Going the Distance!
November 2005
Newsletter Articles:
Greetings from GCI SchoolAccess
You are receiving this email as a friend of GCI SchoolAccess.
NEW READER SURVEY. This
month we have added a monthly reader survey to the newsletter. During November we want to find out your views on laptops versus textbooks in
the classroom. To take the poll, please go here.
Laptops Chosen over Text Books at Arizona High School
Empire High School, a new school in Vail, Arizona, began this year providing laptop computers and an all-laptop curriculum. Vail School Superintendent Calvin Baker said that Empire High had the advantage of being a new facility. This allowed the school to hire teachers committed to laptop technology. Students had the ability to choose if they wanted to attend the school, so they tend to be excited about the program. The school has not purchased any textbooks, allowing students and teacher to solely use laptops as a resource. For more information, please visit http://www.voanews.com/english/AmericanLife/2005-10-20-voa65.cfm.
Montana's Teachers Urge State to Fix School Funding System
According to the Missoulian, education advocates at Montana's annual teacher convention in Missoula are frustrated with state government officials for not meeting the Montana Supreme Court Oct. 1 deadline for fixing Montana's school funding system. Eric Feaver, president of the Montana Education Association-Montana Federation of Teachers, spoke at the conference urging immediate gubernatorial and legislative action. He criticized the Quality Schools Interim Legislative Committee for its proposed funding scheme. The interim committee chairwoman Rep. Monica Lindeen, D-Huntley, argued that progress toward a solution is on schedule. For more information on this story, please visit http://missoulian.com/articles/2005/10/21/news/local/news04.txt.
USF Funds Allocated to Hurricane Katrina Victims
On October 14th the FCC released Order FCC 05-178 regarding the implementation of Chairman Martin's September 15th announcement to use $211 million in federal Universal Service Funds for areas affected by Hurricane Katrina. Approximately $211 million from the Universal Service Fund ("USF") that was intended for the reconstruction and remediation relating to the restoration of telecommunications services has been allocated to assist the victims of Katrina to help them recover from the catastrophic damage. USAC is reviewing the Order. For the latest information on USAC's administration of the Order please visit http://www.universalservice.org/new/2005.asp#101705.
Upcoming Events
32nd Annual ALASBO Conference
Dates: Dates: 12/5/05-12/5/07
Location: Anchorage, AK, Hotel Captain Cook
The annual Alaska Association of School Business Officials Conference will be held in downtown Anchorage at the Hotel Captain Cook. For more information, please visit www.alaskaacsa.org/ACSA/calendar.html.
Texas Computer Education Association, Technology Gone Wild, TCEA 2006
Dates: 2/06/06-2/10/06
Location: Austin, TX
At this conference education professionals from all over Texas and surrounding states will come together to experience the latest technology solutions for their teaching environments. For more information, please visit www.tcea.org.
AASA 2006 (American Association of School Administrators): The National Conference on Education
Date: 2/23/06-2/26/06
Location: San Diego, CA
At this conference you can discuss what's happening in your district with other school leaders from similar districts as well as hear from some of the leading thinkers and practitioners in education. It is also the place to go to examine best practices in leadership, curriculum, technology, governance, and school law. For more information, please visit www.aasa.org/nce/.
AVTEC Offers Digital Literacy Training on Your Desktop
With travel costs rising each year, it is becoming cost prohibitive for many employers to send an employee to a location to receive computer training. Employers are continually looking for new cost-effective ways to train workers so they are more productive using computer hardware, software, networks, and the Internet. In October 2005, the Alaska Vocational Technical Center (AVTEC) began a course that provides industry specific digital literacy training to business and industries around the state of Alaska-without the organizations' employees ever leaving their workplace. AVTEC's online Digital Literacy certification track is made up of 3 courses, each lasting 9 weeks in length. For more information about AVTEC's online training courses, please visit www.avtec.alaska.edu/Deptlist.htm.
Online Resource Available for Teachers Employing Videoconferencing
When faced with the logistical challenges of setting up a distance learning program using videoconferencing, teachers may not know where to begin. While a rewarding experience, teaching using videoconferencing equipment takes some adjustment and planning. Authors Susan Mason
and Mike Davis offer a thorough online resource titled, "A Teacher's Guide to Videoconferencing" to help in this process. This guide offers valuable information about planning and production of a videoconferencing program, as well as assessment strategies for lesson planning, classroom
management and assessment. Teachers also have access to successful distance learning case studies and a wealth of instructional resources on educational videoconferencing. Recommended by the Alaska Distance Learning Partnership (ADLP),
this site provides the information distance learning teachers need to get started. For more information, please visit http://www.netc.org/digitalbridges/teachersguide/vdeoconferencing.html.
GCI SchoolAccess is also an expert resource on this subject and can answer many of the questions that teachers have.
