Going the Distance!
December 2005
Newsletter Articles:
Greetings from GCI SchoolAccess
This monthly newsletter is designed to provide helpful news and tips to teachers, administrators and school technology coordinators. Have a happy holiday season and winter break!
Students Broadcast Wrestling and Cheerleading Tournament using Videoconferencing Technology
Students from the Bering Strait School District (BSSD) utilized the videoconferencing services of GCI SchoolAccess to broadcast their annual district-wide elementary/ junior high wrestling and cheerleading competition from Unalakleet, AK in November. The broadcast was entirely student-produced with the use of four cameras and editing software. It was broadcast to all the BSSD schools, as well as to anyone else outside the district who wanted to tune in.
According to John Concilus, coordinator of educational technology at BSSD, hundreds of parents, grandparents and other relatives at the various schools were able to watch the students compete. For some, this was the only chance they had to watch kids from the village wrestle or cheer. Concilus spoke of the educational value of the experience: "The students now understand how much effort is involved in pulling off a major event like this, and see that it takes lots of folks working a little extra, pushing a little harder, and not accepting failure as an option." This innovative use of videoconferencing reveals an outstanding level of technological integration by the students and also exemplifies how this technology can unite people across far distances. For more information, please visit http://www.bssd.org/sports.shtml.
Distance Learning Provides Assistance to Montana Students
Approximately 270 Montana students are benefiting from the Montana Schools E-Learning Consortium, which provides online classes taught by certified Montana teachers. Under the No Child Left Behind Act, teachers must have a college major in the subject they teach. This standard has posed a problem for smaller schools, who do not have enough qualified staff to teach all of the subjects desired. As a result, the E-Learning Consortium allows students to take classes online that are unavailable at their school. Last year, schools were surveyed to determine what courses would be offered online. Surveys will continue to be conducted each year to determine the student's needs. For more information, please click here.
Anchorage School District Set to Hire Minorities
The Anchorage School Board has formally set it as one of its goals for the upcoming year to hire more nonwhite staff members. Currently, 44 percent of the students in the district are nonwhite, compared to only 18 percent of employees. This statistic has been fueled over the past decade with an increasing minority student population while the minority staff-base has remained constant. Possible ideas include working with both university and high schools to nurture and develop creative minority candidates, as well as having older minority students who enjoy working with others help out in elementary schools. For more information, please visit
http://www.adn.com/news/education/story/7130596p-7039097c.html.
Governor Murkowski to Ask Alaska Legislature to Increase School Funding
Alaska Governor Frank Murkowski announced on Sunday November 6 that he will ask the Alaska Legislature to increase funding for K-12 schools next year by $90 million. If approved, funding for schools will have increased by 33 percent during his administration, marking the largest funding increase in Alaska's history. The increased funding will be used to cover public employees' and teachers' retirement systems, to make yearly progress under the federal No child Left Behind Act, and for increased fuel and other expenses. For more information, please visit http://www.eed.state.ak.us/news/funding.html.
Help Students Prepare for College
Many students in small schools in rural areas are unable to take the classes that they desire because of the limited number of specialists at their school. Furthermore, because smaller schools employ a fewer number of teachers, many students are unable to take classes that will better prepare them for their area of interest in college. But through the use of its Distance Learning Service and Enhanced Internet Service, GCI SchoolAccess can provide students in small schools in rural areas with the opportunity to take classes that are not offered at their school, and more importantly, that will better prepare them for college. If your school needs assistance, GCI SchoolAccess can either provide the resources to help or can connect you to a specialist in your desired field.
For troubleshooting tips or for answers to questions about SchoolAccess call the Help Desk at 1-888-254-2858 or via email at schoolaccess@gci.com.
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.alasbo.org.
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/.
