Quest Atlantis

Do you want a new way to teach lessons while utilizing technology? Then you should take time to check out Quest Atlantis. Quest Atlantis was developed by the Center for Research on Learning & Technology at Indiana University. The program takes students on quests through four different worlds: Ecology World, Culture World, Healthy World and Unity World. Each world comes complete with a teacher unit guide that is attached to McREL learning standards. Each unit has several lessons that have students work through various quests, classroom discussions and real world observations. Goals and benchmarking is also laid out at the beginning of each unit so that teachers and students know expectations and know if the expectations were met at the end of each unit. The various worlds deal with contemporary issues for example in Ecology World students focus on the interdependent relationship between people, plants and animals. Current global issues are addressed and students are asked to hypothesize and come up with possible solutions to problems facing the world today. With high quality graphics and varying worlds I believe that Quest Atlantis could be a great tool to engage students in learning with technology.

Wikis in the Workplace

Wikis can be used in many ways. For example, you might want to read about how some innovative teachers are using wikis in the classroom. Wikis can also be used to quickly accomplish administrative type duties. Here at TIE, most of the staff use wikis to post recent work and presentations, so that our constituents can easily find our handouts and other information they may need. Sometimes when we present, we will have more people than we expected and rather than mailing or emailing our handouts when we return to our office, we can just give them our wiki address and they can get the information they need without waiting for us.

A few of us TIE staff members on the data team use an internal wiki space that we keep updated for team members to know which of the districts' charts and lists still need finished. It helps the team stay organized even though we are often on travel and don't have time to track each other down to talk about what pieces of work are finished.

Through the Power UP project, (Title IID) I have been given the opportunity to work with teachers to effectively integrate technology into their teaching. We use a wiki space to post all the information participants need. We have recorded sessions which are posted, in case a participant misses the session. We post information about effective technology integration, different "power sources", or tools that can be used to integrate, and the teachers will be using the wiki space to post their technology integrated units, so they can be shared, not only with us and each other, but with any teacher, any time, any place. Visit our Power up site, all created on a wiki to learn more.

Other examples of how wikis can be used:
- To keep track of schedules, lunches, calendars, other types of information.
-To keep track of changes in events
-To use with daily announcements (disctrict or school level)

Is your school a wiki user?

Time to Think

How many times when implementing a policy, practice, or other strategy have you heard this, "We just don't have enough time." Well, here's something worth considering from an article on Knowledge Sharing:

"The concept of 'slack' refers to the availability of resources that go beyond the requirement for regular activities," notes Haas. "Slack time is the amount of time and attention the team members can commit to the project beyond the minimum required." Studies have found that "time famine" -- or a feeling of having too much to do and not enough time in which to do it -- can reduce team productivity.
Teams with insufficient slack time may download large quantities of documents from a database without checking their quality, skim the papers on their desk superficially -- missing important information -- or fail to solicit sufficiently diverse views by only consulting close colleagues who will return their phone calls promptly. These shortcuts can reduce the benefits of the knowledge inputs they obtain. In contrast, Haas points out, "slack time increases processing capability because team members have more time and attention available to allocate to knowledge-related as well as other task activities."

The key? Leaders (including teachers) often need to act as filters, determining which concepts are the most crtical for understanding and then providing the time for focused processing of those concepts. All too often we fall into the shotgun approach--throw all the research at them and hope some of it hits the target--or the coverage approach--we have to touch on every single detail about this topic, and the critical understandings are lost in the data stream.

New and Improved Partnership for 21st Century Skills

The Partnership for 21st Century Skills has revised their framework and added new documents to their website. I'm interested in your comments on these new documents:

• Route 21, an extensive database on 21st century skills-related standards, assessments, curriculum, professional development and learning environments.
• U.S. Students Need 21st Century Skills to Compete in a Global Economy, the results of a survey in which Americans express strong support for teaching more than basic skills.
• Framework for 21st Century Learning, a revised, 3-dimensional graphic.

http://www.21stcenturyskills.org/

CASTLE for Technology Leadership

CASTLE claims to be the nation's only center dedicated to the technology needs of school administrators. Their website offers programs and resources focused on preparing technology-savvy school administrators. Although TIE has provided the leadership for several technology leadership initiatives administrators continue to request additional training and support, especially those in Classroom Connections pilot schools. The CASTLE website is not specific to one to one initiatives but administrators may find value in the Principal Blogging Project, the DDDM(data driven decisonmaking) Resources, PTLA(principal technology leadership assessment, or CASTLE conversations. What do you think?

http://www.schooltechleadership.org/index/

Systems Change Conference Keynote: Neil Howe

Neil Howe, author on Generations and Millennials, provided a great keynote to kick off the Systems Change Conference in Chamberlain today. He spent some time talking the shifting changes of recent generations, but ended with some specifics for educators on dealing with millennials and GenX parents:

• Millennials believe people their age can make positive impact on community. Leverage individual goodwill among parents and families--get "helicopter moms" on your side. Channel their energy, not straight-arm them (compared to Boomers, GenXer parents are more personally attached, protective, and directive of their children--more demanding as school consumers, seeking data and return-on-investment).
• Develop more structured communities that help prevent students from falling through the cracks
• This group of students want to team. They use the internet to "collectivize." Mobilize students as groups and teach team skills. Create strong service links to community. Focus on school engagement and connectedness; encourage students to lead and organize.
• Replace realism with optimism--have students make personal progress plans. Integrate college-ready curriculum with school to work applied learning. Use contextual and project-based environments.
• Emphasize a core or essential learning curriculum that every student is expected to master. Make
  sure that every task is achievable with directed effort--retool learning plans for continuous monitoring, assessment, and redirection.
• Structure all learning around mastery goals by designing the curriculum to emphasize alignment everywhere. Closely articulate secondary work with post secondary.
• Keep every student challenged and directed; emphasize achievement over effort or aptitude. Also, encourage teachers themselves to set an example of professional achievement and lifelong learning.
• Integrate cutting edge networked technology--build ICT skills into the curriculum.
  

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Taking schools to the next level of improvement

Noted researcher and scholar Richard Elmore of Harvard University suggests that we may need to help schools work smarter, not harder, in their school improvement efforts. Specifically, he suggests that when schools plateau in student achievement, redoubling effort and adding new strategies may not be as effective as allowing time for "consolidation" or refinement of existing teacher knowledge and skills. For the complete article:

http://www.nga.org/cda/files/0803KNOWING.pdf

Indian Ed for All

November 2007
A few people have asked me in the short time I've been here about Montana's
Indian Education for All. I thought steering our staff to Montana's OPI site would give insight to their burning questions about Indian Ed for All.

In 1999, Montana legislators passed HB 528 "Indian Ed for All" Recognition of American Indian cultural heritage and to be committed in its educational goals to the preservation of their cultural heritage and education.

Every educational agency and all educational personnel will work cooperatively with Montana tribes or those tribes that are in close proximity, when providing instruction or when implementing an educational goal or adopting a rule related to the education of each Montana citizen, to include information specific to the cultural heritage and contemporary contributions of American Indians, with particular emphasis on Montana Indian tribal groups and governments.

It is also the intent of this part, predicated on the belief that all school personnel should have an understanding and awareness of Indian tribes to help them relate effectively with Indian students and parents, that educational personnel provide means by which school personnel will gain an understanding of and appreciation for the American Indian people.

Documentation related to Indian Education for All can be found at the OPI website at:http://www.opi.state.mt.us/IndianEd/EdforAll.html

Materials were put together for the Fort Peck Reservation and Rocky Boys Reservations that teachers were able to incorporate into their classrooms. It was a "canned lesson plan" that was centered around the calendar. The plan was that each month would feature a different theme that was selected by a local committee. To learn more about the curriculum created see http://www.fullcirclecm.org/index.php.

This is enough for now, I encourage you to visit Montana's Office of Public Instruction's website listed above. It's another resource you can add to your del.ici.us site.

Treasure Hunt:
What is the definition of American Indian?
Who was one of the featured calendar girls in the Full Circle curriculum?
What is sovereignty?
How many sovereign nations exist in Montana today?

Please reflect on your observations!

Formative assessment update

Formative assessment provides feedback to improve the quality of students’ work according to many researchers. A few necessary key attributes include : it should be corrective in nature, not merely stating that the student’s answer is either right or wrong; it should be prompt – as close to the time of the assignment as possible; it should be specific to the learning criteria established by the teacher, i.e. targets springing from standards and benchmarks; it should be of high quality; it should occur frequently. The Concept of Formative Assessment is clearly and succinctly described in an article by Carol Boston in the ERIC Clearinghouse on Assessment and Evaluation which can be found at http://pareonline.net/getvn.asp?v=8&n=9 There is a brief bibliography included in the article Dr. Boston references a toolkit that may be helpful to administrators addressing assessment issues in their schools. The toolkit is available from the Northwest Regional Education Lab at a very small cost. http://www.nwrel.org/assessment/toolkit98.asp

Forgetful? Email junkie? This might help!

There is a service online called jott where you can call their number from anywhere and leave a message for yourself, or for a group of your friends or coworkers, and it will translate your voice message into text and email you or your group. So if you've ever found yourself needing to remember vital information, but without a pen handy, just use your trusty cell phone to send yourself an email instead! There are also some very neat options for blogging from your cell (I did this the old fashioned way by typing it in) or using your cell to Twitter. The online service is free, but phone charges will vary by your agreement.

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20th Century Left Behind

The cover story for October's eSchool news focused on the upcoming reauthorization of NCLB and the possibility that 21st century learning will be given greater emphasis. The current law's focus on technology in the form of Title IID funding, also know as the Enhancing Education Through Technology (EETT or E2T2) block grant has been on the chopping block on recent years. The current draft of the new NCLB legislation seeks to redirect this trend by updating how this funding is allocated. As South Dakota is a new partner with the 21st Century Learning Partnership, which is working with netTrekker to promote 21st Century Learning resources, we would appear to be well positioned to meet and benefit from these possible changes. Read the article for more information on this and other NCLB updates.

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Should schools block social networks/communication tools or utlize them?

TechnicallySpeaking@TIE: Should schools block social networks/communication tools or utlize them?

Click on the link directly above to read this blog from TIE's Tech blog.

Is User Education Pointless?

TechnicallySpeaking@TIE: Is User Education Pointless?

Please click on the link directly above to view this blog posted on Technically Speaking@TIE.

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eSchool News Describes New NCLB Legislation

eSchool News online - House draft would overhaul ed-tech funding

Educational technology advocacy groups are applauding the release of another House proposal to renew the federal No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) that would direct funds toward training teachers in the use of technology and would help schools with low-income students buy computers and software, among other measures...The measure seeks to improve the current law's Title II, Part D, "Enhancing Education Through Technology" (EETT) block-grant program, which is the largest single source of federal funding for school technology, by improving support for disadvantaged schools and ensuring that teachers are equipped to use technology effectively. It focuses a larger percentage of funds on professional development, prioritizes funding for schools in need of improvement, and requires states to assess whether students have achieved technological literacy by the eighth grade.

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21st Century Skills: What administrators need to know

Be sure to check out this upcoming TIE workshop provided free to member schools. The registration deadline for 21st Century Skills: What administrators need to know is September 24th. Check out the workshop page to register for this online course.

The Executive Wiki from Technology & Learning

David Warlick highlights ways wikis can be administrators' best friend through:

• Community Collaboration

• Democratizing Learning

• Up-to-Date Content

• Spreading the Word
  

Techlearning > > The Executive Wiki > June 15, 2007

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Tech Integration is Top Down

Scott McLeod, author of the blog Dangerously Irrelevant, makes this statement in his interview with ESchoolNews,

"Administrators are the ones that have the power to facilitate change. They
control the power of the budget. They assign personnel. They create vision. And yet
we’re not doing a lot of those things in the area of technology, because our
leadership doesn’t know how to be effective leaders in the area of
technology. They might be skilled leaders in other areas of education. But they’re
struggling when it comes to the tech stuff."

Dr. McLeod was recently named a Leader in Learning by the cable industry for his work in creating the CASTLE project for school technology leadership. This project provides resources such as online workshops and blogs targeted toward school leaders in order to help them promote effectively technology integration in their districts and schools.

You may also remember Scott from his work with Karl Fisch on the video "Did you know" as highlighted by Will Richardson at the TIE conference. The message is clear--leaders at all levels need to be thinking about technology in schools as means of preparing students for the 21st Century.

NECC 2007 - Keynote

I highly recommend you take a moment to read about the NECC keynote which was extremely thought provoking. eSchoolNews offers both a written description and video segments:

Futurist Andrew Zolli urged educators to foster their students'
creativity. He also outlined the key trends that are shaping
education's future--including the need to redefine "intelligence."

eSchoolNews Keynote Description

eSchool News Keynote Video clips of Keynote

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NECC 2007 - Assessing Technology Skills: NETS

Assessing Students' and Teachers' Technology Skills: NETS as Benchmarks

Please click the link directly above to read this entry in the TIE Tech blog...

NECC 2007 - Visual Learning: An Accelerant

Visual Learning: An Accelerant

Please click on the link directly above to read this entry in TIE's Teach blog...