DOCUMENT RESUME

ED 475 287 IR 021 974

AUTHOR Byrom, Elizabeth, Ed.; Bingham, Margaret, Ed.; Bowman,Gloria, Ed.; Shoemaker, Dan, Ed.

TITLE NewsWire, 2002.

INSTITUTION SouthEast Initiatives Regional Technology in EducationConsortium, Durham, NC.

SPONS AGENCY Office of Educational Research and Improvement (ED),Washington, DC.

PUB DATE 2002-00-00NOTE 81p.; Published irregularly. Volume 5, Number 2 was created

for SEIR-TEC by the Instructional Technology Resources Centerin collaboration with K12 Handhelds.

CONTRACT R302A980001AVAILABLE FROM SEIR-TEC, 3333 Chapel Hill Blvd., Suite C-102, Durham, NC

27707. Tel: 800-755-3277 (Toll Free); Tel: 919-402-1060; Fax:919-402-1617. For full text: http://www.seirtec.org/.

PUB TYPE Collected Works Serials (022)

JOURNAL CIT NewsWire; v5 n1-3 2002EDRS PRICE EDRS Price MF01/PC04 Plus Postage.DESCRIPTORS *Computer Assisted Instruction; *Computer Uses in Education;

Educational Resources; *Educational Technology; ElementarySecondary Education; Instructional Design; *LearningActivities; Student Projects; Technology Integration; WorldWide Web

ABSTRACT

This document presents the 3 2002 issues of the newsletter"NewsWire," (volume 5). Issue Number One focuses on collaborative Webprojects. This issue begins with descriptions of four individual projects:"iEARN"; "Operation RubyThroat"; "Follow the Polar Huskies!"; and "Log inYour Animal Roadkill!" Features that follow include: "Bringing the GlobalGrocery List Project Work to the Classroom"; "International SchoolPartnerships through Technology"; "What it Takes to Develop or Participate ina Collaborative Web Project"; "Sources for Collaborative Web Projects"; and"Adult Literacy Students Explore Antarctica Virtually." Issue Number Twodeals with handheld technologies, and features include: "The Impact ofTechnology onEducation"; "Handheld Technology: The Basics"; "An Overview ofWireless Networking"; "Considerations When Buying a Handheld"; "EducationalAdvantages"; "Educational Concerns"; "Student Teachers and High SchoolSeniors Beam the Internet"; "101 Great Educational Uses for Your HandheldComputer"; "Picture This!"; "Using Handheld Technologies in Schools"; and"Using eBooks on Handhelds." Also included in this issue are a sampling ofprojects; grant opportunities; sample educational software; handheldresources; and a glossary. Features of issue Number Three, which focuses onevaluating the impact of technology, include: "Tips for Writing an EvaluationPlan for a Technology Grant"; "Evaluation Questions--Guiding Inquiry inSchools"; "Lessons Learned from Action Research: Evaluation from theTrenches"; "Alabama Indicators for Measuring Progress`; "State Guidelines forEnhancing Education Through Technology (EETT) Projects"; "TAGLIT: A Tool forMeasuring a Project's Results"; "Steps in Evaluating a School or DistrictTechnology Program"; "Thinking Beyond Surveys"; "Resources for Evaluation: AnAnnotated Bibliography"; and "Tools for Evaluating Technology Projects and

Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be madefrom the original document.

Programs." (AEF)

Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be madefrom the original document.

News Wire, 2002

Edited by

Elizabeth Byrom, Margaret Bingham, Gloria Bowman, & Dan Shoemaker

News Wire v5 n1-3 2002

South East Initiatives Regional Technology in Education Consortium

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATIONOffice of Educational Research and ImprovementEDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION

CENTER (ERIC)13 This document has been reproduced as

received from the person or organizationoriginating it.

I) Minor changes have been made to improvereproduction quality

a Points of view or opinions stated in thisdocument do not necessarily representofficial OERI position or policy.

2

PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE ANDDISSEMINATE THIS MATERIAL HAS

BEEN GRANTED BY

K. Oliver

TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCESINFORMATION CENTER (ERIC)

BEST COPY AVAILABLE

THIS ISSUE:

Collaborative

Web Projects

INSIDE...

2 iEARN

3 Operation RubyThroat

5 Follow the PolarHuskiest

6 Log in Your AlabamaRoadkillf

7 Bringing the GlobalGrocery List ProjectWork to the Classroom

9 International SchoolPartnerships through

Technology

12 What it Takes toDevelop or Participatein a Collaborative

Web Project

14 Sources for CollaborativeWeb Projects

15 Adult Literacy StudentsExplore AntarcticaVIoually

SouthEast Initiatives Regional Technology in Education Consortium Memo Fivo Number One 2002

Collaborative Web Projects AboundNo question about itl The Inter-net is rich in resources for theclassroom, and one of the mostbeneficial resources for studentsis the collaborative Web project.These online projects range fromvery structured activities, inwhich students share collecteddata, to full units of study corre-lated to state or local standardsand designed by the participants.

During the 2001-2002 schoolyear, collaborative Web projectswere a means of making inter-national connections. PresidentGeorge Bush and Secretary ofEducation Rod Paige highlighted"Friendship Through Educa-tion," a consortium of groupsbrought together by iEARN(International Education andResearch Network) to facilitateexpanded links between stu-dents from the United Statesand students in countries withMuslim populations. Thewww.friendshipthrougheducation.org web-site links students through let-ters, e-mails, collaborations,and exchanges to build an un-derstanding between nationsand to help each learn moreabout the nther.

According to the Friendship'their

projects include the following:

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agcs a i j, iidake quilts usingfabric squares on which theyhave drawn smiley faces, to

share with other children whoneed comforting. The projectwas created in response to theneeds of children receivingmedical, hospital, or clinic care;experiencing the devastatingeffects of natural disasters; andin transition, crisis, or displace-ment from their homes.

Kids Share Hope: The kids of theGlobal Schoolhouse collabo-rate by sharing their messagesof hope, support, and condo-lences in response to the Sep-tember 11, 2001 "Attack onAmerica" tragedy. Studentssubmit scanned drawings anddigital photos that portray afeeling of hope and support.These messages and imagesare compiled and shared withschool children directly im-pacted by this disastrous actof terrorism.

Global Art: Students, primarilyages 5-12, create and ex-change artwork and writingwith several other participatingschools on the theme, 'A Senseof Caring,' respond to oneanother's artwork/writingthrough e-mail conversations,and display tne Sense of CaringArtwork with descriptive writ-ing and e-mail messages fromparticipating schools/classes!organizations in a Global ArtShow at their

Whether the collaborative onlineproject has an international

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theme or a narrow curricular focus, teachers andstudents join with others to share data or ideas,draw conclusions, or develop a product. Throughthese projects, the world becomes smaller, the class-room becomes multi-dimensional, and learning be-comes authentic.

If you have not had your class participate in a col-laborative online project, now is the time to begin.The articles in this issue of News Wire address sev-eral projects to join, sites to check for project list-ings, tips on developing and participating in onlineprojects, and experiences others have had in devel-oping or managing collaborative online projects.Perhaps they will be just the sparks you need toget started!

iEARN:

Offering Projects Since 1988

Recognized as one of the first groups to offerstudents and teachers opportunities for onlinecollaborative projects, iEARN (InternationalEducational and Research Network) at

www.iearn.org has an extensive list of online projects. All iEARN projects focuson providing the following:

An inclusive and culturally diverse communityA safe and structured environment in which students can communicateAn opportunity to apply knowledge in service-learning projectsA community of educators and learnersmaking a difference as part of the educationalprocess

The projects are organized in three majorcurricular groups:

Creative/Language ArtsScience/Environment/MathSocial Studies

Participants have the option of participating instructured online projects that are ready tostart (See www.iearn.org/projects/index.html) or to work with other classrooms to de-sign and implement projects specific to a curricular area or classroom need.

In addition to online projects, LEARN provides interactive forums, news, pro-fessional development opportunities, and an extensive database of membersand prujecis.

Membership in iEARN is school-based. Once a school joins iEARN, allteachers and students in that school have access to all network resources.(2001-2002 school-year prices were $100/teacher or $280/school.)

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A classroom teacher com-mented, "Hummingbirds arewonderful tools to excite stu-dents about learning." Thisidea is the basic premise of"Operation Ruby Throat: TheHummingbird Project," aninnovative, international,cross-disciplinary initiativethrough which students,teachers, and others collabo-rate to study the behaviorand distribution of Ruby-Throated Hummingbirds(Archilochus colubris).

The project is an outreachendeavor of the Hilton PondCenter for Piedmont Natural History, a501(c)(3) non-profit education and re-search site near York, South Carolina.

Since its founding in 1982, the HiltonPond Center has been the most produc-tive bird-banding station in the Caroli-nas and one of the most active in thesoutheastern United States. It is also apopular field trip location for K-12 stu-dents, education interns, teachers, col-lege classes, conservation groups,garden clubs, and civic organizationsfrom across the Southeast and beyond.The extensive education and researchwork of the Center is described in wordsand photos at www.hiltonpond.org.

Bill Hilton, Jr., founder and executivedirector of the Center, is the facility's pri-mary research scientist. He is licensedby the federal Bird Banding Laboratoryto capture wild birds, place bands ontheir legs, and release them unharmed.

"Banding is one of the most importanttools in hcl-ping us learn about bird migration," Hilton said, "and about otherthings we wouldn't know about birds,including longevity, site fidelity, andpopulation dynamics. But bird bandingis also a useful educational tool, andnothing I've ever done with students

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excites them more than catching abird, banding it, and releasing it backinto the wild. Learners of all ages canbenefit from banding hummingbirds,and I see working with these tinyfeathered creatures as the ultimatebird-banding experience."

It was this dual interest in bird band-ing and hummingbirds that gave Hiltonthe idea for "Operation RubyThroat:The Hummingbird Project," a uniqueinitiative that challenges and connectsstudent observers through the Inter-net. In Operation RubyThroat, partici-pants observe the Ruby-ThroatedHummingbird in their home countriesand share information with peersacross North and Central America.Students make observations on suchhummingbird behaviors as early arrivaldates during spring migration, num-bers of visits to hummingbird feeders,and species of native and cultivatedflowers that are visited by humming-birds. Data are submitted electroni-cally via online forms to the HiltonPond Center, which then assists par-ticipants in disseminating write-upsof their work through scientific andeducation publications and/or theOperation RubyThroat website at

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www.rubythroat.org. Participants learn aboutnatural history; reinforce skills in math,science, writing, geography, art, lan-guage, and other disciplines; and gain adeeper understanding of the need forenvironmental cooperation amongpeople of the Americas.

In March 2002, Operation Ruby Throataffiliated with The GLOBE Program(wmv.globe.gov), an online project that al-lows students at GLOBE-certifiedschools to submit hummingbird dataand correlate them with traditionalGLOBE observations of atmosphere/climate, hydrology, soils, land cover,and phenology. Non-GLOBE schoolsmay follow the same hummingbird ob-servation protocols outlined for GLOBEand submit data directly to OperationRuby Throat via datagrubythroat.org.

Because hummingbirds tolerate hu-mans and are drawn to feeders andflower gardens, these tiny birds areideal subjects for observation and re-search. In addition, the general mys-tique of hummingbirds makes themstimulating topic for study and discti4-sion among children and adults ofages. Operation Ruby Throat capit eson such interest to raise awareness/inits participants of natural history apd ofthe interconnectednessand mutualconservation needsof countries in theWestern Hemisphere.

In Year One (2001-2002 academicyear), participants in OperationRuby Throat were located in the UnitedStates, primarily in the Carolinas andNew York. In Year Two, the project willexpand to include participants in 38states and Washington D.C., and inYear Three to Canada, Mexico, Belize,Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala,Honduras, Nicaragua, and Panamaeverywhere Ruby-Throated Humming-birds regularly occur.

Although many teacher/student groupsare using Operation Ruby Throat to en-hance science learning, Hilton is quickto point out that this is "not just a sci-ence project." Operation RubyThroat is,by design, a cross-curricular projectthat encourages teachers to incorporate

science into other disciplines and viceversa. For example, when a scienceclass studies hummingbird migration,students also learn about geography.Or, when science students generategraphs showing how many times ahummingbird visits a feeder in a day,students master math and computerskills. And when an art teacher hasstudents observe hummingbirds andmake sketches, her students will learnabout hummingbird morphology, as willdrama students who write and performa play based on hummingbird behavior.In keeping with current trends in edu-cation, Operation RubyThroat activitiesare correlated with Howard Gardner'stheory of "Multiple Intelligences."

One of the most compelling aspects ofOperation RubyThroat principles is thatthey can be used with students at anygrade level. Students in elementaryschool might learn to make simple ob-servations about hummingbirds, whileadvanced high school biology studentsmight conduct hummingbird researchprojects that are worthy of publication.Teachers who field-tested OperationRubyThroat in the 2000-2001 academicyear reported that project principles ex-cite students about science, yield de-monstrable improvement in sciencelearning, and "align with state and localcurriculum standards."

The main goals of Operation RubyThroatare the following "Seven E's":

Enhance K-12 learning in science,particularly conservation and naturalhistoryExpand student use of technology,especially in the natural sciencesExcite students about field researchand potential careers in ecology andrelated areasEmphasize integration of naturalscience learning into all sciencedisciplines, as well as into arts andhumanitiesEnlighten students about environ-mental factors that affect humming-birds (and humans)Encourage international under-standing by using technology to

6 MST COPY AVAILABLE

build student and teacher networksin the Western HemisphereEstablish an exemplary programthat serves as a model for othercross-disciplinary projects thatfocus on new topics

Operation Ruby Throat also leads to lo-cal conservation efforts through whichstudents and teachers protect or createschoolyard or backyard habitats usedby hummingbirds and other organisms.

Hilton Pond Center has received morethan $80,000 in grants, corporate do-nations, and individual gifts to beginimplementing Operation Ruby Throat.Donors include The Christensen Fund($35,000), National Fish & Wildlife

Foundation and Phillips Petroleum BirdConservation Fund ($17,500 each),Foundation for the Carolinas ImpactFund ($6,000), and Perky-Pet Corpora-tion ($2,000). These funds will be usedin Year One primarily to recruitteacher/student groups from the Caro-linas and New York, but participantsfrom any state or country inwhich Ruby-throated Hum-mingbirds occur are welcome.

Details about how to join thisexciting Internet-based learn-ing initiative are outlined onthe Operation Ruby Throat website atwww.rubythroat.org. Teachers also may con-tact Hilton Pond Center via e-mail atinfo@rubythroat.org for more information

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For several years, "snow dogs" have been seen in many class-rooms around the United States. This is because of the NOMADSAdventure & Education Online Classroom Expeditions.

NOMADS Adventure & Education (www.polarhusky.com) has com-bined adventure with classroom education since 1992, whenfounders Paul Pregont and Mille Porsild worked with world-renowned explorer and educator Will Steger as part of thehighly acclaimed International Arctic Project (1991-1995) on a project thatbrought global awareness to the importance of Arctic Regions. The first "re-ports" from the trail consisted of less than ten words, sent from a 2-by-4-footcomputer powered by a hand-cranked generator! NOMADS Adventure &Education, Inc. was legally incorporated in 1996 to make the adventuresavailable to more schools.

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The spring 2002 six-week Pimagihowin (translated "Living From the Land")expedition began February 15, 2002. The expedition explored the wildernessand traveled ancient Native Ojib-Cree paths of northern Ontario by dogsledwith powerful polar huskies, as well as by canoe and on foot. The journey wasfilled with unique scientific and cultural learning opportunities.

The NOMADS project offers an interactive website and a "gated" Web commu-nity with a regular collaboration forum, moderated chats, digital labs, videoand audio broadcasts from the trail, and an extensive resource database.Comprehensive classroom materials and online resources correlated to U.S.National Education Standards are prepared and sent to each school partici-pating in the expedition. Units within the Curriculum and Activity Guides aredesigned as multidisciplinary, hands-nn, mind-engaging activities that relateto multiple intelligences and learning styles.

Up to 3,000 classrooms may subscribe to each seasonal Polar Husky adventurefor $99 each; the cost for an entire school is $299. If you are seeking a collabo-rative Web project that is structured in accordance with different learning lev-els for K-12, then check out www.polarhusky.com for the next seasonal project!

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Log In Your Alabama Roadkill!Teachers in the Mountain Brook CitySchools (Mountain Brook, AL) arelooking for Alabama Roadkill! As partof their summer Annual TechnologyAcademy, Mountain Brook CitySchools (MBCS)participants de-velop technology-enriched unitsthat correlatewith the localcurriculumframework. Theparticipants areexpected to cre-ate and maintaintheir web pages.One of theprojects,Roadkill, is agood example ofa collaborativeWeb project.Even though it isincluded in thesixth grade list-ing, author PamBaugh indicatesthat the projectis appropriate forany age. However, anyone who hasworked with middle-school studentswill recognize that this project will bean instant hit for grades 6-8!

The MBCS project is organized intotwo major sections: Questions andPerformance Tasks/Projects. It usesthe same goal as a national Road KillProject: to involve students andteachers with scientific monitoring ofan environmental parameter, accom-plished by using the Internet to recordfindings and compare the findingswith those of other schools participat-ing in the project.

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The MBCSMBCS Roadkill site includes aWarmup-Roadkill in Alabamaworksheet and a RoadKill Data Form.On the Warmup worksheet, studentscomplete the KWL chartWhat weKnow/What we Want to know/Whatwe Learned and make predictions

about which animals they mightfind and under what conditions.On the RoadKill Data Form atwww.mtnbrook.k12.al.us/aeademy/6thgrade/roadkill/InteractiveRKill.html students entertheir roadkill information and re-spond to questions about the condi-tions (weather, lunar phase, andtemperature) and location (longitude,latitude, and type of road) that affectanimals killed on Alabama roads.Using this form, students submittheir data to the MBCS Roadkill webcollection. They also can submit theirfindings to a national project, Roadkill2001, at www.edutelorg/roadkill/altindex.html.In addition to submitting their find-ings to the Web, students graph theirfindings based on the data from theRoadKill Data Form.

Note: The na-tional RoadkillProject beganwith a NationalScienceFoundationgrant calledEnvironet,awarded toSimmons Col-lege in Boston,but the projecthas been movedfrom the Simmonsserver (still listed on many sites as thelink to the Roadkill Project) to theEduTel Communications, Inc. serverat www.edutel .org /roadkill /alt_index.html.

If you search the web, you will findseveral spin-offs or customizations.For instance, a great example of a"make it fit your area" version is thePennsylvania site at vAvw.eh.beth.k12.pa.us/

monagacci /details.html. Take a look at theMBCS Roadkill project and considercreating a similar project for yourlocale. Our other five SEIRTECstatesGeorgia, North Carolina,Mississippi, South Carolina, andFloridaare also rich in roadkill!

8 3EST COPY AVAILABLE

Bringing the Global Grocery List Project

Work to the Classroom

By David War lick

Note: One of the longest-running online projects is the Global Grocery List, devel-oped by David Warlick, who has agreed to describe his experience in postingand managing a collaborative Web project since 1987. We hope you enjoy hisrecollections of a project that now draws participation nationally and reachesinternational classrooms.

Students share local

grocery prices to

build a growing table

of data to be used in

social studies,

science, health,

mathematics, and

other disciplines.

Project-based learning is a difficult concept todescribe because it is a nearly impossible thingto define. There are probably as many differentdefinitions of instructional projects as there areinstructional projects. Some are very broad infocus, and others are narrow. Some projects ap-ply to a specific instructional standard, whileothers integrate a large number of skills andcontent together. Some projects require telecom-munications, and others can be done the oldfashioned waywith books. Some projects arecomplex in implementation; others simple. TheGlobal Grocery List projectis the simple type.

Begun in 1987 as an e-mail project, Global Gro-cery List (GGL) is the second-oldest continuingonline project on the Internet. The project startedin Person County, North Carolina, where I was theDirector of Technology and first asked the ques-tion, "How much do groceries cost in your town?"That question was sent out to locations fromMiller, Australia, to Dublin, Ireland, and pointsbetween over the FrEdMail network. At that time,Person County Schools ran one of the 37 NorthCarolina nodes to the network, and when the e-mail message went out with a grocery list and thetask, students in towns and cities around half ofthe globe went to their grocery stores, collectedprices, averaged the prices when they returned totheir classrooms, and sent their prices, via e-mail,back to me. Teachers who sent in price lists wereadded to a mailing list and received a copy of allprices submitted from that point on.

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Typically, teachers would keep aposterboard chart attached to the wallin their classrooms. As new price listswould arrive in their e-mail boxes, theywould have students record the newlocation and its prices on the chart.Some teachers also kept databases ofprices using the original AppleWorks,on Apple II computers. The growingtable of prices could then be usedthroughout the year to demonstrateconcepts of social studies (transporta-tion), science (climate), or mathematics(projecting trends or converting foreigncurrency). In the first year, a healthteacher in Montana had his studentscalculate the best place to get VitaminC or Vitamin A.

After learning a little HTML and movingto the North Carolina State Departmentof Public Instruction, I transferred theGlobal Grocery List project to the Web.It was a static webpage that included anexplanation of the project and the gro-cery list. It also included all incomingprices, which was a giant improvementsince any teacher with access to theWeb had access to all submitted prices.

In 1996, after I left the Department ofPublic Instruction and set up office as aconsultant, I began to learn how to pro-gram webpages to run off a database.The first project to benefit from this newtechnique was Global Grocery List. In-stead of sending their prices to me by e-mail, after which I had to enter them byhand into a webpage, teachers couldload a Web form and enter their pricesdirectly onto a webpage. The prices werethen added to a database (originallyFileMaker Pro and now MySQL) wherethey could be accessed and printed onprice-report webpages at any time.

Today, GGL will accept prices based onmetric or empirical units, in any cur-rency listed on the OANDA currencyexchange site, and automatically con-vert prices to a common value. You canaccess prices in any currency for anyyear between 1995 and 2002 and listany of the commodities in the price list.The prices can be listed in tables forprinting or as a tab-delimited file thatcan be imported into a spreadsheet.

Recently, teachers have begun makingtheir own GGL websites. Here are a few:

A lesson description by Ms. MindyHensen of Cedar Valley MiddleSchool, posted on the Text Center forEducational Technology website:www.tcet.unt.edu

Ms. K. Johnson, of Oakridge Elemen-tary School. added a GGL page to herclassroom website: www.teacherweb.com/

FL/OakridgeElementary/KimJohnson/astm

Ms. Throop, of Bascomb ElementarySchool, also added a GGL page toher classroom website:http://webtech.kennesacedu/sthroop/rIefault.htm

Ms. Cindy Best, of Whitney YoungElementary School, added a GGLpage as a lesson plan for her stu-dents: www.jefferson.k12.ky.us/Schools/EI-ementary/Young/ggl.html

There are two weaknesses of thisproject as it exists currently. I fre-quently receive e-mail messages fromteachers asking about price lists thatare obviously not accurate. Actually,this can be used as a benefit to theinstructional process. Students needto see that data from the real world isnot always as clean as data providedby textbooks. If the students have tomake judgments on whether to use anentry where sugar is selling for $40 apound, then this is probably a goodlesson for them.

Secondly, participation from countriesoutside the United States is disap-pointing. Although many schools inEurope and Australia are online andrapidly increasing numbers are usingthe Net in Asia and parts of Africa, it isstill difficult to get project announce-ments out to these audiences. Theremust be a trick to it that I will learn inthe future.

Until then, there is plenty to learnabout the United States from ourshopping casts. Check out http://landmarks4schools.org/ggl/index.html and joinan ongoing collaborative Web projectthat offers many lesson opportunitiesfor your classroom!

4

I nternationk 01Partnershipsh g

By Diane Midness

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I just bubble with excitement Ar this project-and-the future of this project. I donot want to contain my ertfhiisk-1-arn-like-the-proud Parents or grandpar-ents that say, "Let Me show you a picture of ..." Eiccept, I say, "Let me show youthis e-mail or this project or tell you this story."

k

My students come to class and ask, "Are we going to work on the project today?Did we get any mail? What do you think is going on there? Did you see ... and... about their area on the news? When are you going to show us how to do ...and ... so we can do that with our partners? Why did you say they aren't ableto write right now?"These daily questions reaffirm what I feel. They keep the fire burning, and I donot want it to go outfor them, for future students, or for myself. This project hasbeen a wonderful way to make my curriculum more relevant, to teach culturaldiversity, to teach appropriate social skills or workplace readiness (the fact thatthey may be working with someone from a different culture or race), and thatliving in a remote area doesn't mean that you are cut offfrom the world and theworld's events.

Thelma Kastl, Vocational Education Teacher,Ashe County High School, North Carolina

Who would not want to have this situa-tion in their classroom? Thelma Kastland her students have been participat-ing in International School Partner-ships through Technology (ISPT) with aclass in Ramat HaSharon, Israel, sincethe fall of 1997. She and other teachersin North Carolina and 40 differentcountries have learned that workingand learning with others from differentcountries and cultures is motivating forstudents while making them moreaware of the world around them.

The challenges of emerging technologiesand a global interdependent economyrequire students to develop skills intechnology, language, and communica-tion. To function effectively, they mustunderstand and respect other cultures,be able to communicate with those whoare culturally different, and understandevents in other countries and their im-pact on the United States. TSPT is a pro-gram of The University of NorthCarolina's Center for International Un-derstanding with the objective of prepar-ing students to compete in today's global

economy by improving student compe-tencies in technology and cross-culturalcommunication. Teachers and studentsuse telecommunications to interact di-rectly with and learn from teachers andstudents in other countries.

Begun in the spring of 1997 with twopilot partnerships, ISPT has sponsoredapproximately 240 classroom partner-ships involving about 7,000 NorthCarolina students in partnerships withschools in 40 different countries. Ap-proximately 25 North Carolina highschool classrooms each semester arepartnered with classrooms abroad.Schools in rural areas with little or noexposure to other international cul-tures are the primary focus.

Teachers from all curricular areas col-laborate with international partnersto design programs that support theirmutual curricular goals. Studentsimplement these programs using In-ternet technology. ISPT has been par-ticularly popular and successful with

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second languages, social studies, andbusiness education teachers. The part-nerships provide these students withreal applications with real people forachieving curricular objectives. Theirexperiences in the program enable stu-dents to practice language skills, tolearn about other cultures, to learnhow to communicate with other cul-tures, and to understand how they areconnected with the rest of the world.

The program has defined six culturalcommunication competencies that stu-dents need to develop to communicatesuccessfully in our global society.These include factual knowledge ofcountries, the ability to recognize simi-larities and differences in cultures, the

ability to rec-

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ognize theimportance ofculture incommunica-tion, the abil-ity torecognize ste-reotypes andbiases, un-derstandingof the humanimpact ofworld events,and the abil-ity to respectcultural dif-ferences with-out agreeing

with them. These competencies havebeen correlated with all high schoolcurricular areas in the North CarolinaStandard Course of Study.

Candi Lavender of Parkland HighSchool has found that her partnershiphas helped students associate whatthey are learning in World History withreal people and real places. Lavendersays, "My students learned a great dealabout their partnership country thatwould never have occurred without thepartnership: Moldova isn't on the list ofcountries to cover in World History, butby using Moldova as a case study forthe collapse of the Soviet Union andaftermath, students felt they had astake in what happens there.

"Relevance is so important to teachingsocial studies to adolescents, and we arenot in a vacuumwe are a global com-munity. Teachers would not be able todo this program without the resourcesand expertise that the ISPT offers."

Mary Alice Lodico of Tuscola HighSchool has moved the communicationbetween students from e-mail to face-to-face conversations. In the fall of1999, teachers and students fromNantes, France, visited their partnerschool in Haywood County, and in thespring of 2000, students and teachersfrom Waynesville went to visit theirpartners in France.

"Before the French students came tolive in the homes of their 'correspon-dents,' writing e-mails was seen bysome students as simply an assign-ment to be fulfilled for a grade, and Ihad to nudge them to send their nexte-mail," Lodico notes. "Most, however,looked forward to writing and were im-patient for replies. Now I don't, andcan't, keep track of their exchanges, ithappens so regularly.... Communica-tion has taken off, with lots ofFranglais, but they're developing lin-guistically and forming terrific bondsthat will become fast friendships after aweek's stay in the homes in Nantes."

The use of technology is essential forstudents in ISPT since all communica-tion is done electronically through In-ternet applications. Students andteachers are given a real application touse the skills they have been requiredto learn for the North Carolina Com-puter/Technology Standard Course ofStudy. Partnerships are given webpagesthey may develop for communicationand publication of student work.

Following the events of September 11,2001, it is more critical than ever thatwe strive to reduce conflicts and in-crease understanding worldwidethrough uter national education Pndcollaboration. Teachers and studentsrealize that they do not know as muchas they should about cultures otherthan their own and have begun to won-der what people outside of the U.S.think about the U.S. and its people.Students in ISPT partnerships have

12

Teresa Wile's keyboarding studentsat West Bladen High School createdPower Point presentations based oncorrespondence with their partners inHungary and research they did on theInternet. She writes that her students"...have learned to make group deci-sions, take leadership roles, peerteach, meet deadlines, and developtechnology skills."

Stephanie Flatt of John A. HolmesHigh School writes, "I am really im-pressed with the responsibility andinitiative my students showed in thisproject. The detail and maturity of thereflections showed their enjoyment,growth, and learning."

Mary W. Evans, a business educationteacher at South Lenoir High School,also writes, "This is a wonderfulsupplement to the curriculum thatgives real-world experiences to stu-dents that will last a lifetime."

Thelma Kastl recognizes changed stu-dent attitudes: "I have seen this part-nership turn many of my studentsfrom being self-centered to more bal-anced. It has also allowed my stu-dents who are less vocal and social toparticipate in a project that allowedthem to communicate and expressideas without fear."

One of Kastr s students, who origi-nally did not see the need to commu-nicate with anyone outside hiscommunity, now says, "I found theproject to be interesting and person-ally fulfilling. It has really changedmy life. It changes the way you thinkabout global events happening whenyou know someone who is personallyinvolved. I hope to meet more interest-ing people, such as I have in thisproject, during the rest of my life."

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developed an interest in learning moreso they can develop greater understand-ing for themselves and their partners.

A student from Freedom High Schoolworking in a partnership with a classin Lebanon wrote, "This partnershiphas changed how I think about theways that students in other countriesthink about America."

Teachers and students have recog-nized that their relationships withtheir partners and the new attitudesthey are developing will continue toaffect their lives after the partnershipsare completed.

James Douglas, a business educationteacher at Smithfield-Selma HighSchool wrote, "Thanks for making thispossible. It has been good for me as ateacher and, I think, for my students.As a matter of fact, I think that my stu-dents will benefit for years to come be-cause of my involvement this semester."

ISPT partnerships have not onlychanged how North Carolina studentsrelate to the worldstudents from othercountries have also had their horizonsbroadened. Students in India wrote, "Wewere overwhelmed to receive your letter.All of us are guessing your probableface and figure. The places you all mustlive must be common for you, but it is adream place for us. We were all crowd-ing here before your letter...."

A student from China wrote the follow-ing to the ISPT coordinator:

Thank you so much to join us to-gether in the Internet over theglobe. I just want to represent my

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classmates to say: your workmeans much to us! ...A few monthsago our English teacher told uswe'll join the ISPT project. Every oneof us can't help but be excited.... It'sreally like a dream, a wonderfuldream to us. Now the dream comestrue; now we can talk with otheryouths all over the world; now wecan feel and join our friends' lives,no matter how far we are awayfrom them.... Please believe in us,we'll make full use of the pricelesschance to communicate over the cul-ture, to know the real world by ourhearts, to let the world know: there

is an Internet line, which not onlyconnect all youth, but also jointhe wishes of the future!

More information about ISPT maybe found at www.ga.unc.edu. The Inter-national School Partnershipsthrough Technology Program (ISPTP)is a model that other states maywant to consider. Contact DianeMidness of the North Carolina Cen-ter for International Understanding(412 N. Wilmington Street, Raleigh, NC27601, 919-733-4902, (dmidness@ga.unc.edu)to discuss the structure and benefitsof the ISPT Project.

What It Takes to Develop or Participate

in a Collaborative Web Project

Just as the Internet offers multiple sites to join collaborative Web projects,Web travelers can also locate sites with suggestions for both designing onlineprojects and for successfully participating in an existing project.

NickNacks Telecollaborate! at http://telecollaborate.net offers not only guidelines fordesigning an online project but also provides a template for assessing your soft-ware and hardware capability for telecollaboration ( NickNacks TeleCheck), atemplate of the elements of a successful collaborative project (NickNacks ProjectPlanner), tips on exchanging files on the Internet and finding participants, and alist of websites offering existing projects (http://telecollaborate.net/education/edfind2.html).One of the strengths of this site is the list of considerations in managing col-laborative online projects. These considerations include the following:

1. Know your specific hardware and software needs.2. Work out the bugs ahead of time.3. Test your project on a different computer before soliciting participants.

4. Clearly state specifics in your call for participants.

5. Select enough participants to complete project goals.

6. Determine how to handle too many participants.7. Make sure participants can do what the project requires before the

project starts.Prartire data exchange procedures.

9. Meet the deadlines you set.elb hriit ripnrilinpc

11. Encourage and support participants.12. Be flexible to the needs of participants.

BEST COPY AVAILABLE

13. Be prepared to go the extra mile.

14. Complete the project regardless of complications or surprises.

15. Thank everyone.

16. Distribute outcomes to all.

17. Keep in touch.

18. Have fun.(Source: http://teleeollaborate.fiet/eacation/e4develop.html)

One of the first sets of guidelines for developing and organizing online projectswas from Judi Harris in a 1995 The Computing Teacher magazine column,"Mining the Internet," and later in the ISTE publication, Virtual Architecture (c.1998). Some of her ideas on organizing telecollaborative projects can be foundin the archived article at http://Irs.auiuc.edu/mining/February95-TCT.html. She suggests:

1. Choose the curricular goals.2. Choose the activity's structure.3. Explore examples of other online projects.

4. Determine the details of your project.5. Invite telecollaborators.

6. Form the telecollaborative group from those interested or registered.7. Communicate regularly with participants.

8. Create closure.

Maybe developing an online collaborative project is more than you want to tryjust now. Instead, start with participating in several of the many projects onthe Web. When deciding to participate, follow the steps below based on theiEARN (International Education and Research Network) guidelines:

1. Identify a project of interest and find out if the project is still active.2. Check the "Purpose" and any "Update" topics to correlate them with

your classroom needs.

3. Contact the project coordinator to introduce yourself, your class/school, and reasons for your interest in the particular project.

4. Locate the necessary equipment, software, and materials.5. Develop a classroom timeline for conducting the project activities.

6. Organize the students for the activities and in groups for peer editingof messages prior to submitting.

7. Respond to recent postings/topics on the forum. Remember, allet idents want and need responses to their messages.

8. Communicate. Even if you can't contribute for weeks, send a note tosay so.

Whether you decide to develop a collaborative Web project or just participatein some of the existing projects, have fun!

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SEIRiTEC

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Check Them Out: Sources forCollaborative Web Projects

OnlineClass at www.onlineclass.com offersCollaborative Online Projects: six-to-ten interactive learning units in whichschools (grades 2-9) work in collabo-rative groups. Units such as Dino-saurs Alive, Bugs Count, The NorthAmerican Quilt, On the Trail withLewis and Clark, We're Talking Books,DoodleOpolis, Blue Ice, and Mythosinclude a collaborative activity, activi-ties for the classroom, Web reading,Web links, moderated Web discussion,student work displays, and teachersupport. Pricing for units begins at$135/school. Also available is a freemonthly e-mail newsletter containingtips on how to use the Internet in theclassroom, technology reports, updateson OnlineClass programs, and com-ments from educators using the Inter-net in the classroom.

The Quest Channel from ClassroomConnect at http://quest.classroom.com offersstandards-driven, interactive geo-graphic expeditions and travel with ateam of experts, adventurers, and stu-dents to solve mysteries around theworld. Team leader, Dan Buettner, is afamiliar figure to long-time Internet-using educators from his early adven-tures in MayaQuest and AfricaQuest.Past quests and resources are availablewhen you subscribe to the currentquest. Most past expeditions have tar-geted upper elementary through highschool students.

The Stevens Institute of Technologyoffers collaborative K-12 scienceprojects at http://lascience.ati.stevens-tech.edu/collabprojs.html. The projects, correlatedwith the National Science EducationStandards, are designed and managedby the Center for Improved Engineeringand Science Education (CIESE), lo-cated at the Stevens Institute of Tech-nology. These free projects primarilyfocus on middle school science curricu-lum but include projects in math, sci-ence, and educational technology forgrades 1-12. Each project has a

similar structure with a project de-scription, project instructions, projectdata, student area, teacher area, ref-erence material, and online help. Theprojects are correlated with the NationalScience Education Standards.

Global SchoolNet Foundation is the"tried and true" source for online col-laborative projects. They have offeredfree collaborative learning activities since1984. Located at www.globalschoolnet.org, thesite's Projects Registry is a clearing-house of projects from around theglobe, some hosted by the GlobalSchoolNet Foundation and others byreputable organizations and by class-room teachers worldwide. Users cansearch by student age, project startdates, curriculum, technology, or level.Also available are online, real-time ex-peditions for students to join a sailingship, climb a Peruvian Andes peak, ortravel around Africa or Australia.

The Project Center at www.eduplace.com/projects from Houghton Mifflin Companyis filled with collaborative Internet K-12 classroom projects submitted byeducators for mathematics, science,social studies, and reading/languagearts classrooms. The Project Centeralso includes a guide for creating yourown online project and a form for sub-mitting the project for posting. There isno charge for participating either in anexisting project or for submitting yourown project for others to join.

Some sites with links to other websitecollections of collaborative onlineprojects include the following:

Kentucky Educational Television:www.ket.org/Education/IN/projects.html

Judy Harris's book:http://ccwf.cc.utexas.edu/ jbharris/Virtual-Architecture (click on Curriculum-basedTelecommunicating Projects &Resources)

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1 6

This newsletter was developed bythe South East Initiatives RegionalTechnology in Education Consor-tium (SEIRTEC) and is based onwork sponsored wholly or in part bythe Office of Educational Researchand Improvement (OERI), undergrant number R302A980001, CFDA84.302A. Its contents do not neces-sarily reflect the views and policiesof OERI, the U.S. Department of Edu-cation, or any other agency of theUnited States Government.

First Printing 2002

NewsWire Editorial Staff

Elizabeth ByromMargaret Bingham

Gloria Bowman

Dan Shoemaker

Contributing Authors

Bill Hilton, Jr.,Hilton Pond Center

David Warlick, Landmark ProjectDiane Midness, NC Center forInternational Understanding

Jennifer Burke, SREBLynda Ginsburg, NCAL

Margaret Bingham, SEIRTEC

SERVE Publications Team

Christy CasbonKaren DeMeesterTracy Hamilton

Donna ?Valley

SEtTEC

ZEST COPY AVAILARTN

Adult Literacy Students Explore

Antarctica Virtually

Adult basic education and ESL learners in Elizabethtown,North Carolina, have been writing to and learning from anadult literacy teacher in Antarctica. Leigh Thompson, Direc-tor of the Bladen County Literacy Council and a teacher inthe program, is participating with her adult learners in aNSF-sponsored electronic fieldtrip to learn about Antarcticaand the research that is being done there. They are lookingat maps, reading about Antarctica, thinking about what itwould be like to be there, and having answers to their ques-tions come back from Antarctica.

Susan Cowles is an adult educator from Corvallis, Oregon,spending two months on a scientific research expedition study-ing Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) at Palmer Station,Antarctica. Every day or two, she posts a new journal entryand pictures to the expedition's website at http: / /tea.rice.edu/tea_cowlesfrontpage.html and encourages adult learners to e-mail her.Thompson reports that the learners have been particularly in-terested in the terrain, living conditions, her daily activities,and whether she has been homesick.

Tanisha, a new reader, wanted to ask about who else lives atthe site and where they get food and clothing, but like manyadult learners, she was hesitant to type her questions into ane-mail, perhaps because of a lack of confidence in writingskills as well as technophobia. Thompson offered to type fromdictation, and the message was sent. A day or so later,Tanisha was ecstatic to find a personal response to her ques-tions and then eagerly typed additional questions herself.

"One of the best things about our participation in thisproject," says Thompson, "is that it gives the students anopportunity to learn about the Internet and about e-mail byactually getting to send mail to someone who is very faraway, who is interested in their questions, and who sends areply almost immediately."

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The NJ NIE Project:hftp://k12science.ati.stevens-tech.edu/training/findingprojects.html

The Math Forum/Drexel University:http://mathforum.org/workshops/sum96/data.collections/datalibrary/lesson.ideas.html

Computer Pals Across the Worldsite from the University of CentralFlorida: http://reach.uctedu/- cpaw

Eisenhower National Clearinghouse:www.enc.org/weblinks/classroom/projects

Blue Web'n: www.kn.pacbell.com/wired/bluewebn

Interactive projects for K -12 from Youth Net: www.youth.net/welcome.html#K-12

Electronic mailing list archives, such as EDTECH (vAvvith-net.msu.edu/- edweb) orWWWEDU, often advertise other online collaborative opportunities, as well asthose sponsored by professional organizations such as the National Council ofTeachers of Mathematics (vAvw.nctm.org). Nearly any class or school project can beturned into an online collaboration with a website, e-mail, and a little imagina-tion. So, check out the sites above, not only for participation, but also for ideasabout how to turn your favorite project into a collaborative online project!

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4.

THIS ISSUE:

Handheld

Technologies

INSIDE...

2

3

The Impact ofTechnology on Education

Handheld Technology:

The Basics

5 An Overview ofWireless Networking

7 Considerations WhenBuying a Handheld

9 Educational Advantages

10 Educational Concerns

11 Student Teachers and HighSchool Seniors Beam theInternet

12 101 Great EducationalUses for YourHandheld Computer

14 Picture This!

16 Using HandheldTechnologies in Schools

21 Using eBooks on Handhelds

22 A Sampling of Projects

24 Grant Opportunities

26 Sample EducationalSoftware

30 Handheld Resources

32 Glossary

SouthEast Initiatives Regional Technology in Education Consortium Volume Five Number Two 2002

Using HandheldTechnologies in Schools

Is a computer for every studentalaptop or even a ratio of one desktopcomputer per studentstill a dreamfor most schools? Across the South-east, the response would be a re-sounding, "Yes!" Several schools,however, are testing handheld com-puters, such as Palm's Palm Pilotsand Hewlett Packard's Jornadas, aspossible technologies to provide eachstudent. Many high school studentsalready own a graphing calculatorthat costs about the same amount asmany of these handheld devices. Sowhy provide a student a handheldcomputer? In addition to being agraphing calculator, a handheld com-puter can serve as a time-manage-ment tool, a graphic organizer, a wordprocessor, a web browser, an e-maildevice, and much more.

Originally marketed as a personalorganizer for on-the-go businessexecutives and ardent technophiles,personal digital assistants (PDAs)have evolved into handheld comput-ing devices and have become oneof the most ubiquitous electronicdevices in both the consumer andbusiness worlds. Sometimesknown as PDAs, palmtops, pocketPCs, personal PCs, handheld de-vices, or handheld computers,these devices were described inthe Chicago Tribune as looking likea "cross between a cell phone anda Nintendo Game Boy."

Due to lower costs, increased func-tionality, and the availability of newsoftware designed specifically for

education, K-12 schools are begin-ning to take a serious look at hand-held computing for teaching andlearning, administrative tasks, andcommunication and collaboration. Infact, the potential for using hand-helds in education is almost limit-less. Now is the time to begindiscovering whether or not these

computing devices can be used tohelp fulfill the promise of educa-tional computing. They Just may bethe answer to overcoming the prob-lem of access to technology and tocreating equity of use in the class-room. This issue of the SEIR.TECNews Wire is devoted to exploring thepossibilities of handheld computingin K-12 schools.

19

if.:"J ,%::

The Impact of Technologyon Education

Although it is difficult to generalize find-ings from technology research, thereshould be little question that technologyhas an important role to play in educa-tion. Ask any teacher who really usestechnology effectively in the classroom.Ask students who use technology as atool in their own learning. They'll con-firm what the research (Valdez et al.,2000) says:

Technology makes learning more in-teractive, more enjoyable, and morecustomizable. It improves students'attitudes toward content and theirinterest in learning.Technology offers opportunities forlearner-control, increased motivation,and connections to the real world.Technology can improve studentachievementas indicated by in-creases in standardized text scoreswhen it is used to support instructionin the classroom.Technology can help students investi-gate and answer complex questions,develop thinking skills, and learn toaccess, sort, evaluate, and synthesizeinformation.

Technology can help students set goals,form and test hypotheses, and makediscoveries on their ownhelping themdevelop skills they will encounter in lifeafter school.Technology offers tools to share knowl-edge and learn cooperatively instead ofindividually.

Technology can make students moreefficient and organized.Technology can help students clarifytheir questions, locate potential an-swers, and decide on validity, appro-priateness, and perspective.Technology can be a powerful tool forassembling, modifying, assessing, andstudying information; manipulatingdata; and generating new knowledgeand deep understanding.Technology enables learners to commu-nicate in new ways with their peers,

with experts, and with others aroundthe corner and around the world.

Many studies, however, have showntechnology has not had a great impact onteaching and learning. Why not? Theremay be many reasons, but lack of accessto technology seems to be among the topculprits. In a study conducted by ElliotSoloway and the Hi-Ce project at theUniversity of Michigan, 50% of the 6,000respondents (teachers) to a survey re-ported that their students use computersless than 15 minutes a week (Soloway etal., 2000). Why? Sixty percent of the6,000 respondents reported that theyhad one or no computer in their class-rooms. Neither they nor their studentshave access to computers for any ex-tended period of time. According toSoloway and his colleagues, "It's unrea-sonable to expect computers to have apositive impact on learning and teaching[when students and teachers] have lim-ited access to them and thus aren't usingthem" (Soloway et al., 2001).

While every student cannot be providedwith a $1,000 desktop computer, it is notoutside the realm of possibility to imag-ine a time when every student can beprovided with his or her own $100 per-sonal handheld computing device. Theseaffordable devices could overcome theaccess barrier that is limiting the impactof technology on teaching and learning.Time will tell the story.

References:

Soloway, E., Becker, H., Norris, C., &Topp, N. (2000, June). Teachers &technology: Easing the way. Communi-cations of the ACM, 43(6).

Soloway, E., Norris. C., Blumenfeld, P.,Fishman, B., Krajcik, J., & Marx, R.(2001). Devices are ready-at-hand.Retrieved from www.handheld.hice-dev.org/readyAttianchtm.

Valdez, G., McNabb, M., Foertsch, M.,Anderson, M., Hawker M.. & Raack.L. (2000). Computer-based technologyand learning: Evolving uses and expec-tations. Retrieved from www.nerel.org/tplan/cbtl/toe.htm.

20

Handheld Technology: The Basics

II I iv t V 1 t'1-1. .13 --te-Tv

What is a Handheld Computer?

Handheld computers include those devices originally referredto as personal digital assistants (PDAs) and others that haveevolved from that concept. These devices now offer many morecomputing functions than the original PDAs, which mainly in-cluded calendars, address books, and "to do" lists. These devicesrange in size from those that fit into one hand and use a stylusfor input to those with keyboards that are approximately 1h to Y3the size of a typical laptop. The term palmtop is occasionallyusedreferring to the natural progression from desktop to lap-top to palmtophowever, palmtop can be confused with thebrand name Pa1mTM, so now the more popular term for thesedevices is handheld computer or handheld device.

How They Evolved

Apple Computer, Inc. developed theApple NewtonTM in 1993. The companyintroduced it as the first PDA and sold itas the ultimate information appliance.John Sculley, former chairman of Apple,predicted PDAs would become ubiqui-tous tools that would hold telephonenumbers, keep calendars, store notes,and send and receive data wirelessly.Unfortunately, the Newton was ahead ofits time and did not find a market largeenough to survive.

In 1996, Palm, Inc. delivered the firsttruly successful handheld computer, thePalm Pilot. This device helped people or-ganize their lives by providing instant,anytime access to schedules, importantphone numbers, addresses, "to do" lists,and other key information. The businessworld quickly embraced the small andpowerful Palm handhelds.

Because of the popularity of the PalmPilot, several other manufacturers beganreleasing their own PDA devices. Thesedevices utilized a new operating systemfrom Microsoft called Windows CE, whichwas basically a scaled-back version ofthe Windows desktop environment. Themost recent version of Windows CE isnow called Pocket PC.

Most of the producers of PDA-type de-vices are trying to encourage the publicto think of these devices not as PDAs butas handheld computers. Many producersare not only adding on computer-typecapabilities but also combining their de-vices with other electronics, such aswireless phones, cameras, and probes.

Iv

How They Work

Operating SystemsWhile there are manyhandheld manufacturers in the marketthese days, there are really only two ma-jor operating systems in direct competi-tion at the time of this publication: thePalm OS, (used by Palm, Handspring,and Sony manufacturers to name a few)and Windows CE/Pocket PC (used byHewlett Packard, Compaq, Casio, NEC,Toshiba, etc.). In general, the Palm OSrepresents a more basic approach, andthe devices are cheaper. The WindowsCE/Pocket PC system is more robust,and the devices are generally more ex-pensive and, due to their more complexsystem, require more technical support.Currently, handheld devices using thePalm OS have approximately 75% of themarket share; however, there are advan-tages and disadvantages to both operat-ing systems, and the decision to use oneor the other depends upon users' needs.Other handheld operating systems beingused today include Symbian, used in

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Expansion and Peripherals:

Adding On

The original handheld devices were most oftenused exclusively as personal data assistants(PDAs) to hold telephone numbers and addresses,keep calendars, and store notes. Manufacturersbegan to realize the benefits of adding peripheralsto increase the functionality and desirability ofthe simple PDAs. Below is a listing of some of thedevices available for handheld computers.

Portable keyboards:Palm OS compatible resourceso www.palm.com

www.targus.com

www.seiko.com

www.landware.com

www.fe I lowe s.com

www.ibizcorp.com

Windows CE compatible resourceswww.landware.com

www.ibizcorp.com

o www.hp.com

www.targus.com

Digital camera attachments:Palm OS compatible resourceso www.eyemodule.com

www.kodak.com

www.sonystyle.com /micros /clie

www.targus.com

Windows CE compatible resourceswww.casio.com

* www.nexian.com

Optical accessories (barcodescanners):

Palm OS compatible resourceswww.symbol.com

Windows CE compatible resourceswww.socketcom.com

Wireless telecommunicationsaccessories (modems and devices):

Palm OS compatible resourceswww.palmgear.com

www.novaielw ire less.com

www.synchroscan.com

www.red-m.com

wwwtsprintpcs.com

O www.handspring.com

Windows CE compatible resources4> www.pretec.com

www.novatelwireless.com

www.targus.com

Accessory to connect handheld todigital projector or VGA display:

Palm OS and Windows CE compatiblewww.margi.com

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cellular phone technology; RIM, used in theB1ackBerryTM line of handheld devices; and the PsionEPOC system.

InputThere are a number of options for entering datainto a handheld, depending on the model:

Onscreen keyboardThe user punches lettersand numbers on an onscreen representation of astandard keyboard.Character recognition programThe user"handwrites" data using the stylus (e.g., Graffiti forPalm OS and Character Recognizer for WindowsCE/Pocket PC).SynchronizingSince handhelds don't have floppydrives to transfer data and programs, they must be"synched" with a desktop/notebook computer. Thisis done with a program installed on both devices(HotSync for Palm OS and ActiveSync for WindowsCE/Pocket PC) and a connection between the de-vices. Depending on the model, this can be doneusing a cradle, a cable connection, or wirelessly.During synching, schedule and address book infor-mation, e-mails, and other specified data areshared between the devices. Synching is also usedto install new software on a handheld device.Memory-stickThe latest models of the Palm OStechnology allow data to be shared through mem-ory sticks. These postage-stamp-size memorymodules can be easily inserted into the handheldunit for access to pre-recorded applications anddata or used to store additional data as one wouldwith a floppy disk or CD-ROM.Infrared portMost handhelds have an infraredport that allows users to "beam" or wirelesslytransfer programs and data between handhelddevices. The infrared port is considered by manyto be a major advantage in educational use. Thisprocess requires a fairly close proximity betweenthe devices and a clear line of sight.External keyboardThere are many models thatattach to handhelds to allow full-size typingcapabilities.

Other peripheralsData can also be input withprobes, modems, network cards, cameras, andmany other add-on peripherals.

OutputThere are also many ways to output datafrom handhelds:

ScreenScreens are the most common outputmethod for handhelds, and they vary widely in size,resolution, and readability.Infrared portSee input above.SynchronizingData can be sent from thehandheld back to desktop computers for furthermanipulation.PeripheralsData can be output to peripherals,such as memory sticks, modems, network cards,and printers.

One of the advan-tages of handheldtechnologies istheir mobility.However, in orderto be truly "mo-ll, bile," it is im-portant to think

about Internet access, and this leads usinto the world of wireless communications.

In general, wireless is a term used to re-fer to network-type communications thattake place without physical connections(wires), but there are many types of wire-less access.

One type of wireless is cellular, which isthe same technology that is used withmobile phones. This type of wireless com-munication is typically used to facilitatelong distance communications, such asphone calls. Examples of this type of wire-less use include mobile phones, pagers,BlackBerryTM devices, and Internet accessvia a handheld, such as a Palm or Hand-spring device. This type of service typi-cally incurs a monthly service fee, whichcan range from $20 a month and up, de-pending on the nature of the service.Handhelds that use this technology in-clude Palm's i705 handheld, Handspring'sTreo communicator, and various otherdevices and add-on modules that have

wireless modems.

Another type of wirelesscan be used to facilitatelocalized communica-tions. Typically, this typeof wireless allows a de-vice, such as a computer,to connect to a LAN with-out a cable connection.An important thing tonote about this technol-ogy is that it goesthrough wails and upand down stairs, so therearen't the line of sightissues that exist with in-frared technology.

There are three main va-rieties of this technology:

BluetoothTmBluetooth is a wirelesssolution with a 30-meter radius range.Bluetooth works well for hard cable re-placement, and, therefore, printing islikely to be the most important Bluetoothapplication. Bluetooth supports Ethernet,but because of its slow speed, it is not atypical use. Bluetooth supports voice,and this flexibility is likely to yield somepopular applications that relate to auto-mated phone switching between cellularand land-line service. Bluetooth is alsolikely to be the technology used to enablecashless vending machines and otherpurchases through cell phones or otherBluetooth-enabled devices. There arenew Bluetooth cards available for Palmhandhelds, and some of the early appli-cations for these are geared towarddocument collaboration.

802.11b (also known as Wi-Fi or wire-less Ethernet)-802.11b is a protocolused for wireless networking. It is greatfor locations like older school buildingsthat are difficult (or expensive) to wire.The range for this technology is typically150-300 meters in radius and supportsup to 11 megabit data rates, which isvery fast for Internet access and otherapplications. This is thetechnology that Apple isusing for its AirPort sys-tem, which is very popularwith schools. Xircom (adivision of Intel) makes Wi-Fi modules for a variety ofhandhelds. Some PocketPC handhelds come withWi-Fi capability built-in.

Home RFThis is a wire-less networking protocolsimilar to 802.11b that iscompatible with Ethernetbut is considerably slowerat 2 megabit. One advan-tage of Home I2F is that itis designed to carry voicedata. However, it is waningin popularity and is notcurrently compatible withMacintosh computers.

(continued next page)

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There are two basic configurations thatcan be used for local wireless accesspeer-to-peer and infrastructure. Peer-to-peer does not require a central accesspoint; it works from device to device. In-frastructure uses a central access pointor base station that connects to the net-work and can serve multiple deviceswithin the specified radius.

802.11b supports both peer-to-peer andinfrastructure use, but it is typicallyimplemented as infrastructure. In orderto set up 802.11b in this way, two typesof hardware are typically used: a basestation or access point and a device card.There may be one or more access points,depending on how large the service areais. The device card goes into each device(computer, handheld, etc.) that is to havewireless access. Typically, these devicecards are in the form of a PC card orother similar device. Access points cancost from $179-$500 and up. Device

cards are typically around $100-$400each. Prices are expected to drop as thetechnology matures and economies ofscale are achieved.

Bluetooth was designed to use peer-to-peer communications and is typicallyused this way; however, recently, thenotion of an access point has beenadded for Bluetooth installations.

It is important to know that these vari-ous protocols are not compatible witheach other. It is also important to recog-nize that within one type of technology,not all access points are compatible withall device cards. Because this is anemerging technology, compatibility test-ing of components is vital.

©K12 Handheids Copyrighted by K12Handhelds. May not be reprinted without writtenpermission from K12 Handhelds,info@k12handhekk.com.

Resources for Wireless Networks in Schools

Becoming a Wireless Campuswww.thejournal.com/magazine/vault/A3482.cfm

Bluetooth Groupwww.bluetooth.com

eSchoolNews Report on Wireless Networking (free, but requires a sign-up)www.eschoolnews.com /resources /reports /wireless0801

Three Reasons to Consider Wireless Networkingwww.eschoolnews.com/news/showStory.efm/ArtielelD=1460

WiFi-WECA site www.wi- fi.org

Wireless Laptops and Local Area Networkswww.thejournalcom/magazine/vault/A3536.cfm

'BEST COPY AVAILABLE

If you are thinking about buying a handheld, here are some technology considerationsto keep in mind as you make your decision.

Size, Weight, Appearance

How will you be carrying your handheld? Pocket, briefcase, purse? Sinceportability is the key advantage of handhelds. the device should be light andsmall enough so that you will take it with you. (If you are going to take it withYou, does it have a case to protect it while not in use?)Handheld technologies vary from palmtop size to those roughly halt the size of alaptop with a built-in keyboard. Which form factor makes the most sense foryour use?Is the appearance (color and design) of thehandheld device important to you?

Changeable Battery vs.

Cradle-Charging System

Which is best for your specific situation?

Some devices use a number of batteries,such as AAA, and you should always carryextras when traveling.

Others contain rechargeable batteries thatget their charge when the device is pluggedinto the cradle or optional portable chargingadapter.Consider the average battery life.

Capability vs. Ease of Use

Which operating system will suit your needs?

In general, devices using the Palm operatingsystem are less expensive and simpler to use,but include less built-in multimediacapabilities.

Devices using the Pocket PC operatingsystem are more expensive, may be morecomplex to use, and may require moretechnical support; however, they includemore functionality including built-inmultimedia support.Consider which platform most of the peerswith whom you will possibly be sharing data use.

Memory

How much memory dues the device nave:

For Palm OS devices, 8 MB will be adequate for most users. Pocket PC deviceusers will require more memory because of the operating system requirements.Is the memory upgradeable if it becomes necessary? (continued next page)

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Available Software

What do you want to do with yourhandheld?

Just as with desktop computers,the real power of handheld devicescomes from the software applicationsyou are able to add.

1..1 In terms of sheer volume, the PalmOS is the clear leader, with thesoftware library for Pocket PCslowly improving. It doesn't matterhow many programs are available,but whether or not the programsyou need are available.

Basic desktop-type programs (data-bases, presentation tools, documentreaders, etc.) are generally availableon both platforms; however, as youstart to look for more specializedapplications, Palm OS devices havethe advantage again.

What kind of peripherals do you need?

Do you need digital cameras,modems, telephones, wirelessEthernet expansion, bar codescanners, projection modules,scientific data sensors, etc.?

O Is the device Internet capable?Internet capability may be addedthrough landline or wireless andmay be built-in or added throughexpansion.

References for Buying Handhelds

Screen Display

Is color display important to you?

1:1 With most handheld devices, colordisplays are more readable, butmonochrome displays require lesspower so batteries last longer.

What is the screen resolution?Active Matrix color screens aretypically higher in resolution andricher in color, depth, andbrightness in various lightconditions.

Does the handheld have abacklight?How "readable" is the screen?

0 Where will you be using this devicemost of the time? Be sure toconsider the lighting conditions(indoor under different lighting,outdoor in direct sunlight, etc.).

Cost

What is the cost of the handheld?

What are the up-front purchasecosts of the handheld device?What are the costs for relatedthings like software, expansionmodules, and accessories?

Buyer's Guide to Handhelds. (2002). ZDNet Reviews.Retrieved from mnvadnet.com/products/stories/revinis/0,4161,2585429,00.htm1.

CNET Handheld Buying Advisor. (2002). CNET. Retrieved fromhttp://computers.enet.com/hardware/0-5043347-7-6163347.html?tag=steo.14448.bhed.5043347-7-6163347.

H^^.,4heid remipqrntive Reviews (20021. CNET. Retrievedfrom http://computers.cnet.com/hardware/0 14448.htmINg=st.eo.1087.more.14448.

PDA Buyer's Guide. (2001, November). pdaED.com. Retrieved fromwww.pdaed.comivenicaijiltioriaisiluyersguide2.xm!.

What to Look For in a Handheld. (2002). CNET. Retrieved fromhttp://computers.cnet.com/hardware/0-2645869-7-1480993.html/tag=dir.

6

Educational AdvantagesWhy are educators considering purchasing handheld technologies for school use?The educational advantages of handhelds over full-sized, varied-functioning comput-ers range from cost to size to ease of use. The list below is a good initial set of reasonsto consider handheld devices for your school.

CostHandhelds usually range inprice from as low as $100 to ashigh as $1,000 depending upon thecapabilities. A basic handheld for thetypical student can be found in the$100-$300 range, with educationaldiscounts available for largequantities.MobilityThis is possibly one of thebiggest advantages, since handheldscan be taken practically anywhereinstead of being confined to the lab orclassroom. Because there is no needfor electrical connections while it'sbeing used, it can be used outside orwhile traveling.

WirelessThe ability to transfer orshare data and programs wirelesslyovercomes the need for a more hard-wired infrastructure and adds to themobility.

SizeThis really provides a number ofbenefits:

Physical storage of devicesBecause of their small size, it'snot necessary to have a separatelab for a classroom set.

Media storageDevices can beloaded with electronic versions of

large reference materials in aportable format.

0 Ubiquitous accessUsers can carrythem in pockets, backpacks,purses, and briefcases and alwayshave access to information andprograms.

OwnershipBecause of the feeling ofownership, along with the "coolfactor," students take care of thedevices so they don't lose theprivilege of using them.

AccessBecause of the relatively lowcost, entire classroom sets of hand-held devices can be purchased forthe price of three or four desktopcomputers and can provide access tomany more students for much longertime spans.Collaboration and SharingBeaming hasbeen found to be an extremelyeffective technique for encouragingstudents to work together and shareinformation.

Simplicity/Ease of UseParticularlywith the more basic educationalapplications, teachers do not have tospend a lot of time teaching studentshow to use them.

References for Educational Advantages

Pfeifer, R. S. (2001, May). Beaming your school into the 21st century. [Electronic version]Principal Leadership (High School Ed.), 1(9), 30-4. Retrieved from www.principals.orginews/beamingschool.html.

Along with examples of uses of handheld computers in a Maryland high school,a number of advantages of using handheld computers are discussed.

Soloway, E. (2001, April). Making palm-sized computers the PC of choice for K-12.[Electronic version]. Learning and Leading with Technology, 28(7), 32-34, 56-57.

Retrieved from www.iste.org/L&L/arehive/0128/no7.

Describes how palm -sized computers. ouk.fili.eti prow dothe K-12 community with personal, pervasive access to networked computationalresources to support student learning. The benefits of using palm-sized computersto support collaboration. sharinr., mid revision are discuQsed

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Educational ConcernsIntroducing handheld technologies into the school program has some potential concerns.These technologies may be small, but small does not always mean simple and easy. Con-sider the issues below before deciding that handheld technologies are right for your school.

CompatibilityPalm OS and WindowsCE/Pocket PC devices are notcompatible. While some data can beinterchanged, programs cannot. Theother compatibility issue comes intoplay when a desktop computer isinvolved. While some programs supportboth desktop platforms, in general,more handheld applications are writtento work with Windows desktopcomputers than with Macintosh.

CheatingBy using an infrared portsimilar to that of a TV remote control,handheld computers can beam infor-mation to other handhelds. This al-lows students to share informationeasily, but it also raises the possibilityof cheating since students can beamanswers to each other. Fortunately,with most handhelds, there are waysto restrict beaming for this very rea-son. With these unique concerns inmind, your school may want to revisitacceptable use policies to ensure thatpotential issues are addressed. Mostguidelines applied to the use of theInternet and classroom computerscan be adapted to the use of wirelesshandheld technologies.

DistractionThe very versatility ofhandheld devices also makes themhighly conducive to off-task behavior,such as game playing or Web surfing.

Effectiveness/ResearchAt present, wedon't really know how the use ofthese devices affects student achieve-ment. They haven't been around longenough for many extensive studies.

InfrastructureAlthough handheldcomputers are not expensive, peri-pherals such as keyboards, cameras,cases, styli, and hardware modulesmust also be purchased. Decisionsabout who needs what equipmentmust be made. Software must beadded and regularly upgraded.OwnershipWho will own thehandhelds? Students or schools?Professional DevelopmentWhat resourcesare available for training both student

and staff on the proper and effectiveuse of handheld technologies? Eventhough handhelds tend to be lesscomplicated in use, a level of profes-sional development and orientation isrequired to fully utilize the technology.

Replacement IssuesThis includes con-cerns about durability and warranties.SafetyLittle is known about thehandheld computer's possible impacton students' health, such aseyestrain and carpal tunnel effects.Screen ReadabilityEven the largesthandheld device has a small screen-viewing area. The issues here reallyrevolve around the intended use ofthe device (extensive reading vs.quick formula calculation), thephysical location of its use (lighting),and the age of the user.Screen SizeNot Just readability of textbut also many graphics, such ascharts and graphs, do not translatewell to the small size screen.SecurityThere are a number ofsecurity issues involved:

TheftOne of the biggest advan-tages of handheldstheir sizealso makes them prone to theft.

O DataDevelopers are scrambling tobuild in data security safeguardslike those in place for desktopcomputers, but it's a new field,with new concerns.VirusesYes, they exist for hand-helds, too. Although not in thelarge numbers experienced bydesktop users, viruses areincreasing, and virus protectionprograms for handhelds arebecoming more popular.

4 Teel SiwialThcy need to befixed in a timely manner for effectiveuse. On the plus side, it's not tooexpensive to have some "loaners"available as a quick fix, which isn'treally a viable option with larger,more expensive desktop models.

References for Educational Concerns

Pownell, D. (2001, June). Getting a Handle on Handhelds. Electronic School. Retrieved fromwww.electronie-school.com/2001/06/0601handhelds.html.

Suggests questions to ask about leadership, teaching and learning, staff develop-ment, technology support, planning, infrastructure, safety, ethics, evaluation,security, curriculum, change, and equity regarding the use of handheld computersin the classroom.

Robertson, S. I. (1997, July). The use and effectiveness of palmtop computers in education.British Journal of Educational Technologu. 28, 177-189.

Researchers present a few problems educators found when using handhelds in theclassroom (screen size, limited memory, theft of device, lost files, lack of training).

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Seniors in an English class at New Hanover High School (NHHS) in Wilmington,North Carolina, have a totally different approach to Senior Project papers and stu-dent teacher interns. As part of the Technology for Reflection and Assessment Coali-tion, a Preparing Tomorrow's Teachers to Use Technology (PT3) grant at the WatsonSchool of Education at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington (UNC-W), theNHHS seniors used the Hewlett Packard Jornada handheld wireless technology tocollect and organize information for their assigned papers.

Amy Hawk, one of the student teacher interns from UNC-W, used 30 Jornadaswith her senior English class. The seniors used the Jornada's word processingapplication and its wireless Internet connection to develop a letter of intent onthe research paper topic, conduct Internet research on the topic, participate inclass literature research activities, and produce a final product. With the capa-bility to beam their work to the school network and to access the Internetwirelessly whenever they wanted, the students completed their Senior Projectpapers in less time than their counterparts who used the school computer lab.Ms. Hawk also used the Jornadas with her sophomore English class. They usedthe Jornadas for word processing and Internet research as well as for class ac-tivities to create their own Anglo Saxon riddles.

Using the handheld technology in the English classes was a new but exciting experi-ence for the student-teacher intern and is one of the UNC-W PT3 project goals ofaccelerating the infusion of technology throughout the teacher preparation program.Ms. Hawk reported that, for the students, the handheld devices were efficient andeffective ways to manage their research and writing time and to provide greater ac-

cess time to the Internet than using the oner school computer lab. For her as a student-

teacher intern, the devices provided instantavailability to search the Web during class ac-tivities and an incentive to incorporate technol-ogy into her teaching. She noted that it isimportant that school administrators supportusing handheld technologies in teaching andlearning and believe that students will benefitfrom the experience. This was certainly true atNew Hanover High School, and it was a factorin the success of the project.

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Administrative Applications1. Keep your schedule2. Track student progress on specific

skills3. Conduct authentic assessment4. Use a calculator5. Make a database of key content and

concepts for student use6. Take attendance7. Instantly access student

information, such as schedules,demographics, or parent contacts

8. Organize your reading lists9. Take notes at a meeting10. Record and tabulate grades11. Track computer hardware and

software inventory12. Enhance school safety with bar code

passes13. Access lesson plans14. Use a rubric to assess and score

student work15. Access a database of curriculum

standards and related curriculumresources

16. Keep an inventory of books andmaterials

17. Store and track student IEPs18. Track technical support requests19. Keep a list of all your important

contacts20. Evaluate student teacher perfor-

mance and record observation notes21. Access a library book list

22. Track, organize, and controlinventories and safety informationfor chemicals in the lab

23. Let students have constant access totheir current grades (verymotivating!)

24. Track teacher recruiting activities25. Access human resources benefits

information26. Look up technical troubleshooting

information27. Keep emergency procedures and

checklists readily accessible

Communication and Collaboration

Applications28. Send an e-mail29. Schedule school meetings as a group30. Collaborate on a graphic organizer31. Send a fax32. Make a presentation33. Make a phone call34. Distribute school activity

information to students and parents35. Send assignment information home

to parents36. Exchange information with a

colleague37. Have students beam in an

assignment38. Get parents' sign-offs39. Share a downloaded Web page with

someone

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40. Transfer a file from your PC forinstant access

41. Write an eBook and share it withothers

42. Track and exchange data on teamactivities

43. Receive instant messages44. Conduct group writing activities45. Record voice notes46. Transmit close captioning of lectures

for the hearing impaired47. Access online educational events

Teaching and Learning Applications

48. Take and store digital photos for areport

49. Make a spreadsheet50. Draw a picture51. Make a concept map summarizing a

chapter52. Form, visualize, and solve equations53. Keep track of your class schedules54. Take notes on a field trip55. Read an eBook56. Find locations with a GPS57. Take field notes by GPS location58. Graph data59. View maps60. Organize your assignments61. Gather data on temperature, light,

voltage, pH, and more with dataprobes

62. Program your own handheldapplication

63. Give (or take) a quiz64. Look up a word in a dictionary65. Use flashcards66. Use a tutorial for self-study67. Do homework68. Write a report69. Take notes in class70. Complete a worksheet71. Study a foreign language72. Listen to reenactments of historic

speeches73. Play a game that simulates the

transfer of viruses74. Do research on the Web

75. Send and receive individual or classquestions

76. Gather data on transportation use,food intake, and energy use to gaugeecological impact

77. Make a timeline78. Look up a word in a thesaurus79. Create an outline80. Study for a test81. Give students step-by-step

instructions or visual plans forprojects

82. Keep a journal83. See real-time data and graphs of

position, velocity, and accelerationchange over time

84. Access writing prompts85. Learn to read and write Japanese

characters86. Download notes for a research paper87. Practice multiplication tables88. Access the periodic table89. Use a glossary of technical terms90. Look at reference diagrams on parts

of the human body91. Play a collaborative problem-solving

game to learn about genetics92. Listen to and study classical music93. Build a robot controlled by a

handheld device94. Use a stopwatch to track times95. Read about the latest current events96. Access notes from a class lecture97. Create a map using GPS data98. Listen to and practice pronunciation

with a voice recorder (Englishlanguage learners)

99. Have classes create their own mobileinformation channels to shareinformation with other classes or thecommunity

100. Create a database on endangeredspecies

101. Read historical primary sourcedocuments

©K12 Handhelds Copyrighted by KI 2 Handhelds.May ,wt be reprinted without written permissionfrom KI 2 Handhelds, info@k12handhelds.com.

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OM .13 i

Picture This!An exciting and innovative unit is begin-ning in Mr. Maxwell's class. The studentsare eager to find out what the topic forthis week's research project will be. Whilethe students synchronize their handheldcomputers, the details of their assignmentare provided along with rubrics for evalu-ating their final work. Mr. Maxwellgives them an overview of thetopic and then helps them getstarted with their work. The stu-dents are pleased to have theoutline and the rubrics avail-able wheneverthey needthem.

The class isdivided intoseveralteams. Teammembers brain-storm the topic andorganize the informa-tion they already know Vas well as the informationthey want to know using aconcept map on theirhandheld. When they are finished, theydivide the work to be done, and pairs ofstudents take responsibility for gatheringdifferent kinds of information on theirhandheld computers to bring back to thegroup. They use the calendar function ofthe handheld to set deadlines for gather-ing information, for creating a draft re-port, and for the final review by all teammembers. They set alarms to remindthem of deadlines and create "to do" listsfor the whole project and for each pair ofstudents.

The job of interviewing several expertsis assigned to four studentsCarla, Beth,Matt, and Jeremy. They access theInternet's yellow pages to find some ex-perts in the community and then make alist of questions they will ask each expert.

Carla and Matt makeappointments

with a well-known expert,Dr. Stewart

Thrift, from thephone attached tothe Mr. Maxwell'shandheld. When

Dr. Thrift arrivesat the school,

theyrecordtheirinter-

viewsusing their

handheld's audiomodule and then take

the recordings back to theclassroom to edit for the rest of thegroup. Beth also snaps a few pictures ofDr. Thrift and some of the artifacts hebrought with him using the digital cam-era attached to her handheld computer.

Meanwhile, Beth and Jeremy find thatone of the teachers in the school, Mr.Samuel Justice, is also an expert on thetopic. They e-mail him from their hand-held computer, and he responds thathe'd be willing to answer any questions,but it would be easiest for him to workby e-mail. The next morning, they findhis answers waiting for them when theycheck their e-mail on their handheldcomputer. They export the e-mail to aword processor and edit the interview.

Robbie and Barbara use their handheldsto search for specific information on theInternet right from their classroom. Theysummarize the information using theword processing program on one of theirhandheld computers.

Miguel and Sarah find that their schoolhas several books on the topic, and themedia specialist helps them downloadthe electronic book version of one critical

1--11111.1ftsion.

Maria and Jermaine are responsible forfinding appropriate images for the topic.They head to the media center and searchfor clip art and public domain images,download them to the computer, convertthem to images for their handheld, andmake notes, including the citations, abouteach image.

Margaret and Bill create a vocabularylist by consulting with each team, doingsome basic library research, and typingtheir notes into their handheld comput-ers; they use their handheld computerdictionary and thesaurus modules tocreate a glossary for the project.

32

work to their handhelds so that they canreview it in the classroom.

Sydney and Logan collect data from avariety of sources, including probewarethey borrow from the science teacher.They enter the data into a spreadsheetprogram on their handhelds and thencalculate and sort the data. They usethis data to generate several charts andgraphs for use in their final report.

The team beams information to eachother from time to time so that they allshare the information that each personhas found. Using one of the classroomcomputers and a presentation template,they each create a portion of the presen-tation and then combine the portionsinto one final product. They refer to thedocument on their handhelds that con-tains the rubrics Mr. Maxwell provided,checking each item to be sure they haveincluded everything required.

Now it's time to show the presentation.They send the presentation over theschool network to the presentation-station handheld and take turns explain-ing their findings to the rest of the class.Their classmates evaluate the presenta-tion and beam their results to Mr. Max-well, who adds his comments and thenshares them with the team. To be sureeach student has mastered the basics ofthe topic, Mr. Maxwell prepares a shortquiz with true-false, multiple choice, shortanswer, and one challenging essay ques-tion on his computer. The students down-load the quiz, and when they take it, thehandheld locks out access to any otherinformation on the device until they havebeamed the answers to the teacher.

All the students are excited about whatthey have learned and prepare a Webpage to share their presentations withtheir parents and the community. Mr.Maxwell e-mails the parents with the URLand invites them to access the students'work. Sydney's mother gets the e-mail onher handheld computer on her way homefrom a business trip and, while waiting atthe airport, takes a look at the class'swork. She is proud of her daughter andtells her so when she gets home. She e-mails the teacher as well. Mr. Maxwellreceives the e-mail just as he finishessynchronizing his handheld computerwith his desktop computer, transferringthe grades and comments for each

student and recording their progressagainst the standards and benchmarksthe district curriculum requires.

Time to begin a new project? The stu-dents are ready to take on new rolesand responsibilities. As long as theyhave their handheld computers, theyknow they can do the job.

More Uses, Ideas, Software, and Case

Studies for Handhelds in Education

Center for Highly InteractiveComputing in Education (Hi-Ce),University of Michiganwww.hi-ce.org

Reports on the Center's developmentof a variety of free handheldapplications for education

K12 Handheldsohclahandhelds.comicasestudy

Provides case studies on the use ofhandhelds in education

Palm in Educationwww.palm.comieducation

Includes case studies, programs,research, and resources

PEP Ideabankwww.palmgrants.sri.com/ideabank.html

Provides links and innovative ideasfor using handhelds in education

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Using Handheld Technologiesin Schools

The Beaufort County Schools (South Carolina) and the Johnston County Schools (NorthCarolina) have both undertaken pilot projects involving the use of handhelds in the class-room. In the following interview, Cyndi Pride, Beaufort County Schools' Curriculum andInstruction Technology Specialist, and Diana Skinner, Johnston County Schools' Technol-ogy Director, share their experiences with their handheld technologies projects and offersome lessons learned. The experiences of these two districts provide insight and guid-ance for others interested in this use of technology.

Beaufort County Schools Project

270 students in grades 4-12

Johnston County Schools Project

5 schools, 60 students per site

Participants included:All district principals (32)All technology leaders (32)35 media coordinatorsSuperintendent's AdministrativeCabinet members (6)

SEIRTEC: Why did your school district initiate a project on usinghandheld technologies in the classroom?

Diana: Both the Assistant Superintendentfor Technology, E.D.Hall, and I had owned aPalm Pilot for a numberof years and had becomeaddicted to the tool.Upon reading articlesfrom professional Jour-nals and visiting vendorsat conferences, we pur-

chased some devices and experimentedwith them for educational value. I pre-pared a PowerPoint presentation to an-swer questions regarding use, cost,and educational value that I thenshowed to teachers and administra-tors. We applied to be a Palm Educa-tion Training Provider (PETP) trainerand attended training conducted byPalm in May 2001 in San Jose, Califor-nia. Endowed with a lot ofresources and materials,probes, software, and train-ing materials, we began ourinitiative in summer 2001. y,

E.D. Hall

Cyndi: Our first handheld technologiesprogram involved teach-ers and grew out of therecognition that thehandheld, long used inbusiness applications,could provide a meansfor teachers to have oneready-at-hand tool to

collect and manage digital data aboutteaching activities and student learn-ing. The handheld would provide theteachers with a means to more easilycollate student information into ameaningful report, eliminating doubleentry and reiterative behaviors. Placinghandhelds into the hands of studentsseems to be a logical next step. Thehandheld promotes equity in access atan affordable price, allowing us tobring more technology into the class-room. The size and portability allowsfor ease of movement from class toclass and promotes use in the field.Although the size and weight of thehandhelds would seem to increase thechance of technology "walking out thedoor," this has not been an issue.

34

SEIRTEC: Tell us about your project: goals, who is/was participating,how long it has been/was in operation, and products you used.

Diana: Our pilot this year has been investigative and administrative in nature. We haveplaced 30 Palms in the hands of fifth-graders, sixth-graders, eighth-graders, andeleventh-graders with a different curriculum focus for each grade. The Palms havebeen used for language arts, math, science, computer skills, and writing assign-ments. We are also investigating their use as a communication device betweenhome and school. All principals, media coordinators, technology leaders, and mostAdvanced Placement teachers have Palms, as do our central office administrators.This is a study to remove paper (for example, meeting agendas), to share informa-tion and technology tips, and to access data as a PDA. Administrators are accessingstudent information; parents and students are accessing homework and school cal-endars, and teachers are accessing observation notes. We began in September 2001with administrative training and in October with training of students and teachers.We are using a variety of Palm productsm100, m105, m505, 111c, and 5vx. Oursoftware varies by curriculum, but we all use Docs To Go, Pi Co Maps, Imageware,Notepad, Handy Sheets, and Cooties.

Cyndi: The goal of our first project (Assessment...It's inthe Palm of Your Hand) was to provide teachers witha tool (Palm) to assist them in managing data from avariety of assessments to gain a better picture ofstudent learning and thus to guide instruction.Nineteen teachers participated in the program, be-ginning in February 2001, with a review of litera-ture on the topic of assessment. Training wasprovided in the mechanics of using the Palm, in-cluding entering information, synchronizing thePalm, and transferring data from one application (for example, the Memo Pad) toanother (for example, a Word document). Teachers used the basic Palm applica-tions, a spreadsheet application, and Teacher's P.E.T., a grade book and learningmanagement program. Additionally, each teacher reviewed and evaluated othersoftware that might be applicable in a teaching environment. At the beginning ofour project, there were only a few software applications specifically for educators,but now more are available, as developers have discovered this unique niche. Titlesthat were reviewed include Learner Profile to Go, Thought Manager, and PraestoGrade, to name a few. The teachers met weekly through the spring and continue tomeet monthly, to share information, ideas, tips, and tricks.

As a recipient of a Palm Education Pioneer (PEP) Research Hub Grant, BeaufortCounty School District was able to expand the program to include students in the

fall of 2001. Two hundredseventy students ingrades 4-12 use PalmPilots to determine if thePalm helps students bemore cognizant of their

71 MI 4.7 achievement because ofdit

the opportunity for self-assessment in project-based learning activities.We have three differentmodels in the program:classes where studentsare issued Palms and usethem at school and athome, class sets of Palmsthat are shared by severalstudents for specialprojects, and daily

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in-class use of Palms by assigned students. Teachers and students make extensiveuse of freeware, such as Hi-Ce's Pi Co Map and Cooties (www.handheld.hice-dev.org), BigClock, and Diddlebug. As the program evolves, and new software applications aredeveloped, we expect that schools will begin to budget for additional software. Someof our schools have augmented the Palms with peripherals including keyboards,digital cameras, and probeware. Several of our schools have purchased additionalPalms for both student groups and teachers. Teachers in primary school class-rooms are using the Palms, in part, to collect data for the South Carolina ReadinessAssessment. Additionally, we have two schools that have purchased class sets ofPocket PCs, keyboards, and some wireless cards.

P14

SEIRTEC: What was the reaction bystudents to the handheld technologies?Teachers? Administrators?

Diana: They love them and want more devices! Thoseschools not involved in the pilot want to be in-cluded. We have even had a few parents purchasethem for their students so the students did nothave to share the school-provided Palm. Everyone wants us to develop more grantproposals to obtain more Palms!

Cyndi: Most users have met the handhelds with enthusiasm: teachers, administrators,and students alike. All users appreciate the simplicity of the Palm interface and theavenues for communication and collaboration that result from being able to beamdata from one Palm to another. Teachers, especially, appreciate the ability to carrythe Palm everywhere and to take or refer to notes anytime. Although some maythink this insignificant, teachers have commented that women's clothing does notalways have pockets or belts, so some users carry alternatives, such as smallshoulder bags and special lanyards.

Administrators at several schools have also adopted handhelds. Administrators areusing both Palm OS and Pocket PC platforms. Administrators are interested in syn-chronizing student information data (SASIxp) onto their handhelds for anytime/anywhere access to student schedules, teacher schedules, bus assignments, anddiscipline records. With few exceptions, our users find their Palms to be indispens-able. I have even been treated to more than one round of applause from studentswhen introduced as the person who was responsible for the grant that got the stu-dents the Palms!

SEIRTEC: Describe the training you conducted and tell us whattraining you think is essential for anyone considering a handheldimplementation for the classroom.

Diana: Our training is systematic and thorough. Only two of us conduct initial training,but teachers and technology leaders work with teachers and students at each gradelevel. For phase one, it is extremely important that small groups are trained welland supported as they have questions and develop ideas. We are producing a train-ing manual and software recommendations as "must haves" to affect student learn-ing and achievement. We will share these at conferences and with other counties inNorth Carolina. You must have a cutting-edge team always ready to test the newsoftware and devices. Lessons we learned were to set and maintain standards, toretain plenty of written documentation, to have clear objectives as to why to use thePalms, to do follow-up training, and to adjust training as necessary.

Cyndi: Many of our users found that organized training for the Palm was not necessary,but a few workshops were made available to less assured teachers, administrators,and even board members. To get users started, we offered an introduction to thePalm applications, buttons and screen views, preferences, creating and using catego-

3 i3

ries, tapping, typing, and beaming. The second _

workshop encompassed skills such as changing r

settings for buttons, using the shortcut stroke, andcreating shortcut commands, phone lookup func-tions, and menu options. During training sessions,dialogue about classroom applications was encour-aged, and tips and tricks were shared among us-ers. Another training opportunity assisted users inloading the Palm desktop software and synchingwith Outlook and reviewed how to add programs tothe Palm. Although we didn't have formal trainingfor specific software titles, the teachers met to share notes and assist each otherwith these new applications. Teachers using the Pocket PC handhelds were able toadjust to the CE versions of Word and Excel with little difficulty, once they under-stood the mechanics of tapping and typing. Teachers using this platform met forseveral hours to experiment with the tool and to brainstorm ways in which to usethe handheld with students in the classroom. They received instruction in theclass, along with the students, on how to connect to the network using wirelesscards. Each school has a lead teacher who assists other users if problems or ques-tions arise. In some schools, the lead teacher received the handheld prior to otherteachers and had the opportunity to practice with its use and to participate intraining. The teachers became the primary instructors for their students. Someteachers offered additional training for parents so they could use the Palm to corre-spond with the teacher. In schools where the Palms go home with the students,teachers and parents have begun to communicate with each other in the Memo Padapplication. Although training is not essential, it can help teachers maximize theutility of the handheld. Several of our teachers and administrators had used theirPalms independently for a period of time, but many had not discovered specialtimesaving features, such as how to create shortcuts and use the shortcut stroke tomake notations faster. Synchronizing the handheld and working with e-mail isproblematic for some users. Additional training may also be required for wirelessconnectivity in future models.

1

SEIRTEC: What were the most successfuluses of the handheld technologies bystudents? Teachers? Administrators?

Diana: For students, the most successful uses werethe calendar, PiCo maps, and probes. For teach-ers, it was the Handy Sheets website with digitalworksheets for the Palm. Administrators reallyused the Doc To Go for teacher performanceassessment.

Cyndi: One of the greatest benefits of the handheld is the ability to share informationvia infrared. Our teachers and students have capitalized on this feature. In a dramaclass, the teacher beamed scripts to the students in Memo Pad. Students also havejournal questions beamed to them frequently, which they respond to, and eitherbeam back their responses or sync their handhelds to the class computer. Beamingallows students to work collaboratively as well. In one class, students built sen-tences to review sentence structure and parts of speech. Students have also beenable to work collaboratively to share research findings. In classes where we haveused PCs connected to the Network, students were able to take notes from differentsites on the Internet and then share those, by beaming, with other students. Stu-dents have also received a project "to do" list elaborating the steps of a project,which they can check off as each phase is completed. Teachers and students haveworked together to define levels of accomplishment as a rubric for specific assign-ments. This can be beamed to students for reference as they complete the task.Students have used the Address Book feature to keep contact information for study

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buddies, and the calendar feature is used to track assignments. The alarm feature ofthe calendar has been especially useful to remind students as long-term assignmentscome close to their due date. The calculator is helpful as it eliminates the need foranother tool. Some math teachers have especially liked the fact that students canview, copy, and paste "recent calculations" into a memo, where they can describetheir solution step-by-step. One high school teacher has used a demo version ofMath Works (www.imagiworks.com) that allows the Palm to function like a graphing calcula-tor. She plans to purchase this software for students next year.

SEIRTEC: What recommendations would you offer to schools anddistricts considering implementing handheld technologies?

Diana: Even though we have only worked with the handhelds a short time, we highlyrecommend a four-step process: pilot, support, train, and support some more. Wewould also recommend gathering data and documenting and sharing the lessonslearned with others. This is how we have built justification for extending our projectand obtained new ideas to try.

Cyndi: The first decision schools or districts must make before implementing a programis what handheld platform to purchase and support. Currently, we have programswith each platform, and we will be reviewing the pros and cons for each as we moveforward. Another consideration in purchasing a handheld is power. Generally, it iseasier to recharge units than to constantly replace batteries. Schools will need toplan for how they will recharge a number of units; however, the cradle or chargingcord is included in the purchase price. Although there is much to be gained in usingthe handheld straight out of the box, peripheral equipment and optional softwaregreatly increase the utility of the technology. Therefore, planning for additional ex-penses is wise. From our experience, we feel it is important that the first teachersselected for the program have a basic comfort level with computer technology.Synching to the computer and moving documents from memo pads to Word andback might be intimidating to some teachers.

Although formal training does not seem to have been a key indicator of success inusing handhelds effectively in our projects, our teachers have commented that theybenefited greatly from having the opportunity to talk with other users and shareideas. It has also proved helpful to have a designated point person in each buildingwho is well versed in the workings of the handheld platform selected for the school.One other consideration is whether the handhelds will be used strictly in the class-room and during the school day, perhaps on field trips, or whether they will gohome with students.

38

Using eBooks on HandheldsElectronic books, or eBooks, are electronic versions of books,magazines, journals, reference manuals, textbooks, or any otherdocument traditionally occurring as a printed volume. Electronicbooks can be viewed on a traditional computer screen and arealso becoming increasingly popular on smaller, portable readerdevices, including handheld devices. The appeal of these devicesis that they can be carried around, much as a traditional bookmight, but can also contain numerous volumes and special fea-tures that are not available in the print versions of books.

The features included in eBooks vary depending on the reader typeand the document format. Many eBooks include features such assearching, built-in dictionaries, annotation tools, bookmarks, vari-able font size, hyperlinks, and auto-scrolling.

Screen resolution is the biggest technical issue that is yet to be re-solved with eBooks. Until screen resolutions improve, readingeBooks puts more strain on one's eyes than reading printed wordson paper.

There are thousands of eBooks currently available on a wide vari-ety of topics. Some are free, and others sell for prices that are typi-cally somewhat, but not drastically, below average print bookprices. It is expected that more educational materials, includingtextbooks, will be made available as eBooks.

Book Document Formats

Format Description Compatibility

Doc This is a common eBook format Palm, PPC,and works on a wide variety of EPOCplatforms and with most viewers.(Note: This is not the same as the .docfiles of Microsoft Word.)

isilo Offers higher compression andextended formatting capabilities

LIT Format for Microsoft eBookReader; supports Clear Type"'display technology

Memo Pad Imports directly into Memo Pad;limited to 4K

MobiPocket Offers extended formattingcapabilities and support ofmultiple platforms

Offers extended formattingcapabilities

Palm Reader

Text

Tome Raider

Generic ASCII files

Offers extended formattingcapabilities and support ofmultiple platforms

Palm

PPC

Palm

Palm, PPC,EPOC

Palm, PPC

Palm, PPC,EPOC

Palm, PPC,EPOC

eBook Reader Software

Adobe Acrobat Readerwww.adobe.com/products/acrobatAportisDoc Readerwww.aportis.comCspotRunwww.32768.com/bill/palmos/cspotrunExpress Reader Prowww.qvadis.comiStiowww.isilo.comMicrosoft eBook Readerwww.microsoft.com/ebooksMobiPocket Readerwww.mobipocket.comPalm Reader (formerly known asPeanut Reader)www.peanutpress.comTealDocwww.tealpoint.comTomeRaider www.tomeraider.com

Sources of Additional Informationon eBooks

General Information:eBook Connections, Inc.www.ebookconneations.comElectric eBook Publishingwww.electricebookpublishing.comOpen eBook Forumwww.openebook.org

eBooks (content):Adobe's eBooks Centralwww.adobe.com/epaper/ebooksArnazonwww.amazon.comAportiswww.aportis.comBarnes and Noblewww.bn.comMemoWare www.memoware.comPalm Readerwww.peanutpress.comProject Gutenbergwww.gutenberg.netSlate eBookshttp://slate.msn.comTime Warner eBookswww.twbookmark.com/ebooksTeal Point Software

w nt .c o m/cntentht mTw, rflfvioiinias

Electronic Text Centerhttp://etext.lib.virginia.edu

©K12 Handholds Copyrighted by K12Handhelds. May not be reprinted withoutwritten permission from K12 Handhelds,infogkl2handhelds.com.

JEST COPY AVAILABLE 39

sing andheld Computers in Education:

am ling of Projects

Gathering dataBeamingReferenceWord processingSchedulingOrganization

OrganizationData gatheringBeaming

CommunicationOrganization

DatabasesSpreadsheetsPresentationseBooks

SchedulesStudent databaseData gatheringProbesBeaming homeworkOther possibilities

Probes

OrganizationGraphing calculatorsNote-takingReference toolsInternet access

Student database accessCoordinating professionalschedules

Internet accessReference tools

Rah school students andteachers

High school students andteachers

All teachers andadministrators

High school students

High school administrators,students, and bus drivers

Middle and high schoolstudents

High school specialeducation students

Administrators

Middle and high schoolstudei its

eCeelze A Hinh school teachers andOrganizers studentsProbesE-mail assignmentsDownioadable worksheets

Consolidated High School District 230 makes use of handhelds. Anoverview of a large handheld piiut involving nearly 1,700 studentsand 65 teachers. www.d230.org /Handheld

Handhelds go to classNew short film and story. A large schooldistrict equipped students and teachers with 2,200 handheldcomputers in the fall of 2000. According to English, biology, andsocial studies teachers in the district, use of the handhelds hasincreased student productivity and efficiency across all disciplines.http://glef.org/orlandpk.html

Leeuwenburg, Todd. (January 1999). Dick Tracy goes digital.Electronic School. An early, but still applicable, discussion of theprofessional uses of handhelds for educators.once leetron ie-sehoo I.com/199901/0199ioo Isofthetrade.htm

High school students learn workplace skills with Palm handhelds.A team of students in a school-to-work program use handhelds asan efficient way to manage jobs, equipment, and personnel and toshare information and communicate easily.wervi.palm.comieducation/studies/study14.html

Stover, Del. (March 2001). Hands-on learning. Electronic School.One company wants to use bar-code scanners to allow bus driversto record the pickup and delivery of students by scanning their IDcards. Principals use the handhelds as a tool that allows them tocheck their schedule on the fly, determine if a student in thehallway is supposed to be in class, or jot down a note for laterreference. vivAv.e leciroe ic-sehoo leom/2001/03/0301f4. htm I

Handhelds and probes become keystone of learning environment.This describes a mobile learning environment that makes it easy tocollect and analyze scientific data and to collaborate betweenclasses and schools. www.palm.com/education/studies/study15.html

Independence. Describes a project to help special educationstudents excel through the use of handheld technology.www. palm. com /educatioe /studies /study3.htmI

Pushing barriers. Providing administrators with instant studentinformation and productivity tools.www.palm.cornieducation/studies/study4.himl

E-WIRE. (January 2001). Electronic School. Highlights severalapplications of handheld computer usage in a variety of classroomsettings. wor.eleetroe ie-sehool.co m/2001/01/0101ew ire.htm I

Thomas, Karen. (May 28, 2001). Inexpensive handheld PCs findway into classrooms. uetrou isiews Guiiiie.asc,.;6..z.-.s 4 highschool where all 450 ninth-graders and 30 teachers were issuedhandheld computers.htt;://defiinin.v.IT/1001/fpriknfived0105/28/1111-228994.htm

40

Key Uses Users

Searchable referencetoolsInternet accessSchedulesAssessmentElectronic flashcards

Internet accessConcept mapping

eBooks

eBooks

AssessmentGradingClass management

Digital imaging &captioningBeaming

Barcode scannersRadio FrequencyIdentification (RFID) tagsBeamingWeb accessReferenceCirculation systemseBooksPolicies

SchedulingWeb accessReferenceOrganization

OrganizationWord processingSchedulingBeamingPresentations

r.row,nrationAssessmentData gatheringClassroom managementInternet accessE-mail

University medical students

High school students

All students

High school students

Physical education teachers

Elementary students

Media specialists

High school teachers andadministrators

All teachers

Reference

Stanford University School of Medicine Palm ProjectThis project was created to improve the experience of Stanfordmedical students by making available educational tools that aremobile, comprehensive, and interactive. http://Palm.Stanford.edu

Ironer, Andrew. (September 26, 2001). Handheld computing: newbest tech tool or just a fad? Education Week. Descriptions of avariety of pilot projects using handhelds in different subject areas,along with some of the educators' concerns.www.edweek.comiewiew_printstory.cfm?s In g = 04 pal m.h21

Flanigan, Robin L. (March 2001). Tools of the trade. ElectronicSchool. Discussion of eBooks with examples from a number ofdifferent school pilot studies.

lectron is -schoo Lcom/2001/03/0301tool softheirade.him I

Pickett, Debra. (June 26, 2001). Will handheld devices replacetextbooks? Chicago Sun-Times. Highlights the use of the goReaderin a junior class on American literature.www.suntimes .com/outputitech/conf26.him I

Dorman, Steve M. (May 1998). Enhancing school physicaleducation with technology. The Journal of School Health, 68(5),219-220. The use of handheld devices that assist with fitnesstesting, grading, and class management is increasing. Thesedevices help the physical educator collect and input information inthe classroom or in an outdoor setting.

Vandenabeele, Janet. (July 23, 2001). Science class gets boost:Handheld computers enhance school's enrichment lessons. DetroitNews Online. Describes a summer program that utilizes handheldspacked with educational software.hit p://det news.com/2001/schools/0107/23/c03-252214.htm

Embrey, Theresa Ross. (March 2002). Today's PDAs can put OPACin the Palm of your hand. This article contains a wealth of currentand possible future uses of handheld devices in the media center.www.infotoday.com /cilmag /mar02 /embrey.htm

McCampbell, Bill. (March 2001). Taking a look at pocket digitalassistants. Principal Leadership, 1(7), 72-74. Course schedulesand assignments put on a class Web page and updated to PDAsusing the sync capability. Supplemental reading material can beposted to students' devices. Calculators, conversion charts,checklists, and other class paraphernalia replaced with handhelds.

McFadden, A., Price, B.J., & Marsh, G. (September, 2001) Avaluable technology tool for student teachers. Three University ofAlabama educational-technology experts describe how handheldcomputers can enhance productivity, classroom informationmanagement, and instructional support. While it targets studentteachers, many of these scenarios apply to any educator.www.glet.org/ pdatool.hini

rc...3 Viv3

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Grant Opportunities

Any grant opportunity for educationaltechnology is one that can be tapped forhandheld computers. Just remember toaddress the specific grant requirementsby including handheld applications andprograms that address specific instruc-tional goals. For example, if you arewriting a grant for materials to supportscience instruction, you might includehandhelds, science data probes, cur-riculum materials, graphing calculatorsoftware, and digital cameras. In addi-tion, make sure to emphasize the waythat handhelds can address equity andaccess issues because of their lowcost and mobility.

Some grants, likeTexas' Technol-ogy Integrationin Education(TIE) grants,even spe-cificallyallow hand-helds as aneligible use.Progressive \states arestarting tomake handheldsa part of their over-all technology plansand funding schools topurchase these devices.

In addition, many schoolsare using professional devel-opment grants to purchase handheldworkshops (some of these include hand-held devices in the cost). This is a cre-ative way to fund professionaldevelopment and the handhelds them-selves all in one.

grants. While the program does not havea next round of grants scheduled at thetime of this writing, check their websiteat www.palmgrants.sri.com. This website alsohas many great ideas about how to usehandhelds in education.

Handspring Foundation GrantsThisfoundation offers both cash and productgrants to qualifying organizations. Thecash grants are made to nonprofitorganizations that focus on issuesrelating to children and youth who are atrisk. These grants range from $1,000 to$25,000. The product grants provide

hardware to qualifiednonprofit organizationsand are geared towarddemonstrations of aninnovative use ofhandhelds that will

creatively addresscritical community

concerns. Moreinformation isavailable atwww.handspring.com/

company/foundation.

/ Center for Innova-/ tive Learning Tech-;

nologiesThisorganization offers

a limited number ofseed grants each year to ini-

tiate cross-institutional collabora-tions in the area of learning technologies.The themes of the program are Visualiza-tion and Modeling, Ubiquitous Comput-ing, Community Tools, and Technologyin Learning Assessments. The range ofaward is $6,000 to $15,000. More infor-mation can be found at www.cilt.org/seedgrant/projects.html.

TI-Navigator Collaboration GrantsThis pro-gram awards grants that allow for thepurchase of the TI-Navigator system ata reduced price of $5,500 versus the listprice of $9,800. For more information,call the TI-Navigator CollaborationGrants office at 866 846-2844 ore-mail them at ti-navigator ti.com.

Here are a few grants that are specificallygeared toward handhelds:

Palm Education Pioneer Grant Program Thisprogram gives Palm handhelds to K-12teachers and their students so they canuse them in new ways for teaching andlearning. This program is administered bySRI International's Center for Technologyin Learning. It is limited to hardware

There are some other organizationsthat offer grants in the general area ofeducational technology and have fundedhandheld projects in the past. One suchorganization is Intel. Check out itswebsite at www.intel.com/education/grants.

Also, make sure to check with your stateeducational technology office to see whateducational technology and professionaldevelopment grants they have available.

As with any grant application, the follow-ing tips are useful to remember when youare writing grants for handheld programs:

Read the grant request for proposalcarefully and tailor your proposal tothose requirements.Focus on student achievement and theimprovements your proposed programwill make; make sure to indicatespecific and measurable objectives.

Design a program that can bereplicated by other schools andinclude how you will share informationabout your experience with others.Make sure to include information onhow your program will be evaluated.

Make the budget detailed, reasonable,and representative of the rest of yourproposal.

Make sure you meet all the technicalrequirements of the proposal.If your program doesn't get funded bythis grant, try again. Many wonderfulprograms aren't funded the first timearound.

©K12 Handhelds Copyrighted by K12Handhelds. May not be reprinted without writtenpermission from K12 Handhelds,info @kl2handhelds.com.

Professional Development and Handheld Technologies

Connected University's Pocket CUA prototype of an online class utilizing a handhelddevice as the delivery medium. The content for this class is "Teaching toStandards." http://cu.classroom.com/palm

1(12 HandheldsA variety of both on-site workshops and online courses that startwith an introduction to handhelds for beginners and then build to moreadvanced courses that focus on applications for administrators, teachers,and students. www.k12handhelds.com/dev.php

Palm PETC ProgramThe Palm Education Training Coordinator (PETC) program is atrain-the-trainer program designed to support K-12 in-service and pre-service professional development programs focused on the educationaluses of Palm handheld computers. www.palm.com/education/training

Palm PETP ProgramRegional workshops conducted by Palm Education TrainingProviders (PETP). PETPs are Palm Certified Trainers with expertise in thePalm OS and years of personal experience as K-12 educators and adminis-trators. www.palm.com/education/programs/regional

Note: A few universities, colleges, and private training centers are now offering dis-tance education courses that are designed around handheld delivery methods. Forexample, Brigham Young University offers a high school course for U.S. History thatis taken with Palm OS devices in addition to the traditional computer connected tothe Internet.

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(SHOTEC

Hardware Manufacturers Software Resources

Palm OS

40 Palmwww.palm.corn

Handspringwww.handspring.corn

Sony Cliewww.sonystyle.com/vatolclie/index.shtmlSymbolwww.symbol.com/products/mobile_computers/mobile_computers.html

Windows CE/Pocket PC

CompaqiPAQ Pocket PCswww.compaq.com/products/handhelds/pocketpc/index.htmlCasiowww.casio.com/personatpcs/section.cfm?section=19Hewlett PackardJornada www.hp.com/jornadaSymbolwww.symbol.com/products/mobile_computers/mobile_computers.html

CINET DownloadsShareware,freeware, and demo software forPalm and Windows CE/Pocket PChttp://download.cnet.com/downloads/0-1726360.html?tag=stbc.gp

EuroCoolShareware, freeware,and demo software for Palmwww.eurocool.comHandangoShareware, freeware,demos, and commercial software forPalm and Windows CE/Pocket PCwww.handango.comHi-Ce Learning in the Palm ofYour HandFree educationalsoftware for Palmwww.handheld.hice-dev.org/download.htmPalm BoulevardShareware,freeware, and demo softwarefor Palmhttp://palmblvd.cornPalm EducationEducationalsoftware downloads and reviewsfor Palmwww.palm.com/educationPalmgearShareware, freeware,demos, and commercial softwarefor Palmwww.palmgear.comPalmSpotFreeware, shareware,and commercial applications forPalm. Also sells hardware add-onswww.palmspot.comPeanutpressElectronic books forPalm and Windows CE/Pocket PCwww.peanutpress.comTucowsShareware, freeware, anddemo software for Palm andWindows CE/Pocket PCwww. tucows. co m

48

Educational Hardware/

Software Resellers

The following companies accepteducational purchase orders andoffer academic pricing:

Educational Resourceswww.educationalresources.cornK12 Handheldswww.k12handhelds.comMicroWarehousewww.microwarehouse.comSoftware Expresswww.swexpress.com

Journals/Newsletters

Curriculum Administrators:Education in HandA supplementto Curriculum Administrator, casestudies in handheld educationaluses www.ca-magazine.com/SpecialReports/eih.aspHandheld ComputingPrintedmonthly magazine for Palm deviceswww.hhcmag.com

InSync OnlinePalm, Inc.'smonthly electronic newsletterwww.insync-palm.comMobile ComputingPrintedmonthly magazine covering portablecomputers and handheld deviceswww.mobilecomputing.com

Palm Power MagazineAnonline magazine for Palmwww.palmpower.com

Pocket PCPrinted monthlymagazine for Pocket PC deviceswww.pocketpcmag.com

News, Reviews,

and Support

NearlyMobile Informationdedicated to the new Palm userwho is not technology savvywww.nearIymobite.comPalm Infocenter.comThe latestPalm OS industry newswww.palminfocenter.comPalm Knowledge FinderOnline database of Palm tipsand tricks, help, etc.www.palm.com/support/kb/link_to_kb.html

Palmtops/PDAsNews, reviews,FAQs, and software linkshttp://palmtops.about.comPDA Constituent GroupDiscussion of issues andchallenges concerning use of PDAsin higher educationwww.educause.edulmemdir/cg/pda.htmlPDA GeekNews, reviews, tips,and trickswww.geek.com/pdageek/pdamain.htmPDABuzzNews, reviews, forums,and other resourceswww.PDABuzz.com

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Glossaryof Terms

Handheld Technologies

Al

rcr::3 t'lia-,,

802.116See Wi-Fi

Archive Filescopies of deleted or purged handheld data that exist on thedesktop computer and can be used to restore some deleted or purgeddata.

Beamdescribes the use of infrared to transfer data from one handheld toanother. With appropriate software, beaming can also be used to senda document from the handheld to an infrared-capable printer.

Bluetoothrma wireless technology with a range of approximately 30-meterradius; works well for hard cable replacement.

Cradlethe stand that a handheld computer sits in to sync to a desktopcomputer. Used with some models as a battery charger.

eBookan electronically formatted book, designed to be read from acomputer, which may be a desktop computer, a handheld computer, ora specialized electronic book reading device.

Expansion Modulesitems that are added on to a handheld device; these can bememory cards with software, such as large dictionaries or eBooks, orhardware items, such as digital cameras, GPSs, MP3 players, orscience data probes.

CPS or Global Positioning Systema device that uses a network of satellites todetermine precise positioning data; GPSs are used for navigation,mapping, surveying, and other applications where precise positioninginformation is needed.

Graffiti ® handwriting recognition software program that is the primarymeans of data input for the Palm OS.

Handheld Computer or Handheldsmall computerized devices that fit into the palmof the hand and are designed for mobile computing.

MMC or Multimedia Carda type of expansion card supported by the latest Palmhandheld devices; these cards are very small, about the size of apostage stamp; see also "Secure Digital."

MP3a format to facilitate the storage, management, promotion, anddelivery of digital music.

OS or Operating Systemsoftware that is designed to manage hardware devicesin order to enable applications and users to access it easily; examplesof operating systems used for handheld computers include WindowsCE® and the Palm OS®.

Palm Desktorsoftware that runs on a desktop computer and can be used toenter, edit, or view data from a Palm OS handheld; data is updatedand exchanged between the desktop and the handheld through theHotSync process.

Palm OS' the operating system developed by Palm, Inc. for handhelddevices; handheld devices produced by Palm, Handspring, IBM, Sony,and others use this operating system.

PANPersonal Area Network.

50 3EST COPY AVAILABLE

PDA or Personal Digital Assistanta specific type of handheld device that serves thepurpose of organizing personal information; these may includecalendars, address books, notepads, calculators, and other useful tools.

PDBa common Palm OS file extension that represents data or a database.

PIM or Personal Information Managera specific type of handheld device that servesthe purpose of organizing personal information; these may includecalendars, address books, notepads, calculators, and other usefultools.

Pocket PCa generic term for a handheld computer running the Windows CEoperating system; see "Windows CE" for more information.

PRCa common Palm OS file extension that represents an application.

SD or Secure Digitala type of expansion card supported by the latest Palmhandheld devices; these cards use Flash technology and are writeable.

Springboard® Modulean expansion module that extends the functionality of aHandspring Visor handheld device; examples of Springboard modulesinclude digital cameras, GPSs, and MP3 players.

Syncshort for synchronize.

SynchronizationThe process by which the desktop computer and the handheldexchange and update information.

Ubiquitous Computingcomputing that is omnipresent and is, or appears to be,everywhere all the time; may involve many different computing devicesthat are embedded in various devices or appliances and operate in thebackground.

USB or Universal Serial Busa type of connection to a desktop computer,which can be used to Hot Sync data; generally much faster than astandard serial connection.

Web Clippingused to describe the editing or "clipping" of parts of Web pagesto make them more readable on a handheld device. Companies suchas AvantGo provide this service.

Wi-Fi (also known as 802.11b)a wireless technology with a range ofapproximately 150-300 meters in radius and supports up to 11megabit data rates, which makes it appropriate for wireless Internetaccess; this is the technology used by Apple AirPorts and Xircom'sWireless Ethernet modules.

Windows CE° OSthe operating system developed by the MicrosoftCorporation for embedded systems and handheld devices; handhelddevices produced by Compaq, Hewlett Packard, and others use thisoperating system.

Wirelessgenerally used to describe a device having intranet or Internetconnectivity without wires; this can be achieved through wireiessmodem technology similar to a cellular phone or through wirelessEthernet cards using 802.11b technology.

©K12 Handhelds Copyrighted by K12 Handhelds. May not be reprinted without writtenpermission from K12 Handheids, info@k12handhelds.com.

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(SEIOTEC

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800.755.3277 Toll-free919.402.1060 Voice919.402-1617 Fax

www.seirtec.org

SEIRTECPartners

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.

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(<OW. R.. 40e0 tOssat.

SUB

This newsletter was developed by the SouthEast Initiatives Regional Technology in EducationConsortium (SEIRTEC) and is based on work sponsored wholly or in part by the Office of EducationalResearch and Improvement (OEM), undergrant number R302A980001, CFDA 84.302A. Its contentsdo not necessarily reflect the views and policies of OERI. the U.S. Department of Education, or anyother agency of the United States Government

First Printing 2002

NewsWire Editorial Staff

Elizabeth Byrom v Margaret Bingham

Contributing Authors

Donna Baumbach 4 Mary Bird KathyKatz Betty Rendon 0 Matt RenfroeITRC at University of Central Florida

Karen Fasimpaur, K12 Handhelds

Diana Skinner, Johnston County Schools(North Carolina)

Cyndi Pride. Beaufort County Schools(South Carolina)

Margaret Bingham. SERVE

Reviewers

SERVE:Gloria Bowman 40 Steve Bingham

Cynthia Robertson Susan Harmon

South Carolina Department of Education:Don Cantrell

University of Virginia: Chris O'Neal

Southern Regional Education Board:Jennifer Burke

SERVE Publications Team

Christy Casbon 0 Karen DeMeesterTracy Hamilton Donna Nalley

This document was created for SEIRTEC by the Instructional Technology Resource Center incollaboration with K12 Handhelds. The entire document may be reprinted in its entirety

for nonprofit educational use. Individual articles copyrighted by K12 Handhelds maynot be reprinted without written permission from K12 Handhelds atinfo@k12handhelds.com.

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INSIDE...

2 Tips for Writing an Evaluation

Plan for a Technology Grant

4 Evaluation QuestionsGuiding Inquiry in Schools

6 Lessons Learned from

Action Research: Evaluation

from the Trenches

10 Alabama Indicators for

Measuring Progress

14 State Guidelines forEnhancing Education Through

Technology (EETT) Projects

16 TAM': A Tool forMeasuring a Project's Results

18 Steps in Evaluating a

School or District

Technology Program

21 Thinking Beyond Surveys

23 Resources for Evaluation:

An Annotated Bibliography

26 Tools for Evaluating

Technology Projects

and Programs

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ScuthEast Initiatives Regional Technology in Education Consortium Volume Five Number Three 2002

Evaluating the Impactof Technology

When members of Congresspassed the No Child Left Behindlegislation, they called for sweep-ing changes in the way federaldollars are distributed for technol-ogy in schools. Gone are the Tech-nology Literacy Challenge Fund(TLCF) and Technology Innova-tion Challenge Grants (TICG),which were consolidated into theEnhancing Education ThroughTechnology (EETT) program. Thisnew program, which is currentlybudgeted at $700 million a year,requires states to:

Award half of the amountavailable to local educationagencies (LEAs) through aformula based on Title Ishares and half through acompetitive process.

Make competitive awards tohigh-need LEAs or partner-ships that include a high-needLEA and at least one entitythat can assist the high-needLEA to integrate technologyeffectively into classroominstruction.Use at least 25% of its formulaallocation for high-quality professional development activitiesto prepare teachers to integratetechnology into instruction.

Require local applicants todescribe how they would

identify and promote strat-egies, based on relevantresearch, that integratetechnology effectively intocurricula and instruction.Develop accountabilitymeasures and a processfor evaluating the extent towhich the activities carriedout with program funds areeffective in supporting theintegration of technologyinto curricula and instruc-tion. (www.ed.gov/offices/OESE/esea/progsum/title2b.html)

Until now, states and districtshave seldom been required toshow the link between spend-ing on technology initiatives andstudent achievement. The newlegislation calls for educators notonly to use research-based prac-tices but also to provide evidencethat teachers and students areactually using technology toimprove student achievement.For example, state plans areexpected to include programgoals, performance indicators,performance objectives, and datasources for assessing the effec-tiveness of programs in termsof the teachers' and students'use of educational technologyin support of academic achieve-ment. In turn, states are requir-ing recipients of EETT funds to

(continued on page 2)

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(continued from page 1)

show that money spent on technologyultimately leads to improved studentlearning. As Barbara Teusink, Direc-tor of Technology for the South Caro-lina State Department of Education,explains:

The Ed Tech Grant program re-quires extensive accountabilityand evaluation procedures for useof technology funds. The No ChildLeft Behind Act is very timelyfor South Carolina as we beginto devise our 2003-2008 StateTechnology Plan. In correlationwith Ed Tech guidelines, our planwill be performance-based andinclude measurable goals, objec-tives, indicators, and benchmarksfor achievement at specific pointsthroughout implementation. The

by Elizabeth Byrom, Ed.D., SEIRTECPrincipal Investigator

Ask anyone who has reviewed propos-als for federal or state grants about themost important factor that determineswhich ones are funded and which onesare not, and they will invariably saythe evaluation section. As ZucchiniDean of the Mississippi Departmentof Education says, "Most proposalscontain very little about evaluation ...what they do say usually doesn't cor-relate with the goals they indicatedin the proposal, and the focus is usu-ally not on student achievement andteacher competency." There are dozensof reasons for these shortcomings, butone is that many of the educators whowrite the grant proposals have little orno experience in developing evaluationplans. With that in mind, SEIRTECoffers the following tips for writing anevaluation plan that will win approval:

1. Start with your project goals andobjectives and work your way

I

evaluation component will addcredibility to our technology pro-grams and allow the State Depart-ment of Education to demonstratethe positive impact of professionaldevelopment and technology inte-gration in the core curriculum areason student achievement.

Because educators across the nationare, or soon will be, scrambling tofind resources that will help themevaluate the effectiveness of theirprograms and the links to studentachievement, this issue of NewsWirefeatures articles about state and localaccountability efforts, some thingsto think about when developing anevaluation plan, and resources forconducting useful evaluations.

I I I

backwards to determine yourevaluation questions, strategies, andmethods. For example, if your goalis to improve student achievement,you need to define what you meanby "student achievement," and thenidentify the conditions that haveto be in place in order for improve-ment to occur. Some essential con-ditions are as follows:

Curriculum, assessment, andtechnology use should bealigned.

Teachers and students have touse technology in meaningfulways.

Teachers must have ongoing,high-quality professional devel-opment that is directly relatedto what students are supposedto learn.

2. Ask good evaluation questions.Good questions will lead to theanswers you need in order to deter-mine whether your project makes a

difference in teaching and learning.Evaluation questions might ask:

To what extent are teachers us-ing what they learned in profes-sional development activities?

Do teachers and students haveready access to modern comput-ers and the Internet?How effective is the projectin identifying and addressingbarriers to technology integra-tion? (See article on EvaluationQuestionsGuiding Inquiry inSchools on page 4 for additionalinformation.)

3. Collect baseline data at the begin-ning of the project and ask the samequestions over time. For example, ifyour project focuses on professionaldevelopment, begin by determiningteachers' current level of technol-ogy proficiency, use of technology,attitudes, interests, and needs. Ifyou periodically ask them the samekinds of questions, and if their pro-ficiency and use improve, you havesome evidence of the cumulativeeffectiveness of the program.

4. Counting boxes isn't enough. It canbe useful to know the number ofcomputers available for student useor the student-to-computer ratio,but if you want to know whethertechnology is making a differencein teaching and learning, you haveto examine how well and how muchstudents and teachers are using it.

5. Look beyond standardized studentachievement data. Standardizedtests seldom measure the areasof learning where technology hasbeen shown to have an impact,such as research skills, communica-tion skills, quality of student work,dropout rate, and disciplinereferrals.

6. Surveys are nolonger adequateas the singlemeasure fordeterminingthe qualityand impact of atechnology project,mainly because

Li

self-reporting data are oftenunreliable. Consider using a varietyof qualitative and quantitativemeasures, such as classroomobservations, school portfolios,interviews, and focus groups. (SeeThinking Beyond Surveys on page 21for advantages and disadvantages ofvarious measures.)

7. You don't have to develop evaluationtools; some excellent ones alreadyexist. The U.S. Department of Edu-cation's book An Educator's Guideto Evaluating the Use of Technologyin Schools and Classrooms is a goodplace to start. (Available throughthe Database of the U.S. Depart-ment of Education Publications inERIC or available at www.ed.gov /pubs/pubdb.html.) Also look at the websitesof the Regional Technology in Edu-cation Consortia (RTEC), such asthe High Plains RTEC's Profiler, theSouth Central RTEC's database ofevaluation instruments, the NorthCentral RTEC's enGauge, andSEIRTEC's technology integra-tion progress gauge. (See Tools forEvaluating Technology Projects andPrograms on page 26.)

8. Above all else, read the directionsin the grant application package. Ifyou don't meet all the funding agen-cy's requirements for evaluation,the agency will be hard pressed tofund your project. This is especiallytrue for the technology grants fund-ed through the No Child Left Behindlegislation because the states mustprovide data from the districts inorder to show that the money isbeing well spent.

If you follow these tips and still feeluncertain about the quality of yourevaluation plan, remember that it's okayto ask for help. Although there isn't an

abundance of evaluators withexperience in educational

technology, you shouldbe able to find anevaluator or research-er at a nearby collegeor university who canreview your plan and

offer suggestions.

.116.

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Evaluation QuestionsGuiding Inquiry in Schools

by Ann Abeille, Director of Researchand Evaluation, LearningInnovations at WestEd

Through the No Child Left Behind legis-lation, school and district practitionersare being asked to become moreinvolved in the evaluation of the effec-tiveness of their schools' efforts andprogress. Many practitioners are shorton time, funding, and evaluation expe-rience. However, educators can maxi-mize their learning from this work bybuilding their evaluation around clear-ly articulated evaluation questions.

The critical guidance for evaluationwork, just as in school-based actionresearch, is identification, use, andreflection on essential questions. Thesequestions drive the learning, and evalu-ation is about learning:

Learning how students and teach-ers are using technologyLearning what kinds of professionaldevelopment and support aremaking a difference in classroompracticeLearning how the infusion oftechnology is changing studentapproaches to learning, character-istics of student products, and stu-dent achievement in curricularareas

As practitioners engage in evalu-ation work, whether involved ina formal evaluation (perhapssupporting the work of outsideevaluators) or undertakingan informal examination of aschool initiative, they need toconsider the following aspectsof evaluation questions.

Qvestion Identification

Identify the overarchingquestions that you wantto answer and why. First

of all, what do you and the people inyour school want to learn from thisevaluation work? If you are workingwith grant funds, what do the funderswant to learn? For example, if yourschool or district has received a grantto engage faculty, students, and com-munity members to use a variety oftechnologies to enhance science andmathematics learning through a com-munity-based environmental study,what would you want to learn fromyour evaluation efforts? Some of yourevaluation questions might be:

How has the funding from the grantactually been used? What trainingwas provided to students and fac-ulty in using the various technolo-gies? What was the perceived qualityof the training? How many students,faculty, and community memberswere involved in the training?

How did students and faculty usetechnologies in the environmentalstudy? What areas of mathematicsdid students explore? To what extentdid students engage in mathematicsand science inquiry? What role didtechnology play in this inquiry?

What mathematical concepts orskills did students gain throughthis project? To what extent did

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students demonstrate mathematicsand science inquiry skills?

As this program is institutedand continued, are there notableincreases in the percentage of stu-dents meeting grade-level-appropri-ate technology standards? Is thereimprovement in student achieve-ment in the areas of mathematicsfocused upon in the project?How have student, faculty, and com-munity attitudes changed throughthis project (e.g., attitudes towardmathematics and science, the use oftechnology, or the environment)?

Identifying and prioritizing these ques-tions is the first step toward meaningfulevaluation and essential learning foryour school.

Matching Methods to Questions

It is essential to remember that the iden-tification of evaluation questions dictatesthe choice of evaluation methods. Practi-tioners need to ensure that the data-gath-ering methods used will result in answersto the identified questions.

Using methods such as question-naires, interviews, and focus groupsmakes perfect sense when you wish todetermine changes in attitudes (e.g.,attitudes toward technology use). How-ever, classroom observations becomethe essential method (with interviewsor questionnaires providing additionalinformation) to gain useful data aboutthe use of technologies or the engage-ment of students in mathematics andscience inquiry.

Although teacher interviews may givesome insights into student learningand changes in student achievementof technology standards, an analysisof student products will more directlyanswer such an evaluation question. Ifthe development of certain mathematicslearning has been targeted within thisproject, an appropriate method maybe the tracking of changes over time inteacher-designed assessments or select-ed sections of standardized tests.

It is essential to choose methods foryour evaluation that will yield appropri-ate data for answering your top-priorityquestions.

Reflections on Evaluation Questions

Finally, it is critical, when the data arein and analyzed, to return to the evalu-ation questions and the results in orderto determine the implications for yourfuture work. For instance, perhaps youfound that although the quality andreach of the technology-related profes-sional development was excellent, toomuch time elapsed between that learn-ing and the actual use of the technol-ogy in the environmental study, sotime and energy had to be wasted onadditional training. Or perhaps yourclassroom observations indicated thatalthough use of graphing calculatorswas to be an essential component ofthe environmental project, the use wasnegligible. What if after three yearsof similar project work, the targetedareas for improvement in mathematicsachievement showed no improvement?These findings would certainly lead youto strategic changes in your work.

7

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Lessons Learned from Action

Research: Evaluation from the Trenches

by Zelia Frick, Supervisor of Instruc-tional Technology, Guilford CountySchools (North Carolina)

"Your grant has been funded!" Thesewords are music to the ears of appli-cants who work diligently to acquiremuch-needed funding for technology.Recipients eagerly await the arrival ofnew equipment, software, and train-ing. Then comes the process of assess-ment and evaluation. How do we knowthe technology placed in classroomsimproves the way teachers teach andthe way students learn? What evalua-tion instruments will we use, and whatquestions will we ask?

As Supervisor of Instructional Tech-nology for Guilford County Schools inGreensboro, North Carolina, I faced thechallenge of assessment and evalua-tion in 1998 upon receiving a Technol-ogy Literacy Challenge Fund (TLCF)grant entitled Project Read/Write. Theproject's goal was "to improve studentacademic achievement in reading andwriting through the integration of tech-nology." The grant provided ten under-achieving third-grade classrooms withcomputers, an inkjet printer, a collec-tion of reading/writing software, andon-site instructional support. Partici-pating teachers were required to attendall staff-development sessions andallow students to use the technology aminimum of 20 minutes, three timeseach week.

Like most technology leaders, I had noexpertise in research and evaluationeven though I had been working in the"trenches" of instructional technologyfor many years. I thought implementa-tion and evaluation of Project Read/Write would be quite simple: 1) partici-pating teachers would select the soft-ware, 2) equipment would be purchased,3) teachers would be trained, and 4) stu-dent end-of-grade reading scores wouldimprove. Experience is a great teacher.

After four years involved in "actionresearch," I have learned that assess-ment and evaluation can be challengingand time consuming. Hopefully, youcan learn from my experiences.

One of the most valuable resourceswe used to evaluate our project wasthe Evaluation chapter in SEIRTEC'sPlanning into Practice (www.seirtec.org/publications). This practical guide assistedme in understanding important termsand in creating the crosswalk shownin the following chart that delineatesthe evaluation questions, methods ofdata collection, and data analysis. Ourproject evaluation focused on answer-ing questions related to accountability,quality, impact, sustainability, and les-sons learned.

As we implemented Project Read/Write,we learned the importance and valueof determining how well strategies areworking and making adjustments whennecessary. Sometimes the adjustmentswere made to project activities andsometimes to evaluation strategies.

Accountability: Now do we know theproject is making a positive impact onstudent achievement?

Year 1 Question: Did a higher percent-age of students receive an "on-grade-level" score than in previous years?Using North Carolina third-grade end-of-grade (EOG) reading scores, a bargraph was created charting school EOGscores for seven years. Two of the threeschools achieved their highest scoresin seven years, and the third schoolachieved its second-highest scores inseven years. The data, however, did notaddress other factors that may haveaffected these high scores and were notcompared to a control group.

(continued on page 8)

5 8

Project Goal: To improve student achievement in reading and writing through the integration of technology.

Collection

Question Instrument Period Pluses Deltas

Accountability: Is the project making a positive impact on student achievement?

Did a higher percentage ofstudents score Level III/IVthan previous years?

Bar Graph: Percentagestudents scored

Levels III/IV comparedwith previous years

North Carolinathird-grade EOGreading scores

Uses validated data

Identifies trends

Has potential forindividual classroomand student analysis

Data do not showlongitudinal growth forindividuals

Graphs show data byschoolnot individualor classroom growth

Does not identify otherfactors impacting testscores

Was student achievementhigher for the project groupor the control group?

Bar Graph: Comparescale score growth(pre-test to End-of-Grade) to control group

Did students in the projecthave higher scale scoregains and greater movementto higher achievementlevels?

Table: CompareEnd-of-Grade scores topre-project scores

Table: Comparisonof growth within eachreading level

Quality: How well are we implementing program activities and strategies?

Is student use meeting theminimal requirements? Student logs Every two months

Teacher accountability

Uses tracking

Student records

Reliability of data

Time intensive

Personnel demands

Is student use appropriateand accurate?

On-site visits

Forms and checklistOften as possible

Data are reliable

Identifies problems

Support for teacher

Time consuming

Personnel needed

Are teachers having anytechnical problems.

Web-based tech help

Tech support formsCollected eachtraining session

Report of technicalproblems

Has professionaldevelopment been effective?

Workshop evaluationform

Collected eachtraining session

Immediate feedback

Identifies areas forimprovement

Reliability ofself-evaluation

Quality of questions

Are students effectivelyusing the project? Formal observation Six observations per

sample participant Validates student logs

Time consuming

Training observers

Validation of instrument

Impact: Is the project making a difference for students?

Do students think theirreading and writing skillshave improved?

Student survey End of the year Feedback on studentattitude and perception

Time to collect

Time to interpret

Do teachers think theproject has helped improvestudent achievement?

Teacher survey End of the year Feedback on teacherattitude and perception

Time to collect

Time to interpret

Is there evidence ofimproved writing skills? Writing samples Fall and spring Evidence to validate

improvement in writing

Time to develop rubric

Training scorers

Time to score andanalyze

Susfainabiiity: What needs to be in place for 3uctaming the orojeGi' sci.l?

Will hardware and softwareremain adequate? Inventory sheets Beginning and

ending of yearMaintains location ofresources Time and accuracy

5 9rt,as

(continued from page 6)

Year 2 Question: Was studentachievement higher for the projectgroup or the control group? Threeadditional schools participated in Proj-ect Read/Write the second year. Fif-teen schools were on the wailing listto receive funding for the project, andthey became the control group. Duringthe second year. scores from the projectschools were compared to scores fromthe control group. Project Read/Writeschools displayed greater gains.

Year 3 Question: Did students in theproject have higher-scale score gainsand greater movement to higherachievement levels? Inthe third year, a totalof 21 schools par-ticipated in theproject. Third-grade pretestreading scoreswere comparedto the EOGscores, andaverage scalescore growthwas chartedfor each school.Growth from thepre-project year wascompared to growth from

until the end of school, so teachers notusing the technology slipped by unno-ticed until administrators examined thedata and discovered there was a prob-lem. Finally in Year 3, a valid instru-ment for assessing student use wasdeveloped. A two-month calendar wascreated for each student, and data werecollected every two months. Data wereentered into a database, and classroomreports were printed and sent to eachschool's administration. The new pro-cess made teachers accountable andprovided excellent data for assessingthe project's implementation. Somestudents were so dedicated that they

recorded use on weekends andholidays. Conclusion

data from studentlog sheets was

the first year of the project.Data indicated there was a definitetrend toward higher achievement levelswith Project Read/Write schools.

Quality: How well are the programactivities and strategies beingimplemented? Is student use meetingthe minimal requirement?

Student log sheets were developed toassess the quality of implementation.During Year 1, teachers had studentsrecord their names on a daily log sheetwhen using the computer. However,accounting for student software use inthis fashion proved to be rather problematic. In Year 2, a yearlong calendarwas created for each student so thathe or she could record the title of thesoftware used on the appropriatecalendar day. Teachers were notrequired to submit their calendars

invaluable butnot always reli-able.

Workshopevaluationforms are anecessity, butself-evaluation

is not alwaysreliable. Teach-

ers indicated theywere "highly accom-

.........00° plashed" in the work-ing knowledge of software,

but informal observations indicatedotherwise. Teachers reported that theyhad acquired knowledge in the work-shop but, upon returning to the class-room, forgot a lot of details and couldnot remember how to start.

Site visits are imperative to ensureproper implementation. Site visitreports proved to be especially valu-able as they provided reliable dataabout technical and/or instructionalproblems within the classrooms. For-mal observations validated studentlogs and supplied compelling evidenceof student use. Trained personnelare needed to validate an observationinstrument and complete the obser-vations, but it's worth the effort tovalidate proper implementation. Oncea problem is identified, instructionalsupport can be readied for the teacher.

60

Impact: Is the project making adifference for students? Do studentsthink their reading and writing skillshave improved?

Answers to these questions were obtainedby having students complete a survey atthe beginning and end of the year. Datafrom each survey were reviewed to see ifstudent attitudes had improved towardreading. Participating teachers from Year1 created a student survey that includedthe following statements:

1. When I have free time,I choose to reada) never, b) sometimes, c) always

2. Reading makes me feela) happy, b) no feeling, c) sad

Expectations were that students wouldchange their attitudes toward reading ina positive direction, but when surveyswere collected at the end of the year,student feelings had reversed. Studentinterviews revealed that they were excit-ed about reading in the fall and spenta lot of time reading. However, after thewinter months, students were ready tospend time outdoors, and their interestswere redirected toward other activi-ties. The revised survey has proven tobe more effective and is completed onlyafter end-of-grade tests. It includes thefollowing questions:

1. Are you a better reader now thanyou were at the beginning of theschool year? (Yes/No)

2. Do you enjoy reading more nowthan you did at the beginning ofthe school year? (Yes/No)

Asking the "right" question is critical toeffective evaluation.

Sustainability: What needs to be inplace for sustaining the project's goal?Are all elements in place?

Sustainability appeared to be a non-issue for Project Read/Write. All hard-ware with appropriate software was inplace and working. Project Read/Writewould help students for many years. Allteachers had been trained, and studentuse looked great. But had all teachersreally been trained?

Seventy-eight classrooms were par-ticipating in the project by Year 4, butthere were 42 new teachers. Of theoriginal ten classrooms that began in1998, only two teachers remained. Howcould this happen? Teacher turnoveris a major problem for underachievingschools. Turnover makes it difficult tobring about change when you considerthat it takes an average of 4-5 yearsfor most teachers to become proficientenough with technology to use comput-ers fluidly and effectively. To sustainProject Read/Write, we must meet thechallenge that teacher turnover createsevery year.

Looking back, I can safely say that welearned a lot of valuable lessons aboutthe implementation and evaluation oftechnology projects:

An evaluation model needs to bedefined at the beginning of theproject.So many factors impact studentachievement that change attributedto technology use is difficultto measure.Self-evaluation data are not alwaysreliable.When possible, use electronic sur-veys rather than paper and pencil.Although creating quality surveyswith appropriate questions is achallenge, it is crucial to effectiveevaluation.Software with built-in managementsystems provides reliable documen-tation of student use.It takes multiple years for the effec-tive implementation of projects toimpact student achievement.Site-visits are a necessity; they pro-vide reliable information and sup-port for teachers.Measuring the quality and impact ofa technology program takes time andmay require additional personnel.

If you're assessing and evaluating atechnology program, the SEIRTECmodel will provide you valuable infor-mation to measure the program'seffectiveness. You will learn a lotI guarantee it.

6ron 'II ro

Alabama Indicators forMeasuring Progress

by Melinda Maddox, Ed.D.,Coordinator, Office of TechnologyInitiatives, Alabama Departmentof Education

Alabama took a bold step when it wastime to revise our state technologyplan in 2000-2001. We shifted from anemphasis on guidelines and recommen-dations for installing hardware and net-works to a framework based on a set ofindicators and benchmarks for measur-ing outcomes. The new plan, IMPACT,which stands for Indicators for Measur-ing Progress in Advancing ClassroomTechnology, establishes essential con-ditionssuch as funding, support, andtrainingnecessary to use technology,but its primary focus is using tech-nology to improve student learning inAlabama's schools.

Alabama IMPACT provides a set ofprogress indicators, measures, and atarget timeline (2002-2005) for inte-grating technology across the cur-riculum. Examples of sources ofevidence/data-collection methods areprovided to help schools and schoolsystems assess their progress towardmeeting the benchmarks established inthis document. The indicators addressthe six objective areas of learning, tech-nology integration, professional devel-opment, environment, access, and costof ownership. Local schools and schoolsystems are using these indicators andbenchmarks to design their technol-ogy plans for technology integration, tomake decisions, and to create policiesto guide the direction of technology.

Development of IMPACT

The document was written from theground up with extensive input fromstakeholders throughout the state.This process gained us buy-in fromthe beginning and a gradual growthin understanding of the use of indica-tors and benchmarks for technology

planning prior to the rollout of theplan. Over the course of one-and-one-half years, we convened four differenttask force groups and held several stateagency staff work sessions.

Members of the first focus groupwrote goals and objectives. Theirtask was completed over a two-dayperiod.

The Office of Technology Initiatives'staff further defined the processand framework for the plan andestablished the major categories asgoal, objectives, rationale, indica-tors, benchmarks, sources of evi-dence, and strategies.A second focus group developedthe document with indicators,benchmarks, and sources of evi-dence. This group was the mainwriting team and worked aboutsix months to complete its tasks.The members gathered input fromdistrict technology coordinators,superintendents, and other technol-ogy leaders at the annual AlabamaEducational Technology Association(AETA) Fall Symposium. The secondfocus group used this input to final-ize the indicators, benchmarks, andsources of evidence.

A third focus group wrote the statetechnology plan requirements fordistrict and school technology plans.

The final focus group wrote statestrategies. This group representedall areas including public, private,and business and industry leaders,as well as members from all of thethree previous focus groups.

IMPACT Example

The IMPACT document reflects theinput from all of the focus groups andstate teams. For each objective, weused the same format. The goaltoimprove learning through the use of

62

technologyis listed first, followed bya rationale for the objective, indicators,benchmarks, sources of evidence, and

the data-collection methods, as shownin the following table.

Learning Objective: Encourage learning that is relevant and authentic through the use of technology.

Rationale: In classrooms where technology is used effectively as a tool, students are more autonomous,collaborative, and reflective than in classrooms where technology is used only for drill and practice.Technology engages students in real-life applications of academics and encourages them to be moreindependent and responsible for their own learning. In a knowledge-based society, it is important thatstudents have the self-confidence, knowledge base, technology fluency, and cooperative skills that willenable them to continue learning throughout their lives. Technology facilitates the study of the academicswithin the context of meaningful and authentic applications.

1 a. Learners develop,model, and assess age-appropriate projectsthat are relevant andauthentic.

1 b. Learners' workincorporates real-worldapplications of technology.

1c. Learners use technologyresources to gather, store,reshape, analyze, andcommunicate information.

id. Learners use technologyresources to accessquality information fromnumerous sources.

le. Learners are proficientin technoiogy andinformation literacystandards.

1.1 All students use technologyto complete inquiry-basedlearning projects that reflectpersonal significance and/orsocietal importance.

1.2 All teachers assess student-based projects using well-designed scoring guides.

1.3 All administrators assessteachers' ability to implementlearner-centered classrooms.

1.4 All students, teachers, andadministrators use productivitytools such as spreadsheets,databases, presentationsoftware, and Internetresources to solve problemsand make decisions.

1.5 Student products containa data analysis componentusing productivity tools suchas spreadsheets, graphingpackages, and/or databases.

1.6 All teachers collect and analyzedata to make adjustments totheir operational curriculum(i.e., classroom).

1.7 All administrators collect andanalyze data to make decisionsthat affect the overall operationof the school.

1.8 All students and teachersselect appropriate technology-based resources such as theInternet, real-time probes,hand-held devices, and theAlabama Virtual Library (AVL)based on intended purpose.

1.9 An students and teachersuse technology during theinstructional day based onthe local, state, and nationalstandards.

I

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Surveys

Student products

Lesson plans

Observation

Video samples

Standards-based scoringguides

Personnel Evaluation System(PEPE)

Electronic usage data

Online assessments

Surveys

Student products

Lesson plans

Observation

Surveys

Student projects

Lesson plans

Observation

Structured interviews

Online assessments

Electronic usage data

Lesson plans

Student projects

Observation

ersonnei t valuation Sysieui(PEPE)

OW vtiy,

Lesson plans

Observation

Student projects

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Learners

Goal

Rationale

Objectives

Indicators

Benchmarks

Sources of Evidence/Data-Collection Methods

Strategies

it

Students, teachers, non-certificated staff, administrators, parents,community members, business owners, and citizens

The final outcome desired

Reason for the objective

Broad actions intended to fulfill the goal or outcome

Attributes or activities that are necessary to fulfill the objective and overallgoal (These are readily converted to benchmarks.)

Specific, observable, measurable actions or behaviors; used to gaugeprogress over time

Physical items, such as plans, reports, observations, etc., that enable theresearcher to document fulfillment of objectives

Steps or actions that will be taken to accomplish the objective

Reactions from the Field

By the time we introduced the IMPACTdocument and the concept of usingtechnology integration indicatorsand meeting benchmarks to the localeducators, they were old news. Edu-cators had heard so much about thenew framework that we received verypositive reactions. Two of our localtechnology educators expressed anunderstanding of the value gainedfrom using indicators to measureprogress and the acceptance of theIMPACT framework as follows:

The Alabama State Department ofEducation's Office of TechnologyInitiatives hns provided importantleadership and guidance to local

school districts through the IMPACTdocument that was produced to assistin the development of district technol-ogy plans. IMPACT provided clearlydefined benchmarks and indicatorsand explained scientifically-basedresearch as applied to the use of tech-nology in the educational process. Theclearly defined goal and objectives insix domains focused limited fundingtoward areas that would have thegreatest effect on student learning.Local district technology coordinatorshave been able to develop technologyplans that meet the needs of studentsand teachers as a result of IMPACTThe use of indicators and bench-marks in developing an individualschool and school district technologyplan are paramount to progress being

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made toward the stated goal. Schoolleaders and classroom teachers whounderstand the ultimate goal andunderstand the steps that have beenestablished to achieve it are morelikely to enthusiastically embrace theprocess and significantly contribute toits achievement. The Alabama Depart-ment of Education's Office of Technol-ogy Initiatives is to be commended forits leadership in providing guidance,direction, and support that is on theforefront of education reform

Steve Sumners,District Technology Coordinator,Cherokee County School District

Having state-developed benchmarksand indicators for the benchmarkshelped our system develop its tech-nology plan. IMPACT covered all theareas that we wanted to address,as a system. However, the goalsand objectives for the state planwere general in nature. Workingwith the benchmarks and the indi-cators made understanding whatwould be required under thesebroader goals and objectives easyto understand. They gave concreteexamples to follow. That made de-veloping our new technology planboth easy and productive.

David Crouse, Ed.D.,Technology Coordinator,Roanoke City Schools

Current Status

Statewide technology assessmentinstruments are being developed tomeasure state progress in achievingthe benchmarks outlined in IMPACT.Currently, local school districts arerequired to align local plans withIMPACT and to evaluate and reportprogress toward achieving benchmarkson a yearly basis. The local schooldistricts are writing their yearly tech-nology plans and reporting progresstoward achieving their benchmarkswith an online process. At the statelevel, the indicators from IMPACT werethe basis of our state application forthe Enhancing Education ThroughTechnology application for federalfunds for educational technology.

IMPACT gives us a strong focus onwhere we need to go in the next fewyears in educational technology inAlabama and will help the state bet-ter measure progress in local schools.It is a statewide, long-range, strategiceducational technology plan affect-ing every district and every school. Byhaving documented outcomes basedon the state and local indicators andbenchmarks for educational technol-ogy, we already have and will continueto receive evidence of the success inusing technology to impact teachingand learning. Taking the bold step tonot revise but to redesign our statetechnology plan was a risk, but a riskwell worth taking.

cEIOTEC

irk

State Guidelines for EnhancingEducation Through Technology

(SETT) ProjectsOver the past few months, technology leaders in state education agencies (SEAs)have been putting together grant application packages for competitive EnhancingEducation Through Technology grants. Tammy Mainwaring, an Education Asso-ciate with the Professional Development and Instructional Technology Office ofthe South Carolina Department of Education, has graciously agreed to share theguidelines and sample evaluation matrix that she and her colleagues have devel-oped as a resource for educators in their state as they prepare, implement, andevaluate their technology projects. The original version has been modified slightlyto make it generally applicable throughout the region.

Step 1: Conduct a needs assessment and collect baseline data. The baseline datashould provide information at the start of a program. The data will be used to setgoals and benchmarks to determine the amount of change you desire throughoutthe stages of your project. Baseline data are collected before the beginning of theproject. There are many sources of data that can be collected and utilized effec-tively when creating your goals, benchmarks, and expected outcomes. Examplesof data that can be used include surveys, interviews, school records, standardizedtest scores, observations, technology documents, and portfolios.

Step 2: Analyze your technology needs through the baseline data and create youroverall program goals. Limit your program goals to a minimum of three and a max-imum of five. Your goals will be the overall statements of expectation arising fromthe purposes of your technology program. Each goal should be accompanied by aprojected completion date.

Step 3: Dissect each goal and determine realistic strategies that will lead to theachievement of the overall goal. Some goals will require more strategies than others.This section outlines your step-by-step process for reaching your end-of-programexpected outcomes. It also gives you a guide for staying on track with your project.

Step 4: Develop indicators of achievement. The indicators will be more specificthan your strategies and will provide a measurement, such as a certain percentageof teachers, the number of computers, etc. Setting achievable indicators will be akey to the successful completion of your project.

Step 5: Set benchmarks and target dates that will define the progress the dis-trict expects to make at specified points in time with respect to each indicator.These benchmarks should show the process for ongoing evaluation of the tech-nology project.

Step 6: List the data sources you will use to continuously measure progress.These data will be used in your project reports.

ST.ep 7: Describe your expected outcomes of each goal. Student achievement andteacher technology proficiency should be integral to your expected outcomes.

Step S: Prepare your report of results, findings, and recommendations at the com-pletion of your project.

6b

Project Goal

(Should be linked to studentachievement, teacher proficiency,equity of access, and accountability)

Sources of Baseline Data

(These data will be used to paint acurrent picture of your district prior toproject implementation.)

Strategies forAchieving the Goal

(List relevant strategies to help youreach your goal. These must bestrategies you can measure and provehave been implemented.)

Indicators

(These statements must bemeasurable using terms such as apercentage of teachers or the numberof computers, etc.)

Target Benchmarks

(These define the progress you wantto make at specified points in timewith respect to each indicator.)

Proposed Process forOngoing Evaluation

(Each district must have reliable data.Districts should be ready to share thedata with the technical assistanceteams.)

Data Sources to be Usedfor Ongoing Evaluation andEnd-ofProgram Reports

(Examples include test scores,graduation rates, portfolios,observations, surveys, andinterviews.)

Desired Outcomes

(Should be linked to studentachievement, teacher proficiency,equity of access, and accountability)

Goal 1: Teacher Proficiency

By their next recertification period beginning in 2005, teachers will be deemedtechnologically proficient in accordance with district standards. Teachers mustrenew this proficiency each recertification cycle thereafter.

Surveys

Self-assessments

Observations

Portfolios

District teacher proficiency assurance forms

(Data for this goal should assist you in determining the percentage of teacherswho are now considered technology proficient, keep portfolios, and participate inprofessional development opportunities.)

1. Technology leaders will be assigned to each school to train colleagues andguide novices in the use of technology integration.

2. A needs assessment will be given to teachers to determine the professionaldevelopment that must be offered on different levels of proficiency. Courseswill be designed and offered to accommodate the faculty as they move fromnovice learners to expert integrators of technology into the curriculum to teachthe South Carolina state standards.

3. Teachers will maintain electronic portfolios that will document proficiency usinga technology skills rubric.

1.1By September 2003, one technology leader will be operating in eachschool.

1.2By September 2003, 30% of teachers will demonstrate use of technologyintegration lessons evidenced through materials in student and teacherportfolios.

(More than one indicator and benchmark can be given for each strategy)

1.1.1The percentage of technology proficient teachers in the district willincrease from 30% in 2002 to 40% in 2003.

1.1.2The percentage of technology proficient teachers will increase from 40%in 2003 to 50% in 2004.

(You can move through the grant month-by-month, semester-by-semester,year-by-year, etc.)

Annual submission of teacher technology proficiency assurance forms to theState Department of Education

Random monthly documented classroom walkthroughs and evaluations

Random monthly examinations for Teacher Technology portfolios to includelesson plans, professional activities, student work, etc.

Record of attendance and completion levels of teacher professional developmentcourses

Teacher self-assessment instruments to be completed biannually

Annual teacher technology proficiency assurance forms

Classroom observation walkthrough documentation

Notes transcribed regarding the quality and content of teacher technologyportfolios

Biannual teacher self-assessments

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By the year 2009, all teachers will be technologically proficient in integratingtOrhnnlogy ac a tnnl to increase cturipnt arhimuarmant to tparh to thp

integrating

Carolina state standards.

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TAGLIT: A Tool for Measuring a

Project's Resultsby Katherine Tankson, Director of the

Mississippi TASL Grant, and BettyLou Pigg, Information TechnologyPlanner with the MississippiDepartment of Education

Note: The Taking a Good Look at Instruction-al Technology (TAGLIT) assessment tool isan element of each state's Bill and MelindaGates Technology Leadership grant. For fur-ther information on the use of TAGLIT, con-tact the administrator for your state's GatesTechnology Leadership grant.

How can educators make informeddecisions that result in successful usesof technology for teaching and learn-ing? How can they know if their deci-sions are having an impact? To manyadministrators and school technologyleaders, these questions present majorchallenges. However, a growing numberof educators have discovered a solution.They are using TAGLIT (Taking a GoodLook at Instructional Technology) todetermine the perception of technologyuse and impact at their schools and tomeasure changes resulting from tech-nology projects and initiatives. Missis-sippi administrators are among thoseusing TAGLIT to evaluate technologyinitiatives.

TAGLIT is an online suite of self-assessment tools for school leaders,teachers, and students that providesmeasurements of progress over time(www.taglit.org). Dr. Sheila Cory and Jen-nifer Peterson developed the tools forparticipants in the Principals as Tech-nology Leaders Program offered by theNorth Carolina Principals ExecutiveProgram. The Web version was initiallysupported by the BellSouth Foundationand is currently Web-enabled by SASwith support from the Bill and MelindaGates Foundation. As a result of thissupport, many educators are aware ofand have used the TAGLIT tools. Why?Every state has a Gates Foundationstate challenge grant for technologyleaders, and a requirement of the grant

is that all participantsmostly princi-palsin the grant must complete theTAGLIT assessment for school leaders.In turn, the school leaders are to havetheir teachers complete the teacher tool,and they have the option to have theirstudents complete the student tool.

The Mississippi Department of Educationwas one of the earliest users of TAGLITas a component of the Gates Foundationchallenge grant. The grant establishedthe Technology Academy for SchoolLeaders (TASL). Participants in the week-long academy and follow-up sessionshave discovered that TAGLIT data helpthem accomplish the TASL goals:

To facilitate the integration of tech-nology in the total district/schoolenvironment.

To enhance the principals' andsuperintendents' technology leader-ship skills in support of teaching,learning, and data-driven decisionmaking.

To facilitate the creation of learningenvironments that empower staff toinfuse technology into teaching andlearning.To assist school leaders in the defi-nition of local issues and the devel-opment of solutions and strategiesto address them.

In the Mississippi TASL project, thesuite of assessments is explained toparticipants during the academy andduring the Day 1 Follow-up Activ-ity conducted three months after theacademy. Participants are trained tointerpret the Data Summary report andgenerate their Final Report. Each par-ticipating principal in TASL is respon-sible for monitoring the administrationof TAGLIT to 100% of the instructionalstaff and 50% or higher of the studentpopulation in grades 3-12 and for com-pleting the leader's assessment for his/her assigned school.

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TAGLIT generates valuable data foradministrators about ways technologyis being used in their schools. Adminis-trators did not previously have a meansto collect and analyze this type of data,especially in the quantity that TAGLITprovides. School leaders answer 69questions on technology planning,hardware, software, instructional andtechnical support, budgets, policies,and community involvement. Teachersanswer questions (61 for elementaryteachers and 71 for middle and highschool teachers) on skills, frequency ofuse, how technology affects classroomactivities, technology planning, hard-ware, software, and instructional andtechnical support. Students completequestions on skills, frequency of use,and how technology affects classroomactivities-15 questions for elemen-tary school students and 53 for middleand high school students. With thisquantity and range of data, schooladministrators who administer theassessments periodically have a meansof measuring progress of technologyuse and impact at their schools.

For our administrators, TAGLIT hasplayed an integral part in helping thembetter understand the following:

The role of technology in enhancingteaching and learning.

The present status of teachers' andstudents' technology skills and use.School technology planning, bud-geting, and professional develop-ment needs.

The availability of emerging tech-nologies in the schools.

The results of the TAGLIT assessmentshave been an eye opener for many ofthe TASL participants. One of the state-ments on the Day 2 Follow-up Activ-ity (conducted nine months after anacademy) was "The TAGLIT informationprovided my district/schools was valu-able information that has impacted ourprofessional development program andtechnology integration." On a scale of1 to 5, with 5Strongly Agree, 4Agree,

and 1Strongly Disagree, 78% of theparticipants rated this question a 5 and22% a 4. Comments made by some ofthe participants included:

"The TAGLIT results identified tech-nology training as our number oneprofessional development need."

"Significant training is needed ingetting our teachers ready to effec-tively integrate technology intoclassroom instruction.""More time must be spent in train-ing our teachers so that they canbe successful in preparing our stu-dents for this technological age."

Many of the participating principalshave used the TAGLIT assessmentresults to document the considerableneed for training in the area of technol-ogy use and integration. As a result oftheir analysis of the data, they havescheduled the Phase Technology Train-ings offered through the MississippiOffice of Educational Technology andthe Marco Polo Training (online class-room technology integration). Addi-tionally, principals are also sendingteachers to technology training ses-sions to become school-site technologytrainers and placing more emphasis ontechnology-based professional develop-ment. Many are encouraging teachersto either take courses online or par-ticipate in interactive video (distancelearning) course offerings to receiveadvanced degrees, licensure renewal,and/or technology professional growth.

Increased emphasis on technology pro-fessional development is not the onlyresult of having the TAGLIT data avail-able. At the state level, we have used itas part of our project evaluation and tohelp improve the activities of the TASLproject. Certainly the data will be usefulfor future grant proposal writing and forstate program policy development.

Whether at the school level or withthe state project, TAGLIT, as a toolfor measuring a project's results, ismaking a difference in the Mississippischool districts.

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Steps in Evaluating a School orDistrict Technology Program

by Jeff Sun, Sun Associates

Sun Associatesan educational con-sulting firm and frequent SEIRTECcollaboratorhas worked with a num-ber of school districts to develop andfacilitate formative evaluations oftechnology's impact on teaching andlearning. Over the past several years,we have worked with districts in Ken-tucky, New York, Massachusetts, andMichigan to create research-basedformative evaluations that are used tomeasure a district's progress towardmeeting its own strategic goals for tech-nology implementation and integration.In most cases, our client districts havetaken the developed evaluation proce-dures and have applied them annuallyto support a formative approach toassessing their technology efforts.

The process most often employed withdistricts consists of three interrelatedstages: evaluation framing, data collec-tion, and reporting.

Stage 1Evaluation framing,committee orientation, and rubricdevelopment

Just as with technology planning, tech-nology evaluation is a committee-drivenprocess. Therefore, the first step in thisprocess is for the district to appointan evaluation committee composed ofdistrict stakeholders such as teachers,administrators, parents, board mem-bers, and students. The exact composi-tion varies and reflects the values andpriorities of the district that is conduct-ing the evaluation. Once the committeeis selected, we facilitate a full day oftraining for the committee. During thistraining, the entire evaluation processis overviewed, milestones are set, andinitial responsibilities are assigned.

After its initial day of training, the com-mittee meets for another two days to

develop the district's key evaluationquestions and to create indicators forthose questions. While the developedindicators are always tied directly to thedistrict's own strategic vision and goalsfor technology, we also key the indica-tors to standards and frameworks suchas the National Educational Technol-ogy Standards (NETS) for students andMilken's Seven Dimensions, as well aslocal and state curriculum frameworks.

In most cases, the evaluation commit-tee breaks into subcommittees to devel-op indicators for individual questions.Once these indicators have been devel-oped and approved by the district com-mittee, we organize all of this work intoa set of indicator rubrics. These rubrics(see www.sun-associates.comieval/sample.htmlfor examples) form the basis for thedistrict's evaluation work.

Stage 2Data collection and analysis

Data collection is designed in responseto the district's evaluation rubrics. Dataare gathered that will enable the districtto answer the evaluation questions andscore its performance on its evalua-tion rubrics. Typically, a data-collectioneffort will include:

Surveys of teachers, administrators,students, and/or community mem-bers. Unique surveys are createdfor each target population and arebased on the data-collection needsdescribed in the district's rubrics.Focus group interviews of teachers,administrators, students, technol-ogy staff, and other groups of keyparticipants in the district's educa-tional and technology efforts.

Classroom observations. Externalevaluators will typically spend timein schools and classrooms through-out the district. The evaluators not

(continued on page 20)

7 0

Creatinga districtwidetechnologyevaluation

Initiate1\....1:I.: i :Wi

review cycle

Determinescope of

evaluationeffort

Appointcommittee

Orient andtrain in-district

evaluationcommittee

Formulateevaluationquestions

Reviewquestions

Developindicatorrubrics

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only observe teachers and studentsusing technology but also find thatwe can learn much about how tech-nology is being used to impact teach-ing and learning just by observingclassroom setups, teaching styles,and student behaviors.

It is important that the data-collectioneffort not rely on a single data source(e.g., surveys). The district needs todesign a data-collection strategy thathas the optimum chance of capturingthe big picture of the use and impact oftechnology within the district. This willrequire the simultaneous use of mul-tiple data-collection strategies.

Stage 3Findings, recommendations,and reporting

Reporting is important to a formativeevaluation in that it establishes a com-mon base for reflection. An evaluationthat is not shared with the communityit evaluates never results in reflection.Reflection is necessary for positiveand informed change. The first step inreporting is to take the data gathered inthe previous stage to score the district'sperformance against its own rubrics.

These scoresalong with a detailedexplanation of how scores were givenform the basis of the report. In addi-tion, reports typically contain detailedfindings and recommendations. Therecommendations relate to how thedistrict can adapt or change currentpractices to achieve higher levels ofperformance in succeeding years. Therecommendations are always based ona research-intensive knowledge of bestpractices as related to teaching, learn-ing, and technology. Recommendationsare relative to findings. In other words,recommendations are in sync with adistrict's desired outcomes as docu-mented in its indicator rubrics.

In most cases, evaluation projects endwith a formal presentation to the dis-trict committee and other audiencesas identified by the overseeing admin-istrator. The districts then distributethe document and begin implementa-tion. This is the point at which the nextreview cycle begins.

These steps for evaluating a technologyplan are appropriate for most schools anddistricts. As the chart indicates, this isa cyclic process for continuous improve-ment and for greater impact on studentsand the educational program.

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2

Thinking Beyond Surveysby Anna Li, Ph.D., SEIRTEC Evaluator

For several reasons, surveys are the most commonly used tool for evaluating tech-nology programs. First, they can measure a variety of elements of the program andparticipant characteristics, such as the number of computers in a school, teach-ers' and students' attitudes, opinions, behaviors, and other descriptive informa-tion. Another positive feature of surveys is that, compared with other evaluationmethods, they are relatively inexpensive and can be quickly administered to a largenumber of people. A third aspect is that survey findings usually lend themselves toquantitative analyses, and the results can be expressed in easily understoodpercentagesand means,which inturn can bepresented ineasily under-stood chartsor graphs.

However, sincethe primaryway to collectinformationthrough sur-veys is to askpeople writtenquestions, theevaluator hasno control overmisunderstand-ing and misin-terpretation ofthe questions,missing data,or inaccurateresponses. Ifthe entire tech-nology-programevaluationdesign dependson surveys orself-reportingdata, the find-ings could bebiased or notreflect a com-plete picture ofa technologyprogram'squality andeffectiveness.Therefore, it isimportant tothink beyondsurveys and to

TABLE 1: DATA-COLLECTION METHODS

Data-collection Advantages

methods

Questionnaires

(self-administered)

Interviews

Focus groups

Tests

Observations

Archival documents

',student records, school plans,past program evaluations, etc.)

Artifacts or products

Good for finding answersto short, simple questions;relatively inexpensive; canreach a large population in ashort time.

Yield rich data, details, andnew insights; interviewerscan explain questions thatthe interviewee does notunderstand; interviewers canprobe for explanations anddetails.

Useful for gathering ideas,different viewpoints, newinsights from a group of peopleat the same time; facilitator canprobe for more explanationsor details; responses from oneperson provide stimulus forother people.

Provide "hard data" that areeasily accepted; relatively easyto administer.

Best for obtaining data aboutbehaviors of individuals orgroups; low burden for peopleproviding data.

Low burden for peopleproviding information; relativelyinexpensive.

Good evidence of impact; lowburden for people providingdata; relatively inexpensive.

11

Low response rate; no controlover misunderstanding ormisinterpretation of the questions,missing data, or inaccurateresponses; not suited for peoplewho have difficulty reading andwriting; not appropriate for complexor exploratory issues.

Can be expensive and timeconsuming; limited sample size;may present logistics problems(time, location, privacy, access,safety); need well-trainedinterviewer; can be difficult or timeconsuming to analyze qualitativedata.

Some individuals may dominate thediscussions while others may notlike to speak in a group setting; hardto coordinate multiple schedules;takes longer to have questionsanswered.

Difficult to find appropriateinstruments for treatmentpopulation; developing andvalidating new tests may beexpensive and time consuming;tests can be biased and unfair.

Time consuming; some items arenot observable; participant behaviormay be affected by presenceof observer; needs well-trainedobserver.

May be incomplete or requireadditional information; may needspecial permission it) use.

May be incomplete or requireadditional interpretation.

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look at other evaluation designs and data-collection techniques. There are sevencommonly used data-collection methods in educational technology program evalu-ation. Table 1 (previous page) summarizes the methods and describes their advan-tages and disadvantages.

Depending on the needs of the programs, a sound evaluation design incorpo-rates three or more of the above methods. Which methods to use should be deter-mined by the evaluation questions, and complex questions often call for multiplesub-questions, each of which would have an appropriate data-collection method.For example, a frequently asked question of technology programs is: "How areteachers and students actually using technology?" This is a complex questionthat might be divided into several sub-questions about the extent, nature, andfrequency of teacher and student technology use. Table 2 below, which is drawnfrom the National Science Foundation's User Friendly Handbook for Project Evalua-tion (www.ehr.nsf.gov /RED /EVAL /handbook.htm), shows a simplified version of an evaluationdesign matrix.

TABLE 2: DESIGN MATRIX

1 a. Did teachers usetechnology intheir teaching?

1 b. Did students usetechnology tolearn science,math, or othersubject areas?

lc. How often didteachers usetechnology?

Questionnaires

Observations

Questionnaires

Interviews

Observations

Questionnaires

P

Teachers Pre/post project

Supervisors Twice per semester

N/A

Students Pre/post project

Teachers Twice per semester

Teachers

Students

Supervisors

Pre/post project

The National Science Foundation handbook (p.19) suggests youpose the following questions when you want to determine themost appropriate approaches to data collection:

1. Do you want to explore the experiences of a small number ofparticipants in-depth (case studies) or get general experiencefor a larger population (survey)?

2. If you select a survey approach, do you want to survey all theparticipants, or can you select a sample?

3. Do you want to evaluate what happens to project participantsor to compare the experiences of participants with those of thenon-participants (quasi-experimental design)?

How these questions are answered will affect the design of theevaluation as well as the conclusions that can be drawn.

74

Resources for Evaluation:An Annotated Bibliography

by Dan Shoemaker, Senior Educational Technology Specialist, SEIRTEC,and Jennifer Burke, Media Specialist, Centennial Place ElementarySchool. Atlanta

As educators seek research to guide the development of their evaluation plansor tools to use in evaluating their technology initiatives, they often turn to theInternet. Conducting an Internet search can result in an overwhelming list ofpossible sources of information. Weeding out the useful from the barely appli-cable is a true headache-producing task.

SEIRTEC staff have tackled the task for you. In the charts below, you willfind an annotated bibliography of research studies and reports focused onthe evaluation of technology programs. Among the items listed, you shouldfind several that will be just what you are looking for to use in your technol-ogy initiative evaluation plan.

Books

1. Aspen Education Development Group. (2001). Administrator's guideto technology: Planning, funding & implementation. Frederick, MD:Aspen Publishers.This document provides guidelines related to instructional technology andplanning for administrators. Topics covered include developing a technol-ogy plan, facility assessment, e-rate planning, formation of a technologycommittee, budget planning, and hardware/software replacement planand costs. Chapter 7 covers assessment and accountability, includingevaluating a technology program, technology assessment surveys, andtechnology standards for continuous student assessment. Appendicesinclude a glossary and a list of resources for acceptable-use policies, as-sessment and accountability, assistive technology, website accessibility,curriculum integration, distance education, funding, hardware suppliers,international collaboration on the Web, legal issues, professional develop-ment, school website design, technology planning and implementation,telementoring, virtual schools, and Web safety.

2. Fink, A., & Kosecoff, J. (1998). How to conduct surveys (2nd ed.). ThousandOaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Popular for helping readers organize a rigorous survey and evaluate thecredibility of other surveys by giving them practical, step-by-step advice,the second edition also covers computer-assisted and interactive surveysand how they contrast with telephone and face-to-face surveys.

3. Hedrick, T. E., Bickman, L. R., & Rog, D. J. (1993). Applied researchdesign: A practical guide. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Aimed at helping researchers and students make the transition from theclassroom and the laboratory to the "real" world, the authors reveal pit-falls to avoid and strategies to undertake in order to overcome obstaclesin the design and planning of applied research. The book focuses on re-fining research questions when actual events force deviations from theoriginal analysis.

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4. Maruyama, G., & Deno, S. (1992). Research in educational settings.Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.This book focuses on the following issues: access and credibility in theschool; traditional issues in designing research; questions that emerge asthe design is imposed on the school culture and setting, particularly inregard to school staff and student assessment; the length of interventionsand whether or not to schedule follow-up studies; and how to interpret andcommunicate findings to schools and policymakers.

5. Quinones. S.. & Kirshstein, R. (1998). An educator's guide to evaluating theuse of technology in schools and classrooms. Washington, DC: United StatesDepartment of Education. www.ecl.gov/pubs/EdTechGuide.

This guide was developed for the U.S. Department of Education by theAmerican Institutes for Research in conjunction with its formative evalu-ation of the Technology Literacy Challenge Fund. The guide represents ajoint effort among the Office of Educational Research and Improvement, theOffice of Educational Technology, and the Office of Elementary and Second-ary Education. The guide should be viewed as a tool for individuals whohave little or no formal training in research or evaluation. This publicationis available online in PDF format.

6. Stevens, F., Lawrenz, F., & Sharp, L. User friendly handbook for projectevaluation: Science, mathematics, engineering and technology education.Retrieved August 15, 2002, from www.ehr.nsEgov/RED/EVAL/handbook/handbook.htm.

This handbook was developed to provide Principal Investigators and ProjectEvaluators working with the National Science Foundation's Directorate forEducation and Human Resource Development with a basic understand-ing of selected approaches to evaluation. It is aimed at people who need tolearn more about what evaluation can do and how to do an evaluation rath-er than those who already have a solid base of experience in the field. Thispublication is available online in PDF format.

Journal articles

1. Moreland, J., & Jones, A. (2000). Emerging assessment practices in anemergent curriculum: Implications for technology. International Journalof Technology and Design Education, 10(3), 283-305. www.techednz.org.nz/nresearch.shtml.

Reports on detailed case studies into emerging assessment practices intechnology in two New Zealand primary schools. Topics include classroomassessment, formative and summative assessment, teacher knowledge,subculture influences when implementing technological activities, knowl-edge about technology, knowledge in technology, student self-assessment,and expectations of transfer.

2. Sanders, M. (2000). Web-based portfolios for technology education:A personal case study. Journal of Technology Studies, 26(1), 11-18.http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/ejournals/JTS/Winter-Spring-2000/pdf/sanders.pdf.

Students can use Web-based portfolios m technology classes to display classand project work. Developing effective websites gives them an understand-ing of a range of information-age tools, motivates them to do high-qualitywork, requires self assessment and reflection, and teaches design skills

3. Wenglinsky, H. (1998). Does it compute? The relationship between education-at technology an.a student achievernern in nicuiterrtuiics. sit Fitt c, NJ. ETS.www.icoe.02.ca.us/pdfitechnoiog.pdf.

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This report presents findings from a national study of the relationship be-tween different uses of educational technology and various educationaloutcomes. It uses the 1996 National Assessment of Educational Progress(NAEP) in mathematics.

4. Woodrow, J. E., Mayer-Smith, J., Jo lie, A., & Pedretti, E. G. (2000). Assess-ing technology-enhanced instruction: A case study in secondary science.Journal of Educational Computing Research, 23(1), 15-39.

Describes an evaluation program designed to assess the effectiveness oftechnology-enhanced instruction within the context of the TechnologyEnhanced Secondary Science Instruction (TESSI) project, a field-basedresearch program of technology integration into secondary science. It in-cludes analyses of student enrollment and achievement, ethnographic as-sessment, scalability, and interviews with graduates.

Papers presented at conferences and meetings

1. 2000 Conference on Educational Technology, Measuring the Impacts andShaping the Future.The conference focused on the effective use of technology in schools. Thesite (www.ed.gov/Technology/evaluation.html) includes papers and presentations fromthe Education Secretary's Conference on Educational Technology as well asevaluation tools. Site is updated to 2002.

2. Heinecke, Blasi, Milman, & Washington. (1999). New directions in theevaluation of the effectiveness of educational technology. Paper presentedat the 1999 Education Secretary's Conference on Educational Technology.www.ed.gov/Technology/TechConf/1999/whitepapers/paper8.html.

The paper addresses the importance of looking at new ways to evaluate theeffectiveness of educational technology that incorporate a variety of ways toassess programs.

3. Mize, C. D., & Gibbons, A. (2000). More than inventory: Effective inte-gration of instructional technology to support student learning in K-12schools. Society for Information Technology & Teacher Education Internation-al Conference: Proceedings of SITE 2000, San Diego, California, February8-12, 2000.This paper is a report of three case studies considering the instructionaluses of technology in public school classrooms. A level of technological pro-ficiency was determined for each school that participated in the researchthrough the use of a series of surveys, teacher interviews, and observations.

4. Peterson, L. (1999, April). Transforming the daily life of the classroom; TheDistrict Six Laptop Project. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of theAmerican Educational Research Association, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

The paper discusses The Community School District Six Laptop Project(New York, NY) that was created in order to increase access to technologyfor families in a low-income area with a large immigrant population. Find-ings from both groups are discussed in terms of collaboration, the writingprocess, research skills and critical evaluation of information, and pre-cArd-,A1-innc Ppcillte of the chirly cilartect that lapinpc enable phRnare in themanagement of the classroom and in the design of instructional activitiesand assignments. hitp://metisassoe.com/Publicationsiaera.htm.

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Tools for EvaluatingTechnology Projects and Programsby Dan Shoemaker, Senior Educational Technology Specialist, SEIRTEC, and

Jennifer Burke, Media Specialist, Centennial Place Elementary School, Atlanta

Finding an evaluation tool that has been tried and tested puts you one step ahead.The resources listed below have been used or developed by SEIRTEC or otherRTECs and are worth considering when you are searching for a tool to use to eval-uate your technology initiative.

1. CEO Forum STaR Chart(www.ceoforum.org/starchart.cfm)

Developed by the CEO Forum onEducation & Technology, the STaRChart identifies and defines fourschool profiles ranging from the"Early Tech" school with little orno technology to the "Target Tech"school that provides a model forthe integration and innovative useof education technology. The STaRChart is not intended to be a mea-sure of any particular school's tech-nology and readiness, but rather toserve as a benchmark against whichevery school can assess and trackits own progress.

2. enGauge (www.ncrel.org/engauge)

Developed by NCREL with the MetiriGroup, enGauge provides a com-prehensive view of critical factors inan educational system that stronglyinfluence the effectiveness of educa-tional technology. It is a Web-basedframework and tool set designed

to help districts use technology ef-fectively for learning, teaching, andmanaging. The enGauge frameworkidentifies Six Essential Conditions,which are system-wide factors criti-cal to effective uses of technologyfor student learning.

3. INSIGHT, South CentralRTEC Instrument Libraryand Data Recovery(http://insight.southcentraldec.org/welcome.html)

INSIGHT, the South Central RTECInstrument Library and Data Repos-itory, is an evaluation resource thatserves a broad range of educationalconstituents. It consists of two dis-tinct but interrelated components:

The INSIGHT InstrumentLibrary provides a centralizedlibrary of Web-enabled educa-tional evaluation surveys andinstruments and is available forprogram and project evaluatorsin K-16 education.The INSIGHT Data Repository isa research tool containing theaccumulated historical recordof administrations of evaluationinstruments housed in the In-strument Library.

4. Learning from Logic Models: AnExample of a Family/School Part-nership Program (www.gse.harvard.edu/

hfrp/pubs/onlinepubs/logic.pdf)

This br'ief offers a step -by -stoopapproach for developing and

using a logic model asa framework for

a program'sor organi-zation's

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evaluation. Its purpose is to provide a tool toguide evaluation processes and to facilitatepractitioner and evaluator partnerships.

5. North Central Regional Technology inEducation Consortium (NCRTEC)(www.ncrtec.org/capacity/profile/profwww.htm)

Developed by the NCRTEC, the Learning withTechnology Profile Tool will allow comparisonof current instructional practices with a setof indicators for engaged learning and high-performance technology. For each category,there is a description of the indicators and ex-amples that fall along a continuum.

6. Planning into Practice(www.seirtec.org/plan/Ch%207.pdf)

As a result of SEIRTEC's work in variousschools, several valuable tools have beenidentified that are particularly useful in help-ing districts and schools create strategic edu-cational technology plans. Chapter 7 of thispublication addresses evaluation and pro-vides several tools that may be useful for pro-gram evaluation. This publication is availableonline in PDF format.

7. Profiler (http://profi e r.hprfec.org)

Developed by the High Plains Regional Tech-nology in Education Consortium (HPR*TEC),the Profiler tool and ready-to-use surveys of-fer a means to improve people's skills arounda general topic, strengthen their understand-ing of a topic, or increase their ability toshare expertise. Surveys can be customizedfor a group and stored on and accessed fromthe HPR*TEC server.

8. SEIRTEC Progress Gauge(www.seirtec.org/eval/gauge.doc)

Developed by SEIRTEC, the Progress Gaugeis used to help school leaders reflect on activi-ties to date in technology integration, thinkabout what needs to be done in order to im-pact teaching and learning through the useof technology resources, and consider strate-gies for maximizing the impact of technology.The SEIRTEC Progress Gauge is also avail-able in an online format in conjunction withHPR*TEC using the Profiler tool.

9. TAGLIT (www.taglit.org /taglit /Iogin.asp)

Taking A Good Look at Instructional Technol-ogy (TAGLIT) is a suite of assessment toolsdesigned to help principals and other schoolleaders gather, analyze, and report informa-tion about how technology is used for teach-ing and learning in their schools.

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This newsletter was developed by the South EastTnitt twes Regional TPchnnlogy in Eri 'cation_ Con-sortium (SEIRTEC) and is based on work spon-sored wholly or in part by the Office of EducationalResearch and Improvement (DERV, under grantnumber R302A980001, CFDA 84.302A. Its contentsdo not necessarily reflect the views and policiesof OERI, the U.S. Department of Education, or anyother agency of the United States Government.

First Printing, 2002

News Wire Editorial Staff

Elizabeth ByromMargaret Bingham

Contributing Authors

Elizabeth Byrom, SEIRTEC at SERVEZelia Frick, Guilford County Schools,

North CarolinaMelinda Maddox, Alabama State

Department of EducationTammy Mainwaring, South Carolina

Department of EducationKatherine Tankson, Mississippi TASL Project

Betty Lou Pigg, Mississippi Departmentof Education

Jeff Sun, Sun AssociatesAnna Li, SEIRTEC at SERVE

Dan Shoemaker, SEIRTEC at SERVEJennifer Burke, Centennial Plrire Elementary

School, Atlanta

External Reviewers

Lori Mullen, Greenville (South Carolina)County Schools

Linda Waskow, South CarolinaDepartment of Education

Katherine Tankson, Mississippi TASL Project

SERVE Internal Reviewers

Art HoodPam Finney

Sammy ParkerSteve SmithEric Howard

SERVE Publications learn

Christy CasbonKaren DeMeesterTracy HamiltonDonna Nalley

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SEIRTEC Welcomes Kevin Oliver

Kevin Oliver is the new Project Director for SEIRTEC asof October 1st. He comes to Durham from Virginia Techwhere he worked as an Instructional Design and Evalu-ation Specialist since 1999. Kevin also formerly workedas an Instructor for the Department of Curriculum andInstruction at Southern Illinois University, teaching grad-uate-level instructional technology courses to pre service

and in-service teachers, and as an Educational Media Specialist for theUNC- Chapel Hill School of Nursing.

Kevin received his Ph.D. in Instructional Technology from the Universityof Georgia where he participated in teacher training and the integrationof science Web tools in a rural school system. He also holds a M.Ed.in Educational Media and Instructional Design from UNC- Chapel Hilland a B.S. in Communications from the University of Tennessee. Kevinhas consulted with computer software companies in North Carolinaand Georgia, and he interned with educational media agencies at theU.S. Air Force Academy and Xerox. Since 1992, he has given more than30 presentations at regional, national, and international conferences;authored or co-authored 13 technology-related publications in journals;and authored or co-authored funded educational technology grants fromthe Mellon Foundation, Apple Computer, the U.S. Department of Educa-tion (Challenge Funds), FIPSE, and the National Science Foundation.

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