EETT Federal Update

On July 17, 2007 the House passed the Labor, HHS and Education Appropriations for FY08 by a vote of 276-140, approximately 14 votes shy of the number needed to override a likely Presidential veto. EETT remains are $272 millison in this version. The Senate will not move its version of this bill until after August, possibly not until October.

Free Videos from C-SPAN

Access to C-SPAN Classroom's fully searchable database of C-SPAN video clips. Search by keyword, speaker, or topic area for immediately usable clips of C-SPAN's primary source programming, with many available for download. To register; http://www.c-spanclassroom.org/Registration.aspx.

ATTAIN possible replacement for EETT

A new bill introduced into the U.S. House of Representatives, called The Achievement Through Technology and Innovation Act of 2007(ATTAIN), aims to make significant improvements to the federal Enhancing Education Through Technology (EETT) block-grant program. Backed by SETDA, CoSN, and ISTE, the bill would increase the size of formula grants, target funding more effectively to schools in need of improvement, and specify that a higher percentage of funds be used for sustained professional development, among other changes.

The New NETS*S are Here!

The new National Education Technology Standards for Students (NETS*S) have been released. They're available in both English and Spanish. Take some time and read them over...you'll notice that productivity skills, certainly the easiest to teach and measure, have been given the least prominence. Think about whether you would like Connecticut to adopt the standards as is or should we modify them. I'll see you in the fall at your local RESC tech council meeting and will look forward to your thoughts.