"Tech Camp Unleashes Creativity and Collaboration" By: Joe Bardin

Every August teachers from around the state of Arizona participate in a K-12 Center Tech Camp. This is a weeklong camp that teaches teachers about using technology in their classrooms. The mission of this camp is to improve the teaching and learning in Arizona's schools through higher quality development and teacher leadership. Each year the camp comes up with three different topics that will be focused on during the week at camp. In 2007 the three topics were: multimedia, podcasting and Web site development. In the multimedia focus group, teachers learned about iMovie- an application on MACs to produce movies. Students would be given free expression about their movie, while the teacher watched the content that each student was producing. A first grade teacher made a movie with her students about fire safety, and thought it worked great. All of the students wanted to be part of the movie making process. In the podcasting focus group, teachers learned that new technology like podcasting can be fun and exciting for both them and their students. At Tech Camp teachers learned to write, read and produce their own podcasts. This would be an effective tool to use for English Language Learners (ELL) in teaching them to slow down and enunciate every word that they read. Students can record their voices and play it back so that they can listen to themselves speak. In the Web site development focus group, teachers learned how to make a basic Web site. As Kathryn Scott stated, "The classroom needs to catch up with [the students'] daily lives, where technology is already in action." Too many schools around the country and disassociated with their students in today's schools. With technology, schools can gain back their role as teaching students new and exciting things once again. With the Web site skills and all the other skills that Arizona teachers are learning from the Tech Camp, their students will be by far the most prepared for their future than any other state. Everyone else needs to jump on board and join Arizona in making our schools technology based for every student.

I think that this Tech Camp is a great idea! I could learn so many new lesson plans just from spending a week at this camp. With its hands on activities and exercises every teacher should be able to learn these technologies. Arizona has the right motivation behind this camp, in that they are making the students the number one priority again. I think that every state in the U.S. should have a program like Tech Camp in Arizona. I will be definitely going on the website for this camp so that I can learn the new technology that these Arizona teachers are learning as well. The website is http://www.azk12.org.

"Build Your Own Board Bright" by: Keith Vallis and Peter Williamson

Traditional whiteboards are beginning to have some competition in the classroom. Who or what is this new technology you might be asking yourself? Well it is called Brightboards, and it is the latest technology in interactive whiteboards for the classroom. These bightboards hold student's attention better than any old blackboard ever could! They solve the problem of having only one classroom computer for 30 students by projecting the image on any wall. Also, it makes the lesson more fun for both the teacher and students. These interactive whiteboards are becoming so popular that very student is expecting to have them in their classroom. In other countries, school districts are mandating that every school has these whiteboards. The teachers who do not have these boards are feeling as if they are on the cyberhighway off-ramp in some cases. What is a brightboard and how does it work? A brightboard is an interactive portable writing tablet that lets the teacher and students work together via Bluetooth or any wireless program. To use brightboards, any computer can connect to a projector, and any software can be projected on the wall. A Bluetooth enabled pen tablet and a wireless keyboard are all you need to have yourself a interactive brightboard! Multiple pen tablets and keyboards can work at the same time in a classroom. So no more fighting over who will have the whiteboard next. Some programs that are available for these brightboards are Inspiration, Web 2.0, Google Earth, Google Sketchup, Geometer's Sketchpad, Pinter VirtualLab series, and Poly (a 3D geometric shape tool). With these whiteboards they will make notes available to students, the pen tablets can save and transmit handwritten notes using a software called Skrbl for students to take home and review for a quiz or test that will be given. Another bonus that comes with these brightboards is that you do not need a projector screen, all you have to do is paint a wall white and the image will go on the wall. Also, this image can be as large as the wall and projector will allow. The best age group that will benefit from these brightboards is middle school or high school students. They are old enough to get the full experience and understand how these brightboards work. Of course elementary school age children can work with these brightboards as well, but a whiteboard model might be better for their learning development. These brightboards will change the future of how teachers teacher and students learn in the classroom.

I am in love with this idea of interactive whiteboards!! I saw this article and said to myself, "WOW!!! It is about time that someone thought of this idea of interactive whiteboards!" I am so amazed that the companies who are putting this product out has thought about everything that goes on in a classroom and has incorporated it into a small portable device. I will defiantly want to get this set up for my classroom and for my school. I know that elementary students can really benefit from this type of technology, and learn a lot. Reading this article had given me so many ideas about how I could use the brightboards in my classroom, that I am so excited to try out once I have my own class. What a great idea to have and share throughout the world!!!

Lose the Wires? by: Laurence Goldberg

In this article Mr. Goldberg asks the question what about wireless schools? A new school is being built in your area and they say that there will be no wires involved for the technology that is going to be used in that school. This is due to the Access Points (APs) which are devices that send out the wireless signal. Some extra wiring is involved with this process but they will be put to good use. Also, Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) is a protocol used for wireless applications to enhance security. This is very important in a school setting. Now the school is ready to be build but what standards are involved with putting together a high-tech school? There are several different standards that are available through the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). This company has all of the standards that anyone and everyone can look up and use for all sots of different types of projects. One example is Bluetooth, we have heard this term in the last 6 months or so because of cell phone use in cars. Bluetooth is a low-power, low-cost, royalty-free standard that has been said to be a good way to interconnect with small devices. This interconnection is what schools are looking for in a technology driven district. Mr. Goldberg suggests that lab and media centers be the focus for students when learning this technology. He also states that the classroom is the strongest case for technology interaction with students. Making wireless technology avoidable for school districts is where the money is in today's society. Now that the prices have gone down schools are have LCD projectors to show videos or other media to their classroom. Mr. Goldberg looks forward to a wireless future for all schools, and this may not be in the distant future like some may believe.

I think that this is a great way to show that technology is not only affordable now but practical. School district may be old and stuck in the "stone age" but they are slowly becoming aware of what is going on in the world. I have recently been in a classroom where they have mobile devices that come and students can play with. They are the i-pod touch, and each student has an assigned number to one of them. The i-pod touch set comes on a cart with foam around each device and a charger so that when the student is finished they just plug it back in. The cool thing is that students can read books, play spelling word games, etc on these devices. I thought WOW!! this school is not old and crashing in the technology department at all! I believe if more schools were like this one then students and teachers would be excited to learn.

"Passport to Digital Citizenship" by: Mike Ribble

You may be asking your self what is digital citizenship? Digital citizenship according to the NETS.S is students understand human, cultural, and societal issues related to technology and practice legal and ethical behavior. Students will (1) advocate and practice safe, legal and responsible use of info and technology. (2) exhibit a positive attitude toward using technology that supports collaboration, learning, and productivity. (3) demonstrate personal responsibility for lifelong learning. (4) exhibit leadership for digital citizenship. These standards are important in a school setting because students can learn a relatively new "language" about computers. Having and demonstrating all of these points will help students learn how to properly use technology for the future. A "common" language must be made according to Mike Ribble so that everyone can understand how to use technology and what misusing technology means. Also, Mike Ribble and Gerald Bailey have released a book called Digital Citizenship in Schools, which covers nine themes that are a key to the concept of digital citizenship. These nine elements are: digital access, digital commerce, digital communication, digital literacy, digital etiquette, digital law, digital rights and responsibilities, digital health and wellness, and digital security. These nine elements go along with the standards that NETS has updated as well. Along with these nine elements Ribble and Bailey have included themes and activities for the classroom and districts for schools. These elements also set a stage for global interest and responsibility that is promoted by digital citizenship. But the NETS standards and these nine elements might not be enough to educate out children. So Ribble and Bailey have come up with a four-stage technology learning cycle for teaching digital citizenship. This cycle helps users begin to focus their actions when using technology. The four stages are as followed: Stage 1: awareness-meaning engaging students to become technologically literate. Stage 2: guided practice-students need to be able to use technology in an atmosphere where exploration and risk taking is promoted. Stage 3: modeling and demonstration- students need to see their teachers are following the proper technology-based citizen behaviors being taught to them. Stage 4: feedback and analysis- school should be a place where students and teachers can discuss their use of technologies to see how they can use them more properly. This cycle is always going on whether it is in the classroom, home, or out in the community. Parents and the community members need to be involved with this process as well so that students can have all of the help and support they need outside of the classroom. The "common" language is growing and we all are becoming aware of this everyday. Mike Ribble is making a mission out of teaching these standards and stages to everyone so that no one feels that they are missing out on the technology.

I love this idea so much! I can definitely use the nine elements and four stages in my classroom. Having my students maybe doing a project that demonstrates one of the nine elements can be a way for them to get their "feet wet" in the technology world. The four stage cycle is also a great tool to teach students and then they can go out and teach their parents and community for a better understanding of the use of technology. In the near future I would like to buy and read the book that Mike Ribble and Gerald Bailey made. I think that this book can be really useful in the classroom. Overall this is a great idea and these methods are really trying to get teachers and parents to look at what students are doing with the technology, and what they are doing with it as well.

"Bridging the Gap" by: Don Hall

How would you define the closing of the digital divide that so many schools have tried doing in the past? One answer is to provide students with more access to technology hoping that this will help them learn more. The other answer is providing equal learning opportunities for all students and ensures they are successfully prepared for their future where technology plays a valuable role. The answer that fits the best to this question is the second answer. Every teacher and school district wants to prepare ever student for their future, whatever that may be. Don Hall states that there is a disconnection in today's schools because the schools are out dated. Students are bombarded with information all day long from the television, radio, music, computers, family life, and school life. It is a miracle that students can stay in one piece and still think after all of this stimulation. Teachers see the most disconnection from the at-risk students, who can least afford to miss out on meaningful learning in the classroom. Don Hall and his school district have put together a program that puts all of the students first. They have opened up a new technology magnet academy, the first of its kind in his district. They made sure that every student was represented in this program. The diversity not only covers ethnicity but different languages as well. Also, they have created a Student Technology Advisory Board which provides feedback on key issues, assist with key projects, and allow students a forum to share their ideas about how technology made a difference for their learning process. Another successful idea that Don and his school district came up with was to give back to the community. The school district built strong relationships with key community personnel. These groups were the African-American Culture Center and the Ukrainian Culture Group (which is one of their largest groups in the ELL program). They supplied computers and equipment to these centers in exchange for student tutoring after school. The district also went into a large apartment complex, which had a large immigrant population. They set up computers, equipment, and technical support in this complex's community center. This was to ensure that students living in these apartments could have access to computers outside of school. The idea of equal learning opportunities for all students would help in this digital divide. Students need to become connected again through school, and Don Hall and his school district is making huge strides in making this dream come alive for not only students, but for parents as well.

I think that this is such a great idea! Having th whole community come together to help out the schools in this district is really wonderful to see. This type of community togetherness is what all school districts want to see. I believe that every school district not only in California but in the country can do what this school district is doing; we will not have anymore at-risk students again! Every student will have access to a computer or some sort of technology that can further their careers in school. One day I hope to see this, but it takes time for new ideas to catch on in today's school districts. The future is bright and technology is becoming a big deal in updating schools.