eTech Ohio Connections Volume 1, Issue 4

December 2005

eTech Ohio is legislatively charged with aligning content and technology resources and expertise, eliminating unnecessary duplication of services, providing visionary leadership for enhancing learning through the use of technology for Ohioans of all ages and leveraging shared networking to utilize available resources more efficiently. Mission: To advance education and accelerate the learning of Ohioans through technology.

Vision: To provide leadership and support in the equal access and use of technology to extend the knowledge of all Ohio citizens.

Core Services: The following core services will be maintained, developed and enhanced by eTech Ohio:

• Network and Infrastructure
• Grants and Subsidies Administration
• Planning and Coordination
• Professional Development and Training
• Research and Evaluation
• Content Management
• Client Support Services
• Applications Development

Be sure to check out the latest updates to the eTech Ohio Opportunity Tracking Tool, available through your Hall Pass account.

• What is Hall Pass? Hall Pass is eTech Ohio's single sign-on user account for its website. Hall Pass provides you access to online resources, such as timely, relevant email communications based on your interests and job responsibilities; online professional development registration; grant applications; certificates of participation for the State Technology Conference and other continuing education offered by eTech Ohio; access to the TPT online tool (for development and approval of your district's technology plan); access to the BETA Building Surveys (Biennial Education Technology Assessment); access to discounted technology products through the Equipment and Services Catalog; and more.

  To access more information on Hall Pass visit the eTech Ohio website.
  

  eTech Ohio has recently updated the My Applications page to show 'My Organization Applications' to users who are approved Superintendents or Treasurers.

  This change allows these key users to view their districts funding applications directly. Previously only the application owner (the person who create/submitted the application) could view these applications!

  For additional information or technical support, please call 877.383.2406.

E-Rate Support and Information

• Ohio has reached a milestone in the E-Rate program. With Wave 16 funding awards, Ohio schools and libraries have topped $500M in funding over the life of the program. Congratulations to all applicants! Through Wave 17 of the 2005-06 funding year, Ohio applicants have received $44.9M in E-Rate discount awards. Funding waves are being announced by the Schools and Libraries Division (SLD) program administrators every week. Internal connections funding awards are being announced at the 90% level.


• A big "Thank You!" to all those who participated in the October eTech Ohio 2005 E-Rate Workshops for the 2006-07 funding year. Over 300 school officials attended the eight workshops. Keep in mind that there will be eight more E-Rate workshops for school officials in December, which will offer step-by-step instructions on preparing and filing the Form 471, requesting discounts on eligible services ordered. eTech Ohio also provides E-Rate support and information to public libraries through an agreement with the State Library of Ohio. Registration information for all workshops is available NOW in the Current Opportunities section of the eTech Ohio website.


• eTech Ohio provides E-Rate program support including technology planning, annual workshops, listserv news and information, and individual problem resolution. For more information on the federal E-Rate program, contact Dan Farslow at 877.383.2406.

• The SchoolNet Plus Grade 8 application for FY06, is available to eligible education entities through Thursday, January 26, 2006. Visit the eTech Ohio website to view a list of FY06 SchoolNet Plus Grade 8 guidelines.

  In response to district needs, eTech Ohio has revised and expanded its catalog offerings to include workstations, servers, laptops, printers, displays, projectors, handhelds, tablets and PDAs. Vendors will be able to offer special promotional items as well. Visit the eTech Ohio website to view the Equipment and Services Catalog. You must be logged into your Hall Pass account to access the Catalog.

  As always, districts will be able to use SchoolNet Plus funding to purchase items offered on the Catalog in accordance with the spending guidelines for SchoolNet Plus Grade 8. Additionally, Ohio schools can purchase from the Catalog using other funding sources such as local, state or federal funding that allows the purchase of educational technology equipment.

  Visit the SchoolNet Plus home page for more details about SchoolNet Plus Grade 8. Contact coordinator Steve Crumbacher, at 877.383.2406 or 614.752.7114 or your eTech Ohio field representative for additional information.

  Contact Larry Koslap, at 877.383.2406 with questions related to the Equipment and Services Catalog.

TPT v3 provides a streamlined, more complete planning framework for integrating technology into district curriculum and classroom instruction. It was designed from the ground-up to be E-Rate compliant.

Organizations have until Thursday, December 1, 2005, to start planning using TPT v2.5. After December 1, all organizations have to start with TPT v3 for planning.

Most software applications have an end of life. As such, after Sunday, April 30, 2006, TPT v2.5 will no longer be available. No edits, additions or corrections will be allowed in TPT v2.5. All technology plans in TPT v2.5 will be archived.

In order for an organization to file form 470 for E-Rate, a written technology plan must exist. This does not mean that the technology plan must be certified, just written. Organizations can fill in a budget for the funding year in which they are applying; all three years do not have to be written. For certification, the three years must be completed and approved.

With each of the phases, if an organization is not going to focus on one component within a section, they would rank the scale the same in where we are and where we want to go. All text fields are required unless stated as optional.

For more information about TPT v3, contact your eTech Ohio field representative. For technical support, please call 877.383.2406.

• The eighth annual State Technology Conference is scheduled for February 13-15, 2006, at the Greater Columbus Convention Center. The theme for the 2006 State Technology Conference is Ohio Connects! Bridging Learning, Technology and Achievement.


• Key Dates and Deadlines: DEADLINE APPROACHING!! Wednesday, December 14, 2005
  Early Bird registration deadline; Conference attendee registration rates increase after this date!
  
  
  • Register online
  • Tuesday, January 31, 2006
    Deadline for presenter presentations/handouts to be uploaded via Hall Pass. Access your proposals online.
  
  
• Keynote and Featured Speakers: Keynote and Featured speakers are nationally and internationally known presenters who provide marquee sessions on timely and significant educational technology issues and topics. From educational leadership to achieving high academic standards to the use of handheld devices for ubiquitous learning to developing online student courses, keynote and featured speakers sessions allow Conference attendees to hear and learn from educational experts in their field. Conference 2006 speakers include:
  
  
  • Monday: Stephen Abram, David Pogue and Judi Sweeney
  • Tuesday: Alan November, Joyce Pittman, Wayne Free
  • Wednesday: David Thornburg, Dr. Dennis Sparks, Bonnie Bracey
  
  
  Biographies of the above and additional keynote and featured speakers will be posted on the Conference website in the coming weeks. Inquiries about the State Technology Conference should be directed to Simon Buehrer at 1.877.383.2406.

• eTech Ohio?s Professional Development Grants are designed to assist public school districts and other eligible entities in providing technology professional development for their teachers and administrators. Eligible entities can access their allocations for this grant through their PD Contact?s Hall Pass. The online application is also available by selecting 'PD Grants FY06' under the Current Opportunities section of the eTech Ohio website.

  Approval of all three parts of the FY05 Final Project Report is one of the requirements for the FY06 PD Grant. If applicants are attempting to complete the Conclusions requirements for their PD Grants FY05 application, they need to log in to their Hall Pass account and access the My Applications feature.

  The deadline for applying for the FY06 PD Grant is Tuesday, December 20, 2005. Those organizations that do not meet the application deadline will have their funds reallocated.



• Registration for the 2006 State Technology Conference is an excellent use of PD Grant funds. FY05 Final Project Reports have indicated that the greatest impact of the technology professional development available through the Conference occurs when organizations build Conference attendance around the topics on which their technology professional development is focused and have participants attend specific sessions related to those topics. The participants then bring the new knowledge and skills back to share with other educators within their organizations through workshops and job-embedded training. The discount for Early Bird Conference Registration ends on Wednesday, December 14, 2005.

  Please contact consultants Unice Teasley, Sandy Paxton or your eTech Ohio field representative with any questions or concerns.

• eTech Ohio and ODE are offering several eLearning - Online Professional Development courses that will begin in January. Registration is open now and will run through Thursday, December 15, 2005.

  The courses will range from three to ten weeks, depending on the content of each course. Graduate credit or certificates of participation will be offered for each course. Detailed course information and registration will be available online

  Courses are offered in areas including: 21st Century Skills, Administration, Assistive Technology, Education and Academic Content Standards, Education and Technology Integration, Educational Management & Tools, Mathematics, Science, and Social Studies.

  If you have any questions please contact Janice Kraus at 877.383.2406. Technology Integration Pathways (TIPs)



• TIPs next step sessions are being now being scheduled to assist districts in planning technology integrated professional development. In these sessions, district teams will review resources, conduct an inventory of current professional development offerings and begin updating/creating a professional development plan for integrating technology. To schedule a TIPs session, contact your local eTech Ohio field representative.


• Check out our newest TIPs resources! eTech Ohio has conducted interviews with several experts on topics of high interest to educators including technology integration, HQPD, and evaluating professional development. The newest one is with Edie Holcomb on TPT planning. These interviews are available in audio and text formats on our website.

• Visit eTech's new action research resource! eTech Ohio has created a new resource that provides information about action research and shares findings from studies conducted through the Action Research and Technology online course offered by eTech Ohio. The site explains what action research is, how teachers can get involved in action research and provides the study reports from teachers who participated in the course as well as brief interviews with the facilitator and a participant.

  For additional information, contact educational technology consultant Sandra Paxton at 877.383.2406.

• Thank you for submitting the BETA Teacher and District Surveys. As of the Wednesday, November 23, 2005, submission deadline, eTech Ohio received 85% of the teacher surveys, as well as nearly 90% of the building surveys. Congratulations - and thank you for helping us to inform policymakers statewide of your educational technology needs.


• As of November 24, 2005, the BETA06-07 building survey correction period is open. Districts can use this opportunity to review and correct any data-entry issues with their building surveys. The BETA06-07 building survey correction period closes Friday, December 30, 2005. BETA will provide answers to questions like these and more, offering important guidance both to you and to state policymakers regarding technology funding and support. Completion of the BETA survey is a requirement for many state and federal technology funding programs, including SchoolNet Plus.

  Please do not hesitate to contact your eTech Ohio field representative or the eTech Ohio customer service desk at 877.383.2406.

• Ohio Public Stations Serve Childcare Givers: The Ohio Public Stations, for many years, have had a wide audience of preschool programs, from Sesame Street to JJ the Jet Plane. But, for the last six years, the stations have made an even more important impact on preschoolers, through the Ohio Ready to Learn Project. Working with the Ohio Jobs and Family Services, the early learning specialists at each of the eight stations combine program clips, books and hands-on involvement in workshops with professional development opportunities for home care providers. Last year alone, they conducted 488 workshops with an attendance of 6416 participants. While the principal target is homecare providers, the workshops include child care workers from centers, as well. The themes include: All children are born ready to learn; Relationships are influential; Communication is critical; and Environments matter.

  The early learning standards developed by ODE are used to develop workshop curriculum, which is uniform across the state. Four "themes" convey what is now known about the potential of the early years, and the promise of high quality early childhood education programs. A special series of workshops has been developed for caregivers to Infants and Toddlers. For the first time this year, ELLCO, West End and ITERS training is incorporated into the training sessions.

  Building on the success of their experience with this project, this year the Ohio Stations entered into a second service in the preschool area with the Ohio Cares project. Federally funded, OHIO CARES is aimed at providing early intervention in preschool children, to reduce the risk of violence in the later years of a child's life. The stations conduct onsite training sessions for childcare providers (including parents, grandparents and foster parents) who are serving at risk children. The series of training sessions available through OHIO CARES will address three main issues confronting families, caregivers and preschool classroom settings today:
  

  • Young children's increasing difficulty in managing their anger; challenging behavior in children that often creates unmanageable disruptions to the learning environment.
  • Helping children at risk of developing violent behaviors because of exposure to community violence. New to our needs, with thousands of Ohioans in the National Guard and military reserve, many new fears and concerns are coming into the lives of your children. Understanding war and the ramifications of family members being called up are some of the elements with which the caregivers learn to deal.
  • The Ohio Ready to Learn and the Ohio Cares preschool projects are administered for the Ohio Public Stations by WGTE, Toledo. Kathy Smith of WGTE serves as curriculum coordinator and trainer. Early learning specialists and coordinators of these two programs at their stations are Barbara Walker, CET; Courtney Muzzi,o WVIZ; Suzanne Bouchard WOUB; Kelly Partin, WBGU; Jan Fullerton, WOSU; Maria Mastomatteo, WNEO; Tina Spaulding, WPTD; and Kathy Smith, WGTE.

In addition to the statewide projects, each station has individual early learning services and programs, especially in the area of literacy readiness. Some of those include:


• In Columbus, WOSU, which partners with two local malls each month for Share a Story events for preschool children. They also have a Share a Story program in Franklin County, where station volunteers read to Head Start children and present each child with a book.
• Similarly, WGTE, Toledo is working with the Women?s Initiative of the United Way, to present a series of three workshops (two just parents; the third parents and children) covering topics as alphabetic understanding, vocabulary, phonemic awareness and the importance of reading aloud daily to children. Attendees receive six free books and a membership in the station?s lending library, dinner and childcare. The target audience is parents of at risk children.
• Also, participation in the CPB project, ?Beyond Big Bird, Books and Beginnings,? extends the work of the United Way Women?s Initiative grant to WGTE?s greater broadcast area. Additionally, WGTE will continue its broadcast of 8.5 hours of PBS Kids daily and the monthly distribution of storybooks to low-income children in their community. Programs are partnered with COSI and a local radio station.
• WOSU works with a Head Start that serves Somali and Hispanic children in a preschooler exercise program. WOSU will be involved with Ready To Lead in Literacy for the next three years. The core of the project is a workshop series aligned to the ODE Early Learning Content standards in reading, listening and viewing and English language arts. The project will be evaluated under the guidance of a professor of Language, Literacy and Culture at The Ohio State University.
• CET, in Cincinnati, will be also be participating in the national Ready To Lead in Literacy grant and will deliver 12 series of three workshops on Media Literacy, Literacy Through the Arts and Multicultural Children's Literature and Media. Five CET Arts integration events will also help round out the project.
• WPTD, ThinkTV conducts parent workshops containing brain development and learning activities, as well as workshops containing brain development for caregivers of infants and activities for family daycare providers have been most successful. Parent hour schedules that are sent monthly to all providers with email addresses. Information includes facts and activity ideas, and professional development information. WPTD also partnered with the Dayton mall, for a special day. Transportation was provided for many childcare centers, and the children were led in dance and movement routines. The participants and audience included Head Start centers, several private centers and parents and grandparents.


• WMUB-FM at Miami University moved into a new digital era in June 2005 when it joined WOSU in becoming one of the first stations to transmit in the "Multicast Mode" of HD Radio. For those who are wondering what this means: HD Radio is the de facto standard for digital transmission of AM and FM stations in the U.S. Stations transmitting in this manner are, in addition to the traditional analog signal, sending digital signals that can be received by new digital HD Radios.

  Multicasting is a system developed by Ibiquity, the company that licenses HD Radio technology, and the NPR Engineering Department. This method allows stations to broadcast more than one audio program in the digital mode. In WMUB's case, the second channel is The WMUB Jazz Channel, featuring 24-hour jazz programming with BBC News at the top of each hour. As far as we know, WMUB was perhaps the fourth radio station in the U.S. to "multicast," with a full-time channel of programming. Now all we need are some consumer radios so listeners can hear the new programming! There are a number of manufacturers promising HD Radios in the next few months but, regrettably, none will reach consumers by the 2005 holiday season. Visit WMUB's website for more information.