Joomla...

Doug Stevens (2nerdy.wordpress.com) provided a Joomla workshop today. He suggests the following links to support our work:

1. http://extensions.joomla.org
2. http://joomla24.com - extensions
3. http://www.opensourcenetwork.eu/content/blogcategory/78/775/lang,en/ - Tutorials

1 to 1 Research

As we move forward to determine next steps with the use of mobile computing in Foothills, here's some research to review:

• 1:1 Learning Results - Apple
• ISTE Essential Conditions
  
  http://www.iste.org/Content/NavigationMenu/NETS/ForStudents/2007Standards/NETS-S_2007_Essential_Conditions.pdf
  
• “The Impact of Maine’s One-to-One Laptop Program on Middle School Teachers and Students: Phase One Summary Evidence Research Report #1”
  David L. Silvernail, Dawn M. M. Lane, Maine Education Policy Research Institute, University of Southern Maine, February 2004 online at:
  http://mainegov-images.informe.org/mlte/articles/research/MLTIPhaseOneEvaluationReport2004.pdf
  
• University of Southern Maine reports at:
  http://www.usm.maine.edu/cepare/mlti.htm
  
• Additional Maine Gov’t. Reports at:
  http://www.maine.gov/mlte/resources/research.htm
  
• “Teaching and Learning for Tomorrow: A Learning Technology Plan for Maine’s Future”
  Final Report of the Task Force on the Maine Learning Technology Endowment
  January 2001 Online at: http://mainegov-images.informe.org/mlte/resources/mlterpt.pdf
  
• “First Year Evaluation Report Fullerton School District Laptop Program”
  Dr. Mark Warschauer, Department of Education, University of California, Irvine and Douglas Grimes, Department of Informatics, University of California, Irvine, October 20, 2005
  
  http://www.fsd.k12.ca.us/menus/1to1/evaluation/FSD-laptop-year1-eval.pdf
  
  
• Peace River North (SD 60), British Columbia: Wireless Writing Program (WWP), providing iBooks on a 1:1 basis to all grades 6 and 7 students. … involved 1150 students, and 37 teachers in 17 schools:
  
  http://www.prn.bc.ca/Wireless_Writing_Program.html

Blogging!

Blogging continues to be an area of the web that I see huge potential in learning. Here's some food for thought for those of you interested in blogging.

• How to Grow a Blog: http://www.teachandlearn.ca/blog/2007/10/27/how-to-grow-a-blog/
  Bloggers about schools: http://supportblogging.com/Links+to+School+Bloggers
• Why is Your Pink on the Field? an example of a Gr 6 student blog and some responses
  http://guysread.typepad.com/theblurb/2008/09/post.html
• Good student examples for secondary with good comment responses http://students2oh.org/ and http://students2oh.org/2008/08/31/innovate-or-die/#comments

Smart Boards Shipped Today!

Updates from Learning Technologies - Spring 2008

SMART Board and Senteos Updates

SMART Technologies is currently installing and setting up a new inventory tracking database application. This process has adversely affected districts across the province with the timing of delivery of the units that have been ordered or promised. This includes the Senteos, Airliners and SMART Board awarded at the Digital Denizens Conference. None of the door prizes were available on-site and I am hopeful to get an update from SMART and APEX AVSI soon as we’re as anxious as you are to have them installed in classrooms.

Technology Planning in Foothills School Division

An ongoing process started early this school year has provided the initial framework for a technology plan. Much like the front matter in the new Social Studies Curriculum, this document will provide the background necessary to complete technology planning at the site level. In the coming school year Learning Technologies will be working with the sites designated for evergreening to complete their own school based technology plans following a template that will be provided by late Summer. The digital format for the Learning Technologies plan is under-development, and you will find a draft copy of the planning document posted on this site shortly. The Digital version will be available soon and and a link provided in an update.

Barracuda

Some teachers may not know that once they get past Barracuda, that workstation you have been using is 'open' to the internet for 45 minutes, even if you log out, or restart your computer. Please keep this in mind as you supervise your students.

21st Century Learning OR Today's Student...

Marsha Sinetar states the following as 21st century skills needed by today’s students:
1. creatively adaptive
2. playfully solving problems
3. incubating solutions
4. logically intuitive
5. "unfreakable" and challenged by problems
6. enjoying ordering chaos
7. visionary
8. transcending or resolving paradox
9. whole-seeing

Multiple Touch Technologies

Lori I. shares this tidbit she discovered on the net...

http://video.stumbleupon.com/#p=mqajz30dh5

James

Leading for Today's Learners

Sharon Friesen led a session for administrators across the province. Some of the highlights includes data from a number of studies.

1) ATA Study on Listening to Students
2) NELS Study
3) Five Standards of Authentic Instruction
4) e-Mints
5) Peer Coaching in Infusion of Technology
6) Student Engagement at School - Willms

One engaging teacher using inquiry processes and authentic intellectual work will provide a foundation for a child throughout their schooling. There are many models of inquiry including the one that Galileo Educational Network uses. Foothills has developed a living version that will include exemplars and explanations as the fit with the infusion of technology within Foothills School Division. It's under construction.

Pieces that Principals see as important wil be posted on Galileo Education Networks's site.

New on the Horizon

Recently I had conversations with some parents about technology and their kids. One of the interesting things they focused on was text books. I'm not sure if you've had a chance to look at Amazon's new wireless reading device called Kindle, but it's a step in the right direction. Students could very well have multimedia access to their books in a wireless environment today.

What's that hold for the future as we prepare each of our schools to be fully wireless by the end of this school year? We have some questions to answer about security and rogue access and bandwidth – but we'll have answers. I am already testing my I-Pod Touch in our environment to determine feasibility of these types of devices connecting to our network. They're only $349.00 this year – by next year we'll see that price drop considerably and then what? Blue tooth keyboards and these devices will work adequately for the big three (Internet, e-mail and word-processing).

Go from there!

James

Learn Alberta

For those of you that are Albertan Educators, you may want to take another look at the learnalberta.ca website. They've produced and licensed some new learning objects specifically for the sciences. Physics, Biology etc. On top of that, there are some great interactive "Gizmos" worth looking at.

Be sure to access the Gizmos by logging into LearnAlberta.ca and using the search tool or drilling in through the curriculum links. Going directly to the ExploreLearning Website will not work.