Reflecting on the Past, Focusing on the Future
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January is the start of a new year and a time to reflect on the old. For us at T.H.E. Journal, January is also a time for extremely important announcements. First, we would like to thank the members of past editorial boards who have brought valuable insight and counsel to our editorial process and products over the last 30-plus years.
Now to the future. We are pleased to announce our new editorial board: a powerful, dynamic and exceptionally bright group of people who will help us shape our editorial direction. The board not only reflects our readers, it also brings together forward-looking people who are helping to shape the technology and education fields. All of our new members are educators, or serve in professional organizations or government agencies. Please help me welcome the 11 new members of our editorial board:
Helen Anderson is the senior director of computer and educational services for the School of Engineering and Applied Science at the University of Pennsylvania, where she is a leader in the application of technology in education across the entire campus.
Ann M. Boyle is assistant superintendent of the Scottsdale Unified School District in Arizona. Among her many responsibilities are all of the district's information technology, including instructional technology and administrative applications of technology.
Robert A. Carlson is director of management services for the Council of the Great City Schools. He has also developed and maintains the Council's Eduportal, as well as manages peer reviews that take place in the Council's school districts.
Dr. Catherine Burden is superintendent of Union Public Schools in Tulsa, Okla. A former administrator of the year and superintendent of the year, Burden is a strong believer in the power of technology to transform all of education.
Dr. Christopher J. Dede is the Timothy E. Wirth Professor of Learning Technologies at Harvard's Graduate School of Education and the chair of the Learning & Teaching Area at Harvard. Dede is also the foremost futurist in technology and education.
D. Michael Eason is CEO of the Florida Educational Technology Corp. and manages the FETC conference. He leads FETC's efforts to assist Florida districts with technology, as well as advises the Florida legislature and governor's office regarding technology and education.
Dr. Allen Glenn is a professor of curriculum and instruction and former dean of the College of Education at the University of Washington. He is co-author of numerous books and articles, and is active in teacher education organizations.
Dr. Donald G. Knezek is CEO of the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) and helped to start the National Educational Technology Standards (NETS) efforts over a decade ago. He also has been a teacher, district administrator, state department bureaucrat and regional service center director of technology.
Dr. Steven A. Sánchez is an analyst for the Senate Education Committee of the New Mexico State Legislature. Formerly, he served as acting assistant superintendent for learning services and director for curriculum, instruction and learning technologies at the New Mexico Department of Education.
Dr. Jackie Shepperson is on temporary assignment as technology bond program manager in Richardson Independent School District in Texas. Recently, she was executive director of instructional technology at Richardson. Among Shepperson's many other activities, she was president of the Texas Computer Education Association.
Dr. Gilbert Valdez is chief officer of technology, mathematics and science, as well as the director of the North Central Eisenhower Mathematics and Science Consortium (NCEMSC) for Learning Point Associates/NCREL. He is the author of a variety of articles and research on technology and education.
Our editorial board members span from Massachusetts to Florida, the desert to the Northwest, cover preschool through graduate school, and beyond. More important, their collective experiences and perspectives will provide innovation, depth and quality to all aspects of T.H.E.'s content.
January is also the start of conference season for the year, with arguably one of the most exciting — the Florida Educational Technology Conference — being held January 22-24. Note Pages 10-12 for an overview of the conference, and if you are attending, go to www.theconferenceplanner.com/fetc2004 to plan your time at FETC.
This issue of T.H.E. Journal includes the inaugural article in an important series on scientifically based research, a term mentioned in the No Child Left Behind Act no fewer than 170 times. Unfortunately, the definition(s) of SBR, how it will affect the purchase of products (if at all), and how the use of SBR will evolve over time are less exact than the number of times the term was used in NCLB. We hope this series will shine a little light on what is still a cloudy area.
We also are proud to announce the Sylvia Charp Award for District Innovation in Technology. We are creating this award in partnership with ISTE, as Sylvia was an ardent, life-long supporter of ISTE and its mission, as is T.H.E. Journal. While some have argued that the school is the unit of change for educational reform (and we don't disagree), we believe that the district is critically important in the successful implementation of technology. The district sets the vision for all children; the district ensures that the infrastructure is in place and functioning; the district ensures that there is equity of access and use among all students; the district ensures that there is equity of professional development and support across all schools; etc. Different schools may — and should — implement the use of technology differently, as teachers, children and the neighborhoods may vary among schools in a district. We want to find exciting, effective examples of district implementations of technology and recognize them. For details on the award, visit www.thejournal.com/ISTECharpaward. Applications are due by the middle of March.
On a final note, January marks the first in our growing efforts to provide a greater connection between our online and print content. This is why we are featuring a special article on getting your technology projects funded, written by Nickie Weaver and Sheila Fernley of Irving ISD in Texas, which appears exclusively on our Web site. As the article illustrates, you will see the highest quality content delivered by both media.
This article originally appeared in the 01/01/2004 issue of THE Journal.