By Mike McDermott

Educational Technology Consultant
eTech Ohio

eTech Ohio, in collaboration with the Buckeye Association of School Administrators (BASA), Educational Technology entities, Ohio Resource Center (ORC) and INFOhio, is preparing to host area meetings April 3-22.

Each half-day session is packed with resources and ideas that will teach attendees to use technologies to improve student achievement. Area meetings will be held in five regional locations of the state: Northeast, Southeast, Central, Northwest and Southwest. Read more about meeting locations and registration.

Agenda topics include:

• Using Data to Drive Your Technology Decisions - eTech Ohio
• Concurrent Sessions I
  
  • Educational Technology and PBS Services and Resources
  • Using INFOhio to Impact Student Learning
  • Action Research and Emerging Technologies
• Concurrent Sessions II
  
  • Legal Issues and the Electronic-Age in Schools - BASA
  • The Ohio Resource Center - The Place for Innovative Resources

Contact Mike McDermott at 440.988.2214 for more information.

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eLearning Opens Summer Registration, Announces Summer Session Courses

By Vic Arnatelli

Educational Technology Consultant
eTech Ohio

eTech Ohio is proud to offer Ohio Science Institute (OSCI), Ohio Mathematics Academy Project (OMAP) and Social Studies Institute of Ohio (SSIO) eLearning content courses for the summer session.

The following courses are continuous and 15 weeks in length:

• OSCI Life Science
• OSCI Earth and Space Science
• OSCI Physical Science
• OMAP Geometry
• OMAP Data Analysis and Probability
• OMAP Algebra
• SSIO US Studies
• SSIO World Studies

Registration for summer courses is now open.

Information about course offerings and registration is available on the eLearning webpage. Also note, graduate credit is available for all of eTech Ohio's eLearning opportunities.

Contact the eLearning Team at 877-383-2406 for additional information.

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Technology Training Academy Coming Soon

By Chad Rex

Educational Technology Consultant
eTech Ohio

eTech Ohio's Technology Training Academy (TTA) provide high-quality professional development opportunities to school technical leaders. Additionally, many of these courses provide attendees with credit toward technical certifications.

Needs-Based and Customer-Driven
School technical leaders have expressed training needs in the areas of server administration, network management, security, workstation management and technical support. To address these needs, eTech Ohio has selected the following TTA topics:

Register today!
Seating is limited to 12 participants per course. Course outlines, self-assessments and registration are available on eTech Ohio's Technical Training webpage. Visit eTech Ohio's website and log into eTech Ohio's online user account to begin the registration process.

Contact your local eTech Ohio educational technology consultant for more information.

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Ohio's Title II D - EETT Program Hosts Events for New and Continuation Applications and Recipients

By Verda McCoy

Grant Officer
eTech Ohio

The eTech Ohio Commission and the Ohio Department of Education (ODE) are pleased to announce that new grant funds are currently available to 135 of Ohio's public school buildings for school year 2008-2009 through the federal Enhancing Education Through Technology (EETT) initiative. Additional funding is also available through Continuation grants for the current 2007-2008 grant recipients.

The EETT grant program is a two-year, federal initiative to ensure that funded projects are of sufficient scope and quality to efficiently meet the purposes of the federal No Child Left Behind (NCLB) legislation.

Site Visit II
eTech Ohio education technology consultants (ETCs) will conduct site visits March 17 through April 11, 2008 for 50, 2007-2008 New and Continuation EETT grant recipients. The purpose of the site visits is to capture information regarding the recipient buildings' progress in the project. To help you prepare for a site visit, information has been posted on the EETT webpage.

ETCs have previously reported they were very impressed with sites that model the following:

• Leadership and mentoring;
• Excellent job of training staff;
• Outstanding examples of effective ways to provide professional development; and
• Great strides shown with the implementation of the grant.

Please contact your local ETC if you would like to hear more about the strategies used by the EETT recipients to create a culture of teamwork, competition and enthusiasm among teachers and students.

EETT Grant Reader Training and Grant Review
eTech Ohio and ODE will conduct grant readings for 2008-2009 new eligible buildings. Applications submitted through the Comprehensive Continuous Improvement Plan (CCIP) Tool and required forms must be sent to the eTech Ohio office by April 25, 2008. These grant readings will consist of a one-day training session to be followed by a day of grant readings and scoring.

Training: Mon., May 19, 2008
Grant readings and scoring: Tues., May 20, 2008

Contact Verda McCoy, eTech Ohio Grant Officer, at 877.383.2406, or Dan Badea, ODE Grant Administrator, at 614.387.2189 for more information.

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By Dan Farslow

Educational Technology Consultant
eTech Ohio

Ohio E-Rate applicants recently received commitment letters from the Schools and Libraries Division (SLD), E-Rate program administrators, totaling $75.1 million through Wave 40 of funding decisions for funding year 2007-2008.

SLD remains at the 83 percent discount level in awarding Priority 2 funding requests. Approximately $14 million in Ohio funding requests have yet to be reviewed and funding commitment decision letters issued for funding year 2007-2008. Slightly over $5 million in Ohio Priority 2 funding requests between 80 and 82 percent discount level are awaiting the determination whether sufficient funds will be available to support their funding awards.

Most recent data indicates that Ohio applicants submitted funding requests for $103 million for the 2008-2009 funding year. Ohio E-Rate 2008-20009 funding request totals are up slightly from last year's total funding requests of $98 million. Review of Ohio 2008-2009 E-Rate applications is already underway and applicants can expect to begin seeing funding commitment decision letters as early as April 2008.

Contact Richard Kevern at 330.686.2061 or Dan Farslow at 614.485.6050 for more information.

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Tenth Annual Educational Technology Conference Celebrates Outstanding Contributions to Education

By Arlyne Alston

Communications Officer/Newsletter Editor
eTech Ohio

eTech Ohio recently hosted the tenth annual Educational Technology Conference at the Greater Columbus Convention Center. Over 6,400 teachers, technology coordinators, administrators and many others attended the three-day event that featured over 450 sessions and displays.

To highlight the ten year anniversary, Monday began with a lively music performance by the Fort Hayes Career Center musicians. Jillian Froment, Executive Director of eTech Ohio, welcomed the crowd in the grand ballroom and expressed appreciation to all who attended, presented and volunteered at the 2008 Conference.

"Without your participation and dedication on bringing technology to students," Froment said, "this Conference would not be possible."

Attendees were also welcomed with an energetic introduction from eTech Ohio's Commission Chair, Eric Fingerhut, Chancellor of the Ohio Board of Regents.

"As Chair of the eTech Ohio Commission, let me simply thank you for everything you are doing across the state - to bring to our education system - the benefits of the technologies that are available today to make sure that we are educating all of our students in the most creative, innovative way that we possibly can," Fingerhut said. "We all understand that what you are doing is what education is all about; and we thank you for it and we encourage you."

Educator Awards

Three Educator Award winners were honored for making outstanding contributions to the successful use of educational technologies in Ohio on Monday. Award winners and finalists participated in a ceremony in the evening with colleagues and family in attendance.

Lindsey Jurski, Spanish teacher of Sylvania Northview High School, was named Technology Teacher of the Year. Jurski creatively uses a variety of technology methods to reach her students and as a means to communicate student's progress with parents. While maintaining a website for her classes, she encourages students to communicate outside of the classroom through blogging. Jurski aspires to incorporate podcasting into her curriculum.

Michael Brace, Technology Coordinator of Gallipolis City Schools, was awarded the honor of Technology Specialist of the Year. Brace's nominating peers said he is a visionary leader in technology. Due to his leadership, many teachers are using multimedia technology and video clips as a part of their everyday instruction. He provides teachers and students of all skill levels with access to a wealth of learning opportunities.

Dennis Recker, Superintendent of Liberty-Benton Local School District, was named Technology Administrator of the Year. Recker's nominating peers said he strives to integrate technology into everyday instruction in his district. By upgrading equipment such as computers, smart boards and software, Recker enables faculty to stay current with technology and teach students to use it each day. Recker's leadership encourages students and teachers alike to value integrated technology and professional development.

eTech Ohio awarded each winner with a monetary award to be used towards the purchase of technology for use in the classroom or school district.

Robert R. Cupp Award

The 2008 Robert R. Cupp Legislative Award was presented to State Representative Bill Coley of the 55th House District in Butler County. This award recognizes legislative leaders who are committed to integrating educational technology in Ohio's schools.

"This is an exciting time to be a teacher in Ohio," Coley said. "We in the legislature are glad to be a part of it and we're glad to have all of the network support that eTech Ohio provides."

Coley is committed to using distance learning technology to increase educational options for Ohio students.

"Education is changing rapidly day-by-day," Coley said. "The skill set needed to teach in the traditional classroom is a little bit different than the skill set needed to teach in the combined traditional and electronic [classroom.] eTech Ohio is focused on making sure all the teachers in Ohio have those skill sets."

Ohio Public Broadcasting Awards

eTech Ohio celebrated the achievements of public broadcasters at the Ohio Public Broadcasting Awards (PBAs) Tuesday evening. Fourteen awards were given to stations that provided outstanding contributions to educational telecommunications in Ohio.

Conference Documentary Team / Student Video Contest

Students from Ohio University's WOUB Center for Public Media developed an onsite documentary highlighting the key events, speakers and activities that occurred during the Conference. The 2008 conference documentary premiered Wednesday morning before the Student Video Contest award ceremony.
Watch the conference documentary.

The winners of the Student Video Contest were announced on stage Wednesday morning, to a crowded grand ballroom. This year's winners were:

Keynote / Featured Speakers

This year's keynote and featured speakers provided a national array of expertise in the fields of education and technology. The 2008 keynote and featured speakers included:

Watch presentations from this year's presenters on the Conference webpage.

Exhibits

Over 225 private and non-profit organizations showcased cutting-edge technology, products and services at the Conference. eTech Ohio strives to introduce Conference attendees to innovative technologies each year. To that end, the exhibit hall welcomed over 60 new exhibitors. The eTech Ohio pavilion returned this year in the exhibit hall as well. The pavilion included the eTech Ohio booth, affiliates, educational technology agencies and partners.

What's to Come

Mark your calendars now for the 2009 Educational Technology Conference, Feb. 2-4, 2009, at the Greater Columbus Convention Center. Registration and call for proposals is scheduled to open in May.

Contact eTech Ohio's Conference Team at 877.383.2406 for additional information.

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By Michael Haudenschild

Educational Technology Consultant
eTech Ohio

eTech Ohio is proud to announce the release of BETA08-09 Building and Teacher Survey results. After a collection period that generated 96,141 Teacher Survey responses and 3,700 Building Survey responses, the data has now been tabulated, corrected and aggregated.

Visit the BETA website to access the Reporting Comparison Tool, which allows you to compare BETA results for any Ohio public school building or district to results from other buildings, districts, counties and statewide averages. In addition, BETA administrators can access the Data Export tool to download their survey results directly to perform additional analysis of the BETA results for their building or district.

Contact your local eTech Ohio educational technology consultant or eTech Ohio customer service at 877.383.2406 for assistance with either the Comparison tool or the Data Export tool.

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By Sandy Paxton

Educational Technology Consultant
eTech Ohio

eTech Ohio recently announced the Competitive Professional Development Grant recipients for Fiscal Year 08-09. This grant encourages Ohio public schools to develop innovative programs which will enhance a teacher's ability to use innovative methods when integrating technology into their instruction.

For the FY08-09 grant cycle, recipients will be focusing on creating and using electronic portfolios (ePortfolios) to illustrate their integration of technology to support Ohio's academic content standards. This grant provides professional development on using an open source technology to assist schools with the integration of the ePortfolios at the high school level.

This grant will serve as a pilot to determine how to best provide teachers and students with an understanding of the skills required to use Open Source Portfolios in grades 9-12, and how the ePortfolios may assist students as they move on to college and into the workplace.

To see a complete list of grant recipients, visit the Competitive Professional Development Grant webpage.

Contact Sandy Paxton at 614.485.6057 for more information.

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By Diane Steinert

Writer/Editor
PBS 45 & 49

PBS 45 & 49 recently took top honors at the national public broadcasters' conference for an educators' multimedia resource called Constitution Challenge. The organization received first place in the category of Instructional Media (Small Market) when National Educational Telecommunications Association (NETA) honored 24 public broadcasters with awards at The Columbus Hotel.

This year's national panel of judges described Constitution Challenge as "well-designed, multimedia, cross-disciplinary resource that can be easily incorporated into most curricula." They praised Constitution Challenge's design, durability and ease of use. One reviewer, himself a former teacher, said, "I would have loved [to have had] this piece when I was in the classroom."

Employees of PBS 45 & 49 who worked on the project were Maria Mastromatteo, project coordinator; Duilio Mariola, producer and videographer; Paula Kritz, teacher guide layout and Web site designer; and Diane Steinert, teacher guide editor. "I've always known that our multimedia education projects are award-worthy," said Trina Cutter, PBS 45 & 49 president and chief executive officer. "It is nice to be recognized nationally for our efforts."

PBS 45 & 49's Department of Educational Services provides state-of-the-art services to students and educators in eight Ohio counties. It offers professional development opportunities, multimedia instructional content, distance learning projects, award-winning instructional television programming and more.

At the NETA ceremony, in all, 40 trophies in the areas of program production, promotion, outreach and instructional media were awarded. The NETA Awards are annual recognition of member-produced excellence in public broadcasting, a tradition established more than 40 years ago by the pioneering Southern Educational Communications Association.

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By Cathy Kerner

Office Manager
INFOhio

INFOhio, the Information Network for Ohio Schools, recently announced that the SchoolRooms online exploration, discovery and learning portal is now accessible to students, parents and educators throughout the state of Ohio.

In the first phase of the project, SchoolRooms will offer the Ohio K-12 community access to educator-selected online content aligned to the state’s curriculum, plus powerful search capabilities that ensure students’ access to educator-selected Web sites.

Developed by K-12 solutions provider SirsiDynix in partnership with INFOhio and Ohio educators, SchoolRooms provides a single, student-friendly interface to high-quality content from school library catalogs, online databases, three million "Best of Web" teacher-selected Web pages as well as statewide digital resources. Content is presented in virtual rooms that help students discover information, provide educators with access to quality materials and enable parents to find appropriate resources for improving their children’s education.

"INFOhio was formed 15 years ago to bring the benefits of library automation to school libraries and students throughout Ohio," said Theresa Fredricka, executive director of INFOhio. "Now, we are undertaking another major initiative with SchoolRooms, whereby more resources will be available to more students than ever before. And we’re not talking about just any resources, but high-quality content that Ohio classroom teachers and school librarians have selected to support the teaching of state's curriculum."

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By Megan Abady

Marketing Intern
Ohio Learning Network

The Ohio Learning Network's annual report concerning the current situation of e-learning in Ohio was recently published and contains some exciting updates. This year's report "Catalyst for Change: E-Learning in Ohio" includes information on e-learners and the services offered to them.

There are 99,269 students completing e-learning courses. Most are female (68%), half of them are over 25 years-old (50%) and full-time students (52%). All totaled, it is likely Ohio has nearly 100,000 students in e-learning courses; an increase of 55 percent from 2005.

The report highlights Ohio's e-learning enrollments compared to national enrollments, future challenges for Ohio institutions and e-learning tables and graphs. Also highlighted are the 211 degrees and certificates and 3,200 courses offered from 51 Ohio institutions through OhioLearns! (OLN's statewide online course catalog of distance learning courses and degrees)

For more information on e-learning success in Ohio read the complete "Catalyst for Change: E-Learning in Ohio" report or contact the Ohio Learning Network at 614.995.3240.

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