySpace Generation
from Technology & Learning They're not asking permission. These are responses from my 15-year-old daughter, Hannah, and her friends, who are all freshmen at Northern California's Berkeley High School,


One-to-One in Alaska
from Technology & Learning In the remote Alaskan interior, students are reaping the benefits of laptop computing. Each school, district, or state has a unique set of circumstances and obstacles to deal

Digital-Age Assessment
e-portfolios are the wave of the future. Effective 21st century assessment reaches beyond traditional testing to look at the broader accomplishments of learners. Assembling an e-portfolio, or electronic


The Case for Open Source
Open Source has made some significant leaps in recent years. What does it have to offer education? In these days of tightened belts, accelerated global competition, and a growing need to equip both


Making the Most of Alert Notification Systems
Eleven tips for using emergency communication solutions in your district. Districts are finding that alert notification systems that deliver automated phone messages are an effective way to reach parents


MacWorld Musings
Thousands of people came to MacWorld in San Francisco. Among them were several hundred teachers who found applications and help integrating technology into the modern classroom- some of it for little

Measuring Up in a Flat World
from Technology & Learning Pioneering groups are reforming curriculum to prepare students for the global digital workforce. When President James Monroe was crafting the Monroe Doctrine back in 1823 to


One-to-One in Texas
from Technology & Learning Irving Independent School District isn't your typical candidate for a locally funded one-to-one computing program. With more than 31,000 students, most of whom are minority

2006 LEADERS of the Year
Honoring Outstanding Educators Technology & Learning's annual Leader of the Year program recognizes four K-12 administrators, teachers, and tech directors whose dedication and vision have profoundly touched

The Workforce Readiness Crisis
from Technology & Learning We're not turning out employable graduates nor maintaining our position as a global competitor. Why? Back when the Soviet Union shot Sputnik into orbit, a panicked United States


One-to-One in Ohio
from Technology & Learning Part two in our series on one-to-one programs. Few have the long-term experience with one-to-one computing that Cincinnati Country Day School has. The small, private, grade

A Day in the Life of Web 2.0
2) ? argv[2] : null; var path = (argc > 3) ? argv[3] : null; var domain = (argc > 4) ? argv[4] : null; var secure = (argc > 5) ? argv[5] : false; document.cookie = name + "=" + escape (value)


One-to-One in Michigan
The first in a series of articles examining one-to-one programs across the nation. The Freedom to Learn program is a statewide initiative coordinated by the Michigan Department of Education and Ferris

Stepping Up to AYP
When Reva Vangates was brought in as principal of Dr. Henry W. Mack West Little River Elementary in Miami three years ago, the school had received F grades from the state three years in a row. "It was

CIO of the Year 2006: Pat Renzulli
Sponsored by SchoolNet Innovative. Persistent. Results driven. These are all qualities you'll find in Pat Renzulli, CIO for the School District of Philadelphia. At the EduStat Summit on June 22, Renzulli


New Tools for Schools
Whether you're considering new assessment tools, digital projectors, or network security products, it pays to know what's on the cutting edge of educational technology. Technology & Learning has gathered

Diminishing Resources, Increased Demands
What funding trends can educators expect for the year ahead? If necessity is the mother of invention, 2007 should be a banner year for K-12 educational technology. Deep cuts in federal dollars have reduced


The ROI of VoIP
Everybody says VoIP saves big bucks. But does it? Advocates of Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) say it saves money on long distance calls by sending them over the Internet, improves communication


Beyond Open Source
According to Jim Hirsch, open technology, not open source, is the wave of the future. Jim Hirsch, associate superintendent for technology at Plano Independent School District in Plano, Texas, serves


Finding Funding
Check out these dozen daring ideas for generating extra cash. As state coffers continue to shrink this year, there is less money for education, and much of what is available is earmarked for mandates.


Enough to go 'Round?
Thinking smart about total cost of ownership. The TCO Model Forced to restructure your technology initiatives due to unanticipated costs? Nine times out of ten, that's an indicator that you didn't adequately


Tips from the Bottom Line
A T&L columnist shares ROI highlights from the past year. Funding Technical Support Ongoing technical support is often under-funded in district budgets. Most fall far short of the Consortium for School


Break the Use It or Lose It Cycle
Six strategies for curbing undisciplined technology spending. I had just taken the position of director of technology at a new district and was making "get acquainted" rounds at the 10 schools in my


Negotiating Software Agreements
Avoid contractual mishaps and get the biggest bang for your buck. Purchasing software license and service agreements can be daunting for any district. Greg Lindner, director of information and technology


Surfing for Funds
Need help on grants, E-Rate, and more? Look no further than these online resources. Grant Opportunities GrantsAlert Grants.gov Grant Wrangler School Funding Center School Funding Services (Red Rock

Best New Administrator Tools
Keep an eye out for these five products coming your way. Of the new ed tech products crossing my desk or that I've seen at recent conferences, the following five look especially promising for school administrators.


Time Savers
Make sure time is on your side with these practices. Time is the proverbial black hole that educators must constantly manage as they juggle multiple jobs in a typical workday. Whether it be managing staff,


Everyday Innovation
Ten practical tips for fostering innovation. For educators to be successful in teaching students to step up and become tomorrow's innovators, they must become innovators themselves. Enter school leadership.


Every Last Penny
Are you using all of your E-Rate dollars? A well-equipped district offers tips on how to make the most of your award. In a time when districts are scraping for every penny, it seems almost unthinkable


Creating a Tech-Infused Culture
Use these proactive administrative methods to set the tone. As an educational leader, the technology administrator can and should take the lead in ensuring students benefit from the integration of digital


The Proof is in the Processes
The missing link in improving K-12 education and meeting NCLB goals is process management. Quite simply put, processes are a series of actions, changes, or functions that bring about a desired result.


Making it Click
A California high school test drives and evaluates six new personal response systems. Seniors entering Ray Lehner's classroom recently at Bishop O'Dowd High School could have been excused for mistaking


Can You Hear Me Now?
Come in loud and clear with a wireless classroom audio system. Su madre esta en la casa. Sounds like a simple sentence in Spanish — your mother is in the house. But what if your students are sitting

Staff Development 2.0
A report recently released by the Center on Education Policy (see News & Trends) reveals that the four-year-old No Child Left Behind Act has indeed served to shine a light on the importance of professional


All Students Being Equal
Help your special needs students using these resources. Talk to any informed teacher or parent of a child with disabilities and they'll tell you assistive technologies (AT) can have a dramatic effect

One-to-One Wisdom
Expert tips on how to approach professional development in laptop environments. Laptop computing programs have been in K–12 schools since the 1990s, but in recent months one-to-one learning seems


Down to Business
Taking cues from the corporate world can mean money saved and efficiency gained. Across the country, public and private school districts alike are hiring CIOs and IT managers with volumes of experience

Inside The Divide
It has been slightly more than a decade since the U.S. Department of Commerce's NTIA division published its first major report on home computer access, "Falling through the Net: A Survey of the 'Have Nots'


The Social Web
T&L presents a look a tech guru Will Richardson's new book, Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms. Whether it's blogs or wikis or RSS, all roads now point to a Web where

Technology Refresh
Five steps to upgrading your district's IT assets. Bev White, CTO of public schools in Wake County, North Carolina, says that planning for technology refresh isn't like buying a new refrigerator. The


Does Technology Pay? Investing wisely takes discipline.
Early in my career as a principal, tech-savvy teachers in my school led a charge to replace blackboards with cutting-edge whiteboards. Over the course of a couple of years, we retired all our frumpy old

Right to Copy?
The day is past when educators can legitimately claim ignorance of digital copyright and fair use laws. The ed tech community has addressed digital copyright and fair use a lot in recent years, including


Think Outside the Blog
Web logs are great vehicles for an interactive exchange of ideas between a handful of people, but blogs are not as effective when a large number of people want to collaborate, contribute, and easily find

Leaders of the Year 2005
About the Contest The Technology & Learning Leader of the Year program recognizes K-12 educators who demonstrate leadership, vision, and creativity in implementing technology in schools and districts.


Awards of Excellence 2005
Now in its 23rd year, Technology & Learning's Awards of Excellence program honors the best in educational applications and solutions for the K-12 market. Ranging from scientific probeware to network


Portraits of Learning(4)
Scarecrows and starry nights, mermen and shadowy felines, power poles, snowy peaks, best friends, cityscapes, Katrina damage, and scarlet sunsets: This year’s 2,500-plus student digital photo entries

Game Plan: Part 2, Student Gamecraft
Part 1 of this feature looked at the burgeoning body of research supporting the use of games as teaching tools. In particular, the article focused on epistemic games such as Firaxis's Civilization, which


Top Ten Wish List
Technology & Learning's Special 25th Anniversary Poll asked readers to tell us which ed tech problems they'd most like to see solved. The following rather eclectic mix of topics reflects the issues most

Game Plan
When you consider it was only 10 or so years ago that some experts were questioning the appropriateness of multimedia and other "frills" as learning tools, it's not surprising that the idea of using games

Celebrating 25 Years of Milestones 1980-2005
1980-81 Start. In September 1980, Classroom Computer News is launched. Issues of the day include grants and funding, computer literacy, programming languages, and teacher-created software. An article


Spam Stoppers
Have any of your teachers recently complained that they're not receiving enough e-mail? Probably not. According to some estimates, spam now accounts for at least 75 percent of all e-mail sent through Internet


The ABCs of Technology Leasing
Ownership means control. What you buy is easier to manage with respect to upgrading or getting rid of equipment that is no longer adequate for the job. Purchasing can put severe demands on cash flow, however,


Back to the Future
View the Timeline Mobile Computing "In 1991, each student might travel to and from school with a dynabook — a small, book-size electronic device with a display screen and a small, touch-sensitive


Portrait of a Digital Native
View the Timeline Meredith Fear sits in her room doing her homework. Books are scattered about, and a computer monitor glows before her. She is working on two Word documents and has four Web sites open.

Back to School Product Guide(2)
For teachers and administrators, a new school year means weighing new options. From network security tools to formative assessment products, the realm of educational technology offers no shortage of tools


Editor's Notebook: School of the Future World Summit
Last month, an impressive assemblage of educators and policy wonks from around the globe gathered at Microsoft’s campus in Redmond, Washington to discuss secondary education reform. Unlike the National

Inside the Mind of a Grant Reader
We've all done it. We've labored for days over a grant proposal, treating it tenderly like a child, and with hope in our hearts, sent it off to fame and fortune. Then comes that gray day when the rejection


Online Survey Checklist
Why should administrators use surveys? In the age of data-driven decision making, collecting data and using it efficiently is key to all aspects of the education process. Online surveys are a great way


Snapshot: Setting Up an E-Learning System
When superintendent Bill Harbron of the Northern Ozaukee School District in Fredonia, Wisconsin decided it was time to offer more instructional alternatives to students and parents, an e-learning program


Surfing for Data
Excerpted from the CoSN Compendium 2005 The newly-released CoSN Compendium 2005 offers expert advice and best practices on six key issues in education technology. The following are excerpts from "You Are


Designing Around Data
For this year's June Leadership Guide, we've chosen the timely pairing of management and data as our prevailing theme. In fact, the current landscape of top issues in education now all feature data as


Driven by Data
Question: What is data-driven professional development? A mouthful What you get when you apply data-driven decision making to staff training A technique for planning professional development based


Data Can Drive Development(2)
Teaching practice can improve if teachers are able to look at themselves and student data in an objective manner. In most education training programs, teachers are not taught to use data to design curriculum


School Staff and the Data Warehouse
Communication Once the data were clean and the tool was ready, some districts learned that communicating what the data warehouse could do was crucial. One of our study districts targeted teachers first


Mobile Managers
Student Information Ace Software ADM 2000 Principalm Platform: Palm 4.0 or later (memory card slot required) Designed as a mobile interface for ADM 2000 Student Information System software, ADM 2000


Data: Maximize Your Mining, Part Two
In the April issue of Technology & Learning, part one of this article described the first two stages that schools move through as they learn to link data to higher student achievement ( article 13906). In


Web Research: Ten Tips for the Techno-Challenged
You're in charge and supposed to know everything when it comes to technology. But shhhhh, you don't. Not to worry. Here's your chance to secretly learn a few key, time-saving facts about Internet research.


More than Money
Philanthropy provides billions of dollars to schools and educational programs each year. Much of this cash comes from corporate America, who views contributing to education as an important way to give


Creating Good Fortune
"Many grant proposals are rejected because they do not meet the guidelines. For example, I've read proposals that required 30 percent of the funds allocated for professional development and [the applicant]


Tech Forum Highlights(2)
Education leaders gathered at the Eaglewood Conference Center Resort in Itasca, Illinois for an action-packed day of professional development sessions and networking at Technology & Learning's Tech Forum.


Dear Administrator(2)
Q: We recently completed a grant proposal that required verification of how administrative staff has supported local technology initiatives. I've not seen this requirement before, and we scrambled a bit


A Web Tour: Grassroots Fundraisers, Deals, and Discounts
Sometimes all it takes is a few dollars to replace a broken piece of equipment, facilitate a special class activity, or celebrate success—and there are lots more ways to raise cash than an old-fashioned

The ABCs of RSS
Just what is RSS and how can it be used in education? Depending on who you talk to, RSS stands for Rich Site Summary or Real Simple Syndication. Either way, RSS is an important technology that information


Shaping E-Learning Policy
Cody Millin is nine-and-a-half years old and looks like a typical fourth-grader, but he's in sixth grade and has no trouble doing the work of a typical middle school student. He does all of his learning

Miracle Workers
Eight-year-old Nico is hunched in his wheelchair carefully working out what he is going to say with his communicator. His shaky fingers pick through the array of icons, and words appear on the communicator


Virtual Schooling: Legislative Update
Back in 2001, when "cyber-charters" began capturing headlines in the education press, a betting person might have laid even odds on whether this virtual school thing was a phenomenon that would last.


DATA: Maximize Your Mining, Part One
Over the last decade, schools and districts have become increasingly sophisticated in their collection, storage, and analysis of data. And with the rise of NCLB, the focus of data analysis has been largely

13 Tech Support Strategies
Providing quality technical support in K-12 environments can be challenging. Unlike the business world, there's generally a less-than-ideal ratio of technical staff to computers, numerous software titles


SECURITY: Step by Step
It's time to begin planning for summer upgrades, and if information security isn't at the top of your list, it should be. Your students continue to learn more about the tools and technology that could


Big Time for Small Schools
With dropout rates soaring to 50 percent and higher in some urban areas, and 70 percent of American teens attending schools enrolling 1,000 or more, increasing attention is being paid to more efficient


Word Processing for Learning Disabled Students
For the last three years I have worked as a Learning Specialist at a public school in San Francisco. Students with whom I work have been diagnosed with some type of learning disability that is adversely


Appropriate Use of Technology in a Third Grade Classroom
Four years into my experience as a third grade teacher, and frankly, I don’t have the answers. But here are some thoughts. Technology is defined by one online dictionary as: the study of or a collection


A Change of Mind
There was never a doubt that I would become a teacher some day. When I was in second grade our school switched textbook publishers and the teachers began to give away the old textbooks they no longer


Securing a School Network
Preface Securing your school’s network can be a cost burden. Not securing your school’s network can be even more costly. Many threats exist for all users of the Internet, but schools inherently have


Free and Low Cost Software to Make Computing Easier
You may ask what software is available for free. Over the last few weeks, these 25 software programs have jumped out at me. They may not be necessarily the newest or the best, but they are usually free


Scrabble with a Twist
Try a fun activity that will incorporate Language Arts and technology while students participate in a cooperative project. At the end of the year my students felt they deserved a reward for working


The City: Our School Science Laboratory
I teach high school in a self-contained San Francisco classroom for youthful members of a residential treatment program for substance abuse and mental health. I can have about 15 – 20 students whose

Telling Tales with Technology
The late Dana Atchley was a performer, an artist, and a storyteller. In conjunction with producer friend Joe Lambert, he created powerful performance pieces that combined his voice and his insights with


Cyber Security: A Survival Guide
Districts everywhere recognize that their growing mountain of information provides significant potential for improving educational outcomes and administrative efficiency-but also for mischief, disruption,


Driving Ms. Data: Creating Data-Driven Possibilities
Web sites used to be simple propositions — a little HTML code here, a Web server there, and that was about it. When you wanted to update the site, you put whatever page you wanted to change into


Broadband Changes Everything
Despite the high tech bubble burst a few years ago, one area has continued to grow beyond all but a few observers’ wildest dreams — broadband. According to Nielsen NetRatings, home users of broadband


Informed Insight: Parental Attitudes toward Technology
In 1994, the federal government began an initiative to link all American schools to the Internet (Risinger, 2000). Between 1994 and 1998, classroom connections to the Internet jumped from 35% to 89% in


Math Art: Art as the Hub for Technology in Education
Even Art educators cannot avoid the fact that they have entered the world of technology, especially computer graphics technology. Arts and Technology projects have proven to be a new life source for supporting


Cyberlibraries: Digital Collections of Electronic Books, Journals and Reference Works
A visit to the local library takes on new meaning in the digital age, thanks to the abundance of resources available on the Internet. Open 24 7, holidays included, cyberlibraries provide electronic access


How Engaging 21st Century Work Keeps Students Interested in Learning
When the Kentucky Department of Education’s Student Technology Leadership Program (STLP™) first began in 1994, National Educational Technology Standards for Students (NETS) were not part of the technology


Using eBay To Educate
The idea came to me when I watched students haul box after box out of a classroom on a Saturday morning. My first questions were: What are you doing in school on a Saturday and what’s in the boxes?


Creating a Technology Climate Where the Self-directed Learner is Nurtured
Introduction I have been working on research based presentation projects with my seventh- and eighth-grade students for the last three or four years. As my school’s technology coordinator I have worked


Getting Back to Basics with Technology
We constantly hear about the pitfalls of rushing ahead with our students’ regular education and skipping the basics. We have seen the problems inherent with many new fads and trendy education theories.

Leadership: Walking the Talk
Whether you are a superintendent, technology director, principal, or classroom teacher, developing your leadership skills is fundamental to your success. Educational technologists have been spending far

Awards of Excellence 2004
Twenty-two years after we first recognized quality educational software programs in the pages of this magazine, we're still finding a lot to get excited about. From curriculum resources to assessment tools,


Ed Tech Leader of the Year 2004
By Michael Milone The Technology & Learning Ed Tech Leader of the Year program, sponsored by PLATO Learning, recognizes K-12 educators who demonstrate leadership, vision, and creativity in implementing


Portraits of Learning(3)
Is the next Dorothea Lange or Ansel Adams on your current class roster? From the looks of the more than 800 entries we received in this year's Portraits of Learning contest, it's very likely. Inspired


Collision Between F2F & Online Discussion
Social self-disclosure in the face-to-face environment long has been viewed as a positive activity. A person benefits from the affection conveyed, self-knowledge that occurs when talking about yourself


Facilitation: the Anti-Lecture
Raise your hand if you have memories of falling asleep in your college level World History 101 class. The sensation of rousing from a peaceful slumber atop your mini-desk lecture seat because you thought


Creating Video Lesson Plans
Most educators know video content is a highly effective teaching tool because it’s so engaging for students raised in today’s video age. Furthermore, because the Internet has become such an ingrained


Inclusion for Special Populations
Definition What is inclusion? To some it means no one is left out, regardless of race, color, creed, or physical disabilities. Coeval School District, in New Hampshire, defines inclusion as "the integration


Blogging in the Big Apple
As an educator in the NYC Department of Education and a lifelong learner, technology has and always will be an integral part of my instructional life. But the idea of keeping an online journal was foreign


A Real Fictitious Story
What I am about to tell is inspiring yet tragic and it could be happening at your school right now. I had an opportunity to sit down with a friend and discuss how she would enhance her school’s online

Top 10 Returns On Investment
With budgets slashed, NCLB-inspired demands for quick spikes in student achievement, and the public clamoring for proof that technology is really working in education, all eyes are on the bottom line.


A Field Guide to Cross-Cultural Projects
With a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the City College of New York initiated CultureQuest in 2002, a professional development program designed to train educators to effectively lead


Shoring Up Your Staff: Timely and Sustained Teacher Support
For years experts have been warning that investments in educational technology will only pay off if an adequate portion of the budget is devoted to professional development and technical support. Simply


Student-Centered Intranets(2)
Introduction Technology has truly found a home in our nation's schools. Computers are in classrooms, in libraries, in computer labs, and in other common areas around each campus. They are connected


Walking in Miranda's Shoes: Believing That We Can(2)
Where Do We Begin? Miranda could not speak and could not walk without the use of an assistive device. She could grasp items and hold them but had great difficulty with writing because her elbows and

Getting Results With Laptops
Despite a growing number of mobile computing initiatives across the country, including dramatic statewide adoptions in Maine and Michigan, laptop programs continue to breed controversy. For instance, critics


Sound and Vision
Including the arts in your curriculum is a tough sell these days. In many districts, budgets have been cut, enrollment has increased, and there are tests to pass-forget about teaching Johnny to paint.

The New Literacy
Recently, Edgar Murphy of the North Carolina State Board of Education delivered a presentation to a group of technology-using educators in the Raleigh area. He stated that of all the positions he has held


Special Needs Technologies: An Administrator's Guide
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act requires every school to provide its special needs students with whatever technologies are necessary for a "free and appropriate education." Yet many schools

Back to School Product Guide
Assessment and data management are the key words for summer and fall 2004, with more and more companies offering solutions for administering and scoring interim assessments, then interpreting those scores


Getting it Done
Boston launches new 5-year technology, teaching & learning plan. Why not you? On November 3, 2001, at a conference sponsored by the Boston Public Schools, the City of Boston, and local and national corporate


The Mandate of Digital Literacy
Controversy in the U.S. over standards outlined in the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act has riveted the public and private sector on issues surrounding academic standards. With the expansion of NCLB to

How to Get Free Stuff for Teachers
In these days of tightening budgets and limited resources, educators are working even harder to do more with less. But some things in life are free, and we have compiled a list of these free on-line educational


PowerPoint as an Interactive Multimedia Lesson
Constructivism: According to Constructivist researchers, students tend to learn effectively when they are actively engaged in their education. The more students participate is in the lesson the better


Observations, Reflections, & Research of a Laptop Classroom
At Switzerland Point Middle School Marian Campbell, Linda Markhum, and Della Thompson are the laptop classroom grant team members. These three teachers represent the science, social studies, and language


Myths and Facts of Learning Technology
What is Learning Technology? Learning Technology, Educational Technology, Instructional Technology, E-Learning, Computer Assisted Learning (CAL), Computer Based Training (CBT). One or more of these closely


Study Groups and WebQuests
“The inventor or introducer of the system deserves to be ranked among the best contributors to learning and science, if not among the greatest benefactors of mankind” (Bumstead, 1841, as cited in


Putting IT into Perspective: Infusing Technology into the Classroom
You wouldn’t use a hammer to loosen a rusty bolt, or a flat head screwdriver to pry a nail loose from an old board. Well, some of us might, but the majority of us choose the right tool for the right

Smart Tools: Making Technology Work
With experience in both business and the classroom, New Jersey's Mark Leung makes sure technology improves productivity at all levels of the district. Q. Tell us a bit about your career so far. A. I


7 Time-Saving Tools
When instructional technology coordinator Bill Burrall gave us his "10 Time-Saving Tools" in March, it got us thinking about the relationship between time and money. Imagine if a technology could shave


Getting the Word Out
T&L talks strategy with Marsha Chappelow, assistant superintendent of communication services for Blue Valley Schools in Overland Park, Kan. Q. What's your role in the district? A. I administer the district's


22 We Count On
And speaking of leadership... Technology & Learning's advisory board and regular contributing editors are key players when it comes to providing our readers, visitors, and attendees with top-quality, up-to-the-minute


Show Him the Money
Q. You've mentioned your funding priorities fell into place once the district changed its technology vision. Can you describe that vision and how you implemented it? A. We started by hiring a technology


Finding Funding: A Dozen Daring Ideas
As state coffers continue to shrink this year, there is less money for education and much of what is available is earmarked for mandates. Without deep pockets anywhere, districts have to think strategically


E-Communications 101
More tasks than ever are heading online these days-from student projects and field trips to virtual schools and electronic professional development. The big idea is that technology saves time and effort,


Technology Integration and the Beacon School Portal
When the pundits first started looking at how the computer revolution could affect our schools, the first wave of theory looked at how computer and Internet technology could revolutionize the classroom.


Reducing Test Anxiety To Increase Testing Performance
Introduction I’ve learned that many computer certifications are earned by taking a computerized test (The Training Camp, 2003). For the last few years I have given students computerized tests. It has


Ten Tips and Tricks for the Online Student
In the summer of 2000 I began an online Masters program at the University of Phoenix. I wasn’t expecting too many bumps in the online road. After all, I regularly spent time on the Internet; I used chat


Cyberlab: An Ally for Teaching Scientific Collaboration
Often when a scientist, engineer, or medical practitioner makes a discovery, develops a new procedure, or invents a new device he or she writes a paper explaining what he or she has done. This paper is


Videoconferencing at its Best: Nashville Opera Brings quot;How to Write an Operaquot; to USN Students
This a true tale of just one instance where videoconferencing allowed distance learning to work its magic. On December 17, 2003, Amy Tate Williams, Chorus Master and Accompanist for the Nashville Opera


Implementing the Standards into Projects
I love projects! As far as I’m concerned, there is no better way to teach any concept than by having students participate in authentic hands-on, project-based learning. One wonderful aspect of projects


Integrating Technology in Tunisian Schools
Current Situation After the efforts deployed in providing more and more schools with the necessary equipment and in establishing regional INBMI (National Institute of Bureautics and Micro-Computing) centers,

Online Training: What's Really Working?
Southern California's Imperial County Office of Education found very convincing evidence of the benefits of online professional development the first time they experimented on a large scale. This past


Digital Cameras for Learning
For the past several years, the Upper Saddle River School District (K-8) has been using digital cameras, both still and video, to enhance learning, provide motivation, and as a convenient tool to empower


Arts and Technology as the Hub for All Disciplines
Introduction Educators cannot avoid the fact that they have entered the world of visual communication, dependence on computer graphics technology, and a time when most students are swiftly becoming computer


Looking for Dark Skies
Turn off that light! It's a pollutant! Hard to believe? It'll be apparent after you've viewed the Web site "Looking for Dark Skies Over Millennium" As the site says, lighting that is not done in


Digital Literacy NOW!
I first saw the photo at NECC 2003, the National Educational Computing Conference, held in Seattle that year. At several conference sessions I viewed digital photographs of President George W. Bush reading


Professional Development Anytime, Anywhere
Texas STARgate's Online Professional Development for Texas Teachers Teachers can now engage in anytime, anywhere technology-related professional development with Texas STARgate, an online professional


It's About T.I.M.E.! (Technology Improving the Methods of Education)
Introduction Wouldn't you say that it is about time for all educators to at least give technology infusion a try? What's holding them back? Educators tend to ask themselves the same questions: Why


Worksheets and Templates
Skillful teachers enrich conventional instruction in many ways. They pepper the learning environment with challenging and meaningful stimuli. They immerse learners in real-time, hands-on, content rich

Secure Your Wireless Network
Imagine a completely wireless school, an open network in which all students and staff can roam around using laptops or handheld computers to browse the Internet, access files and applications on the school


Enough to Go Around? Budget and TCO Tool Kit
The Changing Financial Landscape The past four years have seen a precipitous decline in funding for school technology programs. According to Quality Education Data, spending on instructional technology


High-Tech Summer Camps
It's a balmy 78 degrees with a slow breeze rustling the palm leaves and the arched, sandstone colonnades of the stately Main Quad buildings reading a rich yellow in the afternoon sun. Students loll about


10 Hot Tips: Getting the most out of Final Cut Express
In Final Cut Express, Apple has created an ideal video editing package for schools. Based on the company’s Emmy-award winning Final Cut Pro software, Final Cut Express provides more power and capabilities


Meaningful Digital Video for Every Classroom
Technology has made a difference. As a teacher, trainer, and media festival director for more than 20 years, I have long been aware of the educational potential for videos and videomaking for any school


What Network?
Regardless of what fancy, new-fangled services you’ve added to your network, without the proper infrastructure, you might as well throw your money out the window. Many times, network infrastructure get


Product News(3)
Canopus is now shipping ProCoder Express, a cost-effective, consumer oriented video conversion package based on the core technology found in the company’s professional video transcoding software, ProCoder.


Moviemaking for the Language Acquisition Classroom
Television melodrama, like grand opera, is constructed to formula. Character interactions are highly charged and plot dominates, initiating excitement, suspense, and raising questions around timeless and


Kranky Kids
Let's talk education. When I started the Kranky Kids after-school programs in 1995, my sole intention was to have fun. The first group project was a radio show. Then the kids were badgering me for more,


Mainstreaming Exceptional Students into Technology Classrooms
There is something wonderful about computers and children. It seems to help equalize the learning and playing field for a lot of students. Also, when working in technology, students have a better opportunity


The Basics of PowerPoint
I am a firm believer in "less is more" when it comes to teaching PowerPoint. Although there are many different opinions on PowerPoint in the classroom, I believe it is a very useful classroom tool when


Biology at the River
In 1859, Nevada's Comstock Lode silver strike sparked the first major wave of immigration into the area. During the subsequent gold and silver rush, the Carson River played an important role in transporting


Web Tech Support
When bad things happen to good software, users suffer. It's an interplanetary crisis! Even the Mars Spirit rover was not immune from a software glitch, effectively placing the first stage of NASA's Red


Introduction to Blogs and Blogging
Think of the words we use when introducing a new assignment. Sometimes they can create counter-productive images in the minds of students. For example, imagine saying to a class of seventh-graders, "Today


Staff Development and Technology Solutions
Can you run a technology staff development program for a K-12 district of 22,000 students with only one trainer? This is the situation we found ourselves in. Our revised District Technology Master Plan


Summer Workshops Make the Difference
As a busy educator, it isn't easy to find meaningful high-quality professional development. I'm a K-5 Resource Room teacher for the Nassau-Spackenkill School in Poughkeepsie, New York who always wondered


Working with Reluctant Teachers
Many teachers feel overwhelmed with all the demands on their time, and some see technology as just one more thing on an already overloaded plate. There are solutions that staff developers can use to help

Data: Mining with a Mission
For some districts, the current obsession with data grows out of the need to comply with No Child Left Behind and additional accountability-related mandates. For others, it dates way back before the phrase


Network Monitoring: A 360-Degree Plan
In the movies, a safe and happy ending often comes from last-minute heroics. In the equally virtual reality of school computer networks, however, success more typically depends on day-to-day operations.


Technology Integration as a Transforming Teaching Strategy
Abstract: This study of technology integration in the classroom involved 42 observations in 16 classrooms, 20 interviews, and 27 responses to an online survey. Teachers were selected with a common educational


A SMART Program for Teachers
I am a technology teacher in Brooklyn, New York and I wanted you to know about a fantastic and worthwhile program that I was involved in this summer. This program is funded by the National Science Foundation


Take Someone to Dinner
My family loves to travel. Well, we like to go places, but we don't necessarily like getting there. My husband and youngest daughter both have very short attention spans and long trips can be a nightmare.


Why Project Management Can Make Education Better
The technology coordinator knew that implementing a help desk call-tracking system could increase teacher satisfaction and cut costs. He bought tracking software and had it installed and configured.


Teaching with Real Time Technology
Kathy is a typical senior in a small high school. She has exceptional math skills and hopes to get a head start on college math by taking calculus. However, her high school does not offer calculus nor


New Texts and New Skills for a New Age
Have you watched TV today? Listened to the radio? Read a newspaper or surfed through your favorite Web sites? When you start counting them, we head to an amazing assortment of places in a day for entertainment


The Library of Congress ... Online for Educators(2)
The Library of Congress is the nation's oldest federal cultural institution. Established in 1800 as a legislative library, it grew into a national institution during the nineteenth century and, since

How to Perform a Security Audit
Picture this scenario: a student logs in to your school's network using the password of a former teacher and "improves" his first-quarter grades and attendance along with those of his nine friends. This


Drafting a Customized Tech Plan: An Up-to-the-Minute Design
It's all about measurable results. Today, states and districts are zeroing in on standards-based learning and high stakes test scores-even benchmarking results in advance of the school year. Technology


Building a Learning Community Online
I have come to believe, as a high school math teacher, that the terms "learning" and "community" are both necessary to successfully guide students to the knowledge that they need. With online learning,


Multimedia: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
There is no escaping the challenges set before the educators of today's student. As educators, we once only had to compete against television with its cartoons and MTV. We now have to battle for attention


Using Study Groups to Disseminate Technology Best Practices
"The success or failure of technology is more dependent on human and contextual factors than on hardware or software." (Valdez et al., 2000) In other words, when it comes to technology, the teacher is


How Do Teachers Become Tech Wizards?
I have had many teachers ask me, "How did YOU get to be so good at computers?" Many assume, erroneously, that my husband, who is a true tech genius, does all of my work for me. However, there is way


Lease Versus Purchase
Editor's Note: While this article focuses on a college environment, the information is applicable to school systems as well. Introduction Since the early 1980's, computer technology in universities


Do They Know What They Think They Know?
Purpose of the Study When informally observing students perform various computer operations and applications, there appears to be discrepancy between their ability to perform specific applications and

School to Career: Reworking the Model
Once the high school track for kids who might lack the aptitude, interest, or economic means to pursue a higher education, vocational education solely focused on preparing students for industrial jobs.


Peripheral Word Processing Keyboards-An Alternative
Schools, libraries, and businesses are turning to peripheral word processing keyboards, the best known of which is the AlphaSmart, to do word processing tasks. The peripheral word processing keyboard

Awards of Excellence 2003
For the past 21 years, this magazine has selected the very best educational applications for recognition and honor. A lot has changed in the years since those first Apple II and TRS-80 software titles


Ed Tech Leader of the Year 2003
By Michael Milone Every year we identify a special group of educators who we believe are the standard-bearers when it comes to cutting-edge, technology-infused practices. This year is no exception. From


Portraits of Learning(2)
In our third annual Portraits of Learning student photography contest, Technology & Learning editors were overwhelmed by both the quantity and the quality of submissions. As we examined more than 200 digital

Avacaster In The Virtual Classroom
Once upon a time-say, a few years ago-a lot of people believed that Webcasting was the Next Big Thing. We were going to watch television-like, serial entertainment right on the Web. A lot of seasoned film


Visual Storytellers
Analyzing the elements of a good story, learning the language of film, tuning in to the movement of human face and body-these are just a few of the skills West Linn High School students practice when they


Clay And Animation Class
In Lynn Pass's clay and animation class, students learn the benefits of painstaking attention to detail as they build 3D clay characters and create film animations-one frame at a time. Most student film


Cultivating Cineliteracy
Karen Mitchell's TV and film course combines watching and analyzing along with creating films. "If students are going to be literate writers and literate readers, then I want them to be literate viewers,


PROJECTORS A Fanatic's Survival Guide
There's more to projecting video than just plugging in and hitting play. Choosing a projector that best suits your classroom, conference room, or auditorium can depend on a variety of issues such as price,


Weblogs, Chatrooms, and Movies
This module engages students in an innovative creative writing process that harnesses technologies already familiar to many of them. The following lesson is open-ended in theme and can be applied to almost


Tapping into the Wild Wild Web
There are great things about digital video as a tool in the classroom. For teaching, DV uses the vast image processing powers of the student brain to deliver instruction. For learning, it taps into the


Product News(2)
The new Adobe Video Collection, both standard and professional editions, comprise new versions of Premiere Pro, After Effects, Audition, and Encore DVD. The Professional edition of the collection delivers


Donated Gotchas
Want to setup a Webserver as part of your distance learning environment? Is it too late for me to try and talk you out of it? Just kidding. Implementing a Webserver as part of your school's distance learning


Design Achievement Award Winners
On August 7, 2003, Adobe honored students who participated in the third annual Adobe Design Achievement Awards, a program that recognizes outstanding projects by talented students of graphic design, illustration,


Top 10 Innovative Projects
In past Top 10 issues, we've profiled emerging technologies and smart technologies. This year we take a look at how these technologies are being applied to implement new and more innovative approaches

21st Century Skills: Will Our Students Be Prepared?
Learning for the 21st Century, a report from a new public-private coalition known as the Partnership for 21st Century Skills (www.21stcenturyskills.org), articulates a vision of how schools can best prepare


Growing Minority Leadership
The days of the digital divide may be numbered. As the debate over digital equality shifts from hardware and connectivity to the best ways technology can be used in teaching and learning, a host of new

Science & Technology: A Workshop
Technology has never been a stranger to science. Think of Millikan's oil drop experiment or Newton's study on light. Even though the technology these scientists used was primitive, it was necessary. Thermometers,

Back-to-School Software and Web Resources
The new products described below form a broad cross section of educational software and Web releases for summer and fall 2003. The back-to-basics trend continues this year as publishers unveil a number


Professional Development: 21st Century Models
Never before has the pressure been so high to find ways to support successful teaching and learning through effective professional development. With the U.S. education community, driven by No Child Left

Product News
Editing Adobe has added Adobe Encore DVD, a DVD authoring tool, to its product line. The program includes a variety of design tools tightly integrated with Photoshop-users, for example, can edit menus


Cameras in the Classroom
I've recently been working on an instructional video program for teachers called "Teaching Through Technology." I've observed many tech-ed programs throughout the state of Wisconsin, and have been struck


Making Connections
Getting video and audio into and out of computers has gotten a lot simpler thanks to digital technologies such as FireWire and USB. But with every newfangled port there's a new type of connector to become


Light Right - A Crash Course In Lighting Video
Digital video has introduced all kinds of possibilities for do-it-yourself television in schools. But with budgets stretched tighter than ever, teachers and media specialists may despair their productions


DV Editing: Great Timing for Schools
I can well remember the school A V "geeks," the clickety clack of 16mm projectors, and the catcalls of "Turn it up!" during classroom movie presentations. And of course the film almost always broke just


Pathways to the Future
Mendocino High is a small school on the rural north coast of California, yet technologically it's very forward-looking and farsighted with an outstanding record of student achievement. For 12 years the


Never Too Young
To assist early elementary school children in learning about community, teachers can visit important places in their town or city, videotape the facilities, show what people do there, and conduct short


Showing Your Students' Work: How students and teacher can share what they create during the year
Among the more exciting evolutionary changes brought about by the digital era is the opportunity for students and teachers to create and share lively classroom presentations. In fact, as educators become