|
EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY NEWS From the New Hampshire Department of Education Office of Educational Technology
|
October 16, 2003 |
|
IN THIS ISSUE • NetDay Speak Up Day • Chocolate Melt Challenge • NHSTE Annual Award Nominations • DTI Course in NH • Charter Schools Information Sessions • E-Rate Filing for 2004 and E-Rate Workshop • New Palm PDA Reviews • International ThinkQuest Competition
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
| |
|
ET News is sent from the Office of Educational Technology at the New Hampshire Department of Education. Please note that, while ET News is forwarding information about technology related products and services, we have not conducted a formal evaluation of such products/services. We encourage you to let us know if you find a particular item of high quality and value to your school. You can find previous issues of ETNews on our web site at www.nheon.org/oet/etnews.
| |
|
====================================== NETDAY SPEAK UP DAY ====================================== http://www.netday.org/speakupday.htm
Wednesday, October 29 is NetDay Speak Up Day! This is an important and widespread effort to reach out to students across the country and to learn how they are using technology both within and outside of school. Their comments will be reviewed, summarized and synthesized by NetDay into a written report that will be submitted for the National Education Technology Plan (NETP) and will be available on line for public discussion. Visit the Speak Up site and sign up your school.
| |
|
====================================== CHOCOLATE MELT CHALLENGE ======================================
The Science-a-thon at TERC has a CHOCOLATE MELT challenge for grades 4-8. For this new challenge... Students in Grades 4-8 doing the Chocolate Melt decide on a container - tin can, cardboard box, plastic bucket, paper bag, or similar object - to use as a solar cooker. Then they consider how to melt a refrigerated standard-size milk chocolate chip that has been placed on the end of a toothpick inside the cooker in as short a time as possible. This includes figuring out how to reshape the container so that the heat from the sun is concentrated on the chocolate chip, deciding what colors and textures to use for lining inside surfaces and insulating the cooker, examining where to put the chocolate chip, and identifying how to point the cooker at the sun.
Reviewing scientific information helps students improve the effectiveness of their cooker designs and make predictions about the ones they think will cook the most rapidly. On Chocolate Melting Day, students collect and record data to share with other students doing the challenge. There will be a small pilot test of The Chocolate Melt in late Fall and TERC is looking for pilot classrooms to assist in refining the challenge. If you would like to be part of the pilot group, contact tara_robillard@terc.edu.
| |
|
====================================== NHSTE ANNUAL AWARD NOMINATIONS ======================================
The NHSTE Board is in search of the best and brightest -- two outstanding members of the New Hampshire K-16 educational community who use and/or promote technology in an exemplary fashion! The deadline for the NHSTE Annual Awards Nominations is Friday November 7. Visit the NHSTE site for all required forms, selection criteria, and general information. The two technology awards are: (1) a classroom teacher using and integrating technology in the curriculum (NHSTE Pat Keyes Technology-Using Educator Award) and (2) a technology leader advancing and embracing technology in her/her schools (NHSTE Technology Impact Award). The awards will be presented at the Christa McAuliffe Technology Conference in December.
| |
|
====================================== DTI COURSE IN NH ======================================
DESIGNING FOR TECHNOLOGY INTEGRATION (DTI) A seven week online course for district leaders
The final DTI course cohort offered by NEIRTEC for the current school year will begin in the winter with a two day face-to-face scheduled for Manchester followed by online learning. Exact dates will be posted next month. There are several people waiting to enroll so please contact course facilitators soon if you’re interested. There are 35 seats and we’d like several of them to be from NH.
What is DTI? A course for district leaders who are looking for ways to integrate technology into their district’s professional development program and for teachers who want to infuse technology into their classrooms and school curriculum. It is built on the concepts of backward design of curriculum (Wiggins and McTighe) and research-based practices. The 7-week course combines online learning with a two-day face-to-face institute. For more information on the DTI course and to register, visit the website at http://neirtec.terc.edu and click on Enroll.
| |
|
====================================== CHARTER SCHOOLS INFO SESSIONS ======================================
Information sessions on Charter Schools take place this month with several national speakers. Visit the Josiah Bartlett Center for Public Policy website for details and to register, or call Lisa at 603-224-4450 or email charterschools@jbartlett.org. The session topics are as follows:
October 17th - Math and Science Based Charter Schools, Highlander Inn in Manchester October 22nd – Arts-Based Charter Schools, NHDOE in Concord October 24th – Virtual Charter Schools, NH Technical Institute in Concord
| |
|
====================================== E-RATE FILING WINDOW OPENS FOR '04 ====================================== http://www.sl.universalservice.org/
The latest e-rate news from the SETDA organization: “The Schools and Libraries Division set November 5 for submitting applicants for E-Rate discounts. Applicants have until Feb. 4 to submit their Form 471 applications for funding year 2004. The FCC will release further clarifications when it publishes its eligible services list for 2004. Applicants can expect rulemaking changes that could affect this year's applications and eligible equipment. Actions by the House Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee, which is looking into waste, fraud and abuse accusations, could also affect the program. Most observers say changes in the program are warranted. State officials have urged the FCC and SLD to improve the procurement requirements in order to strengthen the competitive bidding process. They are also concerned about new educational technology planning requirements, including how they can be completed in advance of the application date and cover all of the products and services requested for E-rate discounts.
The date for earliest 471 filing is Nov 5. The 470 has to be up for a minimum 28 days, which means the 470 would have to be up by Oct 8th to be able to file on Nov 4th.” (If your school is just now filing a Form 470, you can file Form 471 twenty-eight days later and the filing deadline for Form 471 is February 4, 2004.)
If you’re looking for help with your E-Rate forms, consider attending the next E-Rate Workshop facilitated by the Educational Support Center in South Central NH and co-hosted via video conference at the Educational Support Center in the North Country NH (alternate site at Crotched Mountain Foundation).
Where: SERESC, 29 commerce Drive, Bedford, NH 03110 By video conference: Crochet Mountain or NCEF When: November 18th from 9:30 to 11:00 AM
Contact Shayne Kelly to register at 206-6849 or Shayne@seresc.net. Please be sure to indicate which site you will be attending. A general explanation of E-rate as well as a step-by-step explanation will be given on the forms 470 and 471. Time for questions will be available.
| |
|
====================================== NEW PALM PDA REVIEWS ====================================== http://www.pcmag.com/print_article/0,3048,a=108359,00.asp
October 28 issue of PC Magazine has a review of Palm’s newest PDA models. Visit the link above to read more.
| |
|
====================================== INTERNATIONAL ThinkQuest COMPETITION ====================================== Visit http://www.thinkquest.org and http://www.think.com to learn more.
On October 1st, Oracle’s "Help Us Help" Foundation issued a press release about the newest international ThinkQuest competition: “The educational contest is open to students and their teacher-coaches from anywhere in the world. The program promotes collaboration and cross-cultural learning by encouraging students to team with peers in other regions or countries to develop Web sites on educational topics.” As an indication of the level of participation in this global student initiative, 65 teams from 16 countries registered within the first day!!!!
Topics for the new contest cycle include: - medicine - mythology and folklore - natural disasters - nonnative species - space travel and - world economy.
These global competitions will run semi-annually, beginning each autumn and spring, to encourage participation from both northern and southern hemispheres. Student teams have the option of using a "collaboration environment," including email and Web pages, provided within Think.com -- Oracle's free, Web-environment for primary and secondary students. Additionally, participating teams have access to server space that can be used for Web site development.”
The ThinkQuest site also provides links to the winning Web sites from the recent ThinkQuest USA competition as well as details of their trip to ThinkQuest Live @ OracleWorld San Francisco, where the students took part in the industry's largest technology conference and had the opportunity to showcase their Web sites to 20,000 attendees, exhibitors and technology leaders.
| |
|
Regards, Cathy Higgins for the staff at the Office of Educational Technology at the New Hampshire Department of Education Visit us on NH Educators Online at http://nheon.org/oet | |