NEON is an e-newsletter provided by SEIR*TEC, Regional Technology in Education Consortium at SouthEast Initiatives, through the Instructional Resource Center (ITRC) at the University of Central Florida.

This West Coast Edition of NEON is made available to you through a collaboration of SEIR*TEC and WestEd RTEC. It is accessible to you by email and web page, and is published electronically once a month.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

ANNOUNCEMENTS
1. Free Online Workshops from SEIR*TEC
2. ERIC is back!
3. OnCUE Journal
4. Free Online Event from WestEd RTEC & SchoolsMovingUp

AWARDS & CONTESTS
5. Schools of Distinction Award

CLASSROOM RESOURCES
6. Hurricane Field Trip
7. Census Bureau Information for Kids
8. The British Library Puts Shakespeare Online
9. Math Games
10. A Study Site for ESL Students

PUBLICATIONS
11. A Toolkit for Technology Leaders
12. Technology Integration Resources
13. Fair Use in Education
14. Teaching with Technology

CONFERENCES
15. Upcoming Conferences

NETS RESOURCES
16. Developing Higher Order Skills

RTEC RESOURCES
17. Planning for Evaluation

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ANNOUNCEMENTS
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1. FREE ONLINE WORKSHOPS FROM SEIR*TEC

The following EDC courses are being offered online by SEIR*TEC. They will be facilitated by a SEIR*TEC staff member.

CyberTools for Today's Schools
This free 5-week course lets you earn 20 staff development points from the comfort of your own Internet-connected computer! It's designed especially for those who have never taken an online course but want to give it a try. Learn to get the most from your home or classroom Internet connection - for you AND your students. The course will introduce you to skills and tools you'll need if you take an online course for credit or for further professional development. Class begins October 4, 2004.

Special Students in Regular Classrooms: Technology, Teaching, and Universal Design
This workshop provides an introduction to the concept of Universal Design for Learning (UDL), and strategies for implementing a UDL approach in instructional settings. Universal Design for Learning is a new approach to teaching and learning and the development of curriculum and assessment that draws on current brain research and new media technologies to respond to individual differences. All grade level teachers are invited to enroll. Class begins October 7, 2004.

Related URL: http://www.itrc.ucf.edu/classes/edc_classes.html

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2. ERIC IS BACK!

The Education Resources Information Center (ERIC), sponsored by the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) of the U.S. Department of Education, produces the world's premier database of journal and non-journal education literature. The new ERIC online system, released September 2004, provides the public with a centralized ERIC Web site for searching the ERIC bibliographic database of more than 1.1 million citations going back to 1966. Effective October 1, more than 107,000 full-text non-journal documents (issued 1993-2004), previously available through fee-based services only, will be available for free.

Related URL: http://www.eric.ed.gov

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3. OnCUE JOURNAL

OnCUE is published by Computer Using Educators (CUE.ORG) four times a year. It provides the latest tips on new hardware and software, up-to-date legislative information, articles on successful school- based technology programs, and a host of other timely, useful information. The complete OnCUE journal, in print form, is a benefit of CUE membership and can be obtained by joining CUE.

Related URL: http://cue.org/newsletter/index.html
For editorial submissions or reprint permission, please contact:
Brian McDonough, Editor mcdonough@cue.org

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4. FREE ONLINE EVENT FROM WestEd RTEC & SchoolsMovingUp

Resiliency: What We Have Learned - 10/13/2004
This interactive presentation with Bonnie Benard, Senior Program Associate at WestEd, will provide a synthesis of a decade and more of resiliency research. This event will present what the research has found along with descriptions of what application of the research looks like in our most successful efforts to support young people.

Related URL: http://www.schoolsmovingup.net

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AWARDS & CONTESTS
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5. SCHOOLS OF DISTINCTION AWARD

This national program recognizes outstanding American schools for academic, literacy, mathematics, and science achievement; technology excellence; technology innovation; leadership; professional development; collaboration; and teamwork. An elementary-level and secondary-level school will be chosen in each of the 10 categories. In addition, every application will automatically be entered for consideration for the overall "Best of the Best" category, with one elementary and one secondary winner.

Entries must be submitted by December 1, 2004. (Source: eSchool News Online)

Related URL: http://www.schoolsofdistinction.com/


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CLASSROOM RESOURCES
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6. HURRICANE FIELD TRIP

It's been an especially lively hurricane season for those of us in the southeast and it extends through November. With that in mind, here's a virtual field trip focusing on hurricanes. This tour of Web sites includes an animated illustration of a developing hurricane, tips to prepare for a hurricane, and a hurricane timeline.

Related URL: http://www.field-trips.org/sci/hurricane/index.htm

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7. CENSUS BUREAU INFORMATION FOR KIDS

U.S. Census Bureau offers a kids version of the American FactFinder, where kids can learn about the U.S. Census, get facts on their state, and "have fun with quiz questions." An interactive U.S. map links to information about each state, including the total population, urban and rural residence, school attainment, school enrollment, and languages spoken. (Source: The NSDL Scout Report for Math, Engineering, and Technology, Copyright Internet Scout Project 1994-2003)

Related URL: http://factfinder.census.gov/home/en/kids/kids.html

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8. THE BRITISH LIBRARY PUTS SHAKESPEARE ONLINE

The British Library is providing access to high-resolution digitized copies of 21 of Shakespeare's plays. The Web site also includes background information, images, sound clips, and tools to allow comparison of the earlier versions of the plays with the more common later versions, to see how the text has changed. (Source: BBC, 10 September 2004)

Related URLs: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/3641880.stm
http://www.bl.uk/treasures/shakespeare/homepage.html

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9. MATH GAMES

The twelve games on this Web site are designed for K-4 students as an accompaniment to the Everyday Mathematics curriculum. Users play against the computer in games of chance that drill students in arithmetic and other basic math skills.

Related URL: http://www.emgames.com/demosite/index.html

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10. A STUDY SITE FOR ESL STUDENTS

Charles Kelly has created a Web site with a variety of puzzles, quizzes, anagrams, scrambled sentences, and other word games for English as a Second Language (ESL) students. Some use Flash and Java. Many are useful for native English speakers as well.

Related URL: http://www.manythings.org/


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PUBLICATIONS
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11. A TOOLKIT FOR TECHNOLOGY LEADERS

The National Leadership Toolkit helps technology leaders identify partnerships and leverage resources, as well as identify skills for those who lead. The toolkit also offers guidance for data-driven decision-making and assists with high quality professional development. The toolkit addresses some of the challenges associated with virtual schools and distance learning.

Related URL: http://www.setda.org/toolkit2003/

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12. TECHNOLOGY INTEGRATION RESOURCES

The George Lucas Educational Foundation (GLEF) has put together an annotated list of links to courseware modules, articles, interviews, and professional organizations designed to show teachers how to weave computers into the curriculum.

Related URL: http://glef.org/php/biglist.php?id=137

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13. FAIR USE IN EDUCATION

Last month, NEON shared a Web site sponsored by the Business Software Alliance (BSA) designed to help students learn about ethics in cyberspace. This month, we share an article about the American Library Association's drive to present an important piece of the cyber-ethics story - the doctrine of fair use. (Source: Wired News)

Related URL: http://www.wired.com/news/digiwood/0,1412,64543,00.html

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14. TEACHING WITH TECHNOLOGY

Michael Hall, an adjunct lecturer in the University of Maryland's Honors Program, has put together a Web site with various articles addressing "the considerable variety of uses for computing and related forms of electronic technology in teaching." The articles range from general to theoretical, along with "some instructive examples of specific applications of technology to teaching and learning." (Source: The NSDL Scout Report for Math, Engineering, and Technology)

Related URL: http://www.wam.umd.edu/~mlhall/teaching.html


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CONFERENCES
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15. UPCOMING CONFERENCES

EDUCAUSE 2004
October 19-22, 2004
Denver, CO
Related URL: http://www.educause.edu/conference/annual/2004/

AECT 2004 International Convention
October 20-24, 2004
Chicago, IL
Related URL: http://www.aect.org/events/Chicago04/call/default.asp?

NSBA's T+L2
October 27 - October 29
Colorado Convention Center in Denver
Related URL: http://www.nsba.org/T+L

E-Learn 2004
The World Conference on E-Learning in Corporate, Government, Healthcare, & Higher Education
November 1-5, 2004
Washington, DC
Related URL: http://www.aace.org/conf/elearn/

Sloan-C International Conference on Asynchronous Learning Networks
November 12-14, 2004
Orlando, FL
Related URL: http://www.aln.ucf.edu/

TechLearn 2004
November 14-17, 2004
New York, NY
Related URL: http://show.techlearn.com/techlearn/V40/index.cvn

Jamie McKenzie's December, 2004 Seminars
- Five Types of Slam Dunk Digital Lessons
- Power Reading
San Diego, Fresno, San Francisco or LA
Related URL: http://fno.org

I/ITSEC 2004
Interservice/Industry Training, Simulation and Education Conference
December 6-9
Orlando, FL
Related URL: http://www.iitsec.org/

TAM 2005
Technology and Media Division of Council for Exceptional Children
January 19-22, 2005
Orlando, FL
Related URL: http://www.tamcec.org/

FETC
2005 Florida Educational Technology Conference
January 26-28, 2005
Orlando, FL
Related URL: http://www.fetc.org/fetc2005/

CALIFORNIA COMPUTER USING EDUCATORS (CUE'S) ANNUAL CONFERENCE - 2005
March 10-12, 2005
Palm Springs, California
Related URL: http://cue.org

SAVE THE DATES
LEADERSHIP INSTITUTE with ISTE & WESTED RTEC
March 24 & 25, 2005
Mesa, Arizona
Early Inquires: hbarnet@wested.org

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NETS RESOURCES
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Each month, we take a look at one of the National Educational Technology Standards for Teachers (NETS) at http://cnets.iste.org/teachers/t_stands.html and identify resources for helping teachers meet those standards.

16. DEVELOPING HIGHER ORDER SKILLS

NETS for Teachers - Standard III(C): "Teachers apply technology to develop students' higher order skills and creativity."

Related Resource Sites:

Higher Order Thinking Through Technology
http://www.educationworld.com/a_tech/techtorial/techtorial011.shtml
This techtorial from Education World provides you with easy ways to use technology to develop higher order thinking in your students.

Questioning.org
http://questioning.org/, http://questioning.org/module/module.html, and http://questioning.org/module2/quick.html
Jamie McKenzie has an entire website devoted to developing excellent questions. Be sure to look at the Module Maker and Module Maker 2 links for tutorials and templates to help you design your own lessons focusing on quality questions.

WebQuests
http://www.webquest.org/, http://www.ozline.com/webquests/design.html
WebQuests are one of the most popular inquiry-based activities on the Internet. Take a look at Bernie Dodge's extremely popular WebQuest portal as well as Tom March's informative article on designing WebQuests.


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R*TEC RESOURCES
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The Regional Technology in Education Consortia (R*TEC) program at http://www.rtec.org/ supports the integration of technology into K-12 environments and other educational settings. In each issue of NEON, we will explore some of the free and/or inexpensive resources being provided to educators by this program.

17. PLANNING FOR EVALUATION

SEIR*TEC (SouthEast Initiatives Regional Technology in Education Consortium) has begun collecting resources that can help educators plan to meet the evaluation requirements of the No Child Left Behind legislation. This Web page includes useful resources for conducting evaluations, questions to consider when developing an evaluation plan, and examples of state and local accountability efforts.

Related URL: http://www.seirtec.org/_evaluation/eval_index.html

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NEON (News for Educators Online Now! - the West Coast Edition) is designed to disseminate educational technology announcements and news. NEON provides a way for YOU to let others know what you are doing.

To submit an announcement of national interest, use the online form at http://www.itrc.ucf.edu/neon/archives/submitstory.html OR send email to ucfitrc@orion.itrc.ucf.edu. To submit an announcement of interest for West Coast educators, send an email to klarsen@wested.org. Each announcement should be sent separately and MUST include an email address or URL for people to go to for more complete information. We will use as space allows.

The IRTC staff reserves the right to determine which announcements will be used in NEON based on content, length, and timeliness. The ITRC staff also reserves the right to edit information provided.

The Instructional Technology Resource Center (ITRC) at UCF
University of Central Florida
Dr. Donna Baumbach, Director
Kathy Katz, NEON Editor
http://www.itrc.ucf.edu
ucfitrc@orion.itrc.ucf.edu
(407) 207-4962

SEIR*TEC
Elizabeth Byrom, Ed.D., Principal Investigator
http://www.seirtec.org

WestEd RTEC
Kurt Larsen, Principal Investigator/Director
http://www.westedrtec.org

DISCLAIMER: We do our best to verify the information in NEON, but we do not guarantee accuracy nor agree with every opinion expressed.

The Instructional Technology Resource Center (ITRC) at UCF is a partner in the SouthEast Initiatives Regional Technology in Education Consortium(SEIR*TEC). SEIR*TEC & WestEd RTEC are funded by the U.S.Department of Education under grant number R302A000011, CFDA 84.302A to support the integration of technology in education. The contents of this newsletter do not necessarily reflect the views of the U.S. Department of Education, or any other agency of the United States government.
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