| CoSN Case Study: Batavia City (NY) School District -- Small City, 2400 students (PDF) |  |
| This district hired a network analyst and empowered this person to build a robust network. District staff enjoy access to the Internet, a district website, e-mail, student information systems, financial systems and VOIP. An IT coordinator was hired to select and integrate new instructional technology tools. The complementary skills of these two individuals have resulted in successful information gathering, evaluation user support. |  |
| The Case For Open Source | |
| Open Source has made some significant leaps in recent years. This article discusses the role of open source software in education. It includes a link to a list of the tools (available at www.schoolforge.net) that educators need which can be aquired through free through open source. | |
| The SIIA Codie Awards: 2007 Finalists | |
| List of 2007 finalists of the Codie Award for best student information Sytem or gradebook | |
| Make The Right Call | |
| Call systems are crucial in a time of crisis; however, it is sometimes difficult to determine what the best system for your district would be. The author provides several suggestions for anyone who is interested in researching or purchasing this important connectivity tool. | |
| Hot Technologies For K-12 Schools: The 2005 Guide For Technology Decision Makers (PDF) | |
| This is a report for CTO's and other technology decision makers. It is designed to help these individuals sort through emerging educational technologies and decide on options that may be appropriate for their school or district. The authors identify five key issues facing educational leaders today and the new technologies that may address these issues. | |
| Schools Mull Needs Of Adult Distance Learners | |
| Many ed-tech advocates have voiced support for distance learning as a way for K-12 students to take courses not offered at their regular schools or enroll in courses for college credit. But another group of learners--adults who turn to distance learning to return or expand their schooling--is attracting more and more national attention. | |
| The Push To Improve STEM Education | |
| A special state-focused online supplement to Technology Counts 2008. This new State Technology Report assembles key findings in an accessible format that allows readers to examine a particular state’s performance on this year's indicators. | |
| Report Urges U.S. To Think 'Big' About Broadband | |
| Higher-ed group says it's time for nationwide, open access to high-speed internet service | |
| Portals In A Web 2.0 World | |
| Web 2.0 refers primarily to two major paradigm shifts in the way people use the Web: thin client computing and user-generated content. The portal plays a pivotal role in both areas. In thin client computing, data and applications are stored on Web servers, and a user has access from any computer via a Web browser, thus turning the Web into a gigantic application server -- a penultimate manifestation of Web 2.0. | |
| K-12 Interoperability, Open Standards And Best Practices (PDF) | |
| In this article we take a look at standards movements and trends aimed at facilitating integration between the many data-intensive applications schools rely on today. | |
| Open Technologies In K-12 Schools (PDF) | |
| What do Grant High School in Australia, the New York Public Library, Amazon.com, and the Nokia 770 Internet tablet have in common? They all rely on open technologies to deliver high quality products and services to their customers. It's time for U.S. education technology leaders to investigate the opportunities and challenges offered by entering into the worldwide use of open technologies. | |
| Safety And Learning In The Era Of Social Networking (PDF) | |
| With identity theft, online predators, and safety-related lawsuits making headlines every week, it's understandable for parents and educators to worry. What can be done to keep students safe online today without blocking access to innovative and educational learning environments? | |
| Building Bridges: Accessible Technology For ALL Students (PDF) | |
| This resource is the executive summary of the final monograph in the 2004 CoSN Compendium that focuses on forging a relationship between the special education and the technology worlds. The key question that runs throughout the 2004 CoSN Compendium is: "What do we, as technology leaders, need to know and do in order to support our schools and districts in today's changing world?" | |
| Mapping Educational Progress 2008 | |
| Six years after No Child Left Behind's passage, we have collected more data than ever before about the academic performance of our students and schools. See data on how we're doing as a nation -- student achievement in reading and math, high school graduation rates, schools making adequate yearly progress, highly qualified teachers, parents taking advantage of tutoring and choice options, state participation in flexibility options, and more. | |
| High Performance Wireless | |
| The HPWREN team's first wireless link in conjunction with the Native American rural education community involved the Pala Native American Indian reservation, which is home to more than 600 tribal members - including more than 150 children who attend elementary school on the reservation. | |
| Public-Private Education Facilities And Infrastructure | |
| Grants responsible public entities the authority to create public-private partnerships for the development of a range of projects. | |
| Schools Could Be The First In U.S. To Use WiMax | |
| The Federal Communications Commission has set a 2008 deadline for schools to either use or auction their portions of the spectrum. Some plan to use it for WiMax. | |
| Six Tech Trends For The Next Five Years | |
| What's going to be the next big thing to influence education? | |
| Mobile Computing | |
| Collection of articles on the effects of mobile computing | |
| Taking Wireless To The Max | |
| Interview with James Davis, who is building one of the nation's first WiMax networks in a Milwaukee Public School | |
| Which Technologies Will Shape Education In 2008? | |
| The report focuses on the six key technology areas that the researchers identified as likely to have a major impact on "the choices of learning-focused organizations within the next five years," broken down into the technologies that will have an impact in the near term, those that are in the early stages of adoption, and those that are a bit further out on the horizon. | |
| Effectiveness Of Reading And Mathematics Software Products: Findings From The First Student Cohort (PDF) | |
| The National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance produced this major study of the effectiveness of education technology. Mandated by Congress, the report uses scientifically based research methods and control groups to focus on the impact of technology on student academic achievement. Thirty-three districts, 132 schools, and 439 teachers participated in the study. Sixteen products were selected for the study based on public submissions and ratings by a study team and expert review panels. This report is the first of two from the study. The second report will present effects for individual products. The current report presents effects for groups of products. The main findings of the study are: (1) Test scores were not significantly higher in classrooms using the reading and mathematics software products than those in control classrooms. In each of the four groups of products-reading in first grade and in fourth grade, mathematics in sixth grade, and high school algebra-the evaluation found no significant differences in student achievement between the classrooms that used the technology products and classrooms that did not; and (2) There was substantial variation between schools regarding the effects on student achievement. Although the study collected data on many school and classroom characteristics, only two characteristics were related to the variation in reading achievement. For first grade, effects were larger in schools that had smaller student-teacher ratios (a measure of class size). For fourth grade, effects were larger when treatment teachers reported higher levels of use of the study product. | |
| On-line Tutoring For Math Achievement Testing: A Controlled Evaluation (PDF) | |
| We report the results of a controlled evaluation of an interactive on-line tutoring system for high school math achievement test problem solving. High school students (N = 202) completed a math pre-test and were then assigned by teachers to receive interactive on-line multimedia tutoring or their regular classroom instruction. The on-line tutored students improved on the post-test, but the effect was limited to problems involving skills tutored in the on-line system (within-group control). Control group students showed no improvement. Students' use of interactive multimedia hints predicted pre- to post-test improvement, and benefits of tutoring were greatest for students with weakest initial math skills. | |
| The Effects Of Distance Education On K-12 Student Outcomes: A Meta-Analysis (PDF) | |
| The community of K-12 education has seen explosive growth over the last decade in distance learning programs, defined as learning experiences in which students and instructors are separated by space and/or time. While elementary and secondary students have learned through the use of electronic distance learning systems since the 1930s, the development of online distance learning schools is a relatively new phenomenon. Online virtual schools may be ideally suited to meet the needs of stakeholders calling for school choice, high school reform, and workforce preparation in 21st century skills. The growth in the numbers of students learning online and the importance of online learning as a solution to educational challenges has increased the need to study more closely the factors that affect student learning in virtual schooling environments. This meta-analysis is a statistical review of 116 effect sizes from 14 web delivered K-12 distance education programs studied between 1999 and 2004. The analysis shows that distance education can have the same effect on measures of student academic achievement when compared to traditional instruction. The study-weighted mean effect size across all outcomes was -0.028 with a 95 percent confidence interval from 0.060 to -0.116, indicating no significant difference in performance between students who participated in online programs and those who were taught in face-to-face classrooms. No factors were found to be related to significant positive or negative effects. The factors that were tested included academic content area, grade level of the students, role of the distance learning program, role of the instructor, length of the program, type of school, frequency of the distance learning experience, pacing of instruction, timing of instruction, instructor preparation and experience in distance education, and the setting of the students. | |
| One-To-One In Ohio | |
| An article describing the success of a one to one initiative in a private school in Cincinnati. The school has now transitioned from laptops to tablet PCs. | |
| 1 To 1 Learning | |
| How do we take our classrooms into the future, empower teachers and students with the tools and functions for the challenges ahead, and enable deep, sustained learning? Providing every student and teacher with his or her own laptop computer is one important step we can take to achieve those goals. However, this end result cannot be achieved overnight. | |
| Assessing Your Assets |  |
| Article about tracking systems and IT management. | |
| Bouncing Back: Emergency Planning For IT, Data and Communication Needs (PDF) | |
| The best planning cannot prevent all natural or man-made disasters. But it can help your district respond promptly and effectively when threats become a reality. | |
| Elementary School: Part Two (PDF) | |
| Using images, simulations, and video, teachers can explain complex concepts that are otherwise difficult to convey. Images, applets, and movies can be displayed on a variety of devices, including desktops, laptops, and handhelds. On-demand access to technology can foster student creativity and create learning situations almost anywhere. This ability to share and connect creates teachable moments and enables students to be teachers as well. | |
| Integrating Technology Into the Classroom | |
| Chapter about integrating technology into the classroom | |
| More Students Getting Laptops Instead Of Textbooks | |
| This article highlights a Louisiana high school which is switching to an all-digital curriculum. Along with the new curriculum, students will receive their own laptops for use in school, which will replace traditional textbooks. | |
| Evaluation (PDF) | |
| Chapter 7 of "Planning into Practice" is dedicated to the subject of technology evaluation | |
| Cutting The Cord (PDF) | |
| This article discusses how we move into the future without encumbering tremendous costs and which technologies are worth adopting even if they do involve new investment through wireless technology for districts | |
| Seven Steps To A Highly Effective Mobile Strategy | |
| This article cites research which indicates that a relatively small number of enterprises (less than 25 percent) have a specific mobile strategy in place. Most struggle with individual mobile projects or try to link mobility to a broader IT strategy. This article is written for a corporate audience; however, its message can apply to education administrators. | |
| Capturing Learning Moments Digitally | |
| This article discusses how teachers should be more aware of the capabilities of technology and the benefits to the learning process that these tools offer. | |
| Elementary School: Part Three (PDF) | |
| Technology can personalize learning opportunities even in group settings. Providing each child access to a computing device linked wirelessly to a projector can help make students' thinking visible, enable teachers to assess student progress in real time, and foster collaboration. | |
| Elementary School: Part Four (PDF) | |
| Advances in technology have dramatically changed how and where students access information. Technology has also transformed how they participate in the learning process. Mobile technologies enable students to access the Internet and other online resources from home, school, or in the community. They can also contribute to online information sources from those places. In addition, online simulations enable students to experience and experiment in ways never before possible. | |
| Hands-On Favorites | |
| This article highlights administrators and technologists who have recently purchased notification systems. They describe how they use the system, what they like about it, and what they wish that the system did for them. | |
| High School Library: Part Two (PDF) | |
| E-books are electronic versions of books. They can often be highlighted and annotated while being read and even provide audio to be "read" aloud. The size of the text can be expanded or reduced, and e-books can also be extensively cross-indexed and linked directly to resources such as definitions or other explanations outside the text itself. In addition, an electronic book can include animated graphics, audio clips, and movies that are not possible in traditional books. E-books can be more flexible for many readers and can provide significant adaptation for students with special needs. Similarly, audio books can provide opportunities for students who are struggling readers to read along with the text or to cover material in keeping with their peers. | |
| Interactive Whiteboards | |
| Technologists and administrators share their views on interactive whiteboards. Each explains how their school or district uses the technology, why they like interactive whiteboards, and what they wish that it could do. | |
| Middle School: Part Two (PDF) | |
| Digital media can give students the opportunity to apply a broad set of skills. Digital media creation often entails reading, writing, research, storyboarding, sequencing, project management, editing, and revision. As with the creation of a professional media production, not all the elements that go into the final version are visible to the viewer, but that work is vital in ensuring the production's successful completion. Working on projects with multimedia engages students and helps them develop and demonstrate "traditional" skills. In addition, digital media projects tend to require more than one person, so they also provide students the occasion to demonstrate collaboration, teamwork, and group problem solving. | |
| CoSN Case Study: Scott County (TN) Schools - Rural, 2700 Students (PDF) | |
| Though limited by size and funding resources, this district has an administration and school board that recognizes the critical role of technology in teaching in learning and has supported a technology team focused on realizing best use of technology investments. Creative use of varied funding sources, grants and access to E-rate funds has resulted in a robust set of hardware and software applications as well as a sophisticated phone and paging system. The district has demonstrated a proficiency to spend money wisely and actively shared success stories through focused PR and communication activities. | |
| SIIA Software Implementation Toolkit Guidelines For K-12 Educators | |
| This Implementation Toolkit was created with the following purposes in mind: 1. Help K-12 educational institutions make better use of software products through the use of effective implementation practices. 2. Highlight the importance and impact of implementation practices on obtaining results from software use. 3. Provide K-12 educators and administrators with practical tools to use in the implementation process. | |
| Cyber Security: Protecting Your District's Mission And Assets (PDF) | |
| Central to the Cyber Security project is the belief that technology, while a necessary part of the solution, in insufficient to address security issues alone. | |
| What Could Go Wrong? Talking To District Leaders About Cyber Security (PDF) | |
| Security is a tough topic to talk about. K-12 technology leaders are not sure they fully understand it themselves, much less feel competent to explain it to others. Superintendents and other district leaders feel overwhelmed and it's easy to be seduced by the "you're better off not knowing" adage. Even though everyone is working in an educational setting, it's hard to reveal how much you don't know. So technologists don't talk and superintendents don't ask -- and we venture into insecure territory with our eyes half closed. | |