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For Administrators and
Future Administrators

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ONLINE RECRUITERS

STANDARDS AND CURRICULUM

STATE AGENCIES AND ORGANIZATIONS

LEGAL

Be Ready, You Need to Know . . . Does you District Internet Use Policy have provisions addressing disclosure of student personal information on sites like Think.com? It should. Do you know the difference between free speech rights (including expressing viewpoints that administrators and teachers may not like) and free speech wrongs (ex: defamation, harassment) and are able to teach your student? You should.

Screening Volunteers and Background Checks

Here are some citations or links to resources that may be useful in providing input towards determining the shape and nature of a policy that meets the security and ethical considerations of providing quality volunteers for educational programs and that meets the political considerations of the school boards or other policy making or implementing groups making decisions on volunteer standards and screening policies.

SAFE SCHOOLS - CRIME /  BULLYING

 

Sponsors and Funding

ISSUES

Develop The Technology Plan

WHY YOU SHOULD HIRE A TEACHER TECHNOLOGY CONSULTANT

Single Sex Classrooms / Schools - Gender Grouping

Single-sex education advocates say research abroad and in private schools supports their contention that boys and girls learn better in classrooms tailored to their learning styles -- more competitive for the boys, more collaborative for the girls. However, David Sadker, a co-author of "Failing at Fairness: How Our Schools Cheat Girls" (Touchstone Books, $14), said studies on the benefits of same-sex education for girls vary, but some suggest that students at all-girl schools are not only more confident, but also more likely to go to graduate school and venture into math and science. Reliable studies on the benefits of same-sex education for boys are scant. Source

AS COMPUTERS IDLE IN CLASSROOMS, TRAINING FOR TEACHERS IS THE NEXT CHALLENGE

Wed, 5 Jul 2000 from Edupage (New York Times July 3 2000)
Although 95 percent of American schools now have Internet access, many teachers still do not know how to use the tools or do not feel comfortable using the technology in their classrooms. According to a survey by Market Data Retrieval, 61 percent of teachers in elementary or secondary schools consider themselves "somewhat prepared" or "not at all prepared" to incorporate technology into their lessons. Many of these teachers feel intimidated by having computers in their classrooms, especially when their students may have more computer experience than they do, while other teachers simply do not think computers add anything to the educational process. The White House has already given $75 million worth of grants for teachers' technology instruction, and Intel is creating a group of "master teachers" from across the country who will then be able to train other teachers.

GROUP RELEASES STANDARDS FOR PREPARING TEACHERS TO USE TECHNOLOGY IN THE CLASSROOM

(Chronicle of Higher Education Online, June 30 2000) http://www.iste.orgThe International Society for Technology in Education has released national standards and recommendations for colleges that will be used in preparing teachers to use technology effectively in the classroom. The U.S. Department of Education awarded the nonprofit group a three-year, $2.2 million grant last year to develop the standards, which describe what beginning teachers should know and be able to do with technology. Teachers should be able to use technology in developing curricula, increasing professional knowledge, and assessing students.

PARENTS SHOULD KNOW COST OF FREE COMPUTERS, LEGISLATORS SAY

Issue: EdTech

"If parents do not want their children to be objects of market research firms while in school, they should have the right to say 'no,'" said Rep. George Miller (D-CA). He, along with Senator Christopher Dodd (D-CT) and Senator Richard Shelby (R-AL), want to see some regulation concerning schools accepting free computer equipment and Internet services from companies. The problem, they say, is that in exchange the schools allow the companies to gather valuable marketing data from students. The legislators want to give parents a role in determining whether schools can let Internet firms gather information from their children for commercial benefit. The legislation would require schools to get parental permission before a company can collect personal information from students and use it for commercial purposes. Schools that do not comply could lose their eligibility for federal funding. "It will basically inhibit the innovative ways schools have reached out to businesses," said Daniel Fuller, federal programs director for the National School Boards Association. "We're looking at significant costs at the local level," he added, saying the loss of business support and the cost of denying Internet access to students would be impossible to quantify.
[SOURCE: CyberTimes, AUTHOR: Rebecca Weiner (rweiner@nytimes.com)]

MISC.

New Element Discovered...called...Administratium

A major research institution has recently announced the discovery of the heaviest element yet known to science. This new element has been tentatively named "Administratium." Administratium has 1 neutron, 12 assistant neutrons, 75 deputy neutrons, and 111 assistant deputy neutrons, giving it an atomic mass of 312.

These 312 particles are held together by a force called morons, which are surrounded by vast quantities of lepton-like particles called peons.

Since Administratium has no electrons, it is inert. However, it can be detected as it impedes every reaction with which it comes into contact. A minute amount of Administratium causes one reaction to take over 4 days to complete when it would normally take less than a second. Administratium has a normal half-life of 3 years; it does not decay but instead undergoes a reorganization in which a portion of the assistant neutrons and deputy neutrons exchange places. In fact, Administratium's mass will actually increase over time, since each reorganization causes some morons to become neutrons, forming isodopes.

This characteristic of moron-promotion leads some scientists to speculate that Administratium is formed whenever morons reach a certain quantity in concentration. This hypothetical quantity is referred to as "Critical Morass."

You will know it when you see it. Source

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