Home MembershipSpecial Interest GroupsSIGTel (Telelearning)SIGTel BulletinArchive 2003-2004

We are excited as we begin another year as editors for our International Society for Technology in Education Special Interest Group for Telelearning's Bulletin. Many in ISTE collaborated to get the Bulletin up and running. Special thanks to Sally Bair, Betsy Frederick, Nola Campbell, Jennifer Roland, Sarah Nichols, John Wenrich, Julie Ball, Paula Murray, Marilee Paterson, and Mary Glendening!

The articles from the first year of our Bulletin will be archived along with those from our SIGTel's Journal of Online Learning articles. Those articles are archived at Bulletin 2002-2003 and Journal of Online Learning.

In addition to this "Editors' Note," the "kick-off" articles to be published under this "SIGTel year" are described below.

Nola Campbell greets us with the President's Message. She provides an upbeat tone and encourages members to actively participate in SIGTel this year. Please read about where she places her emphasis during her tenure as president.

Video clips are a popular tool for documenting and assessing teacher performance. Brandi Kelly describes her use of this technique in an article titled, "Using Video to Self-Assess Teacher Performance."

The Keyboard is an example of the types of articles we hope we will be providing to classroom teachers in support of NETS. Tom Bratina and Tuiren Bratina have been working with preschool children to help them develop keyboarding skills. This article discusses the beginning keyboarding session and provides the demonstration material for that session.

The experiences of the first year of our online Bulletin have laid a solid foundation for this year's Bulletin. We can all benefit from your sharing the effective results that you are realizing. One area that invites our attention is the National Educational Standards (NETS) developed for students, teachers, and administrators.  Evidence of NETS awareness is documented at local, state, and national levels.  An ISTE report, dated 17 June 2003, indicates that more than 90% of the United States have adopted, adapted, or referenced the NETS standards in state department of education documents.  Universities and colleges of education are incorporating the standards into coursework.  Through a United States Department of Education PT3grant, Preparing Tomorrow’s Teachers to Use Technology, Valley City State University in North Dakota developed a matrix designating courses responsible for each of the NETS standards.  Clemson University in South Carolina offers a professional development opportunity that is a 3-credit course, NETS Online; this course aligns content with NETS.  Online archives of conference presentations document sessions that incorporate the NETS standards into teaching and learning.

We invite you to share your experiences with your SIGTel colleagues.  Thank you in advance for the contributions you make to the Bulletin this year. This year, as your editors, we'll aim to have articles that will increase an awareness of NETS and other technology standards around the globe.

Thank you,

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