Resource Center: Accountability Spotlight Web resources CEO Forum www.ceoforum.org The CEO Forum on Education and Technology has as its mission to help ensure that students graduating from America's schools are prepared to enter the nation's workforce. The Forum offers annual reports on benchmarks toward that goal, including the Teacher Preparation STaR Chart. The STaR chart is a self-assessment tool for use primarily by colleges of education. It is designed to help determine the level of teacher preparation for incorporating technology and can be downloaded as a print document or taken online. Educational Testing Service www.ets.org Long known for developing and delivering crucial tests in education, such as the PSAT and SAT, the Educational Testing Service (ETS) also provides research-based training and products geared toward helping teachers and students at a variety of levels. ETS provides products such as the computer-based Learning Plus System for students and professional development programs tied to research-based standards, such as the Pathwise(r) Series. The Nation's Report Card nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/ The Nation's Report Card, the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), stores and presents the results of ongoing assessment of student performance and instructional factors that lead to that performance. This information is conveniently categorized by user type, such as principal, teacher, or policymaker, or by subject area. Subjects include reading, mathematics, science, writing, history, civics, geography, and the arts. Results on these assessments are also available based upon state participation. Additional Web resources Building the 21st Century School www.ncsa.uiuc.edu/idt/ Consortium for School Networking www.cosn.org Education Leadership Tool Kit www.nsba.org/sbot/toolkit/ EDvancenet www.edvancenet.org International Society for Technology in Education www.iste.org Milken Family Foundation Education Technology www.mff.org/edtech/ National Center for Education Statistics www.nces.ed.gov Principal Connections www.principalconnections.org U.S. Department of Education, Office of Educational Technology www.ed.gov/Technology Conferences Attending professional conferences is a great way to hear new ideas and gather current information about trends and developments. T.H.E. Journal maintains an up-to-date online database of conferences related to educational technology. EdTech Conference Planner www.theconferencecalendar.com Professional Organizations American Association of School Administrators (AASA) www.aasa.org AASA focuses on improving schools and enhancing the effectiveness of school leaders. Among the many current issues and ideas discussed on this Web site are several technology-related topics, including E-rate information and planning for technology. There is also a separate area for emerging issues in instructional technology. AASA also offers links to publications, conferences, and online store with resources for educators. Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD) www.ascd.org ASCD is an international, nonprofit, nonpartisan education association. ASCD offers professional development opportunities both online and face-to-face through conferences, institutes, academies, and tutorials and courses online. Of particular interest to users of the Web site are the online tutorials, which are free to all users. These short lessons include a combination of text and multimedia elements and cover a wide range of topics, such as standards, performance assessment, curriculum integration, and cooperative learning. National Association of Elementary School Principals (NAESP) www.naesp.org NAESP supports its contingency of elementary and middle school students based on two findings from research: that a child's early years in school are the most crucial, and that the key figure in assuring quality schools is the principal. NAESP provides a wide range of training programs, publications, conferences, and professional meetings that support these prime assumptions. National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP) www.nassp.org The Web site for NASSP deals less specifically with technology rather than with support for school leaders and the myriad of topics they face daily. Highlights of this site include links to scholarships and awards for principals and students alike, a bulletin board to share ideas with other school leaders, and links to NASSP publications such as "High School Magazine." Sponsors of the National Honor Society and National Junior Honor Society, NASSP has diverse offerings for student leaders which can be accessed through this site. National School Boards Association (NSBA) www.nsba.org This web site serves as a comprehensive storehouse for information created and distributed by the National School Boards Association. Of greatest interest to school board members and other policymakers, this Web site includes articles from School Board news, the Association's twice-monthly publication, NSBA publications, as well as links to NSBA-sponsored meetings and conferences. The NSBA's "Teaching + Learning" Conference is one of the nation's largest and most comprehensive technology conferences for issues concerning educational technology and is well-attended by all members of the education community. References View the reference list for this lesson