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. National Education Technology Plan
2. Orange County (CA) CUE Conference, Saturday, 29 January 2005
3. "On-line" State and Local Flex Panel Launched
4. A New Search Wizard
5. Digital Divide Network Launches New Web Site
6. BlogMeister: A Tool for Teachers

AWARDS & CONTESTS
7. Awards of Excellence 2004 (Software)

CLASSROOM RESOURCES
8. African-American Perspectives
9. Profiles in American History
10. Interactive Educational Games
11. Grimms' Fairy Tales
12. Coming Soon to Tapped In

CONFERENCES
13. Upcoming Conferences

NETS RESOURCES
14. Improving Productivity

RTEC RESOURCES
15. Video Production Help

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ANNOUNCEMENTS
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1. NATIONAL EDUCATION TECHNOLOGY PLAN

The latest report released by the U.S. Department of Education, Toward a New Golden Age in American Education: How the Internet, the Law and Today's Students are Revolutionizing Expectation, focuses on signs of progress in core subjects, benefits from reforms stimulated by the bipartisan No Child Left Behind Act, and the success of innovative new approaches to learning through advances in educational technology. It also profiles today's students and includes a sampling of the views and recommendations of more than 200,000 students in all 50 states, which is consistent with the president's management agenda for government to be more customer-oriented. (Source: NETP Press Release)

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

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2. ORANGE COUNTY (CA) CUE CONFERENCE, SATURDAY, 29 JANUARY 2005

The OCCUE Conference on 29 January 2005 will be your place to find out how teachers in Orange County Schools are using technology to enhance student learning. This one-day conference will feature uses of digital cameras, video cameras, audio and video equipment, PDA's, web resources and many other exciting uses of technology by teachers. In addition, the conference will host the OC Student Technology Showcase featuring curriculum-based projects created by students from grades 3-12.

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

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3. "ON-LINE" STATE AND LOCAL FLEX PANEL LAUNCHED

Struggling with the implementation of NCLB in your district? Could the Local and State Flexibility provisions in NCLB be tools to help you meet your goals? Find out by asking our on-line Local Flexibility Expert Panel from January 21, 2005 through February 4, 2005. Panelists include the grants manager, curriculum and professional development leader, and school principal from the Seattle Public Schools, who are currently in year 2 of a Local Flex agreement. To register for this event go to www.neirtec.org/flexibility or call Jane Nesbitt at 802-951-8214 ( jnesbit@wested.org.)

The Flexibility web site also includes information, examples and resources to help you determine if the little known provisions of Local and State Flexibility in NCLB might be right for your district or state. The site, hosted by the Northeast and Islands Regional Technology in Education Consortia (NEIRTEC) and its partners, in collaboration with the US Department of Education, also sponsors on-line events to help you in your decision making process.

Related URL: http://www.neirtec.org/flexibility

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4. A NEW SEARCH WIZARD

Built on Google’s technology, this new search wizard from the 21st Century Information Fluency Project features instructional enhancements including mouse-over explanations of parameters and additional search tips. Links on the navigation bar take students to useful research-related resources including spelling help, a thesaurus, tips to evaluate resources, and citation help. (Source: WWWEDU)

Related URL: http://21cif.imsa.edu/locate

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5. DIGITAL DIVIDE NETWORK LAUNCHES NEW WEB SITE

The Digital Divide Network offers free tools to members interested in working to bridge the digital divide. These tools allow members to create their own blogs, host online community workspaces, access DDN content through RSS feed, and participate in live webcasts hosted by DNN staff. Membership is free, and is open to all. (Source: WWWEDU)

Related URLs: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/wwwedu/message/6095
http://www.digitaldivide.net/

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6. BLOGMEISTER: A TOOL FOR TEACHERS

Merriam-Webster named “blog” as the 2004 Word of the Year. If you’ve been concerned about sponsoring blogs for your students, take a look at the Landmark Project’s BlogMeister project. This online tool is explicitly designed with teachers and students in mind, where the teacher can evaluate, comment on, and finally publish students' blog articles in a controlled environment.

Related URL: http://landmark-project.com/blogmeister/


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AWARDS & CONTESTS
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7. AWARDS OF EXCELLENCE 2004 (SOFTWARE)

Technology and Learning magazine recently announced the winners of their 2004 Awards of Excellence for quality educational software programs in eight different categories: English Language Development; Language Arts; Management Tools; Math and Science; Multidisciplinary; Productivity, Creativity, and Communication Tools; Teacher Tools and Learning Opportunities; and Legacy Awards.

Related URL: http://www.techlearning.com/story/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=54800179


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CLASSROOM RESOURCES
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8. AFRICAN-AMERICAN PERSPECTIVES

This collection documents a wide range of events, topics, and issues in African-American history and culture. It also recreates the public dialogue among African Americans a century ago, and highlights political, cultural, and social issues still debated today. Suggestions for connecting the collection to U.S. History, critical thinking, and the arts and humanities are listed. Part of the Library of Congress web site.

Related URL: http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/ndlpedu/collections/aap/history.html

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9. PROFILES IN AMERICAN HISTORY

Visit this Smithsonian’s "Mr. President: Profiles of our Nation’s Leaders" to view portraits and read profiles of our nation's leaders. (Source: TechLearning)

Related URL: http://www.smithsonianeducation.org/students/idealabs/mr_president.html

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10. INTERACTIVE EDUCATIONAL GAMES

Looking for fun? These games reinforce basic skills for elementary students. Many of the games require Macromedia's free Shockwave plugin. (Source: The Teacher List)

Related URL: http://www.lethsd.ab.ca/mmh/games/top100.htm

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11. GRIMMS' FAIRY TALES

Twelve of the tales Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm collected are presented, four with audio. The tales are based on a 1914 translation. Part of the National Geographic web site.

Related URL: http://www.nationalgeographic.com/grimm/

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12. COMING SOON TO TAPPED IN

Tapped In brings educators together both locally and worldwide to cultivate a community that supports each teacher as a professional. Resources, experts, mentors, and new colleagues are available to all. Collectively, these elements of Tapped In form a uniquely supportive, career-long online home for education professionals. Some of the topics addressed include: Internet Safety/Cyberbullying, Webheads in Action, LOC Learning Page Chat: Civil Rights, Weblogs in English Language Teaching, and Global Project Based Learning. Registration is required.

Related URL: http://tappedin.org/tappedin/


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CONFERENCES
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13. UPCOMING CONFERENCES

A Virtual Conference
The Imperial Valley Technology Conference
Entire month of February.
Related URL: http://conference.learningtech.net

Society for Applied Learning Technology
New Learning Technologies Orlando Conference
February 16-13, 2005
Orlando, FL
Related URL: http://www.salt.org/salt.asp?ss=l

California E-Learning Summit
Clovis Unified School District - Clovis, CA
March 3-4, 2005 - Reagan Educational Center
Related URL: http://qp.clovisusd.k12.ca.us/elearnsummit

California Computer Using Educators (CUE'S) Annual Conference - 2005
March 10-12, 2005
Palm Springs, California
Related URL: http://cue.org

Computer Services Management Symposium 2005
March 20-22, 2005
Charleston, SC
Related URL: http://www.acm.org/sigs/siguccs/

WestEd RTEC & ISTE
Southwest Leadership Academy
Systemic School Improvement through Technology Integration
March 24-25, 2005 - Mesa, Arizona
Related URL: http://www.iste.org/swla

16th International Conference on College Teaching and Learning
March 29-April 2, 2005
Jacksonville, FL
Related URL: http://www.teachlearn.org/final.html

NSSEA's 21st Annual Back-to-School Educational Product Tradeshow
March 31-April 2, 2005
New Orleans, LA
Related URL: http://www.nssea.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.

14. IMPROVING PRODUCTIVITY

NETS for Teachers - Standard V(C): "Teachers use technology to enhance their productivity and professional practice. Teachers apply technology to increase productivity.”

Related Resource Sites:

Education World's Online Teacher Tools
http://www.education-world.com/tools_templates/index.shtml
Education World has a brief article about some of their favorite online tools for teachers. Don’t miss the link to their Teacher Template page. It’s loaded with templates to streamline the most common teacher tasks.

Mark Damon's Games
http://www.hillsborough.k12.nj.us/edlinkspowerpoint.htm
Not everyone has the time or talent to develop fun educational games. Mark Damon has shared his creations with you. Who Wants to be a Millionaire?; Hollywood Squares; Jeopardy, and The Weakest Link are all available for download.

Microsoft's Education Resources
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/FX011387241033.aspx
(for middle and high school teachers)
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/FX011433021033.aspx
(for elementary teachers)
Visit Microsoft’s Education pages to learn how you might use MS Office products to communicate and collaborate. (Source: Teacher List)


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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.

15. VIDEO PRODUCTION HELP

KidsVid is an instructional web site geared to help you and your students use video production in your classroom. Get advice on scripting, shooting, editing, and showing your masterpieces. This site is maintained by the High Plains’ Regional Technology in Education Consortium.

Related URL: http://kidsvid.hprtec.org/

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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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