eTech Ohio Connections
Volume 2, Issue 6

• Visit the New eTech Ohio Website: eTech Ohio is proud to announce the launch of its redesigned website. The goal of this redesign is to provide visitors with access to detailed information about eTech Ohio and to make it easy for visitors to access the content they want and need.
  
  New website features include:
  
  • Content that is aligned by service area for ease of use
  • Robust search engine that will make exploring our site almost effortless
  • More graphics and less text - makes it easy to find the information you want and need - immediately
    
    
  Many of the eTech Ohio offerings remain on the site, although behind a new and improved interface. For example, eTech Ohio has maintained the Hall Pass suite, including Opportunity Tracking Tool - our online registration/application system that handles class registrations, grant applications and more. There's a quick log in area on the home page, in the upper right hand corner, so you can easily find the information that you need.
  
  Customer feedback was the catalyst for change, and we welcome your continued feedback as our website continues to evolve.
  
  Visit the eTech Ohio website for the latest eTech Ohio news and information. For additional information or technical feedback, please call 877.383.2406.

• Additional funds have been made available to eligible entities for technology-related professional development. The amount allocated was derived using the same tiered-system that was used to determine the original FY06 allocations. Additional funding in FY06 resulted because not all eligible schools applied for funds. Due to the timing of this award, eTech Ohio is extending the date for expenditure of your Professional Development Grant funds to August 17, 2006 (originally the expenditure deadline was June 30, 2006).
  
  The updated reporting timeline for the grant is as follows:
  
  
  • June 15, 2006 - The FY06 Project Report and Final Expenditure Report (FER) are expected to be available on the eTech Ohio website
  • August 17, 2006 - Expenditure/Spending Deadline
  • September 14, 2006 - Final Impact & Financial Reports due via Hall Pass
  • September 28, 2006 - Final Expenditure Report (FER) due via U.S. mail
    
    
  For detailed information on permissible and prohibited uses of PD Grant funds, please see the FY06 Spending Guidelines. For assistance in planning your FY06 technology professional development, please contact project coordinator Steve Crumbacher or eTech Ohio Customer Service with any questions or concerns.

• Registration is now open for the 2006 Ohio Technology Summer Summit through your eTech Ohio Hall Pass account. eTech Ohio, in partnership with the Management Council of the Ohio Education Computer Network (MCOECN), will host the fourth annual Ohio Technology Summer Summit Tuesday, June 27 and Wednesday, June 28, 2006, at the Quest Business Center in Columbus.
  
  The purpose of the eTech Ohio Summer Summit is to foster a K-12 community of learners that includes technology coordinators and other technical staff by providing opportunities to identify and access training and technical resources that support planning, provisioning, launching and managing of technology and support services that align with their districts goal of providing excellence in teaching and learning through the integration of technology.
  
  The eTech Ohio Summer Summit is held from 8:00 am - 4:30 pm over two days and includes approximately 40 tutorials (90 minutes each) and 10 workshops (six hours each). Workshops and tutorials are taught by many of your colleagues and practicing professionals from across the state who will demonstrate successful approaches or lessons learned, tell a story of overcoming challenges, provide hands-on examples about techniques or tools and provide participants the opportunity to network with other colleagues. The cost to attend the Summit and attend any number of classes is $50.00. Visit the Summer Summit home page for registration details. For additional information, contact educational technology consultant Sandra Paxton at 877.383.2406.

• eTech Ohio is offering new eLearning - Online Professional Development courses during the fall session. Registration for this session will be on a first-come, first-served basis and is available now through Tuesday, August 22, 2006.
  
  Registration will take place using the eTech Ohio Opportunity Tracking Tool. Registrants will need to login with an existing Hall Pass account or create a new account to begin the registration process.
  
  The courses will range from three to 15 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 is available online. If you have any questions please contact the eLearning team at 877.383.2406.

• The 2006 Spring TTA was held the first three weeks of May. This collaboration between eTech Ohio and MCOECN provided 20 highly specialized, advanced trainings about network hardware, application software and operating systems with such courses as Advanced Novell, CISCO CCNA, MAC OSX Server Essentials, Web Design, Security Audits and more. Over 200 technical staff from all over the state benefited from these courses.
  
  Typical comments received from participants regarding the training were: "The Training was great." "The class was very good. Thank you for putting the training together at such a good price. Please keep doing this and sending out emails about the programs. I don't always have time to check what is going on." "Resources were very good. Hands on was great." "Content excellent. Lab work reinforced skills. Although experienced in my field, I learned new tactics and have reference material now. I am going to study further and get my CCNA." "Tech interaction with other techs. Their experiences will alleviate many of my future problems." "The instructor did a very good job at relating the book material to our real world."

• Mark your calendars! eTech Ohio presents the ninth annual Educational Technology Conference, Ohio Connects! Technology for Learning February 12, 13 and 14, 2007, at the Greater Columbus Convention Center.
  
  Registration: Registration (US Mail ONLY) is now available through the Conference website.
  
  Online registration will be available later this summer. The Early Bird Registration deadline is Wednesday, December 13, 2006.
  
  Call for Proposals: Interested in sharing new ideas or successful practices for improving learning through the use of technology? Consider presenting at Conference 2007. The Call for Proposals for Concurrent Sessions and Student Displays is now available through the Conference website.
  
  The deadline for Concurrent Session proposals is Wednesday, October 11, 2006. The deadline for Student Display proposals is Wednesday, October 25, 2006.
  
  Check Back Soon! Additional Call for Proposals, the Call for Nominations for Educator Awards and Call for Submissions for the 2007 Student Video Contest will be available soon.
  
  2007 Exhibition Space: Is your company or organization interested in exhibiting during Conference 2007? Join the hundreds of other private companies and public entities who exhibit during the three days of the Conference. 49% of Conference attendees report spending 3 or more hours in the Exhibit Hall while at the Conference. It's an excellent opportunity to connect with current customers/clients while also discovering new ones. Contact Conference exhibit hall staff for information about available booth space and rates for Conference 2007.
  
  Additional questions or inquiries about the eTech Ohio Educational Technology Conference should be directed to the Conference Team at 1.877.383.2406.

• CET is pleased to announce two new curriculum projects. Arts Revolution, funded by a grant from eTech Ohio and closely aligned with Ohio's Content Standards, integrates the four art forms (dance, music, theatre and visual art) into the core curriculum through interviews with and performances by middle school and high school students - innovative content for students, by students. It will be a key part of the curriculum at the CET Arts Academy this June.
  
  Fitness Fanatic, funded with private grant monies, includes six, 10-minute videos featuring fitness expert and syndicated columnist Dave Patania showing kids that many of the things they already enjoy can contribute to their overall fitness level, plus accompanying educational materials for teachers and parents will underscore that message. The program rolls out in fall, in time for the new school year. It will be ready in fall 2006 for the start of the new school year.
  
  Visit the CET website for more information about these projects and other CET curriculum kits. Arts Revolution and Fitness Fanatic will be fully supported by dedicated Web sites when they are released, and portions of their content may be viewed on CET's new content-rich website. The full kits will be available through CET Learning Services. Call 1-800-628-6695 for ordering information.
  
  
• As of the end of April, PBS 45 & 49 has conducted 156 workshops for 2,111, K-12 teachers. Three types of workshops were held - software and hardware workshops where participants learned how to use a piece of equipment or a program; integrating technology workshops where teachers saw how to use technology in their classroom and workshops on our multimedia kits. With the help of a Martha Holden Jennings Grant, our multimedia packages were given away free to any teacher who attended the training. The kits included, The Language of Trauma and Loss, Math and Science Gumbo, Shortcuts to Happiness: The Performing Arts and You Be the Producer. Teacher guides and information about these kits is available online.
  
  
• PBS Kids Go! is a concept promoted by PBS to involve children grades K-3. It involves programs that are appealing to children in this age range. The television programs include Maya and Miguel, Arthur, Cyberchase, Postcards from Buster and Dragonfly TV. Through a grant from CPB, we created the PBS Kids Go! Guide. The guide directs teachers how to use these programs and their accompanying websites in their classroom. Eighteen workshops with 280 participants were held in the use of these programs for K-4 teachers, after school teachers and pre-service teachers. The guide is available as a PDF file online.
  
  
• "Gridiron Glory," a WOUB student-produced show that focuses on high school football in the region, has been given two awards of distinction from The Videographer Awards in the TV programs/Sports and Videos for Sale/Sports categories. "Gridiron Glory" is completely produced by students and features video clips from area high school football games and a news-style show that features teams and athletes within the region.
  
  "Gridiron Glory" was chosen for the Awards of Distinction from 2,327 entries throughout the United States and several foreign countries. The Award of Distinction is awarded to projects that exceed industry standards and is judged the best of the entries within that category. The Videographer Awards are designed to identify communications professionals who are raising the standards of the industry and to give winners and their clients the recognition that the work they are producing is outstanding and highly regarded by their peers.
  
  The next season of "Gridiron Glory" will begin airing on WOUB-TV in August and will feature sophomore broadcast journalism major, Matt Barnes as the studio host, and senior broadcast journalism major, Terrence Theetge as producer. Evan Shaw, senior telecommunications major, will be director and sophomore telecommunications major, Kimberly Tanner will be the technical director. "Gridiron Glory" airs on Friday nights at 11:30 p.m. during the football season.
  
  
• A recent high-quality equipment purchase will upgrade videoconferencing systems that link Ohio University's Athens campus with its regional campuses and other outside institutions. The $1.2M equipment package will replace the current microwave and compressed video classrooms with the latest in video over Internet protocol technology.
  
  The new systems are products of Tandberg USA, a worldwide leader in the videoconferencing industry. Tandberg represents state-of-the-art in videoconferencing and is used by Ohio University primarily for distance learning applications through the Ohio University Learning Network (OULN) facilitated by the Office of University Outreach and Regional Campuses, and the WOUB Center for Public Media.
  
  Tandberg will be installed in 19 locations across the OULN network, serving students in Athens and at Ohio University's five regional campuses at Chillicothe, Eastern, Lancaster, Southern and Zanesville. The scope of the network will also be expanded to extend service to classrooms at the Pickerington and Proctorville, Ohio, Centers and the Willett-Pratt Training Center in Cambridge, Ohio.
  
  The purchase was funded through the Office of University Outreach and Regional Campuses, formerly Ohio University Regional Higher Education. The WOUB Center for Public Media will be responsible for installing and maintaining the equipment. The new Tandberg classrooms are slated for installation this summer with full service to all sites to commence fall quarter 2006.