ALABAMA SUPERCOMPUTER AUTHORITY

Alabama Supercomputer Authority recently awarded a 6-year contract for professional services to Computer Sciences Corporation (CSC). “We look forward to CSC’s continued technical support for our clients,” said Wayne Whitmore, Chief Operating Officer with ASA. The new contract became effective July 1, 2004 and will provide enhancements in network infrastructure and high performance computing to ASA’s clients.

READING ABOUT EDUCATION AND TECHNOLOGY

Early Connections: Technology in Early Childhood Education includes print and web-based resources that speak directly to educators about connecting technology with the way young children learn. Research-based information addresses topics about:

Observations, Reflections, and Research of a Laptop Classroom Early research supports the use of one to one computing. This study found that daily use of laptops greatly increased student confidence and technical abilities and improved their learning. http://www.techlearning.com/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=22101400


EDUCATION AND THE INTERNET

PBS TeacherSource provides more than 4,500 free teacher's guides, lesson plans (that are linked to Alabama's Courses of Study), and student activities. You will also find details on your local PBS station's educational services and TV schedules. You can sign up to receive a free weekly e-mail newsletter with up-to-the-minute PBS TV and Web content previews. For additional information, visit http://www.pbs.org/teachersource.

The Global Schoolhouse at GlobalSchoolNet.org provides meaningful educational opportunities to use the Internet for teaching and learning. It is a virtual meeting place where teachers, students and parents can collaborate, interact, develop, publish and discover resources. http://www.globalschoolnet.org

Friendship Through Education is a consortium of organizations that creates opportunities for the youth of the world to interact both inside and outside the classroom in order to build a Culture of Peace. The projects and activities offered by Friendship Through Education member organizations increase global and cultural awareness while supporting skills in academic subjects. http://www.friendshipthrougheducation.org

EduHound has compiled a list of resources on classroom management. As you prepare for the coming school year, take some time to explore these resources:

Consistency Management & Cooperative Discipline (CMCD)
The CMCD program is designed to give you and the faculty a plan to improve the quality of instruction and the learning environment, to produce a cooperative, caring, and safe place for children and educators to work and learn.
http://www.coe.uh.edu/cmcd/

Managing Your Classroom
Your classroom climate has a powerful effect on how well your students learn. Striking a balance between freedom and discipline is a skill that can make all the difference between a well-run classroom and classroom chaos.
http://www.nea.org/helpfrom/growing/works4me/manage/

Discipline by Design
Features techniques for classroom control and discipline, which include "11 Techniques for Better Classroom Discipline."
http://www.honorlevel.com

Intervention Central
Offers free tools and resources to help school staff and parents promote positive classroom behaviors and foster effective learning for all children and youth. Review academic and behavioral intervention strategies, download publications on effective teaching practices, and use tools that streamline classroom assessment and intervention. http://www.interventioncentral.org

NEWS YOU CAN USE

CLASSROOMS@WORK This resource-rich web site takes you on a virtual field trip to real classrooms where teachers engage students in technology-rich learning projects at four grade levels. Teachers explain how they meet curriculum standards and engage and assess students in project-based units on which they work cooperatively with teammates. The site contains materials teachers and students developed for the projects, teachers' comments on the rationale and careful planning behind projects and student work samples. Learn from their practical experience at http://www.netc.org/classrooms@work.

Help Delete Online Predators contains several useful tools that parents, teachers, and students can use to foster online safety. In 2004, the Center for Missing and Exploited Children partnered with the Ad Council to develop a campaign that alerts families about online sex exploitation. Do you know how to talk to your children about this subject? Do you know the lingo used in Instant Messenger and chat rooms? If not, visit this site for a comprehensive list of commonly used acronyms. While there, take the Internet Safety Quiz for Adults and then encourage your child to take the Internet Safety Quiz for Kids. http://www.missingkids.com/adcouncil/cpgn.html

NETS for Students Achievement Summary Rubric has been developed to define four achievement levels in relation to NETS standards and to assist state and school-district leaders in their efforts to measure and monitor the development of student technology literacy throughout the elementary and secondary grades. Your input on the first draft of the rubric is requested:

Step 1: Review the PDF version of the NETS for Students Achievement Summary Rubric. You may also wish to review the NETS for Students standards, performance indicators, and performance profiles at http://cnets.iste.org/students.

Step 2: When you have reviewed the rubric, please provide your feedback as well as some background information about yourself. The feedback form is rather detailed in order to provide an opportunity for you to share all of your comments, questions, and concerns. Please plan to spend approximately 20 to 30 minutes to complete the form.

The International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE®), presenter of NECC, has partnered with Multimedia Instructional Network Delivery System (MINDS) to provide the opportunity to view on-demand Web casts of the conference's keynote addresses and selected sessions. http://necc2004.minds.tv/