January+February+2010

= Department of Education Update =

__ EETT Funding Update __

On Monday, February 1, the Obama Administration released its FY 2011 education budget request to Congress.

1. The Administration requested an education budget increase over FY10 levels, it also seeks from Congress the consolidation of a large number of federal education programs (38 into 11), as well as the elimination of six programs. 2. The Enhancing Education through Technology Program (EETT) is one of the programs that the Administration has asked Congress to consolidate. The reasoning given for this consolidation is that the program was “designed incorrectly,” not that it was ineffective. Essentially, they are shifting EETT from dedicated (vertical) funding to integrated (horizontal) funding. 3. SETDA anticipates seeing an emphasis on technology-based innovation across many of their other program requests, including from “Race to the Top” to i3 to the current Title I and Title II A programs (recognizing that these programs also will undergo proposed changes), etc. The Administration has further signaled its support to ensure that cross-program efforts to spur technology-based innovation are meaningful.

__ EETT Competitive Grants Awarded __ Five EETT Competitive Grants were awarded in January to Radford University, Shenandoah Valley Technology Consortium, WHRO Technology Consortium, Alexandria City Public Schools, and Roanoke City Public Schools. Summaries of the projects funded through the grants are below.

Radford iLearn Project Recently published articles in the field of educational technology have described four technological trends, which will most likely have a significant impact on how educators teach in the 21st century classroom. These trends are represented in the availability of: 1) virtually limitless, free, keyword-searchable information, (e.g., Google search); 2) wifi-enabled, locations-aware mobile technologies, (e.g., smartphones, iPod Touch); 3) Web 2.0 technologies, (e.g., wikis, blogs, and social networking); and 4) handheld and desktop games and simulations (Dede, 2005; 2009; Bonk, 2009). In addition, the latest reports from the Virginia Department of Education (VA DOE) have emphasized the need for teachers and schools to leverage emerging technologies to improve fundamental knowledge in core target areas and to “increase problem solving skills using a wide range of emerging technologies for communication and computing” (VA DOE, 2009, p. 5). The goal of the iLearn project is to address the priorities of the VA DOE by creating engaging and effective learning environments that leverage emerging mobile and Web 2.0 technologies to enhance the efficacy of the participating teachers in southwestern Virginia. Within a collaboration among Pulaski County Public Schools, Radford City Public Schools, New River Community College, Apple Inc., and Radford University, the proposed project will have three major components: 1. location-aware mobile games and simulations; 2. iPod Touch applications; and 3. pre-service and in-service professional development and education.

Shenandoah Valley Technology Consortium In commemoration of the Sesquicentennial of the Civil War, SVTC’s program focus is to explore the rich history of the Shenandoah Valley through technology-based, cross-curricular learning projects that address state content standards, national technology standards, and 21st century skills. To support this initiative, we will provide SVTC educators – administrators, technology leaders, and teachers - with the skills, support, and resources they need to successfully integrate technology into instruction. We will engage the latest technologies for teaching and learning to promote the creation of original digital content by teachers and students, disseminated throughout Virginia and beyond. The SVTC program will benefit educators throughout Virginia in several ways. SVTC will pilot the Virginia Content Repository, which will provide an online community where educators can find lessons, video tutorials, and student project examples that employ technology to enhance instruction in all grade levels and content areas. Once the pilot is completed, all educators in Virginia will be able to submit content, using SVTC’s submission guidelines and management model as an example. Similarly, the SVTC will update the online NETS•T certification system with refreshed standards and supporting materials; once completed, this system can be made available for licensing throughout the state. Finally, SVTC’s Civil War Sesquicentennial initiative may prove useful as a model for other locales as a way to use a local focus to capture the attention and excitement of teachers and students and encourage the use of technology to create innovative, authentic educational projects.

WHRO Technology Consortium The WHRO Technology Consortium project will:

§ Complete the development of leading-edge, media rich, online student courses including Astronomy; Chemistry; World Geography; World History I and II; Oceanography; Physics; Health P/E 9 and 10. Specific “rich media” elements to be developed include audio and video segments, mobile device applications, augmented reality, interactive Flash elements, podcasts, games, and simulations that will also be made available as “stand alone” learning objects through VideoClassroom™, Virginia on iTunes U and the Virginia Content Repository, among others. § Develop an online diagnostic self-assessment for students to help identify and correct areas of weakness to assure technology proficiency by grade 8. § Offer an “Online Teaching Methodology” professional development course to provide teachers with the skills they need to be successful teachers in the online K-12 environment. § Purchase digital rights in perpetuity, digitize, segment, correlate to Virginia standards, and upload an additional 150 hours of high-need content to VideoClassroom™ and tightly integrate that content into the courses being developed. §  Provide official PBS TeacherLine ISTE NETS•T Certification, including graduate credit if desired, to up to 200 Instructional Technology Resource Teachers and Media Specialists. §  Provide PBS TeacherLine Peer Connection (an online resource that combines online communication and collaboration with valuable content to provide a rich, flexible set of tools to help instructional coaches search for appropriate professional development resources and share with the educators they’re coaching) to all ITRTs statewide.

Alexandria City Public Schools The Alexandria City Public Schools project designed to build an electronic learning community built upon a “3DM” controlling principle: data-driven decision-making. The grant will run for 20 months (from January 2010 to September 2011). As a result of it, the school district will expand its technological infrastructure, using technology to improve the following: (1) curriculum design and implementation; (2) student assessment and evaluation; and (2) standards-driven strategic planning. This grant will also be used to expand student and family access to technology tools aligned with the promotion of student achievement and engagement in the learning process. This 3DM process supports the division’s achievement of strategic planning goals. All of the major long-range goals and related program elements for the 3DM grant will ensure sustainability and institutionalization of grant-funded initiatives, processes, and structures. As a result, ACPS is projected to improve its ability to:

1. Expand student and family access (i.e., time, range of resources, technical training) to educational technologies to enhance the learning process; 2. Track student performance and progress using a comprehensive system of technology-enhanced diagnostic, formative, and summative assessment; 3. Monitor and address academic trends, including timely inclusion of evidence-based strategies and interventions into curriculum, assessment, and instructional practices; 4. Facilitate the evaluation of program and curriculum effectiveness, including value-added studies of the impact of technology-based interventions upon aggregate and disaggregated student achievement results; 5. Support administrators and teacher leaders’ efficient management of school resources, including teacher assignments, professional learning, and specialized student services; and 6. Ensure the effectiveness of curriculum design and development processes, supporting teacher and administrative understanding of course- and grade-level desired results, recommended assessment practices, and criteria for effective unit and lesson plan design. Perhaps most significantly, the electronic learning community to be formed through this 3DM grant will support the following ACPS strategic planning goals: # __1__: Ensure that all students demonstrate significant academic growth and dramatically improve achievement outcomes for students below grade level and # __2__: Provide a rigorous, relevant, and internationally-benchmarked education to enable all students to succeed as citizens in the global community.

Roanoke City Public Schools The Partnership to Advance Smaller Technology Integration into Mathematics and English, or PASTIME, is a project of Roanoke City Public Schools in collaboration with Lynchburg City, Roanoke Catholic, New Vistas School, Virginia Tech and Apple. This project represents an extension and application of the //Learning without Boundaries// study. A focus of this project will be on the integration and use of the //iPod touch// as a practical alternative to more expensive and less portable technological resources. By leveraging student interest in using smaller, hand-held computing devices as an enjoyable pastime with which to play games and communicate with friends the project will use low-cost or nocost applications to allow these technologies to become fully utilized as a tool for teaching and learning. Through this project “best of breed” iPod touch applications will be identified, lesson plans using the iPod developed, and professional development modules created. The results will be made available to other divisions across the state.

__Updated VDOE Website__

The new main Technology page is located at [] The Web page for Libray Media Specialists is located at []

__New Technology Plan for Virginia__ The new Educational Technology Plan for Virginia 2010-2015 is located at [] This is a totally different approach to planning as we know things change way too quickly these days to have goals related to specific technologies. Instead we’re using a framework and focusing on technology as part of the whole school division system. More help for aligning local technology plans is on the way. New plans from divisions will be due 12/1/10, to be implemented beginning 7/1/11. With budget cuts, most people are working with a barely there budget at this point.

__Race To The Top Grant__ Virginia has developed a proposal for the RTTT grant from the federal government. It is a very broad proposal which includes many different sub-projects.

__New Internet Safety Resources__

The resource list has been updated with new sites/updated URLs. [] The Delicious bookmarks linked at the top of the document will be updated regularly. Please visit the Professor Garfield Infinite Learning Lab located at: [] The new Internet Safety episodes are almost done. Also, one of the senators is sponsoring a bill to create a Garfield/Education license plate.

__Information Brief on Sexting__

[] The recommendations for policy remain somewhat vague, as no court cases have set precedents yet. However, the recommendation to plan ahead is very important to protect everyone.

__Professional Development__

With total lack of monies becoming a real issue for professional development, we’ll be making a new campaign this spring to inform folks about Verizon Thinkfinity, Intel Teach, Oracle ThinkQuest and SAS Curriculum Pathways all free. (Speaking of Thinkfinity, check out the new look for ReadWriteThink - [] - if you haven’t already.)

__Virginia on iTunes U__

New content on Virginia on iTunes U located at //itms://deimos3.apple.com/WebObjects/Core.woa/Browse/vdoe.brpbs.org// You can copy the URL into a Web browser to start iTunes on any computer running the software. Email all content to be considered for iTunes U upload, to Sara Marchio ( Sara.Marchio@doe.virginia.gov )