Consumer Ethics -- Considerations in a Global Market

Consumer Ethics Considerations in a Global Market Many people around the world work to consider consumer ethics and  make ethical consumer choices in their everyday lives. They do this in response to the troubling conditions that plague global supply chains and the human-made climate crisis. Approaching these issues from a sociological standpoint, we can see that our consumer choices matter because they have sweeping economic, social, environmental, and political implications that reach far beyond the context of our everyday lives. In this sense, what we choose to consume matters very much, and it is possible to be a conscientious, ethical consumer. However, is it necessarily this simple? When we broaden the critical lens through which we examine consumption, we see a more complicated picture. In this view, global capitalism and consumerism have created crises of ethics that make it very difficult to frame any form of consumption as ethical. Key Takeaways: Ethical Consumerism What we buy is often related to our cultural and educational capital, and consumption patterns can reinforce existing social hierarchies.One perspective suggests that consumerism may be at odds with ethical behavior, as consumerism seems to bring about a self-centered mentality.Although the choices we make as consumers do matter, a better strategy may be to strive for ethical citizenship rather than merely ethical consumption. Consumption and the Politics of Class At the center of this problem is that consumption is tangled up in the politics of class in some troubling ways. In his study of consumer culture in France, Pierre Bourdieu found that consumer habits tend to reflect the amount of cultural and educational capital one has and also the economic class position of one’s family. This would be a neutral outcome if the resulting consumer practices were not slotted into a hierarchy of tastes, with wealthy, formally educated people at the top, and the poor and not formally educated at the bottom. However, Bourdieu’s findings suggest that consumer habits both reflect and reproduce the class-based system of inequality that courses through industrial and post-industrial societies. As an example of how consumerism is tied to social class, think about the impression you might form of a person who frequents the opera, has a membership to an art museum, and enjoys collecting wine.  You probably imagined that this person is relatively wealthy and well-educated, even though these things weren’t explicitly stated. Another French sociologist, Jean Baudrillard, argued in For a Critique of the Political Economy of the Sign, that consumer goods have a â€Å"sign value† because they exist within the system of all goods. Within this system of goods/signs, the symbolic value of each good is determined primarily by how it is viewed in relation to others. So, cheap and knock-off goods exist in relation to mainstream and luxury goods, and business attire exists in relation to casual clothing and urban wear, for example. A hierarchy of goods, defined by quality, design, aesthetics, availability, and even ethics, begets a hierarchy of consumers. Those who can afford the goods at the top of the status pyramid are viewed in higher standing than their peers of lower economic classes and marginalized cultural backgrounds. You might be thinking, â€Å"So what? People buy what they can afford, and some people can afford more expensive things. What’s the big deal?† From a sociological standpoint, the big deal is the collection  of assumptions we make about people based on what they consume. Consider, for instance, how two hypothetical people might be perceived differently as they move through the world. A man in his sixties with clean cut hair, wearing a smart sport coat, pressed slacks and collared shirt, and a pair of shiny mahogany colored loafers drives a Mercedes sedan, frequents upscale bistros, and shops at fine stores like Neiman Marcus and Brooks Brothers. Those he encounters on a daily basis are likely to assume him smart, distinguished, accomplished, cultured, well-educated, and moneyed. He is likely to be treated with dignity and respect, unless he does something egregious to warrant otherwise. By contrast, a 17 year-old boy, wearing disheveled thrift store attire, drives his used truck to fast food restaurants and convenience stores, and shops at discount outlets and cheap  chain stores. It is likely that those he encounters will assume him to be poor and undereducated. He may experience disrespect and disregard on a daily basis, despite how he behaves toward others. Ethical Consumerism and Cultural Capital In a system of consumer signs, those who make the ethical choice to purchase fair trade, organic, locally grown, sweat-free, and sustainable goods are also often seen as morally superior to those who don’t know, or don’t care,  to make these kinds of purchases. In the landscape of consumer goods, being an ethical consumer awards one with heightened cultural capital and a higher social status in relation to other consumers. For example, buying a hybrid vehicle signals to others that one is concerned about environmental issues, and neighbors passing by the car in the driveway might even view the car’s owner more positively. However, someone who can’t afford to replace their 20-year-old car may care about the environment just as much, but they would be unable to demonstrate this through their patterns of consumption. A sociologist would then ask, if ethical consumption reproduces problematic hierarchies of class, race, and culture, then, how ethical is it? The Problem of Ethics in a Consumer Society Beyond the hierarchy of goods and people fostered by  consumerist culture, is it even possible to be an ethical consumer? According to Polish sociologist Zygmunt Bauman, a society of consumers thrives on and fuels rampant individualism and self-interest above all else. He argues that this stems from operating within a consumerist context in which we are obligated to consume to be the best, most desired and valued versions of ourselves. With time, this self-centered standpoint infuses all of our social relationships. In a society of consumers we are prone to be callous, selfish, and devoid of empathy and concern for others, and for the common good. Our lack of interest in the welfare of others is furthered by the waning of strong community ties in favor of fleeting, weak ties experienced only with others who share our consumer habits, like those we see at the cafà ©, the farmers market, or at a music festival. Rather than investing in communities and those within them, whether geographically rooted or otherwise, we instead operate as swarms, moving from one trend or event to the next. From a sociological standpoint, this signals a crisis of morals and ethics, because if we are not part of communities with others, we are unlikely to experience moral  solidarity with others around the shared values, beliefs, and practices that allow for cooperation and social stability. The research of Bourdieu, and the theoretical observations of Baudrillard and Bauman, raise the alarm in response to the idea that consumption can be ethical. While the choices we make as consumers do matter, practicing a truly ethical life requires going beyond just making different consumption patterns. For example, making ethical choices involves investing in strong community ties, working to be an ally to others in our community, and thinking critically and often beyond self-interest. It is difficult to do these things when navigating the world from the standpoint of a consumer. Rather, social, economic, and environmental justice follow from ethical  citizenship.

Operation Linebacker in the Vietnam War

Operation Linebacker in the Vietnam War Operation Linebacker took place from May 9 to October 23, 1972 during the Vietnam War (1955-1975). In March 1972, with the United States working to transfer responsibility for fighting on the ground to the South Vietnamese, the North Vietnamese launched a major offensive. With South Vietnamese forces under pressure and giving ground, Operation Linebacker was launched with the goal of slowing the enemy advance by striking transportation and logistical targets. These air attacks proved effective and by June, North Vietnamese units were reporting that only 30% of supplies were reaching the front. An effective campaign, Operation Linebacker helped halt the Easter Offensive and aided in restarting peace talks. Fast Facts: Operation Linebacker Conflict: Vietnam War (1955-1975)Dates: May 9 to October 23, 1972Force Commander:United StatesGeneral John W. Vogt, Jr.Seventh Air ForceTask Force 77Casualties:United States: 134 aircraft lost to all causes Background As Vietnamization progressed, American forces began handing off responsibility for fighting the North Vietnamese to the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN). In the wake of ARVN failures in 1971, the North Vietnamese government elected to move forward with conventional offensives the following year. Beginning in March 1972, the Easter Offensive saw the Peoples Army of Vietnam (PAVN) attack across the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) as well as east from Laos and south from Cambodia. In each case, PAVN forces made gains driving back the opposition. Debating the American Response Concerned about the situation, President Richard Nixon initially desired to order three days of B-52 Stratofortress strikes against Hanoi and Haiphong. In an effort to preserve the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks, National Security Advisor Dr. Henry Kissinger dissuaded Nixon from this approach as he believed it would escalate the situation and alienate the Soviet Union. Instead, Nixon moved forward with authorizing more limited strikes and directed that additional aircraft be dispatched to the region. As PAVN forces continued to make gains, Nixon elected to push forward with a large escalation of air attacks. This was due to both the deteriorating situation on the ground and the need to preserve American prestige prior to a summit meeting with Soviet Premier Leonid Brezhnev. To support the campaign, the US Seventh Air Force continued to receive additional aircraft, including large numbers of F-4 Phantom IIs and F-105 Thunderchiefs, while the US Navys Task Force 77 was increased to four carriers. On April 5, American aircraft began striking targets north of the 20th Parallel as part of Operation Freedom Train. A US Air Force F-4 Phantom II during the Vietnam War. Photograph Courtesy of the US Navy Freedom Train Pocket Money On April 10, the first large B-52 raid struck North Vietnam and hit targets around Vinh. Two days later, Nixon began allowing strikes against Hanoi and Haiphong. American air attacks largely focused on transportation and logistics targets, though Nixon, unlike his predecessor, delegated operational planning to his commanders in the field. On April 20, Kissinger met with Brezhnev in Moscow and convinced the Soviet leader to reduce military aid to North Vietnam. Unwilling to risk an improving relationship with Washington, Brezhnev also pressured Hanoi to negotiate with the Americans. This led to a meeting in Paris on May 2 between Kissinger and Hanois chief negotiator Le Duc Tho. Sensing victory, the North Vietnamese envoy was unwilling to deal and effectively insulted Kissinger. Angered by this meeting and the loss of Quang Tri City, Nixon further upped the ante and directed that the North Vietnamese coast by mined. Moving forward on May 8, US Navy aircraft penetrated Haiphong harbor as part of Operation Pocket Money. Laying mines, they withdrew and additional aircraft conducted similar missions over the next three days. F-105D Thunderchief. Photograph Courtesy of the US Air Force Striking at the North Though both the Soviets and Chinese frowned on the mining, they did not take active steps to protest it. With the North Vietnamese coast effectively closed to maritime traffic, Nixon ordered a new air interdiction campaign, dubbed Operation Linebacker, to commence. This was to focus on suppressing North Vietnamese air defenses as well as destroying marshaling yards, storage facilities, transshipment points, bridges, and rolling stock. Commencing on May 10, Linebacker saw Seventh Air Force and Task Force 77 conduct 414 sorties against enemy targets. In the wars single heaviest day of aerial combat, four MiG-21s and seven MiG-17s were downed in exchange for two F-4s. During the early days of the operation, the US Navys Lieutenant Randy Duke Cunningham and his radar intercept officer, Lieutenant (j.g.) William P. Driscoll, became the first American aces of the conflict when they downed a MiG-17 (their third kill of the day). Striking targets across North Vietnam, Operation Linebacker saw the first widespread use of precision-guided munitions. MiG-17. US Air Force This advance in technology aided American aircraft in dropping seventeen major bridges between the Chinese border and Haiphong in May. Switching to supply depots and petroleum storage facilities, the Linebacker attacks began to have a telling effect on the battlefield as PAVN forces saw a 70% drop in supplies through the end of June. The air attacks, coupled with increasing ARVN resolve saw the Easter Offensive slow and finally stop. Unhampered by the targeting restrictions that had plagued the earlier Operation Rolling Thunder, Linebacker saw American aircraft pound enemy targets into August. Aftermath With imports into North Vietnam down 35-50% and with PAVN forces stalled, Hanoi became willing to resume talks and make concessions. As a result, Nixon ordered bombing above the 20th Parallel to cease on October 23, effectively ending Operation Linebacker. In the course of the campaign, American forces lost 134 aircraft to all causes while downing 63 enemy fighters. Considered a success, Operation Linebacker was critical to halting the Easter Offensive and damaging PAVN forces. An effective interdiction campaign, it began a new era of aerial warfare with the mass introduction of precision-guided munitions. Despite Kissingers proclamation that Peace is at hand, American aircraft were compelled to return to North Vietnam in December. Flying Operation Linebacker II, they again struck targets in an attempt to force North Vietnamese to resume talks.

Memo Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 8

Memo - Essay Example o focuses on potential benefits of paying part of fee for the college attendance, for the students, to create a clear picture of the possible effects of the move on the students and the company. One of the benefits of the move to sponsor the students is the knowledge that they will gain and use in the organization. Even though the organization is a manufacturing company, it requires diversified competencies such as administrative potentials, human resource management potentials, budgeting and planning potentials and leadership skills. Having students attend the college will train them on the business and economics scopes that they can use in different sectors of the organization. Training students on cost accounting and managerial accounting, elements of the college’s accounting program, will for example facilitate efficiency in planning for organization’s resources and promote cost effectiveness towards lower production cost. Even though the company may spend significant amount of money on paying the students’ fee, the results, which is likely to culminate into higher profit margin, due to low production cost, may surpass the expenditure in the fee. Ef ficiencies may also emerge from improved competencies in human resource management and leadership that can motivate and empower students for greater potentials and productivity levels. Training some students on human resource management will facilitate an understanding of students’ attitudes and changes in attitudes for measures that can ensure favorable environment for students’ optimal output. Developing leadership potentials is will also help the trained students to facilitate the organizations’ objectives through empowering and influencing other students. Paying part of the students’ fee, in sponsoring them into the school, will also have general positive effects on their perception on the company, and commitment to the company. The move is likely to develop students’ perception that the

Measuring The Heat of Decomposition of Hydrogen Peroxide Lab Report

Measuring The Heat of Decomposition of Hydrogen Peroxide - Lab Report Example The objectives are threefold: to measure the temperature change of a HÂ ­2O2 solution as it decomposes, to measure the amount of heat absorbed by the calorimeter and finally to calculate the calorimeter constant and then use it to determine the enthalpy of decomposition. The Lab Quest unit was turned on and the temperature probe plugged in. A 150-mL beaker was wrapped in towel paper and then placed inside a 250-mL beaker. A piece of aluminium foil big enough to cover the top of the two beakers was cut. 25 mL of cold water was measured using a graduated cylinder and poured onto the 150-mL beaker.. 25 mL of hot water was measured into the graduated cylinder and the temperature measured. The temperature probe was placed into the cold water solution in the 150-mL beaker. The Lab Quest unit was then set up to begin recording the temperature by pressing the green button. 25 mL of the hot water was poured into the 150-mL beaker containing the cold water. The cup was then quickly covered with the aluminium foil. The cups were periodically swirled to ensure the contents mixed. Temperature recording was stopped once the temperature began to decline for several minutes. The used water was then poured into the sink. The recorded temperature and time data were entered into an Excel spreadsheet. The steps above were repeated twice and the average value calculated. 250 mL of HÂ ­2O2 was obtained. The temperature of the HÂ ­2O2 Â ­was measured and recorded as the initial temperature of the solution and calorimeter. The concentration of the HÂ ­2O2 was also recorded. 60 mL of 0.5M KI solution was obtained. 40 mL of the HÂ ­2O2 solution was measured into a graduated cylinder and the temperature probe plugged in. 10 mL of KI was measured into another graduated cylinder and then poured into the calorimeter and then quickly covered with an aluminium foil lid. The temperature probe was immediately inserted into the probe through a hole in the foil lid. The temperature recording

Stress - Inform Speech Essay Example for Free

Stress Inform Speech Essay First, I’ll talk about some of the reasons for stress. Although I’m sure that there are many everyone here probably has their own reasons, I’m going to stick to three main reasons that you can probably relate to. The first one is the amount of schoolwork. College can be so demanding due to such a heavy workload that we’re expected to keep up with. It’s so easy to get overwhelmed. We have projects, tests, papers, exams, midterms, finals, co-ops. Stress can easily build without a good strategy of tackling these assignments. A second reason is pressure to do well. Pressure to do well can come from within. That’s the inner drive, that inner motivation pushing you to succeed. Most here desire to do their best and to get good grades. The Methods of Healing website conducted research and found that 71 percent of college students say that their grades have a direct effect on their level of stress. Pressure to do well can also be external. That’s your family, your friends, your coaches, your teachers, your professors. Everybody who wants to see you succeed. Wanting to live up to the high expectations that they place on you can be pretty stressful. A third reason is change in environment. Now this may affect some of us more than others, depending on if you’re from Rochester or not, but going away to college means leaving behind everything that’s familiar. Your close family, they’re not with you. Your friends, they’re not with you. Some students have never been away from home which can be a difficult adjustment. Then, once you’re here at RIT there’s social acceptance, peer pressure–these are issues we may face since we’re in a new environment. Wanting to fit in can be a challenge and often is. Now, let’s recap the three reasons we talked about. First was the amount of schoolwork, second was pressure to succeed, and third was dealing with a new environment. Now that we know the three reasons, let’s examine some tips to help reduce the stress. There are five simple things we can do to manage our stress. I created an acronym to help me remember the tips. The word I’m using is relax: R-E-L-A-X. We’ll go over each letter one by one. The first letter, letter R, stands for Recognize. We have to recognize the source of our stress before we can address it. Once you realize why you’re stressed, why not keep a journal? Write down everything that you feel. Writing makes you feel more relieved and allows you to pinpoint any trends in your stress. The second letter, letter E, stands for Exercise. Incorporating exercise into your daily routine takes your mind off of problems you may have, and not to mention, it’s good for your body. So create a routine. Set aside time for exercise. Set aside time for classes–for studying, for homework, and then schedule in downtime for yourself. In the end you’ll feel less overwhelmed. The third letter, L, L stands for Let it go. Think about the stressful situation. Will it matter in five years? Will it matter in ten years? If it will matter, take a deep breath and address the stressful situation piece by piece and step by step. If it won’t matter in five years or ten years then let it go. Stressing over small things is tiring and unnecessary. The fourth letter, letter A stands for Attitude. When you talk about school do you say things like, â€Å"Ugh, I’m gonna fail,† or â€Å"That test was so hard I bombed it, I’m never gonna learn this material. † If you do that may sound pessimistic and doubtful. You can self-reflect and adjust your attitude. According to a 2005 Stress Management article, being optimistic and having a positive outlook has a direct connection with how we feel, even with how well we perform. Now the last letter is X. You’re probably wondering what word I came up with to start with this, so I cheated a little bit and it stands for eXtra sleep. All students need sleep for energy. Are you not getting enough? Go to the letter R–recognize why am I not getting enough sleep? Maybe it’s because you’re hanging out with your friends until two, three, four in the morning. Why not cut down that time? You can still hang out with them, just not as long. Maybe you’re not getting enough sleep because you have too much homework. You pull an all-nighter, cramming for an exam, up till 5AM. Why not make a better schedule? And then stick to that schedule. Don’t procrastinate. When you map out your time and you stick to a routine you’ll realize that you have enough time to get everything done, even sleep. In the end we’ll be less frustrated when we get the sleep we needed. Another interesting point that I found is that all stress is not bad. Distress is bad stress. That’s what we’ve been focusing on in this speech. But then there’s also good stress, that’s called eustress. Eustress comes from excitement or adrenaline. But, to focus on managing our negative stress let’s try to remember all of the tips and the word relax. R, recognize where the stress is coming from and address it. E, exercise daily. L, let go of minor problems, don’t worry about it. And A, adjust your attitude and be more positive. And X, get eXtra sleep. In conclusion, we cannot ignore the fact that stress occurs in our lives. Regardless of the reasons we have to manage it one way or another. Above all, from my speech I hope you take away useful tips to deal with your stress so that college is more enjoyable. Even if you can’t remember what each letter stands for, do just what the word says, and relax.

The Image Made in China in Manufacturing :: Chinese Trade Manufacturing Appliances Essays

The Image "Made in China" in Manufacturing In order to provide the Chinese home appliance manufacturers consortium with assistance in achieving their goal of improving the â€Å"Made in China† image, our first objective was to accurately define the perception of products that are â€Å"Made in China.† In particular, to determine whether or not â€Å"Made in China† has a negative connotation in the U.S. marketplace and if so, to better understand the contributing factors to this perception. First, we conducted secondary research consisting of a review of literature and statistical studies. The focus was on the broader topic of a product’s country-of-origin and its effect on the consumer purchase decision process. Second, we focused on the specific impact of â€Å"Made in China† on purchase behavior. Third, to gain further insight into the consumer perception of â€Å"Made in China† in the home appliances category, we conducted primary research in the form of consumer surveys, retailer interviews and secret shopper studies. Finally, we conducted secondary research on the actions that can be taken to overcome or change a negative country-of-origin image. Secondary Research Our secondary research identified several key themes, all of which support the hypothesis that a product’s country-of-origin plays a significant role in the purchase decision process. These findings are summarized below: Impact of Country-of-Origin (COO) On Consumer Perceptions and Purchase Decision-Making Process: A number of statistical studies have explored the effect of country-of-origin on consumers’ perceptions of products and how it influences the decision-making process. Studies by Heslop and Papadopoulous (1993, 2000) concluded that COO image is one of the most important influences on decision making for foreign-made products. These studies revealed that buyers evaluate COO using multiple criteria including the country’s level of advancement, the buyer’s feelings about the people of the country and the buyer’s desire to be more closely aligned with the country. In addition, a study by Liefeld and Wall (1987, 1991, 1993) found a positive relationship between product evaluation and the degree of economic development of the COO. Support of these finding was found in a study by Wang and Lamb (1983) in which it was determined that U.S. consumers evaluate products according to the country in which they are produced. Culture, political situation and economic develo pment of the source country were contributing factors to this evaluation criterion. Further support that COO plays an important role in shaping consumers’ attitudes towards products was found in studies by Hong and Wyer & Nooh, Sa’ari, and Powers (1989, 1999). The Image "Made in China" in Manufacturing :: Chinese Trade Manufacturing Appliances Essays The Image "Made in China" in Manufacturing In order to provide the Chinese home appliance manufacturers consortium with assistance in achieving their goal of improving the â€Å"Made in China† image, our first objective was to accurately define the perception of products that are â€Å"Made in China.† In particular, to determine whether or not â€Å"Made in China† has a negative connotation in the U.S. marketplace and if so, to better understand the contributing factors to this perception. First, we conducted secondary research consisting of a review of literature and statistical studies. The focus was on the broader topic of a product’s country-of-origin and its effect on the consumer purchase decision process. Second, we focused on the specific impact of â€Å"Made in China† on purchase behavior. Third, to gain further insight into the consumer perception of â€Å"Made in China† in the home appliances category, we conducted primary research in the form of consumer surveys, retailer interviews and secret shopper studies. Finally, we conducted secondary research on the actions that can be taken to overcome or change a negative country-of-origin image. Secondary Research Our secondary research identified several key themes, all of which support the hypothesis that a product’s country-of-origin plays a significant role in the purchase decision process. These findings are summarized below: Impact of Country-of-Origin (COO) On Consumer Perceptions and Purchase Decision-Making Process: A number of statistical studies have explored the effect of country-of-origin on consumers’ perceptions of products and how it influences the decision-making process. Studies by Heslop and Papadopoulous (1993, 2000) concluded that COO image is one of the most important influences on decision making for foreign-made products. These studies revealed that buyers evaluate COO using multiple criteria including the country’s level of advancement, the buyer’s feelings about the people of the country and the buyer’s desire to be more closely aligned with the country. In addition, a study by Liefeld and Wall (1987, 1991, 1993) found a positive relationship between product evaluation and the degree of economic development of the COO. Support of these finding was found in a study by Wang and Lamb (1983) in which it was determined that U.S. consumers evaluate products according to the country in which they are produced. Culture, political situation and economic develo pment of the source country were contributing factors to this evaluation criterion. Further support that COO plays an important role in shaping consumers’ attitudes towards products was found in studies by Hong and Wyer & Nooh, Sa’ari, and Powers (1989, 1999).

Impact of Technology Essay

Students in the early grades, from pre-K to grade 3, and in the middle school grades appear to benefit most from DES applications for reading instruction, as do students with special reading needs. In a 2000 study commissioned by the Software and Information Industry Association, Sivin-Kachala and Bialo (2000) reviewed 311 research studies on the effectiveness of technology on student achievement. Their findings revealed positive and consistent patterns when students were engaged in technology-rich environments, including significant gains and achievement in all subject areas, increased achievement in preschool through high school for both regular and special needs students, and improved attitudes toward learning and increased self-esteem. O’Dwyer, Russell, Bebell, and Tucker-Seeley (2005) found that, while controlling for both prior achievement and socioeconomic status, fourth-grade students who reported greater frequency of technology use at school to edit papers were likely to have higher total English/language arts test scores and higher writing scores on fourth grade test scores on the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) English/Language Arts test. Michigan’s Freedom to Learn (FTL) initiative, an effort to provide middle school students and teachers with access to wireless laptop computers, has been credited with improving grades, motivation and discipline in classrooms across the state, with one exemplary school seeing reading proficiency scores on the Michigan Education Assessment Program (MEAP) test, administered in January 2005, reportedly increasing from 29 percent to 41 percent for seventh graders and from 31 to 63 percent for eighth graders (eSchool News, 2005). In examining large-scale state and national studies, as well as some innovative smaller studies on newer educational technologies, Schacter (1999) found that students with access to any of a number of technologies (such as computer assisted instruction, integrated learning systems, simulations and software that teaches higher order thinking, collaborative networked technologies, or design and programming technologies) show positive gains in achievement on researcher constructed tests, standardized tests, and national tests. Cavanaugh’s synthesis (2001) of 19 experimental and quasi-experimental studies of the effectiveness of interactive distance education using videoconferencing and telecommunications for K-12 academic achievement found a small positive effect in favor of distance education and more positive effect sizes for interactive distance education programs that combine an individualized approach with traditional classroom instruction. Boster, Meyer, Roberto, ; Inge (2002) examined the integration of standards-based video clips into lessons developed by classroom teachers and found increases student achievement. The study of more than 1,400 elementary and middle school students in three Virginia school districts showed an average increase in learning for students exposed to the video clip application compared to students who received traditional instruction alone. Wenglinsky (1998) noted that for fourth- and eighth-graders technology has â€Å"positive benefits† on achievement as measured in NAEP’s mathematics test. Interestingly, Wenglinsky found that using computers to teach low order thinking skills, such as drill and practice, had a negative impact on academic achievement, while using computers to solve simulations saw their students’ math scores increase significantly. Hiebert (1999) raised a similar point. When students over-practice procedures before they understand them, they have more difficulty making sense of them later; however, they can learn new concepts and skills while they are solving problems. In a study that examined relationship between computer use and students’ science achievement based on data from a standardized assessment, Papanastasiou, Zemblyas, & Vrasidas (2003) found it is not the computer use itself that has a positive or negative effect on achievement of students, but the way in which computers are used. Researchers are also making progress on the more complicated task of investigating the impact of technology use on higher order thinking skills as measured through means other than standardized tests. They are examining students’ ability to understand complex phenomena, analyze and synthesize multiple sources of information, and build representations of their own knowledge. At the same time, some researchers are calling for newer standardized assessments that emphasize the ability to access, interpret, and synthesize information. Research indicates that computer technology can help support learning and is especially useful in developing the higher-order skills of critical thinking, analysis, and scientific inquiry â€Å"by engaging students in authentic, complex tasks within collaborative learning contexts† (Roschelle, Pea, Hoadley, Gordin ; Means, 2000; Means, et. al. , 1993). While research linking technology integration, inquiry-based teaching, and emphasis on problem solving with student achievement is emergent, some research exists that suggests a connection. In a 2001 study of Enhancing Missouri’s Instructional Networked Teaching Strategies (eMints) program, a statewide technology integration initiative, eMINTS students scored consistently higher on the Missouri Assessment Program (MAP) than non-eMINTS students, including eMINTS students classified as having special needs. The higher MAP results were found to be associated with the instructional practices (Evaluation Team Policy Brief, 2002). The eMINTS program provides teachers with professional development to help integrate technology so that they can use inquiry-based teaching and emphasize critical-thinking and problem-solving skills. The program has since expanded to not only Missouri schools and districts but also other states as well. Currently, 232 Missouri districts, 10 Utah districts, 56 Maine districts, 2 Nevada districts, and 1 Illinois district, representing 1,000 classrooms and 22,500 students now take advantage of the eMINTS program offerings. Test results continue to show that, on most state tests, students enrolled in eMINTS classrooms scored higher than students enrolled in non-eMINTS classrooms and that low-income and special education students in eMINTS classes generally score higher than their non-eMINTS peers (eMINTS, 2005). Results from other studies (Perez-Prado and Thirunarayanan 2002; Cooper 2001; Smith, Ferguson and Caris 2001) also suggest that students can benefit from technology-enhanced collaborative learning methods and the interactive learning process. Roschelle, Pea, Hoadley, Gordin, & Means (2000) identify four fundamental characteristics of how technology can enhance both what and how children learn in the classroom: (1) active engagement, (2) participation in groups, (3) frequent interaction and feedback, and (4) connections to real-world contexts. They also indicate that use of technology is more effective as a learning tool when embedded in a broader education reform movement that includes improvements in teacher training, curriculum, student assessment, and a school’s capacity for change. Back To Top FACTORS TO CONSIDER Inclusion: Reaching All Students A major concern of many educators with regard to educational technology is its potential to exclude those who may not have access to it, or may not be able to use it. Regardless of what research may indicate concerning positive effects of technology on student learning, technology will be of limited use in achieving the goals of NCLB if is not available to all students. Students at Risk. Research demonstrates that the challenge of helping teachers and students achieve ICT literacy, and the challenge of establishing frameworks for assessing their skills, is most acute in schools serving low-socioeconomic, minority students (Becker, 2000b; Becker ; Ravitz, 1997). While public debate about the digital divide centers on basic technology access, the gap is even wider when measured by the pedagogical practices associated with technology use in different schools. More than half (53%) of teachers in public schools who have computers use them or the Internet for instruction during class. But in schools whose students are from higher-income families, 61 percent of teachers with computers use them in class compared to 50 percent of those teaching in schools with lower-income students (Lenhart, Rainie ; Lewis, 2001). And as wired as many young people are, the same study that found 87 percent of young people use the Internet also found that 3 million remain without Internet access. Many of those without access come from financially disadvantaged backgrounds, and a disproportionate number are black (eSchool News, 2005a). Schools serving students living in poverty tend to use technology for more traditional memory-based and remedial activities, while schools serving wealthier communities are more likely to focus on communication and expression. A nationwide study examining the relationship between socioeconomic status and teaching practices around technology found that teaching in low-SES schools correlated most strongly with using technology for â€Å"reinforcement of skills† and â€Å"remediation of skills,† while teaching in higher-SES schools correlated most with â€Å"analyzing information† and â€Å"presenting information to an audience† (Becker, 2000b). At the same time, although less studied than other outcomes, demonstration efforts and anecdotal evidence suggest that teaching ICT literacy skills (specifically those related to multimedia literacy in Web, publishing and video production) can improve the economic prospects of at-risk youth by giving them marketable skills (Lau ; Lazarus, 2002). Back To Top Language Learners. Likewise, in teaching language learners, using technology has distinct advantages that relate not only to language education but preparing students for today’s information society. Computer technologies and the Internet are powerful tools for assisting language teaching because Web technology is a part of today’s social fabric, meaning language learners can now learn thorough writing e-mail and conducting online research (Wang, 2005). In Oregon secondary schools, wirelessly networked note taking is used to support Hispanic migrant students who speak English as a second language (ESL). As part of the InTime project, ESL students attend regular high school classes along with a bilingual, note-taking/mentoring partner. Note takers and students communicate using a collaborative word processing and graphics package on wirelessly networked laptop computers. During class presentations, ESL students can read their note taker’s translation of key words, allowing students to build both English and Spanish literacy skills as they advance academically (Knox and Anderson-Inman, 2001). Students with Disabilities. For several decades, the American educational system has taken a narrow view of special education, treating it as a mini-school within the school where teachers, largely cut off from the rest of the staff, faced a group of students with an incredibly wide range of abilities and disabilities and made the best of it. Today, that view of special education is giving way to a broader, more philosophical approach—an approach designed to weave inclusive practice s into the fabric of the whole-school environment. † (MOSAIC, 2000a). The shift in recognizing the needs of students with disabilities in relationship to their general education peers began with the 1997 amendments to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Before the law, many children with disabilities who were not in schools at all because schools had chosen to exclude them (MOSAIC, 2000b). IDEA clearly established that all students with disabilities have the right to public education. More than 6 million children with disabilities ages 3 to 21 years old are served in federally supported programs (Snyder & Tan, 2005). However, students with disabilities frequently experience insufficient access to and success in the general education curriculum. This is especially true for adolescent learners, even non-disabled students, who must cope with the emphasis on learning from text (Biancarosa & Snow, 2004; Kamil, 2003). Universal Design for Learning (UDL) takes advantage of the opportunity brought by rapidly evolving communication technologies to create flexible teaching methods and curriculum materials that can reach diverse learners and improve student access to the general education curriculum (Rose & Meyer, 2002). UDL assumes that students bring different needs and skills to the task of learning, and the learning environment should be designed to both accommodate, and make use of, these differences (Bowe 2000; Rose & Meyer, 2002). To promote improved access to the general curriculum for all learners, including learners with disabilities, Rose & Meyer (2002) have identified three key principles or guidelines for UDL: Presenting information in multiple formats and multiple media. Offering students with multiple ways to express and demonstrate what they have learned. Providing multiple entry points to engage student interest and motivate learning. For example, printed reading materials pose substantial challenges to the learning of students with disabilities (J. Zorfass: personal communication, October 2005). Technology can assist with such difficulties by enabling a shift from printed text to electronic text, which Anderson-Inman and Reinking (1998) assert can be modified, enhanced, programmed, linked, searched, collapsed, and collaborative. Text styles and font sizes can be modified as needed by readers with visual disabilities; read aloud by a computer-based text-to-speech translators; and integrated with illustrations, videos, and audio. Electronic text affords alternative formats for reading materials that can be customized to match learner needs, can be structured in ways that scaffold the learning process and expand both physical and cognitive access, and can foster new modes of expression through revision and multimedia (J. Zorfass: personal communication, October 2005). It represents one way that technology can support the achievement of students with disabilities. Technology also has a role to play in the testing of students with disabilities. A notable outgrowth of NCLB is the legislation’s mandatory requirement that states account for individual subgroups, which has further challenged schools and districts to acknowledge students with disabilities (McLaughlin, S Embler, K Nagle, 2004; Nagle, 2005). State academic content and achievement standards now define the goals of education for all students, and most students with disabilities are now expected to reach the same level of proficiency as their non-disabled peers. In order to ensure that disabilities do not prevent students from participating in standardized assessments, students with disabilities are entitled to take these tests in the same way as their peers, with accommodations, or with an alternate assessment (Thompson, Thurlow, ; Moore, 2003). These accommodations or alternatives must not alter the content standard being measured nor the achievement standard (McLaughlin, Embler ; Nagle, 2004). While technology can support such accommodations and alternatives, striking a balance between accommodation and standardization across all students’ testing experiences remains a subject of debate today (Murray, 2005). Back To Top Educational Technology and Data Driven Decision Making The effectiveness of educational technology on student learning depends not only on what outcomes are targeted and how the technology is integrated into instruction, but also on how teachers assess student performance in classrooms and adjust instruction accordingly. Technology offers teachers a broad range of tools to collect and analyze data, and richer sets of student data to guide instructional decisions. NCLB has prompted educators to think much more systematically about educational decision-making and the use of data to inform their decisions about everything from resource allocation to instructional practice. Schools are now expected to monitor their efforts to enable all students to achieve, and administrators and teachers are now expected to be prepared to use data to understand where students are academically and to establish â€Å"targeted, responsive, and flexible† ways to improve this academic standing (Mitchell, Lee, & Herman, 2000, p. 2). However, despite encouragement at the policy level, there is growing consensus that schools are not adequately prepared for the task of routinely thinking critically about the relationships between instructional practices and student outcomes (Confrey & Makar, 2005; Olsen, 2003; Hammerman & Rubin, 2002; Herman & Gribbons, 2001; Kearns & Harvey, 2000). Recent research conducted by EDC’s Center for Children and Technology has found that educators working at different levels of a school system have distinctive intuitive approaches to the process, despite the absence of systematic training in a particular approach to data-driven decision-making. For example, school administrators use high-stakes test data to allocate resources and plan professional development and other kinds of targeted intervention activities by identifying general patterns of performance, class-, grade-, and school-wide strengths and weaknesses. Teachers tend to use multiple sources of data—homework assignments, in-class tests, classroom performances, and experiential information—to inform their thinking about their students strengths and weaknesses (Brunner, Fasca, Heinze, Honey, Light, Mandinach ; Wexler, 2005; Light, Wexler ; Heinze, 2004; Honey, Brunner, Light, Kim, McDermott, Heinze, Bereiter ; Mandinach, 2002). While drawing on varied sources of data to form opinions about students’ competencies is not new behavior for teachers, significant research (Mandinach, Honey, Light, Heinze, & Rivas, 2005; Confrey & Makar, 2002, 2005; Hammerman, & Rubin, 2002, 2003) suggests that teachers examine factors that contribute to individual patterns of behavior and think case-by-case, rather than identify patterns in data at different levels of aggregation, from student-to-student, class-to-class, and year-to-year, and systematically analyze the relationship between student performance and instructional strategies and materials. Data literacy—the ability of instructional leaders and teachers to work individually and collectively to examine outcomes-based achievement data, formative assessment measures of student performance, and students’ work products, and to develop strategies for improvement based on these data—is now widely recognized as a critical strategy in the academic performance of schools (Fullan, 1999; Haycock, 2001; Johnson, 1996; Love, 2004; Schmoker, 1999; Zalles, 2005). A key concept of data literacy is generating only the data that are needed and making full use of what’s collected. The National Research Council (1996) notes that, â€Å"far too often, more educational data are collected and analyzed than are used to make decisions or take action† (p. 90). Those resources become meaningful to educators only when they are transformed into information, and ultimately into usable or actionable knowledge (Mandinach & Honey, 2005). Taken as a whole, the emerging research in this area suggests that what is needed is a comprehensive and purposeful approach to the use of data that not only informs the practices of individual teachers, but is supported as an essential and strategic part of school-wide improvement strategies. New professional development programs are now training teachers and school leaders in how to make use of data in systematic and rigorous ways to continuously improve student performance. For example, TERC has created Using Data, a professional development model that introduces teachers to a process through which they learn to frame questions, collect data, formulate hypotheses, draw conclusions, take action, and monitor results (Love, 2002). Preliminary studies have indicated that this model has had an impact on teacher classroom behavior and on their approach to data analysis and interpretation (Love, 2004), and has also improved student learning as indicated by state and formative assessments (Zuman, 2005). Results from external evaluations of the intervention conducted in various locations have shown substantial gains in student performance on state accountability measures in the areas of math and language arts. Technology has a vital role to play in enabling data-driven decision-making. Web-based test data reporting systems provide an interface to the state and city testing results by organizing raw data into information that is aligned with state standards and mobile computing devices, such as handhelds, provide teachers with a platform to administer and analyze the data of classroom-based assessments. For example, according to the 2004 Quality Education Data, 55 percent of the nation’s public school districts used PDAs or handheld PCs in the 2002-2003 school year with an additional 8 percent expected to purchase them for use during the 2003-2004 school year. The numbers released by Wireless Generation, a for-profit company that designs educational assessment applications for handheld devices, suggests an even greater increase. During the fall of 2005, Wireless estimates that roughly 80,000 teachers, working in 48 states will be using their software to collect and analyze data for up to one million students in pre-K through sixth grade. The company currently has contracts with ten Reading First states, as well as with some of the largest school districts in the nation, including the New York City Board of Education and Chicago Public Schools. While using PDAs to administer assessments and view data are becoming increasingly popular, few studies have examined the effect they have on teacher practice and student achievement (Brunner ; Honey, 2001; Hupert, Martin, Heinze, Kanaya, ; Perez, 2004; Sharp ; Risko, 2003; Sharp, 2004). Studies that have begun to examine this trend suggest that that these tools assist teachers in thinking more substantively about students’ progress. As a whole, the research indicates that the single most powerful affordance of the technology is its ability to support teachers in using assessments to acquire information about students’ thinking and learning, and to use the understanding gained to further shape their instructional practice (Brunner ; Honey, 2001; Hupert et al. , 2004; Sharp ; Risko, 2003). Such a strategy places assessment squarely in the center of the classroom where it can potentially count the most. Back To Top The Complex Nature of Change Another factor influencing the impact of technology on student achievement is that changes in classroom technologies correlate to changes in other educational factors as well. Originally the determination of student achievement was based on traditional methods of social scientific investigation: it asked whether there was a specific, causal relationship between one thing—technology—and another—student achievement. Because schools are complex social environments, however, it is impossible to change just one thing at a time (Glennan ; Melmed, 1996; Hawkins, Panush, ; Spielvogel, 1996; Newman, 1990). If a new technology is introduced into a classroom, other things also change. For example, teachers’ perceptions of their students’ capabilities can shift dramatically when technology is integrated into the classroom (Honey, Chang, Light, Moeller, in press). Also, teachers frequently find themselves acting more as coaches and less as lecturers (Henriquez ; Riconscente, 1998). Another example is that use of technology tends to foster collaboration among students, which in turn may have a positive effect on student achievement (Tinzmann, 1998). Because the technology becomes part of a complex network of changes, its impact cannot be reduced to a simple cause-and-effect model that would provide a definitive answer to how it has improved student achievement. Back To Top IMPLICATIONS These findings have implications for every district and school using or planning to use technology. Research on successfully developing, evaluating, studying, and implementing a wide range of technology-based educational programs suggests that the value of technology for students will not be realized unless attention is paid to several important considerations that support the effective use of technology (ISTE, 2002; Byrom ; Bingham, 2001; Chang, Henriquez, Honey, Light, Moeller, ; Ross, 1998; Cradler, 1997; Frederiksen ; White, 1997; Hawkins, Panush, ; Spielvogel, 1996; Honey, McMillan, Tsikalas, ; Light, 1996; National Foundation for the Improvement of Education, 1996; Pea ; Gomez, 1992). These considerations are: Specific educational goals and a vision of learning through technology Ongoing professional development Structural changes in the school day A robust technical infrastructure and technical support Ongoing evaluation Back To Top 1. Educational Goals and a Vision of Learning Through Technology Before technology is purchased or teachers participate in their first professional development session, the educational goals for students should be determined. What do students need to learn, and how can technology promote those learning goals? To answer these questions, the school can convene a technology planning team comprising administrators, teachers, other instructional staff, technology coordinators, students, parents, and representatives of the community. This team first develops a clear set of goals, expectations, and criteria for student learning based on national and state standards, the student population, and community concerns. Next, it determines the types of technology that will best support efforts to meet those goals. The viewpoints of parents and community members are helpful in presenting a broader perspective of skills that students need to succeed after school. In fact, communitywide involvement in determining the school’s technology goals benefits the entire educational process (Byrom & Bingham, 2001; Panel on Educational Technology, 1997). Rather than using technology for technology’s sake, the planning team ensures that particular educational objectives are achieved more efficiently, in more depth, or with more flexibility through technology. Cuban (cited in Trotter, 1998) states, â€Å"The obligation is for educators, practitioners, and educational policymakers to think about what they are after. Only with clear goals can educators be intelligent about how much they want to spend for what purpose and under what conditions. † If there is a clear understanding of the purpose of and type of technology used, evaluating the impact is easier and more valuable. According to Hawkins, Panush, and Spielvogel (1996) and Byrom ; Bingham (2001), school districts that successfully integrate technology show a clear and meaningful connection between technology and larger educational goals. Next, the planning team develops a vision of how technology can improve teaching and learning. Without a vision, lasting school improvement is almost impossible (Byrom ; Bingham, 2001). Team members come to consensus in answering the question How Will You Use Technology to Support Your Vision of Learning? Essential to this vision is an emphasis on meaningful, engaged learning with technology, in which students are actively involved in the learning process. Educational technology is less effective when the learning objectives are unclear and the focus of the technology use is diffuse (Schacter, 1999). The school’s vision of learning through technology also emphasizes the importance of all students having equitable access and use of technology—females, special-needs students, minority students, disadvantaged students, students at risk of educational failure, rural and inner-city students. All students need opportunities to use technology in meaningful, authentic tasks that develop higher-order thinking skills. (For further information, refer to the Critical Issue â€Å"Ensuring Equitable Use of Education Technology. ) Back To Top 2. Professional Development After the educational goals and vision of learning through technology have been determined, it is important to provide professional development to teachers to help them choose the most appropriate technologies and instructional strategies to meet these goals. Students cannot be expected to benefit from technology if their teachers are neither familiar nor comfortable with it. Teachers need to be supported in their efforts to use technology. The primary reason teachers do not use technology in their classrooms is a lack of experience with the technology (Wenglinsky, 1998; Rosen & Weil, 1995). Wenglinsky (cited in Archer, 1998) found that teachers who had received professional development with computers during the last five years were more likely to use computers in effective ways than those who had not participated in such training. Yet teacher induction programs too often focus narrowly on helping new teachers survive the initial year (Fulton, Yoon, & Lee, 2005). Ongoing professional development is necessary to help teachers learn not only how to use new technology but also how to provide meaningful instruction and activities using technology in the classroom (Ringstaff & Kelley, 2002). â€Å"Teachers must be offered training in using computers,† notes Sulla (1999), â€Å"but their training must go beyond that to the instructional strategies needed to infuse technological skills into the learning process. † In successful projects, teachers are provided with ongoing professional development on practical applications of technology. Teachers cannot be expected to learn how to use educational technology in their teaching after a one-time workshop. Teachers need in-depth, sustained assistance not only in the use of the technology but in their efforts to integrate technology into the curriculum (Kanaya & Light, 2005). Teachers also need embedded opportunities for professional learning and collaborating with colleagues in order to overcome the barrier of time and teachers’ daily schedules (The National Council of Staff Development, 2001; Kanaya ; Light, 2005). Skills training becomes peripheral to alternative forms of ongoing support that addresses a range of issues, including teachers’ changing practices and curricula, new technologies and other new resources, and changing assessment practices. This time spent ensuring that teachers are using technology to enrich their students’ learning experiences is an important piece in determining the value of technology to their students. According to Soloway (cited in Archer, 1998), teachers always have been the key to determining the impact of innovations, and this situation also is true of technology. Besides pedagogical support to help students use technology to reach learning goals, teachers also need time to become familiar with available products, software, and online resources. They also need time to discuss technology use with other teachers. â€Å"Transforming schools into 21st century learning communities means recognizing that teachers must become members of a growing network of shared expertise (Fulton, Yoon, Lee, 2005). † Professional collaboration includes communicating with educators in similar situations and others who have experience with technology (Panel on Educational Technology, 1997). This activity can be done in face-to-face meetings or by using technology such as e-mail or videoconferencing. The effects of introducing technology on teacher professionalization include increased collaboration among teachers within a school and increased interaction with external collaborators and resources. Back To Top 3. Structural Changes in the School Day It is important to build time into the daily schedule allowing teachers time to collaborate and to work with their students. Engaged learning through technology is best supported by changes in the structure of the school day, including longer class periods and more allowance for team teaching and interdisciplinary work. For example, when students are working on long-term research projects for which they are making use of online resources (such as artwork, scientific data sets, or historical documents), they may need more than a daily 30- or 40-minute period to find, explore, and synthesize these materials for their research. As schools continue to acquire more technology for student use and as teachers are able to find more ways to incorporate technology into their instruction, the problem will no longer be not enough computers but not enough time (Becker, 1994). Back To Top 4. Technical Infrastructure and Support Increased use of technology in the school requires a robust technical infrastructure and adequate technical support. If teachers are working with a technology infrastructure that realistically cannot support the work they are trying to do, they will become frustrated. School districts have a responsibility to create not only nominal access to computers and electronic networks but access that is robust enough to support the kinds of use that can make a real difference in the classroom. Teachers also must have access to on-site technical support personnel who are responsible for troubleshooting and assistance after the technology and lessons are in place. Back To Top 5. Evaluation Ongoing evaluation of technology applications and student achievement, based on the overall educational goals that were decided on, helps to ensure that he technology is appropriate, adaptable, and useful. Such evaluation also facilitates change if learning goals are not being met. Administrators can acknowledge and recognize incremental improvements in student outcomes as well as changes in teachers’ curricula and practices. Gradual progress, rather than sudden transformation, is more likely to result in long-term change. Baker (1999) emphasizes that besides being a means to collect, interpret, and document findings, evaluation is a planning tool that should be considered at the beginning of any technology innovation. She adds that the overall focus of evaluation is student learning. Heinecke, Blasi, Milman, and Washington (1999) note that multiple quantitative and qualitative evaluation measures may be necessary to document student learning outcomes. To ensure that evaluation procedures are adequately designed and carried out, administrators and teachers may wish to consult evaluation sources such as An Educator’s Guide to Evaluating the Use of Technology in Schools and Classrooms. All of these issues are important in using technology to improve student achievement. Educational technology is not, and never will be, transformative on its own. But when decisions are made strategically with these factors in mind, technology can play a critical role in creating new circumstances and opportunities for learning that can be rich and exciting. â€Å"At its best, technology can facilitate deep exploration and integration of information, high-level thinking, and profound engagement by allowing students to design, explore, experiment, access information, and model complex phenomena,† note Goldman, Cole, and Syer (1999). These new circumstances and opportunities—not the technology on its own—can have a direct and meaningful impact on student achievement. When educators use the accumulating knowledge regarding the circumstances under which technology supports the broad definition of student achievement, they will be able to make informed choices about what technologies will best meet the particular needs of specific schools or districts. They also will be able to ensure that teachers, parents, students, and community members nderstand what role technology is playing in a school or district and how its impact is being evaluated. Finally, they will be able to justify the investments made in technology. To help states, school districts, and school personnel plan ways to measure the impact that technology is having on classroom practices and academic achievement, Dirr (2004) in partnership with the Appalachian Technology in Education Consortium and the Mid-Atlantic Regional Technology in Edu cation Consortium, identified the following evaluation strategies: Encourage SEAs and LEAs to set aside 10 percent to 15 percent of funds to evaluate their technology grants. Provide a model comprehensive plan for states and districts to consider as they design their own evaluation plans to include a statement of purpose, identifies clear objectives, demonstrates valid approaches to research design, and specifies appropriate time frames for analysis and reporting. Support efforts to develop shared instruments and sets of common data elements. Develop a database of â€Å"best practices† for technology programs and applications that have shown to support student achievement in scientifically based research studies. Develop a list of highly qualified researchers and evaluators from whom SEAs and LEAs can obtain guidance. Explore the development of validated instruments that could be shared across states. Back To Top ACTION OPTIONS: Administrators, the technology planning team, and teachers can take the following steps to improve student achievement through technology. Administrators and the Planning Team (comprising teacher representatives, technology coordinator, students, parents, and interested community members): Review a range of national and state educational standards for student learning (such as those listed in Developing Educational Standards). Seek out content standards that articulate the goals for students to achieve. Determine key aspects of national and state student learning standards for the school or district to focus on as educational goals. Involve teachers in this process to ensure that their expertise and opinions are considered. Charge cross-disciplinary groups of teachers and technology coordinators with finding new ways that technology can help students to achieve those learning goals. Collaborate to create a technology plan for the school. (Refer to the Critical Issue â€Å"Developing a School or District Technology Plan. â€Å") Set one-, three-, and five-year goals for improving student learning through technology. Identify specific curricula, practices, skills, attitudes, and policies that can be enhanced through the use of technology to foster significant improvement in the character and quality of student learning. For example, if the district is interested in improving students’ writing performance, word processing with an emphasis on revision and editing should become a salient part of the curriculum across disciplines. ) Identify classrooms in the district where students are already producing exemplary work using technology; or visit virtual classrooms by viewing CD-ROMs (such as the Capt ured Wisdom CD-ROM Library produced by the North Central Regional Technology in Education Consortium), videotapes of echnology use in schools (such as the Learning With Technology videotapes), or Internet sites relating to technology integration in content areas (such as lessons using the Amazing Picture Machine and the Handbook of Engaged Learning Projects). Build a database or other resource that allows the school to share these best practices with school staff and the community in general. Be aware of state technology plans, district technology plans, and related policies. Ensure that the school is in compliance. Become familiar with factors that affect the effective use of technology for teaching and learning. Learn about research studies conducted in real school settings that describe how technology use is influenced by teachers’ experience with technology, adequacy of release time, professional development opportunities, and length of class periods. Ensure that teachers are aware of the value of technology for all students, especially those considered at risk of educational failure. (Refer to the Critical Issue â€Å"Using Technology to Enhance Engaged Learning for At-Risk Students. â€Å") Ensure that all students have equitable access to effective uses of technology. Develop strategies for addressing access inequities, strategies for addressing type-of-use inequities, and strategies for addressing curriculum inequities. Provide ongoing, extensive, and research-based professional development opportunities and technical support to help teachers use technology to develop meaningful instructional strategies for students. (Refer to the Critical Issues â€Å"Realizing New Learning for All Students Through Professional Development† and â€Å"Finding Time for Professional Development. ) Ensure that new, research-based approaches to professional development are consistent with the National Staff Development Council (NSDC) standards for staff development. Provide incentives, structures, and time for teachers to participate in highly effective staff development (such as study groups and action research) to help them integrate technology into their teaching and learning. Find ways to make appropriate structural changes in the school day and class scheduling to support engaged learning with technology. Consider block scheduling as a possibility. Educate parents about new assessment methods that enable teachers and administrators to make judgments about the effectiveness of technology in supporting student learning. Use appropriate evaluation procedures and tools to determine the impact of technology use on student achievement based on the learning goals that were set. Consult evaluation sources such as An Educator’s Guide to Evaluating the Use of Technology in Schools and Classrooms. Share findings with the community. Teachers: Determine the purpose of using technology in the classroom, as determined by the specified educational goals. Is it used to support inquiry, enhance communication, extend access to resources, guide students to analyze and visualize data, enable product development, or encourage expression of ideas? After the purpose is determined, select the appropriate technology and develop the curricula. Create a plan for evaluating students’ work and assessing the impact of the technology. Coordinate technology implementation efforts with core learning goals, such as improving students’ writing skills, reading comprehension, mathematical reasoning, and problem-solving skills. Collaborate with colleagues to design curricula that involve students in meaningful learning activities in which technology is used for research, data analysis, synthesis, and communication. Promote the use of learning circles, which offer opportunities for students to exchange ideas with other students, teachers, and professionals across the world. Encourage students to broaden their horizons with technology by means of global connections, electronic visualization, electronic field trips, and online research and publishing. Ensure that students have equitable access to various technologies (such as presentation software, video production, Web page production, word processing, modeling software, and desktop publishing software) to produce projects that demonstrate what they have learned in particular areas of the curriculum. Encourage students to collaborate on projects and to use peer assessment to critique each other’s work. In addition to standardized tests, use alternative assessment strategies that are based on students’ performance of authentic tasks. One strategy is to help students develop electronic portfolios of their work to be used for assessment purposes. Ensure that technology-rich student products can be evaluated directly in relation to the goals for student outcomes, rather than according to students’ level of skill with the technology. Create opportunities for students to share their work publicly–through performances, public service, open houses, science fairs, and videos. Use these occasions to inform parents and community members of the kinds of learning outcomes the school is providing for students. Learn how various technologies are used today in the world of work, and help students see the value of technology applications. (Pertinent online information can be found in the 1998-99 Occupational Outlook Handbook and the Bureau of Labor Statistics Career Information. ) Participate in professional development activities to gain experience with various types of educational technology and learn how to integrate this technology into the curriculum. Use technology (such as an e-mail list) to connect with other teachers outside the school or district and compare successful strategies for teaching with technology.

The Battle of Fort Necessity

The Battle of Fort necessity, also know as the Battle of The Great Meadows, is considered the flashpoint of the French and Indian War that started on the morning of July3, 1754. The battle between British and French forces and their respective Indian allies, took place 65 miles north of Fort Duquesne (located at the forks of the Ohio River) in the Ohio River Valley in present day Pennsylvania (Purvis 143).Most notably the commander of the British Colonial forces was a 23 year old, Virginia military officer, by the name of Lieutenant Colonel George Washington who initially had been sent into the area with 200 men to assist with and protect the construction of a British fort at the forks of the Ohio. On April 20, 1754 news arrived that the French had already seized the fort and renamed it Fort Duquesne.(Marston 11,12). Washington began construction of Fort Necessity on 24 May after receiving intelligence that a party of French troops were moving against him (Marston 12). On 27 and 28 M ay, Washington took 40 militia soldiers and with the aid of his Indian ally, Half king of the Iroquois Confederacy, ambushed the French party killing 10 of their number, including their commander Joseph Coulon de Villiers (North 72).Washington knew that a strong French attack was imminent and retired to Fort Necessity to make preparations. With the arrival of Captains Lewis and Mackay and about 100 regular British soldiers a 2 few days before the battle brought the number of the garrison of Fort Necessity to around 400 men (Axelrod 216). On the morning of 3 July, 900 French and Indians, under the command of, Louis Coulon de Villiers (Joseph Coulon de Villiers brother), surrounded and attacked the fort.Washington had misjudged the distance from the wooden palisade his men had constructed to the wood line making their positions within musket range as well as having dug their entrenchments too shallow, to only about a depth of 5 feet. To make matters worse, it had begun to rain water l ogging the British trenches and fouling their muskets. After nine hours of fighting, with their supplies depleted and suffering not only losses under fire, but a considerable number of desertions, Washington accepted the inevitable and surrendered to the French (Marston 13).It would be the only surrender of his military career. 3 Works Cited Axelrod, Alan. Blooding at Great Meadows: Young Georg Washington and the Battle that Shaped the Man. Philadelphia: Running Press, 2007. Marston, Daniel. The French-Indian War, 1654-1760. London: Taylor and Francis, 2003 North, Sterling. George Washington: Frontier Colonel. New York: Sterling Publishing Co, 2006 Purvis, Thomas L. A Dictionary of American History. Hoboken, NJ: Blackwell Publishing, 1997

The Hobbit and Bilbo Essay

The Hobbit and Bilbo Essay The Hobbit and Bilbo Essay Book Report: The Hobbit The Hobbit is a book written by J.R.R. Tolkien, there were many different publishers and dates of publication, and they are: * George Allen and Unwin 1937- Great Britain. * Second Edition 1951- Great Britain. * Third Edition 1966- Great Britain. * Fourth Edition 1978- Great Britain. * Fifth Edition – Harper Collins Publishers (London, England) – (Edition that I am reading). Plot: Bilbo, a simple hobbit is smoking his pipe when all of a sudden he is visited by an old acquaintance, Gandalf the Wizard. Gandalf asks Bilbo to go on a dangerous but exiting adventure with him. As hobbits don’t really go on adventures Bilbo was confused and asked Gandalf to come back the next day. The next day came and Bilbo heard a knock at his door, he thought it was Gandalf but 13 dwarves came one by one knocking at his door before Gandalf finally came to his doorstep. The dwarves started eating and speaking of their upcoming journey to the Lonely Mountains. Long ago, there was a dragon named Smaug, he was an evil, blood drenching, and fire breathing scum of a dragon. One day Smaug chased away the dwarf’s forefathers from the Lonely Mountains, their King at that time was Thorin Oakenshields father. Thorin wanted to regain his father’s throne and all the wealthy possessions that lie in the mountain that Smaug had made a bed for. The dwarves and Gandalf want Bilbo to come along with them and to be their burglar, as Hobbits are known to be sneaky and very quiet when they have to. After some agreements on their upcoming adventure and a few captivating songs the dwarves leave for the night so they can get an early start. The next morning, Bilbo is woken up and hurried by Gandalf to join up with his fellow companions. They then begin their long and dangerous journey. Not long before they left Bilbo all of a sudden realised that he has never gone further from his home town of Hobbiton ever before. A few days later Gandalf disappea rs and does not come back for a while, this happens quite a few times throughout the book. Bilbo encountered a lot of danger, on one occasion he was faced with stealing from some trolls but was caught. This led to the rest of the group being captured. Gandalf returned in time to rescue them and defeated the trolls. The group went along and travelled to a magical, peaceful and beautiful place called Rivendell. They stayed there for a while to freshen up the supplies. After meeting Elrond who is the head of Rivendell and retrieving a map to help them on their journey, they leave and enter the mountains. The group’s path is very hard and dangerous. One day when taking shelter in a cave, they are grabbed by Goblins, except for Gandalf who disappeared. In the Great Hall of the Goblins, Gandalf reappears and kills the chief Goblin and rescues the dwarves. The group flees but Bilbo drops and is knocked out into the darkness. When he woke up, Bilbo came across a magical ring and while trying to find a way out of this dark and dreadful cave, he comes across a creature named Gollum. After talking about riddles and if Gollum was going to eat Bilbo, Bilbo escapes by putting on the ring, as the ring makes the wearer invisible, and this is also how he got past all the goblins without being noticed. After re-joining the group they encounter wolves and are forced to climb trees so they aren’t attacked. Fighting them wasn’t a choice as many goblins came afterwards. Giant eagles saw what was going on came and rescued the group. The eagles took the group to a dark forest named Mirkwood. There they stay with a man named Beorn who helps them by providing them with supplies. When they enter the forest they leave the ponies behind and Gandalf does not go along either. The forest is terrible. One day one dwarf falls into a stream that made him fall asleep which made the rest of the dwarves carry him through the forest. When nearing the end of their food and supplies they are attacked by giant

Thesis Ideas

Thesis Ideas Thesis Ideas Thesis Ideas One of the best ways to learn about writing is to start write, to re-read and to edit your work in accordance to the required style and specified thesis format. Sometimes, a supervisor can seem to be a real pest in exhorting students to 'write it down'. But this is often the best advice. Start by writing your thesis ideas down, and ask yourself whether there is a logical flow of ideas in your writing. There is something about transferring knowledge or information from its mental repository or from some conceptual domain on to a page that tends to clarify thought and build coherence. We think a couple of basic tools are needed: an open mind; a dictionary; a thesaurus and/or style guide. If you possess these, you are in a good position to gather thesis ideas! Thesis Dissertation Writing Your writing will determine whether people understand what you have to say, and whether they agree with it and remember your conclusions. This brings us to the hard reality of who you are writing your thesis for. If you think huge hoards of fellow scholars are going to fall over themselves to borrow your thesis from a library - forget it! In reality, very few people will read your thesis, but many more will (you hope) read subsequent articles, chapters and/or even book derived from your thesis ideas. Your thesis will usually be read only by your supervisor and your examiners. The examiners, your most important audience, are also likely to read the thesis in a short period of time. Thesis Writing Consider this analogy: writing a chapter is like watching the news on television. You turn on the evening news, and what do they tell you? The answer is simple: they tell you the headlines, then they tell the news in detail, then they sum up the highlights. Formal academic writing is much the same: the entire thesis and each chapter should contain some form of introduction, a body and a conclusion. The main ideas or arguments should be captured within the introduction in order to focus the reader's attention on the main theme and motivate them to continue reading. The various sections comprising the body of your project should then continue in a logical format. The conclusion should summarize what has been written in the thesis, and link this summary with the original argument outlined in the introduction. There should always be a coherent, logical and consistent thread woven through each section, through each chapter and throughout the thesis. offers you an opportunity to order professional thesis writing assistance.   We will help you thesis ideas, writing, and editing. Do not miss this chance to ease your academic struggles!

Organizational Promotion Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Organizational Promotion - Assignment Example Selection of staff for promotion is about selecting the right person for a higher job and it's a two-way process of companies to invite knowledgeable and talent applicant to enjoy higher designation within the firm. Before the actual interview process, short-listing is used for filtering for the right candidates to be promoted to higher positions. Then the suitable candidates can be selected through these techniques. Some of the more popular selection techniques are the interviews, tests, and assessment centre. By far interviewing is the most commonly used as a promotional selection tool. There are two structured interview techniques are behavioural and situational interview. During interview, the candidate can demonstrate their ability and present their expertise to the interviewers. The interviewers can make assessment by comparing the performance of each interviewee and promote the suitable candidate for particular position. The selection process at different stages of the enterprise is different; therefore, during the interview, the interviews can setup the assessment criteria to meet their need based on the requirements. Internal promotion process may generate a large number of applicants for vacant higher positions, especially when an open rather than a closed recruitment system is used. Initial assessment methods are used to screen out internal applicants who do not meet the minimum qualifications needed to become a candidate for a position. Types of Initial assessment methods are skills inventory, which uses existing data on employee skills that may be found in organizational files. Peer assessments, which are used to evaluate the promotabilitiy of an internal applicant. Self-assessment is when job incumbents can be asked to evaluate their own skills as the basis for determining promo ability. Managerial sponsorship involves senior management identifying and developing the profiles of those individuals at lower levels in the organization. The last type of initial assessment is informal discussion/recommendations, which is when not all promotion decisions are made on the basis of formal HR policy, and procedures, which can be questioned in terms of their relevance to actual job performance. Substantive Assessments Substantive assessments are used to narrow the internal applicant pool down to finalists. Some types of substantive methods include seniority and experience, which are among the most prevalent methods of internal selection. Job knowledge tests which measure one's mastery of the concepts needed to perform certain work which is usually measured with a paper and pencil test that is based on the job content. Performance appraisals, which capture both ability and motivation, which offers a complete, look at a person's job qualifications. Promotional Rating Promotability Ratings may be done at the same time as performance appraisals are useful for both recruiting and selection activities discussing what is needed to be promoted during performance appraisals can encourage employee development of new skills. Assessment Centres, which is a collection of predictors, used to forecast

Feasibility study of setting up a business Assignment

Feasibility study of setting up a business - Assignment Example The primary objective of this study is to find out if it is feasible to set up a fitness/gym shop. Secondary Objectives: The secondary objectives are mainly research, analyses and evaluations. The following types of research will be undertaken: Research into the local economy. Household incomes, unemployment rates as well as demographics within the local area have a significant influence on the success of the proposed business. Finding out and analysing those figures will be necessary to evaluate as accurately as possible. Primary Research into the target market. This is a vital part of the whole study, as it will tell about consumer needs and wants. It will reveal whether there is an interest in such a shop and hence be helpful in order to decide if setting this business up will be feasible. Analysis of primary research. The findings of the different types of research will provide this study with an overview of the demand of the proposed business. However, financial limitations will lead to outcomes that are not completely reliable. Therefore it is necessary to justify the conclusions made. Research into the market. Analysing this market will be of use to decide on which strategy is most appropriate. Assessing the competition the proposed business is going to face will help to adopt suitable marketing strategies. Spending habits as well as holes in the market will hopefully be spotted. Analysis of secondary research. The secondary research gathered will be vital in order to create a marketing plan. The findings about competition and demographics will reveal where it is most suitable to set up the shop. Investment Appraisal. In order to decide where to locate the proposed shop an investment appraisal will be carried out. Qualitative factors are going to be... The result of the first part of the survey reveals a lot. It shows that those who buy supplements purchase them on the Internet, which concludes that there is no or hardly any competition in the area. The result that 99% would like to get consultation in that area explains why there are only 20% buying those products. There is a lack of knowledge about supplements like why it should be taken, by whom, when and how much. From the result that 96% of those buying these products get it from the Internet it can be concluded that they received little if any consultation. As the intention is to employ staff with knowledge about nutrition this can be seen as a good selling point. The 4% who buy supplements elsewhere got them from the fitness centre they are member of. However, those studios are very limited because you need a nutritionist’s degree to sell them.