NICE would like to thank our panelists for sharing ways in which their schools and districts are "doing more with less." Here are a few notes from the meeting (from Helen Lazzaro).
From: Kyle Schumacher, Asst. Supt. of Educational Services, Lake Forest District 67
Lake Forest schools are using NEO2 devices ($149 from Renaissance Learning, http://www.renlearn.com/) to enhance the reading, writing and math curriculum. NEO devices work with software/services such as Study Island, Accelerated Reader, Accelerated Math, Compass Learning and Google Docs.
Programs in use include Everyday Math and Co-Writer. Other software add-ons available include Text to Speech." Teacher appreciate the ability for instant feedback from formative assessments, and parents can be notified electronically when students have completed an assessment. Students using the NEO devices in 3rd and 4th grade for 10 minutes per day, saw a significant increase in skills. Kyle mentioned that the use of these devices is helping to promote critical thinking, and stressed that overall, good instruction is still key.
From: Guy Ballard, Chief Technology Officer, Niles Township High Schools, District 219
Niles Township HS moved all students and staff to Google Apps for Education (GAFE), and estimates the district will save $150,000 over the next 3 years. GAFE is free to schools, however, there is a cost for archiving/filters from Postini of $8 per user. Niles has also moved to open source solutions such as Drupal for website content management, Open Office for productivity, and Ubuntu/Linux for netbook OS. All freshmen students received netbooks this year. Teachers receive netbooks after completion of a district-designed tech class, which provides optional credit through Aurora University.
From Phil Lacey, Director of Instructional Technology Services, Niles Township High Schools, District 219
Phil shared information (and CDs) from "theopendisc.com" --open source software that can be downloaded online, and is made available to students. Using the software from Open Education Disc project on the student netbooks saved the district additional money. Phil also demonstrated the environment and some of the programs available. The Open Education Disc project provides a free alternative to costly proprietary software for both Windows and Linux platforms, and focuses on meeting educational needs of students. Read more, and download at http://www.theopendisc.com/education/
From Vinnie Vrotny, Dir. of Academic Technology, North Shore Country Day School
Vinnie (NICE Past-President) shared his experiences in moving his district to GAFE. All students from 6-12 grade are now using GAFE. He completed the online Google Training certification and his district is also using the add-on tools in Google Apps: Picasa, Blogger, Custom Search, Google Reader, Gliffy and Aviary. Click here for more information on Google Apps for Education.
From Charlene Chausis, Technology Training, Adlai E. Stevenson High School
Charlene shared free online tools for teacher professional development, including links to resources from TED.com, iTunesU, Lynda.com, Adobe.com, Discovery Education, and more. See slides available at http://tinyurl.com/pd4me
(Dr. Joseph M. Porto, Superintendent, Avoca School District 37 was not able to attend)
NICE Members only! Our next meeting is on Saturday, Dec. 4 -- a hands-on workshop on Digital Storytelling and Movie-Making. Details to follow.
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