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Discussion of technology assessment in schools focuses on how three school districts developed and carried out their own technology assessment rather than contracting it out. Highlights include computers in classrooms versus labs; computer trainers and teachers' needs; effects on student achievement; evaluation based on goals; authentic assessment; and online resources. (LRW)

There are many ways to begin a PDF document using Adobe Acrobat. The easiest and most popular way is to create the document in another application (such as Microsoft Word) and then use the Adobe Acrobat software to convert it to a PDF. In this article, the author describes how he used Acrobat's many tools in his project--an interactive student-handout PDF about the 2008 presidential election.

Video-sharing sites such as YouTube and Google Video contain a great deal of education-related content. For example, YouTube's CitizenTube allows students to access presidential candidates' videos and interviews. However, YouTube and Google Video also contain inappropriate material for students, and therefore several schools and districts have blocked access to those sites. So, how does one get hold of the most useful videos and leave the rest? In this article, the author offers tips to teachers on how they can integrate only appropriate video segments into their curriculum.

Interactive whiteboards have made quite a splash in classrooms in recent years. When a computer image is projected on the whiteboard using an LCD projector, users can directly control the computer from the whiteboard. In some systems such as Smart and Mimio, the finger is used in place of a mouse to open and run programs or move windows around. In the Numonics system a multimedia pen is used directly on the board. Teachers (or students) can annotate the whiteboard with notes and drawings, save those files onto the computer, and then record a video of a sequence of events. Whatever one can do at a computer screen, one can do at an interactive whiteboard--and easily include large groups or the whole class in the process. This article presents several ideas for integrating whiteboards into the classroom. These ideas include recording, graphic organizers, presentations, interactive software, Google Earth, interactive mathematics, and quizzes and games. The article includes a list of manufacturers of interactive whiteboards that offer lessons and activities on their websites.

In this article, the author relates how he discovered that not all Wi-Fi networks are secure. As such, he developed several strategies on how he can be secured whenever he connects to the Internet through a Wi-Fi connection. He discusses how one can change passwords, explains the process of encryption, and provides suggestions on other security considerations such as firewalls and public Wi-Fi.

This article presents an interview with Peter J. Young, Director of Technology at Rockford Public Schools in Michigan. In the interview, Young talked about how his district has done a lot more automation to integrate its disparate systems. He also discussed how they streamline their systems, how parents and community benefit from these efforts, and how they fund these projects. In addition, he talked about the role that vendors play in their district's efforts.

Look no further than to the popularity of C-SPAN's annual video documentary competition for middle and high schoolers, and it's obvious that video editing, and the technology that comes with it, is important to today's students. In the past it was a complex, involved, and expensive process. Video editing is now within the reach of anybody with a PC or Mac, both of which come with software (Windows Movie Maker and iMovie, respectively) on which students (and teachers as well) can cut their teeth. Even high-end software products (such as Final Cut Pro and Avid) are now affordable. As a 21st-century teacher, what do you need in order to understand video editing? Either a PC or a Mac with video-editing software, as well as a source of video (such as a digital video camera or downloaded video) on which you can work. Optional, but useful, would be a microphone to record additional audio. To illustrate an easy, low-end way to begin and to practice, the author describes how he used the video capability of his cell phone (an LG 8600) and shares his experience in creating a quick, short video using a variety of multimedia elements.

There have been many tools that people can use to get connected with each other worldwide. Cell phones, blogs, wikis, podcasts, e-mail--the world hinges upon people's ability to connect, share, collaborate, and communicate. Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) is another tool schools can use to help their students get connected with the world. One of the most popular free VoIP tools available is the Skype (www.skype.com) voice calling service. Skype is not identical to a traditional telephone service, but it's free--that is, if one Skype user is calling another. In this article, the author describes Skype and the advantages of using it for conference calls and videoconferencing, in addition to its ability to connect students from all over the world with one another free of charge.

A podcast is a method of distributing multimedia files, usually (but not limited to) audio in the MP3 format, over the Internet to subscribers. Anybody can be a subscriber--one only needs the proper software to receive the subscription. In this article, the author discusses how to create one's own podcast. Before creating the podcast, one needs a way to record the audio, an appropriate location on the Internet to which one can upload it, and a method for people to find and subscribe to the podcast. Of course, one needs compelling content to record. Two popular software recording programs are the cross-platform program Audacity, a free audio recorder and editor, and Apple's GarageBand (part of the iLife suite). A microphone for your computer--if not already built in--can cost as little as $5 or as much as $150, depending on quality.

In April 2006, Apple released a beta version of Boot Camp, a free software product that enables the installation of Windows XP (Home Edition or Professional with Service Pack 2) on an Intel-based Mac. (A beta version is not the final version, but it is ready for end users to try and test.) Essentially, Boot Camp splits your Mac into two hard drives (called partitions), one for Mac OS X and one for Windows. An important note--you must supply your own full, single-disk version of Windows XP. Apple neither supplies Windows with Boot Camp nor sells it. In addition, Microsoft does not provide any support for installing its operating system on Macs. Because Boot Camp installs Windows in a separate partition, it does not allow switching back and forth between Windows XP and Mac OS X on the fly. To do that, you need to reboot the computer, which is somewhat of an inconvenience. Parallel Workstation is a software product that approaches Windows on the Mac in a different manner. It creates what is called a virtual machine on the Mac. A virtual machine runs a guest operating system (in this case, Windows XP) within the host operating system (Mac OS X). The difference between Parallels Workstation and Boot Camp is that while the Windows XP environment created through Boot Camp runs Windows faster, it requires rebooting to go back and forth between operating systems. On the other hand, switching between systems using Parallels Workstation does not require rebooting. So, if you are choosing between these two fine methods of running Windows XP on your Mac, you need to decide which is more important--a faster running Windows XP or easier switching between systems.

Mass storage refers to the variety of ways to keep large amounts of information that are used on a computer. Over the years, the removable storage devices have grown smaller, increased in capacity, and transferred the information to the computer faster. The 8" floppy disk of the 1960s stored 100 kilobytes, or about 60 typewritten, double-spaced pages of text. The 5" disk of the 1970s held 360K, and the 3" diskettes from the 1980s stored 1.44 megabytes. Today, Zip disks begin at 100MB, and CDs hold about 650MB--6,500 times the storage of the 8" disks! To use any of these disks, the computer needs a disk drive in which to insert it. The latest in removable storage devices, called flash drives (also known as jump, pen, or thumb drives), change all of that. This small device (about the size of a stick of gum) combines the storage medium and the hardware into one. This article briefly describes flash drives and their storage capabilities.

Multimedia is a mixture of text, audio, video, graphics, and images. Research studies have shown that higher levels of learning occur when students are presented information via multimedia rather than a single medium. The actual mechanics of inserting multimedia components into a file varies from application to application. For example, to insert a movie or sound clip into PowerPoint, go to the Insert menu and choose Movies and Sounds. In AppleWorks, go to the File menu and choose Insert. Multimedia is inserted into a document either by "embedding" (actually becoming part of the document) or by "linking" (in which the document and the multimedia clip remain as two separate files). If the files are linked, and the presentation is copied to another computer, one needs to make sure he also copies the video and audio files he has inserted. The author suggests that one keeps his presentation and any inserted files all in the same folder, then copy the whole folder.

The Internet is a natural place to look for images that teachers can use in lessons and students can use in projects and assignments. Google, Yahoo, AltaVista--many of these popular search engines offer image searching. Usually there is a tab to click at the top of the page to select image searching; just enter a search term and go! However, this type of searching can cause problems. In this article, the author presents several Web sites that offer numerous sources of free digital images for educators and students. Some sites have been developed specifically for image searching, such as picsearch (www.picsearch.com), which crawls the Web and creates a searchable index of images. It advertises "family friendliness" with offensive material filtered out. Pics4learning (www.pics41earning.com) has an image library for teachers and students that is copyright friendly, and many of the photos have been contributed by students, teachers, and amateur photographers.

Interactive whiteboards are desirable peripherals these days. When hooked up to a computer, the whiteboard's screen becomes a "live" computer desktop, which can be tapped to pull down menus, highlight, and move or open files. Users can also circle relevant sections on the projected image, draw geometric figures, and underline. Then they can save the screen--complete with annotations--which can then be e-mailed, made available on a shared server, or printed out. This article provides several ideas for the applications of interactive whiteboards.

Digital photographs can take up a lot of hard-drive space. In light of this fact, many people are choosing to store their photos online. There are several ways to store pictures on the Web, the most popular being online photo storage services. These services have many benefits. They offer a safe place for photos in the event that one's computer crashes, and they free up valuable hard-drive space. With online photo storage services one also has the ability to share his albums with others--for example, he can invite students and parents to view class trip photos online. In this article, the author presents online file storage sites, including Sony's Image-Station (www.imagestation.com) and Snapfish (www.snapfish.com).