District Administration - October 2010 - (Page 25)

Curriculum Showcasing STEM Careers encouraging kids to pursue science and math education is more than just a good idea—the economic viability of our country’s future nearly depends on it. a new Web video series, advanced technological education television (atetV), does just this by showing students where their interests in steM studies can lead them in terms of a college education and careers. supported with a grant from the national science Foundation, the advanced technological education (ate) program began by partnering with community colleges nationwide and teaming up with technological industry employers. The association of interactive Media education (aiMe), a nonprofit organization that helps other organizations utilize technology for teaching, then received an ate grant to create the series to give students a visual example of potential careers and see what these courses would look like in the classroom. atetV just received a second grant from the national science Foundation to produce 40 more videos. “We wanted to create an awareness of ate. a lot of students have an interest in these studies, but they don’t know where to go with those interests,” says Julie rivinus, executive director of the aiMe. The videos include a wide variety of topics, such as video games, environmentalism, medicine, aviation, and laser technology. Video segments may profile student internships, feature industry speakers in the field, or demonstrate activities for students inside the college classroom. according to Francis eberle, executive director of the national science teachers association, science fields are growing and there is a need for people who don’t necessarily have a doctorate but do have a high understanding of science and math. “These are tools for guidance counselors to help students know what goes on in Association for Interactive Media Education Br iefings The Association of Interactive Media Education created a Web-based video series to give students a visual example of STEM careers. steM fields,” says eberle. Moreover, he says, it’s important to find different ways to excite students about these careers. “teachers need to remember that these are people with their whole lives ahead of them. They’re looking for ways to make a difference.” to watch, visit www.atetv.org. —Marion Herbert K12 Schools Must Fill New Literacy Gaps A weAk ecOnOmy pAireD with A nAtiOnAl push tO improve reading and math has left an important skill behind in k12 classrooms—digital media literacy. A report released last July out of northwestern university, “trust Online: young Adults’ evaluation of web content,” reveals that college students are not so media savvy when it comes to discriminating between credible sources online. the study includes information from more than 1,000 first-year students in an urban public research university in 2007. eszter hargittai, a researcher in the study and an associate professor of communication studies at northwestern, says the study results reveal “a lot of people, especially a lot of students, take for granted a lot of what they see online.” more than 25 percent of the students mentioned they chose a web site because the search engine listed it as the first result, suggesting to the student there was considerable trust in the web search via the search engine. the skills that students used in the study are part of the new literacies, which include online reading comprehension and learning skills, also known as 21st-century skills, required by the internet and other information and communication technologies (icts), including understanding content found on wikis, blogs, video sites, audio sites and in e-mail. the results of the report suggest that public school districts need to start training their teachers to teach digital media skills to k12 students, according to hargittai and Don knezek, chief executive officer of the international society for technology in education (iste). in murray hill middle school of howard county (md.) schools, teacher-librarian and technology specialist Gwyneth Jones teaches digital literacy to students and how to evaluate sources and web pages in their searches. “it’s the job of every media specialist to teach the lessons of evaluating sources,” she says. “every teacher in a school should bring that into every lesson as well. it takes a village to teach a digital citizen.” —Angela Pascopella www.DistrictAdministration.com October 2010 25 http://www.atetv.org http://www.DistrictAdministration.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of District Administration - October 2010

District Administration - October 2010
Contents
From the Editor
Letters
News Update
Curriculum Update
Facilities Update
District Profile
Administrator Profile
Conversations
The Price of a Good Education
Dividing Arizona
Making Your School Future-Proof
Connecting Curriculum with Community
A Small District’s Big Innovator
New Books
New Products
Product Focus
Tech Disruptions
Superintendent’s Insights
Online Edge
Professional Opinion

District Administration - October 2010