This research examines how public school principals in Kentucky perceive social media, computer and smart phone use in their schools. 228 of the 1,200 working principals in Kentucky responded to an online survey (response rate of 19%). Most respondents worked in rural schools. Most principals surveyed believe that schools should issue computers to…

When it comes to implementing innovative classroom technology programs, urban school districts face significant challenges stemming from their big-city status. These range from large bureaucracies, to scalability, to how to meet the needs of a more diverse group of students. Because of their size, urban districts tend to have greater distance…

This article discusses how Edythe J. Hayes Middle School, a Lexington, KY, middle school is successfully preparing students for the technological world of the 21st Century. The mission statement for this three-year-old school includes these carefully crafted words: "...to engage all students in a safe and nurturing environment."…

With budgets and staff stretched thin, schools are turning tech-savvy students into technology leaders and a popular, important source of IT support. Providing professional tech support is a very expensive a proposition, so districts from Tupelo to Greenville, and from Hattiesburg to Columbia, are enlisting students to fill the gaps. This article…

Most educators, parents, and policymakers think of "online learning" as a subset of distance learning (where the students and teacher are geographically separate), in which content delivery and communication are achieved primarily through the use of computers connected by the Internet. However, online learning can be either distance…

In this article, the author presents a listing of Web resources which showcases sites created by school districts to support staff use of available technologies. These include Online Technology Tutorials from the Kent School District, Tips and Tutorials from the Kenton County (Kentucky) Schools Office of Instructional Technology, and Teacher…

This paper is a report on the findings of a study conducted on the implementation of a portfolio system at the University of Kentucky. Interviews were conducted with faculty members and university supervisors about the use of a portfolio management tool that had been implemented in the teacher education program. Factors such as small program size…

According to James Robertson, the managing director of Step Two Designs, a content management consultancy, "A content management system supports the creation, management, distribution, publishing, and discovery of corporate information. It covers the complete lifecycle of the pages of one's site, from providing simple tools to create the…

The Kentucky Department of Education and the National Council for Accreditation in Teacher Education guidelines direct institutions of higher education to plan a continuous assessment component in their preservice and inservice teacher education programs. To meet these guidelines, Eastern Kentucky University (EKU) has created a portfolio…

As part of its mission to promote the use of accessible education-based information technology in the Southeast Region, the Southeast Disability and Business Technical Assistance Center (DBTAC) is working with colleges, universities, community colleges and K-12 schools to improve access to information technology for students with disabilities in…

This book offers a systematic examination of how teachers react--and how teaching and learning change--when computers come into the classroom. It describes a longitudinal study which took place in 13 elementary schools (8 public, 3 parochial, and 2 private) in Kentucky. Through a variety of data collection methods, the study explored and…

This action research presents data about an online Master of Arts in Education (MAE) in Learning and Behavior Disorders (LBD), P-12 at Western Kentucky University. During extensive program revisions, the program developed a collaborative assessment model while preparing more than 300 special education personnel for work in rural schools.

During its first year of operation (1997-98), the Kentucky Migrant Technology Project successfully implemented its model, used internal and external evaluations to inform improvement of the model, and began plans for expansion into new service areas. This evaluation report is organized around five questions that focus on the project model and its…

This descriptive study investigated the benefits and costs of using electronic portfolios (EPs) in preservice teacher education by examining the voices of students in six programs thought to be mature in their implementation. Benefits included opportunities to reflect, better access to and organization of professional documents, increased…