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ALABAMA SUPERCOMPUTER AUTHORITY

The Alabama Supercomputer Authority recognizes that students need to be taught an array of 21st Century Literacy skills beyond reading, writing and math to be successful in an information century. Over the past six months, ASA has submitted ideas, information and editorial comments on this subject to the Partnership for 21st Century Skills. In July, the Partnership released its Learning for the 21st Century Report that examines the means for improving education in the 21st century. The Report contains a detailed definition of 21st century skills, a vision for learning in the 21st century, and tools to aid communities in its implementation. The MILE Guide for 21st Century Skills serves as a tool for educators and administrators to measure the progress of their schools in defining, teaching and assessing 21st Century Skills. This tool will help schools integrate 21st Century Skills with basic skills resulting in a stronger, more effective curriculum. ASA is honored to have been a part of this project.

READING ABOUT EDUCATION AND TECHNOLOGY

TECHNOLOGY COUNTS 2003 From Education Week, this report provides educators with a basis for understanding computer-based testing and the implications for its use in education as well as the impact of the No Child Left Behind law on the issue. Technology Counts 2003 also examines the benefits and drawbacks of essay-grading software, an analysis of the growing business of computer-based testing, and a look at national trends in educational technology.

"E-RATE: A VISION OF OPPORTUNITY AND INNOVATION" is a new report from the Education and Library Networks Coalition (EdLINC) that documents how the E-Rate has helped transform schools and libraries into 21st century institutions. It also underlines how essential E-Rate discounts are in providing much needed support in the face of today's tough economy. The report is based on survey responses from more than 800 E-Rate recipients, supplemented by 90 in-depth interviews that form the basis for the 39 community succss profiles featured in the report.

enGaugeŽ 21st Century Skills for 21st Century Learners: Literacy in the Digital Age Free! Click on the title and place your order online. In order to be successful workers in the Digital Age, students must learn 21st century skills. enGauge 21st Century Skills: Literacy in the Digital Age is an essential step towards Digital Age readiness. This informational, 85-page booklet was created to help define and understand current thinking about what skills students will need to compete in the 21st century. Designed with policy makers, administrators, and technology coordinators in mind, this is a helpful resource for anyone interested in learning more about 21st century skills.

EDUCATION AND THE INTERNET

MathTools offers hundreds of online tools, lesson plans, and learning activities for teaching and learning math. Currently, there are resources for Math 2, Math 7, Geometry, Algebra, Pre-Calculus, and Calculus ("open" with preliminary resources). Suzanne Alejandre, Educational Resource and Service Developer of the Math Forum, reports that "our goal for the summer is to open the rest of the courses with some resources and then work through the year to continue cataloging." Tools are offered for studying estimation, fractions, factors, patterns, percents, functions, fractals, tessellations, platonic solids, area, geometric shapes, probability, and other topics. Tools include the tortoise and the hare race, traffic jam applet, whole number cruncher, maze game, slope slider, Pythagorean explorer, simulated coin toss data, rabbits and wolves, chaos game, and more. Math problems that particular tools can be used to solve are provided, along with stories of how teachers have used the tools in the classroom. Online discussion areas are offered for each tool and lesson, as well as for the development of tools and research.

GET YOUR OWN STAR CHART The CEO Forum's Interactive School Technology and Readiness (STaR) Chart is a self-assessment tool designed to provide schools with the information they need to better integrate technology into their educational process. Complete an online, multiple-choice questionnaire and you will be provided with instant feedback on how well your school is doing in this process. The Star Chart identifies and defines four school profiles ranging from the "Early Tech" school with little or no technology to the "Target Tech" school that provides a model for the integration and innovative use of education technology. The Star Chart is not intended to be a measure of any particular school's technology and readiness, but rather to serve as a benchmark against which every school can assess and track its own progress.

TALON is a database of Internet sites that support the goal of integrating technology into the K-12 curriculum. The annotated resources may be viewed by topic or you may search the database by keyword. TALON is a project of the SouthCentral RTEC.

Alcatraz Island is home to one of the world's most infamous prisons. >From the 1930s to 1960s, Alcatraz was the premier maximum security prison, housing inmates such as Al Capone and George "Machine Gun" Kelly. Before the prison was created, the island was home to American Indians. Today, it is one of San Francisco's most prominent tourist attractions.

The Great American Landmarks Adventure presents 43 drawings and descriptions of national historical landmarks. Learn about the houses of the past, the Empire State Building, Gateway Arch of St. Louis, U.S. Capitol, Brooklyn Bridge, Mark Twain house, and others.

Learn About Chemicals Around Your House helps students answer questions about pesticides and toxic chemicals used around the house. It explains how to read labels and what to do in case of an accident. An online "home tour" invites students to identify pesticides and toxic substances in a typical kitchen, garage, laundry room, bathroom, and bedroom.

Van Gogh's Van Gogh features nine paintings, a history, and a chronology of the life of this ingenious Dutch painter. Van Gogh was 27 years old when he decided to become an artist after unsuccessful attempts at being an art dealer, a teacher, and a clergyman. He taught himself mostly by studying the prints and reproductions he collected. The paintings he produced before his death at age 37 set the direction for many of the expressionist tendencies in 20th century art.

Dropping in a Microgravity Environment is a competition that invites teams of students to propose, design, and build a science experiment to be performed in a microgravity drop tower facility. Representatives from selected teams will attend an expenses-paid DIME Drop Days in April 2004 at NASA Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, Ohio. The website offers details about the competition, summaries of past competitions, and archived webcasts of team activities from previous competitions. Lesson ideas on microgravity are also provided. The due date for 2003-4 proposals is November 1, 2003.

If your children spend time on the Internet, don't worry. A new study found that spending time on the Internet does not interfere with their socialization or psychological adjustment. Plus, it increases their grade point averages and standardized test scores. Researchers from Michigan State University studied low-income kids on the Internet and found that the Web makes them read more and helps their grade point averages and performances on standardized tests. The reason, says Michigan State psychology professor Linda Jackson, is simple. "Spending time online means spending time reading," she said. "When you're on the Web, you have to read a lot of text." The researchers also found no evidence that Internet use reduced social contacts or communications with others.

NEWS YOU CAN USE

NETS for Teachers - Standard I(B): "Teachers demonstrate continual growth in technology knowledge and skills to stay abreast of current and emerging technologies." Related Resource Sites:

About. . . The Human Internet: Computing and Technology
This is an incredibly rich site with information categorized into hundreds of subtopics.
CNET.com
CNET Networks, Inc. is a leading source of information and services for buyers, sellers and suppliers of technology. As a top 10 Internet company with established websites throughout the United States, Europe and Asia, CNET Networks provides its award-winning content via the Web, wireless devices, broadband, radio and print.
Search Engine Watch
While this is definitely more specialized than the other sites, this is one topic of importance for everyone using the Internet.
ZDNet
ZDNet operates a worldwide network of websites that offer content, services, and commerce opportunities that enable IT professionals and business influencers to gain an edge in business.

RED ROVER GOES TO MARS To help students gain a better understanding of life in space, a Lego astrobot, with a little help from friends on earth, is maintaining a blog of life on the latest Mars Rover mission. NASA and the Planetary Society created the astrobots as mascots for the mission.

DisneyHand American Teacher Awards honor creativity in teaching. Beginning Aug. 15, to nominate a teacher for this award, call 1-877-282-8322 or click on the highlighted link at the beginning of this paragraph.