Academic+Technology+Group

//Tech Coordinator Meeting Agenda Items and Notes://
toc

__**Files for David and Sheryl:**__

**IT Department Sample Resources**


 * Upper School Sample Resources**

**Middle School Sample Resources** [|Matt Montagne's Instructional Technology Blog] [|Will Piper's 5th Grade World Geography Blog] [|Chuck Taft's 8th Grade US History Blog] [|Chuck Taft's 8th Grade US History website] [|Hannah Reimer's 7th Grade English Blog] [|Middle School Professional Growth Team Blog] Neelie Barthenheier's French Class Wiki [|8th Grade English Virtual Conference with author Gene Luen Yang] Middle School Global Connections and Collaborations Wiki [|Virtual Tour of USM! 5th Grade Student Enhanced Podcasts!] [|Mrs. Barth's 8th Grade English web page]

Glenbrook North Mini-Conference Day on 21st Century Learning //Monday, March 3rd 2008// Processing Notes

Hour long keynote...centered around the topic of helping learners develop their competitive voice
 * David's Keynote:**


 * Notes and resources from sessions:**
 * [| Infinite thinking machine blog]
 * Surf aquarium website multiple intelligences
 * [|Wildernessclassroom.com]
 * Character is more important than intellect
 * Went thru each MI and shared a tool or two that addressed each


 * Planning ideas for October mini-conference day on 21st century learning:**
 * Youth voices a part of the day
 * David Jakes and digital storytelling session would be solid (applies to K12 across disciplines)
 * Google earth session is another possibility as it applies to K12 across many disciplines
 * Conference workshop session idea-RSS, programming, google docs/apps,
 * Potential presentation by USM parent, Anne Reed, on the impact of 21st century creativity tools on her
 * career

Visit to USM (9:30-1:00)
 * February 13th Cherokee School in Madison, WI** (This is a Wednesday-E Day)

Dear Members of visiting team from Cherokee- We're looking forward to meeting you on the 13th of February! If you'd like, jot down some of the questions you have and things you'd like to see below. We'll use this information to help customize your visit a little better.

List your questions and interests below: -We offer a few elective classes in the middle school and the high school for the students to take. Teachers in the regular classroom occasionally make use of video for student projects and assignments, but this is rare. -**We are trying to use tools that promote collaboration. Google docs, Voicethread, skype (although we really haven't had students usng this) and wikis are all great for promoting collaboration. -No, but we're interested in mobile devices for learning. We're seeing more and more student cell phones come in with cameras, web browsers, etc. -No, but we've been talking about it. That has certainly been on my list of new things to delve into.
 * What do you do with video production?**
 * How do you have students collaborate using tech resources?
 * Have you done anything w/ text messaging as a language tool?**
 * Have the kids used Second Life in school?**

[|Matt Montagne's Instructional Technology Blog] [|Will Piper's 5th Grade World Geography Blog] [|Chuck Taft's 8th Grade US History Blog] [|Chuck Taft's 8th Grade US History website] [|Hannah Reimer's 7th Grade English Blog] [|Middle School Professional Growth Team Blog] Neelie Barthenheier's French Class Wiki [|8th Grade English Virtual Conference with author Gene Luen Yang] Middle School Global Connections and Collaborations Wiki [|Virtual Tour of USM! 5th Grade Student Enhanced Podcasts!] [|Mrs. Barth's 8th Grade English web page]
 * Resources you might consider perusing ahead of time:**


 * Tentative Agenda for Cherokee Visitors:**

9:30 Arrive at USM

9:45 - 11:45 - Split into MS and LS Groups. Tour classrooms, observations, etc.
 * MS Recess-9:50-10:15
 * MS 8th Grade English-collaborative digital poetry using Voicethread-10:15-11:00
 * Tour of MS Classrooms-11:00-11:45

11:45-12:15 Lunch

12:15 - 1:00 Finish meetings and discussions

1:00 - Depart for Madison

2-12-2008 Gregg, Nikki, Matt
 * Homework:**
 * Parent Focus Groups:**

Kristin will tap Upper School students, Matt will tap a few 8th grade students.
 * Students:**


 * Setup and Arrange Elluminate Meeting**:

Matt will pass along to Gregg, who will pass along to consulting team
 * Guiding Questions**:

-The need for a Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) tool like moodle or blackboard here at USM -Is there an interest in a unified, school-wide blogging platform like [|WordPress MU]?? Support might be an issue with an internal installation, so perhaps we might consider [|EduBlogs Campus].
 * Upcoming Meeting Topics:**

-Public WiFi Project -Summer professional development experiences-is there any way we can get a few small groups together and do some curriculum development?? -[|ed.Voicethread] - a subscription service from the voicethread crew that is targeted toward K12. We should have a discussion about pros/cons of their service for our students and teachers here at USM. -
 * To do list for implementation
 * Timeline for implementation
 * Check out laptops for student use in the US and MS.

-To do list Begin to do a modification to the AUP and then start working on a terms of service agreement

1-22-2008
Instructional Technology Meeting //3:30 pm//

1-8-2007
Instructional Technology Meeting //3:30 pm// Location: ??

Consulting team update WiFi update-hopefully Alex will be able to join us for this so we can answer his questions (please reflect on his questions below if you have a few spare momentos).
 * Agenda Items:**

12-18-2007
Instructional Technology Meeting Location: Matt's Room

We met with Sheryl Nussbaum Beach and David Jakes through an eluminate session. This was an opportunity for everyone to get comfortable with Sheryl and her approach to

To Do: Strategic plan to Sheryl

http://www.lqhome.com/cgi-bin/WebObjects/lotilounge.woa

12-11-2007
//Instructional Technology Meeting// Location: Matt's room (actually this was a snow day-we spoke w/David from our homes!)

Take a look at [|Sheryl Beach's] background and blog. David mentioned that we should consider bringing Sheryl in to work with him on the consulting piece at USM. Will Richardson wrote a [|really nice blog post on sustained professional development] and he references the work that Sheryl has done down in Alabama with regard to ongoing PD.
 * Agenda:**
 * Video conference with David Jakes to discuss the potential of having him consult with us on our Instructional technology vision plan
 * Follow-up regarding presenters for next October's mini-conference day.
 * Daniel Pink-on DEN this coming Wednesday @ 6:00 PM CST.
 * Public WiFi-where is everyone at w/their conversations w/everyone. How did things go at the CAC meeting?
 * student voice in technology vision and mini-conference day next year. How can we create authentic, meaningful ways to give students a voice??
 * Meeting Notes:**

12-4-2007
//Instructional Technology Meeting// //Location//: from our homes via skype!!!

Develop a short list of potential presenters for next October's professional development day: Note: For October 2008 mini-conference day I think it would be good to try to get these presenters here the night before for dinner. In your conversations please ask them if they would be willing to do this.
 * Notes:**
 * David Jakes unfortunately wasn't able to meet with us :( but we rescheduled on the fly and created an appointment for our next instructional technology meeting for Tuesday, December 11th @ 3:30 pm.
 * Gregg asked us if we were willing to wait for phase II on the public WiFi system at USM. All of us were opposed to this and would like to see it go forward during the next academic school year. Our homework is to begin the process of re-educating the school community about its value and utility here on campus. See the link to the left that says, "WiFi at USM," for a starting point.
 * We talked a little bit about cool things that we're doing and can be done with skype. We also discussed google docs in the context of the eee pc and some of the excellent collaboration features associated with it.
 * Matt talked about the upcoming MS Division meeting which is centering around simple and easy software tools for teachers and students. Everyone is invited to attend this meeting if they are able to.
 * Gregg brought up some of the key highlights of our January mini-conference kind of day. He also brought everyone up to speed on the October 2007 conference day with special guest Alan November. We talked about beginning the process of pinning down presenters for this day as well. Let's develop a short list of presenters below and start checking on their availability prior to our next meeting if this is at all possible.
 * To do list:**
 * David Warlick
 * [|Vinnie Vrotny]-Vinnie is willing to do some sessions-Topic-"Professional Learning Networks"
 * David Jakes (in addition to consulting, David also presents-I've heard some of his presentations and they're quite good)

The chat conversation that went along with our meeting tonight may be accessed by clicking the following icon:

-chat log

11/6/2007
//Tech Coordinator Meeting// Agenda: Old Business School visits:

New Business Consultants vs Speakers David Warlick - $2500 Daniel Pink - $27,000 http://washingtonspeakers.com/speakers/speaker.cfm?SpeakerId=2970 Donald Tapscott - $45,000 Joel Barker - $20,000/ offer - Irregardless of whether we hire him or not, Joel said he would ship us 150 free copies of his book //Five Regions of the Future// for a summer faculty read - we pay postage. I received the book from Carolyn after she heard him speak at the National Staff Development Conference in December 2006 and it's outstanding. He's also developed schools that were highly effective (even in standardized testing) that were focused on EFG (Ecological, Future, Global Education). http://www.joelbarker.com/ncontact.php


 * To Do List:**
 * Speaker for all-school faculty In-service day:** October 6th or October 13th of 2008
 * We're looking for speakers for this (Will Richardson, David Warlick, Marc Prensky, Steve Dembo, Daniel Pink, Daniel Yergen, Alan November, Joel Barker)
 * The speaker would do the following**: Keynote session for an hour, small group work, go out to dinner, meet with administration

How they charge? For a day, half day, etc? Follow-up with Speakers: Kristen-Richardson Bach-Alan November Matt-Marc Prensky Nikki-Daniel Pink, David Warlick, Joel Barker

Introduction: We're interested in putting together a plan for for the future use of technology here at USM...is this something you're interested in? Follow-up with Consultants: Kristen-Inman Gregg-Tim Fish Dr. Ellen Meyer
 * Questions to ask during interviews of potential consultants:**
 * Have you worked with like Independent Schools (1100 students)? What kind of work have you done with them? Can you tell us about your references?
 * Explain the process that you've used in the past to get to the result
 * How much time will this take? What are some of the steps you'll use throughout the process?
 * After you visit and write-up the report, will you come back and present your report?
 * What are your consulting fees?


 * Nikki's Interview with Delise Neely** - She is currently working at Cardinal Stritch, finishing her phd in 21st Century Learning. She's also working with a Central Milwaukee Charter School, and has extensive K-12 professional development district work
 * **Recommended Reading for our Team - School:** //A Whole New Mind// - life changing book, //Made to Stick// could serve as a model to get this project going, //Connecting Leadership to the Brain// by Thompson & Blair, //Medici Effect// - by Johanson
 * **References:References:** Mike Dickman & Nancy Blair
 * **Experience w/ prof. dev:** Staff Development Coordinator for 10 years
 * **The process:** depends on the district itself - individualize instruction to fit the school's needs like teachers do with instruction - strict adherence to brain-based work with districts (like students)
 * Start with social-emotional intelligence to get participants to attend
 * A lot of dialogue-reflection in terms of applications and refinement
 * A great deal of movement and activity to engage the audience.
 * Morally compelling purpose must be part of the plan - participants become emotionally attached
 * "Spin" meetings to chew on things and ideas - staff in different groups and brainstorming -
 * People don't resist change. They resist changing. We're asking them to be consciously incompetent for while when new things are bing implemented. That can be uncomfortable.
 * **Timeline:**Timeline: At least a couple of years for systemic change - research says 3 - 7.
 * **21st century learning - Academic Technology** involves using technology and communications (virtual & face to face) solve provlems, learn, apply, reflect, and make decisions.
 * **Delise uses a coaching model** - rectangle divided into two triangles. The coaches role diminishes as the particiants take over the implementation.
 * **Consulting fees:** depend on half day/full day - 600-800 half day 1200 to 2000 depending on preparation necessary for the meeting time. She could work with us in an ongoing fashion as we move forward.


 * __Matt's Consultant Interviews__

[|David Jakes] Conversation Summary**
 * Currently serves as instructional technology coordinator for the Downers Grove, IL district
 * Background is in 21st century learning/teaching,
 * bio teacher for 15 years,
 * Needs to come on site to talk to all of the different groups to get in touch with the situation...could be 1-2 days for starters and then a return visit to present
 * Would like to meet with teachers, admin leadership, students, parents, IT folks, academic technology folks, etc for starters to get a feel for where we're at. Data gathering via interviews, questionnaires, etc.
 * He would be available for a January consulting time frame
 * $1300 per day + travel and hotel
 * I had an excellent talk with him and would feel quite good about working with him as a consultant. He also would be comfortable presenting at a mini-workshop day onsite in October
 * [|Wesley Fryer] Conversation Summary:**
 * Had a great talk w/Wes Fryer today via skype voice and video. It was a short conversation where we established whether or not there was a possibility of working together on our project. Wesley had a really cool suggestion - he suggested that we assemble a little list of questions and that he would respond in the form of recorded video. We could then view it in preparation for a synchronous skype meeting in late Nov/early December.

Joe Hoffmeister Conversation Summary

When do we want consultants to come? At some point in January would be nice.

10/18/2007
//Tech Coordinator Meeting//

Watch the Did You Know video below if you have a spare 8 minutes...it is from the folks at Shifthappens: media type="youtube" key="pMcfrLYDm2U" width="425" height="350"

http://www.iste.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Webinar_Series1&Template=/CM/HTMLDisplay.cfm&ContentID=18273 The Teachers' Guide to Classroom Blogging 11/06 The Power of Global Education in Your Classroom 11/27 Nailing Digital Jelly to a Virtual Tree 12/05**
 * Old Business**
 * Discuss Joe's CARP feedback and future direction
 * [[file:universityschool-initial-observations.pdf]]-Joe's observation/meeting notes
 * What do we want to do as far as a technology plan? Some sort of guiding plan might help us in the decision making process when proposals are submitted. Students and student learning should be the focus...an academic technology plan.
 * steps for creating the plan: **Gather Info** (surveys, interviews, teachers/dept. heads feedback, student feedback, parent feedback) **Dig up a consultant short list** (ISED post on this-Kristin, NCREL, ISTE. JRPO-Matt talks to Pam)
 * 1) David Warlick-very good feedback from the JRPO Survey on David Warlick (not surprising)
 * 2) Sylvia Matinez-[|Generation YES]
 * 3) Denise Neely-Cardinal Stritch-(414) 410-4689 E-mail: dlneely@stritch.edu
 * 4) Joe Hofmeister-former Cincinnati Country Director of Technology
 * 5) Dr. Ellen Meier from the Teacher's College at Columbia-meier@exchange.tc.columbia.edu - 212-678-3829
 * 6) Dave Jakes-Chicago area consultant
 * 7) Alex Inman-St. Louis area
 * 8) Tim Fish-
 * 9) Will Richardson-
 * School Visits
 * Matt spoke to Stuart Crais from the [|Lausanne School in Memphis]-his school has a 1-1 laptop program in place with public WiFi where students bring in any device that they'd like. Stuart would be happy to host a visit...
 * School of Columbia-LS in NYC
 * Whitfield-Alex Inman's School
 * Public WiFi-Please take a look at the link along the left hand side of the page that says, "WiFi at USM," for a summary of what the WiFi review committee recommended last year upon the completion of our meetings.
 * Identify a to do list and a road map relating to public WiFi implementation here at USM (things we may want to do-chat this up at department heads meetings, meet with respective parent advisory groups, meet with student leadership groups, survey group of students re: laptop ownership, create a terms of use document, modify AUP in student handbooks, prepare a quarter 4 small scale test if possible)
 * New Business**
 * Webpages - including academic course webpages as links in teachers' courses inside the portal
 * ISTE Webinars - The LS faculty is scheduled to participate in the following webinars. They are 60 minutes in length and could help generate some thinking, common language, and conversation among our faculty to help lay the groundwork for web 2.0 direction. The programs definitely extend well beyone the Lower School.
 * Reinventing Project-Based Learning - 10/24
 * Other opportunities for professional growth in the area of Web 2.0:
 * [|K12 Online Conference]...this was referenced at our LMAIS meeting on Thursday and is going on now. Another good reference for learning about Web 2.0
 * Great, great blog post on introducing newbies to 21st Century teaching and learning tools: **http://tinyurl.com/yo3rdd**
 * Summer reading (or for a January inservice day book discussion if possible) -let's try to get a book on the list that deals w/ web 2.0. [|One of David Warlick's books], [|Wikinomics], etc.
 * Administrative leadership awareness and support of web 2.0ey tools-how can this be fostered?

10/2/2007
//Tech Coordinator Meeting// 3:30 Matt's Room


 * Old business** (see agenda and notes from previous meetings)
 * LMAIS Meeting-we should be ready to go on this, but do we have any additional thoughts on a creative plan??
 * School visits for CARP-are we ready to pin this down?
 * School visit Update: Matt Contacted Stuart Crais from Luasanne in Memphis, TN. The run a 1-1 program with a public WiFi space and use web 2.0 software quite a bit. A few other details and notes from our conversation: 5th-12th grade 1-1 program...600 total student laptops...students bring whatever laptop/OS that they'd like. Stuart feels as though the students are quite fluent with their own computers. He recommends that good policy be put in place prior to roll out. Interesting Policies from Luasanne -$150/yr software fee includes software and access to a loaner laptop if their unit goes down.
 * Joe Kmoch Visit is nailed down for October 8th from 8:30-10:30
 * Digital signage system...do we want to do this in all three divisions? If not, should we suggest wiring for the entire project to implement more fully later as a CAC project?
 * New business** -
 * Common Vision - can we start to pin this down in our Web 2.0 CARP project so we can articulate it as we move forward?

9/18/2007
//Tech Coordinator Meeting// 3:30 Judy's Office

Kristin will call local area schools to try to see if they're interested in coming (Marquette and ULS).
 * Summary of our check-in w/Judy:**
 * We firmed up our CARP objectives with Judy...she neither approved nor disapproved of the web 2.0 question idea, but gave us more information and direction to help guide us...
 * **Budget Money**- $500-$1000 per consultant
 * **School Visits**- Something like $5000 for school visits makes up the budget
 * Funds are taken out of division budgets initially, and then we would go to CARP for additional funding.
 * Constituent survey questions....the CARP team is putting together a survey for parents, students and faculty that will have a question or two dealing with technology.
 * Old Business:**
 * Kristen: Contacted Joe Kmoch regarding the 28th, and haven't heard back from him quite yet.
 * Lunch and continental breakfast is taken care of...thanks Kristin!
 * Nikki-The School at Columbia in New York City sounds like an interesting possibility...she is going to do some follow up on this...
 * Also, the Cyberschool in Milwaukee..
 * We talked about additional school visit possibilities...Kristin will be taking a visit to Portland for a March conference and may do a school visit..
 * Conserve School or Whitfield School in St. Louis - Matt will try to setup a time to visit...don't do this on a Wednesday...a Mon-Tues or Thurs-Fri would be best.
 * LMAIS Meeting:**
 * To Do List:**
 * Everyone will take time to brainstorm the following:
 * Brainstorm questions to ask regarding academic technology
 * Questions to ask for school visits**
 * Tell us about some of your greatest success stories over the past year in terms of academic technology...
 * Are your teachers and students doing anything interesting with wikis? If so, please describe...
 * What are some of your weaknesses in terms of academic technology as it relates to students? Strengths?
 * Are there any interesting long term plans that you either have in place or are considering for implementation?
 * If you have any advice for a school like ours that is about to introduce a public WiFi space to its constituents, what might that be?
 * Identify some of the literature we want to use

9/4/07
//Tech Coordinator Meeting// 3:30 Gregg’s Office
 * CARP Update:**
 * Reviewed where we're currently at. We discussed our progress and what we put together last year.
 * Current year project-some type of study of web 2.0 and how it might impact the curriculum here at USM.
 * Joe Kmoch visit-Friday, September 28th from 8:30-11:30 (Kristin will create an itinerary for Joe's visit).
 * We discussed potential school visits as part of the CARP process. We will all develop a list of schools that would be of interest for potential site visits.
 * //School visit and/or phone interview possibilities:// Maine Laptop Program-[|Middle Schools], [|Potomac School] (they just started a student laptop program last year), [|Stone Ridge School] in Bethesda, MD (it appears as though students in 8th-12th grade bring their own computers on campus to use during the day), [|National Cathedral School], [|Henrico (VA) County] 1 to 1 program, [|Conserve School] in NW Wisconsin
 * Upcoming LMAIS Meeting:**
 * Lunch: Kristin will take care of lunch arrangements
 * Manage agenda and put email out to group: Matt (//done-9-28-2007//)
 * Board room has been reserved all day
 * Do we want to do something different than the standard tour? Arrange visits to classrooms or bring in a teacher to talk to the group.Focus is on academic technology...
 * Sharing Between Divisions:**
 * Methods for sharing expertise between divisions...this is something that we should work on and improve over the course of the year.
 * Tabled for the next meeting**, which is on the 18th of September
 * If you could design the ideal classroom of the "future," what would it include??
 * BlackBaud registrar issues
 * Portal issues-we need to address how roster changes are entered into the system-there is alot that needs to happen when a student schedule changes, and I'm guessing that we are making mistakes during the process-is it possible to contract with whipple hill to take care of this for us?
 * Tech coordinator job description
 * Phase II needs
 * Mac Integration
 * Do we want to do the curriculum activity that Judy introduced at the ELC meeting and departments worked through during last Tuesday’s Dept meetings?
 * Discuss the proposal to focus on a web 2.0 project for the broad review

=07-08 Meeting Calendar= media type="googlecalendar" key="vv4n7m9r6ojdbopjrjctevltek%40group.calendar.google.com" width="833" height="614"

=Academic Technology Plan= How should we proceed?

Elements to include in plan:
 * Vision for use-what will it physically look like around here in 3-5 years? More and more labs, the same number of labs, fewer labs? What about personally owned computer devices??
 * What is the role of the computer lab 3-5 years down the road?? What is the role of the student owned computers 3-5 years out??
 * Tools? What are some of the hardware/software tools we'll be using??
 * Learning Management Systems: are we going to be using any teacher/student friendly e-Learning management solutions??
 * What would we like to see students doing with tools 3-5 years down the road?? The same type of stuff (eg-a little mutimedia, word processing, recipients of information)??

Technology vision "Mind Map." What do you think should happen with technology use here at USM in the next 3-5 years??
 * || **How Many Labs? How will they be used?** || **Role of WiFi?** || **Tools/Software** || **Teacher Role** || **Student Role** ||
 * **Matt** || 1-2 labs per division featuring multimedia authoring, music engineering, visual arts applications, and specialty foreign language software use. The role of the lab as we we're accustomed to now changes with the introduction, acceptance and maturation of the public WiFi system. || Most/all students in Middle and Upper Schools will bring some type of WiFi capable portable computing device to school. These devices gain in acceptance and are used during a good chunk of the school day. Low/no cost software is used on student computers, with most tools being accessible via web browser/Internet connection. || Students and teachers will use social networking and global collaboration software to a much greater extent. All students in grades 5-12 will maintain their own public space that they use to create a digital learning trail. Students in elementary school will use similar tools in a developmentally appropriate manner. Tools that extend the classroom experience beyond the school day and beyond the physical location of our school and country will proliferate. Less and less traditionally installed client applications are used by teachers and students (with the exception of the high powered lab machines, but even this will change!) A teacher and student centric learning management system should be incorporated. The learning management system allows for both teachers and students to be co-creators of content in building the virtual classroom experience. || Teachers are given time to explore and discover new and exciting ways to incorporate these new tools in the classroom. Teacher as facilitator. Teachers engage students in the use of these technologies by using the tools alongside the students. Ideally all teachers would maintain a blog. Technology continues to knock down the classroom walls and open up more and more opportunities for global collaboration. || Students become prosumers of information. They not only digest information, but they create it. After creating it, they share it and have others react to it. Students become much more aware of ethics and what it means to be a good digital citizen, as they're using tools in context and they are engaged in regular discussions on these issues. ||

=NAIS 2008 Proposal= February 27th-March 1st in New York City //Proposal to send USM Contingent to the Conference// //12-20-2007//
 * NAIS 2008** - Conference Theme: Schools of the Future: Embracing the Educational Renaissance

We're putting together a brief proposal to try to build a cross-divisional team from USM to attend the NAIS 2008 conference in NYC from February 28th to March 1st. We realized this is very late to consider such a proposal, but the benefits of getting a team together to attend the conference and collaboratively process the experience might be worth it. The conference centers around the theme of the 21st century classroom experience, which is something we're looking at carefully going forward.

Ideally it would be nice to have the following type of make-up from each division:

We ran some very preliminary numbers for sending a total of 9 people to the conference. It is not likely that we'll be able to get three people from each division to go, but I wanted to show the numbers on the high end. The preliminary budget is [|visible online here].
 * Leadership team (division head)
 * Academic leadership (either a dean or an interested faculty member)
 * Instructional technology leadership

The conference outline, workshops, and special speaker schedule may be [|perused here].

If this is deemed feasible, we should look at trying to finalize plans during the first week that we're back in January.

=January Parent Ed= On Tuesday, January 22nd PBS Frontline will be airing a piece titled, "Growing Up Online" at 8:00 PM CST, which we hope will provide a balanced look at some of the opportunities associated with social networking software. We will be hosting a live discussion and chat while the special is in progress. Participants in the discussion will include other parents from USM, instructional technology coordinators from each division, and potentially a few other parents and teachers from other independent schools in the US. If you'd like to participate, please email Matt Montagne at mmontagne@usmk12.org. Instructions for participating in the chat will be sent out on January 21st. We hope this will be a good forum for us to discuss "Growing Up Online" while it is airing.

Thank you very much,

Kristin Bayer, Matt Montagne, and Nikki Lucyk

Website: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/kidsonline/ In "Growing Up Online," FRONTLINE peers inside the world of this cyber-savvy generation through the eyes of teens and their parents, who often find themselves on opposite sides of a new digital divide. From cyber bullying to instant "Internet fame," to the specter of online sexual predators, FRONTLINE producer Rachel Dretzin investigates the risks, realities and misconceptions of teenage self-expression on the World Wide Web.
 * Growing Up Online Overview:**
 * From the Website:**