NBEC/NWOCA Ed Tech Services

Evaluation Loans

Hardware Catalog

Software Catalog

Parallel Proficiency Exams

Technology Planning

Staff Development

Grant Writing Assistance

Technical Assistance

Software and Internet Access

Program Fee Schedule

NWOCA loans equipment to the staff of its member districts for evaluation purposes. For example, if a teacher desires to have some experience using a laser disc or computer, we will provide the hardware and/or software for a period of time so the teacher can assess its practicality and performance. To order equipment and/or software, send email to: SWERLINE or call 1-800-472-5475 ext. 2545. Click here to send email orders Please include the title of the software and the format (DOS, Mac, or Windows)

Hardware Catalog

• Macintosh Powerbook 520
• Texas Instrument TravelMate Laptop Computer (Windows format)
• InFocus LCD pad (works with both Mac and DOS)
• Dukane overhead projector (for use with the InFocus LCD pad)
• The Presenter (an interface that allows the user to project the computer image onto a television screen)
• Quicktake 100 camera (takes digitized pictures which can be incorporated in computerized formats)
• CD-ROM Players for both Mac and DOS formats

Art

• Art Gallery - Mac CD, Windows CD
• Leonardo the Inventor - Mac CD, Windows CD

General

• Cultures 2.0 - Mac floppy

Graphics

• Cinemation - Mac CD
• Clipmaster Pro - Mac CD
• Photobank - Mac CD, Windows CD
• Quicktoons - Mac CD, Windows CD

Guidance

• Life Skills - Mac CD
• 800 College Boards - Mac CD

Language Arts

• Developing Writing Skills - Mac CD
• It's a Bird's Life - Mac CD, Windows CD
• Languages of the World - Mac CD, Windows CD
• Practical Reading Comprehension - Mac CD
• Wiggleworks Demo - Mac CD

Math

• Mastering Math - Mac CD

Reference

• Grolier's Encyclopedia - Mac CD
• U.S. Atlas - Mac CD
• World Atlas - Mac CD

Science

• All About Science - Mac CD
• Atoms & Elements - Mac CD
• Chemical Reactions - Mac floppy
• Comprehensive Review in Biology - Mac CD, DOS CD
• Electricity - Mac floppy
• Electricity & Magnetism - DOS CD
• Exploring Nature - Mac floppy
• Learning All About Animals - Mac CD, DOS CD
• Learning All About Cells & Biology - Mac CD, DOS CD
• Learning All About Dissection - Mac CD, DOS CD
• Learning All About Matter - Mac CD
• Space Shuttle - Mac CD, DOS CD

Social Studies

• American Pageant - Mac CD, Windows CD
• Ancient Egypt, Middle East, Greece - Mac CD
• Capitol Hill - Mac CD, Windows CD
• Enduring Vision - Mac CD, Windows CD
• Exploration - Mac floppy
• JFK Assassination - DOS CD
• Origins of the Consitution - Mac CD
• Rome and the Celts - Mac CD
• Twelve Roads to Gettysburg - Mac CD, DOS CD

Utility

• Soft Windows

Representatives from Defiance, Fulton, Henry, and Williams County Boards of Education have created testbanks containing questions that can be given to students as a diagnostic tool for the Ohio Ninth Grade Proficiency exams. Since the questions are matched to each objective of the Math, Reading, and Civics parts of the test, a district can determine the weak areas of a given student or a class of students. The testbanks have been loaded onto a computer program (Learning Managment System) and are available to subscribing districts in a variety of ways. The most common are:
• District Generated Exams
  Exams are generated on terminals residing in the district. Students enter their answers onto the terminal and the results are compiled by the computer.

• NWOCA Generated Exams
  Exams are generated at NWOCA and sent to the districts for duplication. Students mark their answers on bubble sheets and the sheets are sent back to NWOCA where they are graded by the computer. The bubble sheets are then sent to the districts with a printout for each student. Summaries of results for the batch of students accompany the graded bubble sheets. Since the questions are randomly drawn, each time a district requests a test, a new version of the test is generated.

NWOCA offers assistance to member districts who are writing technology plans. NWOCA also will assist districts in preparing SchoolNet applications. Click here to go to a Technology Planning Guide.

Assistance is provided in the development of educational goals and a plan for the integration of technology in the district. NWOCA per sonnel provide assistance to member district personnel in the development of a technology plan that will assist in identi fying the educational goals of the district. Each plan is customized to the goals and priorities of each district, but also is compatible with area and statewide goals and standardization of electronic communication protocols.

NWOCA provides staff inservice and on-going training in evolving techniques and technology for changing the educational delivery system to improve student achievement. Throughout the year NWOCA person nel provide periodic seminars on these topics. NWOCA also arranges for experts from throughout North America to come to the NWOCA service area to provide periodic training sessions for member school district personnel on these topics. This service includes in-depth training in the use of specific microcomput ers and software applications. Where possible, NWOCA arranges for Continuing Education Unit and/or college credit to be made available for attendees of these sessions. Under this program many inservice sessions are held at no cost to enrollees as part of the district's participation in the NWOCA Educational Technology Services program. However, it is necessary to charge enrollees for participation in some sessions, especially if they involve college credit and/or the use of licensed training materials.

Technical assistance is provided in networking all technology components to form an integrated learning environment. NWOCA personnel assist in developing plans to retrofit existing equipment to communicate with area and worldwide networks, as well as cre ating an integrated network within each school building in a district. This technical assistance is not limited to computer networking, and can be extended to the development of a video network serving other buildings within the district or with other school districts participating in the NWOCA Educational Technology Services Program.

Access to the LMS/LMX software is given to subscibing members from Campus America, a curriculum management and automated student tracking system. All participants of the program agree to share any/all LMS/LMX cur riculum materials with other program participants at no charge. As part of the service, NWOCA personnel provide training, guidance, and assistance in the entry and delivery of curriculum materials through this software system. NWOCA also attempts to pool the needs of the participating districts to obtain commer cially available testbank materials where practical and cost effective. As part of this function, practice and/or remedial ninth-grade proficiency testing and intervention assistance can be provided to district students.

Access to, and use of, Internet and other networked information resources available through the NWOCA computer systems and their network communication linkages. NWOCA personnel identify resources and provide access to them in a menu-driven format. NWOCA personnel also provide training and assistance in the use of software utilities such as Talent, FTP, News, Gopher, and WWW to access information resources at sites worldwide. These resources include the ability for students to communicate with their counterparts throughout the world.

Information resource and software licensing coordination. NWOCA personnel coordinate the identification of desired information resources and common computer software needs among partici pating districts. Attempts are made to license software and information resources through the NBEC/NWOCA such that these resources can be shared among the participating districts while saving licensing costs over individual licenses acquired by each district.

Access to, and use of, the INFOhio library automation software from MultiCore. Participating districts must pay a one-time software licensing cost of $3.25 per student, plus any costs for retrospective conversion and/or outside technical assis tance in the conversion and/or loading of the district's li brary catalogs. On-going support of the software, and technical assistance provided by NWOCA personnel are covered through this aspect of the service.

NWOCA personnel assist in the identification of alternative funding sources for the implementation of educational technology programs in schools. NWOCA personnel assist in the development of projects and grant proposals seeking funds to support technology pro grams within the districts participating in the NWOCA Educa tional Technology Services Program.

Fees for these services are $2500/district per year, plus $3.00/student per year. County boards of education agreeing to assist NWOCA personnel in the development and delivery of these services are provided access to these services without fee.