Get Connected May 2007

The ENA Network Community Journal

Web 2.0: Blogs and Podcasts in Education

Are you a part of the blogosphere? Did you create a podcast today? If you answered yes to either of these questions, you might be using one of the most engaging methods of connecting to students available today. Blogs and podcasts are increasingly being adopted by educators not just to communicate with students, but to drive interaction between students and teachers in exciting new ways.

What are blogs and podcasts?
A blog is a website where someone can post an article for others to read and make comments. A blog post may include text, photos, links to other web sites, embedded videos, and other content.

Depending on how a blog is configured, it can be structured for one-way communication or it can create an opportunity for interaction, for readers to add comments and additional information. The idea of a blog is to create a community and to deliver fresh content that will drive readers and contributors to the site.

Podcasts are either audio or video recordings that can be delivered over the Internet. It is possible to download just a single podcast episode, or use software like iTunes to subscribe to a podcast and receive new episodes when they become available. For educators who want to create their own podcasts, numerous tools are available, many for free, that allow users to record, edit, and post podcasts to a website. And while it has "pod" in the name, an iPod is not required to listen to a podcast, making the format available to download on many different computer platforms.

Engaging Digital Natives at Orange County Public Schools
George Perreault is the Director, Instructional Technology and Library Media at Orange County Public Schools (OCPS) in Orlando, Florida, the 11th largest school district in the United States. George and his team have helped to provide tools and training for over 3,000 teachers and administrators within the district to create and distribute content via blogs and podcasts.

When blogs and podcasts first started to appear on the Internet, George saw these tools as an opportunity to create a connection with students and with parents. The educators in Orange County Public Schools (OCPS) have created very innovative content, and in some cases, that content has spread outside the boundaries of the district. Technology Resource Teacher, John Lien's podcasts about technology integration, are subscribed to by hundreds across the world. And when a new school was being built within the district, the new principal for the school created a blog to keep the community up-to-date on the progress of the building. Along the way, teachers have also found that some students who do not actively participate in class are much more comfortable communicating through the district's blogs. The technology they are comfortable with at home allows them to contribute at school as well.

Perreault is quick to point-out, "As much of an advocate of technology as I am, none of it will ever replace good teaching." When OCPS started to offer district educators the opportunity to create content with blogs and podcasts, George knew the most important aspect was to get the teachers on board. George's own podcasts speak to the integration of technology in the classroom, and a recent episode includes an interview with his seventeen-year-old daughter and her "digital life." He encourages educators to use these tools to connect students and to deliver engaging content; review sessions for upcoming exams, important subject concepts, and additional materials that enhance what is delivered in class. George Perreault sees video, in the form of streaming content, video podcasts, and other delivery methods, as an increasingly effective and important way to engage students. OCPS will be increasing the bandwidth between their 200-plus buildings, and to the Internet, via fiber connectivity delivered by ENA this summer. George expressed his excitement at the opportunities these new connections offer.

"We want the content available on demand," he said. The centralized server that is used to host blogs and podcasts will now allow teachers to publish their content quicker, and George expects the use of video podcasts and streaming video content to increase when the bandwidth becomes available to deliver these rich media files.

It's Like a Scrapbook
With all new technologies, there is a learning curve. East Tennessee School District, Hamblen County, was looking for a way to introduce podcasts to teachers. Technology novice Chanda Parker found a way to bring podcasts to the classroom by easing the teaching staff into this new technology. In her role as an instructional technologist in the district, Chanda works with teachers at every building. Her strategy was to begin working with teachers by creating podcasts for them. One day Chanda might be on a field trip to a water treatment plant, and the next day she might be recording video of a teacher working with students as they learn about a math concept like "pi." Once teachers saw how excited their students and parents reacted to the podcasts, interest in the tool was rampant.

Parker compares the podcasts she creates to scrapbooks. The content is a snapshot in the day of a classroom and tells the story of what a class is accomplishing. She has recorded school plays and other events and uploaded them to servers so that teachers, parents, and students can access them. She usually records video of each event, even if she plans to only use the audio, as she finds it easier to edit. She integrates video, still photos, and audio recordings into the podcasts to tell a story about the event.

Chanda has also created virtual tours of each school building in Hamblen County. When families are moving into the district, they can download video podcasts and learn more about the district and the specific building their child will attend. The virtual tours also allow students moving from elementary to middle school, or middle school to high school, an opportunity to virtually experience their new school environment before arriving on the first day of a new school year.

Hamblen County Schools hopes to see teachers creating the podcasts themselves in the near future. Chanda Parker, a self proclaimed technology amateur, hopes the work she has done with teachers over the past year will show them they can implement these technologies, regardless of their level of technology experience. Chanda is excited about the opportunity to continue to help teachers create and deliver content that connects with students and parents in the district - and podcasting is a tool students embrace.

What the Tech?
For Lynn Duhamell, a blog represented a fresh way to deliver technology news to her district. As Director of Instructional Media at Portage Township Schools in northwest Indiana, Lynn is responsible for many different teams within the district. She recently turned to blogging as a way to communicate about technology within Portage Township.

"What the Tech" started over twelve years ago as a printed newsletter that Duhamell sent to educators throughout the district. She would start an issue and get it ready, but by the time it was received by the teachers many of the events Duhamell wrote about had already occurred. In time, she migrated to sending an attachment as an email, which reduced costs, but she was still plagued by issues with the timeliness of her content.

When blogs became available, Lynn saw an opportunity to create content that was fresh and timely. She started the blog version of "What the Tech" in October 2006 and she includes entries about technology team meetings, links to tech resources within the district, and links to other blogs about books and many other topics. The blog gives Lynn the opportunity to provide helpful tips and links, as well as reminders to district teachers about reports and other upcoming events whenever she wants to provide the information.

Lynn teaches a web page creation course for teachers within the district, which now includes blogging. Once a teacher completes the course, they can start to add blogs and be linked to the Portage Township district home page. Teachers in the district have had three different courses this past spring, and Duhamell has scheduled three more for the summer. In addition, an advanced blogging course has been created for educators that want to take their blogs up a notch.

It is not just Portage Township that is reading "What the Tech," either. Duhamell has a statistics tool on her blog that tells her about the visitors to her blog. She has seen readers from Canada, India, and Japan, and has received comments from other blog writers that she has linked to. Lynn has also seen that people searching for topics that she writes about have found her blog when searching Google. What was once an internal newsletter has now become a tool to communicate with the world.

It will not be surprising to see video podcasts and links to video streams on Portage Township teacher blogs in the future. Lynn Duhamell wants to add these technologies, and more, to the toolbox that her teachers have to connect with students and teachers. She hopes to provide a video stream of their high school graduation in the future, and she is adding video editing courses for teachers to take this summer in anticipation of the increased demand for video content.

 

A Letter From the President
David Pierce, President & CEO
It is a pleasure to welcome you to this edition of ENA's Get Connected Community Journal. For the first time, we are combining the various editions that have been written for specific audiences into one comprehensive newsletter, to be shared across all districts and libraries we serve.

In my travels throughout Indiana, Florida, and Tennessee, I have heard the consistent message that educational technology professionals want more forums where they can exchange ideas and best practices. We at ENA hope this bi-monthly journal can be a useful vehicle for this purpose, and we look forward to hearing your ideas to make it better. This is your community journal, and we want to feature education topics that are important to you.

In this edition, we welcome Orange County, Florida Public Schools to the ENA family! Most of us in Indiana and Tennessee have probably been to Orlando for vacation or a conference - when you next visit one of the theme parks, take a moment to reflect that you are in a public school district with 178,000 students and 170 schools. Students in OCPS are from 179 different countries, with 137 different languages and dialects. We appreciate the opportunity to serve the needs of students and teachers in this growing, diverse community.

In this edition, we present an article about blogging and podcasts, with comments from George Perrault, Director, Instructional Technology and Library Media for OCPS. Taking the Tension Out of E-mail Retention is another timely and important article, since there are many different views about what information must be retained, and under what circumstances. As they say in Tennessee and Indiana, "It is whatever Chuck Cagle says it is" or "We really need Julie Slavens' opinion." With that in mind, we are happy to feature some basic thoughts from premiere education attorneys like Mr. Cagle and Ms. Slavens.

We are proud that ENA has recently been recognized for the second year in a row as "One of the Best Places to Work in Tennessee." Our Tennessee employees told the reviewers that they are motivated primarily by their passion to make a difference for educators and children. They enjoy the opportunity to work with the many talented professionals at ENA, who are all focused on the goal of delivering world-class service. And we know that the same holds true for our employees in Indiana and Orange County. While our goal each day is to delight our customers, we manage to have a lot of fun at the same time. We know that happy, dedicated employees make happy customers. Our team will be hard at work over the next couple of months making improvements to the network that you, our customers, depend on.

Have a great summer!

 

 

Technology Integration, Get in the Game
HECC Making a Difference in Education Technology
The Hoosier Educational Computers Coordinators (HECC) Board is very excited to announce the theme and gift for the 2007 conference held November 29th-30th. "Technology Integration, Get in the Game" will be the conference focus and the tool given to each attendee will be a PlayStation Portable (PSP).

Many will ask, "What can a video gaming device possibly do to enhance the educational curriculum?" The multiple answers may surprise and delight you. HECC wants to challenge Indiana educational professionals by presenting a handheld gaming device as a viable educational tool. The PSP not only can be used to play educational games, but can also be used to play recorded audio and video as well as perform as an electronic text book. The PSP can browse the web via wireless Internet, thus putting the power of the web in the hands of students for less than $175.00.

Games can be good teachers as well as great motivators. Complex games offer unparalleled complexity and require almost instantaneous decision making. They are designed just like the best lesson plan, with choices, actions and feedback that adapt to the player's ability. They allow risk taking without consequences and reward practice.

With all this to offer and with a built-in audience of students who already are gamers, education can and should take advantage of the opportunity to exploit this medium to its fullest extent. At the very least, the potential should be thoroughly explored. HECC's motive in providing this tool and corresponding sessions is to open the discussion and explore the possibilities. Join us at our November conference and, "get in the game." We hope to see you in Indianapolis!

Handheld gaming devices are already being used in a limited fashion across the globe. Here is what one English teacher in England wrote on his blog:
"In the lesson students managed to use the PSPs to access the Internet, subscribe to an RSS feed, view a slideshow drawn from the RSS feed and begin watching the video. From a pedagogic viewpoint, it was interesting to watch how students (again, boys) got to grips with using the PSPs: they seemed to involuntarily get up and group together to work with the PSPs collectively. My "teacher"-inclination is to keep students seated but, after a couple of times, I realized that the boys were working / learning much better this way at that point. I guess putting me outside my comfort zone as a teacher is a good thing." (http://pspteachers.blogspot.com/)

 

 

Internet2 - Now Showing at an Internet Connection Near You!
Networks have changed from passive platforms for applications to active participants in the delivery of 21st century education. You see this every day as you utilize the Internet more and more for administrative and instructional use. But, did you know there is another Internet network that is faster and available just to the education and research communities? This network is commonly called Internet2 and it is available to you today!

What is Internet2
Internet2 is actually a consortium created to provide leading-edge network capabilities and unique partnership opportunities to facilitate the development, deployment and use of revolutionary Internet technologies. Started in 1996 as a consortium of 34 universities, Internet2 has grown to over 300 members including more than 200 U.S. universities working in cooperation with 70 leading corporations, 45 government agencies, laboratories and other institutions of higher learning as well as over 50 international partner organizations. The original members of the Internet2 consortium created the Abilene Network primarily to support research and education. Internet2 has recently announced, and are in the process of deploying, their third generation network.

The original Abilene Network was a high-performance, 2.5 Gbps U.S. backbone network which was upgraded to 10 Gbps several years ago. The third generation, 100 Gbps Internet2 network drops the Abilene name and is simply called Internet2. Another group of researchers and higher education institutions created a similar consortium that created another, separate high-performance network called the National LambdaRail (NLR). NLR is a high-speed national network that runs over fiber-optic lines. These two networks are pursuing a merger which will create the Internet2-National LambdaRail (Internet2-NLR) network, unifying the research and education community.

Abilene and National LambdaRail: Why Such Unusual Names?
Story has it that the name Abilene was chosen because the project resembled the ambitious creation of the nation's railroad infrastructure, the frontier of which was started in the 1860's in Abilene, Kansas. In keeping with this analogy, the term LambdaRail was applied to the other national optical network as it unifies fiber optic (light or lambda) technology with the metaphor of railway transportation.

Internet2 is a separate physical network from the public "commodity" Internet that you use every day. The research community created this separate network in order to ensure higher levels of bandwidth and quality of service unavailable on the "commodity" Internet. While this network is relatively new to the K-12 community, it has been operating for over 10 years in the research and higher education community. Internet2 is a test bed for new network technologies that will eventually make its way to the public Internet. The "commodity" Internet network you know today is open to everyone, but the Internet2 network is a private network for research and education. Access to the Internet2 network is restricted to education and research institutions and authorized users. ENA is a member of Internet2 and our network is connected to the Internet2 network allowing us to bring this new technology resource to your desktop.

How Fast is Fast?
Much of the research is based around Internet2's current high-performance backbone, called Abilene, which runs at 10 Gbps. Internet2 is in process of upgrading the network to 100 Gbps using different wavelengths transmitted over fiber-optic cable. At 10 Gbps per second, you could transfer a feature-length, DVD quality movie in 30 seconds, and at 100 Gbps it would take just 3 seconds!

Internet2 is Fast, but Not a Magic Bullet
No matter how fast the Internet2 network operates, once it connects with your school or library network, the available bandwidth will be based on your site's network configuration. Typically, a T1 line is not sufficient to utilize the new technology applications available through Internet2. To take full advantage of Internet2 applications, you should consider 10 Mbps or greater for Internet and district connectivity. There is tremendous educational value to the Internet2 network, so talk with your ENA Account Service Manager (ASM) for assistance in planning your connectivity needs to utilize this new resource.

What is the Internet2 K20 Initiative?
The national Internet2 K20 Initiative was developed to bring together Internet2 member institutions and innovators from public and private K-12 schools, colleges and universities, libraries, and museums to extend new technologies, applications, middleware, and content to all education sectors "as quickly and connectedly as possible". Simply stated the Internet2 K20 Initiative is a way to extend the Internet2 private network to the K20 community. This is facilitated through the Sponsored Education Group Participation (SEGP) program. This program allows expanded access to the Internet2 network for state and regional education networks sponsored by Internet2 university members. There are 38 states now offering K20 education agencies access to the Internet2 network through SEGP "connectors" including Tennessee, Indiana, and Florida schools.

The Internet2 K20 Initiative is gaining momentum and popularity among the K-12 and library community. Just take a look at how the community is adopting Internet2 and using it for teaching and learning:

K20 Status and Growth
Organization	Total - 9/02	Total - 5/04	Today
K12 Schools/Orgs	7,173	23,388	40,167
Community Colleges	551	594	677
Four Year Colleges and Universities	526	852	1,002
Public Libraries	1,482	2,360	3,325
Museums, Zoos, Aquariums and Science Centers	102	74	128
Grand Total	9,834	27,268	46,226

The goals of the Internet2 K20 Initiative include:

- Enhancing teaching and learning by facilitating project that explore the ways in which advanced network applications, services, tools and digital content can extend access to education and educational resources.

- To bring K-12 and library innovators into the advanced networking efforts to promote user driven innovation from the K-12 educational community.

- To encourage and sustain partnerships among education institutions, private sector and government.

- To develop a mechanism for communication across all education sectors to enable quick and pervasive technology diffusion.

What Does Internet2 and the Internet2 K20 Initiative Mean to Me Today?
Internet2 enables an endless array of powerful new applications for teaching and learning. So far, the most popular uses of Internet2 include:

• Real-time learning and real-time discovery through Videoconferencing and Remote Instrumentation
• Accessing rich multimedia digital collections through Digital Libraries
• Innovative ways to Communicate, Collaborate, and Contribute through creating new collaboration communities
• Creating new learning opportunities through Distance Learning
• Initiating enhanced Global Awareness through engaging International Learning Communities
• Creating New Knowledge by sharing experiences and expertise

Your peers and colleagues are doing amazing things with access to Internet2. Let's take a look at a few examples of innovative technologies and applications using Internet2 that are inspiring education in new ways today.

ImagiNations Remote Instrumentation Project, Lehigh University
The ImagiNations project introduces K-12 students to electron microscopy and nanotechnology. The Center for Advanced Materials and Nanotechnology (CAMN) at Lehigh University uses Internet2 to offer K-12 students real-time remote access to the XL30 ESEM (environmental scanning electron microscope). Scale and surface area animations are available for the students' interaction, along with interactive image magnifications on the project website. See: http://lehigh.edu/~inimagin/

Megaconference Jr. - Chester County Intermediate Unit, PA and MAGPI
Megaconference Jr. is the first student-led international videoconference learning event for K-20 schools. This all virtual H.323 videoconference brings together students and teachers from around the world to showcase curricular project initiatives, increase cultural awareness and broaden understanding of the role advanced networks have in the 21st century world. In Megaconference Jr., students are involved in all aspects of the conference including planning, technical implementation and script writing. A primary goal of Megaconference Jr. is for schools to form sustained collaborative projects to extend the learning environment to the world outside the classroom. See: http://megaconferencejr.org

Music Bridges: K-12 Faculty-Driven Music Programs - Manhattan School of Music, St. Clair County Intermediate School District, MI
Manhattan School of Music's distance learning program is partnering with Michigan's St. Clair County Regional Educational Service Agency to present music programs delivered via interactive video conferencing over Internet2 advanced networks. St. Clair County, which includes 57 schools across 7 school districts, will receive offerings such as American Composers, A Personal Introduction to Opera, and the type of custom telementoring sessions that require the high-fidelity, broadcast-quality streaming audio and video available over Internet2. By eliminating the barriers of time and distance, Manhattan School of Music's faculty and student-teaching artists can extend their expertise to students and audiences around the country. See: http://www.msmnyc.edu/special/video

Center for Interactive Learning and Collaboration (CILC)
CILC, a not-for-profit organization, provides consulting services for educators and develops tools and resources to improve learning through the use of video conferencing and other collaborative technologies. They are dedicated to providing premier video conferencing services and program content. Their website is a global hub and marketing channel offering educational content and networking opportunities to support and inspire educators to be highly effective. CILC is highly involved in the Internet2 K20 Initiative and provides guidance on how schools can use Internet2 and video conferencing as a cost-effective and interactive technology to motivate individuals to collaborate and learn. See: http://www.cilc.org

And What's on the Horizon?
The education and research institutions that originated Internet2 continue to work on developing revolutionary Internet technologies. For example, at the University of Pennsylvania, one of the founding members of the Internet2 consortium, the use of the Internet2 network includes two of the latest technologies: tele-immersion and distributed telepathology. Tele-immersion involves connecting users in geographically distributed locations as if they were in the same environment and distributed telepathology enables live analysis of complex medical images by experts around the world. Neurosurgeons can now video conference with other experts in the field during an operation in a high resolution format with no apparent time lag. New concepts being tested include the ability to conduct complex surgery from remote locations using robots and medical experts. These are just a few examples of the ways Internet2 will change how we educate, live and work.

Many fields have been able to use the Internet2 network to foster creativity, research, and development in a way that was not previously possible. Of course we can talk a lot about "killer applications", unlimited bandwidth, and seemingly Star-Trek like scenarios, but the real story around Internet2 is about eliminating the distance between people. So, stay connected and get involved because the future value of Internet2 is all about you and getting your community engaged with this new and exciting technology.

If you are attending NECC (National Educational Computing Conference) in Atlanta, please join us for a workshop on Internet2 being offered on Sunday 6/24/07 from 8:30am to 11:30am, titled, "Internet2: Extending New Technologies, Applications, and Content". The workshop will highlight how institutions, innovators, and schools use Internet2 to create international learning communities. See how schools are using rich digital libraries and remote instrumentation to create new knowledge and opportunities. The workshop will be conducted by Internet2 luminaries including: Ruth Blankenbaker, Executive Director of the Center for Interactive Learning and Collaboration (CILC) who also serves on the Advisory Committee of the Internet2 K20 Initiative; John Fleishman from the Sacramento County Office of Education and a member of the Executive Committee for the Internet2 K20 Initiative; Holly Jobe with the Montgomery County Intermediate Unit (PA) and a member of the Internet2 community; James Werle, the Associate Director of the Internet2 K20 Initiative; Jan Zanetis a leader in videoconferencing with Tandberg; and, associates from ENA. Please note that there is a fee for this workshop. See the Program Details section of the NECC website: 
http://center.uoregon.edu/ISTE/NECC2007/

Spread the Word
Every ENA-connected school and library in Florida, Indiana and Tennessee is connected to Internet2 and can already fully participate in this community! We are looking for ways to increase awareness and usage of Internet2. If you are interested in joining a working group to help us spread the word, please contact Monica Farner at mfarner@ena.com

Want to Learn More?
Here are some resources for you to learn more about Internet2:

• Internet2 site
  www.internet2.edu
• Internet2 K20 Initiative
  www.k20.internet2.edu
• Internet2 K20 Initiative Resources 
  http://k20.internet2.edu/resources/presentation_view.php?s=search
• CoSN Emerging Technologies
  www.cosn.org/blogs/emerging-tech/
• Minnesota Learning Loop
  www.inforMNs.k12.mn.us
• CILC Database
  www.cilc.org/search.aspx?restrict=cilc_programs
• MAGPI K20 Programs
  www.magpi.net/programs
• Vanderbilt University
  www.scienceoutreach.org/vidcon.php

 

TETA Summer Institute 2007: Walking in Memphis
The Tennessee Educational Technology Association (TETA) will hold its tenth annual Summer Institute (SI) July 17-20 in Memphis at the beautiful Arlington High School. Walking in Memphis is the theme and this year's event promises to be the most exciting one yet!

Dan Schmit, author of KidCast: Podcasting in the Classroom and an nstructional Technology Specialist with the College of Education at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, will be the keynote speaker. He will focus not only on his keynote but on two additional breakout sessions on podcasting and the implications for the classroom, various other technologies that are changing education, and share numerous podcasting activities and resources that you will be able to take back and distribute to teachers in your district. In addition to Dan's sessions, about ninety breakout sessions will be spread over two and one half days. Impromptu training will also occur throughout the vendor booths.

This year's spacious exhibit hall will be a hub of activity as over sixty different vendors are set to exhibit their latest hardware, software, and services for you to consider for future purchase. All of the major companies will be present with representatives coming in from all over the United States and Canada. Interact with these experts and take advantage of their knowledge to enhance your professional development experience. On Tuesday night, SI will continue the tradition of having a vendor reception to give you uninterrupted access to the exhibitors. Please take the time to thank them for their generous and continued support of TETA and this event.

Memphis' rich musical heritage will be front and center this summer as you visit some of the city's most famous tourist locations. On Wednesday evening, come spend "A Night With The King" as you visit Elvis Presley's beloved Graceland. The entire site will be TETA's as attendees take a mansion tour, wonder at all of Elvis' cars, walk through his airplane The Lisa Marie, and explore the memorabilia at the second most visited home in the U. S. Food, fun, and dancing...definitely a night to remember! Bus transportation will be provided from the conference hotels.

Thursday evening will take you to downtown Memphis for an evening of "Baseball and Blues". Enjoy a wonderful picnic dinner as you watch the Memphis Redbirds (current World Series champion St. Louis Cardinals' AAA farm team) take on Oklahoma. Just steps away from beautiful Autozone Park is world famous Beale Street, Home of the Blues! End your evening on your own enjoying some wonderful Memphis music. More than a dozen clubs offer a wide variety of entertainment. Late buses will ensure that you arrive back at the conference hotels safely.

In addition to these two social events, on Tuesday come play a round of golf at the annual TETA Golf Classic to be held at Stonebridge Golf Club. Shotgun start begins at 8:00 AM that morning and the event includes all necessary fees, carts, beverages, lunch, and some great awards and prizes. For those who do not play golf, a new event is being added this year. Family Day at the Memphis Zoo will allow you to visit this world class facility and see hundreds of animals, including Pandas. The Memphis Zoo is one of only four places in the country where you can see them. Parking, admission into the zoo, and a great lunch will all be provided.

Any talk about SI would not be complete without mentioning all the great food. The vendor reception on Tuesday night will be a heavy appetizer event (enough for dinner) catered by a local company that specializes in making everything from scratch. Wednesday lunch will be catered by Corky's BBQ and Thursday will feature catfish and chicken. Breakfast each day will feature items from Chick-Fil-A as well as juices, coffee, and fruit. Don't forget the snacks, popcorn, and ice cream in the exhibit hall. Yum, Yum!

Finally, make plans to stay for Friday's sessions and closing door prize giveaway event. You will not believe what all is being given away. Word is there are at least a dozen iPods, a laptop, a full desktop, gift cards, printers and MANY other great prizes. WOW!

As you can see, the planning committee has worked hard putting together a not-to-be missed event. So head on down and spend some time in Memphis this summer. Bring your family and make it a vacation. Check out http://www.teta.org/si07/attract/default.html for the latest details about what there is to do in Memphis!

You should also visit http://www.teta.org for the latest information including a list of conference hotels.

You can register at http://www.amplifyllc.com/intel/ListOfEvents.cfm?ID=TETA

If you are a member and do not have your registration code, contact Denton Jordan (jordand6@k12tn.net). Non-members can register without a code. The main presenter of each session should contact Marla Phillips (mphillips@tipton-county.com) about a special presenter code. Vendors will get their code from John Simi. Please do not register until you have that code from him.

So put on your blue suede shoes and come Walking in Memphis this summer. You are guaranteed to learn, network, and have plenty of fun looking back over ten great years of Summer Institutes. See you in Memphis!

E-Rate from the Inside Out
Springtime is here and so are Program Integrity Assurance (PIA) reviews and new funding year approvals. In this E-Rate update, we will provide some tips and thoughts regarding steps districts should take at this time of the year.

PIA reviews touch almost every E-Rate applicant no matter how clear and concise your filings may be. Applicants for ENA's services continue to see several apparently standard questions including verifying student populations at certain schools (i.e. pre-k and adult education vs K-12 students), verifying that the ENA provided router meets standard eligibility tests, and several other minor questions. 

A few tips related to PIA reviews in general:

-We suggest getting all SLD questions in writing (e-mail is fine) and responding in writing. This minimizes the chance for miscommunication.

-When responding to SLD questions, answer their questions in a concise manner and avoid extra information. If you provide more than what the question requests, the SLD has to review that information as well, which may delay your funding approval. If they need further information, they will ask - no need to volunteer additional information.

-Track the status of your applications using the SLD's Form 471 Application Status Tool. From the SLD’s home page, click on search tools and then on the status tool. Enter your Billed Entity Number and you will be able to see the status of all your applications. If the application is listed as "Initial Review", you should be alert for communications from PIA at any time.

-When you receive questions from PIA, we recommend that you share those questions with other E-Rate participants - such as ENA - who may be able to help. For instance, ENA reviews PIA requests and responses with many applicants and can tell you whether your questions have been seen by other applicants or if you are being asked something unique.

-If you have not received all your approvals by start of Summer and are going to be out of the office for an extended period of time, consider providing the SLD with Summer contact information. There is a method for providing this information listed on the SLD website under Step 8: Undergo Application Review on the School and Library Applicants drop down menu. From the Step 8 page, click on "contact information" bullet and you will see the instructions for adding Summer contact information. This step may speed up your funding approval.

Key Steps and Tips:

1. Form 486 must be submitted to indicate that service has begun and that the vendor is allowed to bill the SLD for service or that a BEAR will be submitted
• If this form is late, you could be denied some or all of your funding. We suggest that you submit it as soon as you are approved - as long as you are ready to do so.
  
• In addition to indicating the start date of service, the 486 includes two key certifications that should not be taken lightly
  
• Technology plan covering the full E-Rate year must be approved before filing the 486
  -Verify now that you have an approved plan that covers the current E-Rate year or that  you have submitted a new plan for approval
  -Once your plan is approved, keep a copy of the approval letter or document with your E-Rate files - you may be asked to provide that information
  
• CIPA compliance must be certified
  -CIPA compliance is not just having filtering in place
  -It also includes having an up to date CIPA policy in place in your district
  - We recommend that you review that policy to determine that it is updated for new activity (An example might be policies on social networking sites)
  -There are indications that the SLD may begin reviewing CIPA compliance plans so consider being proactive in this area.

2. If your 471 was reduced or denied, consider filing an appeal to the SLD
• The guidelines for appeals are listed on the SLD website
• ENA can provide guidance in this area as well including pointing you to the SLD documentation
• One very positive set of actions over the past year has been the numerous applicant friendly appeal decisions provided by the FCC
• These decisions have overruled the SLD in many cases where the SLD was too harsh in applying the rules to the detriment of applicants who made minor or clerical errors
• If you feel that your application was treated incorrectly or a decision was made without all the facts, file an appeal and you may ultimately receive your funding.
  

Taking the Tension Out of E-mail Retention
The world relies on e-mail. Teachers, administrators and students are no exception. E-mail use in today's schools is growing exponentially, but with new retention laws surfacing, how can school systems continue to manage the use of e-mail while being prepared if a legal situation arises?

E-mail retention has become a hot topic for Technology Coordinators and School Administrators in recent months due to the Supreme Court's announcement of the changes to Rule 26 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Confusion and uncertainty regarding legal requirements and best practice policies for retaining e-mails have left many school districts scratching their heads and crossing their fingers that they are in compliance with federal regulations.

This article attempts to clear up some of the confusion that surrounds e-mail retention and provide guidance as to what districts can do to be prepared if, or more appropriately when, a situation arises where e-mail retention comes into play. We encourage every district to speak with their school board and their district's attorney for specific legal guidance. However, we have called upon the help of two expert attorneys to get some clarification on this matter. Chuck Cagle of Lewis, King, Krieg & Waldrop P.C. is an attorney who represents Tennessee Organization of School Superintendents (TOSS) and many school boards across Tennessee. Julie Slavens is the Staff Attorney for Policy Development for the Indiana School Board Association (ISBA). Both have offered information about the current laws in each of their perspective states, along with some insightful tips to help your districts be more equipped to manage e-mail retention.

So, what does the law say regarding e-mail retention? Chuck Cagle states that in Tennessee, there are no specific statutes that address the retention of electronic communication. There is currently a dispute taking place in the courts as to whether e-mails are considered public records and if they should fall under the same retention requirements as public records, but no ruling has been made. Because there is not a federal requirement, it is imperative that districts instate their own policy regarding e-mail retention and strictly comply with that district policy. Cagle recommends that the policy include specific dates that e-mails will be disposed of, rather than simply listing quarterly, semi-annually, etc. E-mails, however, are discoverable under the laws of evidence. District policies need to state that if the school system becomes aware of an instance where a lawsuit is likely to occur, then e-mail must be retained from that point forward. He also recommends that the policy state that once such an issue is reported, all electronic communication regarding the situation cease and resort strictly to paper communication.

Laws frequently differ from state to state. Julie Slavens provides valuable information regarding e-mail retention policies in the state of Indiana. According to Slavens, "under the Indiana Access to Public Records law (IC 5-14-3) e-mail messages are public records. As such, they are subject to the Public Records Retention law found at IC 5-15-6. This law requires the local public records commission to adopt retention schedules for all governmental entities in the county. If no retention schedule is adopted, the default retention period is 3 years for all public records. The retention of a public record is not dependent upon the format the record is in but the content of the record itself."

For Indiana, the law also states that public records should be retained in a format that is "easily accessible" for members of the public to view. Therefore, e-mails should be retained in a manner that is easy to access should a situation arise where e-mails need to be discovered. The law does not require a specific back-up policy; only that the records are retained based on a schedule and are in a format that is easily accessible.

With such vague federal requirements, Indiana and Tennessee school systems need to adopt some of their own policies to ensure that they are prepared for situations where e-mail retention is necessary.

Here are several tips that will help your district:

-School systems need to immediately adopt a clearly defined retention schedule and follow it.

-School systems need to have a clear understanding of how their e-mail system operates and how their e-mail retention/back-up system operates. The back-up system could be in a variety of forms such as tapes, disks, CDs, or via a professional archiving company.

-Technology Coordinators should know how to proactively retrieve e-mails from their back-up system prior to the occurrence of an incident that requires e-mail retention.

-School Boards and School Administrators should receive training on Rule 26 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.

-School systems should have a communication system in place to help identify situations where lawsuits are likely to occur and then to notify the appropriate people so the proper actions and retention can occur.

-School systems should adopt policies stating that e-mail usage should be kept to school-related business only.

According to Cagle, "Oops is not a good defense." If school systems will take proactive steps to ensure that a policy is in place and is being followed before a situation occurs, the phrase "e-mail retention" will not cause such confusion and uncertainty for school systems.

ENA is working to provide customers with a resolution for e-mail retention. In the short term, ENA plans to assist districts in developing specific e-mail retention and deletion policies fitting to each school district's needs. For a long term resolution, ENA is researching methods to extend an archiving service to customers who are pending litigation and need assistance organizing and managing volumes of e-mail pertaining to particular individuals or subjects. ENA looks forward to bringing a solution to libraries and school systems.

ENA will soon be providing e-mail retention services available for the 40,000 users of ENA Mail (formerly TEN-NASH). ENA will offer a number of different retention options to ensure districts which use ENA Mail can synchronize their e-mail retention with their overall retention policies for all electronic documents. In addition to e-mail retention services for ENA Mail, ENA is also working to provide network-based data backup and data warehousing services. These services are designed to allow for off-site backup of critical school data, and can used to warehouse e-mail as well as important student management, payroll, nutrition, and other data.

National Educational Computing Conference - Don't Miss It!
Are you interested in learning about technology's role in developing 21st century learners? Does exploring an interactive 21st century media center full of new technologies, tools and gadgets get your techie juices flowing? How about sitting in as a "student" in a model classroom where GPS units are being used for instruction? If these topics peak your curiosity, then plan on attending the 28th annual National Educational Computing Conference (NECC) June 24-27 at the Georgia World Congress Center in downtown Atlanta.

With more than 700 workshops, lectures, and interactive sessions offered and over 500 exhibitors, NECC is the largest and most comprehensive educational technology event in the world. Over 18,000 people from across the United States and 50 countries around the world look forward to attending this conference to explore emerging technologies, chat with well-known vendors and gain valuable knowledge related to educational technology. Whether you are a teacher, student, technology coordinator, media specialist or administrator, there is something for you at NECC. One indicator of a great conference is the caliber of the keynote and NECC has two speakers this year that will deliver first-class presentations. Andrew Zolli will open the conference by inviting attendees to join him in exploring the impact of technology on people and education, the shape of things to come, and what it takes to change the world. As a brilliant author, forecaster, and design strategist, Zolli will outline the trends shaping education's future. The second keynote is Dr. Tim Tyson, principal of Mabry Middle School in Cobb County, GA. Dr. Tyson, along with a group of students from Mabry Middle School, will showcase how they are making learning irresistible by integrating the use of digital media in their classrooms. This inspirational presentation will demonstrate how integrating technology into instruction has produced a passion and a new-found quality in their students' school work.

The meat of a good conference is usually made up of the sessions throughout the day, and NECC will not leave you hungry. From topics such as videoconferencing, animation, social networking, and broadcasting - just to name a few - your day will be full of creative discussions, new technology discoveries and idea swapping among fellow educators. There are hands-on sessions such as BYOL - Bring your own laptop. "Playgrounds" are informal all-day exhibit-style presentations featuring interactive hands-on demonstrations of technology and resources available for art, assistive technology, math, science, music, physical education and more. Needless to say, you will not run out of options to explore during this conference.

Think NECC is all work and no play...think again! Along with all the interactive sessions throughout the day, there are many social activities that will allow you to see the sites of Atlanta. Take a tour of the city and see the State Capitol, the Georgia Dome, the CNN Center, and the MLK Center on "A Taste of the Peach" tour. Attend an Atlanta Braves baseball game at Turner Field. Visit the brand new Georgia Aquarium - the largest aquarium in the world! You can register for all these activities and more on the NECC website.

We have just scratched the surface of what will be offered at NECC this year. Visit the official NECC 2007 website at http://iste.org/necc for more details about the conference, including registration information, housing options, a program planner tool, and complete program listings. Online registration closes on June 13th but if you miss this deadline, onsite registration is available when you arrive at the conference. We hope to see you in Atlanta from June 24 - 27.

Notes From the CTO
Bob Collie, Senior VP of Technology/CTO
At the end of the year while school administrators, teachers, parents and students are preparing for end of course tests, graduation and their summer plans and library boards are reviewing their budgets, the ENA team is already planning for the next school year.

Starting each January, we begin our work with our customers to review their plans and anticipate their technology needs for the next school and fiscal year. Once we've completed our review with school districts and local library systems, we spend much of the Spring creating internal plans for our Summer upgrade projects and then our teams spend the entire Summer putting additional capacity in place in your schools and libraries. During the Summer, ENA field operations team members put over 1,000 miles each week on their vehicles as they visit your locations to install upgraded service, ensuring your schools and libraries are ready for the new school and fiscal year. This year will see even more service upgrades as we welcome on board and upgrade all K-12 public schools in Orange County (Orlando), Florida to the ENA network at speeds ranging from 10 to 1000 Mbps! Look for the ENA field operations 'road warriors' in your area this Summer as they make their rounds!

In addition to library and school service upgrades, we are in the process of a major upgrade of our content filtering solution. Our previous solution served us well for the past four years, but as we look towards the future, we needed a solution that not only offered additional features, but would allow us to keep up with the ever-increasing bandwidth demands we expect over the coming years. Our new solution will permit us to better categorize sites into new and more granular categories, catch those new sites that show up every day and categorize them faster. Once our upgraded solution is in place, we will be able to offer new, exciting features in the future. To facilitate a smooth transition, our Systems and Network teams are installing new hardware and software and configuring it exactly the same as our old solution. This ensures that our customers and network members will not experience changes in the way our service appears. One immediate great benefit of this change is that this new solution will allow us to support Authorized Override for administrators on some sites that we previously were not able to permit administrators to access. Feel free to ask your Account Services Manager or our Customer Service Center (888-612-2880/ support@ena.com) if you have any questions regarding our content filtering upgrade.

As an update to my Winter 2006 column regarding peering (where ENA improves connectivity and reliability for our customers by connecting directly to networks with whom your sites regularly communicate with rather than sending traffic through a slower path that involves multiple other networks in the middle of that traffic flow), we've achieved a milestone! Currently, over 50% of all of our network traffic flows via these peers, making your Internet access faster, more reliable and consistent. We have also begun collaborating with other higher education and K-12 networks on the west coast, who have been working on similar efforts in their areas. Our objective is to connect our networks together to further improve the percentage of traffic that flows via our mutual peers to somewhere between 60-75% of all traffic. We will keep you updated as that effort progresses.

Have a wonderful Summer!