February 2003
Alabama Supercomputer Authority
The Alabama Supercomputer Authority staff is making plans for the Alabama Educational Technology Conference in Birmingham, June 11-13. In addition to having a space in the exhibit hall, we will again sponsor the "Technology Cafe." The "Technology Cafe" focuses on meeting the needs of the technical staff within each school and school system through a series of technical talks led by the network engineers at ASA.. We are currently working with local school technicians to develop an agenda that is informative and targeted to their unique, technical needs. The "Technology Cafe" is scheduled for Wednesday, June 11. On Thursday, June 12, the ASA staff and the technical staff from local systems would like to present a series of sessions on Best Practices in Technology Administration. On Friday, June 13, we hope to present a 3-hour hands-on session on "AVL Resources for the Middle School Classroom." in the morning and in the afternoon as part of the Hands-On Workshops at Tarrant Middle School.
Research and Technology
21st Century Skills Political, social, and economic advances in the 21st century will be possible only if the intellectual potential of America's youth is well developed. To accomplish this, we must meet the changing learning needs of all students. The enGauge 21st Century Skills were developed through a process that included literature reviews, research on emerging characteristics of the Net-Generation, a review of current reports on workforce trends from business and industry, analysis of nationally recognized skill sets, input from educators, data from educator surveys, and reactions from constituent groups. Sources are listed and cross-matched in a matrix included in the full report (http://www.ncrel.org/). An extensive review of the literature on 21st century skills suggests that educational decision makers must acknowledge that the academics of yesterday are not sufficient for today. To adequately prepare, students must learn content within the context of 21st century skills. This list identifies the skills 21st century students need to thrive. It is intended to serve as a bridge across public, business, and education sectors through common definitions and contexts.
Integrating Technology into the Lives of Girls By Robyn Treyvaud and Lori Rounds. Girls and Technology - can the two be successfully integrated? There is a significant body of research that validates what girls in coeducational schools experience on a daily basis, that with regard to technology, girls lag behind boys in use, understanding and interest on many levels. A growing number of studies indicate that girls are not involved in technology at the level needed to advance the critical thinking skills that are highly valued in the areas of math, science and technology careers. Visit http://www.fetc.org/fetcon/0103/treyvaud.cfm to view the rest of this article.
Education and the
Internet
Arts
"Edouard Vuillard" explores the works, techniques, & influences of this Parisian artist (1868-1940). Selected highlights are included from the National Gallery Art exhibit of more than 230 of Vuillard's works. http://www.nga.gov/exhibitions/vuillardinfo.htm
"Teacher Institute 2003: Storytelling & the Visual Arts" will explore how teachers can use art objects with storytelling activities in the classroom. The 6-day seminar will be held during July & August 2003. Applications must be submitted online by March 15, 2003. http://www.nga.gov/education/storyworkshop.htm
Science
"Ask Dr. Global Change" offers a searchable collection of answers to questions about global warming, ozone depletion, greenhouse gases, & other issues related to climate change. Students can also submit questions of their own & explore related links. http://gcrio.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/gcrio.cfg/php/enduser/home.php
"EdSpace" invites teachers to become "educator astronauts" & help NASA connect space exploration with the classroom. The aim is to generate renewed interest in science & math, cultivate a new generation of scientists & engineers, & inspire the next generation of explorers. Educator astronauts will be trained to perform all functions that NASA's mission specialist astronauts are qualified to perform, including space walks, experiment management, & International Space Station deployment. The application deadline is April 30, 2003. Students, educators, parents, & others are invited to join the educator astronaut "earth crew" -- a web-based initiative that provides education activities, astronaut profiles, & information about living & working in space. http://edspace.nasa.gov/
"GEODE" lets students display on maps a range of data: population, transportation, political boundaries, oil, water, other natural resources, & more. Students can explore geographic relationships by combining & co-displaying these data on maps of Africa, the Americas, Asia, the Middle East, & other parts of the world. http://geode.usgs.gov/
"Invention at Play" examines how "play" -- the ordinary work of childhood --connects with the creative impulse. Read about inventors of the ski, sailboard, surgical robot, unfolding structures, water purifier, barbed wire, Velcro, Kevlar, post-it note, microwave, high-efficiency wind turbine, & telephone. Learn about Edison's Invention Factory or the Linux computer operating system. See sketches of the first telephone. Try our hand at a puzzle or word game, or draw your own sketch online. http://www.si.edu/lemelson/centerpieces/iap/index.html
"Planet Quest" is devoted to the search for new worlds. This search is being conducted over the next 15 years through a series of NASA missions using the most sensitive instruments ever made. Find out about these instruments & missions. Learn how scientists discover planets & determine whether a planet is habitable. Search the "atlas of planets" to see what planets have been discovered thus far (102) or tour the multimedia gallery. Resources for teachers & learning activities for students are provided. http://planetquest.jpl.nasa.gov/
"Sunspots & the Solar Cycle" explains the solar cycle, how sunspots affect earth, the history of sunspots, & more. http://www.sunspotcycle.com/
"Science Education at Jefferson Lab" offers 16 hands-on activities to answer questions such as: How do scientists to measure the size of an atom? What kind of coat will keep you the warmest -- one made from cotton, steel wool, or air? How should you build a boat so that it carries the most cargo? Flash cards, matching games, & crossword puzzles can help students learn the periodic table of elements & other science information. Middle school teachers are invited to apply for a summer enrichment program in basic physics. Jefferson Lab is home to an underground, race-track shaped tunnel that accelerates electrons to incredible speeds, so that we can learn about the structure & behavior of the atom's nucleus. http://education.jlab.org/index.html
Social studies
"Martin Luther King Jr., National Historic Site" features Atlanta's Auburn Avenue, the neighborhood where the civil rights leader was born & raised. "Sweet Auburn," as it came to be called, became the center of African American life in Atlanta between 1910 & 1930. Photos & maps of the neighborhood are provided. King's role in the civil rights movement is also examined. http://www.nps.gov/malu/
"Shaker Historic Trails" presents 15 places that together reveal the legacy of one of the most compelling religious & social movements in American life. Three essays trace the growth of the United Society of Believers, or Shakers, from its founding by a group of dissenting Quakers in 1747 to its membership of 6,000 people just before the Civil War. The Shakers established 19 official communities from Maine to Kentucky based on the principle of establishing "heaven on earth" through the practice of communitarian social organizations, pacifism, celibacy, gender equality, & the public confession of sin. Photos, maps, and itineraries are provided. http://www.cr.nps.gov/nr/travel/shaker/
"Santa Clara County: California's Historic Silicon Valley" features 28 historic places that illustrate how this fertile valley blossomed from small agricultural towns linked by railroad into a center of technological innovation. Located south of San Francisco, the history of Santa Clara County is rich with stories of Spanish & Mexican settlement, the Gold-Rush era, post-war suburbanization, the race to the moon, & the invention of the silicon chip. The website includes essays, photos, maps, and itineraries. http://www.cr.nps.gov/nr/travel/santaclara/
FAILING NOT ALLOWED HERE Like other schools labeled "high-tech," Philadelphia's High Tech High Charter School integrates technology in every aspect of its program. It also uses a unique competency-based grading and performance system under which students receive either a 'mastery' or 'incomplete' rating and the chance to try again. Source: The Philadelphia Inquirer http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/news/local/4855809.htm
PRESERVING PRINCIPLES OF PUBLIC EDUCATION IN AN ONLINE WORLD The Center for Education Policy has developed several recommendations to help citizens and policymakers guide the creation and regulation of K-12 online and virtual schools in ways that will maintain the essential purposes of public education: effective preparation for life, work, and citizenship; social cohesion and shared culture; universal access and free cost; equity and non-discrimination; public accountability and responsiveness; and religious neutrality. http://www.cep-dc.org/democracypublicschools/
BLACK HISTORY MONTH: The theme for Black History Month this year is "THE SOULS OF BLACK FOLK: CENTENNIAL REFLECTIONS' For more information contact Assn. for the Study of African Life and History, Inc. http://www.asalh.com/
TUSKEGEE AIRMEN. In honor of Black History Month, the Auburn University Library has updated the Tuskegee Airmen bibliography. Internet sites, books, documents, magazine articles and videos are listed. To access, click here. Compiled by Stephanie Havron, Bibliographer, Air University Library Maxwell AFB, AL.
PAULA Paula is a computer-generated synthetic interpreter capable of translating spoken English into American Sign Language (ASL). Using speech recognition, the animated figure of Paula delivers the translation through hand gestures and facial expressions on the computer screen. http://asl.cs.depaul.edu/
ANTARCTICA ONLINE. A group of researchers funded by the National Science Foundation wants to show students the beauty of Antarctica and allow them to follow their research on the Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) project. The researchers are living in and studying the Dry Valley,one of the most extreme deserts in the world. The group is studying streams, which develop in Dry Valley as glaciers melt during the austral summer. Each week, the researchers take digital photos, and write reports and post them on their Web site. For more information, go to www.globalschoolhouse.org/expeditions/dryvalleys.html
EGYPTIAN DIG ONLINE. Students can watch scientists from Johns Hopkins University (JHU) excavate an Egyptian tomb online through the university's Web site, "Hopkins in Egypt Today." The site follows a two-and-a-half month excavation of a group of JHU researchers exploring the areas surrounding the Temple of Mut at South Karnak. The Web site went live on Jan. 2 and will include photos and a diary of the excavation . The researchers hope to determine what the temple looked like between 1500 and 1200 B.C. For more information, go to www.jhu.edu/~neareast/egypttoday.html
BOOKCROSSING.COM A personal recommendation…I recently discovered one of the most unique websites. Bookcrossing.com is a free service that people join as they would a book club. They read books, write reviews, and have discussions online. But there's more and that is what makes this club unique! Members follow the "3 Rs of BookCrossing: Read, Register, Release." Members use a numbering system to record and track books as they are released. Books are marked with a BookCrossing registration label that is downloaded from the site and affixed to the book. The book is then left in a public location ( i.e., the school cafeteria, the playground, a park, a bus station, etc.) for someone else to find, read and release. The "find" can be by chance or it can become a scavenger hunt from clues left on the website by the person who released the book I think that this site is a great way to promote reading, writing, and sharing. Why not think about ways you can use this concept in your classroom? Wouldn't it be fun to find appropriately tagged books, that students have read, reviewed, and released, all over the state? I would love to hear your ideas and then share them with others on this list throughout the month.
AMERICAN POLITICS: THEN AND NOW Ever since the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock in 1620, the democratic process has been an integral part in the development and growth of the American political system. From George Washington, who was unanimously elected in 1789 as the nation's first president, to George W. Bush, who became the 43rd president in 2000 after much debate, American politics has seen its share of ups and downs. This month, MarcoPolo is celebrating President's Day with lessons and resources about the people and ideas that shaped America's political history, from colonial times to today. Use the warm-up activities to introduce your students to American politics, then use the links for more lessons and resources. The MarcoGram is available at http://www.marcopolo-education.org/MarcoGrams/Feb2003.html.
News You Can Use
ONLINE SAFETY TOOL KIT Check out the new resources from the Consortium for School Networking to help guide school officials when they talk to parents and other community members about online safety issues. The toolkit components, which can be used either individually or together, include a handbook, a short 10-minute video, a presentation and a flyer, all designed to help school leaders design, promote and conduct events related to online safety.
FROM THE CAPITAL TO THE CLASSROOM A new report from the Center for Education finds that while states remain committed to the new education law and have made significant progress in complying with testing and accountability mandates, they still face formidable challenges over the next few years as new requirements increase and as budget woes potentially constrict federal and state funding for schools. The report identifies six key obstacles that state officials fear may actually hurt improvement efforts. These obstacles include: lack of funding, lack of guidance, lack of flexibility, lack of time, lack of consistency, and lack of accuracy. http://www.cep-dc.org/pubs/nclb_press_release_jan2003.htm
IS THIS SCHOOL A LEARNING ORGANIZATION? TEN WAYS TO TELL A school culture that invites deep and sustained professional learning will have a powerful impact on student achievement. Leaders of schools, like leaders of businesses and hospitals, want their organizations to be flexible and responsive, able to change in accord with changing circumstances. Individuals learn best when the content is meaningful to them and they have opportunities for social interaction and the environment supports the learning. That idea applies to organizations as well. In this excerpt, Ron Brandt describes 10 ways to tell whether your school is a true learning organization. http://www.nsdc.org/library/jsd/brandt241.html
TURNING SCHOOLS INTO PROFIT CENTERS Beware former corporate executives who take control of public schools. Under the corporate model of education, schools are businesses and kids are "products," as former Chrysler Chairman Lee Iococca once called schoolchildren when speaking to a group of educators. "Your product needs a lot of work, and in the end it's your job," he said. According to Peter Sacks, children in this corporate vision of public education are to be measured, sorted, and processed on the basis of standardized-test results. When test scores, and test scores alone, become the coin of the realm, the "market value" of individual schools themselves is simply and unquestionably indicated by those test scores, as any real estate agent will gladly tell you. http://www.edweek.org/ew/ewstory.cfm?slug=16sacks.h22
BOOK DISCUSSION GUIDES - READY-MADE IN NOVELIST Book discussion groups provide excellent opportunities for readers to share and deepen their experience of a book. The group's leader is faced with the daunting task of making sure that the discussion gets started, keeps going and is engaging. To support book discussion group leaders, NoveList (available through the Alabama Virtual Library) offers Book Discussion Guides for novels at the Adult and Young Adult levels. As of January 1, 2003, there are 135 guides for Adult level books and 16 guides for YA level books. NoveList's Book Discussion Guides provide a brief author biography, a summary of the book, a list of questions and answers to help prompt discussion, and a short list of suggested further reading.
HINTS FOR PRINTS Digital cameras are hot gift items. Once you figure out how to use your digital camera, the next question becomes: how do I share these prints with others? Printing at home is one way to go, but the convenience may be costing you more than you realize. Industry experts estimate that a 4-by-6 print ranges from 50 to 75 cents-a calculation based on the amount of cartridge ink consumed and the price of paper. The high cost, plus the fact that printed photos can fade quickly, may explain why online photo-finishing services, such as Ofoto and Shutterfly, saw business double last year. Andy Wood, CEO of Shutterfly, says that despite the growth, consumer awareness is still a problem. Online photo finishing can actually be easier than printing at home (no scissors needed, and you never run out of paper). The first step is to get online and sign up. You'll be walked through a simple registration process and then instructed to upload your pictures. (Tip: when transferring pictures from camera to PC, use explicit dated names like "0102Isabellabirthday" so you'll remember the image without having to view a thumbnail.) The upload process can be slow, but once that's done you just fill your online shopping cart with the prints you'd like, in any quantity and a variety of sizes. Your photos arrive in the mail in a week or so. The advantages are clear: you get real photos, processed optically on heavy paper like ones from film-and prices keep dropping. Some services let you store pictures on their Web sites; friends can view your pics and order prints of their own. (Newsweek, Jan. 13, 2003). Another consideration: If your school doesn't have a system for posting prints from class field trips, school performances, class activities, etc., consider visiting one of these commercial sites and creating a classroom photo album that allows parents to see pictures of these events.. At Webshots, you can create a private album and determine who views the pictures. Remember: Always the Acceptable Use Policy for your school and always protect the privacy of children. PhotoASA allows your to share pictures with friends and family and allows users to store, view, organize and display uploaded pictures wiith 50MB of space free.
NEW AND NEWSWORTHY@ACCESS SCIENCE A set of AccessScience tutorials (pdf format) is now available for viewing or downloading. The files provide an overview of the site as well as information about site navigation, searching, browsing, using the news archive, and more. They are available through the AVL.