Local District 4 Instructional Technology News

On Saturday, November 14, 2009, Computer-Using Educators of Los Angeles (CUELA), which is a group of volunteer educators, is holding the 2009 CUELA Technology Fair from 8:30 to 3:30, a one-day instructional technology event for educators throughout the greater Los Angeles area.

The location for the 2009 Technology Fair is:
Mulholland Middle School, San Fernando Valley

Register here: http://www.cuehub.org/cuela

Participants will learn valuable, up-to-date curricular approaches and technology processes to bring back to their school or educational office through numerous hands-on and demonstration session

All staff at each school in our local district should update their EdTech profiles at http://edtechprofile.org. If the principal at your school would like to designate someone to be the administrator for your school, please have him/her send me an email with that person’s name. An administrator of the school’s edtech profile information can send staff their log in information and gather data from the survey.

*** This year, students in grades 5, 8 and 11 will also be required to take the EdTech survey.  The Memo will be available soon. If you have an EdTech site administrator at your school, he/she can create the student accounts.  If you don’t have a designated administrator, contact me and I will assist you with the creation of the accounts.

What is the purpose of the grant?
The purpose of this grant is to help educators develop 21st Century classrooms and improve achievement by providing technology and professional development tools from multiple, industry leading companies. By assembling a package of technology-based classroom programs, we hope to improve achievement and the overall success of students and teachers in the classroom. This grant package includes student response technology, a web-based standards mastery program, as well as data management tools.

Who is eligible to apply?
Grant applications will be accepted from teachers in grades 3-8 currently teaching in an accredited, non-profit, public school building in the United States. There are no entry fees and no purchase is required. Fifteen (15) classroom awards will be made.

What will recipients receive?
Grant package is valued at over $5,000.00 per classroom award.

• Grant Program

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

Mobile Lab Grant Flyer

President Barak Obama and Education Secretary Arne Duncan have announce a video contest asking students to inspire them with their stories. The contest, called “I Am What I Learn,” is accepting entries from middle school, high school, and college students ages 13 and older. Students can submit videos up to two minutes long, and entries must be received by Nov. 2.  The top three finalist will receive $1,000.  Winners will be announced during the week of December 1.

Here are the rules:

- Each video must be submitted by an active student, age 13 or older.

- Contestants chosen as finalists will be contacted through their YouTube account and must respond within seven business days to confirm eligibility.

- Finalists under the age of 18 must submit a parental consent form.

- Videos must be two minutes or less in length.

- The contest’s page on the U.S. Department of Education (ED) web site (www.ed.gov/IAmWhatILearn) must be featured in the video.

- The video content must be original.

- The video must convey the importance of education, as well as the student’s individual academic goals.

source: eSchool News http://www.eschoolnews.com/news/top-news/index.cfm?i=60852

Local District 4 News

As you may or may not know, Local District 4 is no longer at the Harbor Building.  As of September 1st, we are now on the 11th floor of the Beaudry building.  Things are definitely different around here, but we will continue to support all of our schools as best as possible.  Our resources have been diminished so please be patient with us if we do not get back to you right away.  Since we no longer have a large conference room, we will not be having our monthly Tech Coordinator meetings.  If you would like to host a meeting at your school site, please email me so that we can schedule it, otherwise please continue to check our blog for news and updates.

Local District 4 Website
Our Local District 4 Website will be undergoing construction as we update information on it. Please give your input on what more you would like to have access to on our website.

LAUSD District News and Events

Site Computer Inventory MEM-4170.2
All schools should complete the Site Computer inventory by October 1, 2009. For more information, please refer to the memo.
Note: The site used to update a school’s inventory: http://site-computer-inventory.noc.lausd.net/, appears to work only within the firewall.

EdTech Profile
All staff at each school in our local district should update their EdTech profiles at http://edtechprofile.org If the principal at your school would like to designate someone to be the administrator for your school, please have him/her send me an email with that person’s name. An administrator of the school’s edtech profile information can send staff their login information and gather data from the survey.

LAUSD iTunes U
LAUSD is now online on iTunes University. (Please note: This link requires iTunes) The site is still under development and will be populated with more content in the near future.  If you have content you would like to contribute, please contact me.

EdTech at LAUSD
Visit the LAUSD EdTech WebPage for regular updates on Educational Technology resources for LAUSD.

School Websites
Many schools have requested information on how to update their school’s website. There are several great resources available to address this:

iWeb Workshop
On Monday, October 5th, Dave Douglas, Apple Systems Engineer for LAUSD, will be offering a workshop in the  Local District 6 Office from 3:45 to 5:45 on developing your school’s website using Apple’s iWeb software. For more information, download this flyer. This is an easy way for schools to easily update their web presence using free tools and LAUSD’s web server.

School Loop
School Loop is offering free websites for all LAUSD schools. This is a fantastic opportunity to create an interactive website for your school. To find out more, please visit the website

Upcoming Conferences

21st Century Learners Symposium - Friday, October 23, 2009 7:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.
LACOE’s Instructional Technology Outreach offers this conference to all educators. The cost is $95 per person or $375.00 for a group of 6. For more information, download this flyer.

CUE Los Angeles Technology Fair - Saturday, November 14, 2009 8:30 – 3:30
Paradise Found at Mulholland Middle School. Registration and more information coming soon!
The keynote speaker this year is Ted Lai.

Thanks to Janice Stearns from LD6 for sharing her resources.