Technology and Culture

On
Advancing Student Achievement Through Technology
Computer-Using Educators, Inc.
Technology
and Culture
• CUE & A with Representative George Miller
• Working with Wikis
• The Myth of the Digital Native
• Technology—the Worldwide Door to Opportunity?
Fall 2007 | Vol. 29 | No. 3
Fall 2007 | Vol. 29 | No. 2
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Fall 2007 OnCUE
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mission
Contents
FA L L 2 0 0 7
Bits and Bytes
OnCTAP: Copyright Internet Safety, and File Sharing, Oh My!....................20
Congratulations!.........................................................................................21
CUE Board News.......................................................................................21
Pearl Anniversary Feature...........................................................................21
Features
“CUE & A” with Representative George Miller..................................10
Steven Glyer
Working with Wikis.........................................................................11
Kathleen Ferenz and Sandy Oliver
Technology—the Worldwide Door to Opportunity?............................12
Bernie Trilling
Departments
Tech Coordination: The Culture of the
Technology Services Department.........................................................14
Tim Landeck
Professional Development:
Technology and Its Impact on Society and Culture..............................15
Barbara Bray
Tips & Tricks: Visual Learning:
Looking at Inspiration, Kidspiration, and InspireData.......................16
Linda Oaks
The CUE Review.............................................................................17
Sandra Burdick
Columns
UpFront: Cultivating CUE..............................................................5
Mike Lawrence
President's Column: Cultures Live.....................................................7
Scott Smith
The Bleeding Edge: The Myth of the Digital Native...........................8
David D. Thornburg, Ph.D.
On IT with CETPA........................................................................9
Andrea Bennett
CUE Information & Forms
CUE Membership Application ........................................................23
2008 Annual Conference Information..............................................18
CUEtoYOU....................................................................................22
Calendar . ......................................................................................Back Cover
CUE
CUE promotes and supports the
effective use of technology in the
educational community.
Editor
Sara Armstrong, Ph.D.
[email protected]
Layout
Kesler Communications
Contributing Writers
Barbara Bray, Brian Bridges, Sandra Burdick,
Tim Landeck, Doug Prouty, Linda Oaks,
David Thornburg, Chris York Advertising
Paid advertising accepted in accordance with editorial policy.
For ad deadlines or additional information, please contact
CUE Inc., 387 17th Street, Suite 208, Oakland, CA 94612,
510.814.6630.
OnCUE journal (ISSN 0739-9553) is published and
bulk-mailed four times during the academic year by Computer-Using Educators, Inc., and is one of the benefits of
membership. Membership for CUE is $40/year, U.S. regular
rate, $30/year, U.S. student rate, and $20/year
retired rate. Corporate memberships are available.
Entire contents Copyright 2007 by CUE, Inc., unless otherwise indicated. All rights reserved. To reprint articles that are
copyrighted by the author, you must contact the author for
permission. All other items may be reprinted for educational
use, but not for sale, with the provision that proper credit is
given to OnCUE and to the author, if any.
2007 CUE, Inc. Board of Directors
Scott Smith, President
[email protected]
Brian Bridges,
Vice President/Treasurer
[email protected]
Steven Glyer, Secretary
Terry Faherty, Member at Large
[email protected]
[email protected]
Barbara Keenoy, Member at Large
Dr. Kurt Larson, Member
[email protected]
[email protected]
Micheline LeBlanc, Member
Sharon Sutton, Member
[email protected]
[email protected]
Debra White, Member
[email protected]
Mike Lawrence, Executive Director
[email protected]
Computer-Using Educators, Inc.
387 17th Street, Suite 208 | Oakland, CA 94612
Phone 510.814.6630 | Fax 510.444.4569
Fall 2007 OnCUE
www.cue.org
up front
Cultivating CUE:
By Mike Lawrence
Executive Director
[email protected]
Partnerships & Opportunities for Sharing
are Hallmarks of the CUE Experience
Given that the theme of this back-to-school
issue of OnCUE is Technology and Culture,
I thought I’d take a moment to explore
some of the more exciting aspects of our
own CUE culture.
CUE PRIME Members
<www.cue.org/corporate/>
Gold
InFocus
Silver
Discovery Education
Intel
SMART Technologies, Inc.
Bronze
Crick Software
Extron Electronics
Inspiration
Tech Ed Services
Teleparent
TestTools
Blue
Assessment Technology
Incorporated
Business Education
Publishing
Cultural events often surround landmark
occasions. In 2008, CUE will celebrate its
30th year. To commemorate this important
milestone, we are launching a special
“Pearl Anniversary” feature to appear in
each of the next six issues of OnCUE.
Willis Binnard, former CUE Board
member and CUE NewsLetter Editor, kicks
off this feature with a look back at her first
CUE conferences (see page 21).
new!
new!
new!
new!
new!
Education Partners
<www.cue.org/partners/>
ACSA
ADEC
California Department of Education
CASCD
CETPA
CLHS & CLMS
CTAP
CAG
CalSAVE
CRA
ISTE
Shareology.org
TRLD
WestEd
www.cue.org
How we group ourselves within our community adds flavor to a culture. Towards
this end, CUE is proud to announce a
new Special Interest Group (SIG) for our
members: Video in the Classroom. This new
SIG focuses on the presence and use of
multimedia educational experiences in our
classrooms. You can login to cue.org, edit
your profile, and join today, or simply add
it to your list of SIGs when you renew. For
more information on the new SIG, visit
<www.videoteachers.org>.
Educational leaders will also be thrilled
with the launch of a new event in partnership with ACSA and TICAL. Leadership
3.0 will be a three-day symposium focusing on leadership, innovation, and change.
Leaders of all levels are invited to attend
this event, which will take place at the San
Francisco Airport Westin Hotel from April
10-12, 2008. Sir Ken Robinson will deliver
the symposium’s keynote on creativity in
education. Registration, session, and additional information is available at <www.
lead3.org>. Mark your calendars!
This issue also marks the launch of a
column providing a voice to the K-12 IT
community throughout California. “On
IT from CETPA” will be a regular feature
of OnCUE and is a direct result of the
partnership between CUE and CETPA
(California Educational Technology Professionals Association). In addition, DataBus
readers will notice a new Ed Tech column,
authored by a CUE leader. Through this
exchange of ideas, we hope to model the
importance of communication between the
Ed Tech and IT communities. I join CUE
leadership in welcoming this important
voice to OnCUE.
Lastly—it’s the members of a community
that shape its culture. CUE is proud to
have a strong corps of Education Partners
and CUE Prime (Corporate) Members
standing alongside us as we seek to fulfill
our organization’s mission. We have
recently welcomed new and returning
corporate members and partners (listed at
left) to our ranks.
Fall 2007 OnCUE
Fall 2007 OnCUE
www.cue.org
president ’ s C olumn
Cultures Live
Programs don’t change lives, cultures do. I
didn’t always know that. I’ve been a part of
many grant-funded programs that opened
with great fanfare and closed after the funding ran out. Programs die. It’s the culture
you try to create that lives. This is where
lasting change—transformational change—
happens. The challenge to successfully
integrate technology into good teaching is
realized when a culture of shared learning
exists—shared by both teacher and students.
I recently saw a wonderful example of this
in a 6th grade class. The room was equipped
with five student laptops, a network printer,
and a digital camera; there was no projector,
no interactive white board, no laptop for
every child. Part of the time, the teacher met
with the whole class to frame a new topic or
expand on a previous skill; part of the time,
she guided instruction in small groups to
differentiate learning while the other students worked independently on their own
tasks; part of the time, she circulated around
the room checking student work, answering
a question with a question, confirming the
culture. The teacher rarely used technology
to present a lesson but from first bell to last,
every computer was shared by students as
they worked diligently on their tasks.
By Scott Smith
CUE Board President
[email protected]
Unique to this culture was the adult-like approach these students brought to learning.
Each day they entered class with their own
learning agendas. They submitted assignments for review, they revised writing, they
took Cornell notes on short stories they
were reading, they collaborated to solve sets
of math problems. In each case, technology
was selectively used—the right tool for the
right job. They used it when they needed it
and shared it when they could. Rarely was
the “I don’t know what to do” hand raised.
When faced with a new word or a new
concept, students grabbed a class dictionary
or a class laptop pointing to dictionary.com
or World Book Online (<www.world
bookonline.com>). Technology-rich projects
included Photostory essays, research papers,
Moodle discussions, persuasive letters addressing local matters. Edutainment drills
were nowhere to be found.
I interviewed a student asking him what
he thought about having laptops in his
classroom; Jon’s reply was common among
his classmates: “Oh, the laptop. It’s no big
deal. I use it almost every day to work on
my class assignments. If there isn’t one open
I put my name on a waiting list. Sometimes
I share with a friend.”
I asked Jon how he learned to use the computer programs. “Most of the stuff I already
knew but I also get help from William (the
technology ‘go-to’ classmate).”
What about your teacher, I asked.
“She’s taught us a few things but mostly we
teach her.”
Programs don’t change lives, cultures do. It
was evident that the teacher took the time
to establish a set of class rules, a pattern of
behaviors that fostered this shared culture
of learning. But what I found refreshing
was her fearless surrender of the technology
to the students, her insistence that they use
these tools to become independent learners
within a collaborative culture.
As you strive to maximize technology’s
potential to advance student achievement,
consider the learning culture you want to establish in your school or classroom. I know
you will enjoy our “back to school” issue of
OnCUE. It is filled with poignant examples
and good advice to help you establish a
powerful culture of learning in your own
professional setting.
The teacher rarely used
technology to present
a lesson but from first
bell to last, every
computer was
shared by students ...
www.cue.org
Fall 2007 OnCUE
the bleeding edge
By David D. Thornburg, Ph.D.
[email protected]
The Myth of
the Digital Native:
Pitting Natives vs Immigrants Builds Barriers
Rather than Creating Understanding
For years we’ve explored the concept of
youth culture as if it was something radically different from adult culture, especially
regarding technology. Presenters at national
conferences (including this author) talked
about the difference between the “digital natives” and the “digital immigrants,” and used
this to explain the gap we older folks (born
before personal computers and the Internet)
have as digital immigrants when dealing
with our students who (largely) come from
the post-digital world, and are hence (somehow) digital natives. While there may have
been some merit in exploring this distinction to help some teachers to build bridges
to their students, I’ve since come to find that
the distinction is deeply flawed. This brief
article is, therefore, my apology for having
been suckered into a presumed cultural difference that could be expressed as a sound
bite. I was wrong.
How do I know? Well, unlike some of
my fellow speakers, I decided to actually
interview some of the presumed “natives” in
depth regarding their computer experience.
My sample was small—25 high school
students from a single school. The sample
was small, but it was diverse. It included
freshmen through juniors, failing students,
and those with perfect GPA’s; students from
million-dollar homes, and one student who
was homeless. The students represented the
rainbow coalition of youth found in a large
city near oil refineries and a steel plant.
About the only thing these students had in
common (besides their high school) was that
they all had computers in 1:1 classrooms,
and they had computers at home.
Now when it came to computer skills, these
kids spanned the spectrum. Two were true
alpha geeks, having built their own game
machines from scratch. Others were much
Fall 2007 OnCUE
more utilitarian in their approach to computing. The most popular application these
kids had in common was MySpace. They all
saw themselves as competent computer users
who made effective use of e-mail, IM tools,
and the Web in general.
So I decided to ask each of them a question:
Do you use Second Life?
... I believe we should
listen to our students,
and truly understand
their technology use.
Only one of the 25 students had ever heard
of Second Life, and none had used it.
I found this curious since we (in the
Thornburg Center) had spent a tremendous
amount of time chatting with each other
about the power (or lack thereof ) of virtual
worlds, of which (if you believe the press),
Second Life is the most powerful incarnation. Some outside the Center had even
suggested that if we did not embrace Second
Life and establish our presence there, we
would be seen as irrelevant. As irrelevant,
it seems, as the overwhelming majority of
technology-using students I interviewed.
This was our second experiment interviewing the so-called natives. In our first, my
wife, Norma, asked high school students if
they had a blog (back when blogging was
just getting started). Again, the overwhelming majority of kids had no idea what we
were talking about. The closest anyone
came was to describe it as a “forum.” We
counted this as a positive response.
These observations are important for a few
reasons. First, they give lie to the idea that
teachers who aren’t at the bleeding edge of
the latest buzz-word technologies are, somehow, incapable of seeming relevant to young
people. The blank looks I got describing
Second Life to students were the same I
would have gotten if I’d described vacuum
tube-based radios. In the hope of
appearing “cool” we so-called immigrants
have, in many cases, leapfrogged over the
technical knowledge of a large fraction of
the natives.
So what does this mean for us as educators?
First, I believe we should listen to our students, and truly understand their technology
use. We’ll probably find that it is similar
to ours (with a bit more social interaction).
Second, we must resist the drive to jump
on the latest bandwagon thinking that it
gives us relevance with our kids. Nothing
could be further from the truth. We need to
know and understand the tools that make a
difference in education. If (and I do mean
if ) a student tells us about something cool
in Flickr or Orkut, then by all means we
might explore it. But we need to take our
lead from the children, and not place them
on some pedestal thinking that they are,
somehow, better equipped to understand
technology than we are.
Continued on pg 9, bottom
www.cue.org
O n I T with C E T P A
By Andrea F. Bennett
Hello
CUE Members!
We are very excited to have this opportunity
to provide information about CETPA to
CUE members. CETPA began in 1960 as
CEDPA—the California Educational Data
Processing Association. Each year an annual
conference was held and eventually other
events and affiliations were developed.
Today, CETPA, the California Educational Technology Professionals Association, supports technologists in California
K-12 public schools by providing a wide
array of services and resources. Our annual
conference continues to be a great resource
for professional development and networking for our members. We have a legislative
analyst in Sacramento keeping us informed
of educational legislation and our association with CoSN, the Consortium for School
Networking, keeps us informed at the
national level and gives even more resources
to our members.
CETPA recently became an Educational
Partner with CUE and we are looking forward to collaborating. Our Board Members
are also active in TechSETS, K12HSN,
TTSC, and other organizations.
Myth continued from pg 8
Second, we need to address our technology
concerns head on, and not excuse reluctance as a case of our immigrant accent.
I bought my first personal computer in
1978. I may be an “immigrant,” but I lost
my accent a long time ago. My guess is
that is true for most of you as well. And,
for the younger teachers in our midst, they
were born “natives.”
www.cue.org
[email protected]
This is the inaugural year of our CTO
Mentor Program. Managed by CETPA and
supported by FCMAT and CCSESA, this
is a formal certification process for K-12
Technologists who wish to become technology leaders, generically called CTOs. The
program provides professional development
by experienced K-12 Technology Leaders
in the areas of leadership, education, and
technology. Students are each paired with
a mentor who is also an experienced K-12
Technology Leader and are given oneon-one support throughout the program.
Students are taught that technology leaders
are not just technically savvy but that leadership, vision, communications skills, and
knowledge of the educational environment
are even more important to be a successful
CTO. This program raises the bar for the
CTO position and creates a community of
support for all involved. We currently have
a class of 22 students and 22 mentors and
we will finish the first round in September.
Successful candidates will be certified by
CETPA and our hope is that they will then
choose to become mentors or instructors for
the program.
CETPA recognizes the gap that sometimes
exists between instructional technologists
and information technologists and our hope
is that through our affiliations and programs, we can help create a strong bridge to
close the gap and create a productive learning environment for students that successfully uses technology and prepares our kids
for the future.
Those who hide behind the immigrant mask
may be demonstrating a reluctance
to experiment and try something new.
Technology fails in the classroom when it
is used in support of a paper-based curriculum. It thrives when we use these tools
to transform educational practice. This is
not an “immigrant” issue, it is an issue of
willingness to move outside the comfort
zone—to explore new pedagogical practices
in support of our students.
The fact is we all are in the same boat these
days. Sound-bite presumptions of cultural
distinction serve no one, and cloud the
conversation.
Future articles will bring you news from the
“IT side” with information about hot issues
and information that we hope you find useful.
For more information about CETPA, please
see our website at <www.cetpa-k12.org>.
Andrea Bennett is the Executive Director for
the California Educational Technology Professionals Association (CETPA), the lead sponsoring agency of the CTO Mentor Program. Prior
to becoming CETPA’s inaugural Executive
Director, Andrea served as a director at two of
California’s largest school districts. In total, she
has 19 years experience within K-12 education, including service as a programmer and
database manager.
David Thornburg, Ph.D., Director, Global
Operations, Thornburg Center for Professional Development (<www.tcpd.org>) loves
to hear from readers and will gladly come to
your school or district to give presentations or
workshops on a variety of topics.
Fall 2007 OnCUE
10
feature
“CUE & A” with
Representative George Miller
Conducted by Steven Glyer
[email protected]
Chairman, House Education &
Labor Committee
B
Because of the profound effect federal and state legislation has on classroom practice, CUE’s Legislative Advocacy Committee sought an interview with
Representative George Miller (D-CA). In his role
as chair of the House Education and Labor Committee, Representative Miller is directly involved in
developing and advocating for legislation regarding
technology use in the classroom. CUE is grateful to Representative
Miller for taking the time to share his thoughts on the reauthorization of No Child Left Behind (NCLB), Enhancing Education
Through Technology (EETT), and the new ATTAIN Act (Achievement Through Technology and Innovation).
CUE: What do you foresee to be the most significant changes for
NCLB Reauthorization?
Rep. Miller: The committee has been exploring numerous proposals
and recommendations for improvements to the No Child Left Behind law. First, I believe that we must stay true to the core principle
of NCLB to close the achievement gap while still being responsive
to legitimate concerns. Second, we cannot make strides to improve
student achievement without recruiting and retaining qualified
educators. This will be one of my central improvements that I plan
to advance. We are also looking at numerous other improvements:
looking at the way schools measure annual yearly progress, looking
at the quality and appropriateness of assessments for students with
disabilities and English language learners, addressing the high school
dropout crisis, and providing flexibility on intervention strategies.
CUE: How likely is it that NCLB will be reauthorized this year?
Where does your committee stand in terms of introducing a comprehensive NCLB reauthorization bill?
Rep. Miller: It is my goal to get reauthorization finished this year.
I realize that this is an ambitious goal, but a goal that we should accomplish. The committee has held over a dozen hearings on issues
surrounding NCLB and staff has been working diligently to keep on
the timeline I set forth earlier this year.
CUE: Since its inception, many have viewed NCLB as an increasingly unfunded mandate. How can we build an authorization bill
that assures funding?
Fall 2007 OnCUE
Rep. Miller: It is critical that we put NCLB
funding back on
track and narrow the
Above: Repres
$56 billion shortfall
entative Miller
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Picture used wi
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georgemiller/n
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ts.html>)
I am working with
Congressional leaders to make sure we get
on the road of closing the gap on funding.
CUE: In light of the competitive nature of our emerging global
economy, what role do you see technology playing in the lives of our
students to prepare them for a world of work and learning in the
21st century?
Rep. Miller: Today’s students already have technology integrated
into their daily lives and activities. However, students need to
be able to understand how the technology works in order to be
prepared for the competitive global economy, know how to use it as
a tool to locate information, and then be able to critically analyze,
synthesize, and communicate findings. Just as important, students
will have to be able to adapt, invent, and learn new technologies
that we don’t even know at this time exist.
CUE: Most members of CUE feel that the current requirement in
NCLB that students be technologically literate by the eighth grade
is important but are disappointed that the Department of Education
has not collected data that enables us to measure progress towards
meeting that goal. The ATTAIN Act legislation, introduced by Representatives Roybal-Allard and Hinojosa in May to revamp the existing Enhancing Education Through Technology portion of NCLB
Title IID, would define student technology literacy and require that
districts assess student progress towards attaining technological literacy (although not necessarily adding a high stakes test to the AYP
tests that exist currently).
What is your reaction to the definition of student technology
literacy as defined within the ATTAIN Act: “Student knowledge and
skills in using contemporary information, communication and learning
Continued on pg 13
www.cue.org
feature
11
By Kathleen Ferenz
and Sandy Oliver
[email protected]
and [email protected]
Working With Wikis: Changing the way we work,
collaborate, share, and organize our ideas
S
Several members of our staff work from different
physical office locations so finding time to travel
to a central location is problematic. We frequently
need to find an easy way to keep track of ideas, web
links, and content when we work together remotely.
We used email with file attachments for a long time,
but of course after the first ten exchanges reached
our inbox with the same subject line, we frankly were unable to
remember which email had that important nugget of information
we were looking for.
Along came Web 2.0 and the development of online asynchronous
and synchronous collaboration tools. It’s definitely confusing at first.
How do you know which tool to use? Wikis? Blogs? Collaborative
Docs? or Online Groups, to name a few?
A wiki is one of the tools we discovered worked really well for us.
It solved the problem of virtual organization and collaboration but
not necessarily fewer emails. Now we receive an email notification or
digest when one of the members of our wiki is contributing. We can
even see the written changes in email or simply click on the link that
takes us to our wiki. The difference is that work is in progress and
being done but all in one place—no string of emails with attached revised version of documents. Having it in one place really makes sense.
What’s a wiki? It is a website that can be edited in a browser. You
can build your own wiki and invite others to add content by making
new pages or even co-edit words. The creators of Common Craft
made a terrific video that explains what a wiki can do called “Wikis
in Plain English” (<www.cue.org/f07a>). It’s worth four minutes of
your time if you are still unsure what a wiki is or its purpose. You
might also take a look at PBwiki—Helping Educators Educate—a
two-minute video at <www.cue.org/f07b>.
While there are lots of choices of wiki products, after trying a few
our office finally settled on using PBwiki (<pbwiki.com>) because it
offered plug-ins, good security features, and was easy to set up and
use. You can decide for yourself or your organization by viewing
Wiki Matrix (<www.wikimatrix.org>) where you can compare all
the wiki products available.
www.cue.org
Wikis can be private or public. Wikis for education are free of
sponsored links. In our case, most of our internal collaboration
is something we’d rather not share with the world, so we simply
make them private. A private wiki’s url is password protected and if
you are using PBwiki, your private wiki even blocks Google from
archiving your pages.
We have public wikis too. We made some of our planning wikis
public because some of our partner organizations want to just observe changes but not contribute. So, they can simply link to the url
and observe. To make contributions to the public wiki, the person
viewing needs to use the wiki-wide password (something that is
shared by the administrator to the user) to log in and click edit and
submit changes. We are working with the Santa Cruz New Teacher
Project on designing curriculum for BTSA standard 16. Here is the
link to our public project wiki: <ctap4btsa.pbwiki.com>.
We have created lots of wikis for our organization, and naturally
they all have different urls and passwords. As you read this, you
might think, “Oh no, this sounds more confusing than ever—and
more passwords, too?” If you use PBwiki, you can create an identity
to be able to log in with one password and privately manage all
your wikis. But, now we manage our wikis with a wiki—sound
crazy? Each project, committee, and meeting that has created a wiki
is listed on the main wiki for our organization. It is like a table of
contents for all of our collaborative work. We think of it as our wiki
home. This way we can have a selection of private wikis and public
wikis in which to work with each other, along with outside collaborators and organizations.
We are so enamored with using wikis we now have a professional
development workshop series for educators in the Bay Area about
using a wiki as a content management tool and for collaborative
research and writing for students. If you’d like to see and learn more,
visit our website to find free professional development resources
(<www.ctap4.org/infolit/wiki.htm>).
Several of us use one of our wiki websites nearly every day because
what we know and the information we have changes constantly.
Our digital world invites dynamic change, and actually expects it.
Continued on pg 13
Fall 2007 OnCUE
12
feature
Technology—
By Bernie Trilling
[email protected]
the Worldwide Door to Opportunity?
Or is there something missing?
S
Since the world was “flattened” by Tom Freidman’s
book, “The World is Flat,” there has been a
widespread belief that technology is the real 21st
Century flattener and global opportunity maker.
While technology access does open doors to
seemingly infinite information and global markets
without borders, there is so much more to bringing learning and
livelihood opportunities to the world’s inhabitants than just having
a reliable Internet connection.
Take cross-cultural understanding, for instance. Each year student
teams from all around the world travel to San Francisco to celebrate
their achievements in creating the best learning websites in the
ThinkQuest project learning competition (<www.thinkquest.org>).
I remember one international team a few years back that
produced a stunning 1st Place website on the SARS epidemic
(<www.thinkquest.org/library/websitena.html?03oct/00738>).
They were from Egypt, the Netherlands, Singapore, and the US, and
they had worked day and night for over eight months, doing
all their work online.
The first time they met face-to-face was at the ThinkQuest Live
celebration in San Francisco. It took them almost two whole days to
re-adjust to each other “in real life!”
There weren’t any accents online, only partial personalities came
through their screens, and only some cultural differences, in addition to their different time zones, were present online.
In many ways the SARS team’s experience online was only half of
an international, cross-cultural experience—the other half came
when they met face-to-face and encountered all the rest of their
wonderful diversity, cultural peculiarities, alternate experiences, and
unique personalities. By the end of their celebration week together,
they knew so much more about each other and had such a deeper
appreciation for each other’s characters and cultures, they could
even share cultural “in-jokes” that are usually only funny if you have
grown up in that culture.
These “full duplex,” virtual plus visceral, cross-cultural experiences
are an essential part of becoming a true 21st Century global learner
and worker, and for growing true global understanding.
Or take the need for teamwork skills. We sometimes forget that it
takes a great deal of conscious planning and hard work over time to
build successful project learning teams.
From studying ThinkQuest teams over the years, we’ve found that
the number one challenge teams face in successfully completing
challenging projects is their ability/inability to collaborate on
a team.
Issues of leadership, followership, role definitions, time and task
management, procrastination, personal responsibility, setting and
meeting milestones, handling conflicts, etc., are often the real big
bumps on the learning project road.
Taking this challenge to heart, the Oracle Education Foundation is
working with Educators for Social Responsibility (<www.esr
national.org/home.htm>) to come up with a set of online teamwork
resources and supports for both teachers and students. Currently in
the works are:
1) Team Works Guide—teacher-led classroom activities for younger
students to form a firm foundation for healthy team interactions
(currently available at <www.cue.org/f07c>)
2) Team Ready Guide—activities that a new team can do to start a
project off on the right foot
3) Team Help Guide—ten of the most common things that trip up
teams and quick interventions to get things back on course
4) Team Support Specialists—online teamwork specialists from
different countries and time zones, trained in conflict mediation
and creative collaboration techniques, who can provide online
assistance to teams.
The Oracle Education Foundation will be providing these resources
as part of the ThinkQuest and Think.com (<www.think.com>)
program offerings.
Finally, it takes a great deal of determination, initiative, and self-reliance to turn opportunity into real world success. There is no better
story of how the combination of technology access, sheer willpower,
international collaboration, and the seizing of opportunities as they
appear can change a whole life, than the story of Harry from Ghana.
Without his own computer and having to walk miles to an Internet
café in a nearby village, Harry joined a number of online project
Continued on pg 13
Fall 2007 OnCUE
www.cue.org
features ( C ontinued )
“CUE & A” continued from pg 10
technologies in a manner necessary for successful life-long learning and
citizenship in the knowledge-based, digital and global 21st Century,
which includes the abilities to effectively communicate and collaborate;
to analyze and solve problems; to access, evaluate, manage and create
information and otherwise gain information literacy; and to do so in a
safe and ethical manner.”
Rep. Miller: The goal is admirable. But, in order for students to
become technologically literate, the digital divide first needs to be
bridged in order for all students to have the opportunity to attain
technology literacy. The committee is looking at this and other
proposals to see where they may fit into NCLB reauthorization.
CUE: Do you think that some assessing progress towards achieving
the goal of student technology literacy is critical?
Rep. Miller: As a nation, it is important to know what workforce
and college ready skills our students possess. We are exploring ways
on how technology literacy is both defined and measured.
CUE: Do you think that the current lack of data reporting requirements has undermined our ability to determine progress and should
be altered going forward?
13
CUE: Do you think that technology literacy skills are vital for students to possess? If so, why?
Rep. Miller: Yes. If students are to successfully navigate today’s
world and to have the ability to access educational and employment
opportunities, they need to possess basic technology literacy skills.
CUE: From your perspective, what is the single biggest issue facing
technology use in K-12 classrooms today—for example, lack of
equipment, inadequate bandwidth, insufficient teacher technology
training, etc.? Why do you come to this conclusion?
Rep. Miller: There isn’t just one single issue facing technology in
all classrooms. In many states and districts it is the combination of
lack of resources and training. One school system may struggle to
provide the basics for students and technology spending may be
considered a luxury. Similarly, another school could be fully wired
with the most up-to-date technology, but unless an educator is fully
trained on the latest, that technology is useless. We will need to
continue to work to make sure all schools have the proper tools and
trained staff they need to help children succeed in an ever increasing
dynamic world.
CUE: Thank you for your time and effort.
Rep. Miller: Access to reliable and comparable data is key to measuring any program’s effectiveness. The Department of Education
needs to find some solutions in this area.
Steven Glyer is CUE’s Board Secretary, serves as liaison to the CUE
Legislative Advocacy Committee, and works as Director of Technology
for Newport-Mesa Unified School District.
Working with Wikis continued from pg 11
A wiki is just that—a quick and easy tool to plan, collaborate, write
and rewrite, share video, keep calendars, and more. We have more
flexibility to use the web now to publish and republish, socialize,
and collaborate with each other—without any special software
except an Internet browser. Check it out and we know you will be
hooked—or wikied.
technology-focused visiting educator. She works on many regional
technology projects within CTAP IV’s seven Bay Area county service
region, with particular emphasis on activities in Contra Costa County.
Sandra Oliver has been working as technology specialist with CTAP
Region IV since 2000. She is a former middle school teacher, lecturer
of Instructional Technology at San Francisco State University, and also
worked with the Bay Area School Reform Collaborative (BASRC) as a
Technology continued from pg 12
learning competitions including ThinkQuest and Global Schoolnet’s
Doors to Diplomacy program (<www.globalschoolnet.org/gsh/doors/>).
As Harry said, “Opportunity knocks once, and you must seize
it!” To see a video portrait of Harry and how he turned adversity,
teamwork, and cross-cultural understanding into a whole new life of
opportunity, go to <www.cue.org/f07d> (plugin required).
Harry’s inspirational story shows what it takes—way beyond a reliable Internet connection—to become a global learner, citizen, and
worker in our real, “flat and bumpy,” 21st Century world.
www.cue.org
Kathleen Ferenz has been a technology specialist with CTAP Region
IV—San Mateo and San Francisco Counties—since 2005. She has
taught nearly every grade level K-12. She is a Google Certified Teacher
and also travels throughout the United States as an Apple certified
professional development consultant to K12 schools. She has taught for
over ten years in the Instructional Technologies Masters Program at San
Francisco State University, and is a 1997 American Memory Fellow to
the Library of Congress.
Bernie Trilling is Senior Director for the Oracle Education Foundation, directing the development of education strategies, partnerships,
and services for the Foundation’s Think.com (<www.think.com>) and
ThinkQuest (<www.thinkquest.org>) programs.
Prior to joining Oracle, Bernie was a Director for the Technology In
Education group at WestEd, a U.S. national educational laboratory,
where he led a team of educational technologists in integrating technology into both the instructional and administrative realms of education.
Fall 2007 OnCUE
14
tech coordination
The Culture of the Technology Services
Department: Working with Tech Experts
Frequently, technology departments are considered bull headed, inflexible, and arrogant.
The technology department staff often
believes that the end-users just don’t understand security and standardization requirements. In addition, technology-skilled individuals are not known for our great abilities
to communicate with less-technical minded
people. This combination of factors can lead
to a unique technology department culture
not easily understood or appreciated by others in an educational environment—which
can further create miscommunication, lack
of support, and poor decisions.
There are some steps and processes that can
be implemented to support the technology
services department to promote a better
working relationship both within the department and the district as a whole.
Finding and Hiring the Best Staff
When new staff is to be hired, the recruiting
process is critical to finding the right person.
Making your available positions known to
local school districts, colleges, businesses,
online services, and media can help create
an applicant pool of experienced and qualified applicants.
After you have identified that your group of
candidates is technically qualified, it is time
to focus on the people skills such as personal, social, and teamwork skills. Although
these skills can be difficult to assess, you can
develop interview questions using non-technical scenarios that are the next best thing to
direct observation.
Day One with the New Hire
Once your decision has been made and
your job applicant becomes a school district
employee, realize that first impressions are
a key to long-term department success.
Introductions to the rest of the staff should
happen immediately, in small, informal settings, perhaps including a brief story about
the veteran staff member, or an item or two
that the new employee may have in common with other staff members. Now is also
the time to go over expectations concerning customer service, software copyright,
hardware and software standards, resources
and the “K-12 culture.” The new employee
By Tim Landeck
[email protected]
should be oriented to their workspace—
which should be complete and orderly to
the fullest extent possible. The first day
should be followed up with frequent visits,
brief meeting check-ins, jovial moments,
and consistent teamwork.
A Positive Work Environment
Modeling may be one of the most critical tools for helping to create a positive
work environment. If the boss or other
staff members are not happy, feel unvalued,
don’t work together, or are not efficient
and productive, these attitudes can easily
infect the entire staff no matter how positive
they are when they begin working in the
department. Light moments are excellent
for staff morale and are frequently credited
with increasing productivity. Take time out
to celebrate accomplishments and acknowledge work well done. Share the workload
and set high job performance expectations.
Be direct in all communication. Don’t beat
around the bush, and when the formal
evaluation time arrives, all employees should
know where they stand before seeing the
written evaluation.
Continued on pg 18
An active Volunteer Internship program
gives you a chance to teach a potential
candidate the intricacies of your department/school/district and at the same
time provide an opportunity to see
how well the intern learns and
may fit into your department.
Testing of the applicant should
be vigorous yet realistic in terms
of the job functions that he/she
will be performing. You will know
if you have interns who should be part of
the applicant pool.
Fall 2007 OnCUE
www.cue.org
P rofessional development
15
Technology and Its
By Barbara Bray
[email protected]
Impact on Society and Culture
Society has always been impacted by
technology. Each invention has affected
how people relate to one another and how
cultures have expanded or ended. Technology impacts how cities grow, where people
live, and who owns what. Technologies are
the reason a few people are very rich, that
people are more social, and that teaching
and learning is changing. We are at a crucial
time in history where we as educators can
make a difference in how our students interact with one another and make a place for
themselves in society.
Historical Perspective
People developed a language so they could
communicate and learn from elders through
their stories. They invented tools for agriculture, to build homes, and to create weapons
for hunting and protection. Civilizations
have been impacted by natural disasters,
encroachment from other civilizations, and
from problems within their own communities. Technology not only increased humans’
life span but how we live and how many
there are of us.
People migrated to find a better life. For
most of history, only the wealthy had access to literature and a good education.
The printing press allowed the masses to
receive news, read books, and attend school.
Inventions changed the way we worked. For
example, the cotton gin set up a need for
cheap labor, so slaves were stolen from
Africa for no pay and with no rights. Also,
the railroads were built by Chinese laborers
who had little or no rights, no property, or
a fair wage.
Communities developed within large cities
to protect and sustain different cultures.
After World War II, freeway systems led to
the suburbs. Public transportation changed
when the automobile became part of every
family. Television shows replaced dinner
www.cue.org
conversations. We saw man walk on
the moon and the horrors of war in
our living rooms.
the work?
How would the
Beatles promote
their music
So Where Are We Now?
today? They probThe Internet and mobile techably would create
nology are changing the way
a MySpace site and
people interact, work, and learn.
give away samples
Everyone can report the news
of their work. With
or share a picture from their
a Creative Comcell phone. You can produce
mons license, they
your own music, publish your
would probably allow
Photo above:
own book, blog thoughts that
others to use but not
<consumerist.com/
you usually keep to yourself,
modify
their work.
consumer/text-messaging/>
create a website with even
How do artists make
more personal information,
money? How does the
and talk on your cell whenever and wherever
viewer find an artist if
you want. We are using technology for our
the artist is not
tech savvy? How do you
own use yet it infringes on others. Does this
know if the artist is the original artist? With
technology allow us to respect each other and the proliferation of social networking tools
value each other’s time and work, or do just
where everyone can share and publish on
the opposite?
the Web, artists will have to be innovative
and entrepreneurial to be successful.
Consider these questions about today’s
technology:
Web 2.0 allows us to be self-absorbed yet
• Do you answer your cell phone when you more connected than ever.
are at a party, in line for coffee, dining
with friends, etc.?
“The consequences of Web 2.0 are inher• Would your children rather text message
ently dangerous for the vitality of culture
instead of talk to their friends face-to-face? and the arts. Its empowering promises play
• Do you post to your blog your thoughts
upon that legacy of the ‘60s—the creeping
and link to others without researching if
narcissism ... with its obsessive focus on the
the information is valid?
realization of the self.” [Andrew Keen’s ref• Do your children have a MySpace website erence to Web 2.0 at <www.cue.org/f07e/>]
with links to friends they don’t know?
• Would you rather visit a museum in
Every day there are new Web 2.0 programs
SecondLife than visit a real museum?
that let you create, publish, and share. This
• Do you believe that all music, art, and
is a time in history we will look back on
literature should be free?
and say either “I wish I had created my own
Web 2.0 or 3.0 program,” “I lost everything
Our connections seem personal, but are
because I gave it away,” or “What is Web
they? Many young people value the number 2.0?” Okay–so I twitter (<twitter.com>),
of friends they have more than the quality of blog (<barbara.bray.my-ecoach.com>), and
those friendships. The appeal of technology
have my own learning community (<myis real. Do you have an iPhone?
ecoach.com>). People are moving away
Today, the arts, artists, and culture do not
Continued on pg 19
seem as valued as in the past. Who owns
Fall 2007 OnCUE
16
tips and tricks
Visual Learning: Looking at
Inspiration, Kidspiration and InspireData
The Inspiration software company is
celebrating its 25th anniversary this year.
Having been a visual learning advocate for
at least half that time, it seems like a good
moment to look at some tips for using these
innovative titles.
If you’re not familiar with these titles,
Inspiration is visual mapping software
geared towards grades 6 to 12. Kidspiration
is essentially the same idea aimed at grades
K to 5. Here, the graphics are simpler, the
interface talks and records voices, and the
on-screen options are more limited. Inspire
Date is the newest product. It applies the
visual learning concept to the interpretation
of data and is best used in grades 4 to 12.
Venn Diagrams:
The latest version of Kidspiration adds a
much-needed tool to its arsenal: a Venn diagram. However, you will not find it under
the “Super Grouper” menu, as you would
think. Rather, look at the opening screen
and select “More.” Scroll down and you will
find it at the end. Once opened, you can
add titles and change colors.
Make a Symbol:
Like what you created? You can save a
diagram as a symbol to make it easier to access. To do this, go to “Install User Symbol”
under the Utility Menu (Inspiration) or the
Teacher Menu (Kidspiration). It will ask you
how you want to save it. For memory purposes, choose “Standard” size. You will see
your creation on the library bar on the left.
Limiting Libraries:
Kidspiration’s vast libraries can be very
distracting to students, who will want to
spend lots of time exploring all the symbols
available. The best way to solve this problem
is to save your assignments as “Activities.”
To do this, go
to “Teacher”
menu and select
“Enable Teacher
Menu.” In the
same “Teacher”
menu, select “Save
with Activity Wizard” and follow the
steps in the wizard.
By Linda Oaks
[email protected]
The first will ask you what libraries you
want to make available to your students.
Now you can limit their choices to whatever
suits your curricular needs. The other wizard
steps will let you customize symbols and
links to your liking as well. Note: You can
do this in Inspiration also by accessing the
“Utility” menu. However, it seems that you
may specify only one library for use.
Customizing Symbol Libraries
You can create your own libraries to enhance
or customize your classroom assignments.
It is done in much the same way in both
Inspiration and Kidspiration. Using the
“Teacher” menu (Kidspiration) or the “Utility” menu (Inspiration), go to “Edit Symbol
Library.” From this screen, you can drag
the single symbols you want on the left side
to available slots on the right. This creates
a new library, which you can then name
as you wish. By clicking on the “Import
Graphic” button, you can add third-party
clipart to your symbol library.
Continued on pg 21
Fall 2007 OnCUE
www.cue.org
the cue review
By Sandra Burdick
[email protected]
Technology can open the eyes of students to new experiences, new landscapes, new techniques, and different cultures. From any computer they can learn to build dioramas, visit
faraway places, see artists at work, watch dramatizations and animated tours, view exhibitions, or just explore new surroundings. The following software and Internet resources
allow students to go beyond their own environment to explore the world around them. After
all, the whole planet is just a click away.
Title: COW (Curriculum on Wheels)
Ignite! Learning: Social Studies
Publisher: Ignite Learning
Grade(s): 6th, 7th, 8th
Media Type: Software
URL: www.ignitelearning.com
Subject Area: History-Social Science
Description: COW (Curriculum on
Wheels) Ignite! Learning: Social Studies
features dramatizations of historical events,
animations of debates between opposing viewpoints, original songs, and other
formats. These media pieces give students
an opportunity to learn about social studies
in terms of issues that are already familiar to
them. The program provides ways to explore
the reasons and causes of events that help
students tie together the people, places, and
events of human experience in a way that
makes sense.
Title: JASON XIV: From Shore to Sea
Publisher: JASON Foundation for Education
Grade(s): 4-12
Media Type: Video / Internet
URL: www.jason.org
Subject Area: Science
Description: JASON XIV: From Shore to
Sea is a multimedia curriculum that explores
the unique ecology and geology of the
California Channel Islands and the sea that
surrounds them. The program uses an inquiry-based, interdisciplinary curriculum that
integrates science, math, technology, social
studies, and English language arts.
www.cue.org
17
Title: Diorama Designer
Publisher: Tom Snyder Productions
Grade(s): 2-5
Media Type: Software
URL: www.tomsnyder.com
Subject Area: History-Social Science
Description: Diorama Designer is a
computer tool that allows students to
design and build 3-D dioramas that take
them inside homes and buildings in their
community and other communities around
the world and throughout history.
Title: Artopia
Publisher: South Carolina Educational
Television Commission
Grade(s): 6-9
Media Type: Internet
URL: cfmedia.scetv.org/artopia/index.html
Subject Area: Visual and Performing Arts
Description: Artopia is a comprehensive
web-based arts experience designed for
middle school students, covering the visual
and performing arts. Students can closely
examine important works of art and
take part in activities that teach about
styles, principles, and processes of each
art form. They can write about the artworks online, collect art cards in a virtual
portfolio, and view videos of professional
artists at work.
Title: Field Trip—
Visit Awesome Places
Publisher:
Department of
Housing and Urban
Development.
Grade(s): K-3
Media Type: Internet
URL: www.hud.gov/kids/field1.html
Subject Area: English-Language Arts,
History-Social Science
Description: Every few months kids can
take a virtual field trip to a different place in
“the community.” Hop on board the online
bus to take a picture tour or animated tour
with sound and motion. Visit places such as
a park, library, or city hall.
Title: Mark Twain in His Times
Publisher: University of Virginia.
Grade(s): 9-12
Media Type: Internet
URL: etext.lib.virginia.edu/railton/index2.html
Subject Area: English-Language Arts
Description: This site is built around six of
Mark Twain’s full length works. Contained
here are dozens of texts and manuscripts,
scores of contemporary reviews and articles,
hundreds of images, and many different
kinds of interactive exhibits. At present, this
site aspires to be both a permanent electronic archive and an evolving virtual exhibition.
As an archive, it contains a growing number
of searchable primary texts of Mark Twain’s
works, of contemporary reviews, of advertisements, and so on.
The California Learning Resource Network
(CLRN) is a statewide education technology service of the California Department of
Education and administrated by the Stanislaus County Office of Education. Brian
Bridges, Director. Search the CLRN database
at <clrn.org>. Permission is hereby granted to
California educators to copy this material for
instructional use. The document may not be
distributed for profit.
Fall 2007 OnCUE
Palm Springs Convention Center
for conference
information visit www.cue2008.org
March
6-8, 2008
• JOIN thousands at the premier West Coast
event for innovative educators!
• USE Ed Tech K12 Vouchers to reimburse
your district for Conference registration!
• FULFILL Professional Development requirements
of Enhancing Education through Technology (EETT)
and AB 430 Practicum hours.
• EXPLORE over 200 exhibits, close to 300 sessions,
hands-on WORKSHOPS AND SEMINARS!
• DISCOVER classroom integration techniques
for blogs, podcasts and countless other
emerging technologies.
• Network and share as we celebrate 30 years of CUE!
www.cue.org
Advancing Student Achievement Through Technology
Fall 2007 OnCUE
www.cue.org
D epartments ( continued )
Culture continued from pg 14
Life-Long Learners
Technology is not a field that stands still, so
keeping staff trained and educated benefits
the employee as well as the whole organization. Sending staff to trainings, workshops,
and conferences, and providing online
coursework offerings and technical certifications will help to keep your staff on the
cutting edge and encourage your whole department to be life-long learners. Remember
that technical expertise does not reside only
outside of your organization. Provide opportunities for “Knowledge Shares”—formal
and/or informal training sessions presented
by one department employee to a group of
department employees. These sessions help
spread knowledge within a department and
prevent “niche technicians,” in addition to
creating a sense of camaraderie within the
department.
gies and frequently think we are speaking in
layman’s terms but are making little sense
to the non-technical person. Knowing this
about technicians can greatly increase your
chances of a successful working relationship
with your Technology Services department.
Working with Technicians
Most technicians are a special kind of
person. We tend to not want to call tech
support phone numbers but rather solve
things on our own. We like challenging
problems and hate mundane and rote tasks.
We can work well with others but frequently
find ourselves solo in the world of technical
support. We like to talk tech and learn (and
play with) the new cutting edge technolo-
What’s In a Name?
We always include the word “Services” in
the title of our technology department. A
Technology Services department implies
a service-oriented organization. The goal
for a Technology Services department is to
support the technical tools and processes in
the district to promote student learning and
effective business operations. This requires
a constant balancing of security concerns
Technology and Its Impact
continued from pg 15
from landline phones and television. They
use Internet-based services like YouTube
(<www.youtube.com>) and Skype (<www.
skype.com>). It is a generational shift with
even older generations jumping on board.
to become Open Source (Curriki: <www.
curriki.org>). Even marketing is changing.
Viral marketing launches companies like
Axe with global fragrances (<www.unilever.
com/ourbrands/personalcare/Axe.asp>), and
Threadless T-shirts, where consumers design
what they want (<www.threadless.com>).
Will our students design what they need to
learn? Will teachers learn how to be digital
guides?
Companies are marketing to a new kind of
multinational community, and navigating
the digital Silk Road. The growth of technology in China and India already affects
how we use technology just because of the
numbers of people involved.
Video games have professional leagues with
international online contests and selfmade celebrities (Major League Gaming:
<www.mlgpro.com>). Digital fads that are
global may work in one country and not
in another. Student tutors mentor students
in another country. Textbooks are starting
www.cue.org
When faced with a challenging problem,
it is helpful for technical people to have
had an opportunity to problem solve and
develop a few solutions on their own prior
to discussing the issue with others. Solutions
should include a cost analysis and be realistic. The technician is the expert with regard
to technical solutions, so empower him/her
to find the solution. There are usually a
variety of potential solutions to a technology problem, so opening up discussion
with more than one technician often yields
improved communication, teamwork, and
superior solutions.
Value Arts and Culture
With more people and crowded conditions, new technologies will be necessary to
support and sustain us. Let’s also make sure
we use these tools to tell and protect our
stories. Video, audio, images, and interactive
features open doors to worlds and cultures
that children could never learn in a book.
We need to allow for private spaces for
confidential discussions and provide guides
for tentative and eager participants. It is
19
with end-user ease of use. The most secure
server is one that is turned off and behind
locked doors. Anything different introduces
security risks but frequently makes the
resource more effective and/or easier for the
end user to access. An effective department
will be aware of this paradox and be willing
to take some risks to enhance the learning
and business environment of the school
district. No implementation decision is ever
just black or white, there are always shades
of grey. It is within these shades that a truly
service-oriented department will explore and
find the solutions that take the best options
into consideration.
Creating a functional Technology Services
department takes time and commitment
but can be one of the most responsive and
appreciated departments in the district. It
takes modeling and teamwork to achieve the
relationship needed to communicate and
support each other. When the department
works well together and is service oriented,
staff and students are the winners.
Tim Landeck <[email protected]> is
Director of Technology Services of the Pajaro
Valley Unified School District in Watsonville, Calif., a national conference presenter,
and a consultant with various school districts
nationwide.
our duty as educators to guide students and
other educators as they become innovative
producers, teach them to become cautious
consumers, and learn how they can use
these tools to reach their fullest potential.
We need to support the arts and artists and
value each other’s culture. Let’s take these
next few years to design digital ways to
connect us not only to each other but to
promote our values, to respect each other,
and to encourage innovation as we develop a
place for ourselves in the 21st Century!
Barbara Bray writes a column on professional
development for OnCUE, coordinates the
PDQs (Professional Development Quick Tips)
for Techlearning.com, and is President of My
eCoach (<my-ecoach.com>). Check out her
new blogs: <barbarabray.my-ecoach.com> and
<newsblog.my-ecoach.com>, and a presentation she created on Google tools (<google.
my-ecoach.com>).
Fall 2007 OnCUE
20
on ctap
Copyright, Internet Safety,
and File Sharing, Oh My!
(How a new law may affect your school’s culture)
How acceptable is your Acceptable Use Policy? How does your technology plan address
copyright, fair use, and Internet safety—
particularly in these times when a variety of
Web 2.0 tools are empowering students and
teachers? How will your school’s culture be
affected by your new policies?
A new law—AB 307—went unnoticed by
most educators last fall. It requires districts
to add two new sections to their technology
plans. Future plans will need to demonstrate how students will learn about Internet
safety, copyright, plagiarism, and illegal file
sharing. While the requirements don’t take
effect until July 1, 2008, we recommend
that districts revisit both their technology
plans and their Acceptable Use Policies to
address not only AB 307’s requirements,
but also Web 2.0 tools that educators and
students are beginning to use. During this
school year, take advantage of a variety of
CTAP and other online Internet safety,
copyright, and fair use resources to help you
formulate your new policies.
Specifically, the law states that technology plans should express how schools will
“…educate pupils and teachers on the
appropriate and ethical use of information
technology in the classroom, Internet safety,
avoiding plagiarism, the concept, purpose,
and significance of a copyright so that pupils
can distinguish between lawful and unlawful
online downloading, and the implications of
illegal peer-to-peer network file sharing.”
Many CTAP regions are offering workshops
or have posted resources online to assist
districts with adapting their cultures to the
new law. CTAP Region 4 has developed a
Cybersafety page that has a variety of free
resources and online tutorials (see <www.
ctap4.org/cybersafety/>. The Cybersafety
page addresses six components, each with
separate resources for educators, parents, and
Fall 2007 OnCUE
By Ben Anderson and Brian Bridges
[email protected] and
[email protected]
students: Personal Information, Social Networks, Cyber Predators, Intellectual Property,
Inappropriate Content, and Cyberbullying.
The nonprofit web site, iSafe <isafe.org>,
offers free Internet safety courses geared
toward specific audiences: students, parents,
and educators. Once you create an account,
you may choose from live, interactive web
casts, or in-depth on-demand videos that
move you through their curriculum.
The Commonwealth of Virginia, which
passed a law similar to California’s, has
created an excellent guide, which can be
accessed through their Department of
Education website <www.doe.virginia.gov>.
The Guidelines and Resources for Internet
Safety in Schools contains separate advice and
web links for parents, students, teachers,
administrators, and school boards. It also
includes an extensive list of web resources
as well as standards relating to the ethical
use of technology. California districts would
be wise to review Virginia’s Internet safety
standards as they craft goals and objectives
for their revised technology plans.
California’s Education Technology Planning:
A Guide for School Districts, which is the
foundation document for district technology plans, has been updated by CTAP’s
Program Management Committee and will
soon be available. Newly created sections
pose open-ended questions to guide writing
teams as they craft objectives and activities.
However, the new requirement to educate
students about copyright, illegal downloading, and Internet safety shouldn’t be taken
as an open-ended invitation to turn off
the Web 2.0 tap or to scare students and
educators into abandoning their rights. As
the Electronic Freedom Foundation (<www.
eff.org>) reminds us, “…giving students
a healthy dose of caution is different than
making them ‘scared straight.’…students
must receive a fair and balanced perspective from their instructors.” This includes
informing them about both their rights and
their responsibilities. While students should
be informed about copyright restrictions
and the implications of illegal downloading,
the fair use guidelines provide classrooms
with broad rights to utilize resources within
the four walls. How districts approach
these new requirements will impact school
cultures as well as the teaching and learning
process. We would advise you to conduct
careful research and consult your stakeholders as you craft these new sections for your
technology plan.
Finally, many thanks to Bonnie Marks, Director of CTAP 4, for serving as Coordinating Council Chairperson for the past year.
We’ve all benefited from your leadership.
OnCTAP Podcast
Find this and other OnCTAP podcasts at
the iTunes store by searching for CTAP, or
link directly to the podcast site: <www.gcast.
com/u/bbridges51/onctap>.
For complete information, contact your local
regional office through the CTAP website
<www.ctap.k12.ca.us>. Ben Anderson is
chairperson of the State Coordinating Council and Director of CTAP Region 3. Brian is
now the Director of the California Learning
Resource Network and is on the CUE Board
of Directors.
www.cue.org
bits and b y tes
CONGRATULATIONS!
CUE congratulates member Howard Levin
on his election to the International Society
for Technology in Education (ISTE) Board
of Directors. Howard currently works as
Director of Technology at the Urban School
of San Francisco. We look forward to Howard bringing a California perspective to this
important leadership role.
CUE Board News
This July, CUE congratulated and welcomed
Micheline LeBlanc and Dr. Kurt Larsen as
they began their three-year terms on the
CUE Board of Directors. The Board also
warmly welcomed back Debra White as she
began her second term on the Board. The
CUE Board of Directors is also pleased to
announce its 2007-2008 roster of officers:
Congratulations also go out to member
Carol Jago, who was recently elected President of the National Council of Teachers of
English (NCTE). Her tenure in this capacity will carry her through the roles of Vice
President and President-elect as she prepares
to take office as President in 2009.
Scott Smith - President
Brian Bridges - Vice President/Treasurer
Steven Glyer - Secretary
Terry Faherty - Member-at-Large
Barbara Keenoy - Member-at-Large
CUE is also excited to produce the
Macworld Educator Academy on January
16-17, 2008 in San Francisco, presented
in partnership with IDG.. Now in its third
year, this event will expand to two days and
double the offerings. As always, registration to the symposium includes access to
the exhibit hall, featured presentations, and
keynotes. Watch for more info at <www.cue.
org/macworld/>.
Visual Learning continued from pg 16
The PowerPoint Connection
Using the diagrams and outlines created
in Inspiration and moving them to use in
PowerPoint has always been
a requested capability from
classroom users. The new
version of Inspiration (v.8)
gives you this option by
going to “Export” under the
“File” menu and choosing
the PowerPoint tab.
However, it is the diagrams
that most teachers seem to request, with
the ability to bring in specific links as they
may be presented in a slide show situation.
Unfortunately, you still need to do this
yourself. Here’s how I work around it: First,
create your diagram completely as it will
look at the end of your presentation. Save
it. Then work backwards. Say the folowing
diagram is the one I want to be showing at
the end of my presentation. I’ve exported it.
Now I would delete “Candy, Soda, and Ice
Cream” and export what’s left. Then I would
www.cue.org
Lastly, CUE wants to offer its thanks to departing Board members Hall Davidson and
Jan Half, each having served for an extraordinary six years! Board of Director nominations are due on Dec. 15, 2007. Find more
information at <www.cue.org/nomination/>.
Who will you nominate?
21
Pearl Anniversary
Feature
CUE, I remember when…
I went to my first CUE conference (Spring
1982 in Irvine) with someone who was
showing educational software she was developing—the “she” was Jan Davidson and the
software was Word Attack and Math Blaster.
After that I attended every conference until
I retired in 2002. CUE enabled me to learn
and prosper throughout my 20-year career
as a tech coordinator. The greatest thrill was
at the Fall 1989 Conference (right after the
Bay Area earthquake) when LeRoy Finkel
and I decided to do a pre-conference for
tech coordinators—free (except for passing
the hat to cover supplies); no pre-registration—just an open invitation to come. Over
250 people showed up and we had to move
to a larger room. I think that was the most
enthusiastic group I ever met! CUE has matured and changed; I feel fortunate to have
known the infant CUE and the adult CUE.
Willis Binnard (<[email protected]>)
is a former CUE Board Member, former
CUE NewsLetter Editor, and retired
Tech Coordinator.
delete “Not Healthy” and export what’s
left. Continue in this manner until the
screen looks like how you would start your
presentation.
photograph to data. In my case, each child
in my class has his or her photograph assigned to his or her data. InspireData then
moves the photos around according to the
data being looked at. Of course, you
can do this with the upper grades
as well, with maps, flags, or hand
drawn symbols, called icons.
You can download fully functioning
demos of Inspiration, Kidspiration
or InspireData for Windows, Mac or
Palm at <www.inspiration.com>.
Once you’re in PowerPoint, bring in the exported diagrams, one on each slide, to build
the diagram back up again. Add your slide
transitions and you’re done.
Inspiring with Data:
As a primary teacher, I admit that I’ve used
probably 10% of the InspireData software,
but the one thing I do with it makes it
worthwhile for both my students and me. It
is the capability of the programs to assign a
There is also a company-sponsored
“Inspired Learning Community” where you
can download ideas, templates, instructions, and lesson plans (free of charge) for
all three programs. You can find it at <www.
inspiredlearningcommunity.com>.
Linda Oaks is an elementary teacher in
southern California. She holds a Masters in
Educational Technology and is a CUE Gold
Disk Award winner.
Fall 2007 OnCUE
Fall 2007 OnCUE
www.cue.org
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pay to/mail to: Computer-Using Educators, Inc
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(510) 444-4569
For more information, please email CUE at [email protected].
www.cue.org
www.cue.org
Fall
Fall 2007
2007 OnCUE
OnCUE
Calendar
2007
September 29 Promising Curriculum and
Technology Practices Conference, Stanislaus
County Office of Education, Modesto,
CA www.cccue.com
October 13 Innovations in Education,
El Diamante High School, Visalia, CA
www.cvcue.org
November 3 San Diego CUE Technology
Fair, Westview High School, San Diego,
CA www.sdcue.org
November 3 CUELA Annual Tech Fair,
Hawthorne School, Beverly Hills, CA
www.cuehub.org/cuela/
November 3 Inland Area CUE Educational Technology Conference, California
State University, San Bernardino, CA
[email protected]
For more information on these events
please visit www.cue.org/events/
November 30-December 2
CLMS/CLHS/NHSA & CUE Technology
Conference, Monterey, CA
www.clms.net/conferences/tech.htm
December 1 CUE Awards nomination
deadline www.cue.org/awards/
December 1 CUE Conference Early Bird
registration deadline www.cue2008.org
December 15 Nominations for CUE
Board of Directors due
www.cue.org/nomination/
2008
January 16-17 Macworld Educator
Academy, San Francisco, CA
www.cue.org/macworld/
January 19 OCCUE Winter Tech Festival,
Newport Coast Elementary, Newport
Coast, CA www.occue.org
January 26 CTAP3/CapCUE Educational
Technology Conference, Granite Bay High
School, Sacramento, CA www.ctap3.org
February 2 EBCUE Cool Tools IV, Alameda
County Office of Education, Hayward, CA
www.ebcue.org
February 2 Silicon Valley CUE Tech Fair,
Woodside High School, Woodside, CA
www.svcue.org
March 6-8 Annual CUE Conference:
Pearls of Learning, Palm Springs, CA
www.cue2008.org
April 10-12 Leadership 3.0 Symposium,
CUE, ACSA, TICAL, Westin Hotel,
San Francisco Airport, San Francisco, CA
www.lead3.org
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phone 510.814.6630 | fax 510.444.4569 | email [email protected] | website www.cue.org