ALTP News March 17, 2001
Edited by Richard Brincefield

Recent ALTP News

Reminder: ALTP BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING (OPEN)

Wednesday, April 25, 2001
7:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. 

  • Phoenix: US WEST, 3033 N. Third St., Room 208.09
  • Tucson: US WEST, 333 E. Wetmore, Room 323

Dial-in attendance: contact tkraver@qwest.net

031001  
030301  
022401  

To: ALTP Associates
From: Ted Kraver, Chairman 
225 West Orchid Lane 
tkraver@qwest.net 
Phoenix, AZ 85021 
602-944-8557 (off) 
602-861-9150 (fax)

ACTION AGENDA         Saturday,  March 17, 2001

Arizona Learning Technology Partnership, Inc.
Governors Strategic Partnership for Economic Development



http://www.satirewire.com A must for New Economy types with sardonic sense of humor.

I. ALTP BOARD MEETING

II. AzTEA PROMOTES PROPOSITION 301 FUNDS FOR TECHNOLOGY INTEGRATION

III. UofA GEARING UP ON DISTANCE EDUCATION-NEEDS PARTNERS

IV. INTERNET2 WILL EXPAND TO K-12

V. LIBRARIES FOR THE FUTURE

VI. ARIZONA PHYSICS TEACHER WINS HIGHEST HONOR

VII. ONLINE REGISTRATION STILL AVAILABLE FOR USDLA 2001 NATIONAL POLICY FORUM

X. WISDOM BYTES


I. ALTP BOARD MEETING

For the first time in 5 years we will be skipping our last Wednesday of the month board meeting. Several of us will be out of town. We are also waiting for the Legislature to complete its funding of APNE and the planning funds for the E-Learning portal. See you in April.

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II. AzTEA PROMOTES PROPOSITION 301 FUNDS FOR TECHNOLOGY INTEGRATION

Liz needs your input:

The Board of Arizona Technology in Education Alliance (AzTEA) is proposing that AzTEA as an organization promote the use of Proposition 301 funds toward the integration of technology as a teaching and learning tool as part of the pay for performance component. We are looking for research, information, examples, current practices that will support this concept. A white paper will be produced and sent to all school districts and members. Please send comments and suggestions to AzTEA President, Liz Whitaker at lizwihit@azstarnet.com. http://www.aztea.org

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III. UofA GEARING UP ON DISTANCE EDUCATION-NEEDS PARTNERS

I am working on trying to find partners to join UA in a distance ed project aimed at solving two potential barriers to participation even in e-learning: (1) lack of access to up-to-date computer technology, and (2) social isolation. Our idea is to create some 'nondenominational' learning centers, situated in attractive public places, where students can have assured access to e-learning opportunities regardless of who the provider might be (i.e., an Arizona university or community college, but also a private college or even an out-of-state provider). I would like to find sites for two or three such centers and test some related strategies for increasing participation in higher education in areas where participation rates are particularly low. My colleagues and I have been talking to Qwest, of course, and to some other technology providers, and I believe that we might be able to get this partly funded by the Department of Education, through the Learning Anytime Anywhere Partnerships. (http://www.ed.gov/FIPSE/LAAP). Michael McVey , Clinical Assistant Professor, Learning Technologies Office of the Dean, College of Education 520-626-5346 mcvey@u.arizona.edu http://www.ed.arizona.edu/mcvey.

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IV. INTERNET2 WILL EXPAND TO K-12

Does SFB-QWEST 100mbs rollout have Abilene in its future? We need to ask Phil.

Internet2's high-speed network, previously reserved for research institutions, is expanding to include additional colleges and K-12 schools. That could mean a national education network connecting thousands of schools around the country. Internet2 was initially created to develop advanced applications and networking for research and education. The backbone network, called Abilene, supports high-quality audio and video, and does not include the extraneous sites of the so-called commodity Internet.

According to several educators, opening Abilene to the larger education community holds tremendous possibilities. Potential applications for the project include a digital video archive of best practices for teacher training, videoconferencing that would enable schoolchildren to take a virtual tour of the Smithsonian, and allow for musical collaborations between musicians in different geographic locations, to name a few. Currently, almost 200 universities pay to subscribe to Abilene.

A number of states have expressed an interest in connecting their statewide education networks to Abilene. About 30 to 40 states have such networks that, depending on the state, can connect K-12 schools, universities, museums and libraries.

There has been no official announcement made about the project, "just a series of discussions going on among a number of organizations in education and networking," said Greg Wood, a spokesman for University Corporation for Advanced Internet Development, one of the groups involved in the planning process. "A lot of other steps need to take place before teachers and students can use advanced applications," Wood said.

The International Society for Technology in Education, the Consortium for School Networking, and Educause are a few of the groups involved in the partnership. The organization will release more details of the initiative in months to come, and there is no set date when the project will launch.

From Wired News, available online at: by Katie Dean http://www.wired.com/news/print/0,1294,42112,00.html

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V. LIBRARIES FOR THE FUTURE

Mary Johnson of our board is working with LFF in a planning effort to create a statewide library development plan. My wife, Bobbie Kraver, is a volunteer working on a project with disadvantaged kids from Sunnyslope High. She has had great results with that Acacia Library in Phoenix using their internet computers for research projects with these students. The following is a note from Patrick McWhortor. Anyone on the list interested in being our linkage person to LFF?

"I have been on the ALTP email list for a couple of years, having worked on some e-learning and school-based work in my own company during that time. Recently, I started working extensively with, and have now joined as an employee, Libraries for the Future. LFF is a non-profit library based on New York that works on digital divide issues through libraries. We have an Arizona office, which really is a Southwestern regional office, and we work with nearly 20 demonstration projects in libraries and community centers in Arizona. I am the liaison to those projects and I am also developing curricula that we will likely disseminate nationwide in the next couple of years.

Our Arizona Director, Rhian Evans, is well connected to some of the APNE groups, but she hasn't linked in the past with ALTP. Nationally, we have an Education ACCESS strand, but we have not done anything yet in Arizona.

Here is my thought - schools and libraries are natural partners to help young people without access to technology at home to bridge that divide and expand all of the information, learning, and other opportunities available in the digital age. ALTP obviously is working legislatively and otherwise to address these same concerns, and it seems logical to explore what benefits might accrue in developing a relationship between ALTP and LFF." Patrick McWhortor patrickm@lff.org

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VI. ARIZONA PHYSICS TEACHER WINS HIGHEST HONOR

I thought you'd like to know that last week Larry Dukerich, a physics teacher at Dobson High School in Mesa, Arizona, received the 2000 Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching (PAEMST) in Washington, D.C. The PAEMST is the nation's highest honor for mathematics and science teachers in grades K through 12.

From 1994 to 2000, Larry was a Co-Principal Investigator and workshop leader in David Hestenes' National Science Foundation "Modeling Instruction in High School Physics" Teacher Enhancement grant at Arizona State University. Larry played a key role in leading the project to national recognition as the ONLY high school science program to be designated as EXEMPLARY by the U.S. Department of Education. He continues to divide his days between teaching at Dobson High School and working at ASU on physics education grants.

Larry received a $7,500 educational grant for his school, a presidential citation, and the trip to Washington, D.C. last week for a series of recognition events.

Presidential awardees hail from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, U.S. territories, and schools operated in the U.S. and overseas by the Department of Defense. They teach in public and private schools and in urban, suburban, and rural school districts.

Each year, after an initial selection process at the state level, a national panel of distinguished scientists, mathematicians and educators recommends teachers to receive a presidential award - one elementary and one secondary math teacher and one elementary and one secondary science teacher from each state.

Jane Jackson, Co-Director, Modeling Instruction Program

Box 871504, Dept.of Physics & Astronomy,ASU,Tempe,AZ 85287

480-965-8438/fax:965-7331 <http://modeling.asu.edu>

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VII. ONLINE REGISTRATION STILL AVAILABLE FOR USDLA 2001 NATIONAL POLICY FORUM

NEEDHAM, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 14, 2001--United States Distance Learning Association (USDLA) today announced that registration for the USDLA 2001 National Policy Forum will be available through the USDLA web site until Wednesday, April 10, 2001. After that date, those interested in attending this major e-Learning event are advised to register on site on the days of the Forum.

The USDLA 2001 National Policy Forum will be held in Washington, D.C. April 16 &17, 2001, in conjunction with the USDLA/Advanstar 2001 e-Learning Conference and Expo. The Forum will be divided into three major sessions over 2 days, with featured speakers and panelists from industry, government and academia. Topics for discussion include the continuing growth of e-Learning ventures in higher and K-12 education, as well as corporate, military & governmental training programs.

The Forum's opening session, The Brave New World of e-Education, begins at 2:00 P.M. Monday, April 16th. Marshall E. Allen, USDLA President and Director of the Institute for Telecommunications at Oklahoma State University Telecommunications Center, will welcome participants and set the stage for discussion of the dramatic changes technology is bringing to education, training and distance learning.

The opening session keynote speaker is Dennis F. Bonilla, Vice President of Oracle University's Americas Division

The second session, Does e-Learning Need e-Regulation?, starts at 9:00 A.M. Tuesday, April 17th with opening remarks by USDLA Executive Director John G. Flores, Ph.D. Keynote speaker will be South Dakota Governor William J. Janklow. In his four terms as Governor. Janklow has found innovative solutions to wire the state's schools and form the Dakota Digital Network, linking middle schools, high schools, colleges and universities.

The USDLA 2001 National Policy Forum is sponsored by Advanstar Inc., BAF

United States Distance Learning Association is a non-profit organization founded in 1987 to promote the development and application of distance learning for education and training. USDLA represents 2000 members from pre-K-through-12, higher education, continuing education, corporate, military and government training and telemedicine. USDLA is a leading source of information and distance learning policy recommendations for Congress, government agencies and industry. In 1993 USDLA began the process of establishing chapters in all fifty states. Complete registration information is posted on USDLA's web site, www.usdla.org.

Bill Wagner, 301-774-8214 or 877-992-4637, whwagner@edusat.com

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X. MINI-BYTES OF WISDOM:

You can get a lot more done with a kind word and a gun, than with a kind word alone.

- Al Capone

A great man is he who has not lost the heart of a child.

-- Mencius

Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable.

- John Kennedy


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