Technology & Learning - November 2008 - (Page 26)

BESTOF2008 Download this FREE series today! Find Money Fundamentals of K-12 Technology Programs Brought to you by Tech & Learning and sponsored by HP, this new series covers the educational technology topics that matter most to the profession’s leaders, practitioners, and innovators. Topics include: DISTRICT: Tintic School District, UT HOW TECH MAKES A DIFFERENCE: Five years ago, the IT budget of the Tintic School District, of which Thomas Nedreberg is the technology director, was wiped out. The state of Utah had shifted technology into a block grant and then reduced the grant by 60 percent, which left TSD, a small rural district, in a tough spot. This sudden change of fortune might have deterred most mortals. Not so for Tom Nedreberg, who immediately set out to find alternative funding. Nedreberg’s first success on the funding front was applying for and receiving a $50,000 state special education grant for building improvement. The money was used to upgrade network and telephone communications in four schools that previously had wires strung along the ceilings and walls. He also nabbed $25,000 in E-rate internal-connection funds to establish wireless networks and to upgrade the district’s Web server. Next, Nedreberg signed up for eMints, a professional development program funded through an Enhancing Education Through Technology federal grant. As part of the grant, four district classrooms were set up with a 2:1 student-to-computer ratio, projectors, digital cameras, and teacher laptops. He also found additional money—namely, state funds earmarked for online testing—enabling the district to continue with eMints and to add five more classrooms to the project. This past year brought a welcome surprise to TSD: the state of Utah restored the district’s technology funding. Superintendent Ron Barlow points out that because of Nedreberg’s creative financing in the “unfunded” years, the district’s technology program never missed a beat. Leadership Go to the Video for Science DISTRICT: Riverside High School, OH HOW TECH MAKES A DIFFERENCE: Carol Fleck doesn’t just teach science basics. Using videoconferencing, she is able to teach more complicated subjects like emerging diseases, bioterrorism, and forensic science. Her Contemporary BioScience and Genetics is a groundbreaking class and the only one of its kind in Ohio. Taught simultaneously through videoconferencing by Fleck and her counterpart at Kirtland High School, Kim Perry, the course has logged more than 1,400 videoconferences and nas been taken by 200 students since its inception in 2001. Fleck feels the collaboration between schools is a key part of the course experience. Riverside students pair up with Kirtland students, communicating by videoconference, telephone, fax, online chats, and email to create a product—a PowerPoint presentation on biological agents, for example—that can be shared with the wider community. Such intense tech exposure has given students a natural “hook” into science and technology, says Fleck, who was named eTech Ohio’s 2004 Ohio Technology Teacher of the year. Not surprisingly, many of her students have gone on to be science majors in college, including one who crafted an individualized major in science communications. Sponsored by: Sign up today at http://www. techlearning.com/ K12/Fundamentals 26 | TECH & LEARNING http://www.techlearning.com/K12/Fundamentals

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Technology & Learning - November 2008

Technology & Learning - November 2008 Contents Editor’s Desk News & Trends Put to the Test WeeWorld Adobe Creative Suite 4 Master Collection SAS Curriculum Pathways Rosetta Stone Classroom Version Pulse Smartpen Highlights from T&L Top Classrooms Kepping the VoIP from Being the Wrong Number Watch It Back Office Business What’s New Keeping Tabs Leader of the Year Profile: Music to Their Ears

Technology & Learning - November 2008

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