Welcome to the first ever ClassLink Newsletter! This free newsletter is published bi-monthly by ClassLink and will share updates from your colleagues within the ClassLink community as well as highlights of 'newsworthy' items from the world of educational technology. We know you're busy so we'll keep it quick! As you read through this issue, consider submitting your thoughts and suggestions to our editor for inclusion in the December issue. If you enjoy this newsletter, please feel free to forward it to others.

ClassLink provides K-12 school districts with educational technology management solutions that create Universal Learning Environments.

This summer, about thirty colleagues and I took a dive. Not the dive into the swimming pool that our vacationing students were enjoying, but a dive just as exciting and frightening nonetheless. We dove headfirst into a Curriculum Initiative that will leave our district in Hudson Falls, New York forever changed. Little did I, or any of us, know the journey we were embarking on. I think on some level, we thought, “Summer curriculum writing…been there, done that!” However, within the first hour of the first day of our first meeting, we realized…this was not the mere update of curriculum, as we had seen in the past…this was a launching of greater importance…unprecedented and overwhelming at first glance.

We began our summer, knowing that we were members of the English Language Arts Curriculum Initiative Committee. At the same time, another committee would be working on our Mathematics curriculum. There would be four full day meetings spread out over July and August, and every committee member was approved for forty hours of paid curriculum writing, to be done at our convenience. At our summer kick-off meeting, there was teacher representation from every grade level, kindergarten through grade 12 including special education and intervention specialists, along with administrative representation, technology support personnel, and students videotaping our progress. This was the first hint that what we were doing would be something different. The Hudson Falls Central School District is a district containing a Kindergarten Center, Primary School, Intermediate School, Middle School, and High School. Over the years, we have rarely had the opportunity to work as a full group K-12, typically working within our own buildings, with opportunities to collaborate with colleagues in other buildings on a rare basis... Click here for full story

Sometimes we come across websites, resources or general ideas that just deserved to be shared with our ClassLink community. We hope this list will continue to grow as we receive your suggestions and ideas to share with your colleagues.

For School IT Directors

• Would you like to learn more about calculating your Total Cost of Ownership? Check out: http://www.classroomtco.org/gartner_intro.html
   

• At the recent CELT Conference, many thought leaders within the industry stressed the need for home access. Do you agree? Read more...

For Teachers & Administrators

• In June 2005, Technology & Learning Magazine published a pull-out entitled "Copyright Guidelines for Administrators" that we think every educator should know about.
http://www.techlearning.com/copyrightguide/
 
• The Web is a great place for teachers to go for templates and design tools that simplify the creation of either print or online worksheets. Check out these sites for websites with quick, quality worksheets and template resources for teachers.
  http://www.kn.sbc.com/wired/fil/
  
  http://www.makeworksheets.com/
  activityofweek/
   
• Self guided tutorials are a terrific way to learn new skills. Check out:
  http://www.pbs.org/teachersource/teachtech
  /tutorials.shtm

ClassLink in the Community

At ClassLink, we are dedicated to creating winning partnerships with our clients. You will often find ClassLink employees in the oddest places… supporting school science fairs, planting gardens to improve the environment…the possibilities are endless. In this issue we visit our CEO, Berj Akian, as he judges a student art competition sponsored by the Youth Consultation Services in FairLawn, NJ.

ClassLink is recognized as a leading provider of thin client solutions in the November 2005 issue of Technology & Learning Magazine. Click here for full story