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| The Navigators | | | 8/11/2008 7:59 AM
Posted by Al Summers |
| | I remember studying the famous navigator/explorers in school. The accounts of the brave but sometimes misdirected sailors impressed me to the point that those accounts have stayed with me. In small vessels and with primitive instruments, these navigators greatly expanded the known world. I have also lived through the entire history of NASA and the events of modern-day navigators. These brave explorers helped greatly expand the known universe. But these navigators ... |  | | Comments (0) | More... |
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| LOW AIRFARE ALERT | | | 8/3/2008 7:41 AM
Posted by Al Summers |
| | I am not sure if you will read this in time to take advantage of it or if this applies to the airport you fly out of, but I just got my airline ticket for the annual conference and it cost me $128!! I got the fare on www.nwa.com which is Northwest Airlines. In all the trips I have made to Denver in the past 8 years, this is by far the lowest I ha ... | | | | Comments (1) | More... |
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| More Digital Disconnect | | | 7/19/2008 7:49 AM
Posted by Al Summers |
| I am traveling between Alan November's Building Learning Communities Conference in Boston and NMSA's Institute for Middle Level Leadership in Charleston, SC. One of the presenters at blc08 mentioned a report from the Department of Commerce. I am reading the latest copy of the Journal and, in an article by Mary Ann Wolf, the Executive Director of the State Educational Technology Directors Association, that report is mentioned.
In this DoC report, educat ... | | | | Comments (0) | More... |
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| A Digital Disconnect? | | | 7/9/2008 12:36 PM
Posted by Al Summers |
| With technology heavily on my mind, two studies I read about recently seem to indicate that what should be going on in schools to most effectively prepare our students for their futures may not be happening.
In "State of Digital Content in America's Classrooms, 2007-2008" it notes that just 9 percent of teachers report spending more than half their instructional time using digital technology while 16 percent report never using technology a ... | | | | Comments (0) | More... |
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| 21st Century Classroom | | | 7/2/2008 10:37 AM
Posted by Al Summers |
| Back in January, I was telling you about NMSA's focus on technology for this year's conference in Denver. Since that time, our staff has been very busy working on those technology features and I have some big news. You readers of this blog are going to be the first to get the news.
We had heard about a California company that could maybe help us build an actual physical classroom in the exhibit hall. After much time and pursuit, it seems that they are no longer in business. ... | | | | Comments (6) | More... |
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| The Exhibit Hall | | | 5/27/2008 1:33 PM
Posted by Al Summers |
| Having taught for 28 years, I am a teacher at heart. Whenever I attend a conference, the exhibit hall is one of the first places I go. Up and down the aisles, looking for what each booth is giving away. I can go back for substance later. Lots of giveaways in the exhibit hall—and we teachers love freebies!
The exhibit hall at the NMSA annual conference is a special place. And this year it is going to be more speci ... | | | | Comments (0) | More... |
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| Technology Infusion | | | 5/7/2008 8:50 AM
Posted by Al Summers |
| | On our most recent site visit to Denver, we were privileged to visit two school districts who are doing great things with educational technology. I am struggling with wording as technology, technology integration, educational technology, etc, could all be misnomers. Maybe Ivan Duran's term of technology infusion is my favorite right now. Ivan, by the way, is the education technology director for Aurora Public Schools (one of the districts we visited in ... | | | | Comments (0) | More... |
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| The climate in Colorado | | | 4/2/2008 2:22 PM
Posted by Al Summers |
| A lot of talk about climate always comes up when we plan our annual conference. NMSA has been very fortunate in the past several years to have experienced an excellent climate at each of our conference sites. Now, of course, the talk has turned to Denver. What will the climate in Denver be like?
Well, I have experienced the climate first-hand and I can tell you that it is pretty fine. Last June, Dwight Jones was named Commissioner of Education for Colorado. Dwight has been ... | | | | Comments (3) | More... |
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| Marlee Matlin | | | 3/12/2008 3:04 PM
Posted by Al Summers |
| | Marlee Matlin will be our Saturday closing general session speaker. Many of you would recognize the name from her first movie "Children of a Lesser God." Most of you also know that she is hearing-impaired. A couple of the things that you may not know is that she is the author of three novels for children and has served as the spokesperson for the American Red Cross. She is truly multi-faceted and multi-talented. Her name is going to bec ... | | | | Comments (2) | More... |
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