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In this Issue: NOTES FROM THE The RTECs: A Wealth of Resources |
| The RTECs: A Wealth of Resources |
The resources shown here were created either wholly by an RTEC or in collaboration with others, or are linked from an RTEC site. The map at the bottom of this page shows each RTEC's service area.
Resources for the Classroom
www.4kids.org
URL: www.4kids.org/
RTEC: SCR*TEC
www.4Kids.org bills itself as "the quickest shot to the coolest spots on the Internet." Kids can visit "Cool Spots" (neat places covering a variety of topics; for example, find out all you'll ever want to know about frogs); "Ask Amy" (kids can ask technology-related questions via e-mail); "Be a Detective" (kids use the site to do research, then answer questions online to get a chance to be listed in the 4kids newspaper); "In the Newspaper" (kid-friendly articles and site reviews that appear in area newspapers with back issues online); "Safe Surfing" (kids learn how to surf the 'Net safely and get a certificate to prove it); and "Fun Stuff" (games and fun things to do).
The Amazing Picture Machine
URL: www.ncrtec.org/picture.htm
RTEC: NCRTEC
The Amazing Picture Machine is a database of links to graphic resources that have been found on the Internet and cataloged. An easy-to-use search engine makes finding pictures a snap. Lesson ideas, search tips, and other helpful tips are included, as is a must-read explanation of copyrights.
The Whole World Was Watching
URL: www.stg.brown.edu /projects/
RTEC: NetTech
"The Whole World Was Watching" and "What Did You Do in the War, Grandma?" are oral history projects conducted by 9th and 10th graders. Included is information for teachers on using this strategy with their own classes.
TEAMS Distance Learning
URL: teams.lacoe.edu/
RTEC: PSR*TEC
TEAMS, "the largest interactive distance learning provider for the elementary grades in the U.S," targets English/language arts (grades 4-7); history/social science (4-7); mathematics (K-8); science (4-7); and technology (staff development). Schools and districts access TEAMS programming through public broadcast systems, cable television systems, ITFS, or satellite receivers. Students and teachers "share ideas and information with the studio teacher and each other. TEAMS integrates technology into instructional design through its award winning home page, electronic classrooms, ongoing Internet projects related to modules, links to K-12 resources and parent resources, and e-mail access to studio teachers."
Resources for Educators
www.4teachers
URL: www.4teachers.org
RTEC: SCR*TEC
www4teachers is an indexed collection of online resources made by teachers for teachers. The home page links to four main sections:
- Integrating Technology - Web lessons, technology success stories, tracks, units, and classroom Web sites, many related to meeting state standards.
- Tools - Use familiar tools like TrackStar (read more about TrackStar below), PBL, and www4teachers to facilitate projects, create lessons, and build Web pages.
- Stars - Talented teachers and kids doing great things with technology.
- Professional Development (see Professional Development below for more information).
The home page also links to a Webzine that features "Teacher Testimony" (true stories of trials and triumphs with technology in the classroom); "KeyNotes" (what teachers in ed tech are speaking up about); "KidSpeak" (kids doing cool things with technology); "Tech-Along" (how-to information on technology for educators); "Premier Tracks" (ready-to-go Web lessons); and "Class Collections" (ideas, activities, and resources by teachers).
TrackStar
URL: scrtec.org/track/
RTEC: SCR*TEC
TrackStar helps instructors organize and annotate online resources and file them in the TrackStar database. The list of resources, acting like a table of contents to the Track, remains visible throughout the lesson, allowing the user/student to browse easily through the lesson and stay on track. This Web-based utility allows you to create a lesson, worksheet, or class page on the Web. TrackStar’s powerful feature means anyone who develops a track leaves it for others to use or adapt it to their own use, making it a resource that continues to grow.
Handbook of Engaged Learning
URL: www-ed.fnal.gov/help/cover.html
RTEC: NCRTEC
This site features classroom projects designed by K-12 teachers to demonstrate engaged learning and effective use of technology. Check the index of projects to get an overview of what others have been doing.
California Clearinghouse
RTEC: PSR*TEC
Want to acquire new software but would like to read an evaluation first? This is a great place to start. The California Clearinghouse evaluates instructional programs that use a computer, VCR or laserdisc player, a network, or the Internet for use in California schools, but teachers in any state will find the evaluations useful. You'll also find links to other handy sites, such as the Department of Education's Oasis, which in turn provides links to educator-recommended student-centered Web sites, plus examples of effective classroom Internet use from successful teachers.
Professional Development
URL: www.4teachers.org
RTEC: SCR*TEC
Go to www.4teachers.org, click on Professional Development, then the Professional Development tab to find a wealth of information on learning technology (reviews, tutorials, technology news, lessons); acceptable-use policies and Internet safety; technology planning; management and assessment; special needs and equity; and grants and opportunities.
Training and Professional Development
RTEC: NCRTEC
This site offers classes, videos, and online material. Learning With Technology includes a six-session course for K-12 teachers on integrating technology into classroom instruction to improve student performance and achievement, plus a facilitator’s academy and course materials. Videos include Captured Wisdom, which shows how teachers are using technology in K-12 classrooms. Technology Corner is an overview of technology subjects useful to teachers. Tools for Thinking features schools that have integrated technology into their curriculum. Merging Onto the Information Highway describes ways the Internet can become a critical tool for school improvement.
classrooms@work/tools@hand
URL: www.netc.org /classrooms@work
RTEC: NETC
classrooms@work/tools@hand videos (free to Northwest educators) provide "field trips" that allow you to observe students and teachers working together on extended projects that integrate technology. You can listen to the teachers reflect on strategies they use to meet challenges and watch students develop habits and processes for learning using technology. The Web site provides access to materials created and used by the teachers and students featured in the videos. (A CD version of the Web site is available.)
Read more about classrooms@work in the winter 1999 Circuit.
Digital Bridges
URL: www.netc.org/digitalbridges
RTEC: NETC
Digital Bridges provides indepth information about the educational potential of videoconferencing. The Web site and companion videos provide stories and "lessons learned" from practitioners who use this technology to deliver courses, enhance classrooms, access community services, and support staff development. The Web site includes model sites, planning information, forms to print out and use, and helpful links.
Read more about Digital Bridges in the winter 1999 Circuit.
Resources for Policy, Planning,
and Evaluating
Education Technology Coordinator Web Site
URL: www.nettech.org/tc/
RTEC: NetTech
Technology coordinators from throughout the NetTech region put together this Web site to provide links to a wide variety of resources addressing, among other things, hardware and software issues, administrative and curricular resources, lesson plans, other coordinator Web sites, e-zines, listservs, and forums.
Factors That Affect the Effective Use of Technology for Teaching and Learning
URL: www.serve.org/seir-tec (click on Publications, then Lessons Learned.)
RTEC: SEIR*TEC
This informative paper summarizes what SEIR*TEC has observed in providing technical assistance to schools "struggling with technology integration."
Learning with Technology Profile Tool
URL: www.ncrtec.org/capacity /profile/profile.htm
RTEC: NCRTEC
Need to make a technology plan but have little experience with integrating technology into the classroom or assessing the results? Try the Learning with Technology Profile Tool, a computer program to "help educators think about their practice in the areas of engaged learning and technology." The program "presents indicators of engaged learning and indicators of technology," with choices you can compare to your own practice, and offers a graphical presentation of the results showing strengths and weaknesses.
Profiler
URL: profiler.scrtec.org
RTEC: SCR*TEC
Whether you want a profile of the knowledge that resides within your class, building, district, or state--or yourself--Profiler may be the tool for you. Profiler lets you take an online survey to assess your skills in an area and see the results immediately. When others in your class, building, district, or state take the same survey, you can get a profile of resident knowledge in that area; the more people who take the survey, the more complete the profile. Administrators can use Profiler to see the level of technology use within a district to determine what staff development is needed--and who has the expertise to provide it. Teachers can survey class knowledge as individual students complete a survey. Survey answers can be changed at any time to reflect new skill acquisitions.
Resources
URL: psrtec.clmer.csulb.edu /index10.html
RTEC: PSR*TEC
This comprehensive site provides tons of information on such topics as Web page development, conquering the 'Net, interactive tools, federal education resources, and K-12 teacher pages. You'll find links to lessons on how to develop Web pages, how to use the Internet, where to find free e-mail, resources to download, and numerous federal, regional laboratory, and RTEC resources. There’s far too much here to cover; bookmark this site as a great one-stop source of information for educators.
Resources for Equity
Closing the Equity Gap in Technology Access and Use: A Practical Guide for K-12 Educators
URL: www.netc.org/equity/
RTEC: NETC
This interactive site helps you identify access inequities in educational technology with interactive quizzes that provide summaries of your responses and strategies to help you close the equity gap in technology access and use.
Beyond Heroes and Holidays
URL: www.teachingforchange.org/ (Click on Resources, then scroll down)
RTEC: PSR*TEC
The comprehensive Internet Resource List from Beyond Heroes and Holidays links to numerous sites addressing equity, culture, race issues, minority education, and much more. Many of the sites also have links to useful equity resources.
