State School Improvement Web Sites:

These Web sites include information that will be useful to school leaders in Indiana.

www.doe.state.in.us/asap
"Accountability System for Academic Progress"--The ASAP web site provides school data and resources to assist school communities in their efforts to improve education.

www.doe.state.in.us/pl221/welcome.html
Indiana's Public Law 221 InfoCenter--includes optional school improvement plan format and professional development program template.

www.doe.state.in.us/olr
"Eight Steps to Highly Effective Next Generation Professional Development", a book and CD for designing professional development for more effective uses of technology by teachers and students. Includes cross references to enGauge, PL 221, and school improvement planning.

www.dpi.state.wi.us/sig/index.html
Wisconsin School Improvement site

www.dpi.state.wi.us/dpi/dlsea/sit/csssoh1.html
"Standards of the Heart"--help children become caring, contributing, productive, and responsible members of society.

www.mdk12.org
Maryland School Improvement site

206.166.105.86/
Illinois School Improvement site

Tools for Planning and Assessment:

ncrel.org
North Central Regional Educational Laboratory (NCREL) specializes in the educational applications of technology. Its goal is to build tools and apply proven practices to create schools where all students can develop their skills and abilities. Tools include “Blueprints” for Staff Development, “Pathways” to School Improvement, and “Planning for D3T”--Data-Driven Decisions about Technology.

engauge.ncrel.org
enGauge, a web-based framework developed by NCREL, is designed to help districts and schools plan and evaluate the effective use of educational technology. The tool set customizes information for individual schools, districts, and teachers and includes success stories, assessment instruments, teacher and school profiles, resources and next steps.

mytarget.iassessment.org
MyTarget: A web-based self –assessment tool, plus training resources, for teachers and administrators developed for Indiana by the Corporation for Educational Technology and supported by a cadre of technology educators.

Reports/Articles:

Workforce
www.dol.gov/dol/asp/public/futurework
FUTUREWORK--Trends and Challenges for Work in the 21st Century is report from the U.S. Department of Labor that examines workers, workplaces, and challenges for the future.

Internet Filtering:
www.cosn.org
A CoSN web resource called “Safeguarding the Wired Schoolhouse” that helps school leaders understand their technological options for managing the content that students obtain over the Internet.

www.ala.org/aasl/tech_menu.html
The American Association of School Librarians sponsors this comprehensive web site on Internet filtering issues plus great literature sites for children and parents.

Programs/Resources:

www.inspire.net
Inspire, a virtual library catalog, provides’ schools and residents of Indiana with equitable access to online electronic information resources that have been evaluated on richness and authority of content, reliability of source, ease of use, and suitability for Indiana residents.

www.marcopolo-education.org/index.aspx
MarcoPolo, a valuable educational resource that includes Internet content for the classroom, online lessons, curriculum standards, teaching materials and resources, and teacher training information.

www.thinkquest.org
ThinkQuest programs encourage the advancement of education through the use of technology. Their programs include: ThinkQuest Competitions, ThinkQuest Library of Entries, ThinkQuest 2000 Conference and Awards Event, and My ThinkQuest, a customizable version of ThinkQuest web site.

glef.org
The George Lucas Educational Foundation Students must learn new skills to live and work in this DIGITAL AGE. Here you'll discover how innovative schools, skillful educators, and involved communities -- aided by technology--are renewing public education. Learn more and request regular e-mail updates from this George Lucas Foundation Web site.

Journals/Newspapers:

www.smartbrief.com/ascd
ASCD SmartBrief is a daily news briefing delivered directly to you through e-mail. Each SmartBrief provides quick, easy-to-read summaries of top news in areas important to educators.

www.fno.org
A free online educational technology journal written in a clear, readable style. Editor Jamie McKenzie's experience as both a superintendent and library media director brings a practical approach to the issues including assessment, information literacy, Internet policies, libraries, technology policies, and grants.
Other McKenzie sites include: http://staffdevelop.org, http://questioning.org and http://newlibrary.org

www.eschoolnews.org
eschoolnews: Dedicated to providing news and information to help K-12 decision makers use technology and the Internet to transform their schools and achieve educational goals. Provides monthly newspaper, education technology literature review, and funding newsletter along with national conferences for school leaders.

www.iste.org/L&L/archive
Learning & Leading with Technology Magazine is designed to serve teachers in the classroom but also includes a special section for Tech Leaders.

Indiana Department of Education:

www.doe.state.in.us/olr
The Indiana Department of Education/Office of Learning Resources provides information about instructional technology and library media grants, regional technology contact meetings, staff development opportunities, Internet resources and updated information on current state instructional technology projects.

www.doe.state.in.us/pl221
Find updated information on PL 221 including action by the Education Roundtable and the State Board of Education along with resources from the Indiana Department of Education.

www.doe.state.in.us/ipla
Indiana Principal Leadership Academy provides professional development for Indiana's principals including through IPLA Live! a web-based delivery system of video programs on topics of current interest.

Educational Technology Organizations:

www.ceoforum.org
The CEO Forum on Education and Technology was founded to help ensure that America's schools effectively prepare all students to be contributing citizens and productive workers in the 21st Century. Issues an annual assessment of nation's progress toward integration of technology and provides a teacher assessment tool.

www.iste.org
International Society for Technology in Education's (ISTE) role is leadership - they promote appropriate uses of information technology to support and improve learning, teaching, and administration in K-12 and teacher education. ISTE has created technology standards for students, teachers, administrators, and higher education.

www.cosn.org
The Consortium for School Networking (CoSN) promotes the use of telecommunications to improve K-12 learning. Goals are leadership development; advocacy; coalition building; and emerging technology. A major initiative is to help school administrators better understand that the cost of computers is only a small part of the cost of using technology resources effectively.

www.techcorps.org
Tech Corps is a national, nonprofit organization of technology volunteers dedicated to helping improve K-12 education at the grass roots, through the effective integration of technology into the learning environment. (Indiana is opening a Tech Corps office in Indianapolis.)

National Professional Organizations:

www.nsdc.org/educatorindex.htm
National Staff Development Council (NSDC) is committed to ensuring success for all students through staff development and school improvement.

www.aasa.org
American Association of School Administrators (AASA) has four major focus areas: improving the condition of children and youth, preparing schools and school systems for the 21st century, connecting schools and communities, enhancing the quality and effectiveness of school leaders.

naesp.org/whatsnew.html
National Association of Elementary School Principals (NAESP) provides the latest in grant and research information, resources, professional development opportunities, and more.

www.ascd.org
Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD) provides professional development in curriculum and supervision; initiates and supports activities to provide educational equity for all students; and serves as a leader in education information services.

www.nsba.org
National School Board Association objectives include helping local school boards face the challenges of creating more productive learning environments through the wise use of technology. ITTE, the Technology Leadership Network, sponsors site visits, conferences and online courses to assist educators in implementing technology.