Greetings Educators,

As readers of this newsletter may know (or know if you’ve tried to call me) I travel a lot. I’m regularly on airplanes and besides collecting a lot of frequent flyer miles I meet a lot of people. I fly to the Middle East and North Africa which means many hours on a plane and many plane changes. A typical flight is from Lansing to Detroit to Paris, sometimes to Marseille, and then on to either Beirut or Algiers. In addition to flying overseas, I regularly fly across the United States often going to Las Vegas (for work – really) and, most recently, to Key West (also for work, at least sort of). And this means someone is normally sitting beside me, often for many hours.

If you’ve ever met me you know I’m a bit “conversational” and I’m always interested in what people do. I’ve met many great and interesting people including a dentist specializing in veneers, a concrete engineer, contractors, a coffee sales rep, a Mississippi cotton farmer, an auto industry light specialist from Brazil, and many auto industry marketing, finance, and sales professionals. I had an air marshal sit next to me once although he wouldn’t admit it. And I’ve met a number of educators, professors, and teachers. (more…)

Are you interested in studying educational technology while traveling abroad? The Certificate and Master’s program in Educational Technology are offered every summer in Plymouth, England. Next summer’s dates are June 22-July18, 2008.

In this program, you will…

• Become a more effective teacher with a wide range of powerful technologies such as digital video, podcasting, Web 2.0, web development, and much more.
• Study with renown faculty from MSU’s top-ranked College of Education
• Advace professionally with a master’s degree
• Develop materials that can be used directly in your class
• Make your teaching more fun and effective through technology.
• Be prepared to take a greater leadership role in your school.
• Enjoy the beautiful coastal area of Plymouth, England
• Live and learn with other great teachers from around the world.

Program Requirements

You will earn an MA Ed Tech degree in three summers. A total of 30 semester credits is required with 9-credit enrollments each summer. In addition, students will take the 3-credit CEP 894D course on-line during Spring Semester after the second summer. A portfolio is also required.

First Summer

Technology Emphasis: MS Office, Web Design, Inspiration

Teaching & Learning Emphasis: Designing instruction using those technologies

CEP 810: Teaching for Understanding with Computers
CEP 811: Adapting Innovative Technologies to Education
CEP 812: Applying Educational Technology to Problems of Practice

Second Summer

Technology Emphasis: Internet Technologies (Dreamweaver: advanced web design, on-line & distance education sites, search technology, Internet resources for teachers and students, subject-specific internet sites)

Teaching and Learning Emphasis: The Internet as a context for teaching and learning.

Topics may include Internet literacy: finding, comprehending, and evaluating information, on-line and distance education, potentials and pitfalls, how Internet changes the role of teachers and students, and the Internet learning communities. Also, how to conduct action research and its role in professional development.

CEP 800: The Psychology of Learning in Schools and Other Settings
CEP 801: Psychological Development: Learner Differences & Commonalities
CEP 822: Approaches to Educational Research

Third Summer

Technology Emphasis: Multimedia Technologies (DV capture & editing, digital picture capture & editing,  streaming audio & video, embedding MultiMedia into Word, PowerPoint, and websites)
Teaching and Learning Emphasis: How multimedia technology can be part of compelling educative experiences. Topics may include the nature of compelling experiences, and how to create compelling experiences with multimedia technology. Also, how to take on a more active leadership role in your profession.

CEP 807: Proseminar in Educational Technology
CEP 816: Technology, Teaching, and Learning Across the Curriculum
CEP 817: Learning Technology through Design

• CEP 894D: Students need to complete CEP 894D which is a 3-credit course before the final summer of the program. This  is an on-line course offered through MSU. In this course, students are expected to apply their learning in their current educational position as an action research project.

Inquire now! Spaces are limited! Visit http://www.educ.msu.edu/gseo for more information or contact gseo@msu.edu.

Coming September 29th, 2007 to Erickson Hall – Students, Teachers, Alumni, Administrators & Technology Specialists – this is for you!

Sponsored by the College of Education Alumni Association, the 24th Annual Educational Technology Conference will enable you to explore the various dimensions of technology. This includes excellent examples of teaching with technology in K-12 schools, from experts and practicing teachers who actively integrate technology into their curriculum and assessment.

Registration includes a continental breakfast. The conference will be held at Erickson Hall on the MSU campus.

Cost

The conference is $7 for the morning session and $5 for the afternoon session for MSU students, interns and alumni association members. For all others, the cost is $22 for the morning session and $18 for the afternoon session. If you have not recently renewed your Alumni Association membership, you may do so at http://www.msualum.com/ in order to receive the discounted conference registration.

Registration

Registration for the 2007 conference is now open. You can register for the conference at:

http://ott.educ.msu.edu/ctt/techconf/register.asp

After you have registered for the conference, you can pay by cash or check in room 115 Erickson Hall, or you can mail a check to:

Center for Teaching and Technology
attn: Technology Conference
115 Erickson Hall
East Lansing, MI 48824

Please make checks payable to “Michigan State University“

Questions? Comments?

If you have any questions, please contact the Center for Teaching and Technology at 517-355-3801.

Conference Sponsors

The Stock Market Game is an online education program used in thousands of classrooms nationwide to help teach math, social studies, business, economics, & language arts while focusing on the importance of long-term savings and investment.  Students in grades 4 through 12 participate in teams and manage a simulated investment portfolio during the school year. 

There are two game periods that last 10-weeks each.  The first session starts October 8, 2007.  The second session begins February 25, 2008.  Grade and subject-specific curriculum guides, lesson plans, and newsletters are provided for classroom instruction.  Lessons topics include:

• What is a Company?
• What is a Stock?
• Identifying Ticker Symbols and Interpreting Stock Quotes
• What is Risk?
• How Does Money Grow Over Time?
• Dividends & Earnings
• What is an Exchange/Markets?
• What is Diversification?
• What is a Mutual Fund?
• What Causes Stock Prices to Change?
• Buy, Sell or Hold?
• How Successful Was My Investment Strategy?

For more information please contact Christopher Anderson at (810) 252-4474 or chris.smgmi@yahoo.com.

THERE’S STILL TIME TO REGISTER FOR STUDENT TECHNOLOGY SHOWCASE
SEPTEMBER 26, 2007 AT STATE CAPITOL

The seventh annual AT&T/MACUL Student Technology Showcase will be held on Wednesday, September 26, from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., at the State Capitol Building in Lansing.

The Michigan Association for Computer Users in Learning (MACUL) extends an invitation to K-12 schools throughout Michigan to participate in the event, which last year drew students and teachers from more than 50 schools.  The Student Technology Showcase is free and open to the public.

Student groups set up computers and other peripherals to show Michigan state legislators how technology is being used in the classroom to facilitate learning during one of two separate demonstration sessions in the morning and afternoon.  The projects this year are expected to cover a wide variety of learning areas including distance learning, computer programming, e-commerce, and other curriculum integration concepts.  Student demonstrations also are expected to include video production, web authoring, handheld technologies, robotics, digital imaging, multimedia and student broadcasting.

The Showcase is sponsored by AT&T and the Michigan Association for Computer Users in Learning, an organization dedicated to bringing educators from all levels together to share their knowledge and concerns regarding educational uses of computers and technology.

To register for the event, or for further information, visit the MACUL website at www.macul.org.

Web Sites Worth Visiting

Website	Description and Educational Applications
http://www.jingproject.com	Jing is a new project by TechSmith. It is downloadable software that you can use to capture images or videos of your computer screen and then share them with your friends through email, IM or your blog. This is currently a project that TechSmith is trying out to see if the idea is useful and how they might package it to sell. But for now it is free. Go try it out before they begin charging for it.(Submitted by Michael Partridge, instructor of the Educational Technology Certificate program)
http://www.hippocampus.org	HippoCampus is a project of the Monterey Institute for Technology and Education (MITE). The goal of HippoCampus is to provide high-quality, multimedia content on general education subjects to high school and college students free of charge.Currently the topics that are covered include: Algebra, American Government, Biology, Calculus, Environmental Science, Physics, Religion, and US History.
http://www.teachersfirst.com	Teachers First is a rich collection of lessons, units and web resources designed to save teachers time by delivering just what they need in a practical, user-friendly, and ad-free format. We offer our own professional and classroom-ready content along with thousands of reviewed web resources, including practical ideas for classroom use. Busy teachers, parents, and students can find resources using the subject/grade level search, keyword search or extensive menus.(Submitted by Dr. Kathryn Dirkin, Professor at Central Michigan University)
http://www.smithsonianeducation.org/	Discover education resources and information, lesson plans, field trips, and fun interactive activities for educators, families, and students at the Smithsonian Education website. All based on Smithsonian museum collections and research.
http://maculspace.ning.com	MACUL Space is a digital playground for future, current and past members of MACUL to network and share ideas about education. MACUL Space allows members to easily share photos, websites, podcasts, and videos from any of the popular video sharing sites on the Internet. It is free to sign up for the space. Sign up today! (Submitted by Melissa White, instructor of the Educational Technology Certificate program)

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 . . .

Susan Way ,Instructor for the MSU Educational Technology Certificate Program and Academic Technology Coordinator for the Dept of Physiology at MSU.

Sue Way has taught the Educational Technology Certificate courses for 6 years. Her undergraduate degree is in Education with a major in Physical Education and a minor in Biology from Central Michigan University. She completed her Master of Arts in Educational Technology at Michigan State University and is in the process of completing a teaching minor in Computer Science.

Sue served as the Academic Technology Coordinator for the Department of Counseling, Educational Psychology, and Special Education and as the Program Manager for the Educational Technology Master’s program in the College of Education at MSU for 8 years. During this time, she was part of the development team for the Educational Technology Certificate online courses, where she updated and revised course content.

For 24 years prior to working at MSU, Sue was a Gymnastic Coach, Instructor, and Program Director for gymnastic programs in Lansing, Okemos, and Ann Arbor.

Sue currently serves as the Academic Technology Coordinator with the
Department of Physiology under the College of Human Medicine at Michigan
State University.

Sharing ideas and teaching the Educational Technology courses at Michigan
State University is very exciting and rewarding. Technology use in education
provides rich opportunities for understanding subject matter content by
bringing these concepts to life, allows for the development of and
participation in learning communities, and makes a difference in the
classroom by providing a multitude of resources from the Internet.

Question: I’m an amateur web designer and am always looking for great tips in this area. Could you highlight a few tips you may have in regards to web design?

Answer: Where to start? There are so many things that are out there in regards to web design that it is truly hard to know where to start. I will highlight two things that I have found very helpful in the last few months.

First, if you haven’t already, you should download the Web Developer Toolbar for Firefox. You will need to download Firefox first if you don’t already have it and then go to https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/60 to download the toolbar.

Some of the great features of this toolbar include easy viewing of CSS code and page elements like images and tables. It also has small screen rendering so you can get an idea of what your page may look like on a PDA or cell phone.

To learn more about the Web Developer toolbar add on go to Webmaster Tips at http://tips.webdesign10.com/web-developer-toolbar.htm.

Another cool tool that I find myself using quite a bit is a small program called Pixie. You can download Pixie at the Nattyware website at http://www.nattyware.com. Have you ever found yourself wanting to know what a particular color is on graphic or website? Well Pixie makes it easy to find out. Simply run the program and anytime you run your mouse over an area that has a color the program will display the hex, RGB, HTML, CMYK and HSV values of that color. You can then use the values to reproduce the color in your other programs such as Dreamweaver or Photoshop. It also shows the current X and Y position of your mouse pointer.

There are so many great web design tools that are out there. These are just two that I selected to highlight. I hope you find them helpful!

–Carrie Albin, Outreach Coordinator and Co-Editor

Are you a teacher interested in MSU’s Educational Technology Certificate Program? Check out the list below to see if the program is being offered in your area. If not, email Carrie Albin to get your district started with the program.

Fall 2007

CEP 810

Spring 2008

CEP 811
		Birmingham	Jan 18, 19, Feb 8, 9, 29, Mar 1
		Birmingham	Mar 14, 15, 16, Apr 25, 26

Online Sections*

Fall 2007
		Online @ MSU	October 22 – December 14
		Online @ MSU	October 22 – December 14
		Online @ MSU	October 22 – December 14
		Online @ MSU	January 14 – March 8
		Online @ MSU	March 10 – May 2
		Online @ MSU	March 24 – May 18

*Students participating in the online courses will have the opportunity to meet to share their projects at a time and place determined by the participants. Please contact Brook Thompson at 517-432-9259 if you are interested in registering for the online courses.