TEL.A.VISION Forms Partnership with Minnesota TIES

Posted on 01. Dec, 2009 by Ringmaster in All Posts, Supporters, TEL.A.VISION News

Alliance Will Benefit TEL.A.VISION, TIES and Their Affiliates

MINNEAPOLIS (December 1, 2009) – TEL.A.VISION, the proven Web 2.0 online curriculum that inspires youth to create and share visions of hope and possibility through personal “vision videos” announced today their partnership with TIES, the Minnesota Education Technology Collaborative that brings together technology and education to create comprehensive, cutting-edge solutions for school administrators, educators and students.

TEL.A.VISION will support TIES’s growth and development by offering preferred services and discounts to TIES members. TIES will promote the benefits and savings of TEL.A.VISION’S curriculum that combines compelling words, images and music to create a vision video of their desired future.

TEL.A.VISION has proven to be successful with all students, but especially those at risk and those receiving special educations services. The program engages students in a meaningful way, allows their voices to be heard, has improved AYP and helps to decrease the dropout rate.

“We have seen what TEL.A.VISION has done for students in Minnesota. We know firsthand that this partnership holds great potential for the districts that we serve,” said Marla Davenport, Co-Director of Learning and Technology. “The TIES and TEL.A.VISION missions speak to increasing the availability of technology and improving learning outcomes for students. Together we can leverage our strengths to further these outcomes.”

“TIES is a leader in providing cutting edge technology and software solutions to schools in Minnesota. Both organizations know that if there ever was a time in history where we quickly need to plant and cultivate seeds of hope, imagination and vision, the time is now,” stated George Johnson of TEL.A.VISION. “We know that TIES is the right partner for us to reach more students that crave the opportunity to build connections to their communities and engage in academics.”

About TIES

TIES was created as Technology Information Education Services in 1967 to provide technology and information resources to school administrators, educators and students. It is now known solely by the acronym TIES. For more information go to:  www.ties.k12.mn.us

Teachers Driving Web 2.0 Use in Schools Says National Research Survey

Posted on 30. May, 2009 by Ringmaster in All Posts, How to Help!, Web 2.0

While many stakeholders are involved in developing policies on the use of Web 2.0 technologies in K-12 education, new research suggests that teachers are the most important group driving adoption. This is a finding of a recent commissioned by Lightspeed Systems and Thinkronize Inc.

There is a persistent gap between how today’s “digital” kids learn in school and how they work and interact outside of school, a trend that underscores the critical need for districts to keep pace with technological advances and adapt to students’ learning needs.

“The research indicates that the movement toward Web 2.0 use to engage students and address individual learning needs is largely being driven in districts from the bottom up – starting with teachers and students,” said Dr. Jay Sivin-Kachala, vice president and lead researcher for IESD. “Furthermore, the results show that many districts are using or planning to use Web 2.0 tools in teacher professional development, which suggests that teachers will become increasingly comfortable with these technologies and better able to teach students how to use them safely and productively.”

Other key results of the survey include:

* The three most frequently cited reasons for adopting Web 2.0 technologies are: addressing students’ individual learning needs, engaging student interest, and increasing students’ options for access to teaching and learning.

* Online communications with parents and students (e.g., teacher blogs) and digital multimedia resources are the Internet technologies most widely used by teachers, and a majority of districts have plans for adopting these technologies or promoting their use.

These results reinforce what we have found with TEL.A.VISION. Teachers find that TEL.A.VISION is a technology that addresses student’s individual learning needs, engages student interest and teaches them about digital multimedia resources.

The full survey is available here.