Intended Consequences PODCASTS

HB 4294

Wed, 3 Jun 2009 19:56:06 -0600

As Texas goes, so goes the nation...at least when it comes to textbooks for our kids. That is why HB 4294 is important.

Faithful followers of this podcast may remember our interview with Jennifer Bergland when TxTAN was announced at the last TCEA. Here is the link.
You may also remember some Texas legislative big wigs talking about how the textbooks companies have the state by the proverbial short hairs, and it is time to wrest control back to the districts, so that they can spend money on things other than 16th century texts. (Here and Here) So it is really no surprise that the TExas Legislature has passed HB 4294, a bil that would allow for the use of textbook money to be used for something else, say computers.

Jennifer Bergland is with the TCEA and sent out an all call to Texas ed bloggers, asking them to blog about the bill, and urge people to call Gov. Perry and urge him to sign it. From her email:

HB 4294 is being sent to the Governor's desk for his signature. This bill received wide bipartisan support in both houses of the Texas legislature. Every Senator supported the bill, both liberal and conservative. Still, there are some who are opposing the bill because they perceive this as undermining the State Board of Education (SBOE). I know that even some of our members feel this way as well. As someone who has supported most conservative causes and been a strong supporter of the SBOE, let me give you the rationale as to why I support HB 4294.

It is important to note that the SBOE will still have complete control over the content of the curriculum and textbooks. This bill requires districts to purchase at least a class set of textbooks for their schools. IF districts CHOOSE to do so, they may purchase only the required class set, then use the rest of the funds set aside for textbooks to purchase additional supplemental items placed on a Commissioner's list. The Commissioner's list concept isn’t new. The idea to include this list in HB 4294 came from the Student Success Initiative. In order to improve reading and math instruction, the state has funded instructional materials on the Commissioner's list for qualifying schools. In order to get on the Commissioner's list, a product has to go through a process to ensure that it meets the SBOE approved TEKS and that it has scientific-based research indicating that the product will improve academic achievement.

HB 4294 does not eliminate the important statutory role of the SBOE in textbook review. As we all know, state and local funds have always paid for a variety of instructional classroom materials that were not approved by the SBOE. The intent of HB 4294 is not to undermine the SBOE. Instead, it would allow districts that only use a class set of textbooks to use funds for instructional materials rather than wasting money on warehousing unused textbooks.

I am urging you to contact Governor Perry to request him to sign HB 4294. Those opposing the bill are calling him to ask him to VETO the bill. We must let our voices be heard as well.

Governor Perry needs to hear from those who support this measure…that HB 4294 is about our kids, and it’s about time.

Being too lazy today to do a blog entry, I decided to have Jennifer tell you herself why this is important.

So, after listening to the podcast, send an email to some friends to listen to the podcast and then go to this website and urge Rick Perry to sign the bill.

Here is the link.

Here is the phone number: 800-252-9600

Here is the fax number: 512.463.1849

Here is where he works:

Here is a PDF File about the bill.

Here is a FAQ about the bill.

Podstock reflections.

Mon, 4 May 2009 21:46:30 -0600

Tim Holt talks to Joe Meza and Kimberly Wright from EPISD about the recent PODSTOCK conference they attended in Wichita Kansas.

Podstock was the brainchild of our good friend Kevin Honeycutt and is proof of what happens when one person has the will and the persuasive power to get something done.

Joe and Kimberly represented our area quite well, and here are some pictures to show the good time they had.

MTT Course

Sat, 2 May 2009 15:12:05 -0600

Tim Holt talks to Dr. Barbara Shaw of the University of Texas at El Paso's Master Technology Teacher Certification program. What is MTT? Why should one enroll?
What is involved in the course? Dr. Shaw explains how the MTT works and how to get into it.

ISETS Translation Software

Mon, 20 Apr 2009 21:08:49 -0600

A look at an interesting translation software for PCs.
We give it a short science test with a teacher who happened to be passing by.

Dan Adams gives a demo of what could be a very useful software for teachers that have students that do not speak English and don’t speak spanish.

Promethian at the YISD Technology Fair

Mon, 20 Apr 2009 20:46:33 -0600

A look at the new Activeinspire software and interactive whiteboards from Promethian.

www.promethian.com

Video recorded at the Ysleta ISD Technology Vendor Fair on Thursday, Apr. 16, 2009.

Why Students Don't Like School

Wed, 25 Mar 2009 15:28:48 -0600

Why Students Don't Like School is Tim Holt's interview with author Dr. Dan Willingham, a cognitive scientist that looks at the brain's reason that students don'tparticularly like school. There are specific reasons and specific remedies to make school work more meaningful.

From Amazon:
Why Don't Students Like School?

Kids are naturally curious, but when it comes to school it seems like their minds are turned off. Why is it that they can remember the smallest details from their favorite television program, yet miss the most obvious questions on their history test?

Cognitive scientist Dan Willingham has focused his acclaimed research on the biological and cognitive basis of learning and has a deep understanding of the daily challenges faced by classroom teachers. This book will help teachers improve their practice by explaining how they and their students think and learn—revealing the importance of story, emotion, memory, context, and routine in building knowledge and creating lasting learning experiences.

In this breakthrough book, Willingham has distilled his knowledge of cognitive science into a set of nine principles that are easy to understand and have clear applications for the classroom. Some of examples of his surprising findings are:

"Learning styles" don't exist The processes by which different children think and learn are more similar than different.

Intelligence is malleable Intelligence contributes to school performance and children do differ, but intelligence can be increased through sustained hard work.

You cannot develop "thinking skills" in the absence of facts We encourage students to think critically, not just memorize facts. However thinking skills depend on factual knowledge for their operation.

Why Don't Students Like School is a basic primer for every teacher who wants to know how their brains and their students' brains work and how that knowledge can help them hone their teaching skills.

About Dan Willingham:
Dan earned a B.A. from Duke University in 1983, and a PhD in Cognitive Psychology from Harvard University in 1990. He is currently a Professor of Psychology at the University of Virginia, where he has taught since 1992. Until about 2000, his research focused solely on the brain basis of learning and memory. Today all of his research concerns the application of cognitive psychology to K-12 education. He writes the “Ask the Cognitive Scientist” column for American Educator magazine.

http://www.danielwillingham.com/home

Richard Leoffler on Online Homework Help

Mon, 23 Feb 2009 21:50:27 -0700

Tim Holt talks to Richard Loeffler from Region Service Center 20 in San Antonio on the "Just in Time Online Tutor" program. What is online tutoring, where is is used, and how are campuses using it in Texas?

Is this the future of homeowrk in Texas?

For more information, contact:

Richard Loeffler at
richard.loeffler@esc20.net or at 210.370.5668, or
Susanna Garza at
susanna.garza@esc20.net or at 210.370.5634.

A Vision of Science Fair Projects Today

Mon, 23 Feb 2009 14:26:07 -0700

After blogging about this topic for several years in a row, I figured maybe if I did a short video with Karl Fisch-like pictures and ominous music in the background, people may pay attention a little more. So here is my video: A Vision of Science Fair Projects Today:
Enjoy.

Turn About is Fair Play

Fri, 13 Feb 2009 21:28:54 -0700

I have been known to cause a stir every once in a while for video taping people, usually public officials, then letting them know that their talk has been posted on the web.

So, I guess it was only fair when Twitter friend Techleslie came across me doing a Thinkfinity presentation at TCEA and promptly got out her video camera, and taped what I was saying.

“I thought you would like to know what it is like to be taped” she said after I found out she had done it.

So, I promised that indeed, I had no objection to being taped, and even offered to post it on my site.

So, without further ado, here is my Thinkfinity presentation from the 2009 TCEA in Austin.

AP Image Bank from AccuWeather

Tue, 10 Feb 2009 19:47:48 -0700

Tim talks to Mary Beth Snee from Accuweather that has AP Images for education.

From the AccuWeather Website:

The Associated Press has won more Pulitzer Prizes than any other news agency in the world, and is the most credible source for non-biased reporting. Founded in 1848, the AP is the oldest and largest news organization in the world, and is an important part of modern-day world history, serving more than one billion people each day. Through an exclusive relationship with AccuWeather, Inc., education institutions and Public Libraries can subscribe to the AccuNet/AP Multimedia Archive and gain unlimited access from the school, library or home with full copyright protection.

The Archive is a primary source database from the Associated Press that takes users on a sensory journey of photographs, audio sound bites, graphics and text spanning over 160 years of history. User comprehension and recall skills will improve with visually stimulating imagery meant for use in research papers, theses, reports and PowerPoint presentations.

From simple keyword searching to more complex searches such as concept, color, and category, research projects are enhanced with the diversity of subject matter contained within the Archive. Over two million photographs dating back to 1826, more than one million audio sound bytes dating from the 1920’s, two million Associated Press news stories from 1997, and a professionally produced collection of more than 45,000 maps, graphs, charts, logos, flags, illustrations, etc. are included. Updated with more than three thousand photos daily, the Archive is licensed for educational use exclusively through AccuWeather, Inc.

Uniservity

Mon, 9 Feb 2009 20:09:37 -0700

It is always interesting to hear perspectives from people with a global view of things. Of all of the organizations that I saw at last year’s NECC and this year’s TCEA, I think that Uniservity comes closest to embodying the true ideas of 21st century learning. What is Uniservity you may ask?

From the Uniservity website:

The 21st Century Next Generation Social Learning Platform

UniServity is first and foremost an educational organisation. An organisation which is passionate and committed to transforming learning and improving educational outcomes for learners of all ages and abilities. Founded in the U.K. in 1999, UniServity has grown steadily to become the market leader in developing educational learning software for schools in both the U.K. and around the world. Today, the cLc Learning Platform is transforming the learning experience for over 2 million learners in 17 countries.

The UniServity cLc (connected Learning communities) Learning Platform is a web-based collaborative learning environment which has been developed in conjunction with schools, education authorities and prominent thought leaders in education. The UniServity cLc offers a secure teaching and learning environment and the ability of learners to create and join innovative learning communities. In addition, learners are able to join a cLc Collaborative Project with teachers, learners and experts across the globe in real-world problem solving projects.

In 2007 UniServity was awarded the highly respected status of becoming an accredited BECTA (British Educational Communications and Technology Agency) Learning Platform Services supplier. In early 2007, UniServity received a £2.4 million investment from Questor PLC to consolidate its position in the U.K. and develop internationally. UniServity has won a number of highly respected Educational Awards. UniServity has offices in the U.K., Hong Kong, Singapore and Australia.

This conversation between two of the founders of Uniserivity and myself regarding what is currently happening in the group.

Playing with iMovie 09

Sun, 8 Feb 2009 21:09:49 -0700

So, I played around with iMovie 09 (much better than iMovie 08) and made a short video on the TCEA conference. You will see some of the new features of 09, such as Themes, transitions, etc. First effort with the new program.
I need a little more practice, but if nothing else, you get to see some of the sights of TCEA 09....

Polyvision ENO: Cordless Whiteboard

Sun, 8 Feb 2009 16:52:31 -0700

Interview with Peter Hildebrant, the creator of the ENO, as well as the CTO of Polyvision.

More information about the ENO:

Information about Peter Hildebrant:

Working in the Smart Zone

Sun, 8 Feb 2009 16:50:36 -0700

Dr. Susan Fletcher addresses the 2009 Tec Sig luncheon on February 4, 2009 in Austin Texas.

From her website: www.smartzoneexpert.com:
Susan Fletcher, Ph.D. is a practicing psychologist specializing in helping individuals, professionals and organizations apply strategies for immediate improvement. Susan uses her expertise and experience to teach people how to develop their own best practices to enhance focus, balance, and perspective to successfully meet the challenges of today's home and work environments.

RoomPro AV: Cool Ceiling Mount

Sun, 8 Feb 2009 14:20:41 -0700

I talked to Dean Olds of RoomPro AV about a pretty innovative room system. What I really liked what the ceiling mount with integrated speakers..way cool! And the price was pretty good too!

www.roomproav.com

Ten 80 Education Fasttrack RC

Sun, 8 Feb 2009 12:54:31 -0700

Tim talks to Terri Stripling with Ten 80 Education on the STEM education resources that their company offers.

From the Ten 80 Education Website:

Ten80 Education is a team of engineers, scientists, teachers, professors and parents all dedicated to a single mission. We have joined forces to help students and teachers understand STEM subjects, STEM careers and how they affect the world around us.

Ten80 partners include school districts and Universities around the country, Texas Instruments (DLP Products & the "Calculator Group"), SolidWorks, Science Kit, Sargent-Welch, and the North Carolina Motorsports Association; all entities that share the same, progressive vision for education.
Over a decade ago, our founding educator invited local science, engineering and technical professionals into her middle school classroom. She wanted to offer students a broader perspective of math and science at work in the world. Beverly Simmons didn't realize that this initial group of volunteers would later become the first Ten80 teams.

Since that first exciting year, our teams, partner educators and students have compiled the wish list. We noticed a few recurring themes:

* ¤ Fundamental concepts are NOT easy to grasp;
¤ Educators want and need to better understand core
concepts;
* ¤ Teachers have incredibly busy schedules that must be taken into account;
* ¤ High achieving and difficult to reach students both need motivation;
* ¤ Almost all students respond to inquiry-based activities in familiar contexts;
* ¤ Achievement across subgroups DOES matter.

The Ten80 Team offers dynamic professional development and streamlined K-12 supplementary curriculum that you can incorporate directly into your current assessment and instructional plans. As you've requested solutions, we've developed programs and materials to deliver results.

Terri Stripling
Chemical Engineer, Ten80 Resource Team Member

tstripling@ten80education.com

K 12 Online Databases

Sun, 8 Feb 2009 10:37:05 -0700

If you are an educator, student or parent in the State of Texas and you are not using this resource, you are missing out. I talk to Susanna Garza from Region 20 about the gianormous Ebsco and Britannical databases that the state of Texas provides free for all students in Texas.

K12 Database Home:
http://web.esc20.net/k12databases/contacts.htm

Here is a link to a brochure about the program:
http://web.esc20.net/k12databases/pdf/K12Flyer.pdf

Susanna Garza email: susanna.garza@esc20.net

Pink Jacket Awardees

Sun, 8 Feb 2009 09:54:01 -0700

Miguel Guhlin (San Antonio ISD) and Lori Gracey (Bastrop ISD) receive the Pink Jacket “Make it Happen” award for helping advance the cause and the word of ed tech. Both are well deserving of the award and both are excellent examples of what happens when someone puts their minds and hearts into what they do.

On a personal note, it was good to see Miguel get his award, because, well, because he’s probably done more on a “spreading the word” basis than anyone in the state. If you haven’t experienced the one-man note-taking-typing-word-processing machine that is Miguel, you need to check out his site: http://www.mguhlin.org/

I applaud both of these well deserving folks for helping lead us through the fog!

Thinkfinity Reception

Sat, 7 Feb 2009 22:11:05 -0700

Remarks by Texas legislature Representative Rep Rob Eissler, Houston, Tx to the Thinkfinity Reception at the 2009 TCEA convention.
Rep. Eissler has some interesting comments that relate back to the earlier recorded TCEA Legislative Panel.

Interesting takes on what students should be doing, and the role of textbook companies.

Worth a listen. He speaks for about 15 minutes.

Here is Eissler’s Facebook page:
http://www.facebook.com/people/Rob-Eissler/1290167342

Contact info:
http://www.house.state.tx.us/members/dist15/eissler.php

TexTAN and Jennifer Bergland

Fri, 6 Feb 2009 21:16:36 -0700

TCEA Technology Advocacy Chair Jennifer Bergland talks to Tim Holt about the ETAN affiliated new TexTAN Texas Technology Advocacy Network, a new effort to keep the uninformed informed through the use of technology.

Based on the ETAN program of ISTE, this is for all Texas educators interested in educational Technology and what is happening in Austin.

Recorded live just minutes after the 2009 TCEA convention closed in Austin.

Recorded on an iPhone.

From the ETAN website:
"Texas faces real challenges in these tough economic times. As we work to solve today's problems, it is important that we understand what skills our students will need in order to address the problems that will present themselves in their future. All students in Texas need 21st century knowledge and skills to succeed as effective citizens, workers, and leaders in the 21st century. In order to provide these skills, school districts need funding to equip their schools with a robust technical infrastructure, adequate equipment for ubiquitous access to digital tools and content, and high-quality professional development for their teachers. ETAN is a tool that engages teachers and interested citizens in the effort of communicating this important message to our federal and state lawmakers."

- Jennifer Bergland, Advocacy Chair, Texas Computer Education Association (TCEA)

www.tcea.org/textan

David Vs. Goliath: The Right Thing vs. Copyright

Fri, 6 Feb 2009 20:24:26 -0700

What happens when a teacher comes up against a textbook company and it’s intellectual property protection clause?
In this case, the teacher is left with little help from their education "partner" and is left to fend for herself.

A three-way conversation between first grade teacherJanice Schlottmann, Miguel Guhlin, and Tim Holt on an interesting dilemma. Student needs vs. copyright policy.

Listen and think about what would you do?

Here is the Houghton Mifflin Education PLace Permissions address: Houghton Mifflin Company
ATTN: School Rights &
Permissions Department
222 Berkeley Street
Boston, MA 02116-3764
Email:
School_Permissions@hmco.com
Fax:
(1) 351-3546

Permissions Website:
http://www.eduplace.com/contactus/permissions_form.jsp

TCEA Legislative Panel

Tue, 3 Feb 2009 22:32:19 -0700

Legislative panel that included Texas legislatures:

* Rep Dan Branch, Dallas, Tx
* Rep Harold Dutton, Houston, Tx
* Rep Rob Eissler, Houston, Tx
* Rep Scott Hochberg, Houston, Tx
* Rep Dora Olivo, Houston, Tx
* Rep Diane Patrick, Arlington, Tx

Entire unedited session present here. Approx. 52 minutes.

Interesting discussion, especially the parts where they attack the textbook companies.

Dr. Alice Robison: The Interview

Sun, 11 Jan 2009 11:57:16 -0700

Tim Holt talks to Dr. Alice Robison, from Arizona State University in Tempe Arizona. Alice is one of the most “connected professors in all of post-secondary land, and has dipped her feet into how gaming can be used in education. Now, her interest is in how social networknig can be used in education.
The discussion focuses on how social networking can “work” to help students.

Dr. Robison is a very interesting speaker. Well worth the listen.

A previous podcast with Dr. Robison can be found here

From her website:

Alice J. Robison (Ph.D. in English/Rhetoric & Composition Studies, 2006, University of Wisconsin-Madison) is an assistant professor in the English department at Arizona State University in Tempe, Arizona. Alice is a member of the Rhetoric and Composition Studies area of the department, where she specializes in digital technologies and social media. Her research examines how game designers and developers write, think, and talk about the ways their games are made and interpreted. She hopes that this knowledge can help us understand how gameplay experiences are so complicated and difficult while they are simultaneously motivating and compelling. Perhaps that might help us think differently about writing and learning to write.

Alice has also worked on a variety of digital learning grants sponsored by the MacArthur Foundation. At ASU she is a faculty researcher on the Situated Multimedia Arts Learning Laboratory (SMALLab) Project in the Arts, Media and Engineering program. Her work on SMALLab is combined with a role in the development of the Quest to Learn school, a project run by the Institute of Play in New York City. Previously, she was an academic advisor to the New Media Literacies Project at MIT and a founding member of the Games+Learning+Society research initiative at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Deborah Harrison: The Interview

Fri, 9 Jan 2009 22:25:41 -0700

Tim Holt talks to Dr. Deborah Harrison from teh Texas A&M Center for Distance Learning Research. They discuss the work of the CDLR as well as the ins and outs of distance learning in general.

Dr. Harrison is the Director of the Center for Distance Learning Research at Texas A&M University and facilitator for the Virtual Instructor Certification Program. During her tenure at the Center, CDLR has been honored with United States Distance Learning Association's "21st Century Best Practices Award".

Dr. Harrison has been in public education and education industries since 1972, having been a K-12 teacher, school administrator and distance learning industry executive.

A recognized state and national leader in the field of distance learning, she has served as founding Board Chair and President of the Texas Distance Learning Association. She also served as the President and Board Chair of the United States Distance Learning Association. She currently is the Association's Board Chair Emerita. Since 2004, she has been a Board member of the Air Force University.

Dr. Harrison earned a Bachelor's Degree, Master's Degree and Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Texas at Austin as well as supervision, mid-management and superintendent certifications. She also holds a Distance Learning Leader Certificate from Nova Southeastern University's Fischler School of Graduate Studies.

The Center for Distance Learning Research (CDLR) was established in 1991 and approved in January of 1992 as an official center of Texas A&M University within its College of Education and Human Development. The CDLR has provided training and technical assistance to over 8,000 individuals since 1996.

The CDLR was recently honored with the
United State Distance Learning Association's 21st Century Distance Learning Award.

Ori Brafman: Sway the Interview

Thu, 8 Jan 2009 22:29:57 -0700

Tim Holt talks to Ori Brafman, co-author with his brother Rom of "Sway: The Irresistible Pull of Irrational Behavior."

Ori and Tim discuss the reasons why people who should know better make bad decisions. Believe it or not, there are psychological reasons why people act irrationally, not just off the cuff reasons. Understanding the psychology of WHY people make poor decisions can help prevent those very decisions.

Are there examples in education? You betcha! Tim and Ori cover education as well. Why do teachers judge students so quickly?

About Ori:
When he is not writing, Ori lectures internationally in front of Fortune 500, government, and military audiences. He is also continuing his lifelong commitment to helping nonprofit causes by serving on the boards of A Home Within and The Plexus Institute. Ori also enjoys facilitating interpersonal dynamics groups for business leaders. He holds an MBA from Stanford Graduate School of Business.

www.oribrafman.com

"A breathtaking book that will challenge your every thought, Sway hovers above the intersection of Blink and Freakonomics." −Tom Rath, coauthor of the New York Times #1 bestseller How Full Is Your Bucket?

www.swaybook.com

On Amazon, B&N and iTunes

Conversation with Kevin Honeycutt

Thu, 8 Jan 2009 21:46:27 -0700

Kevin Honeycutt is ALWAYS good to talk to. Here is a wide ranging conversation I had with him on a variety of topics, from iPhones, to technology, to eating napkins.

Sit back and enjoy. It is always fun when Kevin rides the bus!

www.kevinhoneycutt.com

The Legal Version of TxVSN

Wed, 26 Nov 2008 21:08:57 -0700

This is a video of a presentation made at region 19 ESC to the RTAC (Regional Technology Advisory Council) on the upcoming Texas Virtual School Network.

Cindy Mason from Region 19 introduces the Program Director of TxVSN Barbara Smith from Region 10.

Texas Virtual School Network:

Barbara Smith

Explore Learning: Gizmos

Wed, 19 Nov 2008 14:22:03 -0700

We sat down with Bob Chappell at the VSS and talked about Gizmos.

A Gizmo is an interactive science or math simulation that looks pretty cool.

Here is the link

http://www.explorelearning.com

Adaptive Curriculum

Sat, 1 Nov 2008 09:42:09 -0600

John Larkin from Adaptive Curriculum talks about the program they were showing at the VSS conference: Web-based science and math curriculum for Middle School.

Creativity Express

Mon, 27 Oct 2008 22:13:30 -0600

Madcap Logic

Creativity Express
Animated Movies, Games, and Projects that Develop Creative Kids!
Creativity Express — Home Edition

Interactive educational software for children ages 7-12. The program is a blend of animated movies and interactive activities that teach the principles of art, and provide the tools for creative self expression.

The program contains 16 modules that explore the elements of art and creativity, and projects called Creativity Builders that allow children to put these concepts to use in artwork that they can create on the computer with the digital paint software included, or with their own traditional art supplies.

eScience Labs

Mon, 27 Oct 2008 22:10:28 -0600

eScience Labs

Why eScience Labs?

Students need quality, safe and complete lab kits for conducting science experiments outside of a traditional school environment. Prior to eScience Labs, options were not only pricey, incomplete or dangerous, but the instructions were either simplistic or confusing.

Homeschooled students and virtual learners, as well as those enrolled in correspondence courses, now have a better choice of quality science labs to fulfill their educational requirements.

Our labs support any introductory-level science curricula with a comprehensive set of hands-on experiments. These are the same experiments you would find in a traditional academic lab, but designed and scaled to be done in your own home; they complement the lectures of a teacher or professor. Additional learning tools, including a series of video introductions, virtual labs, animations and demonstrations, are available to registered students. These virtual tools complement and enrich the hands-on materials and experiments within a kit.

Providing the best available hands-on labs takes a back seat only to safety. Some experiments require chemicals and other components that we feel are simply too dangerous to work with in an unsupervised environment. However, because some of these experiments are important to understand, we provide online video demonstrations to clearly and safely convey these concepts.

NROC

Mon, 27 Oct 2008 22:04:38 -0600

National Repository of Online Courses

The National Repository of Online Courses (NROC) is a growing library of high-quality online course content for students and faculty in higher education, high school and Advanced Placement©. This non-profit project, supported by The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, is an Open Educational Resource (OER) and facilitates collaboration among a community of content developers to serve students and teachers worldwide.

Courses in the NROC library are contributed by developers from leading academic institutions across the United States. All courses are assessed to ensure they meet high standards of scholarship, instructional value, and presentational impact. NROC works with scholars and contributes resources to improve course quality and to provide ongoing maintenance. NROC courses are designed to cover the breadth and depth of topics based on generally accepted national curricula and can also be customized within a course management system.

NROC content is distributed free-of-charge to students and teachers at public websites including HippoCampus. Institutions wishing to use NROC content are invited to join a fee-based membership organization, the NROC Network. Organizations serving disadvantaged students can become members of the NROC Network at no cost.

What is the main Reason?

Wed, 22 Oct 2008 14:29:45 -0600

If you asked 27 of your peers what the reason was they thought that technology was not used in the classroom, what do you think the answers would be?
How about comparing your answers to these 27 teachers at the October Teachers Using Technology Dinner in El Paso?

Smart Document Camera and Senteo Responders

Wed, 22 Oct 2008 10:51:14 -0600

Tim talks to Kathlene Coleman with Checkpoint Services in El Paso Texas about the Senteo student responder system as well as the new Smart Document camera.

www.smart.com

Kevin Honeycutt Changes the World

Thu, 9 Oct 2008 14:52:40 -0600

Parents and students in the El Paso ISD were fortunate to have recently been the recipients of a keynote address by Kevin Honeycutt on “Mining for 21st Century Gold.”

While I won’t post Kevin’s entire speech here, but after viewing, I thought I would post a 7 minute clip from the presentation that pretty much summarizes old school (analog) teaching vs. new school (digital) teaching. This is an amazing clip, as Kevin discusses the difference between how teachers ask students to create a traditional assignment, and how they blow the world away with a digital solution.

Talk with Dr. Richard Smith

Tue, 7 Oct 2008 20:26:56 -0600

Tim is interviewed by Dr. Richard Smith from the University of Texas Clear Lake, about the large scale training attempted by the El Paso ISD using Adobe Connect.

This podcast was made while Dr. Smith made his podcast Education in Technology Today:
http://inst.uhcl.edu/podcasts

Creating a New Vision for Public Education in Texas

Thu, 2 Oct 2008 07:43:51 -0600

Short conversation with Dr. Johnny Veselka from the Texas Association of School Administrators (TASA) about the report:
Creating A New Vision for Public Education in Texas.This report is designed to begin he conversation about education reform in Texas and how to address the 21st Century Skills that so desperately need to be mandated in the state.

Vision 2020: NACOL Standards

Wed, 1 Oct 2008 21:42:01 -0600

A panel presentation on the myths of online learning, and the NACOL standards for quality online education.

Good info for anyone interested in creating online content.

Vision 2020:Three Vendors/30 minutes

Wed, 1 Oct 2008 21:30:33 -0600

Tim talks to three vendors that are part of the TEA's Vision 2020 grant program. The vendors describe their programs that provide professional development for online content creation.

Vision 2020: Grants Administration

Wed, 1 Oct 2008 19:43:01 -0600

Rebecca Schroeder from the Texas Education Agency presents on the basics of grant administration.

Part of the Vision 2020 Leadership Confernece

Vision 2020: Characteristics of Successful Online Programs

Tue, 30 Sep 2008 22:41:36 -0600

Kate Loughery--Director of Distance Learning TEA
Barbara Smith--Executive Director of Central Operations TxVSN

Anita Givens at the Vision 2020 Conference

Tue, 30 Sep 2008 17:10:14 -0600

Anita Gives delivers the keynote address to the Vision 2020 Leadership Conference in Austin Texas, September 30, 2008.

Digital Document Camera

Fri, 26 Sep 2008 15:04:00 -0600

This is my first attempt, I think at a hand held self review of a device, in this case the DC 260 Visual Presenter from Lumens.

May take a sec to load.

Enjoy.

Training for Title II D Technology Report

Mon, 15 Sep 2008 15:45:19 -0600

This session has been removed at the Request of the TETN manager, Carol Willis, Corol.Willis@esc13.txed.net
512-919-5372

Overview of the new Title II D NCLB report required by TEA and Federal Guidelines.

Quicktime Format

Recorded Monday, Sept, 15, 2008
ESC 19
TETN Presentation
El Paso Texas

2:30 PM

Texas Virtual School Network Overview

Fri, 5 Sep 2008 12:12:53 -0600

This session has been removed at the Request of the TETN manager, Carol Willis, Corol.Willis@esc13.txed.net
512-919-5372

TETN presentation from the Texas Virtual School Network.
Presented on Friday September 5, 2008.

Statewide presentation.
Here is a letter to the Administrators re. TXVSN: stanprog061608.doc

57 minutes

Margaret Spellings addresses Excellence in Action Conference 2008

Thu, 4 Sep 2008 17:57:28 -0600

Spellings Discusses Technology, Performance Pay for Teachers in Speech Using technology to improve student learning and rewarding teachers financially for improvements in their students’ performance were among the topics addressed by Margaret Spellings last week in a speech to a national forum on education reform.

Speaking at “Excellence in Action: A National Summit on Education Reform” at the Walt Disney Contemporary Resort in Florida on June 19,2008, Spellings said that while other fields have made significant advancements and changes, education is in many ways trapped in the industrial age. She noted a recent report from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which said that most American schools preserve the routines, cultures, and operations of a 1930s manufacturing plant, a finding
Spellings described as “totally unacceptable.” She also praised the increased discussion of performance pay for teachers during the current presidential campaign.

A text of Spellings’ speech is available on the U.S. Department of Education website.

Listen to US

Mon, 1 Sep 2008 09:54:27 -0600

Oldie but a goodie.

This short video was produced by Marco Torres’ SFETT students in 2002.

It is interesting to compare and contrast these high school students message to the message of Dalton Sherman and the Dallas ISD. Two districts in two states, but with students essentially saying “Hey, listen to us, believe in us.”

Why do you think students are compelled to make statements like this?

Are we, as educators, so blind that we are simply not getting this message from our clients?

DALLAS ISD 2008 Convocation Keynote: Dalton Sherman

Mon, 1 Sep 2008 09:15:49 -0600

This is a great idea: Have the kids tell the teachers what is going on!

Here, Dalton Sherman from Charles Rice Learning Center addresses over 20,000 staff members of the Dallas ISD.

Do you Believe?
Dalton does.

Cool keynote. Worth the 8 minutes.

Thanks to Bill Long from Harper ISD for pointing this towards me.

NECC Podcast: Kentucky Academy of Technology Education

Wed, 2 Jul 2008 16:46:28 -0600

One of several podcasts that I made at NECC. These were all products or services or papers that I found of interest. They are in no order of importance.

http://coekate.murraystate.edu/kate/

NECC Podcast: Atomic Learning

Wed, 2 Jul 2008 16:38:41 -0600

Atomic Learning is all over the place at the large ed tech shows.
We talk to them about what they are and why anyone would want to purchase them.

www.atomiclearning.com