Journal Article 10
Kansas School District Rolls Out 1:1 MacBook Programs
By Dave Nagel
The Journal
November 2007

In one of the poorest school districts in Kansas, all high school students and teachers have been given dual-core Intel-based MacBook laptops from Apple. The students received their laptops on Nov. 6th and 7th. Immediately the teachers saw the kids jump on the computers and begin exploring.
The district chose the Mac-based system because the system came fully loaded with great software for the students. The computers come with creative software in iLife, which includes DVD capabilities, NLE (I-Move) and Garage Band, which is a full pod casting and music production environment. The school expects the students to be producers of information, not just consumers.
The school was able to afford the computers by using money that was planned to redo the athletic fields. The school board decided to help all the students, rather than just a few. There were people in the community that were not in favor of the students getting computers, one local DJ suggested the students would sell the computers and use the money for drugs. The school district decided to trust the students, and help all of them to succeed.
The computers actually are leased so the school is not stuck with out dated systems over the next few years. The computers come equipped with serial numbers that can be traced. And a remote system that can track and disarm the computers if they become lost or stolen.
This is the first year of the program, it will be interesting to see the results.

Journal Article 9
Virtual Worlds

Classroom 2.0


I actually first learned about the virtual world from daughter playing with her Sims games. Then I saw an episode of Law and Order that showed a virtual world that was more like the Second Life virtual world. In case you have never head of Second Life or virtual worlds, they are a computer program that allows a person to create their own world, the only limitations is the persons own imagination. I have not used the program but from comments in classroom 2.0 and articles that I have read the virtual world has great teaching potential. I read about a English Literature teacher who took the books his students were required to read and then created all the places mentioned in the book. The students could actually travel thru the story as they read the story. There was also a History Teacher who had his students develop a time line using the virtual world. The students were able to “see” history and found the project fun but also very educational.
The lessons that can be taught thru virtual worlds are endless. Like most computer programs monitoring students is very important. While there are dangers in the real world, unsupervised students could get into trouble in their virtual worlds also.
I look forward to creating lessons for my students in a virtual world.

Journal Article 8
Learning Connections
Developing Global Citizens:
The Global Run Project

By: Jody H. Kennedy
And Jan Zanetis

After September 11, the teachers at Eastview Middle School decided that teaching culture awareness and tolerance was needed. By using Interactive Videoconferencing (IVC) the students were exposed to people and cultures from around the world. The teachers arranged collaborative projects, music presentations and many other unique experiences for their students.
Thru the IVC students are exposed to unique experiences that enhanced their learning and brought world issues into their comfort zone. Such as hearing the personal life story of an AIDS orphan in Africa, or hearing from survivors of the 2004 tsunami, child soldiers from Sudan. Having the students see these people and hear their stories taught them more about the world than any school text ever could.
Not only did the students learn about the world and different cultures, they became compassionate toward the people they “met”. This lead to wanting to take action, and make the world a better place. Wanting to develop a project that would have long term goals and a universal theme, the Global Run project was developed and launched. The goal of Global Run is to develop global service learning projects that raise funds to affect positive changes in the world.
Global Run partnered with schools in other countries to raise awareness and money to help those in need. The walk-a-thon was the chosen avenue for fund-raising. All schools agreed to be done by July.
Many of the schools used the information from the students walking to develop lessons in math, and science. Working together with the other schools had many benefits for the students, not only did they learn how to video conference, students studying foreign languages were able to talk to students from those countries and learn about their cultures. Many students and teachers developed friendships that will last for years.
The students not only learned about other countries, they were also able to see the world and what it needed and help meet those needs.

What long term effects will this project have on the students?
The students that were interviewed after the classes talked about having a wider view of the world. They felt more compassionate toward other cultures and people in need. Many said they enjoyed helping others so much they planned on continuing in the future.

How did the program effect teachers?
After working with teachers from other countries they became more than joint educators, they became friends. Many of the teachers traveled to other countries to learn more about the countries but also to meet the teachers in person. It was a very positive experience.

Journal Article 7
More than Money Matters
Establishing Effective School-Corporate Partnerships

By Nancy Flynn
Learning & Leading with Technology
November 2007

With limited finances, many school districts find it hard to keep the newest high priced technology. Partnerships with corporations that specialize in technology help both the school and the corporation. The schools benefit from getting the latest hardware and software at reduced or no cost, and the corporation benefits from getting more control over what the students are exposed to and the curriculum the school uses. The corporation can then develop software needed by these students for at home use and hardware the students learn to operate and will most likely purchase in the future.
The Author list 10 guidelines a principal should consider when going into a partnership with a corporation.
Vision: Know what you want to accomplish with the materials the corporation is willing to supply.
Support for Technology: Make sure the school can support the additional hardware and software. And that there is staff available that can operate the new technology.
School Curriculum: Make sure the software fits into the curriculum of the school.
Collaboration & Communication: Determine what each side is going to give to the other. And who is going to be communicating between the school and the corporation.
Internal Capacity: Once the school has received the technology through the partnership, it is important to have people trained at the school to keep the technology going, doing any up-grades and maintenance.
Commitment: When choosing a company to partner with look at the commitment they are willing to make. Chose a company that not only gives free hardware and software but are also concerned with the students and their ability to use the equipment to the fullest.
Obligations: Know before you sign any agreements exactly what the corporation hopes to get from the school. And what the school will be responsible for in return for the free items.
Product Promotion: This involves giving back to the corporation, thru showcasing their products at state conferences, parent presentations, or having the students or principal talk about their experiences with the products at conferences.
Assessments: To be an effective partnership there needs to be communication between the two sides on the performance of the products. Assessments and evaluations on how well it worked and if it will continue to be a need for the students.
Longevity: The partnership should be reviewed on regular bases to determine that it is still benefiting both sides. If either side feels it is not getting the benefit it expected and a solution cannot be found the partnership should end.
Partnerships between schools and corporations can be a great benefit to both sides. Guidelines should be followed to insure that everyone understands the purpose of the partnership and how it can best serve each side.

Who deceides what corporations to partner with?
From the article it looks like the principal is free to make those decisions. In my opnion, the decision should be a group effort between the principal and the school district.

What is the benefit to the Corporation?
The corporation could team up with a couple of schools to test the software they have developed, and then have results when they sell the programs to other schools. They also get the students use to using a certain type of hardware or software and they are most likely to purchase the programs that they know.

Journal Article 6
Global Challenge:
Save the World on Your Way to College

By David Gibson
And Susan Hull Grasso
Learning and Leading with Tecnology
November 2007

As the world becomes more technology advanced, students are given the opportunity to work with and compete against students from other countries. Thru programs like Skype and eFolio they are able to have meetings online, talk to each other and create an asynchronous collaborative artifact.
One organization that encourages global student participation is The Global Challenge; it receives funds from organizations such as the National Science Foundation, Information Technology Experiences for Students and Teachers program. The Global Challenge brings students from around the world together; they form teams, and work on some aspect of global warming or the energy crisis.
Students that are interested in the program usually will find another student in their country that is interested in the program, and an adult to over-see their project. They will then form a team for their country. They can then find another team from any other country they would like to work with and form an international team. Together they decide on a project involving the use of science, technology, engineering and mathematics, to solve a portion of the problem of global warming or find future energy sources. Each team member takes responsibility for a section of the project and works independently. Together through on line meetings they can develop their project.
The Global Challenge Business Plan is judged by a comprehensive rubric. The team uses the rubric to determine if they are meeting all of the sections of the business plan. They can judge their own work or have it judged by their peers and their advisor thru eFolio. The team must use solid evidence and detailed written information to convince each other and later the judges that their business plan will work.
Teams form between September and the beginning of December. By the end of April the teams must have a business plan, for their idea. In May the team is scored in three areas; Global teamwork, STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) Exploration, and their Global Business Plan. Winners are announced in June, the average award to the individual students is a $1,000. Scholarship. In 2007, 34 students won more than $60,000. in scholarships. Also nine of the top ten teams were able to send a representative (all expenses paid), to a summer program the Governor’s Institute of Vermont on Engineering at the University of Vermont.
This use of technology is amazing. It brings students from different backgrounds and ideas together to work on some important ideas. It is worth looking into for any high school teacher or the parent of a high school student.

How do students find out about the program?
Currently the program is offered to the students through their teachers. Usually their math or science teacher, Or through educational media, such as this magazine Learning and Leading with Technology.

What happens if two teams have the same idea for their project?
A project can only be used by one team per year. The first team to register their business plan get the project. A team can use a project of theirs or others from a previous year, but will have to have some fresh ideas to impress the judges.

Journal Article 5
Real-life Migrants on the MUVE
Stories of Virtual Transitions

By Ross A, Perkins
And Cathy Arreguin
Learning and Leading with Tecnology
May 2007


Muve is a multi-user virtual environment. Developed in the 1970’s Muve allows participants to communicate and work together with their “avatars” to create environments that can be explored or built at will. An avatar is an animated character controlled by the user.
One of the more popular Muves is Second Life created by Linden Labs, with hundreds of thousands worldwide users. It has caught the attention of educators, who see great possibilities. Universities and colleges use the main grid to teach traditional and distant learning classes. There are grids sets up for different age groups. One of the most popular with educators is the grid set up for 13-17 year olds. In this grid a teacher can go in and set up islands, then give her students instructions on what to develop on each island. They can recreate a time, event or lifestyle from the past, or develop what their own world would look like.
Second Life is one of the easier programs to use. With a little help and some practice students can be developing their own “worlds” in no time. Some of the assignments that have been successful are to have the student go in and develop a timeline of a particular event such as WWII. On the time line the student can recreate places and objects from that time frame that the average student would not have the ability to see or experience. They can use their avatar visit another student’s world and ask questions on how and why they came to the designs that they used.
Students who have used second life in their education experiences have claimed a new wider understanding of the world around them, and social causes. They also feel a sense of control over their own learning. This seems like an amazing teaching tool and has endless possibilities for students.


Question: What are some of the advantages to using this program?

Answer: The program has endless possibilities. A good educator can come up with a wide variety of different aspects to use it for, History, Math, Social Studies and Literature to name a few. The best part is the student is completely in charge; the project can be as in-depth and detailed as the student wants. Like in any assignment the level of effort will vary with the students, but most teachers who have used the system have been amazed at the results they see in their students work.

Question: How safe is the system?

Answer: Whenever a student has access to the computer and through it the world, safe guards need to be in place. From my understanding of the system it is restricted system. Restricted in the sense that only people who the educator or teacher has approved can have access to the “island” or materials set up for their group.

Journal Article 4
Digital Games in Education:
The Design of Games-Based Learning
Environments
By Begona Gros
Journal of Research on Technology in Education

The main idea in this article is that teachers need to incorporate technology into their classrooms in order to have their students prepared for the digital world they will inhabit. Children learn about the virtual world when they are quite young thru video games. While video games can be used as teaching tools, most games are based on violence and mystical themes, which is not always desirable.
In recent years the development of educational games has increased in the educational field but not in the gaming field. With the advancement of technology it is now possible to accurately simulate situations that a student in real live could not normally experience. It should be pointed out that there are two systems simulation and gaming. In gaming the child reacts to the program but is not part of the program. In a simulation program the student becomes a part of the system and interacts more with the program. This technology has endless possibilities in almost every subject a student would be involved. In America the educators tend to look at the structural characteristics of the game, instead of the content and skills. The research for educational purposes of computer games is not well established, some believe because of the lack of academic creditability.
Computer games began development in the late 1950’s. In the beginning educational computer games were developed with the idea that learning was achieved by practicing certain game skills by repetition. The second generation of educational computer games addressed the cognitive learning approach. This approached identified that people come to the game with individual skill levels and experiences. These games were developed to be specific to certain learners. The next generation of educational games looked at the broader use of the games, it looked at the social aspects of the games and developed the position of the facilitator, whose job it is to direct the use of the game and identify it’s use in the classroom.
According to this article there are seven main types of games:

• Action games: These games are mostly first generation and are reaction based.
• Adventure games: The player must complete a list of test to advance to the next level (virtual world)
• Fighting games: These games involve fighting against either another player or the computer, and usually have no educational value.
• Role-playing games: The player assumes the characteristics of some person or creature.
• Simulations: The player becomes more involved in the game; they must achieve a goal to advance to another level.
• Sports games: A reenactment of an actual sport.
• Strategy game: These games recreate a historical or fictional situation and the player must develop a plan to achieve a particular goal.

Many of the games developed now can be a combination of two or even three of these categories.
It is surprising the amount of time student spend on computers outside of class is the same for boys and girls. While boys are thought to spend more time playing computer games, there actually is not a real difference until they reach the ages of 14-18. Since gaming is thought to help with computer skills, there is concern that girls may not be developing the computer skills to keep them competitive with boys, and ready for a computer based work-force. In response to this concern companies have tried to develop games that would appeal to the female audience. Games directed toward girls or ones with non-violence themes have not done well in sales with the exception of Sims and Barbie Fashion Designer. In recent surveys, both genders claim equal knowledge of computers and time spent on computers.


Question: Is it possible to develop a game that will be attractive to both genders?

Answer: From the information in this article the answer is a yes followed by a no. There are games on the market, Sims for example that has aspects in them that are set up to attract both genders. The game has the ability to design and build houses and buildings, and to set up businesses all of which should attract males to the games. While at the same time it has the people and the decorating of the houses, buildings and businesses that should attract females. While the game does attract both sexes the way they go about playing the game is different. Females tend to spend more time developing their people and the buildings they create than actually becoming involved with the simulation, while males want to get started with the simulation.


Question: Of the seven types of games listed, which would be best for an educational setting?

Answer: A game that combines aspects of adventure, strategy, and role-playing, would be the best. Adventure would require the player to achieve a goal before going onto the next level. Strategy would enable the creator to develop the game to teach or reinforce a lesson during a specific time or place in history. And role-playing to tie in with strategy, and make the game more authentic with characters from that time period.

Journal Article 3
A War of Words
By: Jim Paterson


Plagiarism is a problem in most schools, from grade school through Universities. Technology has the ability to catch students who plagiaries, one company claims to having reduce plagiarism by 80%. This use of technology is now being debated between those who support it and those who see it as an invasion of privacy, and accusing the student before there is proof of guilt. Using the technology to catch the students doing something wrong, but not showing the student how to do research the right way is not educating the student. “Technology is no substitute for good teaching.”
Over the last ten years there have been many companies that have developed software that is designed to help students learn the difference between plagiarism and paraphrasing. The software helps students search for information in a controlled style and directs them on how to cite sources, and placing their information onto note cards. These note cards can then be arranged in any order the student wants, and then used to write their assignment.


Question: Are plagiarism software 100% reliable?

Answer: According to the article the technology available today has it’s shortcomings. Some programs have been known to give false positive, accusing an innocent student and affecting their future. The software cannot have records of every book or article ever written, allowing some guilty students to get away with plagiarism. There are also the students who will plagiaries, but changes enough words so that the software does not detect the plagiarism.


Question: Should a teacher relay on a software program to teach students how to do
research?

Answer: Software alone should not be used to teach students how to do research and the difference between plagiarism and paraphrasing. Teachers should instruct the students on the difference and the best way to paraphrase a sentence or idea. The software should be used after the student understands the concepts, and then only as a research tool.

Journal Article 2
Infusion or Integration
By Kimberly Ketterer


Kimberly Ketterer PhD. is an instructional technology coordinator. Through her travels and interaction with students and teachers, she has found some confusion about the words infusion and integration and their incorrect interchangeable use. Infusion and Integration are terms that are common in educational conferences these days, but not always correctly. Infusion is defined as “An introduction of a new element into something.” An example of this could be to place a computer in a class for the students to research and write reports. Integration is defined as “The intermixing of people or items previously segregated.” An example of this could be watching a presentation that includes written text along with clip-art or photos.


Question: Is an infusion of technology equipment helpful in the classroom?

Answer: In today’s society with the advancement made, the use of technology is as needed as pens and paper were to the previous generation. All students must leave school with a basic understanding of technology and how it can enhance their daily lives.

Question: Is technology being integrated into the classrooms?

Answer: After the research done for this class, and the observations made to classrooms in our own community, I would say that most teachers do not integrate technology into their classrooms as much as they could. The few classes that I observed actually using the computers in their classes had the students go into a program that basically played word games. After learning from this class all the different aspects of technology available I am surprised more teachers don’t take advantage of all the resources.

Journal Article 1
Power of the Mashup
By Suzie Boss and Jane Krauss


A mash-up is a “hybrid application that draws from multiple sources to create something new.” Jerome Burg a teacher with over thirty years experience has taken this technology and intergraded it into the required readings of his literary students. Through Goggle-Earth and custom files that Burg created, his students are able to virtually travel with a literature character through the key locations of the story. This opens up the story to the student and enables them to get a deeper understanding. Some of the stories that Burg has made available with the new technology are Candide, The Grapes of Wrath, and Night. In the Grapes of Wrath he has added a video clip of an actual dust storm so the students get the “feeling” of being in an actual dust storm. Another function of this technology could be to let the student use Google Earth to create their own custom files from the stories they read and then discuss why they developed their files the way that they did.
Another teacher, David Fagg in Australia, wanted to use technology that his students were familiar with such as their digital cameras and I-pods and use them to enhance their learning experience. He developed a plan where the students used their equipment and researched historical sites around their hometowns. They were able to record, analyze and present information they collected through their I-pods. This information can then be shared with others in the class or even around the world.


Question: Is the technology interfering with the student’s actual reading and
understanding the story?

Answer: When first reading about this technology I related it to a movie or new video game that would “take” the student on a journey through the story. I was concerned that the student would do a minimal amount of reading and let the computer do most of the work. After researching the system it does not take the place of reading for the student, but enhances certain sections. The student reads the story and at certain places it will give them supplementary information. This information may be a video clip, a link to an on line reference, photograph or other resources pulled from the Internet. I believe this interactive technology will make reading, required literature more enjoyable for the student and they will get a deeper experience from the story.



Question: Is this technology only for older students?

Answer: While the technology outlined in this article dealt with older students who could operate the systems with little or no adult supervision, I believe a teacher could adjust the technology to fit any age group. While younger kids could not do research on their own for the I-pod project, a good teacher could develop the Goggle-Earth project for any reading age level.

Intro Letter

Hi,

My name is Mary Krescanko. I was born in Hawaii, but being in a military family we moved a few times, first to North Carolina then to San Diego and finally to Oceanside. I attended Oceanside public schools from Kindergarten through High School. I then moved to San Diego until 2003, when I decided my daughter and I would like to live in the "country" so I took a job in Lawton, Oklahoma. We are not "country people" and after a year and a half we moved back to Oceanside.

I have for the past 15 years been a professional photographer, the last few years more in the management end than actually shooting. Over the last year we converted from film to digital and I know some of the digital photography programs. Everything I know about computers I taught myself, which is very little, e-mail, Micro-soft Word, and a little excel spreadsheets. Until this class I had never really seen a mac computer, at home and work I always used PC's. While we were in Oklahoma I was the Human Resource/Safety Manager for a large contractor at the Goodyear Tire Plant, overnight we literally went from 20 employees to 400, besides a simple pay system they had, everything else was done by hand with paper and lots and lots of file cabinets. I put the whole company together with just basic computer programs, thank goodness Oklahoma is 10 years behind California in just about everything.

The truth is I did not read the Misson Statement until after I was attending CSUSM. I do agree with the Mission Statement and believe that it is right on track for training great teachers that will have a great impact on the education system in California.