It’s Philadelphia for ISTE in 2011

Unlocking Potential is the theme for ISTE 2011, the International Society for Technology in Education Conference and Exposition to be held in Philadelphia, June 26-29 at the Pennsylvania Convention Center.  You can do a custom program search to find sessions, papers, workshops, social events, field trips, round tables, birds-of-a-feather groupings, and more. Super Early Bird registration ends March 31 with Early Bird Registration ending May 1 and online registrations closing June 17.  If you don’t get a chance to sign up online, onsite registration will be available at the conference.  Conference themes for 2011 include: school improvement, technology infrastructure, professional learning, digital age teaching and learning, and virtual schooling/E-Schooling.

Language Lessons Help with Math Skills

In “Studies Find Language Is Key to Learning Math” , Education Week  (Feb. 17, 2011) Susan Goldin-Meadow, University of Chicago, explains that “profoundly deaf adults in Nicaragua who had not learned a formal sign language could not accurately describe or understand numbers greater than three.” When Goldin-Meadow tested adults who could hear or knew formal sign language, they were able to count without difficulty. Although the study didn’t involve students or young children, the results directly link math and language skill, meaning that intervention for math difficulties must include language help as well. Goldin-Meadow suggests that number lines, rather than fingers, would be better for early learning of math. Knowing how to count, like young children do, doesn’t mean they understand, for example, what  “seven” means.

How to Get Teachers Involved with Tech

Some teachers love technologies and find all sorts of wonderful ways to enhance their courses with computers, other digital devices and media. They are constantly learning about new ways to use tech in their teaching and are eager to tell others about their successes. Others are slower to adapt and seem hesitant to get involved with hardware and software given to them for their use. Years ago, after purchasing what I thought was a particularly wonderful (and expensive) software product for my teachers, I learned that every educator wasn’t going be enthusiastic about what I thought was perfect for their classrooms. The expense was a waste of money. From that experience, I learned two things: (1) that as the Apple Classrooms of Tomorrow Study noted, you have to be patient with teacher adoption of technologies, and (2) you have to work with your teachers to find out what types of technologies will work for them and their preferred methods of teaching. In other words, wait until they are ready, while perhaps giving a little push by discussing with them what technologies they could and couldn’t use. Tech only works in classrooms if teachers want to use it. As for that software that no one used—this year there was a request that we purchase that product—a new version, of course. For more on getting teachers to use technology, see Teaching with Technology.

Nominate Your School District

eSchool News is selecting school districts that are leaders in educational technology for recognition as School District of the Month. Principals, district superintendents, and technology coordinators may nominate their districts for this honor.

AASA/Lightspeed Systems Digital Learning Awards

School Districts in Texas and Mississippi were the 2011 winners in the District Excellence Award for Digital Learning. The Northwest Independent School District near Fort Worth, TX, captured the Grand Prize for integration of technologies at all grade levels. Awards included the November Learning team’s November Learning Review of best practices and strategies in teaching and learning, a subscription for Lightspeed Systems Web Access Manager and product training, and free registration, lodging and $500 for expenses at the 2011 Building Learning Communities Conference in Boston.  For additional information on the awards and how to enter your district in the future, go to the AASA site.

           

Learn More About Google’s Offerings

Everyone’s talking about Google Docs and how they are useful and economical for our classrooms. Google’s place to start you off right provides you with information about creating documents, spreadsheets and presentations online; sharing and collaborating; safely storing and organizing work, and controlling who can see documents. You might want to take some time to experiment with Google collaboration in action by watching the collaboration demo for documents, spreadsheets and drawing. Google also offers videos that may be helpful in learning how to use Google sites and Docs, understanding Google Chrome, etc. There are Google Webinars as well that you may want to take advantage of.  Check them out at the Google Resource Center.

Don’t Copy That 2

The Education Division of the Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA) has a new web site aimed at helping educate K-12 students about the ethical and legal use of copyrighted materials, such as software, books, articles, music and movies. Called Don't Copy That 2,  it includes a hip rap music video that addresses the dangers of engaging in piracy and the importance of respecting the creative output of others.   Aimed at teachers, it can also be helpful for parents concerned about the issue. Support materials for the video, lesson plans for middle and high school teachers, a glossary, and other resources can be very helpful in confronting these complex and important concepts.  

Getting Tech Skills to Balance with Life Skills

There is a new study out from the Internet Security Group AVG that is getting some wildly different interpretations. AVG, interested in promoting the importance of online safety, released a study in 2010 called Digital Birth that shows statistically that most babies and toddlers have an online footprint by the time they are six months old. Now, as a result of this study, they suggest that parents and teachers need to start educating kids about navigating the online world safely at an earlier age than they might otherwise have thought and AVG has provided a general list of suggestions for doing just that.

Fun with QR Coding

If you don’t know what QR (or Quick Response) Codes are, they are small black and white and sometimes colored squares with smaller squares inside. These squares contain coding for URLs, text and more. If they were in textbooks, for example, you and your students could decipher the codes with smart phones, iPod Touch or desktop computers to find links that would enhance textbook information by leading to additional text info, videos, images, etc. They’d be great for using in student reports or projects, for scavenger hunts, for identifying information in science fairs, art projects, and so much more. Your students will enjoy figuring them out and also creating their own. For ideas how to use them in the classroom and for homework, see Steven W. Anderson’s, “QR Huh? What the Heck Are QR Codes?” The QR Code below asks, “Can you read me?”

PBS Presents “Digital Media: New Learners of the 21st Century”

Digital Media: New Learners of the 21^st Century will be presented as a one-hour documentary featuring cutting-edge education and cognitive research related to use of digital media and interactive practices in schools and how these practices and “ignite...students’ curiosity and ingenuity” while helping them learn to work collaboratively with other students all over the world. The premiere will air on February 13,^, 2011, but the  documentary will be available on-demand at http://video.pbs.org/video/1767314964/ for a limited time after the premiere. For addition information about on demand, go to National Productions and Mobile Digital Arts, the organization that produced the video for PBS.