Sunday, November 30, 2008

Re: Economic Recession and Tech Budgets

Then you need to look at solutions that don't involve buying things.
Open Office, Linux and so on.
On Nov 20, 2008, at 10:11 AM, Tracie Banner wrote:

> Budget? What is that? In January, our district will be $1.3 in the
> hole. We cannot purchase ANYTHING. Our computers are so slow, need
> memory, and keep crashing. Doesn't matter because we can't buy
> anything!
>
>
>
> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Steve Taffee" <Steve_Taffee@castilleja.org
> >
> To: <ISED-L@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU>
> Sent: Thursday, November 20, 2008 9:04 AM
> Subject: Economic Recession and Tech Budgets
>
>
> Hello everyone -
>
> I am curious to know if and how the economic recession is affecting
> your technology budgets and programs for the coming year.
>
> We are re-examining a number of our practices including email
> (FirstClass versus Google), productivity suites (MS Office versus
> Open Office and Google Docs), databases (FileMaker client versus
> FileMaker web access), web servers (hosted site versus our
> own Drupal server). These are good things to examine, anyway, and we
> would have done so. But there's no doubt that the economy has built
> a fire under us to look at these sooner rather than later.
>
> On the hardware front, we'll be purchasing more RAM to nurse
> computers along for at least a year beyond their normal retirement
> schedule (typically 3 years for laptops, 4 years for desktops), and
> will think twice about CPU-sucking upgrades to
> applications and OS that we would normally roll out on an annual
> basis.
>
> Our administration has heard from other schools that they, too, are
> retrenching by delaying hiring, minimizing tuition increases,
> setting aside more funds for tuition assistance, and - cutting tech
> budgets.
>
> So the challenge for us, perhaps others as well, is to keep moving
> forward with technology initiatives, to continue to provide great
> professional development, and not lose sight of "21st century"
> learning and teaching. Indeed, as an environmentalist I
> have often thought that much of the 21st century could well be
> marked by scarcity rather than the abundance we've grown so
> accustomed to.
>
> So once again my question to the group: how are you coping with the
> current situation as you plan for the coming year?
>
> s
>
> -----
> Treat each piece of paper as precious and reduce waste - don't print
> electronic documents.
> -----
> Steve Taffee 650.470.7725 (office)
> Director of Technology 415.613.6684 (mobile)
> Castilleja School 650.326.8036 (fax)
> 1310 Bryant Street steve_taffee@castilleja.org
> Palo Alto, CA 94301 www.castilleja.org |
> taffee.edublogs.org
> Women Learning, Women Leading
> -------
>
>
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strategic planning online survey

Hi All-
Hope your Thanksgiving break was relaxing.

We are in the process of developing an online survey for strategic
planning for our faculty. Do any of you have one to share so that I do
not have to re-invent the wheel?

Thanks...

Lorri Carroll
Director of Technology
Hamden Hall Country Day School
1108 Whitney Avenue
Hamden, CT 06517
lcarroll@hamdenhall.org
work (203) 752-2606
cell (203) 215-9833

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Saturday, November 29, 2008

teaching with technology survey at Harvard

My EdTechTeacher colleague, a researcher at Harvard, is pilot-testing a new
survey about teacher attitudes towards technology. His research is aimed
identifying best practices is teaching with technology. If you would be
willing to help him out by participating in his pilot survey, please read
on:

Dear Educator,
I'm writing to invite you to to participate in this pilot study of a new
questionnaire designed by researchers at the Harvard Graduate School of
Education to learn more about teacher attitudes towards technology. This
email includes some basic information about the survey and your role in it.
The link to the survey is at the bottom.

In this research study, you will complete a brief survey that will take
approximately 20 minutes to complete. There are no anticipated risks
associated with participating in this study. We do not anticipate that you
will experience any benefits from participating in this study, but your
participation will help us better understand how to support teachers' use of
technology in the classroom. There is no compensation for participating in
this study.

Your survey answers will be kept in complete confidentiality. We will not
collect your name with the survey, and research results will be reported in
the aggregate. We will never release information that would enable anyone
to identify you and connect you to any answers you provide.

Your participation in this study is completely voluntary, and you may
withdraw at any time without penalty. You may withdraw by closing your
browser at any time.

If you have questions about this research, please contact me using the
contact information at the bottom of this email.

There is a Standing Committee on the Use of Human Subjects in Research at
Harvard University to which complaints or problems concerning any research
project may, and should, be reported if they arise. Contact Jane Calhoun,
Harvard University Committee on the Use of Human Subjects in Research,
Science Center 128, Cambridge, MA 02138. Phone: 617-495-5459. E-mail:
jcalhoun@fas.harvard.edu

Finally, I'm tremendously grateful for your willingness to participate in
this study. Here's the link to the survey!*
http://fs12.formsite.com/thwt/form102818216/index.html*

Best,
Justin

--
B. Justin Reich
Doctoral Candidate
Education Policy, Leadership, and Instructional Practice
Harvard Graduate School of Education
bjr795@mail.harvard.edu
978-831-3046

Co-Director, EdTechTeacher
Best Ideas for Teaching with Technology: A Practical Guide for Teachers, by
Teachers now available from ME Sharpe Press
http://tinyurl.com/6zo5tf
EdTechTeacher.org
: www.edtechteacher.org
EdTechTeacher.blog:
http://thwt.typepad.com/edtechteacher/<http://www.edtechteacher.org/>
Best of History Web Sites: www.besthistorysites.net
Teaching History with Technology: www.thwt.org
Teaching English with Technology: www.tewt.org <http://www.thwt.org/>


--
Tom Daccord -- educational technology trainer, speaker, and author.

Co-Director, EdTechTeacher
tom@edtechteacher.org
c: 617-455-8716

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Friday, November 28, 2008

Re: Replacing Written Report Cards/ Trimester System

Hi!

We do student-led conferences. There is a book available at the NMSA
website co-authored by Patti Kinney detailing the techniques. Briefly,
here's what we do:

1. Students complete a goals update form in advisory.
2. They self-reflect on each of their courses and each non-course
aspect of the program (student government, community service,
athletics...). Some teachers use a generic form, others design a
specific form for their course.
3. They select a work sample for each of their courses.
4. They assemble it all in a portfolio.
5. They read all self-reflections word for word to their parents, and
present the work samples, commenting on why the work sample was chosen
and what it shows about their work. Parents may ask clarifying
questions, but we try to steer them away from the more judgmental kind
of question.

That's it in a nutshell! The kids, for the most part, like being more
in control, though it does take a lot of preparation time on their
part. Most parents like learning so much about what their kids are
doing; only the most competitive, achievement-oriented parents (and
not all of them) prefer the traditional system. If you have additional
questions, please don't hesitate to ask.

Take care,
Bill Ivey
Stoneleigh-Burnham School

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Thursday, November 27, 2008

IT Data Needed

I am collecting data in order to compare our IT staffing and equipment
with other private and international schools. I have set up a survey to
collect this data that should only take 5 minutes or less to complete.

If you have a few minutes, would you mind to take the survey? You will
need some numbers (i.e. how many computers on campus, how many IT staff,
how many students, how many teachers, etc.) from your school.

I will be glad to share the results with the ISED listserv when the survey
has been closed.

The survey will run from today until Friday, December 5, 2008. Here is the
link: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=AS70yd_2bxVxiNdpBe3sZEXg_3d_3d

Many Thanks,
Brigitte Donlon

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Brigitte Donlon, M.Ed.
Math and Science Teacher
Upper School ICT Integration Coordinator
SMART Exemplary Educator
Frankfurt International School
An der Waldlust 15; 61440 Oberursel; Germany +49 6171 2024 245

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Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Re: Whipple Hill vs FinalSite

We LOVE Finalsite! I am the Webmaster at Lincoln School
www.lincolnschool.org and we work with Finalsite. They are wonderful to
work with in every way. I echo what everyone else has said. Rolling out
and maintaining our site is a pleasure!


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Re: Whipple Hill vs FinalSite

Hi Jason,

I am the Director of Web Communications for La Salle College High School (h=
ttp://www.lschs.org) in Wyndmoor, PA. We have been using the finalsite CMS =
for four years. It has been by far my best experience with a software compa=
ny.

I echo Jeanne's comments. They have always been fair and upfront -- what th=
ey quote has always been the final price (no surprise fees and additional c=
osts). Everyone at finalsite has been more than accommodating -- always go=
ing out of their way to work with us and even adjust their software based o=
n client feedback.

Good luck with the selection and roll-out!

-Ray

Raymond T. Shay
Director of Web Communications
Director of the Speech and Debate Program

La Salle College High School
8605 Cheltenham Avenue
Wyndmoor, PA 19038
http://www.lschs.org
215-233-2911 (main line)
215-233-1418 (fax)

215-402-4882 (office)
shay@lschs.org


-----Original Message-----
From: A forum for independent school educators [mailto:ISED-L@LISTSERV.SYR.=
EDU] On Behalf Of Jeanne Rice
Sent: Wednesday, November 26, 2008 10:08 AM
To: ISED-L@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU
Subject: Re: Whipple Hill vs FinalSite

We went with Finalsite....I had worked with them before...and their cost was
what was quoted. The best part...is that they listen to you... design what
you envision...and really work with you! They are not cookie cutter by any
means! The tech support after the site is done...is awesome. They are great
to work with...and take what ever problems you have personally.

Jeanne Rice, Technology
Southern CT Hebrew Academy
www.schacademy.org

On Wed, Nov 26, 2008 at 8:42 AM, Jason Hyams <jhyams@st-agnes.org> wrote:

> We are in the process of evaluating a new web host. I need to put
> together a budget number for the web migration.
>
> We are looking at Whipple Hill and Final Site. What did you use for a
> budget number and did the final cost of the migration exceed your budget
> number?
>
>
> Thank you,
>
> Jason Hyams
> Director of Technology
> St. Agnes Academy
>
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>

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Confidentiality Notice: This e-mail transmission may contain confidential or
legally privileged information that is intended only for the individual or
entity named in the e-mail address. If you are not the intended recipient, =
you
are hereby notified that any disclosure, copying, distribution, or reliance
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Re: Whipple Hill vs FinalSite

We went with Finalsite....I had worked with them before...and their cost was
what was quoted. The best part...is that they listen to you... design what
you envision...and really work with you! They are not cookie cutter by any
means! The tech support after the site is done...is awesome. They are great
to work with...and take what ever problems you have personally.

Jeanne Rice, Technology
Southern CT Hebrew Academy
www.schacademy.org

On Wed, Nov 26, 2008 at 8:42 AM, Jason Hyams <jhyams@st-agnes.org> wrote:

> We are in the process of evaluating a new web host. I need to put
> together a budget number for the web migration.
>
> We are looking at Whipple Hill and Final Site. What did you use for a
> budget number and did the final cost of the migration exceed your budget
> number?
>
>
> Thank you,
>
> Jason Hyams
> Director of Technology
> St. Agnes Academy
>
> [ For info on ISED-L see http://www.gds.org/ISED-L ]
> Submissions to ISED-L are released under a creative commons, attribution,
> non-commercial, share-alike license.
> RSS Feed, http://listserv.syr.edu/scripts/wa.exe?RSS&L=ISED-L
>

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Re: Whipple Hill vs FinalSite

I will be away from school Wednesday, November 26 - Sunday, November 30
celebrating the Thanksgiving holiday. While away I will have limited email
access. I look forward to reading and responding to your email when I
return on Monday, December 1.

Best-

Mark


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Whipple Hill vs FinalSite

We are in the process of evaluating a new web host. I need to put
together a budget number for the web migration.

We are looking at Whipple Hill and Final Site. What did you use for a
budget number and did the final cost of the migration exceed your budget
number?


Thank you,

Jason Hyams
Director of Technology
St. Agnes Academy

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Tuesday, November 25, 2008

FW: On Classroom 2.0: Help Build the New K-12 Open Source Community

I apologize for the cross-post for those of you on Classroom 2.0.
However, since a few folks were asking about good resources for Open
Source...Steve Hargadon has been a great advocate for Open Source in
education and is restructuring some of the communication venues around
this topic. This was greatly needed and I commend Steve for doing this.
He recently sent a request to folks to build up a better resource for
those of us using Open Source in education.

Alex Inman
Director of Technology
Whitfield School
St. Louis, MO
314.434.5141

-----Original Message-----
From: Classroom 2.0 [mailto:mail@classroom20.com]=20
Sent: Tuesday, November 25, 2008 9:29 AM
To: Inman, Alex
Subject: On Classroom 2.0: Help Build the New K-12 Open Source Community

A message to all members of Classroom 2.0

One of the professional hats I wear is as the director of CoSN.org's
K-12 Open Technologies Initiative. I also run the Open Source Pavilions
and speaker series at the CUE.org and NECC ed tech conferences.

Because I'm a passionate advocate for Free and Open Source Software in
K-12, I've been feeling for a while that the time is right for a
stand-alone social network around its use. There is a good K-12 Open
Source group within the Classroom 2.0 community, but groups don't have
the same full functionality as stand-alone networks, and also don't have
the same visibility. So I've done some reconfiguring with my
www.K12OpenSource.com domain, creating a collaborative site which I hope
will help to build the Free and Open Source Software ecosystem in K-12.
The wiki that was previously there is now at
http://wiki.k12opensource.com/, and I've set up a Ning community just
for Open Source in K-12 at http://community.K12OpenSource.com/.

I hope you'll come join the community and help to build it. I believe
that having an inviting and easy-to-use social network will increase
exposure, adoption, and idea-sharing around Open Source in K-12 at a
time when it is truly needed (both financially and pedagogically).
We'll also need some folks to start groups around favored
programs--please consider coming and doing that!

http://community.k12opensource.com

Steve

Steve Hargadon
Founder, Classroom 2.0
steve@hargadon.com

Visit Classroom 2.0 at: http://www.classroom20.com

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Re: Do It With Drupal, New Orleans, December 10-12th

For those who have been following the thread on Clayton Christensen's
"Disrupting Class", Bill's post below may be particularly interesting.
While Christensen posits that online courses (as we know them now) will be
the first phase of the disruptive change coming our way, he believes that
the second phase will be characterized by teachers and students being able
to pull from a rich mix of online learning modules, many of them created
by other teachers and students. Want to see who is going to create the
infrastructure to support this? Just read through the brief bios of the
presenters at the Drupal conference.

http://www.doitwithdrupal.com/speakers

Fred

dwfitzgerald@yahoo.com writes:
>Hello, all,
>
>For those of you working with Drupal and Social Media in your schools,
>there is an upcoming seminar in New Orleans about both of these topics:
>http://www.doitwithdrupal.com/
>
>The speaker list includes a cross section of people working in Social
>Media and people well versed in Drupal. If you are currently working with
>Drupal and/or looking to expand the use of social media within your
>school, this seminar will be an excellent place to hone these ideas.
>
>The conference organizers have also set up a registration code with a 10%
>discount for people working within education. Enter EDUCATION as you
>check out to receive the discount.
>
>I will be attending this seminar; while I'm not associated with the
>organization of the event, I'm looking forward to meetup and the
>discussions, both in and out of sessions.
>
>Cheers,
>
>Bill
>
>
>
>
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Re: Discussing "Disrupting Class"

Vinnie,

We all owe you, Arvind and Alex a huge thanks for bringing Clayton
Christensen -and many others- to our attention via the 21st Century
Learning webcast. The show has become a invaluable resource for educators
who are trying to understand how information technology can be used to
improve teaching and learning.

Thanks, and keep the shows coming!

Fred


A forum for independent school educators <ISED-L@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU> writes:
>Fred,
>
>As a co-host with Arvind Grover and Alex Ragone, we have spend the fall
>speaking on this book at 21st Century Learning (
>http://edtechtalk.com/taxonomy/term/9)
>
>In addition to Episode 84, there is Episodes 80, 81 and the soon to be
>published 86, a discussion with Michael Horn this morning.
>
>On Thursday, December 4th at 2:00 p.m. EST, we will be interviewing Curtis
>Johnson, the other co-author.
>
>I am looking forward to participating in the group on ISENET and am guilty
>of letting Alex and Arvind know about this book which I read this summer.
>
>On Mon, Nov 24, 2008 at 1:01 PM, Fred Bartels
><fred_bartels@rcds.rye.ny.us>wrote:
>
>> Every now and then a book comes along which transforms the way we look
>at
>> education. Howard Gardner's Frames Of Mind: The Theory Of Multiple
>> Intelligences and Seymour Papert's Mindstorms are two that quickly come
>to
>> mind.
>>
>> I think Disrupting Class by Clayton Christensen may be a work of this
>> nature. Clayton Christensen is arguably the world's foremost expert on
>the
>> impact that disruptive innovation can have on existing organizations. In
>> Disrupting Class Christensen (and co-authors Michael Horn and Curtis
>> Johnson) present a compelling case that within 10 years 50% of the
>courses
>> secondary-school students take will be computer delivered, and that by
>> 2024 80% of courses will be taught online. These courses, according to
>> Christensen, will provide customization that takes into account
>different
>> intelligences and different learning styles. If Christensen's theory is
>> correct -and there is a distinct possibility that it is- then our
>schools
>> are likely to undergo huge transformative changes over the next 15
>years.
>>
>> I've created a fourm on the Independent School Educator network ning
>> (http://isenet.ning.com/) to discuss Christensen's theory and to begin
>to
>> think about how independent schools could manage the changes that may
>very
>> well be heading our way. If independent schools are indeed in the path
>of
>> a huge disruptive innovation, and we fail to start planning for the
>coming
>> changes, then many independent schools could end up like Digital
>Equipment
>> Corporation, WANG, NCR, Sears, and Woolworth.
>>
>> If you are an auditory learner, a good place to start learning about
>> Christensen's work is this EdTechTalk podcast
>> http://www.edtechtalk.com/21cl_84
>>
>> Looking forward to the discussion.
>>
>> Fred
>>
>> -------------------------
>> Fred Bartels
>> Head - Computer Department
>> Rye Country Day School
>> 914-925-4610
>>
>>
>> [ For info on ISED-L see http://www.gds.org/ISED-L ]
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>attribution,
>> non-commercial, share-alike license.
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>>
>
>
>
>--
>------------------------------
>Vinnie Vrotny
>Blog - Multi-Faceted Refractions
>(vvrotny.org)
>
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Re: Replacing Written Report Cards/ Trimester System

I too would be interested in more details describing how the student
conducted conferences work.

Kind regards,

Deb Hazen
Lansdowne Friends School


On Nov 24, 2008, at 9:39 PM, (Michael Nill) wrote:

> Our middle school students have conducted spring (not fall) parent
> conferences for quite a few years, with great success. I will
> forward your email to
> my middle school administrators to provide more details. These
> conferences
> have not replaced narrative reports written by faculty twice a year.
>
> Michael Nill, Head
> Brooklyn Friends School
>
>
> In a message dated 11/24/2008 12:33:20 P.M. Eastern Standard Time,
> Lora.Allison@smes.org writes:
>
> Hi,
> We are considering replacing our traditional narrative written
> comments on
> quarterly report cards, with something more student driven and
> technologically
> savvy. Right now we write comments at the first and third
> quarters, but
> were interested in moving to student led parent teacher
> conferences. Can anyone
> provide insight into the value of such conferences, and maybe
> provide a
> schedule for this in an Upper School setting (grades 9-12)?
> Also, we are in the early calendar stages of planning for the
> 2009-2010
> school year. A small group of faculty/ staff are looking at the
> benefits of
> moving to a trimester system from a typical four-quarter
> structure. I would
> appreciate any insight or models on this topic as well. What are
> major break
> points for your school if you follow the trimester system? Do
> they align with
> athletic seasons? Do you have courses that are single trimester,
> double
> trimester and full year?
> Thanks in advance for any input- have a great Thanksgiving everyone!
>
> Lora D. Allison
> Director of Student Activities, Community Service and Events
> Coordinator of Independent Senior Projects
> St. Margaret's Episcopal School
> 31641 La Novia
> San Juan Capistrano, CA 92675
> (949) 661-4804 ext. 230
> (949) 488-8151- fax
> lora.allison@smes.org
>
>
> [ For info on ISED-L see http://www.gds.org/ISED-L ]
> Submissions to ISED-L are released under a creative commons,
> attribution,
> non-commercial, share-alike license.
> RSS Feed, http://listserv.syr.edu/scripts/wa.exe?RSS&L=ISED-L
>
> **************One site has it all. Your email accounts, your social
> networks,
> and the things you love. Try the new AOL.com
> today!(http://pr.atwola.com/promoclk/
> 100000075x1212962939x1200825291/aol?redir=http://www.aol.com/?
> optin=new-dp
> %26icid=aolcom40vanity%26ncid=emlcntaolcom00000001)
>
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> Submissions to ISED-L are released under a creative commons,
> attribution, non-commercial, share-alike license.
> RSS Feed, http://listserv.syr.edu/scripts/wa.exe?RSS&L=ISED-L
>

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Monday, November 24, 2008

Re: Replacing Written Report Cards/ Trimester System

Our middle school students have conducted spring (not fall) parent
conferences for quite a few years, with great success. I will forward your email to
my middle school administrators to provide more details. These conferences
have not replaced narrative reports written by faculty twice a year.

Michael Nill, Head
Brooklyn Friends School


In a message dated 11/24/2008 12:33:20 P.M. Eastern Standard Time,
Lora.Allison@smes.org writes:

Hi,
We are considering replacing our traditional narrative written comments on
quarterly report cards, with something more student driven and technologically
savvy. Right now we write comments at the first and third quarters, but
were interested in moving to student led parent teacher conferences. Can anyone
provide insight into the value of such conferences, and maybe provide a
schedule for this in an Upper School setting (grades 9-12)?
Also, we are in the early calendar stages of planning for the 2009-2010
school year. A small group of faculty/ staff are looking at the benefits of
moving to a trimester system from a typical four-quarter structure. I would
appreciate any insight or models on this topic as well. What are major break
points for your school if you follow the trimester system? Do they align with
athletic seasons? Do you have courses that are single trimester, double
trimester and full year?
Thanks in advance for any input- have a great Thanksgiving everyone!

Lora D. Allison
Director of Student Activities, Community Service and Events
Coordinator of Independent Senior Projects
St. Margaret's Episcopal School
31641 La Novia
San Juan Capistrano, CA 92675
(949) 661-4804 ext. 230
(949) 488-8151- fax
lora.allison@smes.org


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**************One site has it all. Your email accounts, your social networks,
and the things you love. Try the new AOL.com
today!(http://pr.atwola.com/promoclk/100000075x1212962939x1200825291/aol?redir=http://www.aol.com/?optin=new-dp
%26icid=aolcom40vanity%26ncid=emlcntaolcom00000001
)

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Re: Discussing "Disrupting Class"

You might also check out the discussion at TeacherPlaces Book Clubs
http://tpbookclubs.com

sherry


Sherry Ward
Director of Technology
Alexandria Country Day School
2400 Russell Road
Alexandria, VA 22301
703-837-1317 (direct) sward@acdsnet.org

-----Original Message-----
From: A forum for independent school educators
[mailto:ISED-L@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU] On Behalf Of Fred Bartels
Sent: Monday, November 24, 2008 2:02 PM
To: ISED-L@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU
Subject: Discussing "Disrupting Class"

Every now and then a book comes along which transforms the way we look
at
education. Howard Gardner's Frames Of Mind: The Theory Of Multiple
Intelligences and Seymour Papert's Mindstorms are two that quickly come
to
mind.=20

I think Disrupting Class by Clayton Christensen may be a work of this
nature. Clayton Christensen is arguably the world's foremost expert on
the
impact that disruptive innovation can have on existing organizations. In
Disrupting Class Christensen (and co-authors Michael Horn and Curtis
Johnson) present a compelling case that within 10 years 50% of the
courses
secondary-school students take will be computer delivered, and that by
2024 80% of courses will be taught online. These courses, according to
Christensen, will provide customization that takes into account
different
intelligences and different learning styles. If Christensen's theory is
correct -and there is a distinct possibility that it is- then our
schools
are likely to undergo huge transformative changes over the next 15
years.=20

I've created a fourm on the Independent School Educator network ning
(http://isenet.ning.com/) to discuss Christensen's theory and to begin
to
think about how independent schools could manage the changes that may
very
well be heading our way. If independent schools are indeed in the path
of
a huge disruptive innovation, and we fail to start planning for the
coming
changes, then many independent schools could end up like Digital
Equipment
Corporation, WANG, NCR, Sears, and Woolworth.=20

If you are an auditory learner, a good place to start learning about
Christensen's work is this EdTechTalk podcast
http://www.edtechtalk.com/21cl_84

Looking forward to the discussion.

Fred

-------------------------
Fred Bartels
Head - Computer Department
Rye Country Day School
914-925-4610


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Re: Discussing "Disrupting Class"

Fred,

As a co-host with Arvind Grover and Alex Ragone, we have spend the fall
speaking on this book at 21st Century Learning (
http://edtechtalk.com/taxonomy/term/9)

In addition to Episode 84, there is Episodes 80, 81 and the soon to be
published 86, a discussion with Michael Horn this morning.

On Thursday, December 4th at 2:00 p.m. EST, we will be interviewing Curtis
Johnson, the other co-author.

I am looking forward to participating in the group on ISENET and am guilty
of letting Alex and Arvind know about this book which I read this summer.

On Mon, Nov 24, 2008 at 1:01 PM, Fred Bartels
<fred_bartels@rcds.rye.ny.us>wrote:

> Every now and then a book comes along which transforms the way we look at
> education. Howard Gardner's Frames Of Mind: The Theory Of Multiple
> Intelligences and Seymour Papert's Mindstorms are two that quickly come to
> mind.
>
> I think Disrupting Class by Clayton Christensen may be a work of this
> nature. Clayton Christensen is arguably the world's foremost expert on the
> impact that disruptive innovation can have on existing organizations. In
> Disrupting Class Christensen (and co-authors Michael Horn and Curtis
> Johnson) present a compelling case that within 10 years 50% of the courses
> secondary-school students take will be computer delivered, and that by
> 2024 80% of courses will be taught online. These courses, according to
> Christensen, will provide customization that takes into account different
> intelligences and different learning styles. If Christensen's theory is
> correct -and there is a distinct possibility that it is- then our schools
> are likely to undergo huge transformative changes over the next 15 years.
>
> I've created a fourm on the Independent School Educator network ning
> (http://isenet.ning.com/) to discuss Christensen's theory and to begin to
> think about how independent schools could manage the changes that may very
> well be heading our way. If independent schools are indeed in the path of
> a huge disruptive innovation, and we fail to start planning for the coming
> changes, then many independent schools could end up like Digital Equipment
> Corporation, WANG, NCR, Sears, and Woolworth.
>
> If you are an auditory learner, a good place to start learning about
> Christensen's work is this EdTechTalk podcast
> http://www.edtechtalk.com/21cl_84
>
> Looking forward to the discussion.
>
> Fred
>
> -------------------------
> Fred Bartels
> Head - Computer Department
> Rye Country Day School
> 914-925-4610
>
>
> [ For info on ISED-L see http://www.gds.org/ISED-L ]
> Submissions to ISED-L are released under a creative commons, attribution,
> non-commercial, share-alike license.
> RSS Feed, http://listserv.syr.edu/scripts/wa.exe?RSS&L=ISED-L
>

--
------------------------------
Vinnie Vrotny
Blog - Multi-Faceted Refractions
(vvrotny.org)

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Do It With Drupal, New Orleans, December 10-12th

Hello, all,

For those of you working with Drupal and Social Media in your schools, there is an upcoming seminar in New Orleans about both of these topics: http://www.doitwithdrupal.com/

The speaker list includes a cross section of people working in Social Media and people well versed in Drupal. If you are currently working with Drupal and/or looking to expand the use of social media within your school, this seminar will be an excellent place to hone these ideas.

The conference organizers have also set up a registration code with a 10% discount for people working within education. Enter EDUCATION as you check out to receive the discount.

I will be attending this seminar; while I'm not associated with the organization of the event, I'm looking forward to meetup and the discussions, both in and out of sessions.

Cheers,

Bill


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Discussing "Disrupting Class"

Every now and then a book comes along which transforms the way we look at
education. Howard Gardner's Frames Of Mind: The Theory Of Multiple
Intelligences and Seymour Papert's Mindstorms are two that quickly come to
mind.

I think Disrupting Class by Clayton Christensen may be a work of this
nature. Clayton Christensen is arguably the world's foremost expert on the
impact that disruptive innovation can have on existing organizations. In
Disrupting Class Christensen (and co-authors Michael Horn and Curtis
Johnson) present a compelling case that within 10 years 50% of the courses
secondary-school students take will be computer delivered, and that by
2024 80% of courses will be taught online. These courses, according to
Christensen, will provide customization that takes into account different
intelligences and different learning styles. If Christensen's theory is
correct -and there is a distinct possibility that it is- then our schools
are likely to undergo huge transformative changes over the next 15 years.

I've created a fourm on the Independent School Educator network ning
(http://isenet.ning.com/) to discuss Christensen's theory and to begin to
think about how independent schools could manage the changes that may very
well be heading our way. If independent schools are indeed in the path of
a huge disruptive innovation, and we fail to start planning for the coming
changes, then many independent schools could end up like Digital Equipment
Corporation, WANG, NCR, Sears, and Woolworth.

If you are an auditory learner, a good place to start learning about
Christensen's work is this EdTechTalk podcast
http://www.edtechtalk.com/21cl_84

Looking forward to the discussion.

Fred

-------------------------
Fred Bartels
Head - Computer Department
Rye Country Day School
914-925-4610


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Replacing Written Report Cards/ Trimester System

Hi,
We are considering replacing our traditional narrative written comments on =
quarterly report cards, with something more student driven and technologica=
lly savvy. Right now we write comments at the first and third quarters, bu=
t were interested in moving to student led parent teacher conferences. Can=
anyone provide insight into the value of such conferences, and maybe provi=
de a schedule for this in an Upper School setting (grades 9-12)?
Also, we are in the early calendar stages of planning for the 2009-2010 sch=
ool year. A small group of faculty/ staff are looking at the benefits of m=
oving to a trimester system from a typical four-quarter structure. I would=
appreciate any insight or models on this topic as well. What are major br=
eak points for your school if you follow the trimester system? Do they ali=
gn with athletic seasons? Do you have courses that are single trimester, d=
ouble trimester and full year?
Thanks in advance for any input- have a great Thanksgiving everyone!

Lora D. Allison
Director of Student Activities, Community Service and Events
Coordinator of Independent Senior Projects
St. Margaret's Episcopal School
31641 La Novia
San Juan Capistrano, CA 92675
(949) 661-4804 ext. 230
(949) 488-8151- fax
lora.allison@smes.org


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RSS Feed, http://listserv.syr.edu/scripts/wa.exe?RSS&L=3DISED-L

One Laptop per Child has started its Give One/Get One program

G1G1 will be global this year, available (via laptop.org/global) in *every*
*country *where the XO has passed certification and labelling *requirements*
.

This is an initial list of countries we will be shipping to. To send a
laptop to anywhere but the US, you'll need to enter your information via
amazon.co.uk <http://laptop.org/global>, and (for now) pay roughly 50 GBP in
shipping. We are adding to this list all the time. If you don't see your
country listed, and can help us work through the requirements where you
live, let me know. You can preorder a G1G1 laptop directed to any address
in the world where UPS ships, excluding the six embargoed countries below.
We prioritize the countries in which we quicken the certification process
based partly on the level of interest and the *number* of preorders, so make
your interest known!

You can currently receive your G1G1 <http://laptop.org/global> "Get"
machines in any of the following countries:

*North America* : Canada <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canada>, the United
States <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States>

*Central & South America* : Haiti
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haiti>,
Peru<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peru>,
Uruguay <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uruguay>,
Paraguay<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paraguay>

*Europe* : Austria <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Austria>,
Belgium<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belgium>,
Bulgaria <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bulgaria>,
Cyprus<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyprus>,
the Czech Republic <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Czech_Republic>,
Denmark<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denmark>,
Estonia <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Estonia>,
Finland<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Finland>,
France <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/France>,
Germany<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germany>,
Greece <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greece>,
Hungary<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hungary>,
Iceland <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iceland>,
Ireland<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Ireland>,
Italy <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italy>,
Latvia<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latvia>,
Liechtenstein <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liechtenstein>,
Lithuania<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lithuania>,
Luxembourg <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luxembourg>,
Malta<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malta>,
the Netherlands <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Netherlands>,
Norway<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norway>,
Poland <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poland>,
Portugal<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portugal>,
Romania <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romania>,
Slovakia<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slovakia>,
Slovenia <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slovenia>,
Spain<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spain>,
Sweden <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sweden>,
Switzerland<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Switzerland>,
the United Kingdom <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Kingdom>

*Middle East* : Iraq <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iraq> APO
addresses<http://usgovinfo.about.com/library/weekly/aatroopmail.htm>

*Africa* : Ethiopia <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethiopia>,
Ghana<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghana>,
Nigeria <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nigeria>,
Rwanda<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rwanda>

*Asia* : Afghanistan <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afghanistan>,
Mongolia<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mongolia>,
Nepal <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nepal>

Countries where you will not be able to receive
G1G1<http://laptop.org/global>machines:

Countries under embargo in the US : *Cuba*<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuba>,
*Iran* <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iran>,
*Iraq*<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iraq>
*(except for APO addresses)*, *North
Korea*<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Korea>.
the *Sudan* <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sudan>, and
*Syria*<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syria>
.

All machines shipped this year will be US/International keyboards. Details
to come on the available adapters; UK adapters are definitely available.

Updates coming re: APO addresses for Fulbright scholars and military
deployments overseas.

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Sunday, November 23, 2008

Re: Parent/Teacher conference calendars?

I set up Google spreadsheets for each teacher and linked them to a blog for
parents to access. It's working well and aside from my time, no software
costs.

Maureen Tumenas
Berkshire Country Day School
Lenox MA

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Saturday, November 22, 2008

Re: Parent/Teacher conference calendars?

Happy Thanksgiving! I will be back on Monday, December 1st.


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Re: Parent/Teacher conference calendars?

For the 2nd year in a row we have used http://www.teeso.com, it works =
reasonably well...
=20
Jack Kriss
Data Manager
Frankfurt International School

________________________________

From: A forum for independent school educators on behalf of Andrei
Sent: Fri 11/21/2008 8:07 PM
To: ISED-L@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU
Subject: Parent/Teacher conference calendars?

Parent/teacher conferences are just around the corner for us and I was
wondering what web calendar software do you guys use to allow parents to
schedule appointments with individual teachers?

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Submissions to ISED-L are released under a creative commons, =
attribution, non-commercial, share-alike license.
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Friday, November 21, 2008

Re: ISED-L Digest - 20 Nov 2008 to 21 Nov 2008 (#2008-292)

I am out of the office for Thanksgiving through Sunday, November 30th. I
will reply to your email upon my return.


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Re: Economic Recession and Tech Budgets

The K12OSN list is a great resource:

https://www.redhat.com/mailman/listinfo/k12osn

The edubuntu (an Ubuntu distribution geared toward education) community also has a couple lists, including one specifically for end users: http://edubuntu.com/Community

Cheers,

Bill

--- On Fri, 11/21/08, Inman, Alex <Alex.Inman@whitfieldschool.org> wrote:

> From: Inman, Alex <Alex.Inman@whitfieldschool.org>
> Subject: Re: Economic Recession and Tech Budgets
> To: ISED-L@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU
> Date: Friday, November 21, 2008, 11:24 AM
> < Are there any resources that you can recommend aimed at
> K-12 Linux
> usage?>
>
> Not as many as I would like...
>
> The best I've found are:
>
> The K-12 Open Minds Conference http://www.k12openminds.org/
>
> The National Center for Open Source in
> Education...particularly the Free
> Software for Schools catalog http://ncose.org/node/3 (click
> the link on
> the page to view the catalog online)
>
> A nice article on Open Source alternatives:
> http://whdb.com/2008/the-top-50-proprietary-programs-that-drive-you-craz
> y-and-their-open-source-alternatives/
>
> I also like the FLOSS group on Classroom2.0 ning:
> http://www.classroom20.com/group/freeopensourcesoftware
>
> I run a blog on our experience with Linux:
> http://linuxlaptops.blogspot.com
>
> I'd love for folks to post more!
>
> Take care,
> Alex
>
> Alex Inman
> Director of Technology
> Whitfield School
> St. Louis, MO
> 314.434.5141
>
> [ For info on ISED-L see http://www.gds.org/ISED-L ]
> Submissions to ISED-L are released under a creative
> commons, attribution, non-commercial, share-alike license.
> RSS Feed,
> http://listserv.syr.edu/scripts/wa.exe?RSS&L=ISED-L


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Re: Parent/Teacher conference calendars?

Our parents already use the homeworksite to keep track of assignments, test=
s, projects, etc., so we just added the parent-teacher conference module wh=
ich allows parents to sign-up for conferences. Not a very sophisticated pr=
ogram but it does the trick. The benefits of using an already established p=
rogram are tremendous!

Karl


=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=
=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D
Director of Educational Technology
Convent of the Sacred Heart School in Greenwich
1177 King Street
Greenwich, CT 06831
203-532-5159 (office)
203-512-6557 (mobil)

-----Original Message-----
From: A forum for independent school educators [mailto:ISED-L@LISTSERV.SYR.=
EDU] On Behalf Of Andrei
Sent: Friday, November 21, 2008 2:07 PM
To: ISED-L@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU
Subject: Parent/Teacher conference calendars?

Parent/teacher conferences are just around the corner for us and I was
wondering what web calendar software do you guys use to allow parents to
schedule appointments with individual teachers?

[ For info on ISED-L see http://www.gds.org/ISED-L ]
Submissions to ISED-L are released under a creative commons, attribution, n=
on-commercial, share-alike license.
RSS Feed, http://listserv.syr.edu/scripts/wa.exe?RSS&L=3DISED-L

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Re: Economic Recession and Tech Budgets

< Are there any resources that you can recommend aimed at K-12 Linux
usage?>

Not as many as I would like...

The best I've found are:=20

The K-12 Open Minds Conference http://www.k12openminds.org/

The National Center for Open Source in Education...particularly the Free
Software for Schools catalog http://ncose.org/node/3 (click the link on
the page to view the catalog online)

A nice article on Open Source alternatives:
http://whdb.com/2008/the-top-50-proprietary-programs-that-drive-you-craz
y-and-their-open-source-alternatives/

I also like the FLOSS group on Classroom2.0 ning:
http://www.classroom20.com/group/freeopensourcesoftware

I run a blog on our experience with Linux:
http://linuxlaptops.blogspot.com

I'd love for folks to post more!

Take care,
Alex

Alex Inman
Director of Technology
Whitfield School
St. Louis, MO
314.434.5141

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Parent/Teacher conference calendars?

Parent/teacher conferences are just around the corner for us and I was
wondering what web calendar software do you guys use to allow parents to
schedule appointments with individual teachers?

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Re: Economic Recession and Tech Budgets

Hi.

With budgets being what they are, I'm seriously looking at making a gradual
jump to Linux and open source. I've been using Linux for years, but it's a
whole different ball game trying to bring it to people who fear change of
any kind.

Are there any resources that you can recommend aimed at K-12 Linux usage?

Thanks.

+++Jeff


On 11/21/08 10:58 AM, "Inman, Alex" <Alex.Inman@whitfieldschool.org> wrote:

> Hi Steve,
>
> I must admit, at a time like this, I am glad we have already gone
> through any learning curve associated with Linux and open source.
> However, necessity is the mother of invention and a catalyst for change.
> For our community, Linux was the only option for 1:1 because we didn't
> have 1:1 in the budget and the value outweighed the alternative of not
> changing and staying with the labs.
>
> I have talked to schools looking at two different ways to maintain or
> increase service and lower costs. Two big pushes are open source and
> virtualization. Virtualization requires more SAN and server but about
> 80% less than it used to. Thus, even people with reasonably small SANs
> can get into the Desktop Virtualization game now.
>
> Also, combine Linux and Virtualization and you've got one cost effective
> solution! You've got to dig a little but VMware will even help you
> tweak Linux clients to run Windows applications cleanly on them using
> ThinApp. That means you can have your cake and eat it too (aside from
> proprietary software costs.)
>
> Take care,
> Alex
>
> Alex Inman
> Director of Technology
> Whitfield School
> St. Louis, MO
> 314.434.5141
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: A forum for independent school educators
> [mailto:ISED-L@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU] On Behalf Of Steve Taffee
> Sent: Thursday, November 20, 2008 11:05 AM
> To: ISED-L@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU
> Subject: Economic Recession and Tech Budgets
>
> Hello everyone -
>
> I am curious to know if and how the economic recession is affecting your
> technology budgets and programs for the coming year.
>
> We are re-examining a number of our practices including email
> (FirstClass versus Google), productivity suites (MS Office versus Open
> Office and Google Docs), databases (FileMaker client versus FileMaker
> web access), web servers (hosted site versus our
> own Drupal server). These are good things to examine, anyway, and we
> would have done so. But there's no doubt that the economy has built a
> fire under us to look at these sooner rather than later.
>
> On the hardware front, we'll be purchasing more RAM to nurse computers
> along for at least a year beyond their normal retirement schedule
> (typically 3 years for laptops, 4 years for desktops), and will think
> twice about CPU-sucking upgrades to
> applications and OS that we would normally roll out on an annual basis.
>
> Our administration has heard from other schools that they, too, are
> retrenching by delaying hiring, minimizing tuition increases, setting
> aside more funds for tuition assistance, and - cutting tech budgets.
>
> So the challenge for us, perhaps others as well, is to keep moving
> forward with technology initiatives, to continue to provide great
> professional development, and not lose sight of "21st century" learning
> and teaching. Indeed, as an environmentalist I
> have often thought that much of the 21st century could well be marked by
> scarcity rather than the abundance we've grown so accustomed to.
>
> So once again my question to the group: how are you coping with the
> current situation as you plan for the coming year?
>
> s
>
> -----
> Treat each piece of paper as precious and reduce waste - don't print
> electronic documents.
> -----
> Steve Taffee 650.470.7725 (office)
> Director of Technology 415.613.6684 (mobile)
> Castilleja School 650.326.8036 (fax)
> 1310 Bryant Street steve_taffee@castilleja.org
> Palo Alto, CA 94301 www.castilleja.org |
> taffee.edublogs.org
> Women Learning, Women Leading
> -------
>
>
> [ For info on ISED-L see http://www.gds.org/ISED-L ]
> Submissions to ISED-L are released under a creative commons,
> attribution, non-commercial, share-alike license.
> RSS Feed, http://listserv.syr.edu/scripts/wa.exe?RSS&L=ISED-L
>
> [ For info on ISED-L see http://www.gds.org/ISED-L ]
> Submissions to ISED-L are released under a creative commons, attribution,
> non-commercial, share-alike license.
> RSS Feed, http://listserv.syr.edu/scripts/wa.exe?RSS&L=ISED-L

Jeffrey Mesch
Director of Technology
Father Ryan High School
Nashville, TN
Direct: 615-777-7526
Mobile: 615-207-8068
E-mail: meschj@fatherryan.org
AIM: jeffmesch
Skype: jeffmesch

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Re: Moving from Blackboard to Moodle

>From Moodle 1.7 onwards, if you're converting from Blackboard to Moodle,
you can export your course and then import the question pools into
Moodle using the Blackboard "POOL" type export format. It relies on XML
functions being compiled into your PHP. Note that you must first unpack
the exported zip file and provide Moodle with the appropriate .dat file.
Note that this version does not work with Blackboard Version 6 and
newer. (Use this format for ExamView 5 or 6)

However, it's always best to guesstimate the amount of time that it will
take to create again vs. the export / import. Sometimes it's just
better to start from scratch.

Hope this helps!

On Fri, 2008-11-21 at 11:28 -0600, Karen Douse wrote:

> Has anyone made this migration? We have been using Blackboard for two years so do not have years and years of course materials archived. However, some of our teachers have enough of their class materials posted that we don't want them to have to start
> from scratch if there are issues in moving assignments, quizzes, etc. If anyone has been through this conversion, I'd really love to hear about the obstacles and talk to you if possible. The Moodle site and wiki have some info but it isn't terribly
> encouraging. Blackboard has just announced a 4% price increase for next year so now looks like a good time to make the move.
>
> Thanks - Karen
>
> Karen Douse
> Director of Library and Information Services
> Ann Scott Carell Library
> Harpeth Hall School
> 615-346-0116
> douse@harpethhall.org
>
>
> [ For info on ISED-L see http://www.gds.org/ISED-L ]
> Submissions to ISED-L are released under a creative commons, attribution, non-commercial, share-alike license.
> RSS Feed, http://listserv.syr.edu/scripts/wa.exe?RSS&L=ISED-L

Matt Burkhardt, MSTM
President
Impari Systems, Inc.
502 Fairview Avenue
Frederick, MD 21701
mlb@imparisystems.com
www.imparisystems.com
(301) 682-7901

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Moving from Blackboard to Moodle

Has anyone made this migration? We have been using Blackboard for two years so do not have years and years of course materials archived. However, some of our teachers have enough of their class materials posted that we don't want them to have to start
from scratch if there are issues in moving assignments, quizzes, etc. If anyone has been through this conversion, I'd really love to hear about the obstacles and talk to you if possible. The Moodle site and wiki have some info but it isn't terribly
encouraging. Blackboard has just announced a 4% price increase for next year so now looks like a good time to make the move.

Thanks - Karen

Karen Douse
Director of Library and Information Services
Ann Scott Carell Library
Harpeth Hall School
615-346-0116
douse@harpethhall.org


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Re: Economic Recession and Tech Budgets

Hi Steve,

I must admit, at a time like this, I am glad we have already gone
through any learning curve associated with Linux and open source.
However, necessity is the mother of invention and a catalyst for change.
For our community, Linux was the only option for 1:1 because we didn't
have 1:1 in the budget and the value outweighed the alternative of not
changing and staying with the labs.

I have talked to schools looking at two different ways to maintain or
increase service and lower costs. Two big pushes are open source and
virtualization. Virtualization requires more SAN and server but about
80% less than it used to. Thus, even people with reasonably small SANs
can get into the Desktop Virtualization game now.

Also, combine Linux and Virtualization and you've got one cost effective
solution! You've got to dig a little but VMware will even help you
tweak Linux clients to run Windows applications cleanly on them using
ThinApp. That means you can have your cake and eat it too (aside from
proprietary software costs.)

Take care,
Alex

Alex Inman
Director of Technology
Whitfield School
St. Louis, MO
314.434.5141


-----Original Message-----
From: A forum for independent school educators
[mailto:ISED-L@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU] On Behalf Of Steve Taffee
Sent: Thursday, November 20, 2008 11:05 AM
To: ISED-L@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU
Subject: Economic Recession and Tech Budgets

Hello everyone -=20

I am curious to know if and how the economic recession is affecting your
technology budgets and programs for the coming year.

We are re-examining a number of our practices including email
(FirstClass versus Google), productivity suites (MS Office versus Open
Office and Google Docs), databases (FileMaker client versus FileMaker
web access), web servers (hosted site versus our
own Drupal server). These are good things to examine, anyway, and we
would have done so. But there's no doubt that the economy has built a
fire under us to look at these sooner rather than later.=20

On the hardware front, we'll be purchasing more RAM to nurse computers
along for at least a year beyond their normal retirement schedule
(typically 3 years for laptops, 4 years for desktops), and will think
twice about CPU-sucking upgrades to
applications and OS that we would normally roll out on an annual basis.

Our administration has heard from other schools that they, too, are
retrenching by delaying hiring, minimizing tuition increases, setting
aside more funds for tuition assistance, and - cutting tech budgets.

So the challenge for us, perhaps others as well, is to keep moving
forward with technology initiatives, to continue to provide great
professional development, and not lose sight of "21st century" learning
and teaching. Indeed, as an environmentalist I
have often thought that much of the 21st century could well be marked by
scarcity rather than the abundance we've grown so accustomed to.

So once again my question to the group: how are you coping with the
current situation as you plan for the coming year?

s

-----
Treat each piece of paper as precious and reduce waste - don't print
electronic documents.
-----
Steve Taffee 650.470.7725 (office)
Director of Technology 415.613.6684 (mobile)
Castilleja School 650.326.8036 (fax)
1310 Bryant Street steve_taffee@castilleja.org =20
Palo Alto, CA 94301 www.castilleja.org |
taffee.edublogs.org
Women Learning, Women Leading
-------


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Cafeteria food systems selection

Hi ISED -=20

I am looking at replacing our troublesome caf=E9 POS (point of sale, not the
other acronym although...) system for students and faculty to handle food
transactions. Just wondering if there is any knowledge from the list out
there on selection processes you have done and/or if you are happy with the
systems you have.=20

I have a decent list of requirements now after multiple meetings with the
parties involved, but now at the point of initial vendor contact, so any
possible vendor list help would be great. I think the requirements are
pretty basic and a lot of the needs really are more back-end notifications
and reporting.=20

Thanks,=20

Jonathan
................................
Jonathan Mergy (jmergy@lwhs.org)
Director Of Technology
Lick-Wilmerding High School
755 Ocean Ave, SF CA 94112
P:415.333.4021 x365
http://www.lwhs.org

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Parent Relations

Colleagues:

=20

I'm writing an article with one of my staff members about parent
relations and I'm hoping you can help. I'm looking for examples of
challenging interactions with parents and your suggestions for handling
the situations optimally.=20

=20

The audience for this article is independent school leaders. Although I
am searching for several good examples of parents' misinterpretation of
school policy or misbehavior, the primary focus of the article will be
on positive communication and relationship management. I would love to
hear about techniques you employ that have worked well. Also, if you've
had an experience that you wish you'd handled differently, that would be
very useful too.

=20

Because NAIS is authoring this article, you can be assured that we will
not portray your school negatively. If you have a good example, but
would prefer that your school's name not be used, just let Myra know.=20

=20

If you'd like to contribute, please send a message to Myra McGovern
(mcgovern@nais.org) describing the situation and/or techniques for
improving parent relations no later than 5:00 PM on Tuesday, November
25.=20

Dear Colleagues,

=20

I'm writing an article with one of my staff members about parent
relations and I'm hoping you can help. I'm looking for examples of
challenging interactions with parents and your suggestions for handling
the situations optimally.=20

=20

The audience for this article is independent school leaders. Although I
am searching for several good examples of parents' misinterpretation of
school policy or misbehavior, the primary focus of the article will be
on positive communication and relationship management. I would love to
hear about techniques you employ that have worked well. Also, if you've
had an experience that you wish you'd handled differently, that would be
very useful too.

=20

Because NAIS is authoring this article, you can be assured that we will
not portray your school negatively. If you have a good example, but
would prefer that your school's name not be used, just let Myra know.=20

=20

If you'd like to contribute, please send a message to Myra McGovern
(mcgovern@nais.org) describing the situation and/or techniques for
improving parent relations no later than 5:00 PM on Tuesday, November
25.=20

=20

=20

Cheers.

=20

PFB

=20

Patrick F. Bassett, President

NAIS - National Association of Independent Schools

1620 L St., NW, Washington, DC 20036

202.973.9710 (Office)

202.746.5444 (Cell)

202.973.9790 (Fax)

bassett@nais.org www.nais.org

=20


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Re: Tech question: Final Cut Pro

You could use Streamclip - http://www.squared5.com/ - and then use
another editing tool.

As always with me - it's open source software!

On Thu, 2008-11-20 at 20:57 -0500, Cohen Steven wrote:

> Does anyone know if Final Cut Pro files can be edited in Final Cut Pro
> Express?
>
> We are working with a documentary filmmaker who spent several months
> in Chad interviewing refugees from Darfur. She has sent us her raw
> footage and students are going to be creating their documentaries
> from it. She has sent us the footage as m2t files, which we can't
> seem to do anything with. She has offered us FCP files but we worry
> we'll have trouble opening those as well.
>
> Anyone have any thoughts?
>
> Steve Cohen
> The Allen-Stevenson School
>
> [ For info on ISED-L see http://www.gds.org/ISED-L ]
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Matt Burkhardt, MSTM
President
Impari Systems, Inc.
502 Fairview Avenue
Frederick, MD 21701
mlb@imparisystems.com
www.imparisystems.com
(301) 682-7901

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Re: ISED/Service-based trip for 8th/9th grade

We also use Sustainable Horizons. My son went on a trip to Honduras in June. He had a wonderful experience. They did a great job of easing my concern as a parent about the program and the kids' safety. My son also got a lot out of the experience.

Martha Cunningham
Director of Technology
Sandy Spring Friends School
Sandy Spring, MD

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Re: ISED/Service-based trip for 8th/9th grade

Mac,

I would be happy to talk with you (and any others) about our week long
community service options for our 8th grade. We offer three options
during Presidents' week in February, so we dedicate four days of class
time to it. The options include a week in Honduras working at an
orphanage (requires speaking Spanish at a semi-proficient level), a week
in Louisiana helping with the ongoing recovery efforts from Hurricanes
Katrina and Rita, and a week working with social service agencies in the
Boston metropolitan area. Thus, we have an international, national and
local option. Every 8th grader is required to participate in one of the
three activities for the full week. A more detailed description of the
trip to Honduras is on the NAIS web site.

If you would like more information, you can email or call me, and I'll
answer any questions you have.

Raymond Nance, Head of School
Glen Urquhart School
74 Hart Street
Beverly Farms, MA 01915
978-927-1064, ext. 112
www.gus.org
rnance@gus.org


A forum for independent school educators <ISED-L@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU> writes:
>Hi all,
>
>I am looking to start a yearly program at our school over spring break.
>We're looking to do a community service-based trip for 8-10 days with
>13-14-year-old kids. International is prefered. It's one of those things
>that's hard to put together the first time without a little guidance, and
>I'd love any and all suggestions. We're open to habitat stuff,
>orphanages, you name it; as long as we can offer a fairly strong level of
>safety and assuage any parental concerns, we're interested. I appreciate
>any advice in advance, and feel free to email me personally if you don't
>want to clog inboxes.
>
>Thanks,
>Mac Jackson
>
>Indian Mountain School
>Assistant Director of Residential Life
>Eighth Grade English
>860-435-0871 ext. 122
>mac_jackson@indianmountain.org
>
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Re: ISED/Service-based trip for 8th/9th grade

We have been really pleased with Sustainable Horizons and the trips that
they organize. We have used them several times for Upper School trips &
plan on continuing the relationship. Last year we went to Honduras and this
year we are going to Guatemala. They have been very responsive to our ideas
and work hard to craft the right program.

Good luck!
Kristin Hempel

Kristin Waugh Hempel
Manlius Pebble Hill School
Director of Community Outreach
5300 Jamesville Road
DeWitt, New York 13214-2499

ph: 315-446-2452 x 113
Fax: 315-446-2620

khempel@mph.net

On 11/20/08 8:26 PM, "Mac Jackson" <Mac_Jackson@indianmountain.org> wrote:

> Hi all,
>
> I am looking to start a yearly program at our school over spring break.
> We're looking to do a community service-based trip for 8-10 days with
> 13-14-year-old kids. International is prefered. It's one of those things
> that's hard to put together the first time without a little guidance, and
> I'd love any and all suggestions. We're open to habitat stuff,
> orphanages, you name it; as long as we can offer a fairly strong level of
> safety and assuage any parental concerns, we're interested. I appreciate
> any advice in advance, and feel free to email me personally if you don't
> want to clog inboxes.
>
> Thanks,
> Mac Jackson
>
> Indian Mountain School
> Assistant Director of Residential Life
> Eighth Grade English
> 860-435-0871 ext. 122
> mac_jackson@indianmountain.org
>
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> Submissions to ISED-L are released under a creative commons, attribution,
> non-commercial, share-alike license.
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Re: Tons of textbooks vs e-Reader

Hello, Peter,

Great post. Some thoughts below:


--- On Thu, 11/20/08, Peter Gow <pgow@bcdschool.org> wrote:


> Well, e-readers or even tablet or laptop computers could
> make a big dent
> in the backpack problem, but a few things need to happen
> first.
>
> One is that the "reader" function must become
> easy to use, robust, and not
> just a wee bit durable. Some folks love their Kindles or
> other readers,
> but are these machines ready for the hurly-burly of 165
> school days?
> Laptops are coming down in price but not that comfy as
> reading devices,
> while tablets are still pretty dear and only a bit more
> comfy. Ideally,
> someone will cook up a tough tablet with an exceptional
> reader function in
> a form factor closer to the Kindle or a 9-10" netbook
> than to the larger
> models around today. I know there now are tablets the right
> size, but
> tough and easily readable are mostly still missing
> qualities.

How close is the OLPC to this desired form factor and functionality? I recently installed the most recent build, and was very impressed by the new functionality and stability.

>
> More important, one of two other things has to happen:
> either textbook
> companies have to offer universal availability of their
> product lines,
> including novels, or educators have to wean themselves from
> dependency on
> textbooks as the source and center of their curricula.

I see the second happening before the first. For a decent overview, check out the pdf version of the paper you can get from this link: http://www.aei.org/events/eventID.1522,filter.all,type.past/event_detail.asp -- the event was put on by the American Enterprise Institute, so it has a particular philosophical orientation, but the paper gives some great insight on how textbook companies work the political system to their financial benefit, and (I would argue) our children's detriment.

>> Good stuff snipped <<

> Demand may be a major factor in
> why they
> haven't moved this way as far as one might have hoped
> by now; it may come
> down to a question of which comes first, the gadget or the
> content? In a
> slumping economy, the impetus to develop either may be
> diminishing.

The content is already here. Teachers are producing curriculum every day. The problem is distribution; few people are sharing.

>
> However, I love to imagine imagine downloading to my and my
> students'
> robust, writable tablet-readers a fairly skeletal text for,
> say, a basic
> history survey course, something like an AMSCO review book,
> and then
> filling up my syllabus with downloaded and teacher-created
> bits and pieces
> that would allow me to customize my course like crazy in
> all the ways I'd
> love to be able to do this. (We can do this now,
> incidentally, so it's not
> really a matter of technology.) Better can I imagine doing
> this without
> the outline for more specialized elective courses. Right
> now, one issue in
> doing this, whether computer-based or xeroxed, has to do
> with permissions
> and copyright, while for a lot of teachers an even bigger
> barrier is the
> sheer hassle of working this way--it's too novel, too
> overwhelming, or
> just too cumbersome.

And this is the real issue. A while back I wrote about a passive distribution system that allows for teachers to blog their curriculum, and have curriculum aggregated from various sources into a central repository. Over time, as more material is aggregated in that central repository, it becomes the source of multiple textbooks, as teachers can come in, organize (or clone) these existing posts, and subsequently redistribute these texts. This is not vaporware; this is a real system that can be built today. The missing ingredient is content, although I suspect that if we scoured the internet we could probably find enough teachers blogging lesson plans to make a good start.

This could be jumpstarted by five schools agreeing to work together at the beginning of the school year. Not all teachers would need to participate; interested teachers from the various schools would agree to blog their lessons, and share lessons using cc-licensed material. Over the course of the school year, their lessons would be aggregated in the central repository. At the end of that year, we would have an authoritative data source for textbooks on a wide variety of subjects. All of this content could be readily remixed, and easily redistributed.

The blog post where I lay this out is at http://funnymonkey.com/oers-publishing-easy-part, or http://is.gd/8qd4

So -- any schools want to participate in an initiative like this, starting with the 2009-2010 school year?

Cheers,

Bill

>
> Like your teacher, I dream of the day when all I or my
> students or my own
> children will need is one slick gadget, good for reading,
> research,
> communication, note-taking, and probably a bunch of other
> functions
> (musical, audio-visual) that I'm not thinking of. It
> will be about the
> size and weight of a trade paperback, have great battery
> life, excellent
> durability (waterproof would be nice, too), and superb
> connectivity. Hasta
> la vista, giant L.L. Bean backpacks and Timbuktu messenger
> bags!
>
> But there is much work to be done first--Peter Gow
>
> Peter Gow, Director of College Counseling and Special
> Programs
> Beaver Country Day School
> 791 Hammond Street
> Chestnut Hill, MA 02467
> www.bcdschool.org
> Tel. 617-738-2755
> FAX 617-738-2701
> Skype: petergow3
>
>
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> Submissions to ISED-L are released under a creative
> commons, attribution, non-commercial, share-alike license.
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