EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY NEWS

From the New Hampshire Department of Education

Office of Educational Technology

September 30, 2004

IN THIS ISSUE

§       Online PD Available Thru Local Centers

§       E-Rate Update

§       Technology Planning In NH

§       NCLB Ed Tech Grant Applications

§       Research: School Characteristics for Effective Ed/Tech Use

§       Website: CoSN Cyber Security

§       Future Trends: E-Paper

Looking for other info? Check out previous issues online at www.nheon.org/oet/etnews

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ONLINE PD AVAILABLE THRU LOCAL CENTERS

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www.nheon.org/centers

LESCN Online Courses

The statewide Local Educational Support Center Network (LESCN) has a wide variety of online courses available to New Hampshire educators, with content from TeacherLine, HeinemannU, Classroom Connect, and more. Registration at reduced rates is available through the center located in your region of the state. Visit the LESCN website at www.nheon.org/centers for further details on locations and the 2004-05 Course Catalog.

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E-RATE UPDATE

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www.nheon.org/oet/erate

E-Rate Program

The NHDOE E-Rate Website was recently updated with new resources to help districts keep track of their application deadlines and other program news. Stay tuned for more information about E-Rate sessions at Local Educational Support Centers.

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TECHNOLOGY PLANNING in NH

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www.nheon.org/oet/tpguide

Tech Planning Guide

New Hampshire’s School Technology Planning Guide has been updated with new information in a new format. From the home page, schools can access their Tech Plan Status and review the updated Plan Approval Rubric used to review plans. Also included in the guide are the latest versions of the proposed School Minimum Standards that are pertinent to technology planning and implementation.

Revisions to this guide are ongoing. If you have an excellent resource to include in the guide, or a suggestion on ways to make the guide more useful, we want to know! Send your ideas to: Cathy Higgins at chiggins@ed.state.nh.us.

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NCLB ED TECH GRANT APPLICATIONS

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www.nheon.org/oet/nclb

Educational Technology Grants

The application forms for the third round of allocation funds from the Enhancing Education Through Technology (NCLB Title II-D) Program are expected to be posted to the web and via ETNews by early October. Program information, technology planning guidance, and data gathering tools are available now at www.nheon.org/oet.  

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RESEARCH: SCHOOL CHARACTERISTICS FOR EFFECTIVE ED/TECH USE ======================================

http://epaa.asu.edu/epaa/v12n48/ 

A recent research study determined how technology is being used by elementary school teachers, and provides evidence that schools' organizational characteristics are associated with teachers' use of technology in the classroom.  Organizational characteristics such as districts' and schools' leadership practices and emphasis on technology, the type and amount of technology-related professional development available to teachers, as well as the amount of technology-related restrictive policies in place were found to be associated with the four measures of teachers' use of technology examined in this study. 

Individual teacher characteristics such as constructivist beliefs, higher confidence using technology and positive beliefs about the efficacy of technology were each found to be associated with increased use of technology in the classroom.  For a copy of this report, "Identifying Teacher, School and District Characteristics Associated with Elementary Teachers' Use of Technology: A Multilevel Perspective," see: http://epaa.asu.edu/epaa/v12n48/ 

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WEBSITE: CoSN CYBER SECURITY

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http://securedistrict.cosn.org/

The Consortium for School Networking (CoSN), in partnership with Mass Networks Education Partnership (Mass Networks), is developing a program to provide schools and school districts with vital information on education networks in order to ensure the privacy and the security of data within their systems. Cyber Security provides tools and information for Superintendents, School Board members, and Technology Leaders to assess and improve the security of their technology systems in order to protect the safety of staff and students, contribute to the educational mission of their schools, and maintain community support.

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FUTURE TRENDS: E-PAPER

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http://www.computerworld.com/hardwaretopics/hardware/story/0,10801,95986,00.html?nas=EMC-95986

ComputerWorld has an interesting story about e-paper: “Electronic paper is a thin, flexible sheet with the look and feel of paper. It contains microscopic particles that display as either white or black in response to electrical charges.” Visit the website for the whole story.

Regards,

Cathy Higgins for the staff at the Office of Educational Technology

at the New Hampshire Department of Education

Visit us on NH Educators Online at http://nheon.org/oet

About ET News

ET News is sent from the Office of Educational Technology at the New Hampshire Department of Education. ET News serves as a primary e-mail communication tool about technology matters pertinent to NH educators. Current and previous issues are posted on the web at www.nheon.org/oet/etnews and include information about:

·         NHDOE technology surveys and technology planning

·         Federal technology funding and E-rate discounts

·         Research studies, curriculum information, and professional development related to technology implementation

Requests from service providers to disseminate information about their technology products and services using the electronic newsletter ET News can no longer be accommodated by existing OET staff (see March 29 issue of ET News). Providers are referred to the Reports and Statistics section of the NHDOE website, where several data reports are available in various formats, including School and SAU Information with names, phone numbers, and addresses, Student Dropout Data, and more. Go to the Reports and Statistics area of the NHDOE website at: www.ed.state.nh.us