Meeting Minutes for the BARC Meeting held April 29, 2008

at Alameda County Office of Education
with video conference to Solano County Office of Education

Welcome and Introductions – Bonnie Marks

State EdTech Update

State Education Technology Update
CTAP Region IV staff worked with all districts in the region to get 100% completion for all schools and charter schools.

edZone
The K-12 High Speed Network has developed a comprehensive set of tools to support teaching and learning in California. This suite of tools is known as edZone. These tools are free and include: Blogs, Wikis, Videos, Messaging, Podcasts, Moodle, Images, MyTechDesk, Documents, Social Networking. This is built by educators for educators.

CDE EdTech Department
Barbara Thalacker is retiring. Cliff Rudnick will be filling the position as the New Director of Educational Technology at the CDE.

CTAP Funding
The Torlickson Bill is currently suspended with all other funding caught in the Governor's budget. Once it is passed, CTAP should be authorized for 9 years.

Taking Center Stage
On April 8, 2008, the CDE unveiled the new Taking Center Stage - Act II web site. This kickoff event hosted presentations from Russlyn Ali and Debbie Silver. These great presentations will be hosted on the TCSII website.

CTAP Region IV Update <http://www.ctap4.org>

Upcoming Events and Web Resources –

Thinkfinity: This underused website is a great resource. There will be a Trainer Training on Friday, May 16, 2008 from 4-7pm and Saturday, May 17, 2008 from 9:00 am to 12:00 pm. Participants will need to attend both days. The workshop will be hosted at Contra Costa COE.

Math 2-Day Institute: This site is constantly be updated. CTAP will host math workshops at Solano COE (June 16 & 17) and at San Mateo COE (June 23 & 24). Flyer: http://www.ctap4.org/pdf/MSMI2008.pdf

Calisphere: A Saturday workshop coming up is full. A summer institute will be held on June 17-19, 2008 at the Contra Costa COE. This 3-day summer institute will cost $550. Flyer: http://www.ctap4.org/pdf/Calisphere_iPod_Flyer.pdf

Googlitics: Learn to use new Google tools in the learning environment. This summer workshop is appropriate for any teacher interested in using these amazing tools and is set to the fun, adult content of the current election.

BARC Meetings: The schedule for 2008-2009 has been set. BARC meetings will be held on October 28, 2008, January 27, 2009, and April 29, 2009. The meetings will be held at the Alameda COE from 12:30 to 3:00 pm. Lunch will be served at 12:00 pm.

Cyber safety: Bullying and Cyberbullying workshop will be hosted at CCCOE on March 6, 2008 from 8:30-3:30pm. PBS frontline hosted a special called "Growing Up Online" and can be viewed at: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/kidsonline/

Technology Funding Alert!:
Hot off the press the newest funding alert was released January 31, 2008 (2 days in the future). Download it at <http://www.ctap4.org/grants/funding_alert.htm> Patricia Riley of Cesar Chavez Middle Schoolrecently was awarded $10,000 from the Best Buy Grant Program. Of special note, Adobe launches a free web version of Photoshop called Photoshop Express. Because there are a number of grants happening over the summer while there is no funding alert, look at many of the opportunities on page 2 of the funding alert.

Grant updates –

• K-12 Voucher: Sign up for the CTAP4 Listserv at http://www.ctap4.org/grants/k-12/index.htm.The deadline for applying in the K-12 voucher program is June 30, 2008. There is a six year window, from 2006 to 2012, to expend the vouchers. 62 of 100 eligible have applied for the K-12 voucher. The process for applying is quick.
• EETT Formula: 6 districts submitted plans for approval in cycle C. CTAP staff will contact your district if you are required to renew your plan in the fall. If using a state approved plan as the district e-rate plan, CTAP and the CDE recommends districts submit in cycle A or B. This will ensure the district is compliant with e-rate regulations. Districts re-writing thier technology plan might consider consulting the newly revised technology planning guide: http://techguide.pbwiki.com. All EETT-F districts will be required to file and End of Period Report in September.
• EETT Competitive: The application window closed last week on April 23, 2008.

Spotlight Presentation Calisphere iTouch History

Kathleen Ferenz, Sandy Oliver
CTAP Region IV staff Kathleen Ferenz and Sandy Oliver share results from their iTouch workshops. http://www.ctap4.org/calisphere/index.htm

Upcoming Events

CUE<http://www.cue.org>The CUE conference returns to Northern California this year! On October 14-16, 2008, CUE teams up with FETC to host the Innovative Learning Conference. http://www.ilc2008.org

Featured Presentation: Teaching Digital Natives in a Global World

Sara Armstrong
Sara shares her thoughts, ideas and resources regarding Teaching in the 21st Century.
http://my-ecoach.com/blogs.php?blog=2075

Closure and Final Questions

Next BARC Meeting
October 28, 2008
Alameda County Office of Education with video conference to Marin County Office of Education