Tapped In Newsletter: May 2004
...On the Tapis
May 2004
Issue 78
In This Issue
[1] Member Perspective: Terri Zopf-Schoessler
[2] News Nuggets
[3] Tips and Comments From the Experts
[4] Tapped In Technology Tip
[5] TI Group Profile: The Big6 - Moving Every Child Ahead
[6] Tapped In Festival 2004!
[7] About ...On the Tapis
Quote of the Month - "If you would thoroughly know anything, teach it to others." - Tryon Edwards
[1] Member Perspective: Terri Zopf-Schoessler
Terri Zopf-Schoessler is a 20-year veteran English, drama and, sometimes, dance teacher at Skyview High School in Soldotna, Alaska. She has been using Tapped In since January 2003 during her ARCTIC (Alaska Reform in the Classroom through Technology, Integration, and Collaboration) training in Juneau, Alaska. (The ARCTIC program was a federally supported program that funded rural Alaskan teachers to attend intensive, month-long technology training in Juneau and a follow-up summer session. The grant also helped pay for technology equipment in their school districts.) For someone whose technology skills were limited typing and sending email, the technology immersion was, by turns, exciting, frustrating, enlightening, and overwhelming. However, since the training's goal was to teach teachers how to use technology - and help their students use technologies - to demonstrate their understanding, she survived and, eventually, became a technology convert. A narrative of her sometimes rocky journey can be found in her Case Study of TI2 research paper.
Terri's Case Study of Tapped In online.
[2] News Nuggets
The Minerva Dissemination Conference will be held in Leiden, The Netherlands on Sept. 17-18, 2004. The topic is "ICT in Education and Professional Development of Teachers: Examples of Good Practice." The outcomes of several European projects will be presented, focusing on ICT in teacher ed (for secondary ed in particular). Participants will learn about the added value of ICT in teacher ed, discuss a number of examples of good practice and have the opportunity of hands-on experience of various applications.
For organisation and further information contact Pieter Vroegop, ICLON Graduate School of Education, Leiden University Vroegop@iclon.leidenuniv.nl; Ton Koenraad, Faculty of Education, Utrecht University of Professional Education Ton.Koenraad@feo.hvu.nl. For Registration and Call for Contributions see http://www.minerva-dissemination.nl/
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An article that Tapped In members Sara Kajder and Julie Springer, and J. Borst Brazas published on last summer's digital storytelling tutorial is at the Museums. See http://www.archimuse.com/mw2004/papers/springer/springer.html
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Tapped In member Frank Baker wants others to know about his online film study teacher guide to the classic film "To Kill A Mockingbird." See http://www.med.sc.edu/medialit/tkam1.htm
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Tapped In member Michelle Trevino has been awarded a Fulbright scholarship to the Hays Group Projects Abroad which highlights the Southeast Asian Heritage and Culture of the PK-12 Curriculum of Thailand and Laos.
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Tapped In member Lynne Wolters sent this link to the new web site for the NW Center for Children's Literature. See http://www.nwccl.org/
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Tapped In member Jeff Cooper's article "Building 21st Century Collaborative Learning Communities" has been published in the Spring 2004 issue of the NETC Newsletter. See http://snipurl.com/netc1
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The May issue of Learning and Leading with Technology includes articles by or about Tapped In members Don Knezak, Glen Bull, Sara Kajder, and Ann Thompson.
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The May issue of Education Leadership includes an article co-authored by Tapped In member Karen Clark Salinas.
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The May issue of School Arts includes an article by Tapped In member Pamela Stephens.
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Do you have a News Nugget about yourself or another member of the Tapped In Community? Send your News Nugget to BJ Berquist at bjb@tappedin.org.
[3] Tips and Comments From the Experts
After a Threshold/ISTE discussion with students in the Tapped In Student Campus, Tapped In member Julie Evans wrote, "I am truly overwhelmed by the experience - it went so well with the kids - we could not get them to sign off! And they asked us for more time to talk and more opportunities like this."
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Tapped In member Deborah Tatar reports, "I am in San Diego for AERA, but my Computer supported Collaborative Work class is in Virginia, so we get to use Tapped In this afternoon!"
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From the Middle Level Science discussion on environmental issues and political campaigns:
Beth: I love this format for discussion.
Nancy: Thanks Jan. This was my first online session. I enjoyed it.
Beth: mine too
Beth: not scary at all, as it turns out
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From the Social Studies Forum discussion on Beyond the Fire:
Elizabeth: Michael, thanks so much for having us on! It was fun!
Cathy: This has been great. I'm thrilled that there's been such great feedback.
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From Helpdesk conversations:
BjB: Hi, Elizabeth. Looks like you figured it out. Please let us know if you have any other questions.
ElizabethI: I believe things have gotten easier since I took a technology class and learned about Tapped In.
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TaraCo: btw--I really like the set up you have here. From what I've seen so far, you've all done a really great job with this community.
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From a Tips and Tricks tour:
JohnDG: Yes, thank you for the fantastic tour. I've been a subscriber of the Tapped In notices for years but have never attended a session. Now that I know how to move around, I definitely will. Thanks again.
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If you have a comment or experience to share with the Tapped In community, please submit the information to BJ Berquist at bjb@tappedin.org.
[4] Tapped In Technology Tip
Editing the Favorite Places Menu
You can add and remove links from your Favorite Places drop down menu to make it easier to go directly to the rooms you frequently visit. You can add or remove a link from the ME/Places tab. If you are in a room that you want to add to the menu, click on "add to my favorites" to the left of the Favorite Places drop down menu.
[5] TI Group Profile: The Big6 - Moving Every Child Ahead by Ferdi Serim
Moving Every Child Ahead applies the most widely used problem solving process, the Big6, to craft an alternative approach to the goals of No Child Left Behind. Improved student achievement requires improved classroom practice, but where is the research to guide us? Can we build a community of "studied interventions" where groups of educators share the evidence they generate through our daily actions with kids? These are the questions we explore each month in our sessions for educators who may be new to the Big6 or seasoned veterans. We all learn from each other!
The perception that schools must choose between compliance with NCLB and expanding their goals to incorporate 21st Century Skills is a false choice. 21st Century Skills is the road schools must travel to succeed in shifting to evidence based practice. Moreover, successful efforts are grounded in a systems-thinking approach that addresses the support required to ensure learning for all students, in terms of data-driven decision-making, capacity building and community connectedness.
Solving these problems requires development of 21st Century Skills by school personnel as well as students. For example, for all students to reach High Academic Standards, schools need information about the learning profiles of each student, which interventions have been tried, and which have been successful for students with similar profiles.
- For all limited English proficient students to become proficient in English and reach High Academic Standards, similar learning profiles need to be correlated to successful LEP interventions from other schools.
- For all students to be taught by highly qualified teachers, systems must provide support for teachers to learn and incorporate 21st Century Skills into their own teaching and learning practices.
- For all students to be educated in learning environments that are safe, drug free, and conducive to learning, community involvement and support must be developed, guided by evidence of effectiveness.
- For all students to graduate from high school, longitudinal data that identifies critical points and effective strategies for intervention must be used to prevent students from dropping out.
The information challenges of NCLB share many characteristics with those facing other 21st Century enterprises. Incorporating 21st Century learning skills both within the instructional processes, as well as the management processes used by schools and school people is an important decision for communities, policy-makers and educators. Such a commitment shapes decisions on fundamental questions about how we design, implement and assess instruction to meet the needs of all children.
The Big6 Group meets on the third Tuesday of each month in the Arcade Conference room.
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Tapped In currently has over 600 groups. To have your group featured in this new Tapis column, please contact BJ at bjb@tappedin.org.
[6] Tapped In Festival 2004!
Summer is ice cream, marching bands, swimming, fireworks... and Tapped In Festival 2004! This year's festival is scheduled for July 21 and is a 12-hour marathon of fun, friendship and fabulous discussions. The theme of "Celebrate Online Education!" promises to provide inspiration for some very exciting Festival events. Already scheduled is the Eisenhower National Clearinghouse (ENC) for Math and Science and The National At-Risk Education Network. If you would like to lead a discussion during the Festival, have a suggestion for a Festival event, or would like to volunteer to welcome Festival participants and help them get to the correct event room, please contact BJ Berquist at bjb@tappedin.org. And be sure to mark your calendars for Tapped In Festival 2004 on July 21 from 8am - 8pm PDT.
[7] About ...On the Tapis
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