Tech & Learning - August 2008 - (Page 20)

news trends BACK OFFICE BUSINESS RAISING TEST SCORES In 1999, Doug Harriman, then principal of Seminole Elementary, set out to find a program to help ESL, bilingual, and special education students. After seeing Scientific Learning’s Fast ForWord software at a conference, Harriman decided to try it. Since implementing the Fast ForWord program, the percentage of fourth graders passing the TAKS increased from 88% to 91%, and the percentage of fifth graders passing the TAKS increased from 89% to 96%. Adobe Awards Innovative Schools The winners of the 2008 Adobe School Innovation Awards, which honors the creative and innovative work of high school students, were announced in June. This year’s theme was “ My Community-My Planet-My 21st Century.” High school students in grades 9-12 submitted entries in three categories: Web Design and Development, Film and Video, and Graphic and Print Design. And the winners are: Nicholas Callahan from Watauga High School in Boone, NC, for “Stop Pollution.” (Graphic and Print Design) Tony Guglielmi, Jacob Bowen, Kevin Matteson, Jon Wilber, and Sam Morgan from Pickerington High School North in Pickerington, OH, for “The Environment and You.” (Web Design and Development) Richard Yeager, Kourtney Bryant, Craig Austin, and Chris Deig from F.J. Reitz High School in Evansville, IN, for “1937: Evansville’s Great Flood.” (Film and Video) The Best-of-the-Best winner plus a chaperone received a trip to San Antonio, TX, to attend NECC, and category winners received $1,500, a copy of SECURING NETWORKS Above: Macy Sarchet, Phillip Mellon, and Dylan Neiman of Gregory-Portland High School in Portland, Texas, are the Best-of-Best winners of the 2008 Adobe School Innovation Awards with this video. Adobe Creative Suite 3 Master Collection, and a Lenovo laptop. Adobe will continue the Adobe School Innovation Award Program for the 2008/2009 school year and will reopen the competition this fall. Visit www.adobe.com/education/solutions/ k12/awards/ for details. SURVEYS SHOW PROGRESSION TOWARD E-COMMERCE Who accepts online payments A new survey conducted by the Association of School Business Officials, the National Business Officer’s Association, and My Payment Network reveals that schools may be ahead of small businesses in their adoption of eCommerce practices. The Central Catholic High School in Lawrence, MA, installed eSoft’s T h r e a t Wa l l Security Gateways with Web ThreatPak capabilities. Their network is now protected against malicious Internet content. Jodi Linnehan Kriner, Director of Technology, finds the security software user friendly. “If you want to make changes or run reports, you simply log on and go,” she says. VIDEO STREAMING Volusia County Schools, Deland, FL awarded a 3-year content license agreement to Library Video Company’s SAFARI Montage system to equip all of its 76 school sites with SAFARI Montage WAN Manager, the video-on-demand and digital media management enterprise system. Bill Tindall, Executive Director, says, "these products are almost perfectly aligned with our vision of delivering and managing video throughout the district.” Public Schools Independent Schools Small Businesses 20 | TECH & LEARNING http://www.adobe.com/education/solutions/k12/awards/ http://www.adobe.com/education/solutions/k12/awards/

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Tech & Learning - August 2008 Contents Editor's Desk News & Trends Q&A: Scratch That Best of NECC 2008 How to Build Better ePortfolios Focus on Digital Cameras Leader of the Year

Tech & Learning - August 2008

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