Where can you find the best information to guide school decision-making about educational learning technologies? The sites listed below are the From Now On editor's top choices for sites which offer reliable information and guidance. These sites generally emphasize the use of new technologies as tools to support problem-solving and decision-making. Sites which focus on instructional technologies rather than learning technologies have not been included.

Armadillo's K-12 WWW Resources

Armadillo maintains one of the most comprehensive collections of Board policies Acceptable Use Policies along with many articles on issues such as censorship and filtering. Armadillo also contains resources covering: Networking Projects | Educational Databases and Lesson Plans | Learning and Instruction | Grant Resources. The site also lists great Internet resources for each of the major curriculum areas.

Classroom Connect

Classroom Connect extends a rich assortment of good information to support the Internet-ready teacher and school. One excellent list of resources listed by school subjects and topics is GRA+DES Classroom Connect also offers Resource Station | Classroom Web - a listing of school Web sites| and a Teacher Contact Database.

 

Institute for Learning Technologies (ILT)

Columbia has gathered extensive and comprehensive resources to guide thinking about learning technologies. There are dozens of excellent essays and articles at this site along with project reports (An Index | LiveText | American History Archive | Discovery Web | Advanced Media in Education Project ) and lists of Internet resources The visitor will find breakthrough thinking at Readings: Technology and School Reform In addition, one may explore Resources and Curricula Topics.

MCREL

The Mid Continent Regional Educational Laboratory offers Technology Connections, which "provide some of the best online resources available to help educators, administrators, and parents answer common questions and solve problems related to the implementation and use of technology in education."

The Impact of Technology | Technology and Teacher Education | Funding for Technology

This site also provides a well developed listing of Internet resources Internet Connections which support various school subject areas.

For those interested in how to blend standards into educational planning, visit Standards at McREL.

NCREL

The North Central Regional Educational Laboratory offers excellent planning resources such as Learning Through Technology: A Planning and Implementation Guide a document which "helps educators and community members develop a comprehensive learning and technology plan. Learning Through Technology is divided into six sections (1) Planning to Plan (2) Building a Knowledge Base (3) Establishing General Directions (4) Implementation Priorities and Strategies (5) Evaluation (6) Revising for Improvement.

Also available at this site is the full document Plugging In:Choosing and Using Educational Technology. Plugging In provides a process which helps a school to judge the degree to which "Engaged Learning" has been implemented throughout the school along with the support of advanced technologies.

NWREL

The North West Regional Educational Laboratory provides substantial resources to support program assessment and school improvement. The Technology Center offers support for strategic planning, distance learning and resources from http://www.netc.org Northwest Educational Technology Consortium (NETC).

Reinventing Schools: The Technology is Now

This publication launched by the National Academy of Science offers provocative ideas about the potential of new technologies to transform learning in schools. Topics include:

	The Nintendo Generation: Information technologies permeate the lives of school children.
	The Technological Juggernaut: Homes are where the hardware is.
	Networking K-12 Education: When schools get wired, the educational possibilities are endless.
	A New Model for Education: An information driven world calls for a new way of teaching students.
	Systemic Reform: leadership + standards + technology = reform
	Investing in Teachers: Tomorrow's teachers are needed today.
	Ensuring Equity: Information technologies can most help those who most need help.
	Opportunity to Change: New business opportunities could unleash a powerful entrepreneurial force in education.
	Learning about Learning: Cognitive research has turned traditional teaching methods on their heads.

The publication is available for downloading as an Adobe Acrobat file.

TERC - The Regional Alliance Hub

TERC houses articles, curriculum, and project reports organized by key topics in education reform: Assessment| Equity | Evaluation of Systemic Reform| Mathematics| Professional Development | School Reform | Science | Standards and Curriculum | Technology

One of the best resources is a guide: Winding Your Way Through the World Wide Web. This tutorial offers answers to the following: Why Use the Web, Anyway?| What is the Internet? | What is the WWW? | Meet URL..... | What is a Browser? | What is a Search Engine?| Coming and Going on the Web: Bookmarks | What's Out There? | Saving the Cool Stuff.

U.S. Department of Education

The Department outlines grant opportunities, describes successful programs, points to excellent resources and reports research findings ( Assessment of Student Performance| Curriculum Reform | Early Childhood Education | Parent and Community Involvement | School-Based Management | School-to-Work Transition| Student Diversity | Students-at-Risk | Systemic Reform | Professionalism of Educators | Technology | Uses of Time).

WEB66

Web66 has been at the forefront of school Web site development since the advent of graphical Internet browsers and offers a global listing of all schools which have Web sites at the International Registry of K12 Schools on the Web. To explore the rich offerings of one of the first American schools to launch a Web site, visit Hillside Elementary School where you will find many exciting examples of student research and publishing, the strategies for which are outlined in Mustang: A Web Cruising Vehicle. In addition to these curriculum related resources, Web66 offers a great deal of support regarding the more technical side of launching a Web site and server for those who wish to delve into such matters.

 

From Now On
The Educational Technology Journal