Newsletter: September 2000

...ON THE TAPIS
September 2000
Issue 34

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In This Issue
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[1] U.S. Dept. of Ed. Secretary's Conference on Education Technology
[2] Research On and In TAPPED IN
[3] School Counselors to Meet at TAPPED IN
[4] SEPUP Science Seminar Reminder
[5] SIG Discussions
[6] Technology Tips
[7] About ...On the TAPIS

Quote of the Month - "I am enough of an artist to draw freely upon my imagination. Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world." - Albert Einstein

[1] U.S. Dept. of Ed. Secretary's Conference on Ed Tech - by Mark Schlager
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We are proud to announce that 2 of 18 Demonstration Projects highlighted at this year's Secretary's Conference on Education Technology, held on September 11-12, 2000, are TAPPED IN tenants! (http://www.ed.gov/Technology/techconf/2000/) Our congratulations to the Joint Venture: Silicon Valley Challenge 2000 Multimedia Project and the Institute for Research on Learning (WestEd) Middle-School Mathematics through Applications Project (MMAP). We are also grateful to Dr. Margaret Riel for mentioning us in her invited white paper for the conference, available at http://www.gse.uci.edu/mriel/whitepaper/

[2] Research On and In TAPPED IN
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In addition to Dr. Riel's white paper, there have been several other recent articles that have included TAPPED IN in their research.
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Chatting to Learn and Learning to Chat in Collaborative Virtual Environments by Teresa Cerratto, Yvonne Wæ. In M/C - A journal of media and culture. Issue 4 Volue 3.
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The Role of Emerging Technologies for Knowledge Mobilization, Dissemination, and Use In Education by Chris Dede. Commissioned by the Office of Educational Research and Improvement, U.S. Department of Education.
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Internet guide for the Technology learning community. Read about TAPPED IN and other online teacher communities in this guide by Margaret Reil, Associate Director of the Center for Collaborative Research at UC Irvine.
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[3] School Counselors to Meet at TAPPED IN
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Join Dr. Russell Sabella on September 25 in a discussion about school conflict resolution/peer mediation programs. Whether you are thinking about starting one or would like to make your existing program better, Dr. Sabella will discuss program aspects such as training, ethics, support, group identity, mediation approaches, accountability, and community support.

Russell Sabella, Ph.D. is a counselor educator at Flordia Gulf Coast University in Ft. Myers, FL. He is the author of several professional articles about peer helping and is a former Board member of the Florida Peer Helper Association. Russ is the newest editor of the Peer Facilitator Quarterly, the official journal of the National Peer Helper Association. He is the co-author of Confronting Sexual Harassment: Learning Activities for Teens (Educational Media Corporation) which provides secondary school peer helpers a kit for working with middle school students in confronting this troublesome issue.

[4] SEPUP Science Seminar Reminder
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Don't forget...the first SEPUP Seminar Session will be next week on Tuesday 9/26 from 3-4:00pm (PST) and again on Wed 9/27 at 2:00pm (PST) in TAPPED IN. Each week we'll cover a different topic related to the evaluation and use of tech tools in issue-oriented science classrooms.

[5] SIG Discussions
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Special Interest Group (SIG) Discussions try to meet the needs and address the issues of specific groups of educators. Currently active groups include the Social Studies Forum, Technology in the Classroom, KIKO, Foreign Language, Targeting Librarians!, WebQuests, K-3 Resources, School Administrators, Alternative/Correctional Ed, ArtsSites, PAarts, and School Counselors.

Most groups get going by having two or three interested people form the core and share the responsibilities. The group's formation is then announced in the TAPPED IN newsletter and MEET ME mailing list. Interested people are asked to contact the leaders directly. Some groups meet weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly. The group itself decides on how often and what topics to discuss. TAPPED IN staff work with the discussion leaders to publicize the sessions, help new members feel comfortable with communicating in the TAPPED IN environment, and archive the transcripts. TAPPED IN staff can also help arrange guest speakers and provide a group mailing list for asynchronous communication. The mailing list is made available only to members of the discussion group to reduce unnecessary postings. Mailing lists are used to bridge the gap between scheduled TAPPED IN meetings and keep the members of the list up to date on new or changed information.

If you have an area of expertise and are interested in leading a SIG, please let us know. Or if you see an unmet need for a discussion group, let us know and we can try and find an expert.

[6] Technology Tips
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How to JOIN
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The group leader has logged in and is waiting in their virtual office for you. To join them click on WHO'S ONLINE and then click on the LOCATION of the person you wish to join. You can also use a text command for joining a person who is logged in. To do this type: /JOIN <name> in the text input window next to SAY and press RETURN or SEND. (EX: /JOIN AliceW)

Advanced Tech Tip of the Month - Member Information
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Members of TAPPED IN can use the MEMBER DIRECTORY to find information about a member. The web link to the Member Directory is on the room map in Reception. You can click on that link, enter your search request and press the "find in directory" button.

For the really advance, use the text command for the Directory (you can use the text command anywhere in TAPPED IN, not just Reception) /LOOK $MDIR. You can also use specific commands to search for things in the Member Directory. For example, if you know a member's last name, but not their member name, type /FIND <name> IN $MDIR and you can locate information about that person. If you do know their TAPPED IN name, type /READ <member name> IN $MDIR and you will get the information that the member has entered for access by the TAPPED IN community. This command will also locate a member’s email address if they have made it available to TAPPED IN members. We have plans to create an easier-to-search member directory in the future. If you have questions, just ask a HelpDesk person.

[7] About ...On the TAPIS
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Postings of all ...ON THE TAPIS issues are available on the TAPPED IN website. Contact us if you have any questions about your subscription, password or user name, or if you have any news items that you want to share with the community for ...ON THE TAPIS.