I have finally made some offline adjustments (some? MANY!) to the TechBoston Academy web site. For the record, I was not in charge of the site last year, and many blank pages were posted in the hopes that content would magically appear. Ugh. This winter, I had originally assigned students to make the updates as part of their learning experience in Design Studios, but they were pulled from the job when their grades dipped too low for such a privelege. So it came back to me. Next year, however, I plan to assign webmasters from our student body.

I have created a blog for our school’s news and announcements, published the feed to our site, and allowed subscribers to get emailed updates. I updated the ASP-enabled calendar, replaced that OLD photo in the header and inserted more images throughout the site. The navigation has been restructured, and the information updated such as the staff directory, mission statement, and directions. The basic layout remains but there is more content that can and should be added. Of course, it is an ongoing process.

So why am I blogging when there is FTPing to be done?! Get on with it!

I was ready to deploy at 2:00 Friday when…the network connection slowed down way too much to FTP. Irritating! Look for changes this week!

Last fall, I was officially accepted into Harvard’s Masters of Liberal Arts Educational Technologies program (ALM in ET). I have been working toward my license over the past 2.5 years in the ITL program there, but it has since morphed into a Masters program. I have been both a contributor to the program’s development, as well as a bit of a guinea pig! I realized that I seem to be drawn to “start-ups” – first iDL systems in 1999, then TechBoston Academy in 2002, and the CTE/ITL program in 2003. I take pride in being an innovator and having a major role in a program’s development, but I do recognize that I can take on too much or be taken advantage of in the process.

I am looking forward to completing the Masters program by the end of next year! I will be able to apply for licensure after my Adolescence class is done (and passed!) this May 10. I am eager to make a decision about my thesis topic – so many are brewing in my head :

1) the role of emerging social media in the classroom
2) the integration of NWCET and SCANS standards into the curriculum
3) professional development : bridging the gap between practice and theory
4) the uses of technology as a teaching and learning tool
5) the new basic skills : what today’s students need to be successful participants in the workplace
6) Assessment and accountability: how do we measure student success?
7) The impact of mass media on female adolescents

…I am looking forward to working on it!

The top 5 trends in community college IT education were released by the NWCET.
They are :

1. Podcasting
2. IT Infusion Into Other Disciplines
3. Business Intelligence
4. Gaming
5. Market-driven programs

Related Links :
http://www.nwcet.org/predictions.asp

I attended the second working session of my collaboration with BATEC on an exciting project funded by the National Science Foundation. The NSF has a series of Advanced Technological Education centers throughout the nation, and I am involved in one here in Boston. ATE centers partner with IT industries to develop best practices, instructional materials, and professional development to better prepare high school and college graduates to excel in high-tech jobs.

I am building a syllabus and a project for my 10th grade Advanced Web Development class which explicitly integrates the NWCET and SCANS standards. It is very useful to be able to document the employability skills and technical skills my students are learning, and to envision synergy between the high school, community college, 4-year college levels and IT industries.

More background info…
The National Science Foundation (NSF) is the federal government’s only agency dedicated to the support of education and fundamental research in all scientific and engineering disciplines. Their mission is to ensure that the United States maintains leadership in scientific discovery and the development of new technologies.

The Advanced Technological Education (ATE) program, under which BATEC is funded, specifically focuses on improving the education of technicians in the areas of science, technology and engineering at the undergraduate and the secondary school levels.

Related Links :
BATEC : Boston Area Advanced Technological Education Connections (http://www.batec.org/)
NSF : The National Science Foundation (http://www.nsf.gov/)
NWCET : The National Workforce Center for Emerging Technologies (http://www.nwcet.org/)

EdWeek released its 9th annual State Technology Report. Every year, EdWeek publishes a comprehensive assessment of how each state’s technology and education policies support the use of data to improve student achievement.

How did Massachusetts do? Here’s our report card :

Access to technology D
Use of technology D+
Capacity to use technology C
Overall grade D+

See how your state measures up : http://www.edweek.org/ew/tc/2006/35stc.h25.html

Related Links :
http://www.edweek.org/ew/toc/2006/05/04/index.html