LISD Ed Tech Connection

 MDE and Michigan LearnPort Announce Stipend Opportunities For Online Professional Development

Michigan LearnPort® is the statewide professional development portal developed through a partnership between Michigan Virtual University® (MVU®) and the Michigan Department of Education (MDE).  To encourage teachers, administrators and other instructional personnel to experience the value and effective nature of online learning first-hand, Michigan Virtual University is offering $150 stipends for enrolling in and completing selected curriculum content courses and requirements through Michigan LearnPort.

Enrollment is now open and limited to the first 30 participants for each section. The goal is to meet the needs of ISDs and their constituent districts, professional organizations and individual educators through expanding the use of Michigan LearnPort.

The courses for which stipends will be provided are the following:

MMC Algebra 1 for Teachers
MMC Algebra 2 for Teachers
MMC Geometry for Teachers
MMC English Language Arts for Teachers
MMC Biology for Teachers
MMC Chemistry for Teachers
MMC Physics for Teachers
MMC World History and Geography for Teachers
MMC U.S. History and Geography for Teachers

These courses are instructor-led and provide teachers with resources and strategies to meet the needs of the diverse students required to meet the Michigan Merit Curriculum. Upon completion, participants will earn between 1 – 3.5 State Board Continuing Education Units (SB-CEU).

Eligibility for the stipend requires completion of the course and the submission of one lesson plan using one or more of the strategies or activities described in the course. This lesson plan must be accepted by the course instructor as part of the course completion requirements. This lesson plan may become a resource for Michigan teachers through Michigan LearnPort.

Teachers must apply for the stipend after completion of the course on the course form provided by the instructor or downloadable from the course community room. This stipend is paid from and governed by requirements of and provided through ESEA Title II, Part (A) funds. Payment will only be made for full course completion and submission of an accepted lesson plan. A course session will be offered beginning August 1, 2009. An individual may only take one course under the stipend program each session.

Interested educators who wish to enroll in one of the online courses should log into Michigan LearnPort®, http://www.learnport.org , and search for the keyword “MMC” in the Courses Catalog. Specific course content details are available in a syllabus embedded in each course, accessible by clicking on a course’s information icon in the Catalog. For more information about the Michigan LearnPort 2009 Online Stipend Program, please contacteelliott@mivu.org.

NASA recently announced the release of audio clips, video clips, and still images for students who create their own podcasts:  http://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/diypodcast/index.html
Media are sorted into 4 categories or topics:

• Lab Safety
• Newton’s Laws
• Spacesuits
• Sports (in space) Demo

All media can be previewed online. Audio clips are mp3 files. Videos are downloaded in a zipped folder containing mp4 video, Windows Media Video, and a transcript in MS Word.

News from MACUL:

A stipend of $1000.00 and a free registration to the 2010 MACUL Conference, March 10-12, 2010 will be awarded to 10 selected educators to produce high-quality enhanced or video podcasts in one subject area to be posted at MI Learning on iTunes U. Visit www.macul.org > MI Learning on iTunes U > MI Learning Information for application details. Application window: April 1 – May 26, 2009.

Read a related article about iTunes U on eSchoolNews

Many Michigan tech-using educators and students are gearing up for the annual MACUL conference this week. Some speaker handouts can be accessed online. On Thursday the Opening Keynote will be provided by Alan November, a thinker who is familiar to many educators in Lenawee County. A student RoboFest will be on Thurs. March 19 from 1:00 to 5:00. The conference Program Book (pdf) can be downloaded.

NetTrekker will be awarding two scholarships to the 2009 National Educational Computing Conference (NECC) in Washington DC to two educators who submit projects designed in NetTrekker’s My Portfolio. Projects must include use of at least one NetTrekker resource, be aligned to standards, and focus on students using 21st century skills. The deadline to submit projects is April 15.

For more info browse to: http://crm.nettrekker.com/necc09/

In a time when many educators are recognizing the benefits of using technology to connect and collaborate with others around the world to explore relevant content and concepts, the Youth Media Exchange (ymex) provides a platform to do just that. Ymex is an online social networking site created by Taking It Global and Global Kids “for youth interested in using digital media tools to share information on major global issues.” Below is a quote from the “About” web page:

We believe that online social networking is a powerful tool for learning and positive action worldwide. A platform that is both self-guided and collaborative, both easily accessible and inherently complex, online social networking, in theory, enables action along a wide spectrum of skills and engagement. Empowered by technology to create, share, and connect online, individuals who have collaborated to take action via social networking have produced significant, unexpected achievements in political, social, and cultural spheres—from uncovering inaccuracies in network news reporting to coordinating humanitarian assistance in response to events such as the Indian Ocean tsunami and Hurricane Katrina.

And yet, social networking has come under fire from parents, schools, and authorities, who aim to limit young people’s access to these tools. Although these are valid claims in some cases, social networking and other forms of digital media engagement have the potential to enable new kinds of learning, empowering youth to become a driving force in creating and shaping a shared future in an increasingly interconnected world. By keeping the spirit of ymex.org focused on positive social change and cross-cultural exchange, we envision ymex.org to be a space where this can happen.

It is important for researchers, practitioners, parents, educators, and policy-makers to understand how young people around the world are currently using and thinking about social networking and digital media, as well as how social networking and digital media can best be used as an instrument for education and social engagement on a global scale. This is a long-term, overarching goal for the field of digital media & learning at-large, but we hope ymex.org can contribute in substantial ways.

The site includes embedded video and audio, external links to media, digital photos, comments, discussion boards, online groups and more. One point of care/concern is proper citation or copyright of media that has not be created by users. Read the guidelines for using the site.

Two innovative chemistry teachers in Woodland Park, CO are using videocasts (aka vodcasts) to redefine lecturing, homework, and how time is spent in their classrooms. The teachers have data showing that student achievement in their classes has increased because their students watch video-lectures as homework then come into class prepared to ask questions, engage in hands-on work and solve problems. This is in contrast to what happens in many other classrooms where much time is spent sitting and listening to lectures, which leaves less time for hands-on work and more paper-based practice at home where students are often stumped.

The teachers, Jonathan Bergmann and Aaron Sams, have created a web site to teach other educators about their methodology: http://educationalvodcasting.com/

A page of their site includes a narrated slideshow from Bergmann and Sams detailed their teaching methods and achievement data. The page, In the News, includes a TV newscast about the teachers and the process as well as other links to press.

Statement released by International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) and the Consortium for School Networking (CoSN) on Oct. 2, 2008:

The International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) and the Consortium for School Networking (CoSN) are extremely pleased that on September 30 Congress passed, as part of S. 1492, an update to the Children’s Internet Protection Act which requires schools participating in the E-Rate program to educate students regarding appropriate behavior on social networking and chat room sites and about cyberbullying. ISTE and CoSN have advocated for this approach for many years and we are pleased that Congress has now ratified our position. Education, not mandatory blocking and filtering, is the best way to protect and prepare America’s students.

We must single out for particular praise today Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Daniel Inouye (D-HI) and Co-Chairman Ted Stevens (R-AK) for introducing the Internet safety education language in separate legislation and working tirelessly to ensure its inclusion in S. 1492. We also appreciate the efforts of Rep. Brad Ellsworth (D-IN), who introduced the very same language on the House side.

Both CoSN and ISTE believe that the Internet contains valuable content, collaboration and communication opportunities that can and do materially contribute to a student’s academic growth and preparation for the workforce. However, we recognize that students need to learn how to avoid inappropriate content and unwanted contacts from strangers while online. In our view, educating students on how to keep themselves safe while online is the best line of defense because no technological silver bullet has yet been devised that will guarantee that students are effectively protected. Therefore, we embrace wholeheartedly the thoughtful approach that S. 1492 takes, particularly the flexibility that it affords districts on determining how best to educate students about staying safe online.

Congress’ passage of S. 1492 represents real progress in the area of Internet safety and we urge President Bush to sign it into law.

To learn more about the organizations, visit www.iste.org and www.cosn.org.

link to source on ISTE’s web site

Word just came out that there will be two Michigan Moodle conferences for educators to participate in this school year:

December 12, 2008 at St. Clair RESA
January 30, 2009 at Muskegon ISD

Stayed tuned for further details.

The NY Times just recently published an article titled Literacy Debate: Online, R U Really Reading? It provides much food for thought around reading and what it means to be literate today. The article cites university research, some from right here in Michigan. The comments page hosts some interesting opinions from around the world.