Independent School Educators' List (ISED-L): December 2008

Saturday, December 27, 2008

Re: webcams and software options for international and LD connections

Cushing Academy is closed for the holidays and I will be away from the
office. I will be checking email but not as frequently. Please know that I
will check and get back to you as soon as possible.

Happy Holidays!

Bruce Lemieux

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Re: webcams and software options for international and LD connections

Hi Dan,

I can offer a few bits of advice regarding some of your questions.

1. Any brands of webcams to seek out or avoid? Is it worth it to get
more expensive (better?) cameras?

I tend to use my built-in i-Sight camera on my mac, but it is not great. The
more expensive cameras tend to be better because of greater resolution
capabilities.

2. Can Skype work over a busy wireless network or should I have the
kids come to where there is a hard-wired computer?

I have had success with both situations. However, this does depend on
whether you are using the videocamera or not. It is probably best to test
the connection first with your intended skype guests. It also depends on
what area of the world you are skyping with. Many countries have low
bandwidth connections and this MUST be taken into account.

3. Do I need/want a separate microphone (to point to specific students
independent of the webcam)?

This may depend on the laptop/computer you are using. I have had best luck
with a usb microphone. Again, it may be best to test with your intended guests.

4. Are there software/website options better than Skype? What about
the new Google Video service?

Yes, there are a few free web-based options and I have successfully used
them - again bandwidth is a consideration. Check out http://www.mebeam.com/,
http://flashmeeting.e2bn.net/, http://www.oovoo.com/

The advantages to all of those is that they permit more than 2 in the
videoconference.

An advantage to the new Google video service - I have heard that it is
lighter on the RAM requirements of the machine you are using. I have had
good success with it with video conferences to Israel and other parts of
North America. I am not sure it is yet available in all parts of the world.

5. Can you share some of the ways your staff have used webcams to
connect to resources outside the school and break down those walls?

These are exciting times to be an educator! I have had students connect over
skype and have used the others above to connect with teachers globally.

Here are some examples of how skype has been used in my classroom:

- To connect students on exchange in Australia to their classmates here in
Canada

- To connect student "ambassadors" from my gr. 7 class to students in New
York City and Virginia (we also blogged with these students). This was done
about every two weeks over a period of a few months.

- To connect another educator in Toronto live in Second Life with my
students in Montreal so that we could visit the virtual version of a Kenyan
classroom that he had created based on his visit to Kenya with Teachers
Without Borders last summer.

- To connect Karin Muller, National Geographic photojournalist who embedded
herself in Chad and Sudan in order to provide raw footage of the Darfur
refugees to students in North America, with my students who will be using
the footage to create documentaries (this was recorded two weeks ago and is
on my server).

- To connect my students with students in Kenya - this was very sketchy,
unfortunately, due to the very limited bandwidth capabilities in Kenya, but
I have hopes for the near future!

Please don't hesitate to contact me if you would like any more information!

Cheers,

Sharon Peters

Teaching Staff Member
The Study
Montreal, QC Canada

Quebec Provincial Contact: Teachers Without Borders Canada

Saturday, December 20, 2008

Re: Disrupting Class Virtual School

Fred and Peter,

Thank you for creating these exercises. I will drop in occasionally over the
break for the intellectual challenge.

On Sat, Dec 20, 2008 at 9:32 AM, Fred Bartels
<fred_bartels@rcds.rye.ny.us>wrote:

> Yin and Yang.
>
> This is the Yin to Peter Gow's post yesterday titled "Disrupting Class
> Virtual School." (see below)
>
> Yesterday Peter created a wiki focused on envisioning a bricks & mortar
> independent school circa 2019.
>
> I've created a wiki called Virtual Disrupting Academy focused on
> envisioning a collaborative non-profit virtual "school" for providing
> online learning opportunities to students at independent schools.
>
> The url is: http://sites.google.com/site/virtualdisruptingacademy/
>
> So when you need a little break from the holiday break, to quote Peter ...
> "Please feel free to explore the site and mess around with the very sparse
> seed content I have put up to get things going."
>
> Happy holidays,
>
> Fred
>
>
>
> A forum for independent school educators <ISED-L@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU> writes:
> >OK, not so much a virtual school, but a speculative one:
> >
> >At http://disruptedacademy.wikispaces.com/ you will find a wiki set up as
> >the website of an imaginary c. 2018 school--Disrupted Academy--based on
> >the ideas in DISRUPTING CLASS by Clayton Christensen, Michael Horn, and
> >Curtis Johnson.
> >
> >Please feel free to explore the site and mess around with the very sparse
> >seed content I have put up to get things going.
> >
> >Snowy afternoons at home are wonderful! I guess this is sort of a holiday
> >gift.
> >
> >Cheers--Peter Gow
> >
> >
> >
> >Peter Gow, Director of College Counseling and Special Programs
> >Beaver Country Day School
> >791 Hammond Street
> >Chestnut Hill, MA 02467
> >www.bcdschool.org
> >Tel. 617-738-2755
> >FAX 617-738-2701
> >Skype: petergow3
> >
> >
> >[ For info on ISED-L see http://www.gds.org/ISED-L ]
> >Submissions to ISED-L are released under a creative commons, attribution,
> >non-commercial, share-alike license.
> >RSS Feed, http://listserv.syr.edu/scripts/wa.exe?RSS&L=ISED-L
>
>
>
> [ For info on ISED-L see http://www.gds.org/ISED-L ]
> Submissions to ISED-L are released under a creative commons, attribution,
> non-commercial, share-alike license.
> RSS Feed, http://listserv.syr.edu/scripts/wa.exe?RSS&L=ISED-L
>

--
------------------------------
Vinnie Vrotny
Blog - Multi-Faceted Refractions
(vvrotny.org)

Re: Disrupting Class Virtual School

Yin and Yang.

This is the Yin to Peter Gow's post yesterday titled "Disrupting Class
Virtual School." (see below)

Yesterday Peter created a wiki focused on envisioning a bricks & mortar
independent school circa 2019.

I've created a wiki called Virtual Disrupting Academy focused on
envisioning a collaborative non-profit virtual "school" for providing
online learning opportunities to students at independent schools.

The url is: http://sites.google.com/site/virtualdisruptingacademy/

So when you need a little break from the holiday break, to quote Peter ...
"Please feel free to explore the site and mess around with the very sparse
seed content I have put up to get things going."

Happy holidays,

Fred

A forum for independent school educators <ISED-L@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU> writes:
>OK, not so much a virtual school, but a speculative one:
>
>At http://disruptedacademy.wikispaces.com/ you will find a wiki set up as
>the website of an imaginary c. 2018 school--Disrupted Academy--based on
>the ideas in DISRUPTING CLASS by Clayton Christensen, Michael Horn, and
>Curtis Johnson.
>
>Please feel free to explore the site and mess around with the very sparse
>seed content I have put up to get things going.
>
>Snowy afternoons at home are wonderful! I guess this is sort of a holiday
>gift.
>
>Cheers--Peter Gow
>
>
>
>Peter Gow, Director of College Counseling and Special Programs
>Beaver Country Day School
>791 Hammond Street
>Chestnut Hill, MA 02467
>www.bcdschool.org
>Tel. 617-738-2755
>FAX 617-738-2701
>Skype: petergow3
>
>
>[ For info on ISED-L see http://www.gds.org/ISED-L ]
>Submissions to ISED-L are released under a creative commons, attribution,
>non-commercial, share-alike license.
>RSS Feed, http://listserv.syr.edu/scripts/wa.exe?RSS&L=ISED-L

Re: How to best present a portfolio of visual art?

Darren
=20
Take a look at Digication (http://www.digication.com), one of their =
example sites Smithfield High School is a nice model of what can be =
achieved with an Art Department based e-Portfolio =
(http://campus.digication.com/artmonkey/Welcome/) =
<http://campus.digication.com/artmonkey/Welcome/> .
=20
Jack Kriss
Data Manager
Frankfurt International School
=20

________________________________

From: A forum for independent school educators on behalf of Darren =
Trebel
Sent: Thu 12/18/2008 9:55 PM
To: ISED-L@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU
Subject: How to best present a portfolio of visual art?

I'm a Visual Arts teacher at a large European international school. On
behalf of the IBO I am looking for an effective way of posting quality
images of visual arts content to an online site for review and =
assessment
purposes. The material would be 10-20 photographs, a 300-word (max) =
written
statement and 20-30 scanned images. All of these would have to be
dynamically presented with easy grab and go access to all of them on a
single page. Finally, the upload requirements would have to be fairly
straightforward, simple and universally accessible. Would Moodle be the
right way to go?=20

Why?

I am leaning towards Moodle now, but I'd really like to hear the =
thoughts of
some experienced Moodleheads and would really value some hard facts.=20

Many, many thanks!

Darren Trebel
Head of Visual Arts
Frankfurt International School
(and Syracuse University VPA class of 1989)

[ For info on ISED-L see http://www.gds.org/ISED-L ]
Submissions to ISED-L are released under a creative commons, =
attribution, non-commercial, share-alike license.
RSS Feed, http://listserv.syr.edu/scripts/wa.exe?RSS&L=3DISED-L

Friday, December 19, 2008

Disrupting Class Virtual School

OK, not so much a virtual school, but a speculative one:

At http://disruptedacademy.wikispaces.com/ you will find a wiki set up as
the website of an imaginary c. 2018 school--Disrupted Academy--based on
the ideas in DISRUPTING CLASS by Clayton Christensen, Michael Horn, and
Curtis Johnson.

Please feel free to explore the site and mess around with the very sparse
seed content I have put up to get things going.

Snowy afternoons at home are wonderful! I guess this is sort of a holiday
gift.

Cheers--Peter Gow

Peter Gow, Director of College Counseling and Special Programs
Beaver Country Day School
791 Hammond Street
Chestnut Hill, MA 02467
www.bcdschool.org
Tel. 617-738-2755
FAX 617-738-2701
Skype: petergow3

Re: How to best present a portfolio of visual art?

I will be away from school Saturday, December 20 - Sunday, January 4
celebrating the winter holidays. While away I will have limited email
access. I look forward to reading and responding to your email when I
return on Monday, January 5, 2009.

Happy Holidays-

Mark

Re: How to best present a portfolio of visual art?

Greetings from Seoul,

I'm a Librarian at a small international school who for several years
has been monitoring the developments in the e-portfolio landscape. I
harbor an interest similar to yours and long for the day when I can
gain server access to host and present such a platform to my students
and faculty.

Rather than address your questions directly, I would suggest you
investigate the following four links which may very well lead you to a
platform ideally suited to your goal.

Mahara : Open Source eportfolios [considered Moodle's sister]
http://mahara.org/

MOSEP [More Self-Esteem with my e-Portfolio]
http://www.mosep.org/

Categories of ePortfolio Tools
http://electronicportfolios.com/categories.html

How to Build a Learning Repository on Drupal (5.x) and PHP 5.1.x+
http://www.jem-thematic.net/node/715

Happy holidays!

Carl W Feucht
Librarian
Indianhead International School
Gyeonggi-Do, South Korea

On Dec 19, 2008, at 5:55 AM, Darren Trebel wrote:

> I'm a Visual Arts teacher at a large European international school.
> On
> behalf of the IBO I am looking for an effective way of posting quality
> images of visual arts content to an online site for review and
> assessment
> purposes. The material would be 10-20 photographs, a 300-word (max)
> written
> statement and 20-30 scanned images. All of these would have to be
> dynamically presented with easy grab and go access to all of them on a
> single page. Finally, the upload requirements would have to be fairly
> straightforward, simple and universally accessible. Would Moodle be
> the
> right way to go?
>
> Why?
>
> I am leaning towards Moodle now, but I'd really like to hear the
> thoughts of
> some experienced Moodleheads and would really value some hard facts.
>
> Many, many thanks!
>
> Darren Trebel
> Head of Visual Arts
> Frankfurt International School
> (and Syracuse University VPA class of 1989)
>
> [ For info on ISED-L see http://www.gds.org/ISED-L ]
> Submissions to ISED-L are released under a creative commons,
> attribution, non-commercial, share-alike license.
> RSS Feed, http://listserv.syr.edu/scripts/wa.exe?RSS&L=ISED-L

Online Unification and Synthesis

Hi, All

I've been working away for about 18 months now on a multi year
project, so it's probably time for a report.

I'm working on a way to improve communication and work flow via online
portals and services. Currently, we're migrating to a full Finalsite
implementation as a framework portal system, with unique "landing
pages" for different constituent groups. We're thinking critically
about systems that separate instead of unify the community-- such as
email systems used only by some constituents, and web pages built
primarily for other community members. One objective is to have a
"one stop shop" for communications and services.

One concept underlying our work is that information can have greater
value and accuracy if appropriately shared with larger groups.
Another premise is that unified tools working off of a single user and
demographic lists can be more effective than stand-alone applications
with bigger feature sets.

Next stages include a core student information system that meshes well
with the online portal, integrated email systems, and more windows of
unique information and services shared with constituents online
instead of via specific software clients or "only on campus" tools.

It's been an interesting process so far-- I've had to rethink a lot of
concepts to try to envision stable and reliable systems that may
hosted online instead of run on campus. It's also been an opportunity
to think about serving an increasingly diverse and user-owned and
user-centric technology environment, as opposed to a standardized,
locked-down or domain-controlled environment.

There's many concepts at work here, but I might ask just one question
of others at this point. How many others are working on these
concepts, and how do you feel about your online synthesis so far?
Others are already further down the road with online student
information systems and online portals for parents, students, faculty
and staff, and I'm interested in reports of progress and
complications.

Thanks, and happy holidays to all!

Jim Heynderickx
Director of Technology
American School in London

Re: How to best present a portfolio of visual art?

I describe how to do exactly this on my blog here: http://funnymonkey.com/drupal-as-portfolio-platform

The screencast that accompanies the blog post shows how to incorporate audio and video and explanatory text into a portfolio.

Cheers,

Bill

--- On Thu, 12/18/08, Darren Trebel <darren_trebel@FIS.EDU> wrote:

> From: Darren Trebel <darren_trebel@FIS.EDU>
> Subject: How to best present a portfolio of visual art?
> To: ISED-L@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU
> Date: Thursday, December 18, 2008, 12:55 PM
> I'm a Visual Arts teacher at a large European
> international school. On
> behalf of the IBO I am looking for an effective way of
> posting quality
> images of visual arts content to an online site for review
> and assessment
> purposes. The material would be 10-20 photographs, a
> 300-word (max) written
> statement and 20-30 scanned images. All of these would
> have to be
> dynamically presented with easy grab and go access to all
> of them on a
> single page. Finally, the upload requirements would have
> to be fairly
> straightforward, simple and universally accessible. Would
> Moodle be the
> right way to go?
>
> Why?
>
> I am leaning towards Moodle now, but I'd really like to
> hear the thoughts of
> some experienced Moodleheads and would really value some
> hard facts.
>
> Many, many thanks!
>
> Darren Trebel
> Head of Visual Arts
> Frankfurt International School
> (and Syracuse University VPA class of 1989)
>
> [ For info on ISED-L see http://www.gds.org/ISED-L ]
> Submissions to ISED-L are released under a creative
> commons, attribution, non-commercial, share-alike license.
> RSS Feed,
> http://listserv.syr.edu/scripts/wa.exe?RSS&L=ISED-L

Thursday, December 18, 2008

Re: Student Exchange Program to England

I worked for AFS over twenty years ago. It was and is one of the most reputable exchange programs for high school age students. Other organizations include YFU (Youth for Understanding) and Rotary International. School Year Abroad is also very reputable,
but I think considerably more expensive than these other programs, although all have various financial aid possibilities.

I would encourage any student interested in a year abroad to broaden their horizons and not just assume that England, France or Germany for instance are where they want to spend their time. When I worked at AFS, the countries where students had the most
enriching, hospitable and life changing experiences were Turkey, Honduras and Thailand. Very few of the US students who ended up there chose those countries on their "wish list."

Hope this helps.

A forum for independent school educators <ISED-L@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU> writes:

>On Dec 18, 2008, at 2:34 PM, Dorcas Hand wrote:
>
>> I would look at AFS, though they don't focus on England. I have
>> hosted a Czech girl through AFS and been very impressed with the
>> total organization.
>>
>> http://www.afs.org/afs_or/home
>>
>> I don't remember what afs stands for, but afs will work as a google
>> search.
>
>American Field Service.
>
>Another organization providing this type of service is School Year
>Abroad, although they also don't have a program in the UK.
>
>There are several organizations out there that arrange these types of
>learning opportunities. The key is to go with a reputable program that
>has an established program and comes with plenty of references from
>other schools.
>
>Cheers,
>
>
>
>Corn Walker
>The Proof Group
>http://proofgroup.com/
>
>[ For info on ISED-L see http://www.gds.org/ISED-L ]
>Submissions to ISED-L are released under a creative commons, attribution, non-commercial, share-alike license.
>RSS Feed, http://listserv.syr.edu/scripts/wa.exe?RSS&L=ISED-L
>

Lynn Sanborne, MSW

Middle School and Senior School Counselor

Sewickley Academy

315 Academy Avenue

Sewickley, PA 15143

tel: 412-741-2230 ext. 3363

email: lsanborne@sewickley.org

Re: Student Exchange Program to England

On Dec 18, 2008, at 2:34 PM, Dorcas Hand wrote:

> I would look at AFS, though they don't focus on England. I have
> hosted a Czech girl through AFS and been very impressed with the
> total organization.
>
> http://www.afs.org/afs_or/home
>
> I don't remember what afs stands for, but afs will work as a google
> search.

American Field Service.

Another organization providing this type of service is School Year
Abroad, although they also don't have a program in the UK.

There are several organizations out there that arrange these types of
learning opportunities. The key is to go with a reputable program that
has an established program and comes with plenty of references from
other schools.

Cheers,

Corn Walker
The Proof Group
http://proofgroup.com/

webcams and software options for international and LD connections

We're an elementary school PK-6, just starting out on the path to using
Skype and other web services for LD communication. I was hoping to pick the
brains of those of you who've done this already.
1. Any brands of webcams to seek out or avoid? Is it worth it to get
more expensive (better?) cameras?
2. Can Skype work over a busy wireless network or should I have the
kids come to where there is a hard-wired computer?
3. Do I need/want a separate microphone (to point to specific students
independent of the webcam)?
4. Are there software/website options better than Skype? What about
the new Google Video service?
5. Can you share some of the ways your staff have used webcams to
connect to resources outside the school and break down those walls?

Thank you ISED community for all of your great ideas!

Dan Berger
Jewish Primary Day School
Washington, DC

How to best present a portfolio of visual art?

I'm a Visual Arts teacher at a large European international school. On
behalf of the IBO I am looking for an effective way of posting quality
images of visual arts content to an online site for review and assessment
purposes. The material would be 10-20 photographs, a 300-word (max) written
statement and 20-30 scanned images. All of these would have to be
dynamically presented with easy grab and go access to all of them on a
single page. Finally, the upload requirements would have to be fairly
straightforward, simple and universally accessible. Would Moodle be the
right way to go?

Why?

I am leaning towards Moodle now, but I'd really like to hear the thoughts of
some experienced Moodleheads and would really value some hard facts.

Many, many thanks!

Darren Trebel
Head of Visual Arts
Frankfurt International School
(and Syracuse University VPA class of 1989)

Re: Student Exchange Program to England

I would look at AFS, though they don't focus on England. I have hosted =
a Czech girl through AFS and been very impressed with the total =
organization.

http://www.afs.org/afs_or/home=20

I don't remember what afs stands for, but afs will work as a google =
search.

Dorcas Hand
Annunciation Orthodox School
Houston TX

-----Original Message-----
From: A forum for independent school educators =
[mailto:ISED-L@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU] On Behalf Of Anthony Celentano
Sent: Thursday, December 18, 2008 11:43 AM
To: ISED-L@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU
Subject: Student Exchange Program to England

I have a high school student has inquired about studying abroad =
(England) during her junior year and I have had no experience with this =
sort of thing in the past. =20

If you have had successful placements with your students I would =
appreciate hearing which student exchange programs you would recommend.

Thanks,

Anthony=A0

Anthony Celentano, MM, MA, LPC
Director of Academic Computing Services
and School Counselor
Pope John XXIII High School
28 Andover Road
Sparta, New Jersey 07871
973-729-6125 ext. 253
AnthonyCelentano@PopeJohn.org
www.popejohn.org
=A0
=A0
=A0

Student Exchange Program to England

I have a high school student has inquired about studying abroad =
(England) during her junior year and I have had no experience with this =
sort of thing in the past. =20

If you have had successful placements with your students I would =
appreciate hearing which student exchange programs you would recommend.

Thanks,

Anthony=A0

ISED: 2009 Richard C. Bartlett Environemental Education Award

Nominations open for the 2009 Richard C. Bartlett Environmental
Education Award
The Richard C. Bartlett Environmental Education Award is awarded
annually by the National Environmental Education Foundation to an
outstanding teacher who has successfully integrated environmental
education into his or her daily education programs. The award is given
to a 5th-12th grade educator who can serve as an inspiration and model
for others. A $5,000 cash award is provided for the recipient to
continue their work in environmental education. Do you know a teacher
who stands out among the rest? If so, please nominate him/her for the
2009 Richard C. Bartlett Award. Nominations will be accepted through
January 31, 2009. To learn more or submit your nomination visit
http://www.neefusa.org/bartlettaward.htm
<http://www.neefusa.org/bartlettaward.htm>=20
=20

Karen Schultz =20
Coordinator, Education Special Projects
Schultz@neefusa.org
www.EEWeek.org <http://www.eeweek.org/> =20
=20
National Environmental Education Foundation =20
4301 Connecticut Avenue, Suite 160 =20
Washington, DC 20008 =20
V (202) 833-2933 F (202) 261-6464=20
www.neefusa.org =20
Knowledge to live by

=20

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Re: AP Computer Science

Another way to look at this is to ask the question...Why AP Computer Scienc=
e? As independent schools, we are often quick to subscribe to a national cu=
rriculum. Looking that the AP computer science program, why offer the class=
?

Being involved in educational technology research at the University of Nort=
h Texas, we are often in need of bits of code for projects we are developin=
g. While we all have some programming background, virtually none of us want=
to spend the time writing code. Why? Because this is something we can outs=
ource. If you look at the trends surrounding program development, the codin=
g is often outsourced while the big ideas are developed by those who are wo=
rking in creative environments. In many ways, we outsource our coding in th=
e same way that typing was outsourced to typing pools. While not exactly th=
e same, basic coding skills are similar in application to the way typing po=
ols worked in days of old. The amount of programming that is now outsourced=
to China and India is amazing. We usually outsource to an undergraduate st=
udent.

We need our students to develop critical, creative and collaborative proble=
m solving skills. The process of learning how to program is an important sk=
ill as it is another way to think creatively. But ask yourself; is this bes=
t done in a rigid AP Computer Science curriculum? I can think of many creat=
ive ways we could help our students develop the skills needed to thrive in =
world that they are entering. Programming would be very helpful as a tool s=
et. But why not wrap it in the context of real-world problem solving? Why n=
ot place it in context rather than creating another knowledge silo?

If I ran the world, I would not worry about the AP designation for a comput=
er class and instead, focus on hiring the most creative teacher I could fin=
d to develop and teach a collaborative problem-solving course that involved=
programming as well as global collaboration. For those that just have to t=
ake an AP computer class, I would outsource that to on online environment o=
r better yet, suggest that the student take a course at the nearest college=
as a junior or senior and receive actual college credit.

My 2 cents...

Cheers,

Chris Bigenho

Chris Bigenho
Director of Educational Technology
Greenhill School
4141 Spring Valley Road
Addison, TX 75001
Ph. 972-628-5479
Fx. 972-628-5279
bigenhoc@greenhill.org
www.greenhill.org

AIM: chris bigenho
Yahoo: chris_bigenho
Skype: chris_bigenho
Tapped In: ChrisWB

-----Original Message-----
From: A forum for independent school educators [mailto:ISED-L@LISTSERV.SYR.=
EDU] On Behalf Of Duff, Carole
Sent: Wednesday, December 17, 2008 10:27 AM
To: ISED-L@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU
Subject: AP Computer Science

Greetings all!

We are trying to build a computer science program, however, at this
point, we do not have the numbers to justify hiring a teacher. We have
tried to find a teacher who could teach AP Computer Science along with
other classes (ex. Math, Science) but to little or no avail. Of course,
computer science majors have dropped over the past two decades, so it's
not surprising that hiring qualified teachers in this area is difficult.

Is anyone involved in an online consortium or something that would
provide quality AP Computer Science instruction? We're investigating
now since we have students taking intro tech and programming classes,
and we'd like to be able to provide an option for those who wish to
pursue higher-level studies.

Thanks for your help!

-C.D.

Carole Duff

Curriculum Technologist

Notre Dame Preparatory School

815 Hampton Lane

Towson, MD. 21286

410-825-6202 ext. 1022

443-921-2880 (direct)

[ For info on ISED-L see http://www.gds.org/ISED-L ]
Submissions to ISED-L are released under a creative commons, attribution, n=
on-commercial, share-alike license.
RSS Feed, http://listserv.syr.edu/scripts/wa.exe?RSS&L=3DISED-L

Re: AP Computer Science

RE: "computer science majors have dropped over the past two decades"

Additionally, the field of computer science changes rapidly, to the point where it's difficult to keep track of it using print --

For example, see http://blog.wolfram.com/2008/12/01/the-incredible-convenience-of-mathematica-image-processing/

Is this math? Computer science? Graphic design? All three, or something else entirely?

And I agree, it's difficult to for schools to find subject-matter experts for these topics. But, do we really need that? I'd argue that we need people who have a solid foundation, and can identify and organize useful resources that help students learn what's current.

Cheers,

Bill

>
> On Dec 17, 2008, at 10:24 AM, "Duff, Carole"
> <DuffC@notredameprep.com>
> wrote:
>
> > Greetings all!
> >
> >
> >
> > We are trying to build a computer science program,
> however, at this
> > point, we do not have the numbers to justify hiring a
> teacher. We
> > have
> > tried to find a teacher who could teach AP Computer
> Science along with
> > other classes (ex. Math, Science) but to little or no
> avail. Of
> > course,
> > computer science majors have dropped over the past two
> decades, so
> > it's
> > not surprising that hiring qualified teachers in this
> area is
> > difficult.
> >
> >
> >
> > Is anyone involved in an online consortium or
> something that would
> > provide quality AP Computer Science instruction?
> We're investigating
> > now since we have students taking intro tech and
> programming classes,
> > and we'd like to be able to provide an option for
> those who wish to
> > pursue higher-level studies.
> >
> >
> >
> > Thanks for your help!
> >
> >
> >
> > -C.D.
> >
> >
> >
> > Carole Duff

Re: AP Computer Science

You are teaching it?! Heck, I might enroll!

Alex Inman
Director of Technology
Whitfield School
St. Louis, MO
314.434.5141

-----Original Message-----
From: A forum for independent school educators
[mailto:ISED-L@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU] On Behalf Of Vinnie Vrotny
Sent: Wednesday, December 17, 2008 12:39 PM
To: ISED-L@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU
Subject: Re: AP Computer Science

All,

Since I have read and discussed *Disrupting Class* and discussed it, I
will
share my personal experience.

In June, I began teaching in the Gifted Learning Links program run by
Northwestern University. They offer a wide variety of online courses,
including the AP Computer Science that I am currently teaching.

The cost per student is reasonable, around $800 for this two semester
course. Students can begin the course (with credit) during any month of
the
year. No need to wait to take it.

This provides one such option.

Vinnie

------------------------------
Vinnie Vrotny
Blog - Multi-Faceted Refractions
(vvrotny.org)

[ For info on ISED-L see http://www.gds.org/ISED-L ]
Submissions to ISED-L are released under a creative commons,
attribution, non-commercial, share-alike license.
RSS Feed, http://listserv.syr.edu/scripts/wa.exe?RSS&L=3DISED-L

Re: AP Computer Science

All,

Since I have read and discussed *Disrupting Class* and discussed it, I will
share my personal experience.

The cost per student is reasonable, around $800 for this two semester
course. Students can begin the course (with credit) during any month of the
year. No need to wait to take it.

This provides one such option.

Vinnie

------------------------------
Vinnie Vrotny
Blog - Multi-Faceted Refractions
(vvrotny.org)

Re: AP Computer Science

What about online classes? I didn't see an AP CS oaring by K12.com or
APEX but a quick search revealed several universities offering this.
Anyone read Disrupting Class? ;-)

Alex Inman
Director of Technology
Whitfield School
St. Louis, MO
314.434.5141

-----Original Message-----
From: A forum for independent school educators
[mailto:ISED-L@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU] On Behalf Of Ann Hamel
Sent: Wednesday, December 17, 2008 11:19 AM
To: ISED-L@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU
Subject: Re: AP Computer Science

Please keep this open. We are in a similar situation. Thanks!
Ann

Sent from my iPhone

On Dec 17, 2008, at 10:24 AM, "Duff, Carole" <DuffC@notredameprep.com> =20
wrote:

> Greetings all!
>
>
>
> We are trying to build a computer science program, however, at this
> point, we do not have the numbers to justify hiring a teacher. We =20
> have
> tried to find a teacher who could teach AP Computer Science along with
> other classes (ex. Math, Science) but to little or no avail. Of =20
> course,
> computer science majors have dropped over the past two decades, so =20
> it's
> not surprising that hiring qualified teachers in this area is =20
> difficult.
>
>
>
> Is anyone involved in an online consortium or something that would
> provide quality AP Computer Science instruction? We're investigating
> now since we have students taking intro tech and programming classes,
> and we'd like to be able to provide an option for those who wish to
> pursue higher-level studies.
>
>
>
> Thanks for your help!
>
>
>
> -C.D.
>
>
>
> Carole Duff
>
> Curriculum Technologist
>
> Notre Dame Preparatory School
>
> 815 Hampton Lane
>
> Towson, MD. 21286
>
> 410-825-6202 ext. 1022
>
> 443-921-2880 (direct)
>
>
>
>
>
>
> [ For info on ISED-L see http://www.gds.org/ISED-L ]
> Submissions to ISED-L are released under a creative commons, =20
> attribution, non-commercial, share-alike license.
> RSS Feed, http://listserv.syr.edu/scripts/wa.exe?RSS&L=3DISED-L

[ For info on ISED-L see http://www.gds.org/ISED-L ]
Submissions to ISED-L are released under a creative commons,
attribution, non-commercial, share-alike license.
RSS Feed, http://listserv.syr.edu/scripts/wa.exe?RSS&L=3DISED-L

Re: AP Computer Science

Maybe you are looking to hire teachers the wrong way. Have you considered a
part-time teacher? Maybe a professor or a PhD student from a local college
can help teach a class or two.

I'm sure there is an unemployed computer programmer out there who can
possibly teach or a few classes. I would not expect a person who is an
expert in computer science to know anything about chemistry or teaching
geometry because it is specialized field.

I don't think a lack of computer science people is the problem unless you
live in a really small town. We had our web designer teach AP Computer
Science until his consulting job became more lucrative over time.

Brian Lee

On 12/17/08 12:19 PM, "Ann Hamel" <ahamel@fvs.edu> wrote:

> Please keep this open. We are in a similar situation. Thanks!
> Ann
>
> Sent from my iPhone
>
> On Dec 17, 2008, at 10:24 AM, "Duff, Carole" <DuffC@notredameprep.com>
> wrote:
>
>> Greetings all!
>>
>>
>>
>> We are trying to build a computer science program, however, at this
>> point, we do not have the numbers to justify hiring a teacher. We
>> have
>> tried to find a teacher who could teach AP Computer Science along with
>> other classes (ex. Math, Science) but to little or no avail. Of
>> course,
>> computer science majors have dropped over the past two decades, so
>> it's
>> not surprising that hiring qualified teachers in this area is
>> difficult.
>>
>>
>>
>> Is anyone involved in an online consortium or something that would
>> provide quality AP Computer Science instruction? We're investigating
>> now since we have students taking intro tech and programming classes,
>> and we'd like to be able to provide an option for those who wish to
>> pursue higher-level studies.
>>
>>
>>
>> Thanks for your help!
>>
>>
>>
>> -C.D.
>>
>>
>>
>> Carole Duff
>>
>> Curriculum Technologist
>>
>> Notre Dame Preparatory School
>>
>> 815 Hampton Lane
>>
>> Towson, MD. 21286
>>
>> 410-825-6202 ext. 1022
>>
>> 443-921-2880 (direct)
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> [ For info on ISED-L see http://www.gds.org/ISED-L ]
>> Submissions to ISED-L are released under a creative commons,
>> attribution, non-commercial, share-alike license.
>> RSS Feed, http://listserv.syr.edu/scripts/wa.exe?RSS&L=ISED-L
>
> [ For info on ISED-L see http://www.gds.org/ISED-L ]
> Submissions to ISED-L are released under a creative commons, attribution,
> non-commercial, share-alike license.
> RSS Feed, http://listserv.syr.edu/scripts/wa.exe?RSS&L=ISED-L

Re: AP Computer Science

Please keep this open. We are in a similar situation. Thanks!
Ann

Sent from my iPhone

On Dec 17, 2008, at 10:24 AM, "Duff, Carole" <DuffC@notredameprep.com>
wrote:

> Greetings all!
>
>
>
> We are trying to build a computer science program, however, at this
> point, we do not have the numbers to justify hiring a teacher. We
> have
> tried to find a teacher who could teach AP Computer Science along with
> other classes (ex. Math, Science) but to little or no avail. Of
> course,
> computer science majors have dropped over the past two decades, so
> it's
> not surprising that hiring qualified teachers in this area is
> difficult.
>
>
>
> Is anyone involved in an online consortium or something that would
> provide quality AP Computer Science instruction? We're investigating
> now since we have students taking intro tech and programming classes,
> and we'd like to be able to provide an option for those who wish to
> pursue higher-level studies.
>
>
>
> Thanks for your help!
>
>
>
> -C.D.
>
>
>
> Carole Duff
>
> Curriculum Technologist
>
> Notre Dame Preparatory School
>
> 815 Hampton Lane
>
> Towson, MD. 21286
>
> 410-825-6202 ext. 1022
>
> 443-921-2880 (direct)
>
>
>
>
>
>
> [ For info on ISED-L see http://www.gds.org/ISED-L ]
> Submissions to ISED-L are released under a creative commons,
> attribution, non-commercial, share-alike license.
> RSS Feed, http://listserv.syr.edu/scripts/wa.exe?RSS&L=ISED-L

AP Computer Science

Greetings all!

=20

Thanks for your help!

=20

-C.D.

=20

Carole Duff

Curriculum Technologist

Notre Dame Preparatory School

815 Hampton Lane

Towson, MD. 21286

410-825-6202 ext. 1022

443-921-2880 (direct)

=20

Re: Moodle

1. What version are you using?

1.9.2

2. What add-ons do you have installed?

Nothing out of the ordinary

3. How are you currently using it within your school?

Optional for classes. Varies from no use, to heavily integrated
into the class curriculum.

4. What requirements do you have for it's use?
=20
Need a school email address to become a user.

5. Do you allow outside access (parents/public)?
=20
Individual teachers can decide to give guest access to a class.
Usually not given. When it is given, usually to provide parent access.

6. What is your Moodle server running on?
=20
Locally hosted in our server room.
Sun Fire X4100, 2 dual core Opteron CPUs. 8 Gb memory per CPU.

7. Do you host it yourself or do you have it outsourced?
Local, see #6

8. Do you handle support?
All in house.

Christopher Childs
National Cathedral School for Girls

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Social Networks for School Parents

Sorry if this has already been out there. I haven't seen it.

Do any of you:

Sponsor a social network for your parents?
Have parents who have set-up/run such a network on their own?

If so, what problems/issues have you encountered? Has it been successful?
Do you have guidelines?

I'd appreciate any information you could give us.

Connie Tobolsky

Technology Curriculum Coordinator
Kingsley Montessori School
Boston, MA
617-226-4900 ex 725

Re: Parallels Server for Mac Experiences

Parallels Server does in fact support virtualization of Mac OS X, as well a=
s Windows and Linux, but it runs as a service / daemon on top of OS X. It'=
s not bare metal like VMware ESX and some versions of Xen. Parallels Conta=
iners (nee Virtuozzo) is OS-level virtualization and indeed only supports L=
inux and Windows. Our initial explorations with server virtualization bega=
n with Virtuozzo for Windows about 2 years ago, but I didn't feel its hyper=
visor model was sufficient for our environment. It also had a sort of "bla=
ck-magic" feel to how it worked, and I frequently encountered issues with i=
nstalling Windows patches or applications that could make the entire server=
unstable. After about 6 months with it, we moved to VMware ESX, and event=
ually moved our entire server environment to VMware Infrastructure.

S
---
Steven Dickenson <sdickenson@keyschool.org>
Computer Network Manager
The Key School, Annapolis Maryland

> -----Original Message-----
> From: A forum for independent school educators [mailto:ISED-
> L@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU] On Behalf Of Jason Johnson
> Sent: Monday, December 15, 2008 8:57 PM
> To: ISED-L@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU
> Subject: Re: Parallels Server for Mac Experiences
>=20
> I have just started researching Parallels Containers for a RedHat environ=
ment
> but I have no direct Mac server experience.
>=20
> Parallels for servers is geared toward large organizations that are mac b=
ased
> but want to do a small scale MS/Linux only software implementation. If t=
his
> is what you are looking for you really have to ask if the performance
> penalties you will pay for virtualiztion are worth adherence to a platfor=
m.
> For the cost it is likely you would get better performance from purchasin=
g a
> dedicated MS box and bundled OS and CALs and would only be worth it if yo=
u
> have a lot of spare CPU cycles and disk space.
>=20
> What you are probably more interested in is Parallels Virtuozzo Container=
s.
> This would be the equivalent of a Mac VMWare allowing several instances o=
f a
> mac server to run on a single server in isolation. However, AFAIK Virtuo=
zzo
> only supports Windows and Linux.
>=20
> _J
> ____________________________
> Jason at jasonpj@yahoo.com
>=20
>=20
>=20
>=20
> ________________________________
> From: Steve Taffee <SteveTaffee@CASTILLEJA.ORG>
> To: ISED-L@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU
> Sent: Monday, December 15, 2008 2:23:58 PM
> Subject: Parallels Server for Mac Experiences
>=20
> Hi there, Mac Server users....
>=20
> We are looking at virtualizing of Xserves, and wonder if anyone has exper=
ience
> with Parallels virtual server. We've use their desktop client with succes=
s,
> but not the server version.
>=20
> Tks.
>=20
> s
>=20
> -----
> Treat each piece of paper as precious and reduce waste - don't print
> electronic documents.
> -----
> Steve Taffee 650.470.7725 (office)
> Director of Technology 415.613.6684 (mobile)
> Castilleja School 650.326.8036 (fax)
> 1310 Bryant Street steve_taffee@castilleja.org
> Palo Alto, CA 94301 www.castilleja.org | taffee.edublogs.org
> Women Learning, Women Leading
> -------
>=20
>=20
> [ For info on ISED-L see http://www.gds.org/ISED-L ]
> Submissions to ISED-L are released under a creative commons, attribution,=
non-
> commercial, share-alike license.
> RSS Feed, http://listserv.syr.edu/scripts/wa.exe?RSS&L=3DISED-L
>=20
>=20
>=20
>=20
> [ For info on ISED-L see http://www.gds.org/ISED-L ]
> Submissions to ISED-L are released under a creative commons, attribution,=
non-
> commercial, share-alike license.
> RSS Feed, http://listserv.syr.edu/scripts/wa.exe?RSS&L=3DISED-L
>=20
>=20

Re: Network devices for identifying 'malware' traffic

Is this for a network you control with clients you manage? I haven't found=
a web gateway filter that can do as good of a job as ESET NOD32 running on=
your desktop PCs. It has its own HTTP sniffing engine, as well as typical=
client-based antivirus features, and it blocks just about every spyware it=
em I can throw at it. ESET also has a gateway antivirus product that's des=
igned to run on top of Squid running on Linux, although I imagine it takes =
a bit of technical expertise to implement.

ESET has very aggressive non-profit / EDU pricing and a great centralized m=
anagement console. Their only weakness, IMO, is their Exchange product - t=
he interface is very rudimentary but the detection is still strong.

S
---
Steven Dickenson <sdickenson@keyschool.org>
Computer Network Manager
The Key School, Annapolis Maryland

> -----Original Message-----
> From: A forum for independent school educators [mailto:ISED-
> L@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU] On Behalf Of Fred Bartels
> Sent: Tuesday, December 16, 2008 7:47 AM
> To: ISED-L@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU
> Subject: Network devices for identifying 'malware' traffic
>=20
> When I last looked into some of the products that monitor a network for
> malware traffic I didn't find anything with a good combination of
> affordability and ease of use.
>=20
> My ideal device would be something like a Barracuda spam firewall box.
>=20
> Has anyone found a product they really like for identifying malware
> traffic?
>=20
> Thanks,
>=20
> Fred
>=20
> -------------------------
> Fred Bartels
> Head - Computer Department
> Rye Country Day School
> 914-925-4610
>=20
>=20
> [ For info on ISED-L see http://www.gds.org/ISED-L ]
> Submissions to ISED-L are released under a creative commons, attribution,=
non-
> commercial, share-alike license.
> RSS Feed, http://listserv.syr.edu/scripts/wa.exe?RSS&L=3DISED-L

Re: Moodle Version & Add-ons

1. What version are you using?
version 1.9.2

2. What add-ons do you have installed?
Gallery, Themes by New School Learning

3. How are you currently using it within your school?
Primarily in the middle school. Used to track assignments, online
discussions/forums and some teachers use it to turn in work (uploaded
Word docs). Elementary uses it for newsletter postings and photo albums

4. What requirements do you have for it's use?
Middle School faculty required to keep their homework up-to-date,
elementary update once a month

5. Do you allow outside access (parents/public)?
not public, parents have access

6. What is your Moodle server running on?
Ubuntu, Apache. IBM desktop with 2GB RAM.

7. Do you host it yourself or do you have it outsourced?
host ourselves

8. Do you handle support?
in-house, not too much support, box runs well

Re: Online quizes/tests

Heidi,
Have you heard of www.Thatquiz.org? It a web-based testing site that is
FREE and it allows you to create tests with multiple choice, short
answer, insert correct answer and several other types; you can even
insert images. It will also allow you to copy other tests that teachers
have shared so you don't always have to create your tests from scratch.
It does grade the test as it is taken and can provide feedback to the
test taker as well as to the test give in several formats. That are
many more components to this awesome site so go check it out and see
what you think.
One of my favorite parts about That Quiz, besides it being free, is that
it doesn't have/allow any advertisements on it. It's a very clean site.

Wade Thaxton
Academic Tech Coordinator
The de Paul School
Louisville, KY

-----Original Message-----
From: A forum for independent school educators
[mailto:ISED-L@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU] On Behalf Of Heidi Nelson
Sent: Monday, December 15, 2008 5:34 PM
To: ISED-L@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU
Subject: Online quizes/tests

Hello all,

We are hoping to find a stand-alone web-based testing solution. Does
anyone
have experience with this, besides what Moodle will do? We assume it
would
be subscription-based. We'd like it to be able to grade tests
automatically
(except for short answer questions, of course), and we need to be able
to
pull reports of the results of tests.

Thank you,

Heidi Nelson
Saint Mary's School
Raleigh, NC

[ For info on ISED-L see http://www.gds.org/ISED-L ]
Submissions to ISED-L are released under a creative commons,
attribution, non-commercial, share-alike license.
RSS Feed, http://listserv.syr.edu/scripts/wa.exe?RSS&L=3DISED-L

Re: Internet

The Governor's Academy
500+ Computers
15Mb
370-Students
150-Fac/Staff
BlueCoat SG Proxy

-----Original Message-----
From: A forum for independent school educators
[mailto:ISED-L@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU] On Behalf Of Manns, Brian
Sent: Monday, December 08, 2008 2:52 PM
To: ISED-L@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU
Subject: Internet

This one is for all Boarding schools. Need to do a comparison of
Boarding schools internet. If you could please provide the following

=20

School Name Number of laptops/PCs Bandwidth Number of
Students Number of Faculty/Staff Cache Server if Yes what

=20

Thanks for all who participate if anyone wants the list after compiling
I will share for all....

=20

[ For info on ISED-L see http://www.gds.org/ISED-L ]
Submissions to ISED-L are released under a creative commons,
attribution, non-commercial, share-alike license.
RSS Feed, http://listserv.syr.edu/scripts/wa.exe?RSS&L=3DISED-L

Re: Network devices for identifying 'malware' traffic

Barracuda's Web Filter does do malware monitoring and blocking on
computers with malware installed (read: myWeb toolbars, etc.). Of course,
it comes with Barracuda pricing (and a whole web filter solution....which
you probably already have), but when I was looking for a web filter, it
seemed like the big players all did some sort of malware filtering. I
ended up with the Barracuda box and it was pretty good at it.

jen

A forum for independent school educators <ISED-L@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU> writes:
>When I last looked into some of the products that monitor a network for
>malware traffic I didn't find anything with a good combination of
>affordability and ease of use.
>
>My ideal device would be something like a Barracuda spam firewall box.
>
>Has anyone found a product they really like for identifying malware
>traffic?
>
>Thanks,
>
>Fred

Re: Rediker Scheduling

We have used the "Deluxe Scheduler" for two years, and it works well,
when you set it up carefully and let it do it's thing. But that is
pretty much true of every scheduling program I've worked with. Had a
workable schedule in about two weeks, with all the consultations needed.
Would like a few more reports, but you can finagle. We used Edline to
submit course requests last year, and that went well; the ability of
department chairs being able to approve requests is a nice benefit,
don't know if Whipple Hill has that function.

Judith Claire Robison
Director of Technology
Saint John's Catholic Prep
Frederick, MD

-----Original Message-----
From: A forum for independent school educators
[mailto:ISED-L@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU] On Behalf Of Andrew Burnett
Sent: Monday, December 15, 2008 4:14 PM
To: ISED-L@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU
Subject: Rediker Scheduling

I am looking for feedback (positive or negative) on using Rediker
Scheduling, based on ease of use and difficulty of importing and
exporting data. Also, if anyone is using it in conjunction with Whipple
Hill SIS, any experience would be great.

=20

Andrew Burnett

Director of Technology

Saint Gertrude High School

3215 Stuart Ave

Richmond VA

=20

[ For info on ISED-L see http://www.gds.org/ISED-L ] Submissions to
ISED-L are released under a creative commons, attribution,
non-commercial, share-alike license.
RSS Feed, http://listserv.syr.edu/scripts/wa.exe?RSS&L=3DISED-L

Network devices for identifying 'malware' traffic

When I last looked into some of the products that monitor a network for
malware traffic I didn't find anything with a good combination of
affordability and ease of use.

My ideal device would be something like a Barracuda spam firewall box.

Has anyone found a product they really like for identifying malware
traffic?

Thanks,

Fred

-------------------------
Fred Bartels
Head - Computer Department
Rye Country Day School
914-925-4610

Monday, December 15, 2008

Re: Parallels Server for Mac Experiences

I have just started researching Parallels Containers for a RedHat environment but I have no direct Mac server experience.

Parallels for servers is geared toward large organizations that are mac based but want to do a small scale MS/Linux only software implementation. If this is what you are looking for you really have to ask if the performance penalties you will pay for virtualiztion are worth adherence to a platform. For the cost it is likely you would get better performance from purchasing a dedicated MS box and bundled OS and CALs and would only be worth it if you have a lot of spare CPU cycles and disk space.

What you are probably more interested in is Parallels Virtuozzo Containers. This would be the equivalent of a Mac VMWare allowing several instances of a mac server to run on a single server in isolation. However, AFAIK Virtuozzo only supports Windows and Linux.

_J
____________________________
Jason at jasonpj@yahoo.com

________________________________
From: Steve Taffee <SteveTaffee@CASTILLEJA.ORG>
To: ISED-L@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU
Sent: Monday, December 15, 2008 2:23:58 PM
Subject: Parallels Server for Mac Experiences

Hi there, Mac Server users....

We are looking at virtualizing of Xserves, and wonder if anyone has experience with Parallels virtual server. We've use their desktop client with success, but not the server version.

Tks.

-----
Treat each piece of paper as precious and reduce waste - don't print electronic documents.
-----
Steve Taffee 650.470.7725 (office)
Director of Technology 415.613.6684 (mobile)
Castilleja School 650.326.8036 (fax)
1310 Bryant Street steve_taffee@castilleja.org
Palo Alto, CA 94301 www.castilleja.org | taffee.edublogs.org
Women Learning, Women Leading
-------

Online quizes/tests

Hello all,

We are hoping to find a stand-alone web-based testing solution. Does anyone
have experience with this, besides what Moodle will do? We assume it would
be subscription-based. We'd like it to be able to grade tests automatically
(except for short answer questions, of course), and we need to be able to
pull reports of the results of tests.

Thank you,

Heidi Nelson
Saint Mary's School
Raleigh, NC

Rediker Scheduling

=20

Andrew Burnett

Director of Technology

Saint Gertrude High School

3215 Stuart Ave

Richmond VA

=20

Re: old large screen monitor/TV

My apologies to the list for what should have been an offlist response.

sherry

-----Original Message-----
From: A forum for independent school educators
[mailto:ISED-L@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU] On Behalf Of desiree girelle
Sent: Thursday, December 11, 2008 7:23 PM
To: ISED-L@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU
Subject: Re: old large screen monitor/TV

Greetings;

I'm the instructional technologist in a Washington D.C. school in
District
6. We have many old TV's on carts, not all teachers have a TV; and only
a
few have projectors. If these are DTV that will keep working pass the
switch
next year, perhaps you can donate them to us? Just a thought, since you
put
it out there.

Thanks,
Girelle

-----Original Message-----
From: A forum for independent school educators
[mailto:ISED-L@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU] On Behalf Of Sherry Ward
Sent: Thursday, December 11, 2008 12:56 PM
To: ISED-L@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU
Subject: old large screen monitor/TV

Hi all,

I'm in the blessed situation of having gotten projectors for some
classrooms that used to have 26-32 inch TV/monitors mounted in them.
Needless to say, they way a ton, but we are getting them down off the
wall and looking for a good way to get rid of them. Any ideas?

thanks,
sherry

Sherry Ward
Director of Technology
Alexandria Country Day School
2400 Russell Road
Alexandria, VA 22301
703-837-1317 (direct) sward@acdsnet.org

-----Original Message-----
From: A forum for independent school educators
[mailto:ISED-L@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU] On Behalf Of Tracey
Sent: Thursday, December 11, 2008 3:42 PM
To: ISED-L@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU
Subject: intro

Hello from middle GA. I'm Tracey Muise and I teach at St. George's
Episcopal School. I'm the middle school dean and only science teacher.
Our school is PK - 8 in a rural area between Macon and Atlanta. This is
my 14th year of teaching middle school science at various indepedent
schools (also Edmund Burke School in DC, Girls Preparatory School in TN
and Episcopal School of Knoxville in TN). I am a "damned yankee" living
in the deep south, bible belt. Even after several years, I'm still
adjusting.

I'm an environmentalist at heart and love pretty much everything outdoor
oriented. I found out about this group from the NMSA list serve Middle
Talk.

Tracey Muise

=20

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Re: old large screen monitor/TV

Girelle,

I am exploring the options and am certainly keeping open the idea of
donating them. I don't really know if these units have a digital tuner
inside but they definitely will play from a DVD/VCR player and most have
VGA connections. They should play from a cable signal, even after the
switch, right?=20

So I'll let you know what the administration decides about donating.
We'd probably be taking them down from their mountings over the course
of the next couple months.

sherry

Greetings;

Thanks,
Girelle

Hi all,

thanks,
sherry

Sherry Ward
Director of Technology
Alexandria Country Day School
2400 Russell Road
Alexandria, VA 22301
703-837-1317 (direct) sward@acdsnet.org

I'm an environmentalist at heart and love pretty much everything outdoor
oriented. I found out about this group from the NMSA list serve Middle
Talk.

Tracey Muise

=20

[ For info on ISED-L see http://www.gds.org/ISED-L ]
Submissions to ISED-L are released under a creative commons,
attribution, non-commercial, share-alike license.
RSS Feed, http://listserv.syr.edu/scripts/wa.exe?RSS&L=3DISED-L

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attribution,
non-commercial, share-alike license.
RSS Feed, http://listserv.syr.edu/scripts/wa.exe?RSS&L=3DISED-L

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attribution, non-commercial, share-alike license.
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Parallels Server for Mac Experiences

Hi there, Mac Server users....

We are looking at virtualizing of Xserves, and wonder if anyone has exper=
ience with Parallels virtual server. We've use their desktop client with =
success, but not the server version.

Tks.

-----
Treat each piece of paper as precious and reduce waste - don't print elec=
tronic documents.
-----
Steve Taffee 650.470.7725 (office)
Director of Technology 415.613.6684 (mobile)
Castilleja School 650.326.8036 (fax)
1310 Bryant Street steve_taffee@castilleja.org =20
Palo Alto, CA 94301 www.castilleja.org | taffee.edublogs.or=
g
Women Learning, Women Leading
-------

Re: Moodle Version & Add-ons

1. What version are you using?

1.9.2 +

2. What add-ons do you have installed?

Curvy Corners Theme, CourseUploader, Podcasting Module....

3. How are you currently using it within your school?

We essentially use it as our intranet and LMS. Many clubs, athletic
teams, and committees have courses set up on Moodle. Important
announcements and other useful info is posted to the main page. We are
working on a Moodle course that will serve as Self Help Tech Support
with flash tutorials. Every class we offer also has a corresponding
Moodle course.

4. What requirements do you have for its use?

We have been running Moodle for about 6 years. This is the first year
we have required all faculty to use it. The minimum requirement is that
a course description and syllabus be posted for each course. Most have
gone beyond the minimum.

5. Do you allow outside access (parents/public)?

We allow outside access to the main page but no further.

6. What is your Moodle server running on?

Windows 2003 Server running IIS

7. Do you host it yourself or do you have it outsourced?

Host it ourselves.

8. Do you handle support

We deal with support in house. There really isn't much support needed
if it is on a reliable system and the software is properly installed.
On occasion a database table gets corrupted but that is almost always
easily fixed with: mysqlcheck -u moodleuser -p --auto-repair moodle

* please consider the environment before printing this email
=20
Aaron Mandel
Manager of Information Systems
The Governor's Academy
1 Elm St.=20
Byfield, MA 01922
(o)978-499-3219
(c)978-853-2415
www.thegovernorsacademy.org

-----Original Message-----
From: A forum for independent school educators
[mailto:ISED-L@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU] On Behalf Of William Stites
Sent: Sunday, December 14, 2008 10:38 AM
To: ISED-L@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU
Subject: Moodle Version & Add-ons

If you are currently using Moodle at your school would you mind =20
sharing the following (our answers are included):

1. What version are you using?
2. What add-ons do you have installed?
3. How are you currently using it within your school?
4. What requirements do you have for it's use?
5. Do you allow outside access (parents/public)?
6. What is your Moodle server running on?
7. Do you host it yourself or do you have it outsourced?
8. Do you handle support?

Our answers are:

1. What version are you using?

1.6.5, but upgrading to 1.9.2 over winter break

2. What add-ons do you have installed?

Turnitin.com and a few themes... will be adding some math filters with =20
the upgrade.

3. How are you currently using it within your school?

We have all of our class/course in 4-12 online, our primary school is =20
using it extensively as well. All of our schools administrative =20
committees as well as Board level committees have "course". School =20
clubs and activities have spaces if they wish. One of our biggest =20
uses is in professional development.

4. What requirements do you have for it's use?

Classroom teachers (4-12) are required to post homework and assignments.

5. Do you allow outside access (parents/public)?

No. We only allow access to faulty and students. Those Board members =20
using Moodle have only access to the "courses" they are enrolled in.

6. What is your Moodle server running on?

Linux CentOS rack mounted server.

7. Do you host it yourself or do you have it outsourced?

Hosted on-site.

8. Do you handle support?

Support is handled by Remote-Leaner.net

---------------------------------------------------------------------
William D. Stites, Jr.
Director of Technology
The Montclair Kimberley Academy
201 Valley Road
Montclair, NJ 07042
(P) 973-509-4595
(F) 973-509-4596
wstites@mka.org
http://www.mka.org

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MOODLE and COPPA

Friends,

Our lawyers have informed us that the Children's Online Privacy Protection
Act (COPPA) does not apply directly to us. However, they are concerned that
we establish a privacy policy and statement for our MOODLE site.

I was wondering if anyone has done this (for any VLE site) and if you would
be willing to share.

Thanks

Peter

--
Peter Richardson
Director of Technical Services
Rutgers Preparatory School
1345 Easton Avenue
Somerset, NJ 08873

732-545-5600 x238

Video on our school's web site

Friends,

We are getting an explosion of interest in posting video on the school's web
site. Everything from athletic contests to drama productions to video of
our younger kids dressed up for the Thanksgiving feast.

Needless to say, this is becoming a major issue for our web master and we
are trying to establish guidelines for the submission of videos to be
posted.

Has anyone published such guidelines (format, maximum length, etc)?

Thanks for any thoughts you may have on the topic.

Peter

--
Peter Richardson
Director of Technical Services
Rutgers Preparatory School
1345 Easton Avenue
Somerset, NJ 08873

732-545-5600 x238

Sunday, December 14, 2008

Moodle

A forum for independent school educators <ISED-L@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU> writes:

We're an American school in Guangzhou, China. 1,000 students, 100 teachers
Currently using FirstClass course conferences for on-line learning and
slowly migrating to Moodle with no firm requirement at this time.
>
>f you are currently using Moodle at your school would you mind
>sharing the following (our answers are included):
>
>1. What version are you using?

1.9
>
>2. What add-ons do you have installed?

Nanogong, MoodleSpeex, OU Wiki and a few others
>
>3. How are you currently using it within your school?

Voluntary with about 10% of teachers using it for actual online learning.
>
>4. What requirements do you have for it's use?

No requirements, but do not allow non-school users to register [ie.
restrict to our domain]
>
>5. Do you allow outside access (parents/public)?

yes, but as guests with a key
>
>6. What is your Moodle server running on?

Dell Xeos quad-processor server w/ 4 gigs [also runs our Joomla web site
installations]
>
>7. Do you host it yourself or do you have it outsourced?

host ourselves, no problems so far
>
>8. Do you handle support?

we support it inhouse

.......................................................................
Robert Bauer
Information Technology Director
American International School of Guangzhou
Tel: (8620) 8735-3392 Fax: (8620) 8735-3339
rbauer@aisgz.edu.cn

Re: Powerschool and Raiser's Edge?

Hi.

We're running PowerSchool, and then use Raiser's Edge and Financial Edge. We
made the switch to PowerSchool about 9 months ago.

In September I made my first attempt at exporting demographic data from
PowerSchool and pulling it into Raiser's Edge. It wasn't pretty to say the
least. I ended up having to correct each of the records involved (+200) by
hand.

I have to make another attempt at the end of February, and I am not looking
forward to it.

PowerSchool and RE handle the data in different ways. With PowerSchool, all
the demographic data (which is all that we're interested in transferring) is
tied to the Student ID number ("student_number" is the field name). So with
any imports into PowerSchool, the only required field is the
"student_number" field. However, from what I read in one of the RE guides, a
different field is required for each different type of import that you do.

I got in trouble because what was tied to one field in PowerSchool was tied
to different fields in RE depending on what the data was.

I'm in a situation where failure to get the two talking really is not an
option, so I'll be fighting with the two again in February.

Both Pearson and Blackbaud say that they'll talk to each other, but neither
one tells you how or is willing to work with you on it.

I know it's possible, I just haven't figured it out yet. My knowledge is
more on the PowerSchool side since that is the bulk of my workload.

+++Jeff

On 12/11/08 1:19 PM, "Maura Fennelly" <mfennelly@mitty.com> wrote:

> Greetings all,
>
> Has anyone integrated Powerschool with Raiser's Edge. We are
> currently using Education Edge, but are thinking about switching to
> Powerschool. However the ability to integrate the two databases is
> important. From what we understand about Powerschool, it seems as
> though it should be possible to connect it with Raiser's Edge. If you
> have successfully connected the two or tried and failed, I'd love to
> hear more about the experience.
>
> thanks, Maura
>
>
> Maura Fennelly
> IT Department
> Archbishop Mitty High School
> mfennelly@mitty.com
> 408.342.4243

Saturday, December 27, 2008

Saturday, December 20, 2008

Friday, December 19, 2008

Thursday, December 18, 2008

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Monday, December 15, 2008

Sunday, December 14, 2008

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