tkt8763-01: Special Notice: Coming Prepared

["Larry S. Anderson -- NCTP" <lsa1@ra.msstate.edu>]

Well, it's finally here!  Seminar in Planning for Instructional Technology
begins tomorrow morning, Monday, July 26.  We will meet in Room 253
upstairs in the IED Building.

Remember, this is a very high-level graduate seminar where, if you really
apply yourself, you will learn more new, energizing, phenomenal material
than any other "experience" (notice that I do not call this a "course;" it
is much, much more than just an ordinary course!!) in which you have
engaged previously.  This week, as we share a face-to-face experience,
coupled with our online student partners, we will push the envelope of
maturation for all of us.  I plan to work diligently to become the best
learner in the entire batch; I make you that pledge.  

Sleep will be a distant partner to us this week; we are "top-shelf"
professionals who are engaged in an emerging realization that we shall not
pass this way again, so we shall strive to make the very best of this
limited time we have.  We are as the metaphorical ships passing in the
night, except we want to keep our search lights on, ever-hopeful that we
don't miss a thing!!  Treasures abound if we will only remain alert for
their oft-serendipitous appearance.  Even gold dust will slip through our
fingers if we dare become the least bit lax!

Also, we will have two remote classrooms connecting to us, via the
statewide Mississippi Interactive Video Network (MIVN) -- Tupelo High
School and Grenada.  One word of information for those of you in Tupelo
and Grenada, though....there is the possibility that we may not be able to
connect with you immediately at the beginning of class tomorrow.  I don't
know what we will find; however, I suggest that y'all have a computer
online at your site so we can send out a message regarding the status of
our live connection after we get class started tomorrow morning.

Now.....in order to make sure you come prepared, let me refresh your
memory on what I expect each of you to have accomplished by the time we
gather tomorrow morning:  (and all this has been communicated to you via
the web site and the letter which was mailed out) --

1) Make sure you have downloaded, printed, and read a copy of the
"Guidebook for Developing an Effective Instructional Technology Plan,"
Version 2.0, available via the class web page or the NCTP web page.  Bring
your copy of the Guidebook to class with you.

2) Make sure you have downloaded, read, and have at least a basic
understanding of MS Senate Bill 3350.  Of particular importance is the
section dealing with the makeup of the Council for Education Technology
(CET), the responsibilities charged to the CET by the Legislature, and the
amount of money appropriated through the Legislature for technology
enhancement.

3) Bring with you the URL for your web site where you have posted your
critiques, etc.  Many of you have sent that already; however, I want you
to have that information handy for class tomorrow.

4) Bring your $9 for your journal if you have not bought one already.  I
will have these available for you...and I want you to begin making entries
in them right away.  Remember, too, that I expect you to have your name
embossed in gold on the front cover, as this will make the words and
thoughts you commit to your journals worth ever so much more!  This is not
an exercise in triviality; to the contrary, it is an opportunity for you
to capture some of the most regal thoughts of your lifetime!

5) Notice from the assignment page(s) that you have some critiques due
tomorrow.  The critiques for your technology plans (remember, you were
required to critique five (5) plans) are due, as well as some critiques
for the books/tapes you have been consuming.  We may have some time
tomorrow for sharing what you have learned from these.  Check the
assignment page if you have any questions.

6) During the week, we will plan to engage in some interactive online
chat sessions.  Perhaps some of you have used particular chat software and
feel comfortable with it.  There are certain features we seek in the chat
software we will employ...and strategies that guide our selections.  For
now, I suggest that especially those of you who are taking the class as an
online experience download and install the AOL Instant Messenger software.
Then, email the class what your screen name is so we can add you to our
list of partners especially for this week.  We will have the AIM (AOL
Instant Messenger) available for use during class; as well, we will use
the chat feature of AIM.
   Also, I have established a Seminar in Planning "circle" at
www.ecircles.com, so if you go there, you might be able to get enrolled.
   I suggest that some of you also check out the "Tapped In" area.  You
can find that location by conducting a web search for Tapped In.

********
During this week, I plan for us to have several interactive sessions with
experts in Mississippi and at a national level.  If all our plans "come
off" as dreamed, you will be able to get to know some of the premiere
"techno-eagles" of our profession.  This should be exciting.  In
preparation for that, I suggest that you investigate the following:
   a) National School Boards Association (NSBA) Institute for the Transfer
of Technology to Education (ITTE) at www.nsba.org/itte.  You will want to
check out the Education Leadership Toolkit, as well.  Familiarize
yourselves with the work of NSBA in the area of technology planning. Also,
see if you can determine who these people are:
     Rachel Kliewer
     Ann Flynn
   b) Edweb (edweb.gsn.org).  What is the purpose of EdWeb?  Who is Andy
Carvin?  What is the connection between EdWeb and the Corporation for
Public Broadcasting?  Who is the New Media Officer at CPB...and why is
that an important fact to know?  As you search for information about Mr.
Carvin, you should be particularly watchful for his keynote speech, "Come
Together, Right Now: Forging Educational Communities on the Internet,"
then read it and be prepared to reflect upon its significance to
technology planning.
   c) Who is Bob Hughes...and why is that important?  To help direct your
search, Mr. Hughes is a former Executive Vice-President of Boeing Aircraft
in Seattle.  What is he doing now?  What, if anything, is his relationship
to technology planning for schools?
   d) Who is Chip Kimball?  What is the "tie" between Dr. Kimball and
technology planning?
   e) Who is Cheryl Lemke?  What is the Milken Family Foundation and its
Milken Exchange for Educational Technology?  What is the significance of
this organization, Ms. Lemke, and technology planning?
   f) Who wrote the Mississippi Master Plan for Educational Technology?
When was it written?
   g) Who is Jim Rohn?  What is his relationship to technology planning
principles and strategies?

That should be enough to get you started for tomorrow.  I'll have more
"scavenger hunt" articles for you tomorrow.

Let's gear up, strap ourselves in, and get ready for the ride of our
lives!!

--Dr. A

Larry S. Anderson, Ed.D.                              LSA1@Ra.MsState.Edu
Assoc. Prof., Dept. of Technology & Education       Voice: (662) 325-2281
Founder, National Center for Technology Planning      Fax: (662) 325-7599
                    Mississippi State University
Chair, Council for Education Technology              State of Mississippi
         My personal home page URL-- http://www2.msstate.edu/~lsa1
                    NCTP web page -- http://www.nctp.com

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