Learning and Leading - September/October 2009

news

ISTE and Partners Unveil Interactive Science Game

ISTE, along with partners Tabula
Digita, an educational game mak-
er, and the Monsanto Education
Fund, have released a new interac-
tive science game for students in
grades 3–5. League of Scientists,
which is available free of charge at
www.theleagueofscientists.com,
allows students to compete against
each other in a series of multi-
player games constructed around
a standards-based science curricu-
lum that ISTE developed. It covers grade-appropriate life science, earth and
space science, and physical science concepts.

“We know that students are engaged by interactive games and that teachers are excited about using them to supplement learning inside and outside the classroom,” said Don Knezek, ISTE’s CEO. “That’s why we were pleased to join this project—it’s an opportunity to be part of changing the way we do education and science and to reach a group of students we’re losing.”

SIG Name Changes Announced

Two of ISTE’s Special Interest Groups have changed their names to more closely define their roles.

The Handheld Computing SIG (SIGHC) has become
the Mobile Learning SIG (SIGML), and the Telelearning

SIG has become the Online Learning SIG (SIGOL). The changes were approved by the ISTE leadership at NECC in June after a vote of each SIG’s membership.

“The missions of these SIGs remain the same, with the new names reflecting the activities and endeavors that the groups have long undertaken,” said Audrey Watters, Special Interest Group program manager.

For more information, visit the SIGs’ websites at www.iste.org/sigml and www.iste.org/sigol. ISTE has 18 SIGs, including 6 that were added last year.

ol

ISTE Members Help with Ed Tech Plan

NECC 2009 was the first stop on an accelerated journey by the U.S. Department of Education to gather input from stakeholders in crafting a revised National Education Technology Plan (NETP).

More than 300 administrators, teachers, technology coordinators, policy makers, and researchers—including dozens from outside the United States—met in small groups during the conference to hammer out a vision for where ed tech should be heading. The teams provided advice about opportunities and critical barriers regarding the use of technology in five areas: access to high-quality learning experiences, improved assessments, data-driven decision making, teacher effectiveness, and student engagement and success.

The U.S. Department of Education is developing a new ed tech plan to provide a vision for how information and communication technologies can help transform education in the United States. The plan will provide a set of concrete goals that can inform state and local educational technology plans as well as inspire research, development, and innovation. A draft plan is expected in early 2010.