Webinar: Maximize Student Achievement, Attendance And Engagement

This showed up in my inbox yesterday.

Hi Michael,

I hope you will join me on December 8^th or 9^th for a webinar on increasing attendance, performance and engagement with an automated student recognition program.  Please see details and registration links below.

Best,

John Bower

	Increase Student Performance, Attendance and Engagement.

		What do Kaplan, K12, Inc., TutorVista, Education2020, Scientific Learning, Weekly Reader, Harvard’s Ed Labs, and Vanderbilt have in common? They have all used uBoost rewards programs to supercharge student performance, attendance and retention.   We will share the best practices and incredible results from these programs.uBoost creates Client-branded online/offline student rewards programs that include your choice of thousands of rewards including charitable giving opportunities, auction environment, merchandise, gift cards, virtual worlds and avatars. Are you looking for ways change your students’ attitude about their educational career? Are you spending too much time and money administering a mediocre recognition and rewards program? Join us as John Bower, CEO of the nation’s largest online, education-focused recognition and rewards platform, leads an interactive discussion about the latest research coming out of Harvard, Stanford and Vanderbilt’s National Center for Performance Incentives. Federal/state funding opportunities will be shared during Webinar. Register for a session now by clicking a date below: Tue, Dec 8, 2009 10:00 AM – 11:00 AM PST Wed, Dec 9, 2009 10:00 AM – 11:00 AM PST Once registered you will receive an email confirming your registration with information you need to join the Webinar. System Requirements PC-based attendees Required: Windows® 2000, XP Home, XP Pro, 2003 Server, Vista Macintosh®-based attendees Required: Mac OS® X 10.4 (Tiger®) or newer

Maximize Ed Tech While Cutting Costs: Live Webinar

This showed up in my inbox last week.  Heading to AECT today, will be blogging as many of the K-12 online learning sessions (see AECT 2009 And K-12 Online Learning) as possible.

Sponsored by:

Upcoming Live Webinar:

Driving Achievement With Ed Tech

Thursday, Nov. 5, 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. Eastern time
Early bird registration $99

Hurry! Early-bird savings end Friday. Register now to save $30!Ed tech is only useful if it improves academic achievement. So what techniques can you use to ensure that technology is advancing achievement, not adding distraction?

Join us on Thursday, November 5, at 2p.m., for an in-depth Education Week Premium Webinar to discuss practical methods you can use to boost achievement, not confusion, with Ed. Tech.

• Learn how online courses can affordably help rescue students who are in danger of dropping out, giving them a second chance in real time that would otherwise not be available in their brick-and-mortar schools.
• Discover how districts can more effectively analyze data to help improve academic achievement, including specific advice on how teachers should be using data-based decisionmaking to guide instruction.
• Find out how one-to-one computing can give your students access to higher-quality curricula, topical experts, and multimedia tools.

During this webinar you’ll chat with confirmed guests Barbara Greenstone, Christopher Small, and Joe Kitchens, who have personally implemented these techniques. You’ll also view exclusive Education Week video interviews with national experts: Elliot Soloway, Sheryl Abshire, Cathleen Norris, and Robert J. Gravina. Don’t wait to register. The early-bird rate of $99 ends this Friday, October 23!

Why should you participate in this professional development?

• One low registration fee allows you and as many colleagues as you want to participate.
• You and any colleagues who attend will receive a Certificate of Completion from Education Week.
• A new 90-minute format allows for an extended Q & A period, so you can get your questions answered.
• Actionable and interactive content, without the need to travel. Professional development that fits your busy schedule!

Guests:

BARBARA GREENSTONE, statewide integration mentor, Maine Learning Technology Initiative

Since becoming in 2002 the first state to launch a statewide one-to-one laptop program for 7th and 8th graders, Maine has seen significant test-score improvements in both reading and math, among other accomplishments.

CHRISTOPHER SMALL, vice president of curriculum and instruction, R. Frank Nims Middle School, Tallahassee, Fla.

Faced with the often-impossible task of getting over-age students caught up to their peers, Mr. Small and colleagues this year started putting online education and existing computers to work on credit recovery over weekends and before and after school. Early results for the 8th graders in the program have shown great promise, and the high-poverty public school is moving quickly to expand the effort into other grades.

JOE KITCHENS, superintendent, Western Heights School District, Oklahoma City, Okla.

Superintendent Kitchens has been making the ideal of real-time, data-driven decisionmaking a reality in his 3,400-student district for more than a decade. Recognized by the Data Quality Campaign for his leadership, Mr. Kitchens has used technology to drive, among other achievements, a double-digit reduction in the dropout rate in his high-poverty, majority-minority district over two years.

This webinar will be moderated by Kevin Bushweller, executive editor, Education Week Digital Directions.

REGISTER NOW FOR ONLY $99 – Live access, plus six months of on-demand access.

This message was intended for [mkbarbour@gmail.com]. You are receiving this e-mail because you are currently registered on edweek.org or teachermagazine.org. To change your e-newsletter subscriptions or other email preferences, please click here.

Editorial Projects in Education, Inc., 6935 Arlington Road, Suite 100, Bethesda, MD 20814. EPE is the publisher of Education Week, Digital Directions, Teacher Professional Development Sourcebook, edweek.org, teachermagazine.org, DigitalDirections.org and TopSchoolJobs.org. Copyright © 2009 Editorial Projects in Education.

Reminder – Webinar: Supporting School’s Success With Virtual Learning Environments

A reminder of this event coming up on Tuesday was posted to the iNACOL forums a few days ago (for the original announcement, see Webinar: Supporting School’s Success With Virtual Learning Environments).

You are invited to join a webinar on Oct. 27th at 11:00 AM Eastern Time for the national online education community; courtesy of Wimba Inc. and Online Teaching Associates Ltd., as part of the K-12 Distinguished Lecture series:

“Supporting School’s Success with Virtual Learning Environments”

The synchronous webinar will be presented by Dr. Robert (Bob) Blomeyer, OTA’s Business Manager and Chief Technology Officer, and by Dr. Catherine (Cathy) Cavanaugh who is an Associate Professor in Educational Technology at the University of Florida, Gainesville, FL. Bob and Cathy are co-editors of What Works In K-12 Online Learning published by the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE).

Their summary presentation offers evidence verifying positive effects from online and blended learning on students’ performance and will offer practical recommendations about using virtual learning environments (VLE’s) to support quality, efficiency, equity and choice in America’s K-12 public, charter and private schools.

Details http://onlineteachingassociates.com/?page_id=236

WIMBA REGISTRATION SITE http://www.wimba.com/company/events/1718-s…ng-environments

Further to this message in the iNACOL forums, I also received this reminder e-mail.

You’ve signed up to attend Wimba’s “Distinguished Lecture” seminar Cathy Cavanaugh and I will be doing (Supporting School’s Success with Virtual Learning Environments ) at 10:00 AM on Oct. 27th. (One week from tomorrow!) Cathy and I look forward to seeing you all online then; virtually speaking.

We’ll start with a brief summary of new developments from research on K12 OLL policy and practice. (10 min. max) Then we’re planning to open the floor for “audience participation.”

Drs. Cavanaugh and Blomeyer are noth “facilitators of learning.” Bring your questions and concerns and be ready to bring them up for discussion. We want this gathering to be a SEMINAR… not a lecture.

For any of you interested in getting a peek at the two or three recent “evidence-based” publications Cathy and I have been reading (or writing), have a look:

Getting Students More Learning Time Online Distance Education in Support of Expanded Learning Time in K-12 Schools (Cavanaugh,C. 2009. Center for American Progress) (Executive Summary)

The Realities of K-12 Virtual Education (Glass, G. 2009. Great Lakes Center for Education Research and Practice)

Evaluation of Evidence-Based Practices in Online Learning (Means, B., Toyama,Y., Murphy. R., Bakia, M., and Jones, K. (2009). SRI/U.S. Department of Ed.)

If everyone attends, the group could be as large as 36-40 persons. In that case, we’ll offer a few “rules of engagement” to help structure online interaction and assure everyone gets an opportunity to speak without interruptions and/or VOIP feedback.

The Wimba Classroom mixes audio from VOIP and dial in participants. For participants who can’t use VOIP, but to participate in the online discussion, a “call in” number will be available. We’ll let you all know what that number is before 10:00 AM CT on October 27th,

We recommend everyone arrive 15-20 minutes early and run the “Wimba Wizard.” It will load all the required Java applets and check all your systems to assure you can participate fully in the online interaction.

Cathy an I look forward to meeting and hearing from you all one week from tomorrow; at 10:00 AM – Oct. 27th

Be there or be square!

Bob Blomeyer (BobBl)

Newsline – October 2009

Note the K12, Inc. item.

Elluminate Newsline The ePublication created exclusively for educators. October 2009 FEATURED STORY Product Spotlight Webinar – October 23, 12:00 PM EDT. Learn how you can deliver high-quality, high-frame-rate, multipoint video collaboration to desktop users – at a price you can afford. Elluminate VCS 2.0 is the next generation videoconferencing for educators and trainers. Expand existing videoconferencing infrastructure and add powerful, real-time data collaboration tools, even over low-bandwidth connections. Seating is limited. Register today. Elluminate VCS is coming soon to a location near you. Join us in  Washington, D.C. on October 28th or in Denver on November 4th and 5th. Demo slots are filling up fast, so contact us today for more information.	Contact us today about our exciting October sales promotions! Custom-branded, private versions of LearnCentral now available. Manage your subscription. Customize your Newsline today.
Single-room Elluminate vSpaces Now Even More Affordable. Think you can’t afford live eLearning and web conferencing? How does $17 per month sound? Get started with easy-to-use, cost-effective Elluminate vSpaces for unlimited, on-demand meetings, classes, and events, online in real time.  Learn more. Want to try before you buy? Get Elluminate FREE for 30 days!
Get Elluminated at EDUCAUSE 2009. Join us on November 3-5 in Denver, Colorado at booth #900 to learn more about the newest enhancements to our learning-edge suite of products. Get a personal demo of Elluminate VCS 2.0, and don’t miss our exciting workshops with topics like creating a virtual community, mobile learning, integrations, and social networking for educators. Learn more.
Elluminate Helps K12 Inc. Improve Student Achievement. “We are looking forward to continuing our rollout of the Elluminate Next> bundle, enabling our teachers to be collaborative in sharing effective, useful plans and our students to attend sessions they enjoy,” says Guadalupe Vander Ploeg, Senior Manager, Teacher Effectiveness. “Elluminate Plan! and Elluminate Publish! are great products we use as part of our repertoire of tools to improve student achievement.” Read success story. Learn more about how Ellumimate Plan! and Elluminate Publish! can help you support the entire online instructional cycle. Try products FREE for 30 days.
Education Continuation: Delivering Learning During a Pandemic or Other Disaster. School is in session and a pandemic could be looming. How can you keep communicating, collaborating and educating when disaster strikes? Learn more about how Elluminate can help. Are you prepared? Check out iNACOL Readiness Assessment.
Elluminate Announces Acquisition of LearnCentral Development Partner. “All of us at Edtuit are extremely pleased to forge an even closer relationship with Elluminate,” says Gailene Nelson, Edtuit co-founder and former Yahoo! Teachers developer. “It’s especially exciting for me to see the concept that began as Yahoo! Teachers come to fruition as a viable social learning community that already serves thousands of educators worldwide.”  Read social media release.
Elluminate Donates Virtual Classroom Products to 2009 Intel Schools of Distinction. “We are thrilled to have received the School of Distinction Award from Intel! I can’t wait to try out Elluminate,” says Alex B. Napier, Palm Desert Middle Charter School, one of six 2009 Intel Schools of Distinction award winners who will receive $1.3 million USD in cash, products, and services from the Intel Foundation and sponsor like Elluminate. Read social media release.
Got Feedback? Have a question about anything in this issue? Just give us a call or send us an email. We’d love to hear from you. Best regards, Maurice Heiblum President newsline@elluminate.com 1.866.388.8674
Have you joined LearnCentral yet? It’s the new social learning network for educators. Get your own free personal meeting room. Plus, hold larger events in a free public conference room. Check out our exciting upcoming Elluminate webinars,including those hosted by Ambient Insight and Training Magazine Network. Follow elluminateweb on Twitter for the latest on our webinars.

Tapped In PD – Online Teaching and Learning

I haven’t seen this in the monthly/weekly updates yet, but later this month there will be another Tapped In session on Online Teaching and Learning at 7:00pm EST on Friday, 29 October 2009.

I haven’t been able to attend any of these sessions yet, but here are the resources provided in the room – which may give you a sense of how they view online teaching and learning:

•		2007 Horizon Report: Seven Technologies to Watch
•		A Learner-Centered Framework for E-learning TC Record Article
•		ALN Principles for Blended Learning: A Collaboration Sloan Consortium 2004 book. Edited by Janet Moore
•		Blended Learning k – 12 “From Wikibooks, the open-content textbooks collection.”
•		Blended/Hybrid Learning Research PPTs dealing with Blended and Online Learning: University of Central Florida. Deals with categories of students (Boomers, Xers, Millennials) approaches and levels of satisfaction.
•		Creating Sustainable Media —UNC Paper
•		E-learning, Practice and Research (One of my Blogs. An assortment of references dating back to 2005)
•		Handhelds and Mobile Devices in Higher Education
•		Handhelds K – 12 Podcasting and handhelds in OL
•		Higher Ed. Pedagogy/Andragogy, Applied (One of my blogs. Useful info. for K-12 too.)
•		Jing For Image and Video Capture and Share
•		Learning and Knowing in Networks: Changing roles for Educators and Designers Networked Learning pdf Paper
•		MIT Media Lab Research Project . . .Future
•		Persistence in Online Classes: A Study of Perceptions among Community College Stakeholders Because online learning presents unique challenges for not only learners but faculty and administrators as well, those involved in these cyber-environments must think beyond the boundaries of the traditional classroom.
•		SLOODLE (3D & LMS) Open Source Project to Merge Moodle with Second Life.
•		Social Networking – The Evolution of Communications pdf paper
•		Strategies for Blended Learning ASTD Paper providing information and models of various blended/hybrid arrangements.
•		Teacher Mentoring Resources Middle Web (Exploring Middle School Reform)
•		The Basics of Online Learning Listing of links, which lead to more links, wihich lead to more links, which lead to (You get the idea.:-)
•		UK LMS Survey Indicates Use Outside Ed. USA & UK Institutions The corporate world is making increased use of LMS’s such as Moodle, WebCT, Blackboard. The article describes results of a survey involving 2,300 members of The E-Learning Guild. Uses by corporates include: training, corporate portal, small project work.
•		Visual Learning for the Future New applications, gadgets integration
•		Weblearning Resources Web-based Learning Resources Library
•		Why Teach a Hybrid Course? Single page description for faculty. (University of Wisconsin)
•		Wikipedia On Blended Learning Descriptions, general discussion and a number of links.
•		Wikis In Plain English (You Tube)

As I find out more I’ll post it here.