K-12 Tech Trends :: September 20, 2006
Welcome to K-12 Tech Trends, which replaces T.H.E. Newsletter. Each week we’ll bring you a quick look at the latest news on technology trends and tools and how they are successfully used for instruction and administration. Leading experts and visionaries will share their opinions and insights on critical issues facing you daily. Let us here from you – send your thoughts, ideas, commentary, and news items to Editorial Director Geoff Fletcher, [email protected]
Opinion
Survival Tips for the New School Year
By Darrell Walery
The start of any school year can be very stressful for a building- or district-level technology director. To deal with the pressure, here are a few tips to help you get through the first few weeks. Some of these suggestions are too late to implement this year; however, it’s never too early to start planning ahead for next year.
Tip #1: Start With a Good Plan
- As obvious as this sounds, having a good start-up plan in place is essential. The summer often gets away from us, and if we have overplanned summer projects, that may cut into preparation activities as well. Make sure your start-of-school planning includes all technology staff and administration from each school...
Read Complete Article | Back to top
News Briefs
SMART Technologies Launches New Education Pricing Program to Replace SMARTer Kids Grants
The SMARTer Kids Foundation of Canada announced last week that as of Sept. 30, 2006, it will no longer...
Read more | Back to top
Business Roundtable Initiative Urges Congress to Safeguard Science, Technology Leadership
Business Roundtable recently began conducting a concentrated push to urge Congress to seize upon the limited window of opportunity offered in this fall’s congressional session by passing...
Read more | Back to top
Minneapolis Public Libraries Turn Page to VoIP Communications
Minneapolis Public Libraries (MPL) have turned the page from their old PBX phone system...
Read more | Back to top
PCS Edventures! Announces Congressional Award
PCS Edventures! has received the annual Education Technology Think Tank (ET3) TEC Championship Leadership Award...
Read more | Back to top
By the Numbers
IT Survey Reveals the Value of Web Filtering
8e6 Technologies conducted a survey of more than 400 IT professionals to understand the value they have realized from Web filtering. Among the survey’s highlights:
- More than 32 percent cited the need to control employee productivity as a key driver for Web filtering.
- Nearly a fourth of respondents reported that managing bandwidth was a primary concern.
- A third of the respondents are now required to provide detailed reports on Internet surfing to management, and nearly a third must do so on a weekly basis.
Blocking inappropriate content was cited as the most critical need for filtering by a little less than half the respondents, but still remains the top priority in Web filtering...
Read more | Back to top
Show Me the Money
Virtual Science Fair Contest to Award Students, Teachers
Science enthusiasts of all ages with an interest in biology, chemistry, or physics are invited to come up with a challenging hypothesis and turn it into a prize-winning science fair project. The contest is sponsored by Super-Science-Fair-Projects.com. Prizes will be awarded in each of four student categories—elementary school, middle school, high school and college—and in a new category for teachers. Entries must be received via e-mail no later than May 31, 2007; however, a surprise gift will be given to those who send their entries before Jan. 31, 2007...
Read more | Back to top
Products & Services
IPcelerate Launches Bundled K-12 VoIP Solution
IPcelerate Inc., a provider of advanced communications-based software applications, has introduced a pre-integrated, pre-configured bundled solution for...
Read more
Nuventive Announces iWebfolio 3.1
Nuventive, a leading provider of individual and institutional assessment solutions, has released iWebfolio version 3.1, a leading electronic portfolio management system for managing the process of individual and institutional assessment and continuous improvement...
Read more
Peerless Unveils New One Mount Flat Panel Modular Mount
Peerless Industries Inc. recently unveiled its new One Mount Flat Panel Modular Mount for LCD and plasma screens up to 84 inches...
Read more
Coming Up
THE Journal Opportunities
Share Your Best Practices
T.H.E. Journal is currently looking for the following types of articles for future issues and for our eNewsletter, T.H.E. SmartClassroom:
- School Perspectives - discuss a specific topic, trend, or concern about education technology.
- Case Studies – have you implemented technology and learned a lot from the experience? If so, share your efforts about what worked -- and what didn't.
If you have a potential article, or questions about the above topics, please e-mail [email protected]
Subscribe to T.H.E. Journal
Are you enjoying the on-line newsletters, but missing the magazine? Sign up for a free subscription to T.H.E. Journal and receive news, opinions, and feature articles about technology in education. For complete details and to subscribe on-line, click here.
Awesome Clipart for Educators
Awesome Clipart for Educators offers educators FREE clipart, backgrounds, fonts, icons, worksheets, wallpaper and more. Click here to see how easy searching for clipart can be!