ISTE News
ISTE and Partners Unveil Interactive Science Game
 ISTE, along with partners Tabula Digita, an educational game maker,and the Monsanto Education Fund, have released a new interactive science game for students in grades 3–5. League of Scientists, which is available free of charge at www.theleagueofscientists.com, allows students to compete against each other in a series of multi-player games constructed around a standards-based science curriculum that ISTE developed. It covers grade-appropriate life science, earth and space science, and physical science concepts.
"We know that students are engaged by interactive games and that teachers are excited about using them to supplement learning inside and outside the classroom," said Don Knezek, ISTE’s CEO. "That’s why we were pleased to join this project—it's an opportunity to be part of changing the way we do education and science and to reach a group of students we're losing."
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SIG Name Changes Announced
 Two of ISTE's Special Interest Groups have changed their names to more closely define their roles.
The Handheld Computing SIG (SIGHC) has become the Mobile Learning SIG (SIGML), and the Telelearning SIG has become the Online Learning SIG (SIGOL). The changes were approved by the ISTE leadership at NECC in June after a vote of each SIG’s membership.
"The missions of these SIGs remain the same, with the new names reflect-ing the activities and endeavors that the groups have long undertaken," said Audrey Watters, Special Interest Group program manager.
For more information, visit the SIGs' websites at www.iste.org/sigml and www.iste.org/sigol. ISTE has 18 SIGs, including 6 that were added last year. |
ISTE Members Help with Ed Tech Plan
NECC 2009 was the first stop on an accelerated
journey by the U.S. Department of Education to gather input from stakeholders in crafting a revised National Education Technology Plan (NETP).
More than 300 administrators, teachers, technology coordinators, policy makers, and researchers—including dozens from outside the United States—met in small groups during the conference to hammer out a vision for where ed tech should be heading. The teams provided advice about opportunities and critical barriers regarding the use of technology in five areas: access to high-quality learning experiences,
improved assessments, data-driven decision making, teacher effectiveness, and student engagement and success.
The U.S. Department of Education is developing a new ed tech plan to provide a vision for how information and communication technologies can help transform education in the United States. The plan will provide a set of concrete goals that can inform state and local educational tech-nology plans as well as inspire research, development, and innovation. A draft plan is expected in early 2010.
To learn more about the plan, visit https://edtechfuture.org.
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ISTE Members Help with Ed Tech Plan
NECC 2009 was the first stop on an accelerated
journey by the U.S. Department of Education to gather input from stakeholders in crafting a revised National Education Technology Plan (NETP).
More than 300 administrators, teachers, technology coordinators, policy makers, and researchers—including dozens from outside the United States—met in small groups during the conference to hammer out a vision for where ed tech should be heading. The teams provided advice about opportunities and critical barriers regarding the use of technology in five areas: access to high-quality learning experiences,
improved assessments, data-driven decision making, teacher effectiveness, and student engagement and success.
The U.S. Department of Education is developing a new ed tech plan to provide a vision for how information and communication technologies can help transform education in the United States. The plan will provide a set of concrete goals that can inform state and local educational tech-nology plans as well as inspire research, development, and innovation. A draft plan is expected in early 2010.
To learn more about the plan, visit https://edtechfuture.org.
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Books Available Internationally
 For ISTE members outside the United States, buying an ISTE book has often meant long wait times and extra shipping charges. Now Canadian members can have their book orders fulfilled out of ISTE’s new Toronto warehouse, reducing transit time and shipping fees. ISTE will continue to handle orders out of its U.S. office.
Additionally, ISTE has contracted with Australian publisher Hawker Brownlow Education to make many ISTE titles available in Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, and Singapore. ISTE members in those countries should contact the publisher directly to inquire about titles or to place orders at 61.3.8558.2444 or toll free at 1.800.334.603. You can also e-mail orders to orders@hbe.com.au.
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Copyright © 2009, ISTE (International Society for Technology in Education), 1.800.336.5191 (U.S. & Canada) or 1.541.302.3777 (Int'l), iste@iste.org, www.iste.org. All rights reserved.
September/October 2009 | Learning & Leading with Technology
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