The Integrated Technology Classroom
The Integrated Technology Classroom: Building Self-Reliant Learners, Joan Riedl.
This well-illustrated book offers step-by-step guidance for teaching in a classroom structured with learning stations. Riedl, a teacher herself, walks the reader through these carefully designed and equipped areas, demonstrating how to help groups of four to six students accomplish educational tasks in math, special projects, and “multisubject” areas. She also presents strategies for teachers to integrate technology into lessons and give more personalized attention. The one chapter devoted to technology covers a broad spectrum—computers, telecommunications, problem-solving software, integrated learning systems, laser disk players, CD-ROM players, camcorders, videocassette recorders and players, and spreadsheets
A computer disk with ready-to-use resources and activities is included with each copy of the book.
Available from Longwood Division of Allyn & Bacon, 160 Gould St., Needham Heights, MA 02194. (800) 278-3525. 1995. 200 pp. Paperbound. $35.95.
Plugging In
Plugging In: Choosing and Using Educational Technology, Beau Fly Jones, Gilbert Valdez, Jeri Nowakowski, Claudette Rasmussen.
This primer suggests that school decision makers use student engagement as the criterion to evaluate technologies and technology plans. Also offered are teaching strategies for “more student interaction, more connections among schools, more collaboration among teachers and students ... and more emphasis on technology as a tool for learning.”
To aid in decisions, there are many tables of criteria for technology and teaching and a handy guide to different technologies, among them: e-mail, computer-driven approaches, educational software, integrated learning systems, and distance education. Also covered are policy and implementation issues, finance, coordination, and the role of parents. The book is based on research conducted at the North Central Regional Educational Laboratory (NCREL) in Oak Brook, Illinois.
Available from the Council for Educational Development and Research, NCREL, 2000 L St. N.W., Ste. 601, Washington, DC 20036. (202) 223-1593. 1995. 46 pp. Paperbound. $5.
A Portrait of a Generation
A Portrait of a Generation: 25 Years of Teen Behavior and Attitudes, Who's Who Among American High School Students.
Beginning in 1970, the Annual Survey of High Achievers has queried thousands of high-achieving 16- to 18-year-olds each year about an array of education and social issues. This report examines the shifts in attitude and behavior and draws conclusions. Some discouraging figures: Since 1975, there has been a 71 percent increase in students who feel their schools are unsafe. In 1993—the darkest year for suicides—32 percent of our brightest students said they had considered suicide and 6 percent attempted it (in 1994, the figures were 29 percent and 4 percent). In 1994, only 5 percent of students voiced strong confidence in the media, a steady slide from a high of 20 percent in 1971.
Available from Who's Who Among American High School Students, Educational Communications, Inc., 721 N. McKinley Rd., Lake Forest, IL 60045. (708) 295-6650. 1995. 22 pp. Paperbound. Free.
Classroom Connect
Classroom Connect newsletter, Wentworth Worldwide Media, Inc.
This 16-page newsletter brings teachers a host of online activities for grades K–12, in the form of lesson plans, projects for every curriculum, and key pal addresses. It is published 9 times a year; annual subscriptions are $39.
Available from Wentworth Worldwide Media, Inc., 1866 Colonial Village Ln., P.O. Box 10488, Lancaster, PA 17605. (800) 638-1639. (e-mail: connect@wentworth.com).
Journal of Maine Education
Journal of Maine Education: Sharing Stories About Change, Jan A. Hoffman, Managing Editor and Anne Wescott Dodd, Technical Editor.
In the Winter 1995 Journal, a dozen teachers, administrators, and college professors tell of changes in their personal and professional lives that often accompanied—or brought on—social and institutional transformations. The inspiring fare includes an account of how a guidance counselor and physical education teacher brought about cultural change in an elementary school, what resulted from a college student's investigation of home schooling, and a pair of provocative articles about a public school-private school partnership.
Available from Irving Ouellette, Executive Director, Maine Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, Box 926, Brunswick, ME 04011. (207) 729-6652. Winter 1995, Vol. XI, No. 1. 60 pp. Paperbound. $5.
Using Assessment to Drive School Change
Using Assessment to Drive School Change: A Collection of Learnings, Maine Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.
A team of educators on every level put together this snapshot of issues facing those who are engaged in alternative assessment. There are sections for district-level decision makers, school leaders, and teachers, all with an emphasis on assessing what students should know and be able to do throughout the instructional process. Appendices include samples of approaches, student outcomes, staff evaluations, and student work.
Available from Irving Ouellette, Executive Director, Maine ASCD, Box 926, Brunswick, ME 04011. (207) 729-6652. 1995. 90 pp. Paperbound.
