Technology in Education

Hale Center High School students receive MacBooks to do school work
“It’s so beautiful,” exclaimed Kaylan Baca, a Hale Center High School junior, as she pulled the white, 13-inch Apple MacBook from its case. “It’s too cool.” Freshman Katie Beth Barton hugged her laptop to her chest, saying aloud she hoped she would not drop it since she will be using that computer for the rest of the school year. [ View Article ] Sep 3, 2010, 08:00

Tatum ISD students get laptops, Internet access
Tatum High School students now have access to computers and the Internet at home. Tuesday morning, Tatum ISD gave laptops equipped with wireless Internet cards to about 470 students. The school board budgeted about $185,000 to buy the computers, Internet cards and carrying cases. Parents were required to pay a $30 usage fee for the year, and students whose parents didn't pay the $30 were not issued a computer. [ View Article ] Sep 3, 2010, 07:58

Ralls: School in an uphill battle in video contest
Technology is a priority in the Ralls Independent School District, where all high school students have their own laptop computers. An attempt to expand technology further has put the district into the finals of a Spirit Award video contest, but the Jackrabbits are not faring well in online voting for the award. The Spirit award will be given to 10 winners among the 30 finalists chosen in the 16-state area served by Windstream Communications, which sponsors the contest. [ View Article ] Sep 3, 2010, 07:45

3-D equipment helps school lessons take on a whole new dimension
Vera Johnson's fifth-graders barely noticed as visitors walked into their classroom this week. They were far too focused on the disembodied head that seemed to float in the front of the room. [ View Article ] Sep 3, 2010, 07:38

CIDC OKs 240 acres for technology park
Creation of a corporate technology park became a step closer Thursday after the Conroe Industrial Development Corporation approved the purchase of 240 acres adjacent to the Lone Star Executive Airport.

[ View Article ] Sep 3, 2010, 07:00

Abilene: AISD blocks Facebook, similar sites for teachers
Teachers in the Abilene Independent School District are blocked from visiting social media websites on school computers. The policy went into effect at the beginning of the school year, but the district may consider relaxing the rules as standards for using social media in the classroom are developed, said Mark Gabehart, chief technology officer for AISD. [ View Article ] Sep 2, 2010, 08:00

Tatum High School students get laptops
TATUM, TX --- Around 450 Tatum High School students received laptops this week. [ View Article ] Sep 2, 2010, 07:40

School social media policies
[S]chool districts and teachers trying to reach and engage students and parents find that using the latest and most popular technology is faster, cost-effective and meets students and parents in their communication comfort zones. [ View Article ] Aug 30, 2010, 07:45

Software glitch causes problems at Alice High School
Newly installed computer software caused some confusion with class schedules this week at Alice High School. Classes that students signed up for in the spring weren't on their schedules created through a web-based program, which handles the school's grading, attendance records, registration and scheduling, Alice Independent School District Superintendent Salvador Cavazos said. Instead students had class periods with nothing scheduled. [ View Article ] Aug 27, 2010, 07:57

Odessa: ECISD starts up Parentlink
On Wednesday evening, parents across Ector County Independent School District received a recorded message from ECISD superintendent Hector Mendez, welcoming them to a new school year and introducing the new Parentlink system. [ View Article ] Aug 27, 2010, 07:35

San Angelo: SAISD alerts now available via e-mail, text message
The San Angelo Independent School District has signed up with a service called Nixle to issue e-mail alerts for such things as weather-related school closings. If you haven't heard about Nixle, it's a service the San Angelo Police Department has been using since 2009 to issue public safety alerts. [ View Article ] Aug 25, 2010, 07:32

E-textbooks are on the way, but not dominant in classrooms yet
The same digital revolution that upended the music industry and is transforming TV, movies and books is slowly working its way into classrooms. In many schools, students are just as likely to carry a cell phone as a backpack. Schools and libraries are wired, outfitted with desktop, laptop and netbook computers with high-speed Internet access. Many of them are beginning to experiment with touch-screen computer tablets like the Apple iPad or increasingly powerful smart phones. [ View Article ] Aug 23, 2010, 08:36

Bye-bye, IBM
The Department of Information Resources appears to be giving up on IBM — once and for all. The agency isn’t formally terminating its contract with the information technology and business consulting giant, which was supposed to coordinate the data centers and disaster recovery operations of 27 state agencies. But state officials sent a letter to IBM [Wednesday] saying they have no other choice to rebid the contract because they believe the company has failed to meet almost all of its obligations. [ View Article ] Aug 23, 2010, 08:31

Smartphones in the schools
While most [San Antonio] area school districts maintain policies that ban students from using cell phones on campus, a few districts are breaking the mold and beginning to admit smart phones into the classroom as an educational tool on a par with a classroom computer. Though some may think the change will invite distraction, inappropriate texting or cyber bullying into study sessions, others see the move as a way to teach technological skills while addressing those negative issues head-on. [ View Article ] Aug 23, 2010, 08:31

UPDATED: IBM says state must change to avoid recurring data center troubles
Even if new companies take over the troubled data center consolidation project, IBM Corp. cautioned Texas officials on Friday that nothing will change unless the state first reexamines its own contributions to the problems. [ View Article ] Aug 23, 2010, 08:31

17 Killeen campuses given new technology
In the past several weeks, teachers and administrators have returned to school campuses in Killeen to prepare for the first day of school today, but members of the technology team were on campuses throughout the summer readying them for students and staff. [ View Article ] Aug 23, 2010, 07:50

Cleveland ISD updates technology
Based on district evaluations, technology improvements were shown to be the number one priority, therefore, Cleveland ISD (CISD) began researching funding and grants to allow for a massive technology upgrade.In 2009-10, CISD applied for and received approximately $3 million dollars in local, state and federal funding to assist in technology betterment for the district. [ View Article ] Aug 23, 2010, 07:38

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