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May 17, 2005 - Vol. 6, No. 20
TechLearning News
- A scientifically designed research study returned evidence that web use, carefully designed and integrated into the curriculum, can raise student achievement.
- A rural Pennsylvania school district serving 900 students has become a showcase for cutting-edge technology.
- Increasingly teachers are using e-mail to keep in touch with parents, to communicate with school and district administrators and to collaborate with colleagues.
- As federal funding runs out, the Indianapolis Public Schools' program that has provided free laptop computers to students at three middle schools since 2001 is at risk.
Virtual Field Trips Raise Test Scores
A scientifically designed, albeit small, research study returned evidence that web use, carefully designed and integrated into the curriculum, can raise student achievement. Students at two Maryland middle schools who participated in three online field trips scored higher on a national standardized reading comprehension test than those who used traditional learning methods alone. Working with reading experts, Maryland Public Television (MPT) designed the filed trips to support social studies and language arts curriculum content using numerous highly engaging interactive experiences and activities. MPT developed reading enhancements such as professional narration of primary source material, vocabulary lists, and extensive teacher support materials and instructional strategies for the three online field trips: Pathways to Freedom: Maryland & the Underground Railroad, Exploring Maryland's Roots and Knowing Poe: the Life and Times of Edgar Allan Poe. Associated lesson plans and classroom activities can be used to build phonics skills, vocabulary, and comprehension of content knowledge. The support allowed teachers to seamlessly integrate the online experience with the curriculum. Reading comprehension improved most significantly among the poorest readers and also among low-income students.
Source: U.S. Newswire
Rural District Leading the Way in PA
A rural Pennsylvania school district serving 900 students has become a showcase for cutting-edge technology. Glendale School District has developed a creative solution to a common problem plaguing many rural districts — limited or no Internet service. The BRAIN (Broadband Rural Area Information Network) initiative is a collaborative effort between area schools, businesses, and community organizations to provide affordable wireless broadband service to community members living within the school district's boundaries and beyond. Teachers and parents use the network to communicate with each other about student progress and to pull digital content for instructional purposes. BRAIN also supports 24/7 student access to learning and reinforces other district initiatives, such as attaining one-to-one computing for its students (all seventh grade students currently utilize digital tablets) and technology-enriched curricula. The district, with a budget of around $10 million a year, relies on grants to supports its technology efforts, averaging $70,000 a month in grants. The Center for Excellence in Rural and Medically Under-Served Areas (CERMUSA,) located at St. Francis University, has been working with Glendale in efforts such as a recent push to give the district access to Internet2, which allows high-quality distance-learning classes and videoconferences. For CERMUSA, the tradeoff to giving Glendale access to such technology is that it gets to use the district as a laboratory toward its mission of identifying technologies that work in rural areas. Glendale is working to try to extend the powerful Internet connections it has to neighboring districts, knowing that access helps level the playing field.
Source: Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
Schools Find E-Mail a Mixed Blessing
For some teachers e-mail has replaced the photocopied newsletter, informing parents about the next field trip, upcoming school events and information about material that is being covered in class. Despite having to cope with too many messages from anxious parents and unrealistic parental expectations about how quickly they can respond, most teachers find that e-mail saves time, eliminating phone tag and helping them keep in touch with parents and colleagues. Some teachers also use e-mail for more private matters — keeping parents informed of their children's progress, any troubling behavior and disciplinary actions. Many administrators maintain that e-mail is not the appropriate forum in which to discuss confidential information about a student, advising teachers against writing anything in an e-mail that they would not want shared widely. Certainly, they caution teachers against hasty responses in the heat of the moment. Schools are just beginning to explore the legal implications of e-mail communication — how long e-mail needs to be retained, policies on archiving or deleting e-mails. And there are concerns about equity issues — relying too heavily on e-mail communication can disadvantage families that are not connected to the Internet. Aside from communicating with families, e-mail is becoming a staple of in-school communication. Principals use it to keep teachers informed, prepare for the week ahead, and recognize teachers' special accomplishments, thereby cutting down on the need for meetings. Some districts require teachers to turn in their lesson plans electronically. And district communication also is moving to e-mail. It's easier for teachers to be positive about these changes if they have ready access to an Internet-connected computer. But like it or not, school communication is going electronic.
Source: Distance-Educator.com
Indianapolis Laptop Program At Risk
Indiana's pioneering Buddy Project was giving students computers that they could use at home long before laptop programs were even thought about. Buddy shut down several years ago, but not before the idea of sending computers home took hold in a number if Indiana school districts. Indianapolis Public Schools (IPS) has provided free laptop computers to students at three middle schools since 2001. For many poor families that computer has been a lifeline not just for the students, but for family members who can check on student progress at school, look for jobs, and improve their own education. With the federal grant that has supported the Tech-Know-Build program running out in July, it seems unlikely that the district will be able to continue the program. IPS officials spent about $3.2 million of the grant on new Apple iBook laptops for Attucks, Forest Manor and Harshman middle schoolers. Students also are given high-speed modems and free Internet access at home to use with the laptops. To keep the program going, the three middle schools are developing plans that will scale back the program next fall. Students will no longer automatically get laptops for personal use, instead having to check them out from a laptop take-home pool. The schools will also have to shoulder maintenance fees, such as replacement of batteries, which cost $90 each, and repair charges.
Source: The Indianapolis Star
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