District Administration - November/December 2010 - (Page 70)

DistrictAdministration 100 PRODUCTS TOP LAUNCHPAD ClassLink, $9 per student for ﬁrst year, $ 5 per student each subsequent year ClassLink’s LaunchPad program provides a central point of access for all software applications from any computing device, in school or at home. Teachers can use a calendar feature to plan classes and a printer manager to control access and limit printing. Interactivity tools allow teachers to collaborate with students via chat, to send ﬁles or to take control of screens. www.classlink.com “With this solution we are able to repurpose older legacy desktops, and we have all but eliminated the constant repairs and fixes to operating systems caused by student modification.” Greg Partch, director of education technology in the Hudson Falls (N.Y.) Central School District. 2 0 1 0 SCHOOLTUBE Free SchoolTube is a free online video hosting and sharing resource exclusively for K12 students, teachers and school communities. All videos are produced by students and approved by moderators to ensure appropriateness before posting. Students can explore topics such as academic subjects, sports, news and current events, and teachers can integrate relevant videos into classroom curricula. Administrators can also use the site to communicate school news and events with parents and the community. www.schooltube.com FLIP VIDEO CAMERAS Cisco Systems, $179-$279 Flip Video, recently acquired by telecommunications giant Cisco, makes inexpensive digital camcorders popular with schools. The $149 UltraHD shoots in 720p resolution, includes a choice of 4GB or 8GB of storage, and has image stabilization and 2X digital zoom. The $179 MinoHD has similar features to the UltraHD but in a smaller, sleeker unit and with rechargeable batteries. The $279 SlideHD boasts 16GB of memory and a larger 3-inch widescreen display. Users can customize the look of their camera by choosing from thousands of designs or by uploading their own image. www.theﬂip.com DOGONEWS Free DOGONews is a free online newspaper and Web guide for elementary and middle school students, providing short articles about current events with photos, videos, a dictionary for challenging words, and maps for geographical context. Teachers can create a custom online newspaper for their students by choosing articles and Web sites based on content area. Students can post news or discuss articles with other users in a safe, education-focused environment. www.dogonews.com THINKFINITY Verizon Foundation, Free The Verizon Foundation is the philanthropic arm of the telecommunications giant, with education as one of its main areas of activism. The foundation’s Thinkﬁnity Web site features free curriculum resources for teachers, librarians, students and parents created by education and literacy organizations. These resources include thousands of K12 lesson plans, video, audio, worksheets, links to high-quality Web sites in a wide variety of content areas and professional development Web seminars. www.thinkﬁnity.org “The stories always grab students’ attention, are written at their level, and incorporate images and video that assist with their comprehension.” Gordon Brune, a teacher in the Mamaroneck (N.Y.) Union Free School District. 70 November/December 2010 District Administration http://www.classlink.com http://www.schooltube.com http://www.schooltube.com http://www.theflip.com http://www.dogonews.com http://www.dogonews.com http://www.thinkfinity.org

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of District Administration - November/December 2010

District Administration - November/December 2010
Contents
From the Editor
News Update
Administrator Profile
District Profile
Black Children Still Left Behind
ARRA Funds Empower Schools to Power Down
A Call for Technology Leadership
Readers Pick Top 100 Products of the Year
Going Mobile
Superintendent’s Insights
Supervisor’s Opinion
Professional Opinion
Student Counsel

District Administration - November/December 2010