Interesting article on online teaching and classroom change…here are my highlights:

• Innovate: Online Teaching and Classroom Change: The Trans-Classroom Teacher in the Age of the Internet
  • Online Teaching and Classroom Change:

    The Trans-Classroom Teacher in the Age of the Internet
  • Is an online course in such-and-such subject more or less effective than a face-to-face course in the same subject?
  • those who teach online leave the familiarity of the face-to-face classroom for the uncharted terrain of the online environment, whose constraints and affordances often lead to very different practices. The trans-classroom teacher who moves between the two environments, transferring ideas, strategies, and practices from one to the other, is a mental migrant. The transformations—of the teacher and of the course—that occur in these migrations and the two-way interactions between face-to-face and online teaching are the focus of this study.
  • most VHS teachers also teach face-to-face courses in their own schools at the same time that they are teaching online, and second, VHS requires that all its teachers prepare for teaching online by taking a demanding professional development course—delivered online—on the pedagogy of online teaching (Pape, Adams, and Ribeiro 2005).
  • As part of their professional development, new VHS teachers either create new courses or, with increasing frequency as the catalogue is built, take ownership of existing courses by adapting them to fit their own knowledge base and teaching styles.
  • VHS professional development emphasizes student-centered teaching; collaborative, problem-based learning; small-group work; and authentic, performance-based assessment.
  • only a third were familiar with the principles of backward design.
  • As teachers adapt their courses for the online environment, they are forced to reexamine the course design, reconsider curriculum strategies, and make many decisions about what to take out and what to keep, what to add and what to substitute.
  • finished courses are the result of intensive reflection and look very different from the courses they have been teaching face-to-face. As one VHS teacher described it, “By developing my course, I have had the opportunity to introspectively analyze what I am teaching, why I teach the way I do, and how I can change and improve my communication with students” (quoted in Pape, Adams, and Ribeiro 2005, 125).
  • kinds of changes that might be expected in the move to an online venue
  • online (Internet-based) readings
  • group projects or assignments
  • adding whole-class discussions
  • debates, and peer reviews
  • respondents required their students to use the discussion forums, and almost all reported that their courses included multiweek projects (98%), collaborative group work (95%), and peer reviews (84%), while 69% reported that they had their students complete multimedia assignments.
  • As teachers migrate to the online environment, they find that a whole host of issues—including teacher-student and student-student communication, the extent and nature of reflection, student accountability, and assessment—must be approached differently than they are in the face-to-face classroom.
  • Teaching the online course led these teachers to develop ways to communicate with students they could not see, to find ways to know if they were meeting their students’ needs, and to assess whether, and what, students had learned.
  • How do teachers teach without personal communication? In the online environment, teachers struggled to work out ways to reach and evaluate students when they could not interact with them face to face on a daily basis
  • How do teachers provide instructions that are clear enough? Online teachers also contended with a slightly different issue in terms of teacher-student communication: how to provide instructions that were sufficiently explicit that students could follow them.
  • How do teachers know when their students are confused? In face-to-face classrooms, teachers know if their students are confused by their questions or by the looks on their faces, but in online courses this type of just-in-time assessment has to be done through text, which presented some challenges
  • How do teachers get all students to participate? These teachers were concerned about making sure that all students participated in the discussions and that student-student communications, particularly in the discussion forums, were meaningful learning experiences
  • How do teachers manage pacing and scaffolding? Some of the respondents were concerned with the loss of flexibility in course organization that was the result of planning an entire course ahead of time (a VHS requirement) so that they could not adapt on a just-in-time basis to the student population. This concern surfaced in their descriptions of their struggles with how to pace the course, how to break it into manageable pieces, how to provide scaffolding, and how to organize groups
  • How do teachers know if students are learning? Many teachers were concerned about how to assess whether their online students had learned what the teachers wanted them to learn
  • 75% of the 158 responding teachers who taught both online and face-to-face reported that teaching online had a positive impact on their face-to-face teaching
  • The most frequent changes (defined as those made by 60% or more the respondents) involved course design or redesign, including eliminating lessons that now seemed poorly designed, designing or redesigning lessons using backward design principles, and adding lessons or units from the online course.
  • The second most frequent set of changes (those made by between 40% and 60% of respondents) involved the transfer of a range of strategies learned from teaching online to the face-to-face classroom, most of which revolved around fostering better communication. These strategies included changing how groups were organized, requiring class contributions from all students, providing more timely feedback, providing more written instructions, using class time more efficiently, and providing additional ways to communicate with students.
  • Those who reported making the most changes taught math, science, social science, and foreign languages, while those teaching computer science or programming reported making the fewest changes. English language arts, art, and art history teachers were in the middle of the ranks of changers (Exhibit 9). It seems possible that the teachers in the first four disciplines made the most changes either because these are particularly difficult subjects to adapt to the online environment and so require a lot of rethinking (math, science, foreign language) or because the online environment opens up the range of resources available (i.e., social science, which was primarily history)
  • four areas were class participation, independent learning, questioning techniques, and metacognition/reflection.
  • In online classes, full participation in discussions can be mandated by requiring a certain number of posts each week or by requiring that students respond to one another’s posts. The teacher can easily monitor the quantity and quality of the participation, including who is participating, when, and how often.
  • To be successful in online courses, students need to be self-motivated, well-organized, independent learners; at the same time, taking online courses can help students develop these characteristics.
  • teaching online led to a subtle but potentially far-reaching shift in their attitudes toward their face-to-face students, as teaching online made them realize that they could require more independent work. This realization was accompanied by a shift to a more learner-centered pedagogy in the face-to-face classroom
  • Questioning Techniques
  • To work well, online discussion forums need thoughtful facilitation, including careful attention to how questions are asked. Teachers wrote about how they imported what they had learned about asking questions into their face-to-face classrooms. They also wrote that they were now more confident using open-ended questions with their students and were less likely to provide answers. Others linked this shift to larger changes in pedagogical approach, including a reduction in the amount of time spent lecturing and a shift to a facilitator role
  • Another affordance of the online environment is the time for thought or reflection allowed by the asynchronous nature of the discussion forum. Although posts can certainly be composed off the cuff, in general the fact that they are written and often graded forces students to think before they write. In addition, well-constructed questions can lead to reflective answers.
  • there is as yet little research on the effect of teaching online on teachers and even less on how teaching online can shape teaching in the face-to-face classroom.
  • the trans-classroom teacher’s migratory journey to and from the online classroom can transform that teacher’s face-to-face classroom practice in subtle and important ways.
  • Can we, and should we, find ways to develop more trans-classroom teachers or to make nascent trans-classroom teachers more so, by encouraging more teachers to teach in both venues and by encouraging online teachers to reflect on the changes they make when teaching online? Can we, and should we, deliberately find ways to encourage the transfer of successful aspects of online pedagogy back to the face-to-face classroom, capitalizing on what these trans-classroom teachers have learned by treating them as resources for their face-to-face classroom counterparts?
  • This research, exploratory though it is, suggests that giving more teachers the opportunity to teach online, as well as deliberately encouraging those who do teach online to share what they have learned with their fellow classroom teachers, provides an opportunity to strengthen teaching in both environments.
  Note: This article was originally published in Innovate (http://www.innovateonline.info/) as: Lowes, S. 2008. Online teaching and classroom change: The trans-classroom teacher in the age of the internet. Innovate 4 (3). http://www.innovateonline.info/index.php?view=article&id=446 (accessed September 27, 2009). The article is reprinted here with permission of the publisher, The Fischler School of Education and Human Services at Nova Southeastern University.

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

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Note: The following is one of several entries related to my work in learning how to teach online as part of the Texas Virtual School Network (TxVSN). In the Office of Instructional Technology & Learning Services, 4 team members are learning to facilitate online courses. To achieve that, they are participating in a TxVSN.org approved professional learning session offered by the Harris County Department of Education (HCDE). The HCDE’s 6-week series is known as “Online Instructor Training” or OIT for short.

As this article on online learning accommodations points out, “new delivery methods for education create new challenges to our assigned role in assuring access for students with disabilities” (DAIS Online Toolkit). Being responsive and supportive of students with special needs is required by law. This is shared in the information cited below:

No person shall, by any reason of his or her disability be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination in any services, programs, or activities of an entity covered by the law…Under Section 504, children with disabilities must be educated with their nondisabled peers “to the maximum extent appropriate,” and “removal . . . from the regular educational environment occurs only when the nature or severity of the disability is such that education in regular classes with the use of supplementary aids and services cannot be achieved satisfactorily.” (Read Source).

This is important because virtual learning opportunities are now one of the benefits to students. But how can virtual learning be an option for students who have special needs or learning disabilities? One possibility is that students with temporary disabilities can have their needs met (consider Brian Crosby’s class interaction with Celeste, a homebound student). One of the key points that is often missed when discussing the needs of special needs students is the social aspect of learning. These social aspects have to be explicitly taught. As a result of communication with students, “positive group formation” and learning can occur (Read source). It is also important to accommodate for student learners with disabilities. To ensure participation for the student learner, it is important to provide an accommodation or supplementary aid/service necessary. Learning disabilities may be defined as a disorder in one or more basic psychological processes involved in understanding or in using language, spoken or written. This disability may manifest itself as an imperfect ability to listen, think, speak, read, write, spell, or to do mathematical cal­culations (Source).

The left-thumb blogger is afforded the opportunity to publish to a global audience. This reminds me of autistic Carly, a student who, when given a computer, was able to express herself in ways NEVER imagined autistic students could communicate.

Strategies afforded by new web technologies allow students that have learning disability to side-step their “different ability” and learn via various media (e.g. podcasts, videos), as well as be engaged in creating their own content using a variety of tools (e.g. VoiceThread.com, ShowBeyond.com). For students that second language learners, or English Language Learners, we can see that tools like ShowBeyond.com are helpful; consider this example to build vocabulary in target language. Additionally, other accommodations might include the following as mentioned in the previous source:

• giving a student extra time on an exam
• providing hard copy or online model assignments
• coordinating phone numbers or e-mail addresses for classmates who will share class notes
• providing training in assistive technology
• making class notes available on the Web
• planning clearly-designed Web formats
• planning both auditory and visual learning and testing options

(Click on the link for clearly-designed Web Formats…very helpful!).

To be responsive to a learner’s needs, the facilitator needs to take advantage of the entire toolkit of multimedia tools available, providing multiple learning opportunities that bypass a disability that might be focused on listening, thinking, speaking, reading, writing, spelling or involve mathematical calculations. By embedding rich choices for content review and creation, this becomes an opportunity for students to learn with each other in a way that is specific, or differentiated, for them–all by design.

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Note: The following is one of several entries related to my work in learning how to teach online as part of the Texas Virtual School Network (TxVSN). In the Office of Instructional Technology & Learning Services, 4 team members are learning to facilitate online courses. To achieve that, they are participating in a TxVSN.org approved professional learning session offered by the Harris County Department of Education (HCDE). The HCDE’s 6-week series is known as “Online Instructor Training” or OIT for short.

In my Online Instructor Training (OIT) class through the Harris County Department of Education (HCDE), during synchronous discussion, the topic came up of misbehavior in online classes. It was a topic I hadn’t spent a lot of time reflecting on since I work with adult learners. I definitely agree with the author cited at the link above:

A well-organized class and a syllabus that clearly lays out the requirements, procedures, and other aspects of the class are necessary elements. In regard to interaction, the instructor also does much to set the tone for the class, and how well one provides feedback is also a critical factor. Training for instructors should address how to organize and manage an online class so as to reduce the odds of miscommunication, and should also help instructors recognize and manage difficulties when they arise.

If an adult learner “misbehaves,” I know exactly what to do: 1) Re-direct; 2) Direct contact; 3) Remove; and if necessary, 4) Contact his supervisor.

With children, though, the contacts appear to be more subtle. Clear expectations up front are critical no matter what the age of the learner. This is why I was grateful to Jeanie Cole (HCDE) for her suggestion that I visit the Florida Virtual School to view these policies:

• Drop/Withdrawal
• Code of Conduct
• Academic Integrity
• Grading and Final Exam
• Privacy
• Expulsion
• Bullying and Harassment
• Eligibility, Residency and Age
• Placement Priority

While each of these has to be adapted, developed for one’s own situation and community, it’s nice to know that we’re not starting from scratch. I encourage Texas districts that have addressed these items to share their policies with the rest of us!

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free video player & video platform - interactive video, online video solution: video player, video editor - kaltura
wordpress video - wordpress plugin for integrated video on video blogs, and video tools  

Friday, September 25th marks the beginning of the Be Cyber Safe! website which will be used among teachers throughout  San Antonio ISD to promote appropriate online behavior and cyber safety. The curriculum was created with written consent from CyberSmart!, who is recognized as using standards-based lessons aligned with national and state technology and information literacy standards. Through the use of  the CyberSmart! curriculum we will prepare students to safely use the Internet for communication, creativity, collaboration, critical thinking, and problem solving.

The Be Cyber Safe! website has both a vision and a mission statement which includes educating all San Antonio ISD students on the importance of being responsible digital citizens. The site includes: curriculum links, expectations, standards, parent tips, online safety tips as well as other teacher resources.

Teachers who have already used lessons from the site considered the lessons, “easy to use without or with the Internet” – Ms. Angel Clark, first grade teacher. While teachers felt at ease with the organization and flow of the site, students loved the lessons they were being taught stating, “We have to be safe and it taught us how.”  We are looking forward to the district-wide use of the Be Cyber Safe! website.

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Differentiating instruction for student needs is not new to education, but what does differentiating instruction for the 21st Century learner look like? The Virtual Learner Series initiated its first Differentiating Instruction with Technology online course facilitated by Stephanie Correa, Instructional Technology Facilitator. The course was developed to provide educators with resources which would enable them to become more aware of the 21st Century skills students need to succeed and how to integrate those skills into classroom experiences. The week-long course provided teachers with an opportunity to:

1. Develop and/or adapt a lesson integrating technology
2. Collaborate with other educators around the district in a discussion forum on differentiating instruction with technology
3. View sample lessons which illustrated technology integration
4. Read various research-based articles on technology integration
5. Explore various educational resources available for infusing technology and curriculum

Preliminary Feedback is below:

Was this course worth your time, as an educational professional, to complete?

On average, about how much time did you spend DAILY working on the course content, responding to discussions, and time online within the course?

What was one thing that surprised you about the course?

• The information learned about differentiating instruction and how technology addresses the various learning styles.  Also, being able to revisit the site…very cool!
• The videos were great and very beneficial.  Even with the articles I found myself making a copy and putting them in binder like I did in college

Did online course development meet your needs? How would you have improved it?

• Yes, it met my needs.  I think I enjoyed this better than attending workshops.  Here, you have the opportunity to read the lessons, postings, and think about what you would like to say.  Usually in a workshop you are only have a limited amount of time to work with others and you don’t get as much out of it.  That’s just my opinion.
• I liked the way the course content was organized.

What else would you like to share about the course content, course facilitator, and the fact that you can earn CPE/GT hours online?

• I think that the opportunity to earn GT hours online is indispensable. I cannot tell you how many times that I check  ePath to see what is available for GT credit only to discover that there is nothing listed or that it conflicts with staff development already scheduled. This is a great way to get your credits without having to sacrifice time with students during the class day or after school.
• I enjoyed the class; the facilitator was very prompt and professional on her responses. I think that is an excellent opportunity for those of us who have a family to learn and comply with the required courses.
• Good information pertaining to the class.  Stephanie Rocks! Love earning GT hours.
• I enjoyed it and the facilitator was very knowledgeable.  Truly helpful.
• This class was beneficial it reminded why I  became a teacher.  Again the video and articles were great.

If you could say one thing to other SAISD educators about your online learning experience, what would it be?

• Learning is an ongoing process, take advantage of the opportunity to take a class while you are still in bed in your PJ’s.
• I would recommend it!
• Online learning can fit into many different schedules and give you the opportunity to learn in between teaching!

At the end of the course, educators were able to leave with not just a lesson plan template, but with a wide array of valuable resources at their disposable for the upcoming school year.

Administrators, OnlineLearning, Principals, ProfessionalLearning, Summer09, Technology, Writing Hide

Go Green Academy has completed its final session! The academy was created to provide professional development for Gifted and Talented Teachers allowing them to successfully implement Web 2.0 Tools linked to the Texas Performance standards during the academic school year. Sue Harris and Stephanie Correa from Instructional Technology Services conducted the first academy June 22^nd- June 25^th, the second academy July 27^th – July 30^th, and the final academy August 3^rd- August 6^th.

Preliminary Feedback from both academies is shown below:

How would you describe what you have learned to another person in this workshop? Include the content, the interaction with the facilitator, and the collaboration opportunities.

• I am feeling extremely uneasy when I think that for 20 years I have done this work, but that I really haven’t done the right work to get my kids ready for what they are facing.  I truly hope that I can find the courage to deviate from what “the powers that be” say I must do and do what I now know I must.  As for the 400 or so kids that have already passed through my classroom, I certainly hope that somewhere along the way someone rescues them from the antiquated ways in which we’ve taught them to think.
• The class was very organized and the instructor went through the material very meticulously so it would be hard to not get it.  Teaching technology requires a lot of patience for those students who fear it, but the instructor demonstrated great patience and concern so our fears were lesson.  The hands on experience and activities have given me the confidence to use what I have learned and pass it along to others.

• As befitting a GT Workshop, this workshop has examined not just the subject at a basic level but the responsibility was on me to really implement the content.  Kudos to the department and Sue for doing such a good job with the open learning.
• This class was a great way to get informed about new technologies that are available to our students and how to get them up to date with the global world.  The class was easy enough for me to follow along with the facilitator.  Basic computer skills are a must if you wish to keep up with what’s being shown in class.  I also enjoyed the fact that everything was not clammed into one session.  The weeklong format made it easy to follow and work at your own pace.

Go Green Academy covered an array of new concepts for classroom teachers which included:

1. Digital Storytelling using Microsoft Photostory 3

2. VoiceThread

3. Online Literature Circles

4. Classroom Moodles

Participants learned a great deal about how to integrate technology as a means of differentiating instruction for not only Gifted and Talented students, but for all students. Some participant comments included:

• Media literacy – I realize now how little I know about what is out there and how big my responsibility is to learn about it and share it with the students. The literature circle idea, although not new was presented in a way more usable to me in the classroom. Modeling the proper way to do this will take up some time in my room but I feel I can do this for all my students. This one I will definitely useful for all students.
• The programs have shown me many ways that I can take our normal activities and include technology into our classroom. They can talk about the story elements and practice their writing skills and speaking skills. These concepts have taught me that I can make my students take more ownership over their own learning.

Participants left every day of the workshop with a variety of resources which they will use in their classrooms with their students.

DigitalStorytelling, ProfessionalLearning, Summer09, Writing Hide

Image: Keith Krueger (CEO, COSN) and Miguel Guhlin

Below you can find links to my slideshow and the audio of my presentation at the Texas Chief Technology Officers’ (CTO) Clinic held in Austin, Tx on June 22-23, 2009. I had a lot of fun delivering this presentation, but spent a lot of agonizing picking out which slides to cut from my 40 + slideshow. Some folks wrote to say, “Your presentation was inspiring!” and I heard similar remarks from others after the session.

To be honest, I was thrilled to present next to Keith Krueger from the Consortium for School Networking (COSN). I had no idea he’d been the founder of COSN and had been with the organization for 18 years or so. Wow! That’s a story in itself worth sharing!

There are now ample examples of the points I made in my presentation, but I’ve realized that simply because something is obvious doesn’t mean it’s going to be accomplished or implemented. “This is obvious…why aren’t we doing it?” argument seldom works in entrenched cultures like K-12 education.

From Facebook and other Social networking applications to wikis, blogs and digital media, students in the U.S. are fully engaged in the use of participatory Web 2.0 tools outside of the classroom. Though school leaders believe that Web 2.0 collaborative applications expand the resources available for classroom learning; they are often constrained by policy considerations. How can schools better align the reality of technology-rich world in which students live outside of school with the learning experiences they have in the classroom each day?

Keith starts out sharing the results of the CoSN and partners’ Leadership and Web 2.0 study (view results here), and then I follow up with my presentation, including audience participation. Note that I tried to capture participant notes online at the wiki page.

Listen to Keith Krueger and Miguel Guhlin on Web 2.0 and Policy Leadership
The file is about 40 megs in size and hosted by the Internet Archive.

Relevant Links

1. Copies of Presentations available online
2. Whack-a-Mole Champion (via YouTube)
3. Examples of How Tech Is Used In Spite Of Command and Control
   • Immigration Protests, Los Angeles Times
   • School Principal Walks Out
   • Clay Shirky Video on How Twitter Can Make History
   • Well-Connected Parents Take on School Boards, The Washington Post
4. Twitpic
5. Reaching for the Heart – 5 Tips for School District Communications
6. List of Texas School Districts Using Twitter (Thanks to Richie Escovedo, Next Communications Blog)
7. The King and His Hawk Story
8. “Web 2.0 is an attitude, not a technology.” (Ian Davis)
9. UnMask the Digital Truth (Source: Wes Fryer )
10. Learning Ecology
11. Draft – Acceptable Use Policy
12. Free Seminar – **Social Media: Trends and Implications for Learning** – George Siemens and Dave Cormier
13. A List of Walled Garden Applications
14. Moodle Central – Repository of Moodle related resources
15. WordPress Multi-User
    • Setting Up Multi-User WordPress Tutorial with printable PDF (Source: DivaLatte)
    • Places To Get Support for WordPress MultiUser (WPMU)
      • Sue Waters’ WPMU Support
      • Ron and Andrea
      • WordPress MU Dev Premium

• Wikis in Schools
  • Free Wikispaces Sites for Teachers
  • Private Label Wikispaces for your Organization ,
  • Deerfield Public Schools,
  • WestWood Schools Wiki(Vicki Davis)

Audience Participation

• Alamo Heights ISD – Use 5th grader stealing another student’s password to the Moodle as a teachable moment.
• Magnolia ISD – Curriculum uses chat during workshops and teachers discovered solutions to problems, detours to obstacles.
• Spring ISD – Communications and Technology are together. . .need to have our own channel and communications.
• Leander ISD – One of the things I’ve found out…undertook a process starting in January (glad to share the documents) of investigating and building an RFP process, looking for a comprehensive Web 2.0 solution that includes teacher web sites, student portfolios, homework assignments, comments/posting…I realized that everybody plays a little differently…lot of power in combining tools (wikis, blogs) and you get the flow of information up and down and how it flows to parents. Moodle/Sakai don’t know how to handle a parent natively. Put an RFP, had demos from 6 vendors, including open source integrations to commercial solutions. There was little delta in the price…don’t limit yourself to open source.
• Key is to narrow the focus…we had a reorganization…it’s key to get area superintendents to use these tools, use online meetings/tools and this expectation to use tools is conveyed to principals on down.
• Spring ISD – Using tools with principals….
• Donna ISD – Held our first tech conference…did this with university of Texas at Brownsville. We included a wide variety of Web 2.0 tools, bringing in stakeholders…have a good core group…lot done on wikis. After 4 days, we’re all wiki’d out. We did FLIP videos, Jing…wow, I can afford this was a comment teachers made often. Downside – do a big staff development for teachers in the Fall. People in leadership roles…that question the value of what we’re trying to do.
• A science teacher at an intermediate campus sets office hours (online?) so they can share TAKS prep.
• Dr. Sheryl Abshire’s district: Students are skyping in England, doing online stuff…

One thing that is your biggest problem in getting collaborative tools in your District:

• Administration – I’m getting ready to rewrite your AUP policies…I was bombarded by all the bad things students are doing. How do you get the leadership engaged?
• Brought in representatives from UTB to share (1/2 day) with principals, core directors and relayed the long range technology plan for Texas. It is important that NCLB…more out front.
• Keith: Superintendents don’t want to look stupid but they really don’t know what they are. Superintendents have to take ownership…until you get that, you’re not going to see wide-scale adoption.
• Why can’t we take the parent notification system…and do a student notification system? Take the same concept and use the tools that they’re used to.
• Leander ISD: Providing a context and examples…one of our past failures is just showing them the tool and there’s no connection…doesn’t make a difference. We brought in examples (Denton ISD – wiki going with class in Germany)…something that connects (China…PreK students).
• Keith: One of the big mistakes that we found is that if you have the best buy discussion about the tool, then…what is the education problem that you’re trying to solve? If you want to do engaging learning environments, what’s more engaging than Web 2.0 tools? Create a compelling learning environment. Over the last 17 years, the problem is that the “boss doesn’t get it.” We’re not putting it into the context…educational problems, not technology problems.
• Magnolia ISD : Leapfrog school administrations…go to the communications companies.
• Keith: The factors that mattered (significant statistically): 1) Vision and Leadership – could articulate what they were trying to accomplish and buy-in from the superintendent/school board; 2) Community Support – are you going before your chamber of commerce, PTA, not just you as the tech director but having kids presenting…the big secret weapon that you have is if you can engage the business community and parents. These groups have no idea what their students are encountering. Go before Kiwanis and talk about what you want…we have one device for every 5 kids, slow connections that precludes video, get business community members that make the school board presentations.
• Keith: Shift in participatory learning at school…we need to talk about, culturally…shift in the way we do learning and the power of participation (Participatory Learning at School isn’t that exciting a title).

Disclaimer: In this presentation, while I reference my school district work directly, I do want to be clear that my beliefs/assertions are MINE alone, and do not necessarily represent the District’s…it would be better to say that my statements are informed by my experiences in schools, conversations with many technology directors, and the few thousand tweets I get per day and blogs I read. However, it would be remiss of me to not thank my school district for their support, and in particular, my supervisor, Patricia Holub, who appears below in this photo with Keith:
Thanks also to Harold Rowe (Cypress-Fairbanks ISD), Dr. Alice Owen-Farsaii (Irving ISD) for thinking enough of what I had to say to invite me to speak on the same stage with Keith Krueger!

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TO: All Outlook E-Mail Users

Recently several of our Outlook e-mail users have received an email with the following message:

Wachovia – Personal Finance and Business Financial Services

Dear Customer,

Wachovia Internet Banking, is here by announcing the New Security Upgrade.
We’ve upgraded our new SSL servers to serve our customers for a better and
secure banking service,against any fraudulent activities. Due to this recent upgrade,
you are requested to update your account information by
following the reference below.

Reference*

Internet Link Removed from this Sample Message

Regards

Wachovia Bank, N.A. and its affiliates.

If you receive this message, please DELETE it immediately and do not click on the Internet link in the email. This e-mail is not from Wachovia but is instead an example of a phishing scam. Phishing is an attempt to lure you into divulging personal information. Phishing e-mails are legitimate-looking e-mails that appear to come from well known and trustworthy Web sites in an attempt to gather personal and financial information from the recipient.

Please take a moment to revisit the message below previously sent to all e-mail users about ???Safe E-Mail Use.??? The information in this e-mail can assist you in identifying these types of scams and gives you guidelines on how to handle the issues when they arise.
Sincerely,

Patricia A. Holub
San Antonio Independent School District
Executive Director, Technology Initiatives and Support
1702 North Alamo Street
San Antonio, Texas 78215
(210) 299-1305 Fax: (210) 223-8879
pholub@saisd.net

From: Holub, Patti
Sent: Monday, December 12, 2005 4:09 PM
Subject: Safe E-mail Practices

To: All Outlook E-Mail Users

The Technology Department has received several calls regarding the recent increase in junk e-mail and suspicious e-mail. We have also seen an increase in Phishing scams. Phishing is an attempt to lure you into divulging personal information. Phishing e-mails are legitimate-looking e-mails that appear to come from well known and trustworthy Web sites in an attempt to gather personal and financial information from the recipient.

SAISD, like many other institutions, has seen an increase in these types of messages as we near the holidays. SAISD has a firewall and content filters in place that work to flush out these types of messages before they get to your Inbox. Unfortunately, no tool can eliminate these messages 100%.

There are things each user can do to help in the fight against Spam-mail and Phishing scams. The following are some recommendations and suggestions. Please review these and put them into practice as you encounter these types of messages.

Spam (Junk) E-mail Prevention:

* Never Respond To Spam – Spammers will never take you off their list! In fact, by clicking on any link within the e-mail, you have sent them a message that your e-mail is valid. This will cause you to receive even more Spam.

* Don???t Give Your Email Address Without Knowing How It Will Be Used ??? The Spam Recycling website writes, ???If a website is asking for your email address, they want to use it for something. Be sure you know what. Read the terms of use and privacy statements of any site before telling them your address. Ask yourself some simple questions. Are they going to share or sell my address? Do I want emails from this website? Do I trust them? Is it worth the risk? If you can???t answer these questions satisfactorily or, if you can???t find their privacy statement, don???t tell them your address.???

* Don???t Give Out Your Co-Worker???s Email Either ??? Many times websites have a link asking you to e-mail this page to another user. You have just given them another address to which they can send Spam.

* Never Buy Anything ??? If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Most of the time, the product is a gimmick. These sites are very liberal with your information. They will sell your e-mail address and information to other vendors.

* Delete Unknown Senders ??? If you receive e-mail from an unknown sender, please delete the email. The e-mail could contain a virus or other spy software called a Trojan horse. These e-mails can be harmful to your computer or send out information related to your computer.

* Report Obscene Or Offensive Content ??? If you receive an e-mail or website that is obscene or offensive, please report is immediately to the SAISD Help Desk 281-9090 or email abuse@saisd.net.

Phishing Scams Prevention: (From FTC Website: http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/alerts/phishingalrt.htm)

The FTC suggests these tips to help you avoid getting hooked by a phishing scam:

· If you get an email or pop-up message that asks for personal or financial information, do not reply. And don???t click on the link in the message, either. Legitimate companies don???t ask for this information via email. If you are concerned about your account, contact the organization mentioned in the email using a telephone number you know to be genuine, or open a new Internet browser session and type in the company???s correct Web address yourself. In any case, don???t cut and paste the link from the message into your Internet browser ??? phishers can make links look like they go to one place, but that actually send you to a different site.

· Use anti-virus software and a firewall, and keep them up to date. Some phishing emails contain software that can harm your computer or track your activities on the Internet without your knowledge.

Anti-virus software and a firewall can protect you from inadvertently accepting such unwanted files. Anti-virus software scans incoming communications for troublesome files. Look for anti-virus software that recognizes current viruses as well as older ones; that can effectively reverse the damage; and that updates automatically.

A firewall helps make you invisible on the Internet and blocks all communications from unauthorized sources. It???s especially important to run a firewall if you have a broadband connection. Operating systems (like Windows or Linux) or browsers (like Internet Explorer or Netscape) also may offer free software ???patches??? to close holes in the system that hackers or phishers could exploit.

· Don???t email personal or financial information. Email is not a secure method of transmitting personal information. If you initiate a transaction and want to provide your personal or financial information through an organization???s website, look for indicators that the site is secure, like a lock icon on the browser???s status bar or a URL for a website that begins ???https:??? (the ???s??? stands for ???secure???). Unfortunately, no indicator is foolproof; some phishers have forged security icons.

· Review credit card and bank account statements as soon as you receive them to check for unauthorized charges. If your statement is late by more than a couple of days, call your credit card company or bank to confirm your billing address and account balances.

· Be cautious about opening any attachment or downloading any files from emails you receive, regardless of who sent them. These files can contain viruses or other software that can weaken your computer???s security.

· Forward spam that is phishing for information to spam@uce.gov and to the company, bank, or organization impersonated in the phishing email. Most organizations have information on their websites about where to report problems.

· If you believe you???ve been scammed, file your complaint at ftc.gov, and then visit the FTC???s Identity Theft website at www.consumer.gov/idtheft. Victims of phishing can become victims of identity theft. While you can’t entirely control whether you will become a victim of identity theft, you can take some steps to minimize your risk. If an identity thief is opening credit accounts in your name, these new accounts are likely to show up on your credit report. You may catch an incident early if you order a free copy of your credit report periodically from any of the three major credit bureaus. See www.annualcreditreport.com for details on ordering a free annual credit report.

The above steps can protect you at work and at home. Remember to always adhere to the SAISD Acceptable Use Policy when using email. (D5 ??? Acceptable Use Procedure for Employees: Computer, Telecommunication and Internet Access.)

SAISD has a central firewall in place for filtering purposes. Also, SAISD computers are all loaded with Symantec antivirus software and this software is updated centrally. If you are concerned that your computer does not have antivirus software or that it is not working for some reason you can call the SAISD Helpdesk at 281-9090 for assistance.
Sincerely,

Patricia A. Holub
San Antonio Independent School District
Executive Director, Technology Initiatives and Support
1702 North Alamo Street
San Antonio, Texas 78215
(210) 299-1305 Fax: (210) 223-8879
pholub@saisd.net

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In their efforts to meet federal requirements for improved student performance, the nation’s teachers say effective use of classroom technology is essential to conduct important administrative tasks and reach a new generation of learners weaned on technology. And key to the effective use of classroom technology, educators report, is adequate professional development.

Although teachers report they are using technology more frequently for both instructional and administrative tasks, they also worry that obstacles such as a lack of access, time, and money are keeping them from integrating technology effectively into the curriculum, the study found.

Source: eSchoolNews

This study provides critical information. How are lack of access, time and money preventing SAISD teachers from integrating technology effectively into the curriculum? If one analyzes the Level of Technology Implementation (LOTI) data gathered for the last 3 years, one will notice that there has been a definite decrease in Level 0–perceived lack of access to technology. Yet, is this enough?

Consider that the study also makes the following point:

The number of teachers using technology to teach writing skills went from 64 percent in 2005 to 71 percent in 2006, while the use of technology to teach scientific concepts also increased significantly, from 51 percent in 2005 to 60 percent this year.

HIGH SCHOOL COMPARISON

LEVEL 0-1
Let’s compare this data with the use of technology in SAISD schools, say at the high school level. Consider these statistics for Level 0 or 1 at SAISD High Schools. At level 0 of the LOTI, technology is NOT used at all because it is perceived to not be present.

• In 2003-2004 School Year, 53% of teachers were at level 0 (36%) or level 1 (17%).
• In 2005-2006 School Year, 42% of teachers were at level 0 (18%) or level 1 (24%).

LEVEL 4
At level 4, which is the target technology level set by the Texas Education Agency, one can see the following:

• In 2003-2004 School Year, 16% of teachers were at Level 4.
• In 2005-2006 School Year, 20% of teachers were at Level 4.

There is definite decrease in teachers level 0-3, a diminishment of 14% (55% in 2005-2006 down from 69% in 2003-2004). This is noteworthy and a cause for some celebration. However, target for Level 4 is 100% district-wide.

One question is, “Can we expect 71% of teachers to use technology for writing when 42% are at level 0 and 1 of the LOTI?” A more important question is, “How can we facilitate 42% of our teachers moving to the target technology level 3 and 4 where technology is more likely to be used to support writing, math and science?”
HOW DO WE GET TO LEVEL 4?
To achieve Level 4 of the LOTI, several things have to be done:

1. Require professional development–a minimum of 16 hours–for all teachers that addresses 21st Century Skills.
2. Provide monetary incentives for teachers and administrators to develop technology competencies along a learning path (e.g. English/Language Arts, Science, Math).
3. Merge the focus of both departments (C&I and Technology) concentrating on student achievement.
4. Summative evaluations for building principals demonstrating their staff accomplishments at LOTI Level 3.
5. Provide Technology Department access to the CICs.
6. Provide professional development to CICs to become “instructional” mentors of technology.
7. Train principals.

*Bold items in this list are taken from recommendations made and agreed to by Associate Area Superintendents in collaboration with Dr. Chris Moersch, author of the Levels of Technology Implementation (LOTI) framework.

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