At La Crescent-Hokah Public Schools in southeast Minnesota, we decided we wanted more of a buy-in to putting to good use whatever hardware was purchased. After researching other programs in our area, we gave birth to Educational Technology through Integration and Collaboration (ENTIC) in 2007. A Committment to TechnologyAs with so many other districts around the country, our budget is limited. Equipping every classroom in the district is not an option. So teachers are allowed to apply to become ENTIC participants only ater they work out a budget for the following year and explain how they intend to use the requested equipment in their rooms. We do not make everyone fit one mold: Each teacher decides what hardware would work the best with his or her age group, content, and student population. Of course, there is a financial limit to what one teacher is allowed to receive. Applicants are asked to describe their experience with collaboration with other teachers in the district. A rubric is used to score the applicants to make decisions in an unbiased manner. The scoring team goes over the applications and decides, based on budget constraints, how many teachers will be brought into the next round of ENTIC. Some consideration is given to keeping the technology distribution equitable from department to department throughout the district. Being accepted into the program means the teacher is agreeing to a two-year commitment to work with the integration specialist. The first year requirements are: 15 hours of integration training outside the contract day, including orientation to the equipment, any other technology training (usually provided by the integration specialist and paid at a rate of $17.50 per hour), preparation and delivery of a 15-minute presentation to a group showing how equipment is used in the classroom, and six hours of lesson preparation outside the contract day; Complete ethics training provided in the district; Complete a pre-survey, post-survey, and reflection form; Work with the integration specialist on a regular basis involving classroom observations and reflections; Integrate new technology into teaching and student learning; Create an implementation plan for the second year to involve district student technology standards; Develop a teacher Web site using the framework provided by the district; and Be responsible for the care and security of the equipment. With this list of expectations, it is apparent the teacher must have a commitment before applying to the program. For year 2, the teacher works with the integration specialist to implement technology into the hands of the students on a more in-depth scale. Each teacher choses two goals from Minnesota's State Technology Standards for students based on the NETS standards. If needed, the integration specialist will team teach with the ENTIC teacher. The mentor relationship continues through the second year ending with a final survey of how the teacher's skill in technology has increased.

A Committment to TechnologyAs with so many other districts around the country, our budget is limited. Equipping every classroom in the district is not an option. So teachers are allowed to apply to become ENTIC participants only ater they work out a budget for the following year and explain how they intend to use the requested equipment in their rooms. We do not make everyone fit one mold: Each teacher decides what hardware would work the best with his or her age group, content, and student population. Of course, there is a financial limit to what one teacher is allowed to receive. Applicants are asked to describe their experience with collaboration with other teachers in the district. A rubric is used to score the applicants to make decisions in an unbiased manner. The scoring team goes over the applications and decides, based on budget constraints, how many teachers will be brought into the next round of ENTIC. Some consideration is given to keeping the technology distribution equitable from department to department throughout the district. Being accepted into the program means the teacher is agreeing to a two-year commitment to work with the integration specialist. The first year requirements are: 15 hours of integration training outside the contract day, including orientation to the equipment, any other technology training (usually provided by the integration specialist and paid at a rate of $17.50 per hour), preparation and delivery of a 15-minute presentation to a group showing how equipment is used in the classroom, and six hours of lesson preparation outside the contract day; Complete ethics training provided in the district; Complete a pre-survey, post-survey, and reflection form; Work with the integration specialist on a regular basis involving classroom observations and reflections; Integrate new technology into teaching and student learning; Create an implementation plan for the second year to involve district student technology standards; Develop a teacher Web site using the framework provided by the district; and Be responsible for the care and security of the equipment.

1. Visualize Texts Tech Tools: Wordle, Tagxedo or The New York Times Visualization Lab Wordle is a fun tool for playing with language and making meaning from texts. (And it’s quite safe for classroom use.) This self-described “toy” allows students to analyze word frequency in any text, from a poem to a science book chapter, by simply copying and pasting “a bunch of text” into the box on the top of this page. Click on “go” and you’ll get a snapshot of the most common words in that text as shown by size. (The most frequently appearing words appear larger.) For example, looking at a word cloud for Act 1, Scene 5 of Shakespeare’s “Hamlet” might illuminate the major characters, themes and issues of that part of the play, and/or the writer’s style and diction. And Wordle can be used for expository and nonfiction texts too (even crossword puzzles!). Visualizations of New York Times articles can help highlight key vocabulary, content and concepts. For instance, students could create a Wordle using three articles on the recession to try to identify key terms they should learn more about. Examining word clouds can not only provide new vantage points for literary and language scholars, but also help English-language learners, and others who have trouble with complex texts, to see patterns. Students can play with the font and colors and make as well as save and reuse “Wordles” of their own, so the possibilities are endless. They can use their own writing to see what words they overuse, perhaps, or create Wordle versions of a famous poem, speech or song that visually reflects the way the text “feels” to them. The Times has created some fascinating word clouds to help readers gain a visual understanding of current events. See, for example, the word cloud from the 2008 presidential election compares speeches made at the Republican and Democratic National Conventions, and the interactive “word train” that let people submit the words that best described their state of mind on Election Day. The New York Times Visualization Lab – an offshoot of I.B.M.’s project Many Eyes – allows readers to explore visualize text, values, maps, data points and parts of a whole in any Times article as well as some public records, like the Consumer Price Index. More adventurous users might explore Tagxedo, where you can create word clouds in the shape of an object.

1. Visualize Texts Tech Tools: Wordle, Tagxedo or The New York Times Visualization Lab Wordle is a fun tool for playing with language and making meaning from texts. (And it’s quite safe for classroom use.) This self-described “toy” allows students to analyze word frequency in any text, from a poem to a science book chapter, by simply copying and pasting “a bunch of text” into the box on the top of this page. Click on “go” and you’ll get a snapshot of the most common words in that text as shown by size. (The most frequently appearing words appear larger.) For example, looking at a word cloud for Act 1, Scene 5 of Shakespeare’s “Hamlet” might illuminate the major characters, themes and issues of that part of the play, and/or the writer’s style and diction. And Wordle can be used for expository and nonfiction texts too (even crossword puzzles!). Visualizations of New York Times articles can help highlight key vocabulary, content and concepts. For instance, students could create a Wordle using three articles on the recession to try to identify key terms they should learn more about. Examining word clouds can not only provide new vantage points for literary and language scholars, but also help English-language learners, and others who have trouble with complex texts, to see patterns. Students can play with the font and colors and make as well as save and reuse “Wordles” of their own, so the possibilities are endless. They can use their own writing to see what words they overuse, perhaps, or create Wordle versions of a famous poem, speech or song that visually reflects the way the text “feels” to them. The Times has created some fascinating word clouds to help readers gain a visual understanding of current events. See, for example, the word cloud from the 2008 presidential election compares speeches made at the Republican and Democratic National Conventions, and the interactive “word train” that let people submit the words that best described their state of mind on Election Day. The New York Times Visualization Lab – an offshoot of I.B.M.’s project Many Eyes – allows readers to explore visualize text, values, maps, data points and parts of a whole in any Times article as well as some public records, like the Consumer Price Index. More adventurous users might explore Tagxedo, where you can create word clouds in the shape of an object.

2. Make Content Comic Tech Tools: ReadWriteThink’s Comic Creator, Professor Garfield’s Comics Lab or MakeBeliefsComix