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March 15, 2005 - Vol. 6, No. 11
TechLearning News
- Young people spend an average of nearly 6½ hours a day with media, according to a new report from the Kaiser Family Foundation.
- Evidence is mounting that integrating technology into arts education is attracting more students and providing new ways for students to experience course content.
- The Clark County School District has just unveiled a new web site that allows students to practice for Nevada's math proficiency exam.
- School districts that are faced with declining enrollments are learning to use tools more familiar to the world of marketing and advertising.
Kids Master Media Multi-Tasking
Young people spend an average of nearly 6½ hours a day with media, according to a new report from the Kaiser Family Foundation. Children and teens are spending an increasing amount of time using "new media" like computers, the Internet and video games, without cutting back on the time they spend with "old" media like TV, print and music. Instead, because of the amount of time they spend using more than one medium at a time (for example, going online while watching TV), they're managing to pack increasing amounts of media content into the same amount of time each day. The study, "Generation M: Media in the Lives of 8-18 Year-olds," examined media use among a nationally representative sample of more than 2,000 3rd through 12th graders who completed detailed questionnaires, including nearly 700 self-selected participants who also maintained seven-day media diaries. TV and music are the dominant youth media, with young people spending an average of three hours a day watching TV (nearly four hours (3:51) when videos, DVDs, and prerecorded shows are included), and about 1¾ hours a day (1:44) listening to the radio or to CDs, tapes, or MP3 players. Interactive media come next, with young people averaging just over one hour a day on the computer (1:02) outside of schoolwork, and just under 50 minutes a day (0:49) playing video games. Reading is close behind, at an average of 0:43 a day spent reading books, magazines, or newspapers for something other than schoolwork. The 6½ hours a day devoted to media compares to about 2¼ hours (2:17) spent hanging out with parents, almost 1½ hours (1:25) spent in physical activity each day, just under one hour (0:50) spent doing homework, and about ½ hour (0:32) spent doing chores. Just under one-third (30%) of young people say they either talk on the phone, instant message, watch TV, listen to music, or surf the Web for fun "most of the time" they're doing homework. Another third (31%) say they do so "some" of the time.
Source: Kaiser Family Foundation
Virtual Art Meets Real Art
Evidence is mounting that integrating technology into arts education is attracting more students. In Pennsylvania's Haverford Township School District, the addition of secondary school music-technology courses boosted enrollment from 300 students to over 1,400. The addition of technology allows students who do not play an instrument or are not especially interested in dance to experience course content in a new way. In dance class, students use a software program that allows them to build, pose, and animate a figure — or group of figures — in time. No replacement for performing, the software helps students visualize moves, from basic to extreme. As a culmination of the class, students will choreograph a "virtual" routine and a dance sequence for themselves that both complements and contrasts with the virtual performance. Music students use software that allows them to select sound clips from libraries of music that are in the public domain. They can arrange sounds from a variety of instruments or human vocals, add elements such as clapping hands or animal noises, stretch the sounds, change the pitch or loudness, and then arrange all the sounds together. The process helps students understand how music is put together and makes them more aware of individual sounds. While many arts program struggle for survival in this budget-strapped environment, a few cutting-edge schools are leading the way. For technology integration to increase, arts teachers will need adequate equipment and ready access to it; technical support to ensure that teachers and students can make the most of their time with the technology; and professional development to find the best ways to use computers and other equipment in their lessons.
Source: Education Week
Online Practice for Nevada's Math Test
Students in the Clark County School District have a new tool to help them prepare for Nevada's math exam. The district has just unveiled a new web site that allows students to practice for the test, getting instant feedback and help where needed. The math test has proven to be a stumbling block for a number of students. Nearly 20% of the Clark County 2004 senior class failed to earn regular diplomas solely because they couldn't pass the math proficiency exam. Clark County's not alone here. In 2003, 25% of seniors statewide failed to pass the math test. The district's curriculum and professional development division created the online practice site. Students in grades 10 through 12 will be able to log on using their district ID numbers and take the practice exam as often as they like. The district has set a goal of having at least 50% of its 10th graders pass the math proficiency test on their first attempt. First-time pass rates have been slowly rising, aided by initiatives that enrolled more students in algebra by eighth grade and into geometry and upper-level math classes in high school.
Source: Las Vegas Sun
Schools Take To Marketing 101
School districts that are faced with declining enrollments are learning to use tools more familiar to the world of marketing and advertising. The Mounds View (MN) School District spent $15,000 to produce an infomercial to attract students to its schools. The seven-minute, professionally produced video - available online, by DVD, on the local cable channel and in the offices of local real estate agents - features Mounds View students, staff, parents and alumni promoting their schools. If the video attracts just three new students, it will pay for itself. Last year, the district spent about $10,000 to market its schools, attracting about 200 new students. Several other Minnesota districts are following Mounds View's lead. The West St. Paul-Mendota Heights-Eagan school district hired a communications consultant, hoping to attract back students currently attending nonpublic schools. The Hopkins School District is creating a PowerPoint sales pitch set to music, spending about $2,000 for ads, and inviting prospective students to look around. Other districts prefer to rely on word of mouth. In every case, however, the message is the same — that neighborhood schools are good schools. Mounds View's video highlights the fact that more than half of the district's students perform in the top 25% in the nation in math and reading, some student clubs and performing arts groups have achieved national recognition, and (for good measure) competitive athletic teams have won numerous state competitions. The Mounds View video can be downloaded at http://www.moundsviewschools.org/enroll_movie.asp.
Source: St. Paul Pioneer Press
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