The HVT&C is a membership business association whose mission is to facilitate the emergence of the mid-Hudson Valley as a nationally competitive high-tech corridor. We hope to expand I.T. business and employment opportunities in the area and to maintain and create a sustainable and balanced economy, with a high quality-of-life for all residents.

Wednesday, 19 October 2005

Promising New Strategies for Supporting Instructional Technology Integration in the Schools

Panelists include Bram Moreinis (founder of Tech Scouts and Beyond The Box), Bill Richers (Director of Technology at New Paltz Central Schools), and Allison West (Supervisor of Educational Technology at Ulster BOCES).

The emphasis placed on test scores by No Child Left Behind has drawn attention away from constructivism, interdisciplinary project-based learning, and other promised benefits convincingly demonstrated by Apple Classrooms of Tomorrow in the early '90s. With notable exceptions, most public schools maintain a high priority in providing reliable computers and networks that offer as much teacher and student access as space and budgets afford. However, increasingly less emphasis (at the policy and budget level) is being placed on teaching with technology in the classroom.

As schools begin to shrink from investment in technology as an instructional tool, the maturation of distance learning and other Internet-based technologies makes many alternative strategies possible that can help address the constraints teachers face (in traditionally structured classrooms, with traditional school schedules). Multimedia authoring and sharing tools are providing students with exciting opportunities to collaborate on producing creative work for authentic audiences, gaining more control of their own learning process.

Our panelists will discuss local examples where students connect outside the walls of their schools with multimedia and collaboration technologies now available.

The Panel

Bram Moreinis has provided instructional technology support to schools for the past 15 years. He currently works with “Tech Scouts” (high school students cultivated from Taconic Hills, Poughkeepsie and other area high schools). Their efforts include a student web design company (Beyond The Box Web Design), supporting distance learning courses (Beyond the Box Education), and a community computer lab (clermontny.org/community/complab.html). In this presentation, Bram will introduce Moodle (a free, Linux-based distance learning alternative to Blackboard) as an enabling tool for customized professional development, and a collaborative platform for after school education. Specifically, he will present Moodle as an environment where students can learn to offer and benefit from feedback on their work. Distance Learning is an excellent avenue to provide constructivist learning, cognitive apprenticeship and authentic contexts, regardless of the classroom constraints in schools.

Bill Richers has been the Director of Technology at New Paltz Central Schools in New Paltz, NY for the past five years. After retiring from IBM in 1997 as a Program Manager for Business Strategy for the Super Computing Division, he took his present position at New Paltz. His long range planning skills gained at IBM have served him well at New Paltz as he has led the area school districts in advanced usage of computing technologies. Bill has introduced advanced video into the curriculum and this year opened an all-digital TV studio and network at the high school. He was also instrumental in starting a Project Lead The Way pre-engineering curriculum that gives high school students the opportunity to experience the rigor of engineering courses in digital electronics, civil engineering and basic engineering skills. Teachers at the high school and middle school have been using PALM handhelds for three years and elementary teachers are being introduced to them currently. In this presentation, he will present an overview of the digital TV activities at New Paltz High School and their planned directions. Bill has a BS in Electrical Engineering and an MS in Computer Science from Texas A&M University.

Allison E. West has been the Supervisor of Educational Technology at Ulster BOCES since 1998. In this role, she has developed and implemented a myriad of services to advance districts’ technological use. She obtained graduate degrees in both business and education. Her background as a teacher and a trainer at IBM as well as her previous experiences at Ulster BOCE has uniquely positioned her to understand the role and promises of technology in education, and to anticipate and respond to educational issues. Over the past 16 years, she has worked to integrate technology into the educational setting. The connectivity of the Ulster County schools Infrastructure will be outlined in her presentation.

There will be opportunity for networking, questions and answers after the presentation, and light snacks will be served. Admission is free for members of Hudson Valley Technology and Commerce; $5 for non members. Admission is waived for those who become new HVT&C members ($35 and up per annum) at this meeting, or who bring a person who joins at this meeting. To make reservations call 845-679-9868 as seating is limited.

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