THE Journal — Professional Development
NSTA Teacher Site Bolstered by $3 Million Grant
The National Science Teachers Association this week announced that it's received a two-year, $3 million grant from the GE Foundation to support the NSTA Learning Center.
(5/14/2008)
Pearson 'Academies' Bring Online Professional Development to Smaller Districts
Pearson this week launched a new online teacher professional development service. Dubbed Pearson Professional Growth Academies, the service is designed to bring instructional content from accredited universities to smaller districts by providing courses that don't require minimum enrollment.
(5/9/2008)
TeachersFirst Brings Web 2.0 Tools to Educators
Non-profit TeachersFirst has partnered with Web technology provider TRintuition to launch the Building Learners Project, a service that allows educators to develop online collaborative learning projects using Web 2.0 technologies.
(5/5/2008)
Blackboard Sets BbWorld '08 Agenda
Blackboard Thursday announced details for its upcoming BbWorld '08 conference, which will be held July 15 through 17 in Las Vegas. The show will feature about 140 sessions covering education technology strategies and issues, as well as keynote addresses from Apple Co-Founder Steve Wozniak (largely credited for inventing the first practical personal computer) and U Miami President Donna Shalala.
(5/2/2008)
21st Century Teaching and Learning: Assessing New Knowledge
As technology continues to change and affect how students think and process information, instructors must realize that there is an opportunity now to capture and assess in ways not formerly possible. Research continues to enforce the importance of learning as a process, student engagement, and learning outcomes in the process of learning. Technology does not change this reality, but it can provide new ways to evaluate learning.
(5/1/2008)
Pennsylvania Rolls Out Interactive Technologies to 231 Districts
Technology provider CDW Government reported this week that it's completed implementation of technology programs for some 231 school districts across Pennsylvania as part of the state's Classrooms for the Future program. As part of the initiative, nearly 82,000 laptops and more than 4,000 interactive whiteboards have been deployed in 257 schools over the last two years.
(5/1/2008)
Colorado Adopts Tuition Reimbursement for Professional Development
To provide more professional development opportunities for teachers and paraprofessionals, and to assist them in achieving highly qualified status, the Colorado Department of Education, Office of Standards and Support, has teamed up with PBS TeacherLine to offer online courses to educators in the state.
(4/24/2008)
21st Century Teaching and Learning, Part 1
Cognitive psychologists have told us for some time that people process information differently and that meditative and transmittive technologies have affected thinking and perception, which in turn has affected learning. Therefore, instructors have had to become instructional designers conscious of how technology works and what it can offer to the teaching and learning process. Current mobile technology challenges that design even further as it demands a totally different approach to instructional design and also teaching methodology. It requires a fluidity never before seen and new skills from both teacher and student. In fact, I would argue that while we focus on the skills needed for students in the 21st century, we must discuss more and learn more about the skills required of teachers in the 21st century.
(4/24/2008)
Consulting Firm Launches Training To Show Educators How To Defuse Hostility
Anzen, an Alexandria, VA company that provides personal security training for public and corporate organizations, announced a new program to address safety in educational institutions. Called USA Safe Schools, the initiative provides schools with tools and training to reduce hostile threats to teachers and students.
(4/8/2008)
Technology Immersion Turns Around Texas Middle School
Take a Title I urban school with fewer than 50 computers for some 850 students and a staff that wasn't strong in technology. Add an ambitious plan to roll out a new technology program that gave a laptop to every teacher and student. Sound like a recipe for problems? Actually, it wasn't.
(3/20/2008)
Blackboard Debuts Educator Central Professional Development System
Blackboard has launched Educator Central, a new solution for K-12 teacher professional development. It's a hosted system for building education communities and managing professional development programs, as well as delivering and evaluating these programs.
(3/18/2008)
PBS Launches Professional Development for PreK Literacy
PBS Teacherline and PBS Kids have combined forces to launch a new preschool literacy professional development program. Dubbed "Raising Readers: Preparing Preschoolers for Success," the program includes one asynchronous online course, available now, with two more courses slated to roll out later in the year.
(3/4/2008)
Brief: Teacher Forum Spotlights Classroom Technologies
Audio-visual tech provider AVerMedia Technologies this week launched a new forum for educators focusing specifically on classroom technologies. The site, called Teacher Forum, includes general teacher resources, discussions, and links to promotions and events.
(2/28/2008)
South Carolina Implements Web-Based Training for Teachers, Students
The South Carolina Department of Education, through its Office of eLearning, has partnered with Atomic Learning to deploy a Web-based instruction system for teacher training and online instruction for students. Through the partnership, Atomic will deliver training in various software applications, along with lesson plans and other technology-based support systems.
(2/25/2008)
North Dakota To Roll Out Special Ed Management System
The North Dakota Department of Public Instruction (NDDPI) has signed on with Maximus for a $1 million state-wide implementation of TIENET, a special education case management system.
(2/22/2008)
CPS Renews SchoolNet for Instructional Management
The Chicago Public School system has renewed its contract with Schoolnet, according to information released by the company this week. Schoolnet provides data, assessment, and curriculum management services and technologies through its Schoolnet Instructional Management Solution. The new deal renews Schoolnet's contract as the provider of the district's curriculum and instructional management system for three more years.
(2/13/2008)
HP, Microsoft Debut 'Teacher Experience Exchange'
HP and Microsoft are launching a new online center targeted specifically toward K-12 teachers in schools that have standardized on the Windows platform. Dubbed the "Teacher Experience Exchange," the service is designed to provide forums for discussion and sharing, as well as content for helping teachers prepare for using technology in instruction.
(2/1/2008)
Teachscape Expands Professional Development for Instructional Leaders
Professional development provider Teachscape has launched a new "Adolescent Literacy" program and also launched its new Instructional Decision Making and Planning Institute, a service focusing on developing approaches for instructional leaders to enhance student learning. Both announcements were made last week at the FETC 2008 conference in Florida.
(1/31/2008)
Holt Launches Teacher One Stop
Holt McDougal has launched a new planning resource called Teacher One Stop, similar to Holt's One Stop Planner, offering documents, tools, and multimedia designed for curriculum management on DVD. The launch was announced last week during the FETC 2008 conference in Florida.
(1/29/2008)
Brief: Sally Ride To Keynote TCEA
Sally Ride will deliver the opening keynote address at the annual convention of the Texas Computer Education Association (TCEA) next week. Ride, a former astronaut and physics professor and current president and CEO of Sally Ride Science, will tackle ongoing issues in K-12 STEM education, including ways in which teachers can encourage students to pursue science in their studies and choice of careers.
(1/29/2008)
FETC 2008: It's All About Community
Education technology took center stage in Florida last week as teachers, administrators and district technology experts gathered at FETC 2008 in Orlando. Podcasting, digital collaboration and Web 2.0 dominated much of the discussion, but security, new and emerging technologies, and environmental education were also major themes.
(1/28/2008)
Tips for Using Chat as an Instructional Tool
Chat software (text or media-based) provides an excellent tool in supporting academic dialog (exchange), critical thinking, and knowledge building. The immediacy of the technology provides students with a direct connection with the instructor as well as other students. While chat software is usually used for "chatting," and, therefore, it has a relaxed and colloquial protocol, with a little thought and planning, it can also be used well to support instruction.
(1/16/2008)
K-12 Online Teaching Endorsements: Are They Needed?
According to the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (2007), "Research shows that the single most important school-related factor in raising student achievement is the quality of the teacher in the classroom. Today, in the era of high standards and increased accountability, boosting teacher quality is more crucial than ever before" (p. 4). The nature of the 21st-century classroom is rapidly changing. Online education in K-12, also called virtual schooling, is growing at about 30 percent annually (North American Council for Online Learning [NACOL], 2007). With this rise comes an increase in demand for experienced teachers to teach online, which adds another dimension to this issue of teacher quality.
(1/10/2008)
Verizon Awards West Virginia Schools $48,000 for Online Resources
The Verizon Foundation has awarded $48,000 to the West Virginia Department of Education. The grant will be used to provide train teachers in the use of Verizon's Thinkfinity and to raise awareness of the online portal.
(11/27/2007)
WiFi Bolsters Alabama District's 1:1 Tablet PC Program
Auburn City Schools in Alabama has found that a "no strings attached" approach to classroom networking has let new approaches to instruction take flight. The district has deployed a WiFi network to more than 1,000 tablet PC-equipped students and teachers at its junior high and high schools as part of a 21st Century Learning Initiative.
(11/26/2007)
