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bct-l: FW: TechLearning News, November 15, 2001 - No. 26



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-----Original Message-----
From: TechLearning [mailto:tlearning@cmp.com]
Sent: Thursday, November 15, 2001 6:14 PM
To: TechLearning News
Subject: TechLearning News, November 15, 2001 - No. 26


TechLearning News
A bi-monthly update brought to you by Technology & Learning and the
Consortium for School Networking.

November 15, 2001 - No. 26

IN THIS ISSUE

1. Friendship Through Education
2. NJ Addresses the Digital Divide
3. Distance Learning in South Dakota
4. Maryland Plans Statewide Online High School
5. Web Snapshots in Time
6. New at TechLEARNING.com
7. CoSN News


---------------------------------------------------------
This issue of TechLearning News is sponsored by
The George Lucas Educational Foundation:

Kids learn from expert entomologists via a simple Internet connection, and
prospective teachers experience the benefits of hand-held computers. The
George Lucas Educational Foundation (GLEF) documents innovative models of
K-12 teaching and learning already successful in today's schools. Browse
hundreds of articles, video clips, resources, and interviews on topics
such as technology integration, project-based learning, assessment, school
leadership, and more.

http://www.glef.org

---------------------------------------------------------

IN THE NEWS
Visit TechLEARNING.com for the full story:
http://www.techlearning.com/content/ednews

FRIENDSHIP THROUGH EDUCATION
Friendship Through Education is a consortium of non-governmental
organizations and private groups committed to connecting children from
different nations in an effort to bridge cultures and broaden
understanding. As the first stage in this initiative, three schools in the
US communities most directly affected by the September 11 terrorist
attacks will be linked with schools in Islamic nations.
Source: Friendship Through Education
http://www.FriendshipThroughEducation.org

NJ ADDRESSES THE DIGITAL DIVIDE
The New Jersey Department of Education's Office of Educational Technology
administers 39 ACE Centers located in economically disadvantaged school
districts. The centers are designed to help students achieve New Jersey's
Core Curriculum Content Standards through instructional activities
available to students beyond school hours.
Source: New Jersey Department of Education
http://www.state.nj.us/njded/techno/ace/

DISTANCE LEARNING IN SOUTH DAKOTA
The number of South Dakota schools offering courses using the state's
Distance Learning Network (DLN) has more than doubled in just one year -
from 46 schools in 2000 to 96 schools this year.
Source: Distance-Educator.com
http://www.distance-educator.com/dn2.phtml?id=5332

MARYLAND PLANS STATEWIDE ONLINE HIGH SCHOOL
Next year, Maryland hopes to put a statewide high school online, expanding
a program already used in 10 of the state's 24 counties. About 350
students would be able to sign up for classes in the sciences, math,
literature and even macroeconomics -- topics that might lack sufficient
appeal in a traditional school to justify the space and expense such
courses would
require.
Source: CNN.com
http://www.cnn.com/2001/fyi/teachers.ednews/09/10/online.schools/index.html


WEB SNAPSHOTS IN TIME
The Wayback Machine is a free service that makes old Web pages available
to anyone who can log onto the Internet. At last count, more than 10
billion pages were archived.
Source: the New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2001/10/29/technology/ebusiness/29NECO.html

----------------------------------------------------

NEW AT TECHLEARNING.COM

Visit TechLEARNING.com for the latest features and departments from the
new issue of Technology & Learning magazine plus reader-written articles
and Web tours.
http://www.techlearning.com/content/new/new.html
http://www.techlearning.com/content/about/tl_current.html

NEW T&L FEATURES

* Top 10 Technology Breakthroughs for Schools
With input from our advisory board and regular contributors, we chose the
top technologies that make us think in new and innovative ways about the
concept of school.
http://www.techlearning.com/db_area/archives/TL/200111/toptech.html

* Into the Digital Lab with Physics Software
>From exploring the laws of gravity to testing out a new space-time theory,
high school students can do a little bit of everything with these physics
programs.
http://www.techlearning.com/db_area/archives/TL/200111/physics.html

* Tech Support: More for Less
Here's how three districts are providing and maintaining the most advanced
technology for the least amount of money.
http://www.techlearning.com/db_area/archives/TL/200111/whatworks.html

MORE@TECHLEARNING

* Online News for Kids and Teachers
Read All About It - This tour takes you to exemplary newspaper sites for
students and teachers, as well as to online news magazines, news sites
sponsored by television networks, and some interesting sites students can
use to increase their knowledge about current events throughout the world.
http://www.techlearning.com/db_area/archives/WCE/archives/newskids.htm

Professional Development:
Got an implementation problem? Someone may have a solution. Check out PDQ
(Professional Development Quicktips) for new ideas every day and an
archive of great strategies.
http://www.techlearning.com/content/outlook/pdq/

The IT Guy:
Need a hot tip for a cold network? Or a cool idea for a hot system? Check
out The IT Guy's daily tips for keeping your technology humming smoothly.
Here you'll find service with a smile.
http://www.techlearning.com/content/outlook/itguy/

Shopping Ideas:
Need product information? Search the Product Reviews database for software
and products that meet your needs.
http://www.techlearning.com/review.html

----------------------------------------------------

NEWS FROM COSN
Visit CoSN.org (http://www.cosn.org) for information on advocacy and
leadership development.

YEAR FIVE ERATE WINDOW NOW OPEN
The application window to file Form 471 for Year Five of the eRate program
opened Monday, Nov. 5. Schools have 74 calendar days to submit Form 471,
the form that applicants use to state what services and providers they
have selected. The window officially closes Thursday, Jan. 17, 2002 at
11:59 p.m. EST. All Form 471 applications received during the window will
be considered as having arrived simultaneously and will have greater
priority than forms received after Jan. 17. Schools and Libraries Division
(SLD) President George McDonald is urging schools to "file early and file
online" using a new electronic certification feature. Applicants should
use the new Eligible Services List
(http://www.sl.universalservice.org/reference/eligible.asp) as they
prepare Form 471, which indicates changes and clarifications in the
eligibility of some products and services. Internet2, wireless networks,
and voice over IP are now eligible for eRate discounts in Year Five.

SCHOOLS INVESTING IN NETWORKS
U.S. public school districts are projected to increase server spending to
$153 million in the 2001/2002 school year, up 8.5% over the previous year.
Research from International Data Corp. indicates that almost half of the
nation's 14,000 school districts plan to purchase at least one new server
in the 2001/2002 time frame, with many upgrading entire networks. IDC, all
three networking areas -- LANs, WANs, and enterprise applications -- are
driving server expansion in schools. IDC research found LAN penetration at
individual schools surpassed 90% in the 2000/2001 school year. WAN
adoption is also strong -- penetrating nearly 51% of all U.S. school
districts, according to IDC research

THE DIGITAL DIVIDE DEBATE - PHASE 2
The Nov 9 issue of the Chronicle of Higher Education carries an
interesting story on the digital divide. The article reports that some
researchers are expressing concern that a narrow focus on the digital
divide may be doing more harm than good. Focusing on lack of access among
minority groups, these scholars say, could discourage businesses or
academics from creating content or services tailored for minority
communities, ultimately making the digital divide a self-fulfilling
prophecy. Too often, these scholars say, discussions about the digital
divide focus on installing computer hardware rather than on helping
develop online content for underrepresented communities or on trying to
use computers to solve problems. The article, which can be found at
http://www.distance-educator.com/dn2.phtml?id=5559, goes on to detail
several efforts to create a more nuanced dialogue on the issue.

HIJACKING DEFUNCT EDUCATION SITES
In what is becoming a familiar pattern, the former website of the 21st
Century Teachers Network is now a porn site. The original site expired
when 21st Century Teachers shut down, but the domain was bought by a
company that runs adult sites. The problem is that many educational
websites feature a link to the site and individual teachers may have
bookmarked the original site. For example, Yahoo still links to "21st
Century Teachers" as if it were an educational site. Brokers are "mining"
lapsed domain names on the Internet and then buying the domain names and
reselling them. Porn sites, in turn, are looking for names that have many
links to increase their chance of unintended visits. Often, it is possible
for the former sire owner to buy back the domain name, though at a premium
price. Former owners can also file a grievance with ICANN, the
international body that regulates registrars and domain name registrations
on the Internet, to reclaim the old name.

TECHNOLOGY LEADERSHIP TOWN HALL MEETINGS
CoSN is co-sponsoring a series of free teleconferences on important policy
and leadership issues. November's satellite Town Hall meeting will be on
Smart Budgeting for Technology.  Topics include Total Cost of Ownership
(TCO) models, planning for future technology purchases, and budgeting
processes that include the TOTAL costs of owning and integrating
technology. The broadcast is scheduled for November 15, 4:30-6:00 pm
Eastern Standard Time. Register online at http://www.serc.org

----------------------------------------------------

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