K-12 Tech Trends :: November 15, 2006
Opinion
Getting Schools to Embrace Collaboration Tools
By Darrell Walery
The Consortium for School Networking (CoSN) recently released a report titled Collaboration in K-12 Schools: Anywhere, Anytime, Any Way. I helped produce the report as a volunteer member of CoSN’s Emerging Technology Committee, and will use it as the basis for my column. Most of the tools discussed below have been around for a while, but, as with many other technologies, the education community has been slow on the uptake.
Portals & CMS
As we continue to see school districts embrace the use of technology to enhance curriculum initiatives and aid in data-driven decision-making, the use of portals and content management systems (CMS) is becoming more essential. Consider a curriculum project in a typical multi-building district that may involve several locations and 20 to 30 staff members. A portal or CMS that is used to house the relevant documents, enhance the communication of all members, and keep track of schedules and due dates is invaluable. Using these technologies can help make the teams involved much more organized...
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News Briefs
Dell Develops Portable Computing Labs to Aid Oklahoma City’s Districtwide Technology Efforts
Oklahoma City Public Schools (OKCPS), the city of Oklahoma City, and the Oklahoma City Metropolitan Area Public Schools Trust are working with Dell to install two mobile computer labs at each of the district’s 79 schools...
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Texas District Improves Security with ConSentry Solution
ConSentry Networks, a provider of secure LAN solutions, has announced that the Mount Pleasant Independent School District (TX) is using the ConSentry LANShield platforms to detect and stop unauthorized activity and to prevent the spread of malware...
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Discovery Education One Place Attracts Districts, Forms Partnerships with Online Service Providers
States, regional centers, and districts nationwide are signing on to become users of Discovery Education One Place, an innovative service that offers easy, convenient access to online teaching resources through a single entry point...
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Is the Green, Digital 'School of the Future' Our Future?
Imagine a public high school where books, pens, pencils, libraries, and even combination lockers are a necessity of the past...
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By the Numbers
NWEA Announces Research on Achievement Gaps
Northwest Evaluation Association (NWEA) researchers have released a new study on achievement gaps, the difference between the academic performance of students in poor and wealthy schools, as well as between minority and non-minority students. The study reveals that for every group at every grade level, students from poor schools grew less than students from wealthy schools, and minority students exhibited less growth than their non-minority peers. This study was designed to provide information about the achievement gap from the viewpoints of status (one point in time) and growth (academic improvement following a group over time). The overall study contains three component studies: The first looks at group differences between average scores taken at one point in time and between average student growth over the course of one school year. The second uses a more complex model to evaluate aggregate growth over two years. In the third study, both status and growth are examined in more detail with results displayed for each score point...
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Show Me the Money
Study Abroad Scholarships Offered to High Schools Promoting Spanish Learning
Don Quijote, Spain’s leading provider of in-country Spanish courses in Spain and Mexico, is offering 20 scholarships to educational institutions presenting innovative plans to promote the learning of the Spanish language. Now through Feb. 28, 2007, high schools worldwide are invited to present their plans in Fundación don Quijote’s fourth annual international scholarship program. Each winning institution will select a student to receive the scholarship, which will consist of a two-week language course at one of don Quijote’s schools in Spain or Mexico, including accommodations and cultural activities. Winners will be announces March 14, 2007...
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Products & Services
Array Speakers Enhance Classroom Acoustics
Recent data indicates that the majority of American classrooms have a speech intelligibility rating of 75 or less, meaning that listeners with adequate hearing can only understand 75 percent of the words read from a list...
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Fujitsu Rolls Out Enhanced ScanSnap for Mac
Fujitsu has just started shipping a new, enhanced version of its ScanSnap document scanner for Mac, the S500M...
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