September 1, 2006

  • 09/01/06
T.H.E. Newsletter: September 1, 2006
September 1 , 2006
WEEKLY SECTIONS

  • AOL Video Launches Digital Movie Downloads

    AOL has partnered with 20th Century Fox, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, Universal Pictures, and Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Group to offer downloadable movies through the AOL Video portal. These new partnerships complement the more than 17 video content partnerships and more than 45 on-demand channels that AOL Video announced back in July. Available to anyone on the Web at the AOL Video portal is a one-stop, high-quality entertainment destination to find, watch, and share millions of free streaming and pay-to-download video content from across the Web, broadcast and cable television, and movies.

    For the full story, click here.

  • LearnStar Announces Fall Grant Initiative

    LearnStar Inc., a provider of standards-based education technology and developer of the software program SmartTRAX, has announced its “Get on TRAX” fall grant opportunity for K-12 schools to receive SmartTRAX licenses for their students. Three grants of 100 student licenses (one each for an elementary, middle, and high school) will be awarded to schools based on need, enthusiasm, technology integration, innovation, and methodology. Grant submissions must be received by Dec. 11, 2006, and the winners will be announced on Dec. 15.

    For full details and application forms, click here.

  • Miami-Dade County Expels Spyware

    Miami-Dade County Public Schools (Dade Schools) has turned to BigFix Inc’s AntiPest solution to help prevent spyware on the district’s 70,000 personal computers used by students, teachers, and administrators. Since deploying AntiPest, the district has reduced its spyware infection rates by 90 percent, going from a 40 percent infection rate to a four percent rate. Dade Schools recently added the AntiPest product to its existing BigFix security configuration management solution that protects networked PCs located at its more than 360 schools in the county.

    For the full story, click here.

  • TechEd 2007 Puts Out a Call for Presentations

    TechEd 2007 is seeking proposals from all levels of education, from K-20, for its 12 th annual conference and exhibition at the end of March in Ontario, CA. This year’s theme is “ Inspiring the Vision” and will feature more than 250 sessions, covering a range of topics such as administrative technologies, conquering the digital divide, eLearning, mobile learning, and workforce education.

    For a full list of topics or to submit a proposal, visit TechEd’s Web site. All abstracts must be submitted by Oct. 11, 2006.

  • NWEA’s MAP Testing Expands to Georgia

    The Northwest Evaluation Association (NWEA), a nonprofit organization focused on improving K-12 assessment, has announced the addition of the first schools in Georgia to use its formative assessments aligned to the state’s curriculum standards. This new enrollment brings NWEA into its 48 th state, serving more than 2,200 school districts and testing some 2 million students. The Georgia districts and schools will begin testing a portion of their students this fall using NWEA’s formative assessment system, Measures of Academic Progress (MAP), which measures individual student growth over time and across grade levels. Because students take the test on a computer, it immediately adapts to an individual student’s ability, getting easier or harder as students answer each question. The assessment results are available immediately and provide teachers with an accurate and clear picture of what a child knows and needs to know next.

    For the full story, click here.


The International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) has published 1-to-1 Learning: Laptop Programs That Work, a comprehensive guide for planning, implementing, and managing successful laptop programs in the classroom. The guide compiles practical how-to information for initiating laptop programs, as well as experiences, strategies, and lessons from pioneers in 1-to-1 laptop projects. It offers suggestions for things such as: forming an effective and inclusive planning committee, choosing hardware and software that integrates well with existing systems, selecting the most cost-effective purchasing, support and funding options, anticipating and overcoming logistical challenges, and planning professional development activities that encourage teacher buy-in. More information about the book, as well as a free downloadable excerpt and the table of contents, are available here. Pricing: $31.95 for ISTE members; $34.95 for nonmembers.


Toshiba’s Digital Products Division has introduced the TDP-ET20U DLP mobile multimedia DVD projector, the company’s first all-in-one multimedia DVD projector featuring “extreme short projection.” Ideal for classroom and business presentations, the TDP-ET20U displays up to a 100-inch diagonal screen image from just 3.9 feet away, providing an unobstructed viewing experience whether placed on a desk or a classroom A/V cart. The projector’s integrated DVD player also allows users to play movies directly from the projector, while its 5.1-channel Dolby Pro Logic surround sound provides cinema-like quality sound. Unique to all-in-one projectors, an RGB port is included for easy connection to a PC. An HDMI port is also included, providing an interface between any A/V source. Weighing 10.6 pounds, the compact TDP-ET20U offers 1,100 lumens, a 2000:1 high-contrast ratio, and widescreen format with adjustable aspect ratio from 16:9 to 4:3. Additional ports include an S-video, composite video, and component video via three RCA jacks. Pricing: $1,399.



http://www.buncombe.k12.nc.us
In an effort to enhance and increase communication with parents, students, and the general public, Buncombe County Schools (NC) has launched a new Web site. The new site includes districtwide statistics, policies, and calendars, as well as comprehensive employment and academic sections. Urgent announcements, school closings, and any delays also will be promptly posted on the site. Amanda Eller, the designer of the new Web site, will serve as the school district’s webmaster. She will manage the district’s administrative pages while facilitating Web site improvements at individual schools. Each school will have at least two school Web site directors who will be responsible for keeping their respective school sites updated.


http://www.nbii.gov/education/index.html
The National Biological Information Infrastructure’s Teacher Resource area provides educators and students of all ages with access to online resources that emphasize the importance of teaching biology, biodiversity, and ecology. Included are related activities, lesson plans, experiments, projects, resources, and references for classroom and home use. The goal of this Teacher Resource site is to assist teachers in educating today’s students and shaping the biologists, resource managers, and environmental stewards of tomorrow.

For a complete listing of up-to-date conference information, visit T.H.E. Conference Calendar, T.H.E. Journal 's comprehensive conference database, at: http://www.theconferencecalendar.com

Share Your Success
 Whether your district just appointed a new superintendent or your school finally hired that new tech coordinator, we want to know! Please share your staff and faculty successes with us by sending the person's name; title; school, district, and location information; any relevant educational and occupational background; and a high-resolution color image of the person to [email protected]

Call for Papers!!!

THE Journal is currently looking for the following types of articles as we prepare for our 2006 issues:

  • School Perspectives —discuss a specific topic, trend, or concern about education technology.

  • Wishlist/Shortlist —a simple list of the technology (e.g., wireless, laptops, etc.) you're looking at to solve a challenge in your school/district, and an accompanying “shortlist” of vendors you're looking at to solve those challenges.

If you have a potential article, or questions about the above topics, please e-mail [email protected]

THE Institute and AOL @ SCHOOL Offer New Online Course for Educators
“Internet Literacy – Making the Most of the Web,” is a new online course for educators interested in using the World Wide Web in teaching and learning. Designed for elementary and secondary school teachers, the course provides tools for educators to integrate technology into their curricula to improve student achievement and meet NCLB requirements. The cost is $79 per person; course moderation and graduate credit are additional options. “Internet Literacy – Making the Most of the Web," is designed to be useful both for educators new to using technology in teaching and learning and for tech-savvy veterans.
For complete course details and to register, go to http://www.thejournal.com/institute/course510.cfm.

Four Integrating Technology Courses from T.H.E. Institute
 T.H.E. Institute is offering four online professional development courses to help educators comply with NCLB requirements and use technology more successfully in the classroom. The cost is $149 per course, which includes a $10 per person per course administration fee for documentation of clock hours and a certificate of completion. Course moderation and graduate credit are additional options; volume discounts are available. Anyone who enrolls in a course will receive individual access to the netTrekker site, as well as free individual access to United Learning's unitedstreaming site. In addition, special pricing is available for educators in districts that have purchased Glencoe/McGraw-Hill's TechCONNECT.

Integrating Technology in the Classroom Courses: Social Studies — Available Now; Science — Available Now; English/Language Arts— Available Now; Mathematics — Available Now

For more information, log on to http://www.thejournal.com/institute/IntegratingTech.cfm.

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THE Newsletter is a bulletin comprised of recent announcements that affect the education community. Our goal is to keep our readers well informed with the most up to date news. In addition, we hope our audience will share with us their opinions regarding educational technology issues so we may be certain we are covering the topics that are of most interest to them. Please direct any questions or comments about THE Newsletter to [email protected]

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