Technology Leadership Wiki
The Washington-based Consortium for School Networking hosts a Small District Technology Leadership wiki for educational technology leaders in K-12 schools. The wiki is designed to provide a collaborative space for district-level technology leaders to share tips, resources, and strategies. It’s divided into nine sections—leadership and vision, planning and budgeting, team building and staffing, systems management, information management, business leadership, education and training, ethics and policies, and communications systems—that CoSN has identified as the essential skill sets for K-12 chief technology officers. Each section lists the skills required to be successful in that area, related CoSN publications, resources to build skill sets, and relevant articles, webcasts, and other resources, as well as a place for ed-tech leaders to share their own experiences and expertise. The wiki is geared to school districts with student enrollments of 2,500 or less, but many of the skills discussed can be applied to districts of all sizes.
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Smithsonian Education Resources
This site, maintained by the Washington-based Smithsonian Center for Education and Museum Studies, has a wealth of educational resources tailored to educators, families, and students. Teachers can browse lesson plans by subject, grade level, or key word, and then compare those lesson plans with their states’ curriculum standards. The lesson plans vary in length and detail, but most of them include a PDF of resources and links to related Web sites and lesson plans. Some of the features on this site are Washington-centric, such as the field-trip planner, which guides teachers through setting up a Smithsonian Institution visit, and the professional-development page, which lists events and workshops in Washington and the surrounding area for educators. Even so, there’s plenty here to make the site a valuable resource in classrooms across the country. Also worth noting is the student section, which includes a multitude of interactive educational activities for a variety of subjects.