More on Social Network Sites

Educase Connect has been producing a series titled "7 Things You Should Know About..." fill in the blank with: blogs, wikis, podcasts, etc. If you aren't familiar with Educase, here is the description from their site: " EDUCAUSE is a nonprofit association whose mission is to advance higher education by promoting the intelligent use of information technology."

The latest in the series is "7 Things You Should Know About Ning," one of the social networking platforms we discussed at the Tech Council.

More fodder for our discussions on Social Network Sites.

Free Training on Deploying Office 2007 May 13-15

Are you considering deploying Office 2007 in your district? How can you appreciate the benefits of the new software through an efficient rollout and support plan?

Consider attending the Deploying and Managing Microsoft Office 2007 in the Enterprise workshop to learn about new tools and technologies to deploy the 2007 Microsoft® Office system. In this instructor-led, 3-day event, you will receive practical technical information and proven techniques necessary to design, customize, and deploy an Office 2007 installation in your environment. You will be given the deep technical assistance required to better plan your organization’s deployment, and have the opportunity to work with experienced resources that can help resolve potential deployment blockers and other upgrade related issues.

>> Learn More or Register

This hands-on workshop is targeted for IT Professionals responsible for the deployment, maintenance, and troubleshooting of Office installations. Application-specific and/or help desk-type issues are not included in the scope of this offering.

Courseware includes information related to:
· Preparing to Deploy Office 2007
· Customizing an Office 2007 Installation
· Upgrading to Office 2007
· Selecting an Office 2007 Enterprise Deployment Method
· Maintaining and Updating Office 2007
· Deployment Troubleshooting
· Office Diagnostics

Workshops are delivered by members of the Office Proactive Services team. They are senior Customer Service & Support (CSS) escalation leads who possess a strong knowledge of current and previous Office client deployment technologies/troubleshooting, migration, and best practices. Team members have years of experience resolving Office support issues, working escalations that lead to product improvements, consulting with customers across the globe, and delivering workshops.

Details
Date: May 13 – 15, 2008
Time: 9:00am – 5:00pm
Location: Microsoft Office
Pondview Corporate Center
Farmington, CT 06032
Phone: (860) 678-3100

>> Register Now

Education Week Report on STEM

Thanks to Art for forwarding two useful reports specific to technology resources and proficiencies in Connecticut schools, from a larger report in the latest version of Education Week.

Connecticut State Technology Report 2008

Also see the following:

Detailed State Data Comparison

CASL Film and Production Award

Forwarded from Anne Weimann of CASL:

---

Dear CASL / CECA Member:

Please encourage your students to apply for this new award.

Student Film and / or Video Production Award

CASL is now accepting applications for this award. The applications are due by June 1.


To apply
Students will submit:

• An electronic version of their production
• a copy of the assignment for which the production was produced
  
  To:
  
  Janet Roche
  Simsbury High School
  34 Farms Village RoadSimsbury, CT 06070
  
  jroche@simsbury.k12.ct.us
  
  History
  
  In 1977 two students were given an award from CEMA (now CASL) for creating an outstanding film. The two students, Marc Johnson and Charles Searle, asked CASL to resume the award to encourage students to think seriously about film and video careers. They will contribute a prize of $250 per year to the winning group of video/ film producers.
  
  Judging Criteria
  
  The purpose of the award is to honor students who demonstrate in a video and or film production a level of information and technology literacy skills that will enable them to:
• Communicate information and ideas
• Demonstrate responsible, legal and ethical use of information and technology by acknowledging copyright
• Use technology tools to enhance learning, increase productivity and promote creativity
  
  Specific categories are:
  
  Attractiveness, Organization, Presentation, Content, Documentation, Mechanics, Requirements (Meets the requirements of the assignment for which the video / film was created)
  
  See the rubric on the CASL web site http://www.ctcasl.com/

CECA April 2008 Newsletter

For those of you who haven't received this already, I am forwarding the CECA newsletter.

_____________________

CECA News
Save the Date for the CECA Annual Fall Conference –
Surviving and Thriving in an e-Literate World Tuesday, October 21, 2008Connecticut Convention CenterHartford, CT More details will be available soon!

CECA Partnerships: Software Promotions
CECA continues to work with various organizations and companies to provide you with educational discounts on various pieces of software. Check out our website at: http://www.ceca-ct.org/Partnerships/partners.html Presently we have several timely partnerships you may wish to consider.

The following software is available for CECA members and their school districts this spring with considerable savings due to a New England volume purchasing agreement. Please pass this information to your technology coordinators, administrators or anyone else who is in charge of purchasing for your school district.

netTrekker – You must act quickly!
Round 1 is March 17th – April 18th - This offer is only for schools new to netTrekker.Pricing: $.99 per student with 3 months free from April1, 2008 to June 30, 2008;Includes subscriptions from 7/1/08 to 6/30/09The minimum order is $395.00

Round 2 is May 12th until June 30th but POs will be accepted until the first week of JulyPricing is $.99 per student for licenses for 7/1/08 to 6/30/09.Minimum order is $395.00

See details at http://www.ceca-ct.org/Partnerships/partnersnettrekker.html

FirstClass
Very competitive pricing under an agreement with FirstClass for a variety of FirstClass products is available through June 30, 2008.

For details on this partnership, please visit http://www.ceca-ct.org/Partnerships/Firstclass/partnersfirsclass.html

Atomic Learning
Atomic Learning provides web-based software training and curriculum resources for more than 110 applications students and educators use every day.

The final pricing will be based on the total number of licenses purchased by school districts throughout New England. For specifics on products and how to participate, visit this website: http://movies.atomiclearning.com/k12/ne-iste-promo/.



Curriculum Web Links: Focus on Science
Weather Wiz Kids http://www.weatherwizkids.com/index.htm Crystal Wicker, meteorologist for the ABC affiliate in Indianapolis, Indiana, has designed a website especially for kids to learn more about weather. This site includes information and photographs about hurricanes, tornadoes, winter storms, clouds, thunderstorms, lightning, wind, temperature, wildfires, earthquakes, volcanoes, climate and flooding. The site also includes information on weather safety, folklore, experiments and a career as a meteorologist.

The Dirt on Soil: What's Really Going on Under the Ground http://school.discoveryeducation.com/schooladventures/soil/ This site produced by Discovery Education provides information about the soil-making process and the difference between soil and dirt. A Field Guide to the ecosystem underground contains images and explanations of the life under our feet. Soil Safari, an interactive goal-based learning game, allows web guests to micro-size themselves for a journey to explore the residents of this underground universe.

Black Holes: Gravity's Relentless Pull http://hubblesite.org/explore_astronomy/black_holes/ This website from NASA's Imagine the Universe! Is written for students age 14 and up and includes information about astronomy. Students can explore the mysterious phenomena known as black holes by using animation and graphics. Students can view online experiments and travel to Cygnus X-1 and Andromeda.

Postponed: CREC Technology Council Meeting

Unfortunately the Technology Council meeting will not take place this month. To date we have experienced such scheduling conflicts among members that we cannot find a date that works for even a small group to meet. Additionally, Web 2.0 AUPs and best practices continue to be a top-of-mind concern for districts, and I cannot secure a speaker on this topic until May.

Our next meeting, at which I hope to have someone from Shipman & Goodman join us, will be on Thursday, May 15, here at CREC Central.

Thanks for your patience and understanding, and have a wonderful spring break.

Doug

CECA Book Offer

As an update to an earlier post, I have a corrected URL:

http://www.cecainfo.org/books/

The original message and corrected URL follow:


Announcing CECA Book Service for CECA Members Only
Offering quality books targeted at "improving teaching and learning through the effective use of technology"
- Discounts of 30% off list price.
- Minimized shipping and handling costs.
- Order online.
- Pay online with check or credit card, OR pay by mail with check or purchase order.
- Books selected by members of the CECA Board.
Books have been selected from the newest and most popular books published by ISTE (International Society for Technology in Education). Also offered are books from other publishers that address current issues in Technology in Education.
Follow the links to CECA Book Service from the CECA Website:

http://www.cecainfo.org/books/

You'll need your CECA ID and Membership Expiration date (see above) to place an order.
Among the books available are:
Web 2.0: New Tools, New Schools
Digital Citizenship in Schools
Spreadsheet Magic
Powerpoint Magic
IT's Elementary
Digital-Age Literacy for Teachers
and many more...

Infrastructure Grants

In a letter yesterday to the OPM Bond Commission, SDE Commissioner McQuillan requested commission of bonds at the upcoming April 25 meeting to cover infrastructure grants. An excerpt from his letter follows:

Education Technology – School Wiring

$5,000,000 of the funds authorized by Section 32(g)(1) of Special Act 05-1 of the June Special Session to provide grants-in-aid to local and regional school districts, regional educational service centers and endowed academies for technology wiring and telecommunications improvements for educational purposes in accordance with Section 10-4h of the Connecticut General Statutes.

The documentation for this item was submitted on October 5, 2007.

I'll keep you updated as I receive news on this issue.

Technology Council Meeting Reschedule

Good afternoon, everyone.

Because of some extenuating circumstances, we have had to reschedule the April Technology Council meeting to Monday, April 14, at 9:00 here at CREC in Room 1 (view driving directions). I realize this may present some scheduling conflicts with members, and we do apologize for the change.

Based on our discussions from the last meeting, I am hoping to secure a speaker to address Web 2.0 and acceptable use policies. The discussion threads circulating among Council members have created a healthy dialogue, and it makes sense at this point to bring in some legal counsel to help guide decisions in each of our districts. If I cannot secure a speaker for this coming Council meeting, I will arrange to have someone for May or June.

In the meantime, please feel free to send any agenda items you would like to present or see addressed as a group.

Doug Casey