Dear friends,

Since this is the first newsletter of the new year, please allow me to wish you all a wonderful 2010. In this note I would like to share some exciting news about a new program that we are rolling out in our department. But before that, a story about art and science, and how the web, brings it all together.

I have been thinking quite a bit recently about how the open nature of the Internet has the potential to fundamentally change how we think about education and learning.

Shreya, my 10 year-old daughter, has a blog titled Uniquely Mine, where she posts poems and other things she writes. A few months ago her fifth grade class was asked by her science teacher to find stories related to science in the newspaper and create a short writeup about it to share with the other children. Since I wanted her to keep blogging, I asked her to add another layer of challenge to that. Once she had her report all typed up, she needed to write a short poem about it and post it to her blog.

I asked her to do this partly because I was concerned that she would not be able to keep up her blog once school started. As most people she was very excited to have a blog and wrote a bunch of stuff for it in the beginning. Then life began to take over and her postings grew few and far in between. What was needed, I figured, was a way to keep her writing regularly. So this idea piggybacked on something she was already doing. The poems she writes are often short and this task didn’t seem like much of an imposition. So over the past few months she has written a bunch of poems she calls Sci-Po’s aka Science Poems. It has also been a lot of fun, and it was just a fun little activity for us to do on weekends. Beats watching Disney Channel.

What I hadn’t thought about was the openness of the web. Shreya’s Sci-Po’s were discovered by Sean Nash, a high school biology teacher out in Missouri who wrote about it on his blog. This was then picked up my a mathematics professor out in California who posted a challenge on her blog for people to write poetry related to mathematics! All of a sudden there were all these people, from around the world, writing poetry about science and math! Incidentally seeing this, Sean Nash (the biology teacher) created an assignment for his students to write poetry on biology and provided a link to Shreya’s site. All of a sudden a group of high school students were visiting my daughter’s blog and leaving comments for her. You can imagine just how excited and happy this made her – reinforcing her intention to write more.

This is an excellent example of how ideas can spread on the web. Of course this can happen only if people are willing to share their ideas and creations openly and freely. This idea of people putting things out there, not because they seek to make money but rather because they want to share their knowledge, their skills, their interests, and that what they put out there is immediately and widely accessible is what makes the web so interesting. This way a high school student connects with a 5th grader’s blog and leads a number of people to write some cool poetry on mathematics! What an interesting and fascinating world we live in.

I would encourage each and every one of you to try the same. Explore, Create and Share. It is through this that we continue to learn and develop and hopefully make an impact on the world.

And speaking of continuing to learn and develop, I have to share two very important pieces of news with you. Both of these have to do with continuing beyond the MAET program – and emerge from discussions with current students and alumni of our program.

The first is a new opportunity for all MSU Master of Arts in Educational Technology alumni – the first ever MAET Alumni refresher.

In 2008, Jim Groom coined the term Edupunk, since then, the term has spread and come to symbolize educators who take an approach to teaching and learning practices that result from a DIY or bricolage (the construction or creation of a work from a diverse range of things which happen to be available) attitude.

The 2010 MAET refresher course will embrace the Edupunk mantra and help refill your technology toolbox with a plethora of tips and tricks to help you continue your post-MA educational technology expedition. From instructional tools, web presence, mobile devices, audio, video, social networking, collaboration and personal productivity –we will cover it all. Additionally, you will have the opportunity to network with current MAET students and attend the 2010 PLATE leadership conference on July 15.

You will be required to participate in asynchronous online pre-class project planning activities June 28- July 6.  This will be a self-paced portion of the course to help us make the most of our synchronous time together. The course is 3 graduate credits and runs July 11-18, 2010 in Rouen, France.  Space is limited to 20 participants – to reserve your spot go to http://edutech.educ.msu.edu/MAETSummerRes.php – we would love to see you again!

The second, and bigger by far, is a new substantially online option to our Ed Tech doctoral program. This comes in response to growing demand for educational leaders (people like you) who understand how technology is transforming the world of education. This blended program is designed for experienced education professionals in schools, higher education, and research institutions who want to earn a Ph.D. while continuing in their current positions. We understand that many of you cannot give you your secure and rewarding jobs to pursue full time Ph.D. study on campus. We see this hybrid, substantially online pathway to the Ph.D. will make it accessible to a wider practitioner population that wants to enhance their scholarly abilities without leaving their current work. The program will include two-week face to face sessions in the summers, combined with one online doctoral course during fall and spring semesters. Students would enroll in courses on campus during fall semester of the fourth year to meet university residency requirements and work intensely on their dissertation research.

If you want to find more about these exciting new opportunities please get in touch with Dr. Robin Dickson. (rdickson@msu.edu)

That’s all for now. I look forward to hearing from you and I wish you a wonderful school year.

Sincerely

~ punya

Links to stories:

Mathpoetry:

http://punya.educ.msu.edu/2010/01/27/the-infinity-of-primes-proof-as-poem/

Shreya’s blog: Uniquely Mine

http://shreya-mishra.blogspot.com/

Sean Nash’s Blog

http://nashworld.edublogs.org/

Principles of Biology class at Benton High School (with their sci-po)

http://mwsu-bio101.ning.com/forum/topics/pushing-scientific-thought

Math Mama’s Challenge regarding Math Poetry

http://mathmamawrites.blogspot.com/2010/01/challenge-write-kids-poem-about-math.html

Info about advanced MAET Rouen program

http://edutech.msu.edu/overseas.html

Info about ph.d

http://edtechphd.com/

The MAET Team will be exhibiting and speaking at several upcoming conferences.  For future students come stop by our booth to learn more about the program.  We’d love to talk with you and answer any questions you may  have.  For our current students stop by and say “hello”.  We’d love to hear from you.

eTech Ohio – Columbus, Ohio – February 1-3, 2010 – Booth 716

MSTA – Lansing, MI – March 4-6, 2010 – Booth T38

MACUL – Grand Rapids, MI – March 10-12, 2010 – Booth 512

National Art Educators Association (NAEA) – Baltimore, Maryland – April 14-18, 2010 – Booth 328

In addition we have several instructors, alumni and current students from our program that will be presenting at the MACUL conference in March.  This is a great conference for educators to learn more about technology and how it can be applied in the classroom. They have hands on workshops as well as presentations conducted by other educators and educational vendors.  Be sure to stop by the following presentations if you will be attending the conference.

Wednesday Pre-Conference Workshops

Melissa White
Interactive Classroom Technology: What’s the Use (PreK to 6)
Interactive Classroom Technology: What’s the Use (Grades 7-12)

Michael Partridge
Creating Easy Web Sites for the Elementary School Teacher,
Web 2.0 Tools for the Homeschool Setting

Chris Ozias
CSS Basics

Thursday Sessions

Gina Loveless
On-Task Students = Meaningful and Focused Learning

Lawrence Bruce
Making Wikis Work For Your Classroom

Tammy Maginity
Multiple Intelligences? Have I Got the Tools for You!

Melissa White
Differentiating Instruction With a Course Management System

Leigh Graves Wolf and April Tincher
Repurposing Technology for the Math Classroom

Carolyn McCarthy and Melissa White
21 Things for 21st Century Educators

Leigh Graves Wolf
The Power of Play: Infusing Fun Into Professional Development

Sara Beauchamp-Hicks
Forming Your Inquiry: Using Google Forms in Education

April Tincher
Using VoiceThread.com to Engage Your Students

Greetings – I hope your spring semester is off to a great start!

Our program was recently a part of a State News article regarding the use of open courseware to provide class materials.  You can read more about it at http://www.statenews.com/index.php/article/2010/01/education_unlocked.

There are several opportunities to connect with us in-person over the next few months – you can catch us at:

eTech Ohio – Columbus, Ohio – February 1-3, 2010 – Booth 716

MACUL – Grand Rapids, MI – March 10-12 – Booth 512

National Art Educators Association (NAEA) – Baltimore, Maryland – April 14-18 – Booth 328

Please drop me a line at gravesle@msu.edu if you’re presenting or attending any of these conferences, we would love to see you!

We have lots of important updates for you below! Take care,

Leigh

—

Leigh Graves Wolf, Program Coordinator

Master of Arts in Educational Technology

Michigan State University, School of Education

phone 517.432.7195 web: http://edutech.msu.edu

Summer 2010 Planning

Reservations for our summer program in East Lansing are also being accepted. Participants come together for two weeks of face-to-face on-campus in East Lansing from Monday, June 21 – Friday, July 2, 2010 and then meet online from July 3 – July 29. On July 30, 2010 students will reconvene on campus. (Those that cannot meet on campus on July 30th may attend virtually. More information at: http://edutech.msu.edu/hybrid.html

Reservations for our summer program in Rouen, France are now being accepted.

The reservation form for Summer 2010 can be found at http://edutech.educ.msu.edu/MAETSummerRes.php and is due April 1, 2010.

Online courses – we will be offering CEP 822 and CEP 820 online this summer.  More details at: http://edutech.msu.edu/online.html

Important dates from the Registrar

2/4/2010 – End of tuition refund period–no refund after this date.

NOTE: Special Session refund dates (for certificate students) can be found by clicking on the course section number in the web Schedule of Courses at www.reg.msu.edu.

2/26/2010 Approximate date that Commencement invitations will be sent to GRADUATE degree candidates & information about participation (for degree candidates & families) will be available on the web at www.commencement.msu.edu.

3/3/2010 MIDDLE of Semester–last day for withdrawal or dropping courses with no grade reported, $200 late enrollment fee assessed after this date for first-time enrollees, close of on-line drops for Spring–8 p.m

3/8/2010-3/12/2010 Spring Break

Graduation

It’s not too early to start thinking about spring/summer graduation. If you are planning on graduating this spring or summer, you can apply now to start the paperwork process.  The graduation application can be found by visiting: http://www.reg.msu.edu/StuForms/GradApp/GradApp.asp

Funding Opportunities

FAFSA

http://finaid.msu.edu/apply.asp

File each year as soon as possible after January 1 for the upcoming academic year. If you have not completed your tax return, you may estimate on the FAFSA and make corrections later. You must reapply each year.

–

Education Opportunity Fellowship (EOF)

http://grad.msu.edu/fellowships/eof.aspx

To be eligible for this fellowship, EOF applicants must:

1. demonstrate a need for financial assistance and
2. have a minimum undergraduate federal indebtedness of $20,000, both as determined by the MSU Office of Financial Aid. Exact awards will vary depending on need.

Students must be in good academic standing meeting department, college, and university standards. Enrollment requirements include a minimum of 6 credits each semester. Applications are only available between mid-January and mid-March for the next academic year. Applications must be renewed each year. Funds are allocated on a first-come, first-served basis until all disbursed.

Due Date: April 15, 2010

–

Childcare Grant

http://finaid.msu.edu/ccgrant.asp

You may be eligible for The MSU Child Care Grant Program which provides funds to students with children to assist in meeting the cost of licensed child care during the school year. The maximum award for the MSU Child Care Grant is $1000 per semester per child.

Michigan State University is one of six universities selected to participate in the W.K. Kellogg Foundation’s Woodrow Wilson Michigan Teaching Fellowship. The fellowship was created last fall after the Kellogg Foundation awarded a $16.7 million grant to the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation.  The College of Education at MSU hopes to enroll 20 fellows beginning summer 2011 and prepare them for careers in urban settings where STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) teachers are in especially high demand.  To learn more about the fellowship please visit http://www.news.msu.edu/story/7253/.

The Confucius Institute at Michigan State University (housed in our College of Ed) has earned the Confucius Institute of Year 2009 award for the third time.  This award is given out by the Confucius Headquarters in China.  Dr. Yong Zhao, University Distinguished Professor and Executive Director of the Confucius Institute at MSU, was present at the opening ceremony of the fourth annual Confucius Institute Conference in Beijing to receive the award. To learn more about this please visit http://news.msu.edu/story/7225/&topic_id=9.

Check out the following links for job postings in the area of educational technology.

Organization: Alma College

Position Type: Chief Technology Officer

Website: http://www.alma.edu/about/offices/personnel/jobs
/archives/2010/01/11/Information_Technology

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Organization: Ottawa Area ISD

Position Type: Career and Technical Education Strategic Planning & Development Director

Website: http://www.generalasp.com/oaisd/onlineapp/jobpostings/view.asp

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Organization: Clayton State University

Position Type: Faculty Developer/ Instructional Designer

Website: https://adminsystems2.clayton.edu/jobs/JobDesc.aspx?job=09086

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Organization: Marquette University

Position Type: Instructional Designer

Website: https://careers.marquette.edu/applicants/jsp/
shared/frameset/Frameset.jsp?time=1264536387908

——————————————————————-

Organization: Museums

Position Type: Multiple Job Opportunities in Museum Technologies

Website: http://conference.archimuse.com/forums/subject_areas
/issues/jobs_available_and_wanted

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Tech and Learning website has a 2009-2010 Grants Directory and Calendar that you can download.  In addition to listing the deadlines for upcoming grants, it also provides you with tips and strategies for applying.

Check it out at http://www.techlearning.com/article/21108.

CFDA Number: 84.377A
Program Type: Formula Grants

Also Known As: School Improvement Grants

Program Description

In this issues Technology Tips and Tricks column we couldn’t just settle on one tip.  So we have three  websites or applications that we would like to highlight.

First, is a video from Common Craft Show.  In a previous issue we discussed Common Craft Show and how they create great short explanation videos on many different topics including technology.  They recently released a great video titled “Protecting Reputations Online in Plain English”.  This is a great video to share with your students to help them learn more about what they should and should NOT share about themselves online.  It will help your students understand how posting something on the web today may have future consequences.  To check out the video with your students visit http://www.commoncraft.com/protecting-reputations-video

Next we would like to highlight is WebMii.  After having your students view the video above, you may want to have them visit WebMii to see what public information is already available online about them.  They just need to type in their full name into the website search box, choose their region and they will see all the information that has been collected about them that is visible on the web.  Beware though, if a student has a common type name there will be loads of other people’s information available for the student to view, some of which may not be appropriate.  Give it a try with your own name to see all the information that is available about you to a current or future employer.

The last site we would like to highlight is a great presentation tool that has recently added a free educational license.  Prezi is a web-based presentation tool that is quite a bit different than PowerPoint, Google Presentation or other linear type tools.  In Prezi you jot down ideas, add images and illustrations, even add movies to one canvas rather than separate slides.  Then you connect these ideas and multimedia to create a presentation.  You can check out Prezi and start learning how to use it by visiting http://prezi.com/.  To learn more about their free educational license you can visit http://prezi.com/profile/signup/edu/.

Do you have your students write their own stories for an assignment in your class?  If so, you may want to check out the website Tikatok.  Tikatok is a service that creates a hardcover, softcover or e-book of any story that you upload to their site.  They have templates that your students can use to create their story.  Or better yet, they have Story Sparks that help children write their story by providing them with a story idea, characters that they can name, the first few lines of the story, and hints for what to write.  This is a great way to give parents, grandparents and other relatives a chance to purchase the child’s story in the format of their choice. Hardcovers begin at $18, softcovers at $15 and all e-books are $2.99.

To learn more you can visit the website at http://www.tikatok.com/.

(Website submitted by Amanda on the MACUL Space EduTech Group)

Web Sites Worth Visiting

Website	Description and Educational Applications
http://www.visualthesaurus.com/vocabgrabber/	VocabGrabber analyzes any text you’re interested in, generating lists of the most useful vocabulary words and showing you how those words are used in context. Just copy text from a document and paste it into the box, and then click on the “Grab Vocabulary!” button. VocabGrabber will automatically create a list of vocabulary from your text, which you can then sort, filter, and save. (Submitted by Salamah Sulaiman on MACUL Space EduTech Group)
http://www.storylineonline.net/	Storyline Online is an online streaming video program featuring SAG members reading children books aloud!  Each book includes accompanying activities and lesson ideas. (Submitted by Megan Weber on MACUL Space EduTech Group)
http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/	The Guide to Grammar and Writing contains scores of digital handouts on grammar and English usage, over 170 computer-graded quizzes, recommendations on writing — from basic problems in subject-verb agreement and the use of articles to exercises in parallel structures and help with argumentative essays, and a way to submit questions about grammar and writing. (Submitted by Marci Cherry on MACUL Space EduTech Group)
http://www.spellingcity.com/	Teaching spelling is easy with SpellingCity.com.  Input spelling lists for your students to use for free spelling help. Students can learn spelling words, practice spelling tests, and play fun spelling games. Keep track of your spelling list curriculum, share spelling lists, and get ideas for teaching spelling on our spelling forum. Use your own spelling words or use our database of great spelling lists. Kids can play safe online spelling games that will get them ready for their spelling tests.  (Submitted by Suzanne on MACUL Space EduTech Group)
http://www.eduplace.com/…/evalstation/	Evaluation Station is a site created by Houghton Mifflin to help students check their writing.  The site guides the students through a series of questions about a particular type of writing and provides them with tips and ideas.  (Submitted by Marci Cherry on MACUL Space EduTech Group)

Our courses are taught by an outstanding team of MSU adjunct faculty, many of whom are:

- K-12 classroom teachers themselves who have experience using educational technology in the classroom
- Graduates from our certificate program
- Exceptionally skilled in educational technology
- Winners of awards such as technology Teacher of the Year from the Michigan Association of Computer-Related Technology Users in Learning (MACUL) and the national award of the International Society for Technology in Education

This quarter’s instructor spotlight is . . .

Greg Casperson, Instructor for MSU Master’s in Educational Technology Program as well as instructor for undergraduate courses in Educational Psychology and Educational Technology. Greg has been an instructor for TE150: Reflections on Learning, a teaching assistant for CEP800, 815, and 822 in the MAET summer program here at MSU, and instructor for online sections of CEP 416: Teaching and Learning with Technology. For the 2010 spring semester, Greg is lead instructor for CEP820 and for the face-to-face section of CEP416.

Before coming to MSU Greg was a classroom teacher, having taught in the 3^rd grade and middle school for over 10 years. While at the elementary level, Greg created and maintained the school’s web site and at the middle school he taught technology classes to 7^th and 8^th graders while also teaching a self-contained sixth grade class. In addition, Greg was a technology leader at the school, helping introduce new technologies during professional development days and obtaining grants to bring in technologies to the schools.

Before going into teaching at the elementary level, Greg earned a BS and MA in English from Northern Michigan University where he also taught Freshman Composition and helped pilot the use of networked computing for peer collaboration and editing. Greg is currently working on his PhD in Educational Psychology and Educational Technology. His research interests are in “choice” learning afforded by the Internet as well as the motivational nature of multiplayer online games and how this might be applied to classroom learning. In his free time, Greg enjoys tennis, biking, cross country skiing, playing digital games, and spending time with his wonderful daughter who is currently attending nearby University of Michigan.

Question: I just got a new computer and have moved all my data and applications over to it from my old computer.  I had my Firefox browser set up just the way that I wanted it on my old computer and would like to transfer it over (passwords, bookmarks, extensions, and other profile settings) to my new computer.  I’m especially interested in retrieving my passwords since I have Firefox login to many sites now without having to remember my password.

Answer: Great question! There are a couple of ways that you can move your entire Firefox profile over to another computer.  First for Windows OS you can use the MozBackup free utility.  You will need to download it both on your old computer and on your new one.   You would use this application to backup your Firefox profile on your old computer and then you would restore your profile on your new one.  This will create a zip file of all your passwords, bookmarks, settings and other extensions that you can move from one computer to another.

You can also do it following the directions from the Mozilla Support website http://support.mozilla.com/en-US/kb/Backing+up+your+information.  This option is available for both Windows and Mac and doesn’t require downloading a third party application.

One thing to keep in mind when you are finished with your old computer is the data that is left behind on it.  If you plan on giving the computer away to charity or sell it in a garage sell you may be giving away loads of personal information along with it.  For example, someone could go into Firefox, go to Tools, Options, the  Security Tab, then click on the “Show Passwords…” button under the Passwords”, and then the “Show Passwords” button again.  For the Mac OS  it is Firefox menu || Preferences || Security tab || Saved Passwords button || Show Passwords button. You will see a listing of all the passwords that you have asked Firefox to remember.  This also occurs in other browsers that you may use so it is important to clean your computer prior to giving it away or selling it.

Cleaning your computer entails more than just deleting your files and emptying the recycle bin.  There are a few free tools that you might find useful for cleaning up your computer before getting rid of it.  The first one is called Darik’s Boot and Nuke available at Sourceforge.  A complementary program that you will find on the same download page as Darik’s Boot and Nuke is Heidi’s Eraser.

On your new computer you may want to implement stronger password security.  There are a few things you can do to ensure anyone with access to your computer cannot easily get to your passwords.  First you can enable a Firefox Master Password.  Visit Protecting stored passwords using a master password to learn more about how to do this. You may also want to look into a password manager such as Keepass, RoboForm (for Windows OS only) or 1Password (for Mac OS only and not free).   Lastly if you are very concerned about security you can encrypt your entire hard drive using True Encrypt.

Times and Locations

Visit our website for more information and to learn how to apply to any of the courses.

Spring 2010
Face-to-Face Sections
	CEP 810
		Saline	Jan 8, 9, 29, 30, Feb 19, 20
		Kalamazoo RESA	Jan 22, 23, Feb 19, 20, Mar 12, 13
	CEP 811
		Cadillac	Jan 8, 9, 29, 30, Feb 26, 27
		Saline	Feb 26, 27, Mar 19, 20, Apr 16, 17
		Kalamazoo RESA	Mar 19, 20, Apr 23, 24, May 14, 15
	CEP 812
		Cadillac	Mar 26, 27, Internet Sessions, May 14, 15
Online Sections
	CEP 810
		Online @ MSU	February 8 – April 2
		Online @ MSU	March 8 – April 30
	CEP 811
		Online @ MSU	March 8 – April 30
	CEP 812
		Online @ MSU	March 15 – May 7
Summer 2010
Face-to-Face Sections
	CEP 810
		Birmingham	May 14, 15, Jun 4, 5, 18, 19
	CEP 811
		Birmingham	Jun 24, 25, Jul 8, 9, 15, 16
	CEP 812
		Saline	Apr 30, May 1, Internet Sessions, Jun 4, 5
		Kalamazoo RESA	May 21, 22, Internet Sessions, Jun 11, 12
		Birmingham	Jul 22, 23, Internet Sessions, Aug 5, 6
Online Sections
	CEP 810
		Online @ MSU	May 3 – June 25
		Online @ MSU	June 28 – August 20
	CEP 811
		Online @ MSU	May 3 – June 25
		Online @ MSU	June 28 – August 20
	CEP 812
		Online @ MSU	May 3 – June 25
		Online @ MSU	June 28 – August 20