Best Practices Articles



Best Practices in School Technology Spring 2009

Best Practices Spring 2009 Cover BEST PRACTICES
in School Technology

Best Practices in School Technology is
a publication of eSchool News and is
dedicated to providing K-20 educators
real-world solutions to school
technology challenges.

BEST PRACTICES in School Technology (pdf)

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  • Online high school boosts eMail
    Mon, Jun 22, 2009    Primary Topic Channel:  Virtual schooling / Distance Learning
    Primavera Online High School, based in Chandler, Ariz., a suburb of Phoenix, is the largest virtual high school in the state, teaching approximately 2,500 students each year through a 100 percent online curriculum. Key words: Primavera Online High School, online high school, eMail solution, school eMail solution [ Read More ]

  • Community college invests in ESL training
    Tue, Jun 16, 2009    Primary Topic Channel:  ESL/SLL
    Established in 1958 as a part of a statewide system of industrial education centers throughout North Carolina, Alamance Community College (ACC) has grown into a vibrant two-year college offering associate degrees in a diverse range of subjects. ACC is committed to responding to the changing needs in the area and, in response to the many new employment opportunities for technically trained personnel, the college seeks to give its 5,000 enrolled adult educational students the opportunity to develop their potential. Key words: ESL, ELL, foreign language program, Rosetta Stone [ Read More ]

  • Online tutoring program enhances students' skills
    Mon, Jun 08, 2009    Primary Topic Channel:  Virtual schooling / Distance Learning
    In 2006, the Buena Vista School District in Saginaw, Mich., had a population of middle school students who were struggling in math and English and needed summer school instruction. The district began searching for a tutoring program that would help students in grades six through eight improve their skills in these subjects. However, Buena Vista officials also wanted a partner that would take a unique approach to learning--encouraging and inspiring students' success beyond simply an after-school program. Key words: online tutoring, student achievement, math achievement, English achievement [ Read More ]

  • Making content 'king' is Vermont's crowning achievement in ed-tech integration
    Mon, Jun 01, 2009    Primary Topic Channel:  Tech Leadership
    As educational technology moves steadily into the 21st century, we're seeing positive shifts occurring in how Vermont teachers and school leaders think about technology and learning. Educators have become more tech savvy and more cognizant of the ways technology best helps instruction, and offering more mobile access to technology has become a growing trend in our schools. Along with this "mobility influx," there has been a concerted effort at both the state and local levels to tie specific content areas and technology together more closely. Vermont's VTcite and the 21st Century Classrooms project have helped spur this effort. [ Read More ]

  • Inadequate support infrastructure: Adversely impacting students
    Mon, May 18, 2009    Primary Topic Channel:  Technology infrastructure
    After 42 years in education and 37 years as an educational technologist, I recently retired from my latest position, chief technology officer of an extremely large urban school district. Over the past few weeks I have been thinking about the various changes I have witnessed in educational technology over this span. People laugh when I tell them that I earned my doctorate in educational technology in 1977, before the advent of microcomputers, for they cannot comprehend the concept of educational technology without them. [ Read More ]

  • Improved instruction leads to math success
    Sun, Apr 05, 2009    Primary Topic Channel:  Math
    During my career of more than 35 years in education, I have learned that content knowledge and instructional practice are two important elements that make teachers and their students successful. Teachers must first master the subject they are teaching, and then explore innovative ways to transfer that knowledge to each of their students. To enhance their teaching skills, teachers must have the ability to determine the current level of understanding of both individual students and the class as a whole in mastering a concept. Educators must then be confident in modifying their teaching approach mid-lesson if they determine students are falling behind. [ Read More ]

  • Reading, Writing, and Technology
    Tue, Mar 10, 2009    Primary Topic Channel:  Technology infrastructure
    While the promise of classroom technology offers great advantages, for many teachers it often seems like more of an inconvenience than a resource. Using technology to shape lesson plans is important, but the time it takes to manage the different tools occasionally becomes a challenge. After all, it's difficult enough to hold the attention of two dozen six-year-olds and keep the lesson plan on schedule, much less figure out how to toggle from one media input to another or adjust the volume. [ Read More ]

  • "Use it or lose it" approach to technology garners impressive results
    Wed, Mar 04, 2009    Primary Topic Channel:  Emerging technologies
    A distinctive trait of North Carolina's Cumberland County Schools (CCS) is not resting on our laurels, which explains why we went searching for a way to improve student performance at a time when the district was doing pretty well. We were not satisfied with test scores staying the same; we wanted to do even better than we had. Plus, at that time, the No Child Left Behind Act, with its consequent statewide accountability and Adequate Yearly Progress requirements was just coming into effect, and we wanted to ensure that we could show improvement each year. [ Read More ]

  • Arizona State University supports aggressive growth plan with rapid ERP implementation
    Tue, Feb 17, 2009    Primary Topic Channel:  Administration
    As the saying goes, it's quality, not quantity, that counts. Arizona State University (ASU), however, is out to prove that it can successively deliver both through its "New American University" initiative. Already the fourth largest U.S. university and one of the largest research institutions in the country, ASU is in the early stages of an aggressive 10-year plan to grow in scope and size, while simultaneously raising academic quality. [ Read More ]

 

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