Our children need to be exposed to other cultures and other languages early. One safe and easy way to do this is do become involved with one of the myriad of global projects available. How do you find these projects? There are many registries that list educational projects, such as:

* Internet Projects Registry

* Education Place Project Center

* European schoolnet — Collaboration

* Classroom Projects

* achieveonline.com.au: Society and Environment

* SurfAquarium

* Blue Web’n

These are just a few of the many registries that list educational projects. Most projects are free, but some require a small fee to participate. Each project is different. There are math and science projects, as well as history, art and even music projects. Many projects have online quizzes, as well as ways to interact with other groups who are also participating.

One of the best ways to interact is with Email. Of all of the school Email accounts out there, the one that I have enjoyed the most is ePals. ePals has a moderated, safe environment for students to use on collaborative projects, or just for a simple cultural exchange of hellos. If you get the paid version of ePals, there is even file sharing component available for the students.

I have worked on many international collaborative projects with my students and I found the three below, each very different from the others, to be the easiest:

Listening to the WallsTalk

The goal of “Listening to the Walls talk” is to teach students basic geographic and research skills. A secondary, but possibly more important goal of this project is to record the history of houses and neighborhoods around the world. According to the National Historic Trust, historic sites have fascinating, engaging, and compelling stories to tell. Preserving these places, listening to their stories and learning from them are essential to our understanding of who we are. Each participating class submits a group project as a Web page about the story of their neighborhood, complete with pictures, maps and diagrams focusing on the architecture, landscape and geographic and demographic references. Then, for each class, the teacher will also submit the best individual stories about the students’ homes.

Space Day

An award-winning global celebration that is dedicated to the extraordinary achievements, benefits and opportunities in the exploration of space. The goal of Space Day is to advance science, math and technology education and to inspire children to realize the vision of our space pioneers. This project has “design challenges” created for elementary and middle school students. All participating groups are encouraged to work with other groups for a finished product. My students have worked with others from such places as Norway, Canada and throughout the US.

ENO

ENO-Environment Online is a global virtual school for environmental awareness. Four different environmental themes are studied within a schoolyear ( Social, Natural, Cultural Environment and Sustainable Development ) on a weekly basis. ENO schools learn from each other, submit data from their local environments and analyze it. ENO Prorgram has been running since 2000 and it is organised and co-ordinated by Eno School District in Eno, Finland. It has received support from National Board Of Education and European Commission.

Note: If you want to start small and slow, that’s ok, too. I began by going to ePals Search for Classrooms and searching through their database of registered classrooms. From this small beginning, I worked with other teachers one on one on such projects as Intolerance, astronomy and basics cultural exchanges.

So, what’s keeping you? Go Global!

Kevin Hogan is Editorial Director for Tech & Learning Magazine. Read more about technology in education at www.techlearning.com

At Naperville North High School’s Celebration event, guests-including the mayor of Naperville, George Pradel (bottom)-watched students using their new technology.

NAPERVILLE NORTH HIGH SCHOOL, NAPERVILLE, IL

GRANT & AMOUNT AWARDED: HP Innovations in Education; $265,000

WHAT THEY ARE DOING WITH THE GRANT: The goals of the district’s Technology Enabled Education through Innovative Technology (TEE IT up!) Program are to teach technology skills and teamwork and to help students learn about high-tech opportunities. The school received HP tablet PCs, printers, mobile workstations, mini notebooks, and graphing calculators. Teachers were given money to attend conferences. Students have teamed up with mentors from local companies and universities to tackle real-life problems pertaining to math, engineering, and science.

WHY THEY THINK THEY WON: Naperville had packaged the idea for an earlier grant application. The HP grant was a good fit, and the curriculum director knew that the school could act on it immediately. “We had a very thoughtful plan for what we wanted to do and how we would use the technology,” says Julie Carlsen, grants coordinator.

HOW LONG IT TOOK TO GET THE MONEY: Naperville sent in the application in April, it learned the result in May, and it received the equipment in July. The teachers also went to an HP event over the summer.

WHAT THEY’LL DO DIFFERENTLY NEXT TIME: Not much, according to Carlsen. The school had put a lot of work into the proposal and was very prepared.

JEFFERSON COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS, LOUISVILLE, KY

GRANT AND AMOUNT AWARDED: GE Foundation’s Developing Futures in Education Grant; $35 million

WHAT THEY ARE DOING WITH THE GRANT: Improving student achievement through inquiry-based instruction. With the money, the district bought a new math curriculum as well as hands-on science modules and intervention programs. It also pays for math and science resource teachers to provide embedded professional development.

WHY THEY THINK THEY WON: Jefferson County already had a lot of the system processes in place, such as the literacy initiative “Everyone Reads,” so GE felt that the district was ready to go to implementation.

HOW LONG IT TOOK TO GET THE MONEY: Some was given immediately, and the district receives $5 million every year.

WHAT THEY’LL DO DIFFERENTLY NEXT TIME: “Our challenge, and we’re doing a fine job at it, is trying to be systemic across a large district,” says Sharon Shrout, director of instructional technology. “We must make sure that one department’s work is supporting another department, that we are staying aligned with these initiatives, and everyone is moving together to do the same work for our students.”

WARREN TECH HIGH SCHOOL, LAKEWOOD, CO

Warren Tech students learn to use such cutting-edge technology as tablet PCs to solve problems and develop 21st-century skills.

GRANT & AMOUNT AWARDED: HP Innovations in Education Grant; $265,000 in HP products and professional development

WHAT THEY ARE DOING WITH THE GRANT: To prepare students for the changing workplace, the school provides training in such skills as problem solving and workplace ethics. Teachers use the products to help students make connections between the technology in their classes and technology in the real world: Fire-science students use the technology in their practical work; dental students use it for note taking and case management; and health-science students use it for research.

WHY THEY THINK THEY WON: “I think it’s because we are on the cutting edge of using technology, applying it to real life, and allowing students to access it,” says Joe Shaw, principal. “We were already doing some of this work; the grant has given us the ability to go even further.”

HOW LONG IT TOOK TO GET THE MONEY: HP awarded the grant in April 2009, and the equipment was in the building before July 1.

WHAT THEY’LL DO DIFFERENTLY NEXT TIME: The school is looking at more of the STEM piece, Shaw says. “We’re working with two STEM academies next year. We see that as a path to go down with our programs.”

ILLINOIS MATHEMATICS & SCIENCE ACADEMY (IMSA), AURORA, IL

GRANT & AMOUNT AWARDED: 2009 Intel Schools of Distinction Star Innovator Award; $27,500 from the Intel Foundation and $250,000 worth of additional products and services from sponsors

WHAT THEY ARE DOING WITH THE GRANT: IMSA established an innovation mini-grant program. Some of the approved faculty and staff projects are interactive software for Mandarin Chinese classes, teaching scientific inquiry at the middle school, career Webinars, advanced use of technology in wellness-learning experiences, and streamingvideo demonstrations.

WHY THEY THINK THEY WON: Intel sponsors this award to honor schools for implementing innovative mathematics and science programs and serving as models for other schools. IMSA was selected because of its comprehensive program, which incorporated innovative and effective use of technology, engaging parents and the community in students’ education, fostering professional development and teamwork, and consistently achieving high academic standards.

HOW LONG IT TOOK TO GET THE MONEY: The district received the funds right after the award ceremony, in September 2009.

WHAT THEY’LL DO DIFFERENTLY NEXT TIME: “We will continue to use our curiosities, energies, and resources to develop innovative strategies and practices in science, mathematics, and technology applications for education to apply for new grants,” says Brenda Buschbacher, coordinator of public information.

Grant-Writing Strategies

CHOOSE THE RIGHT GRANT

Don’t just go for the big money or a grant that you’ll build a program around. Pick one that is truly a match for your school.

MAKE IT MEMORABLE

Schools that win make an impression. Let them see how you will transform the school. Make it vivid; make it stand out in an authentic way. Make the judges cry if that’s what it takes.

BE A GRANT REVIEWER

If you can review grants for someone, such as the mayor’s office, you will quickly learn what makes applications stand out.

ASK AN OUTSIDER TO DO A READ-THROUGH

You can’t rely on the reviewer’s having the same level of tech knowledge as you or being able to piece together what you’re saying. One big mistake grant writers make is thinking “I explained that five pages ago, so I don’t need to say it again.” Don’t be afraid of appearing to repeat yourself; you want to be clear and thorough.

REPRESENT YOUR NEEDS ACCURATELY

In a public grant, you have to say where your failures are or you won’t seem to have a need for the money. Your goal is to look needy without looking like the black hole of neediness. Describe the need, what you have already done, and what this money will allow you to do.

START EARLY

It sounds obvious, but you have to give yourself time to bring in all the appropriate partners and consider the budget. If there are any matching requirements, you’ll need time to find the right match.

READ THE DIRECTIONS CAREFULLY

Know who has to sign off on everything before you start so you’ll know if they’ll need time to do this. Pay attention to what’s required and to who must do it. No one wants to lose because of a technicality.

Tips provided by Karen Greenwood Henke, managing director of Nimble Press and founder of Grant Wrangler; Jan Mitchell Johnson, founder and CEO of Grantsformation, Inc.; and Christine Klein, principal of Klein Consulting.

Kevin Hogan is Editorial Director for Tech & Learning Magazine. Read more about technology in education at www.techlearning.com

1. Use Renzulli Learning as a differentiation machine.

At the School of One, each child completes a Renzulli Learning profile. Each student’s unique profile indicates how they like to learn, their interests, and their learning styles. Students are then tagged by their profile. When lessons (known as playlist selections at the school) are provided to the students, they are uniquely matched to the student’s learning profile. Students are grouped for lessons by profile, which means that they may receive individual, small-group, peer, or whole-group instruction based on matching students with similar learning profiles.

2. Use data to differentiate instruction.

The School of One compiles the various data sets on each student to design instruction directly aligned to the student’s needs based on performance indicators. This data is used to create a unique learning-needs assessment profile for each student, outlining areas of strength and weakness.

3. Tag lessons to allow for differentiation.

Lessons are aligned to each performance indicator and then tagged to various learning profile selections. This is done by placing lessons in a shared space where teachers can access them.

4. Use space to support differentiated instruction.

The School of One is thinking differently about the use of space and has converted the school library into a flexible learning center. Teachers can do the same within their classrooms, and by collaborating with other educators in the school. The learning center has areas for students to work independently, with peers, in small groups, and as a whole group. Classrooms can be designed differently to account for such flexible grouping and collaboration with others in the school.

5. Differentiate instruction by connecting with a variety of learning providers.

Differentiating instruction means saying goodbye to a one-size-fits (or provides success for) all curriculum. In a differentiated model, lessons are aligned specifically to data, standards, performance indicators and student learning profiles. At the School of One, there are opportunities such as educational games, online coursework from providers like Apex and Compass Learning, teacher created lessons, materials from various textbook providers, individual and peer tutoring from expert high school students and online tutors, and more.

The School of One learning walk provided a refreshing opportunity to see a school put many promising practices in place to result in a uniquely differentiated experience for each child.

Kevin Hogan is Editorial Director for Tech & Learning Magazine. Read more about technology in education at www.techlearning.com

A committee of experts on diverse subjects has attempted to determine the scope of efforts to teach engineering in elementary and secondary schools. Issues include types of curricula and professional development; how engineering education interacts with science, technology, and mathematics; and the impact of initiatives.

No reliable data are available on the precise number of U.S. K-12 students who have been exposed to engineering-related coursework. Most formal K-12 engineering programs in the U.S. emerged in the early 1990s. Since then, fewer than 6 million students have had some kind of formal engineering education. Enrollment for grades pre-K-12 for U.S. public and private schools in 2008 was nearly 56 million.

According to committee member Robin Willner, vice president, Global Community Initiatives, IBM, “we looked at hundreds of cases. An intriguing finding was that engaging young people in hands-on projects in engineering and design provides effective ways for them to learn core math and science concepts.”

Committee chair Linda P. B. Katehi, chancellor of the University of California, Davis, believes that “Engineering in K-12 Education: Understanding the Status and Improving the Prospects” improves understanding of engineering across the board. Noting that students make up their minds by fifth grade if they like math and science, she says, “We couldn’t find much work on how early kids understand a design process (and it has to be designed appropriately). We suggest introducing engineering experiences very early in the process. Teacher learning will be critical. Although 18,000 teachers have had in-service experience, we need many more to use problem-solving.”

M. David Burghardt, co-director of Hofstra University Center for Technological Literacy, a professor of engineering and author of 11 books on engineering and secondary-school technology education, sees the report as gaining the attention of people interested in K-12 engineering. “It’s a great step forward. If we think of ‘engineering for everyone,’ what that means is not known; we need a better lens on technology in the world we live in.”

Alan G. Gomez, who teaches at the University of Wisconsin College of Engineering and an engineering instructor and career and technical education coordinator for Sun Prairie Area School District, says, “This is a first step in organizing. For ten or fifteen years, people have been thinking about it, but this is the infancy of the movement.”

CONNECTING DISCIPLINES

Regarding the question of whether engineering should be taught as a single subject or used as a catalyst for interconnected STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) education, UW’s Gomez says, “There’s a need for integration into existing courses versus stand-alones. It’s additive in nature, integrating content. We want to have more engineers, yes, but let’s capture all students.”

Right now, STEM education doesn’t show natural connections among the four subjects. Committee chair Katehi says, “Engineering and technology have never really played a role in STEM; engineering could be the integrator.”

Greg Pearson, project study director and senior program officer at the National Academy of Engineering, points out, “STEM is an acronym used casually today as a synonym for science education-a misrepresentation of STEM. Engineering as a subject of interest and usefulness gets lost. However, the number of engineering-related programs has increased from zero 20 years ago to a small but significant number. A purpose of the study is to open people’s eyes to hidden potential.”

Recommendations regarding curriculum, policy, and funding (see sidebar), plus an analysis of K-12 engineering curricula, are presented along with a look at cognitive sciences about student learning of engineering-related concepts and several case studies. From several dozen engineering curricula and programs, 15 detailed curriculum analyses are presented.

Will K-12 engineering education heighten awareness of engineering and the work of engineers, increasing an interest in engineering careers, and will it increase technological literacy of students? The goal is not specifically to produce engineers, but to integrate design concepts within STEM programs. The learning standards aren’t developed, and guidance for teacher professional development is limited. There are no national and statelevel assessments of student accomplishment. No single clearinghouse collects relevant information.

ISSUES AND OBJECTIVES

Issues include methods of teaching engineering, available material and curricula, and interaction among STEM subjects. UW’s Gomez says, “Teachers are already swamped, and they will not buy into the rationale of a stand-alone course.”

The committee conducted literature reviews in areas of related conceptual learning, and development of engineering skills and their impact, and collected information on some precollege engineering education programs in other countries.

One objective was to provide guidance to stakeholders regarding creation and implementation of K-12 engineering curricula and instruction, focusing on connection among STEM disciplines.

Other objectives were to survey current and past efforts to implement engineering-related K-12 instructional materials and curricula in the U.S. and other nations; review evidence related to their impact; describe ways in which content has incorporated science, technology, and mathematics; and report on intended learning outcomes of the initiatives, taking into account student age, curriculum focus, and program orientation, and which policies and programs might come into play at different governmental levels.

AREAS OF AGREEMENT

There is a consensus that an emphasis be placed on engineering design, as well as incorporate appropriate math and science skills through varied technology tools.

The promotion of engineering “habits of mind” was suggested. Many people believe these are essential skills for citizens in the 21st century-systems thinking, creativity, optimism, collaboration, communication, and attention to ethical considerations.

According to the committee’s vision for STEM education, all students who graduate from high school will have a level of STEM literacy that ensures their successful employment, postsecondary education, or both. They will be prepared to be competent, capable citizens in a technology-dependent, democratic society. Natural connections of engineering to science, mathematics, and technology enable it to be a catalyst to achieve this vision. Integrated STEM education could improve teaching and learning in all STEM subjects, leading to reevaluation of “currently excessive expectations for STEM teachers and students.”

Finally, for engineering education to become a mainstream component of K-12 education, there needs to be much more, and much better, outcomes-based data.

Hofstra’s Burghardt notes that professional organizations have been “pushing at the fringes” of these issues; he hopes for forthcoming collaborations. “Integrating engineering concepts allows us to have authentic tasks to apply reasoning to. We need to see what it looks like at different grade levels. Connect the technology and design as a unifying thread.”

Kevin Hogan is Editorial Director for Tech & Learning Magazine. Read more about technology in education at www.techlearning.com

Since I began teaching technology, I have run the gamut of student exceptionalities. But then, I have always felt an affinity for Special Needs Students. In college, I volunteered with profoundly mentally disabled children. Even during student teaching, I found myself giving up my lunch and prep times to hang out in the Exceptional Ed classrooms.

I was the winner in all of that, though! I got to meet children who were still going and still struggling, against all odds. I got to help in the local Special Olympics as a coach. And I got to learn from the best teachers in the business, the ESE (Exceptional Student Education) teachers.

Upon first glance upon entering an ESE classroom you might think that nothing is going on. Sometimes the room is very still. But this is all deceiving! It is because most ESE teachers know something that the rest of us don’t. Patience is everything.

ESE classrooms are also very structured. Children with learning disabilities seem to do better in structured environments where they know what is expected of them almost every minute of the day. It can be a comfort knowing when things are going to happen.

I have watched the ESE teachers repeatedly teach one concept, using many different strategies. I have seen them continue trying to encourage a child, long after I, personally, would have given up. Then, I have seen the look of complete joy when a 15-year-old profoundly disabled child finally learns the meaning of a danger or stop sign.

In my classroom I volunteer to include TMD (Trainable Mentally Disabled) students, as well as other levels of Exceptional students in my classroom. I wonder if the general public is even aware of all the exceptionalities the average teacher is required to be prepared to accommodate in the average classroom? We have all had classrooms in which the diversity ran from gifted to LD, with AD/HD, dyslexia and other learning disabilities thrown in as well. And each child has to be taught, and each disability has to be accommodated.

Mainstreaming must also address individual student needs. Some of the main categories of accommodations are 1) Employ effective motivational techniques 2) Provide organizational assistance 3) Alter design of materials 4) Alter presentation of lessons and 5) Alter the physical environment.

With technology and a firm belief in Constructivist teaching, I find myself having to do very little in extra accommodation with my mainstreamed students. This is because it is already built into the way I teach. And thanks to my ‘background’ in ESE, I have also learned to be very structured in the way I conduct my classes. (This is very hard for me, as my chaotic desk will attest!)

My class is designed with learning disabilities in mind. I try to present the information at least three ways. I use visuals, I talk about it, and then I guide the students through the concept in a working example. The students do everything at their own pace. This also works well for those who finish early and can take the basic concepts and improve upon them. Take for example when I taught Flash 5.0. The object of the lesson was to learn how to make simple animated buttons for navigation. All of the students made buttons, but some of the gifted students went beyond and created more advanced animations, as in Click on the Planet

I have also created a packet for my special needs ESE students. This packet includes software from Knowledge Adventure (JumpStart Preschool, JumpStart Kindergarten and JumpStart 1st Grade; as well as MathBlaster) The ESE kids love these programs, and find them relatively easy to use. I have also created a disk with simple work for students, such as writing their name, their address, or words that are used often in everyday life. It looks like the work assigned to the other students, but is individualized to the ESE students’ needs.

Each class I teach begins with three journals. Anyone who uses bell work (daily work or journals) will sing its praises because they know it gets students mentally ready to work without yelling, screaming or other tactics that teachers and parents use to get students attention.

My three journals also only take up the allocated 5-10 minutes. But with 3 journals, I have a lot of leeway to work with ESE students. My three journals make use of technology, the Internet, and reading/writing skills.

I also use the buddy system with some students, pairing them up with other students to help them. I used to use gifted students to budy the other children with, but I have found that other ESE students (with less severe disabilities like ADD or dyslexia), or even those with behavior problems, work best with the special needs students. I don’t know if they are more empathetic, or whether they enjoy being the ones doing the helping for a change.

In my beginning computer classes, I have found that I can teach almost any level of student without too much juggling of materials and strategies. This is because the students are learning Notepad (almost all students can be taught to open Notepad and to write something in there!), MS Word (again, opening and writing anything) and MS Paint.

Now when the average student is working on writing a story and putting in clipart and other formatting techniques, the ESE student might be copying a kindergarten or pre-school book. They might just be writing their name and address. The important thing is they are in a classroom, with students their own age, working on something that will benefit them.

I think my best success story with mainstreaming involves a TMD student in my beginning classes. He was very high functioning and I had to make very few accommodations for him. I had arranged for a chat between a NASA engineer and my students. It was to be moderated, with the engineer only having the time to answer a few of my students’ questions. I was so surprised, and so pleased when one of the questions that was answered was posed by my TMD student. I remember his face – and that of all the students. We all stood up and cheered!

The advanced classes are a bit trickier to mainstream than the more seriously disabled ESE students. But again, the journals, packet and a buddy system are a lifesaver. The students all come in, and immediately begin work on journals. In the advanced classes, I usually have two to three buddies for each ESE student. This way, if the ESE student needs a lot of one-on-one, no one buddy is going to miss out on everything that is going on in class.

I am always surprised at how the students fight over who is going to get to help. Now, realize, I teach middle school. I also teach technology which is still a bit top heavy with boys. So I have boys fighting over who is going to lose computer time to help a disabled child. I LOVE IT! And since I do teach computers, the students never want to get behind, and they take the responsibility to make sure that they personally get all missed work.

I am sure that if you are teaching other subjects, the students might not be so gung-ho to get old back-work, so if you also mainstream, and use the buddy system in other classes, I would make sure that you are prepared in advance to take care of the volunteering students and their work.

I guess through all this, I didn’t talk much about the ESE students themselves. In 4 years, I have not had any trouble, whatsoever with a mainstreamed seriously disabled ESE student. Not one has tried to disrupt my class, not one has done anything weird or inappropriate. But every one has come to me hugging and thanking me for allowing them into my classes. They want to be with the other kids. They want to feel a part of the school and not isolated.

Kevin Hogan is Editorial Director for Tech & Learning Magazine. Read more about technology in education at www.techlearning.com

Through the use of videoconferencing, teachers at Eastview Middle School have been able to plan and coordinate experiences for their students that not only fulfill the objectives of their curriculum, but also address the larger goals that our school district has for its students, such as fostering and developing leadership skills, promoting the concept of global citizenship, and providing students with experiences that develop their emotional intelligence.

The interactive, immediate qualities of this mode of communication appeals to a variety of learning styles and the developmental needs of adolescents, in particular, those of social interaction and self-expression. Student motivation, coupled with teacher enthusiasm and administrative support, has caused our videoconferencing initiative to grow from one school in 2001 to four schools by September of 2004. Eastview has also developed partnerships with 17 school districts in our surrounding communities and over 23 international partnerships. Our district recognizes and supports the endless possibilities and benefits that this technology can bring to our students and our community.

The World is our Resource

Institutions that carry videoconferencing, such as museums, science and technology institutes and many other educational institutions, can add value to lessons and enable teachers to give students the opportunity to interact with experts without leaving the classroom. A good program will offer curriculum-based content and include pre- and post-teaching materials that supplement standards-based units of learning. During a quality videoconference the teacher becomes a facilitator and the expert leads the session. Sessions should be highly interactive, thereby engaging the students to become active participants in their own learning. This year our students have experienced and interacted with experts from the Cabinet War Room in London, a diver from the Australian Barrier Reef, and Health, and Social Service officials in South Africa. Videoconferencing gives the concept of primary resources a whole new face.

Promoting Tolerance and Global Awareness

A strong emphasis on infusing global awareness and developing tolerance has also been our focus in using videoconferencing as an educational tool. In the past two years, we have developed a strong partnership with Global-Leap, a project supported by the British government’s Department for Education and Skills (DFES). Videoconferencing in the Classroom is a site developed by teacher Mike Griffith, who is devoted to helping other teachers make natural curricular connections with resources throughout the world.

Mike Griffith states, “Incorporating an awareness of global issues into the curriculum, and developing innovative classroom resources and strategies, encourages an understanding of world issues and interdependence. We hope to provide a framework from which our students can become active and effective world citizens. By making the curriculum more topical and global, it becomes more relevant to the lives, experiences and interests of pupils, now and in the future. A global dimension can help to demystify the unfamiliar and to enrich the learning process in linguistic, subject specific and cross-curricular ways.”

The Youth Summits for Global Harmony project, founded by teachers from the St. Wilfrid’s School in England and teachers from Eastview Middle School is a good example. During the 2003- 2004 school year, 12 schools from 10 countries have participated in collaborative projects. The goal was to guide our students in pondering universal essential questions, and these questions have guided our international work.

This work will encourage students to participate in dialogues, debates, presentations and performances as schools from around the world share their knowledge, experiences and ideas with each other. Students become their own experts and each other’s audiences. Examples of these collaborative partnerships include foreign language exchanges with classrooms in Mexico, Costa Rica and Canada, cultural exchange presentations including dance performances with partner schools in New Zealand and Argentina, and dialogues about personal challenges, world perceptions and discrimination with students from Kosovo, Afghanistan and South Africa.

The sheer power of this kind of communication medium was demonstrated when our eighth grade Health Studies students, learning about HIV and preventative awareness, were able to interview HIV-positive students in South Africa. Students were able to hear first-hand about the severity of this global issue as they ‘put a face’ on this epidemic that before was simply a distant abstraction.

Students were moved from apathy into empathy as they began to form an emotional connection to the people on the other side of the world. So connected were these students that they took action and conducted a fundraiser for the Growing South Africa Foundation to sponsor a vegetable garden for a school in Johannesburg, South Africa. As educators these are the learning opportunities that we must strive to provide for our students. Careful planning and research will enable us to teach the child as a whole, and as an intellectual and emotional human being.

As with any new initiative we were faced with many challenges. Teachers needed training, we needed to gain district and community support and develop teaching materials that reflected curriculum. Patience and perseverance became our mantra throughout the last few years as we slowly began to address our needs. We developed turn-key training courses for our teachers.

A committee of 13 teachers met frequently to discuss concerns and the development of our initiative, and we invited administrators, parents and board members in order to gain the support of our district. We even created several videos documenting our conferences for training and public relations purposes. The concept of videoconferencing in a classroom was difficult for many to imagine .We needed, therefore, to create a resource to help people visualize how it could be used as a teaching tool that added value to units of study.

Additional Uses of Videoconferencing

Videoconferencing saves time and money. Through the use of this technology, professional development opportunities that might otherwise be unaffordable for a school district became available to teachers and administrators. Ties with colleges and universities to take advantage of their resources such as trainings, certifications and career development opportunities, can enrich existing programs. Interviewing potential candidates, parent support workshops, sharing teachers between schools, and presenting at conferences are all other possibilities to explore.

Equipment

Based on our experience thus far, here are several key factors to consider when buying equipment for your school:

* Select equipment you can grow into. There are two ways to make a connection: either IP (Internet) or through ISDN (telephone lines). Buy equipment that is capable of doing both even though your network might not be ready yet or you don’t have ISDN lines. Progress happens fast and you want to be ready.

* Select your vendor carefully. When selecting a vendor it is imperative that you investigate their support and help-desk services. Teachers will need support, lots of it. Our vendor, IVCi, has given us impeccable service, advice and on-demand support through their help-desk, and this has been critical to our success. They are also very experienced in this field and share their knowledge readily. They offer products and services for all of the leading manufacturers of videoconferencing units, including Tandberg and Polycom, and will help to supply an affordable unit based on your budgetary requirements.

The Human Connection

Human interaction and communication are basic human needs. Videoconferencing is a powerful communication tool that has the potential to change the way we deliver information to students. As globalization affects more of our society there is an increasing need to be globally aware and tolerant. As tomorrow’s generation, students need to develop an understanding of citizenship on national and international levels and practice exercising their rights and responsibilities as such. Schools are microcosms of the wider world. Videoconferencing is just one of today’s integrative technologies that help educators address these new educational challenges as they offer opportunities that empower students to prepare for their lives as responsible, integral contributors to society.

Kevin Hogan is Editorial Director for Tech & Learning Magazine. Read more about technology in education at www.techlearning.com

For example, standard word processing software, such as Microsoft Word, offers a fundamental tool for students but not much intrinsic value. However, using blogs can tap into something very important for high school students, the chance to be heard by more people than just the teacher. If students are allowed to complete essay projects in a blog rather than in the more traditional format, student bloggers can write out their ideas so the world can listen. The result is more thoughtful and more creative writing, which helps promote student literacy.

For years MS PowerPoint has been considered the “creative tool” which propels students to become more creative in their presentations. But again, PowerPoint and similar presentations are often viewed only by the teacher and the class. But the Web 2.0 presentation applications, such as Slideshare and Zoho Show allow students to create presentations and share them with the world.

Using the program requires that students build their project in PowerPoint (or similar software) first and upload it; but knowing that they are uploading it promotes ingenuity during the original creation.

Zoho Show is less popular but does allow the students to build their project in a web based application. So, those who can’t afford presentation software for their computer, and thus would never complete this type of project, now have a new opportunity. Also, both of these sites allow students to view other people’s amazing visions. This opens the floodgates for their imaginations.

Some of the most interesting student work I’ve seen at my school has come in the form of video projects. Students have easy access to video cameras today and often make movies for their own entertainment. Many students are comfortable playing with editing software and because of free video hosts like Youtube and Google Videos, anyone can post to the web. Allowing students the option to create video projects and then share them in an online network is exciting.

Animoto is a newer video production website that allows students to upload pictures, select music, and easily produce a short 30 second movie. It’s hard to assess student learning in a 30 second project, but using this tool to replace a paragraph or two of an essay or as an intro to a presentation project gets students interested in the assignment.

Up until last year, student collaboration has proved difficult in an online high school. However, with the increase in usability of wiki’s and the ability to create my own social network using the Web-based network-builder Ning, it has really begun to take off. Wiki’s can act as editable databases, processor documents, multimedia hosts and any number of additional functions. The idea that people can constantly transform information on a page through real time collaboration is very exciting.

Students can post ideas and get feedback from other students with whom they are working. They can bounce ideas back and forth expanding or narrowing their original concepts. Our social network gives students a place they can go to make friends, socialize, and work together. They can discuss their ideas, share research, and collaborate. The key, though, is that they make friends first and the social part of the network allows them to do that in a more natural way than my saying, “partner up with someone and work on this project together.”

Implementing Web 2.0 tools in my courses has given me an opportunity to open the doorways of creativity and have students walk through it rather than supplying the gentle motivational nudge to which I’m accustomed.

Kevin Hogan is Editorial Director for Tech & Learning Magazine. Read more about technology in education at www.techlearning.com

1. Have the students write examples on their own worksheet that is set up like the Smartboard template. For example, if you are doing a Venn Diagram on the Smartboard, the students should be writing answers in their own Venn Diagram at their desks.

2. Create pre-made answers on pieces of paper that they can place in their own Venn Diagrams at their seats (using paper, cut-and-paste).

3. At our schools, the teachers have plastic rings that can be hooked together to make a Venn Diagram. The students could use these at their seats for more of a guided practice activity.

4. Provide the students sitting at their seats or in the circle with an activity that corresponds to the activity currently taking place on the Smartboard. For example, I have had preschool students singing a song (and learning it) while the student at the Smartboard did an interactive flannel board activity. I played a music CD in the background with the music from Hickory, Dickory Dock. The students sitting in the circle sang while the helper moved the mouse up and down the clock on the Smartboard.

5. Give students answers or questions on slips of paper, allowing them to take turns coming up to the Smartboard. This will keep them focused on the lesson as they wait for their turn to come. (This reminds me of the zip-around games) For example, each student is given a part of a plant to label. When it is time for that part to be labeled, the student comes up to the Smartboard and either writes the name of the part or clicks and drags the name of the part.

6. Create your own whiteboards for students to use at their desks with laminated white poster board, or have students use individual dry erase boards at their seats. Provide the template for the students to place on top of their “whiteboard.”

7. Slide in some heavy paper (or a hard copy of the template) into a three ring binder page protector. Students use dry erase markers to write on their pages.

8. Create team activities for use with the Smartboard. Split the class into two teams and let the students take turns from each team to go up to the Smartboard and answer questions (such as math problems).

9. Create a classroom job of “Presenter” or “Vanna” in which a student is responsible for helping with the Smartboard presentations for the week (for example, have that student help move the slides in a Powerpoint from one to the next.)

10. Create a list of rules and procedures for times when you use the Smartboard. These can parallel your current classroom rules (for example, no talking while a student is working on the Smartboard, listen carefully at all times, be gentle with the Smartboard). Make a sign that you bring out only during Smartboard lessons.

I truly believe the Smartboard will take the place of the chalkboards or whiteboards currently used in most classrooms. Managing the use of the Smartboard should be viewed as if you were using the chalkboard or whiteboard as you normally do during lessons. As the teacher, preparing students for lessons is key to managing that lesson.

Kevin Hogan is Editorial Director for Tech & Learning Magazine. Read more about technology in education at www.techlearning.com

An LCD projector connects to a computer (laptop or desktop), allowing the computer’s screen to be viewed by the entire class. Additionally, many can be connected directly to VCRs, DVD players, and even some PDAs.

In short, an LCD projector brings the world to the class. Show multimedia presentations, streaming or downloaded videos – anything that can appear on your computer screen can be projected with an LCD projector.

Cost

What used to be a big-ticket item has fallen dramatically. I have met several teachers who have even purchased their own projectors so they didn’t have to compete for the few in their schools. A low-end LCD projector can be purchased for about $600-$700; on the upper end, you might spend thousands of dollars. A big difference between low-end and high-end projectors is the number of lumens – the brightness – of the projector.

A lot of lumens can mean better viewing in a brightly lit room. Low-end products may require that you lower the shades. Other differences would include lamp life (lamps are expensive to replace) and screen resolution.

Classroom Uses

Modeling. Are you teaching how to use a specific program or how to solve a quadratic equation? Show your students how by using an LCD projector. The entire class can see how you import a graphic into KidPix; have students come to the computer to try it themselves, with the class watching.

Large group work. Brainstorm that concept map with your class using an LCD projector; everybody can clearly see it and add their ideas and thoughts.

Mark up the screen. Combine an LCD projector with an interactive whiteboard, a tablet PC, or a less expensive drawing tablet (with “inking” capability) to allow you to write on a projected image to highlight sections. Save the projected image along with your onscreen notes to a file to post on your Web site or print out and distribute to students. An interesting example of screen markup I saw was an art teacher who projected an image of famous works of art, then had her students come up and trace over the image to get the feel of what the artist may have felt creating it.

Back to school night. An LCD projector, a computer, and a slide show of classroom snapshots (taken with your digital camera, of course) add up to a pleasant introduction to your annual back to school night presentation.

Kevin Hogan is Editorial Director for Tech & Learning Magazine. Read more about technology in education at www.techlearning.com

1. How do wikis work?

Generally, a user begins a wiki on a particular topic and invites others to participate in creating content using an interface that’s similar to basic word processing software. Because new content is continually being added by contributors, wikis are considered fluid works in progress (changes are tracked as “page history,” so it’s possible to see the development of the wiki over time). In addition, wikis typically include forums that let users discuss the content they’re creating.

2. What are the educational benefits of wikis?

Wikis are extremely flexible tools that have many classroom, professional development, and administrative uses.

Classroom: Students can use wikis as platforms for collaborative problem solving; group laboratory reports; “WebEssays” (essays that combine images, text, and hyperlinks); classroom writing projects; and the creation of a class “textbook.” Basically, wikis can be used to support any type of collaborative student project.

Professional Development: Wikis are handy tools for planning workshops or conferences. Trainers can post documents and other resources at the wiki prior to the workshop and have participants create and post their own notes during the event. Later, participants can return to the wiki to further reflect on what they’ve learned.

Administrative Uses: Administrators can leverage wikis to allow teachers, technology staff, and others help create and edit policy documents.

3. Are they free?

Most Web-based wiki tools are free or offer a free version of their product that includes basic features. However, “free” wikis typically contain advertising such as Google AdWords. Teachers wanting to use a free wiki solution should be aware of district policies concerning ads and school-related uses of the Web.

4. What wiki tools are available?

There are a variety of wiki tools. Some are hosted online; others are available as server-based open source software. For a comprehensive comparison of more than 50 types of wiki platforms, visit WikiMatrix. Additionally, there are wiki solutions available for learning management systems like Blackboard and Moodle. What follows is a sampling of tools schools might want to consider.

PBwiki: This site says creating a wiki is as easy as making a peanut butter sandwich, features an attractive design, an easy-to-use interface, RSS feeds, and the option to password-protect content. PBWiki supports itself through Google AdWords. More robust features such as advanced permissions are available for a monthly fee ($5, $10, or $25 per-month options).

Wikispaces: Wikispaces is an outstanding tool that’s free for K-12 educators, and more important, it’s free of advertising. The education-specific pages are private so only space members can edit them. With its easy editing interface, Wikispaces is a good choice for teachers getting started with wikis.

EditMe: This is a full-feature wiki interface with multiple levels of authoring control and viewing (such as public view, public edit, administrative edit, and more) through password protection. The advertising-free wiki pages offer easy editing through a WYSIWYG interface. EditMe’s cost-per-month starts at $4.95.

WetPaint: A new player in the wiki hosting environment, WetPaint offers a simple editing interface, password protection for registered users, RSS feeds for content distribution, and a unique moderator option that lets individual contributors monitor wiki content and user behavior. WetPaint’s free wiki pages contain Google AdWords.

MediaWiki: MediaWiki is a free server-based wiki tool. Because it’s hosted on a school’s internal server, no ads are present. Although its page-editing tools are somewhat challenging to learn, MediaWiki offers a complete solution for schools to create a wiki environment tailored to their needs.

5. How much support is required to maintain a wiki?

Web-hosted wikis like PBWiki and Wikispaces are easy to construct, use, and maintain. In fact, a teacher with basic technology skills can begin using wikis relatively quickly. Another benefit of going with the hosted option is that all interface support is handled by the wiki provider so there’s minimal technical support required. In contrast, open-source solutions such as MediaWiki demand more robust support and programming knowledge. Installation is typically handled by a district’s technology department.

6. What are potential concerns about using wikis?

Wiki pages have the potential to be very useful for educators. However, their strengths can also be limitations. Because they can be edited by anyone, wikis are subject to vandals-individuals posting inappropriate content that distracts from the purpose of the wiki page. To address this issue, most wikis offer a “notify” feature that automatically notifies wiki monitors/administrators of any changes. Monitors can then delete irrelevant or inappropriate content. In addition, publicly-accessible wikis are vulnerable to spam. One solution to this problem is to password-protect your wiki pages.

As for wikis in the classroom, there’s still the age-old issue of one student doing all the work on a collaborative project. Teachers should closely watch changes to the wiki (through the wiki history feature) to get a clear understanding of student contributions.

Kevin Hogan is Editorial Director for Tech & Learning Magazine. Read more about technology in education at www.techlearning.com