T C E B TRIANGLE COALITION ELECTRONIC BULLETIN DECEMBER 14, 2000 VOL. 6, NO. 49 _____________________________________________________ Published by the TRIANGLE COALITION FOR SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY EDUCATION _____________________________________________________ THIS WEEK'S TOPICS: TCEB SCHEDULING NOTE TEENS ARE GETTING WIRED FOR TECHNICAL JOBS ADMINISTRATORS SAY TECHNOLOGY CALLS FOR RANGE OF SKILLS MID-ATLANTIC CENTER FOR MATHEMATICS TEACHING AND LEARNING LEARNING GETS SOME TECHNICAL SUPPORT NATIONAL ENGINEERS WEEK IS TURNING 50! MASSACHUSETTS ALTERS TEACHING STANDARD ____________________________________________________ TCEB SCHEDULING NOTE The next issue of TCEB will be distributed on January 4, 2001. *********************************** TEENS ARE GETTING WIRED FOR TECHNICAL JOBS (Source: Seattle Times, December 1, 2000) Programs that introduce disadvantaged teens to computer basics are nothing new. But in small classrooms in a building in Seattle's central area, 73 middle-school and high-school students are training to be tomorrow's web developers, Java programmers, multimedia producers, and network engineers. They're part of the Technical Teens Internship Program, run by a foundation created by a successful Microsoft retiree. It's a four-year program that starts with the basics but includes job preparation skills and summer internships and progresses to sophisticated computer functions. On any given day, students are wiring and maintaining computer networks and building web sites for nonprofit groups that don't have the resources or expertise to do it. The program accepts as many as 40 new students each year. Though it is geared to helping minority students, it is open to all students ages 13-18. The instruction is free to students; grants and donations cover the foundation's expenses. The internship program is one of several programs run by the Technology Access Foundation, created by Microsoft retiree Trish Dziko. Other programs introduce basic computer skills to young children and employment skills to higher education-bound teens. (Editor's Note: For more information, visit www.techaccess.org, or call 206-725-9095.) *********************************** ADMINISTRATORS SAY TECHNOLOGY CALLS FOR RANGE OF SKILLS (Source: Education Week, November 29, 2000) For superintendents, the computer's full-fledged march into schools means many challenges: buying the machines, hiring people to run them, training teachers, ensuring children's safety online, and mastering e-mail to answer notes from employees, school boards, and parents. But there is light at the end of this cable-clad labyrinth, some school leaders are finding. Many believe that technology put to good use can improve teaching, and that failing to adapt to technological changes is nothing less than a denial of the future. Underscoring that point, experts had a sobering message for school leaders at a recent conference on technology: Woe to those who don't see what's coming. Envisioning schools without walls and allowing a shift toward inquiry-driven lessons, in which teachers lead the learning rather than being the source of information, are changes enough for some school leaders to contemplate. But incorporating new pedagogical ideas isn't their most immediate challenge. Superintendents say what vexes them most is taking the practical steps toward making their schools technology-ready. Warding off commercialism and protecting students from inappropriate online material also are top technological concerns for administrators. Some districts have jumped to install "guard dog" Internet filters to prevent students from visiting objectionable web sites -- but some of those safeguards can invite unwanted commercial invasions, said Nancy E. Willard, a research associate at the University of Oregon's Center for Advanced Technology in Education. She advises against the use of free, commercial Internet filters, because some of them feature advertising and track which sites children visit. That information, in turn, is sold to companies. *********************************** MID-ATLANTIC CENTER FOR MATHEMATICS TEACHING AND LEARNING The University of Delaware, the University of Maryland, and Pennsylvania State University have received a grant from the National Science Foundation to create a consortium of universities and school systems that will offer collaborative doctoral and post-doctoral studies in mathematics education and develop model programs for content preparation and professional development of mathematics teachers. The consortium has two principal aims: 1. To design and operate an innovative program of doctoral and postdoctoral education for specialists in mathematics education research, mathematics teacher education, mathematics curriculum and assessment development, and mathematics education policy leadership. 2. To develop, evaluate, and disseminate models for the mathematical education of prospective teachers and professional development of practicing mathematics teachers in elementary, middle, and high schools. The first objective addresses problems in our national capacity for mathematics education leadership; the second addresses issues in the quality of K-12 mathematics teacher education. The NSF grant and contributions from the university and school system partners support studies and research by doctoral and post-doctoral fellows as well as work on the model teacher preparation and professional development programs. For information about the programs of the Mid-Atlantic Center for Mathematics Teaching and Learning (MAC-MTL) and its NSF fellowships for doctoral and post-doctoral study, visit www.education.umd.edu/mac-mtl, or contact the Center at 301-405-3115, or via e-mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] *********************************** LEARNING GETS SOME TECHNICAL SUPPORT (Source: Los Angeles Times, November 30, 2000) Teachers at schools with high minority enrollments use the Internet for instruction about half as often as teachers on predominantly white campuses. And schools with high minority enrollments average almost twice as many students per Internet-connected computer as predominantly white schools. Despite significant narrowing of the gap between technology haves and have-nots, a digital divide still exists, according to Market Data Retrieval's "Technology in Education 2000" report, available at www.schooldata.com. This and other studies show that it's not just poor, minority city kids hampered by unequal access to technology but also disabled, female, and rural students. It's ironic. When computers first made their way into classrooms, many educators saw technology as a great equalizer with the potential to close the gap between the advantaged and the disadvantaged. Pioneer programs, such as the Huntington Computer Project of Long Island, N.Y.,harnessed the intelligence of what Director Lud Braun termed "wayward high school students" to program biology, chemistry, mathematics, and physics simulations. Other enthusiastic teachers were staying up all night to write their own BASIC programs for use on the classroom TRS-80 or using AppleWorks to have their students compile curriculum-related databases. Educators were also among the first to recognize the potential of the budding Internet, sending their students out on the information superhighway for collaborative projects and Internet research even before the World Wide Web. But keeping up with the rapid evolution of hardware, software, connectivity demands, and professional training has proved expensive and time-consuming, opening new gaps as old ones are filled. Government grants and volunteer efforts have helped get schools wired. Also significant has been a program created as part of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 that provides as much as $2.25 billion annually to help schools pay for local area networking and Internet service. More and more businesses are supporting education technology by donating cash, services, or equipment. The nonprofit MOUSE (Making Opportunities for Upgrading Schools and Education) at www.mouse.org is a good example, with corporate partners that provide volunteers and technical support to New York City public high schools. The U.S. Department of Education Office of Educational Technology at www.ed.gov/Technology/tool_kit.html provides clear and detailed strategies and practical tips on how to bridge the digital divide through the development of community projects, including good suggestions on ways to build coalitions with businesses. *********************************** NATIONAL ENGINEERS WEEK IS TURNING 50! Founded in 1951 by the National Society of Professional Engineers, National Engineers Week is celebrated annually by thousands of engineers, engineering students, teachers, and leaders in government and business. In 1990, the National Engineers Week consortium expanded its scope and now includes more than 100 engineering, scientific, and education societies, and major corporations dedicated to increasing public awareness and appreciation of technology and the engineering profession. Co-chairs for National Engineers Week 2001 (February 18 - 24) are the National Society of Professional Engineers (NSPE) and IBM. To celebrate National Engineers Week's 50th anniversary, the National Society of Professional Engineers and its society partners are creating a unique web-based travel guide so that adults and kids can mark the spot of some of the greatest engineering achievements and activities, both famous and not-so-famous, and include them in their vacation itineraries. This state-by-state guide will include engineering achievements and activities from all disciplines in an entertaining, illustrated display that will show the public that engineering is everywhere. IBM also leads the way for the launch of a new National Engineers Week annual event, "Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day." Scheduled for Thursday, February 22, 2001, this cooperative forum for corporations, government agencies, and engineering societies aims to increase the number of girls reached through National Engineers Week programs, to target and encourage women engineers to serve as mentors for those programs, to bring to public attention the need for more engineers and more opportunities for women in the field, to unite engineering organizations in a women-oriented campaign, and to promote and assist coordination between organizations already serving girls and women engineers. Educators are encouraged to visit www.eweek.org/2000/Teachers to download interactive projects related to science, math, technology, and engineering. This years activities include "Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle," "Catalysis: Change for the Better," and "Wetlands: Nature's Water Filter." Additional activities from previous years, are also available. For more information on National Engineers Week 2001, visit www.eweek.org. *********************************** MASSACHUSETTS ALTERS TEACHING STANDARD (Source: Boston Globe, November 29, 2000) Engineers and lawyers could become full-fledged public school teachers without earning a master's degree in education under new teaching license standards the State Board of Education approved yesterday. The board hopes the new rules, called for in the 1993 education reform law, will encourage mid-career professionals to enter the teaching ranks as the state girds itself for a predicted teacher shortage. Under current law, a teacher without a master's degree in education must earn one within 10 years to be fully certified and continue in the classroom. The new rules spell out alternatives: a master's degree in the subject you teach, or passing a ''performance assessment.'' Only two other states - Connecticut and Kansas - also use the latter in determining who will be fully licensed. Calling the changes in Massachusetts ''long overdue,'' Board of Education Chairman James A. Peyser said the new rules are ''one of the last major pieces of education reform.'' But many educators view them as a slap in the face: The underlying message, they say, is that anybody who knows a subject can teach it, even if they never learned how to teach. Critics warn the shortcuts will undermine the quality of the teaching corps. ''You have to know something about child development, and how to teach,'' said Nadya Aswad Higgins, who heads the Massachusetts Elementary School Principals' Association. Representatives of the Massachusetts Teachers Association, the Massachusetts Federation of Teachers, and the Massachusetts Association of School Superintendents expressed similar sentiments. Some schools of education are also concerned about new course requirements for undergraduates who want to be elementary school teachers. Because elementary teachers teach a little of everything, the new required classes include American literature, world literature, US history, world history, geography, economics, US government, child development, science, and math. The new rules will take effect Oct. 1, 2001. _____________________________________________________ This TCEB is made possible by a grant from The Dow Chemical Company. Please visit their educational web site at www.dow.com for more information about their educational support programs. The TCEB is a newsletter provided to members of the Triangle Coalition. Members may forward individual articles or the issue in its entirety providing that credit is given to the Triangle Coalition, and all of the following contact information is included in any republication. For TCEB subscription or membership information, contact: Triangle Coalition for Science and Technology Education 1201 New York Avenue, NW, Suite 700, Washington, DC 20005 phone: 800-582-0115 fax: 202-289-1303 e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] www.triangle-coalition.org To submit information for possible inclusion in TCEB, contact: Joanne Van Voorhis, Target Marketing, Editor [EMAIL PROTECTED] ************************************ THE MISSION OF THE TRIANGLE COALITION IS TO FOSTER COLLABORATION AMONG LEADERS IN EDUCATION, BUSINESS, AND GOVERNMENT TO IMPROVE SCIENCE, MATHEMATICS, AND TECHNOLOGY EDUCATION. The Triangle Coalition membership includes business, labor, education, science, mathematics, technology and engineering organizations, and community and state-based alliances. ************************************ ---------------- This is the ISTA-talk mailing list. 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