Concept Paper

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0 height="100%"><tr> <td valign="top" width=130 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000" background="0197b7e3.jpg"> <bR> <div> <A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Kuglins Educational Web Resource Page"><U>Start Page</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id3.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Web Links"><U>Web Links</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="http://www.jkuglin.blogspot.com" TARGET="_blank" TITLE="http://www.jkuglin.blogspot.com"><U>Blog</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id12.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Keynote Presentation Descriptions"><U>Presentations</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id2.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Biography"><U>Biography</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id14.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Files and Downloads"><U>Files & Downloads</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id15.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Odds and Ends"><U>Odds & Ends</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="http://web.mac.com/jkuglin/iWeb/Site/Podcast/Podcast.html" TARGET="_blank" TITLE="http://web.mac.com/jkuglin/iWeb/Site/Pod"><U> </U></A><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Comic Sans MS" ><A HREF="http://web.mac.com/jkuglin/iWeb/Site/Podcast/Podcast.html" TARGET="_blank" TITLE="http://web.mac.com/jkuglin/iWeb/Site/Pod"><U>Podcasts</U></A></FONT></div> <div> <A HREF="http://www.ikeepbookmarks.com/browse.asp?account=31234" TARGET="_blank" TITLE="http://www.ikeepbookmarks.com/browse.asp"><U>Online Bookmarks</U></A></div> <bR> </td> <td valign="top" BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000" background="00500003.jpg"> <div> <B>Concept Paper</B></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>Developing a Digital Strategy - Using the Internet NG</B></div> <div> <B>By John Kuglin</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Because of new and continuing advancements in technology, educators can now develop skills that will allow them to move beyond the traditional phase of usage, which limited their capabilities to network architecture and/or consumption of information from the web.  Educators can now focus on the capabilities of the next generation Internet, an interactive, productive environment I refer to as the Internet NG.  Teachers today can expect to elevate their skills into the more advance stages of producing information utilizing the web-based productivity tools that are now commonly found in many areas of the web.  It is imperative educators of the future move to these advanced stages, thus the need to begin the process for developing a personal digital strategy.  Think of this concept as developing a plot of digital real estate.  This plot, through time, will become a tremendous repository of information and services for students, parents, colleagues, and administrators.  It will become the centralized point for organizing and displaying the professional knowledge that educators have developed over a lifetime of work.  It can also represent their real estate or presence on the web.  Ultimately, educators can expect to increase their effectiveness by broadening the scope and availability of their collective knowledge to others in their learning community.  </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Components of the personal digital strategy move beyond the individual educator.  School districts and intermediate service providers need to be an active part of the services offered as well.  They need to be an active contributor in providing online services best aggregated at their agencies and made available to the communities they serve.  Local educators in turn can incorporate these services in their personal strategy plans.  To see a working model of this type of service, please visit The McGraw-Hill Learning Network (</B><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="http://www.mhln.com" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.mhln.com"><U><B>www.mhln.com</B></U></A></FONT><B>).  This is an example of an online community that allows educators to start their digital plans through the utilization of their online tool set.  These tools are combinations of services that will allow the teacher to communicate more openly will all the members of their learning community - the parents, students, colleagues, and administration.  </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Let's examine some of the elements that could be part of your plan.  First, and maybe the most important element of your plan might be the inclusion of an online grade book.  You will notice that the MHLN offers this service, and it should strongly be consider as an element of any educator's digital plan.  Some will say that grades should not be placed on the Internet for privacy reasons.  Others will say security needs to be a major consideration.  These are valid points, but they are beginning to use their validity as technology continues to advance.  Case in point, virtually all banks today allow their customers check account balances and move money from one account to another today - Online!  Parents should certainly be able to check their son or daughters math grade using the same mechanism - The Internet!!   You will also notice a vast compliment of tools rounding out and enhancing the capabilities of the network.  The ability for educators to generate class rosters, post homework assignments, and design lesson plans are just a few services of the network and therefore can become components of the teachers digital plan.  </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Having a developed web space is essential for today's successful educators.  Until recently, it was hard to standardize a software package for a certain population.  Many different brands of software featuring the same type of applications existed.  They were usually purchased in a shrink-wrapped box, and a typical district could have multiple providers of a certain type of application software  (i.e. Html editors) with version numbers that could run from 1.0 to 8.x.  It was very confusing for the educator and equally as difficult for the individual responsible for providing staff development and technical support.   Today it's possible for a district to offer one customized software solution that's immediately upgradeable to their entire teaching population.  It can be made available at any time to any Internet based computer.  This becomes a corner stone for the development of the educator's digital plan as this web space development tools becomes the basis for their personal portal on the web.  A portal is a site on the WWW that serves as a collection point of all types of products and services.  A personal portal is your site on the WWW that serves as a collection point for all the products and services you will offer your learning community.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>You will notice that the MHLN provided this valuable baseline service by forming a partnership with a company called Trellix.  A gentleman named Dan Bricklin formed Trellix.  Some of you might remember Dan as an early PC pioneer and the creator a program called `VisiCalc'.  Many called VisiCalc, which was the first spreadsheet application, the first killer application for the new PC market.  Dan has created a product called Trellix Web to be a totally online, customizable web development tool for schools and others to incorporate as part of their digital offerings.  This type of online-hosted application is a popular trend that is known today as an ASP or Application Service Provider.  The ASP model serves as a scalable solution for providing educators with an online tool for constructing their web space from any computer at anytime.  No more shrink wrapped delivered software that can have as many versions as days in the week.  This new development in software delivery will be critical factor to the success of any digital plan.   </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>The MHLN is an example of a commercial offering currently available on the Internet.  School districts and other agencies responsible for providing services to schools districts should look at this innovation as a model to follow.  School leaders need to understand and develop a vision for these types of services offered through their agencies.  Many of the surviving web based companies have strong product offerings that in part can serve as pieces that can be assembled to build an environment similar to the MHLN environment.  Districts should have the power to form their own partnerships with companies they trust and services they know will be here tomorrow.  An important point to remember when forming your new services through partnerships is that it's different from when you were developing partnerships for your first technology plans.  The term `Technology Plan' was used during the first generation of technology into our schools.  It usually meant that you were working with computer providers, Apple or their PC counterpart, networking companies, and possibly some traditional software providers.  The next generation term should be thought of as forming a Digital Strategy, both for the district and for the individual.  This means a plan for integrating and infusing the technology into the current teaching model.  A district needs a plan for technology and a strategic plan for the utilization of technology into the classroom.  Partnerships, which are formed to provide electronic services, need to keep this difference in mind.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Only through dedication to the concept, continued in-service, and daily utilization will educators begin to realize the value of this new dimension in their teaching strategy.  Soon educators can expect to say, “How did I ever get along without these web-based resources?!”</B></div> </td> </tr></table></body>