Online article

Article from Learning & Leading regarding Second Life and virtual environments as a place for learning and collaboration.

Edutopia is one of those resources I go back to from time to time, and I always find something new and useful. I like being able to peruse article titles and their brief intro or even search by topic. This particular page is their Ongoing Professional Development page. I'm going to spend some time going over the free (that word definitely caught my attention) instructional models. The PP presentation under Technology Integration could come in handy sometime...

This is a great article with links embedded as to the impact of technology. It tells about hardware and software, and professional development and training. I found it very interesting and have copied it off to share with my administrator and colleagues.

(Editors note: This web page was last edited in 1998 and is no longer available at the original web site.)

The NETS are being revised and boy do they look different. Here is the 2007 version to download.

This is an online resource published by the NCRTEC. Similar to the NSBA visioning website, it is structured in a questionaire format, but it also includes links to available web resources.

Take a trip to 2012 to read a vision of how technology is used in the future by students. This was written by the NEA to help envision ways technology will be used to promote learning. A typical day is described that includes virtual interactions, communication with classrooms thousands of miles apart, and a description of how technology helps students with disabilities. "Much of this exciting vision rests not on new technologies, but on applying existing technologies fully to improve the academic experience and performance of every student."

Vermont's Educational Technology Plan 2004 - 2007

John See
Technology Integration Specialist
Minnesota Department of Education has written this short article about how to write effective technology plans. He advises "Effective technology plans are short term, not long term. Five year plans are too long. Technology is changing so fast that it is almost impossible to plan what type of technology will be available for use five years from now. Even one year plans may be about as far ahead as we can now effectively plan for specific purchases of certain types or brands of equipment. Perhaps tech plans should be divided into phases, not years."

You might want to write a three year plan, because that's what the state requires but have a technology committee that can constantly re-examine the plan and shift it to adjust to this quickly changing technology-laden landscape.

This is a National Clearinghouse for Education article from 2002. Relevant, and points to interesting trends in schools, especially in the discussion about whether schools are going away....
PDF file is attached for download.

"A journal for educators, by educators" published by ASCD (Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development). The link below brings you to the main page; click on "Publications" for the link to Educational Leadership.

This journal, also available in paper form, is posted online with current and past issues. You can search for topics in all of ASCD publications (if you aren't a member, you can still search for publically available materials). Each monthly issue focuses on a theme, such as Teaching the Tweens in April 2006 and Learning in the Digital Age in December 2005. It's an education journal that, while not specifically for information and communication technology, addresses broad educational issues which can help technology educators reflect on practices, make decisions and advocate for change.