The Microsoft K-12 Connection 

November 1997

1.  Connected Learning Community    http://www.microsoft.com/education/k12/clc.asp 

•	“Drawing Water From a Stone.” Most educators agree that to transform teaching and learning, we must significantly increase the appropriate use of technology in our schools. How do we accomplish this in the face of dwindling public dollars, budget shortfalls and cuts? In a word: diversify. Last month's article, part of a series on Greynolds Park Elementary in Miami, Florida, described how the school developed partnerships with local businesses. This month, we look at strategies for fundraising and grant writing that have worked for Greynolds Park. 

2.  Desktop & Network Operating Systems   http://www.microsoft.com/education/k12/desk_net.asp  

•	“What Do You Want to Do Today?” Making the right decisions for your school or district is a tad more complicated than it was just a few years ago. Instead of simply buying PCs, you now have a whole array of possible solutions to choose from, each one designed for a different set of tasks. Your mission, should you accept, is to find the computing tools that best meet the needs of your students and staff.

3.  Internet/Intranet  http://www.microsoft.com/education/k12/int.asp. 

“Playing It Safe on the Web: Security Features of Internet Explorer 4.0” was originally published in the September issue of this magazine. We are reprinting it now to correct an error concerning the use of security zones. Please note: security zones cannot be used to prevent your students from viewing the content of a Web site. The Content Advisor feature is the only way to block offensive content.

•	“It’s a Bird! It’s a Plane. It’s Tiny Tutors.” What do Lucy Miller and Leni Donlan, teachers and site technology coordinators, have in common? They've both organized school computer clubs so that students can help other students, parents and the local community learn Internet and basic computer skills.

•	“Playing It Safe on the Web: Security Features of Internet Explorer 4.0” Internet security is an ongoing concern for educators, technology coordinators, and network administrators in K-12 education. Network administrators want to be sure their computers aren’t exposed to dangerous viruses, harmful code or scripting when users download a file, ActiveX control or Java applet from a Web site. But at the same time, no one wants to click through several layers of security certificates. The new version of Microsoft Internet Explorer makes great headway in addressing those concerns.

4.  Classroom Corner   http://www.microsoft.com/education/k12/cc.asp 

•	“Crossing the Great Divide.” A veteran teacher of 24 years' experience describes his entry into the Brave New Wired World that has transformed his school. 

1.	Connected Learning Community
 Drawing Water From a Stone

By Joan Kuperstein

As a former grant writer and curriculum specialist at Greynolds Park Elementary, I vividly recall the routine challenges of seeking out and landing sponsors for special programs or needs. I was hired in 1995,  thanks to the farsighted efforts of David Multz (then principal at Greynolds Park), who “creatively” funded a full-time position for a grant writer and curriculum specialist. Previously, no one person had been solely dedicated to the task and in the five years before I came on board, the school had received only one grant, for $2,500. 

Multz’s “investment,” however, quickly paid off. In just two years, our grant writing efforts yielded over $400,000. To read the details about our fundraising efforts and see a complete list of awards, see “Fundraising at a Florida Elementary School” at http://www.microsoft.com/education/k12/articles/clcsep97.asp. 

That’s the good news: patience, persistence and some skill can yield tremendous success. You already know the bad news: the familiar fear and dread with which many educators approach funding, feeling that they are coming “hat in hand,” to the community, asking for help.

I suppose the best advice I have ever received from a veteran fund-raiser was “Don’t worry, the worst that can happen is that they say no.” I also was told never to take rejection personally. Although both of those little bits of advice seem simple, opening mail from a prospective donor and reading “thank you for your recent request BUT . . .” can lead to a sense of defeat and a questioning as to whether all the effort is worth it. When this happens, my advice is to remind yourself that the funds are for a truly worthwhile cause and that your task is to help corporations see how important and lasting their generosity can be. 

Successful Grant Writing
Good grant writing is both an art and a science. Typically, the hard and fast rules for writing a particular proposal are well documented in the request-for-proposal document. While it is important to follow the rules of the request for proposal, I have learned over time that there are strategies that you can increase your chance of success and make the grant writing process easier. 

•	Write in one voice. To generate initial ideas for your proposal, it’s is a good idea to brainstorm with a committee. The document, however, should be written in one voice, not a chorus. The committee should agree on the content of the final proposal before it is submitted to the prospective funding source. A word of caution: ask the committee to restrict its comments to the content of the proposal, because it is time consuming and unnecessary to obtain consensus on diction and style. Work with an outside editor on revising the copy, and don’t forget to have the final document proofread (by several people, if possible).
 
•	Set a realistic time frame. Creating successful, persuasive documents takes time. If possible, put the draft down upon completion and return to it later. After a few days, you may see things that did not occur to you upon first, second, or even fifth read. 

•	Follow the submission guidelines described in the application. Always follow the formatting and style instructions that the grant provides. Remember, your reader has the difficult task of reading dozens (or even hundreds) of proposals and has developed a process for locating key information within the packet quickly: don’t mess with it. 

•	Justify the amount of money that you request. Since the requested dollar amounts will be determined by the scope of the proposed project, justifying the dollars should be the last item of the proposal that you complete. Carefully account for all possible expenses associated with the proposed project and, if required, include a plan of how the project will be continued after the term of the grant funding. If you are writing a proposal for a grant that provides matching funds, be sure to find out whether in-kind contributions can be included to offset your share of the matching funds. Always ask for the complete amount of money that the grant allows or slightly less, but justify all money in the budget statement. 

•	Propose projects that you believe will work for your student population. Align your school and student needs with your pedagogical philosophy. For example, if school-to-work transition is an emphasis at your school or district, you might look for federal, state and business partnership grants that will help you prepare your students for the workforce. Your grants could propose creating real- world experiences for students, including career shadowing, internships, workplace seminars and interviewing techniques. 

•	Keep a copy of all your work. Make backups of all your disks and photocopies of  your application materials. Your grant material might not be returned to you, and you may want to refer to specific sections at a later date. Also, you may be able to use the application again. There is nothing wrong with pulling out a well-written grant proposal, “dusting it off” and reshaping it to meet the objectives of a new funding source.

•	Get letters of endorsement. Whenever possible, include letters of endorsement from those who can help implement your grant. For example, ask for written commitments from your local business partners. Their letters should endorse the purpose of the grant as well as the school or district that is submitting the proposal, and include a strong statement of need. 

Quick Tips 

•	Collaborate with your school community for ideas.
•	Be open to others’ viewpoints.
•	Write clearly and professionally.
•	In your proposal, emphasize ideas, not needs.
•	Select an outside editor to help with revision.
•	Allocate adequate time; move all deadlines up 10 days.
•	Take pride in your project.
•	Have fun with your project.
•	Remember that enthusiasm and success seem to go together!

The Sky’s the Limit
Special events are one way to generate interest in your technology program and gain financial support. Well-planned special events attract publicity and improve the visibility of your program in the community. 

Here are a few examples of successful events held at Greynolds Park:

•	A penny drive for technology. Within only one week, 1,400 students collected $3,000 that went into a fund for special software purchases. A multipurpose school golf cart was used to take the pennies to a nearby bank. When confronted with a mountain of pennies, bank employees were hysterical. Nicole, then a Greynolds Park student, rode in the golf cart and commented later:  “I’m glad that I was the one who got to deliver the coins—I feel sorry for the kids who have to put them into wrappers.”  Sherrae Dixon, one of the teachers in charge of the penny drive, said she was “overwhelmed by the mountains of pennies that kept arriving daily. Although it was great to see, I could not believe how large and how heavy a mountain of 3,000 pennies actually is.” The penny drive was a resounding success. 

•	Administrators go the extra mile. Students will pay to see a whipped cream pie thrown at an administrator; At Greynolds Park, kids paid a quarter to watch as several selected children threw pies. The affair raised about $2,500 after administrators deducted cleaning expenses. Though the janitors weren’t happy campers, the kids and their parents had a ball. 

•	Daily yogurt sales. Committed parents, determined that a state-of-the-art technology program be a part of teaching and learning at Greynolds Park, spend a minimum of three hours a day preparing and selling yogurt to students after school. Just imagine what $150.00 per day will do to help your technology fund!

•	Good publicity: Last year a team of Greynolds Park parents, teachers and community business partners were determined to get the word out that Greynolds Park was indeed a special school where exciting teaching and learning were happening. The group invited David Lawrence, publisher of The Miami Herald, to participate in a Town Hall forum at the school. After spending the morning speaking with the group and questioning them about the school, the students and the community, Lawrence toured the school and spoke individually with students. He was quite impressed and encouraged the team’s efforts even offering the names of prominent community leaders who could also be invited for a visit.

In a personal letter to each member of the team, Lawrence said, “It was an invigorating couple of hours. I was reminded anew of the difference that good people make. Each of you. All of you. You are building something special. And I promise you that it makes a real difference in so many young lives.”

Special Event Ideas

•	Establish an awards program to recognize the outstanding students and on-site supervisors associated with your technology program.
•	Sponsor a career day or a career conference for students at the school with which you are affiliated.
•	Hold a business forum at your school that features talks from local business leaders and elected officials.
•	Arrange a lunchtime briefing with the local business press, allowing them the chance to talk with officials from your technology program and members of your business advisory board.
•	Sponsor a “business tour” week where high school students go on field trips to local businesses.
•	Get the high school newspaper to devote an issue to choosing a career, including some features on the technology program.
•	Offer a series of “power lunches” that technology program students and the press can attend with local business leaders.
•	Arrange a technology program night at the local board of trade, chamber of commerce or other business organization.
•	Arrange for your technology program students to attend and report on a business convention in your community or neighboring town.
•	Capitalize on site visits by representatives and board members by scheduling brief media events as part of the day.

Do It! Move It! Make It Happen! 

You can’t accomplish anything without the help of other people.
—H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

Improving education through technology is a task that cannot be shouldered by educators alone—all the stakeholders in the education community must share in the responsibility of “making it happen.” By reaching out to businesses, corporations and individuals, schools can deliver on the promise of technology.

Expedite the Treasure Hunt
Funding sources are often geared to meeting specific needs. If you’re looking for technology funds, be sure to visit the Resource Guide to Federal Funding for Technology in Education at http://www.ed.gov./Technology/tec-guid.html. It’s a virtual treasure chest. 

Below is a list of additional online resources:

Online Grant Resources 

The Foundation Center, an independent, national service, provides information on private philanthropic giving and grant seeking.
http://fdncenter.org
79 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10003-3076
(212) 620-4230; (800) 424-9836

Grants and Reports provides links related to finding money to support classroom educational technology.
http://www.fwl.org/edtech/grant.html

State Search provides a list of state-specific information.
http://www.state.ky.us/nasire/NASIREhome

GrantsWeb, a starting point for grant seekers, contains numerous links to grants and fundraising.
http://infoserv.rttonet.psu.edu/gweb.htm

Internet Resources for Non-Profit Public Service Organization focuses on nonprofit, public service sources.
http://www.sils.umich.edu/~nesbeitt/nonprofits/nonprofits.html

National Science Foundation provides publications, press releases and grant applications.
http://www.nsf.gov

Federal Register
http://www.access.gpo.gov/su 

U.S. Department of Education Technology Initiatives
http://www.ed.gov/Technology/TechConf/1995/ifgrants.html
http://gcs.edgov/grntinfo.htm

AT&T Foundation
http://www.att.com/foundation/ed.html

TGC Community Foundation
http://www.tgci.com/foundations/commfdn.htm

Education Week
http://www.edweek.org/ew/current 

Grant Sources for Educators 
http://www.capecod.net/Wixon/business/grants.htm

The Grantsmanship Center
http://www.tgci.com/

Grant Writing Structure
http://ag.arizona.edu/hypermail/azchall/0257.html

CPB-Basic Elements of Grant Writing
http://www.cpb.org/grants/grants.writing.html

Foundations to Explore
The following foundations have supported many educational technology projects: 
Alfred P. Sloan Foundation
Emphasis: Math, Educational Technology
630 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10011
(212) 649-1649

American Honda Foundation
Emphasis: Science Educational Technology
P.O. Box 2205
Torrance, CA 90509

Arco Foundation
Emphasis: All Areas of the Curriculum, Educational Technology, Staff Development
515 South Flower Street
Los Angeles, CA 90071

Arthur Vining Davis Foundation
Emphasis:  Secondary Education
111 Riverside Ave.
Suite 130
Jacksonville, FL 322202

Carnegie Corporation of New York
Emphasis: Science, Math, Educational Technology
437 Madison Avenue
New York, NY 10022

Conrad N. Hilton Foundation
Emphasis: Language Arts, Science, Math, Instructional Strategies, Educational Technology
10100 Santa Monica Blvd.
Suite 775
Los Angeles, CA 90067

Exxon Education Foundation
Emphasis: Science, Math
P.O. Box 101
Florham Park, NJ 07932

The Ford Foundation
Emphasis:  Educational Technology
320 East 43 Street
New York, NY 10017

John D. MacArthur Foundation
Emphasis: Math, Educational Technology
140 South Dearborn Street
Chicago, IL 60603

J.C. Penny Corporate Contributions
Emphasis: Improvement of Precollege Education
P.O. Box 10001
Dallas, Texas 75301

Kraft Foundation
Emphasis: Staff Development, Instructional Strategies, Educational Technology
Kraft Court
Glenview, IL 60025

Print Resources

•	Designing Successful Grant Proposals, Donald C. Orlich, ASCD, ISBN 087120264, (1-800 933-2723).

•	The Foundation Center’s Guide to Proposal Writing, Jane C. Geever and Patricia McNeill, New York: The Foundation Center, 1993.

•	Grantseeking Primer for Classroom Leaders, David G. Bauer, New York: Scholastic Inc., 1994.

About the author: Joan Kuperstein was employed as a grant writer and curriculum specialist at Greynolds Park Elementary through June 1997. Currently, she is working as a consultant to K–12 schools. "Time after time, I have seen successful technology programs result in improved student achievement. For the last four years my passion has been successfully developing and implementing technology plans at schools. Watching children utilize the new technologies to explore, to investigate and to enter the discovery zone has made me recognize that technology is often the touch needed to push the gifted and talented ‘button’ in our students; to help children understand that education is a journey, not a destination."

© 1997. Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

2.	Internet/Intranet
 It’s a Bird! It’s a Plane! It’s Tiny Tutors!

By Maureen O’Neill

Imagine yourself signing up for a class at the local library to learn Internet skills. You arrive early and you’re looking over the “new books” selection when you notice a van pull up with the words “SWAT Team Mobile Unit” emblazoned on the side. The van’s doors slide open and out tumble several very small people, all wearing “Tiny Tutors” T-shirts. Prepare to meet your instructors. 

At Davis Drive Elementary in Apex, North Carolina, Lucy Miller is in the first stages of making this vision a reality. Miller first approached the Eva Perry Library with the idea for Tiny Tutors a few months ago and asked, “If we had a million hands, what would you like us to do?” She found that in addition to teaching Internet classes, library management hoped children could serve as role models for a staff somewhat uncomfortable with technology. 

SWAT Team Mobile Unit, (a.k.a. Tiny Tutors), will deploy this year—although they’ll probably be driven there by parents in station wagons (the van is on Miller’s wish list). The other five SWAT support teams Ms. Miller has coordinated—that help out with a range of activities from Web page development to Internet research to teaching first graders how to use a mouse—already have a year under their collective belt. 

You Can Make Everyone Happy
Miller, who has been at Davis Drive since the school opened three years ago, was hired with the mandate to “save teachers some time and raise enough money through grant writing to cover her own salary.” Officially, her job title was technology/grants coordinator, but she wrote grants, developed curriculum, administered educational testing, provided staff development, managed 90 networked computers and helped write the school improvement plan.

Davis Drive parents delivered a second mandate to Miller: bring computers into the classroom as quickly as possible. Many of the students at Davis Drive come from middle- or upper-middle-class homes, and a significant number of parents work for IBM, Hewlett-Packard and CISCO Systems. These technologically fluent parents are eager for their children to become computer “literate” as early as possible. 

Initially, the school administration and Miller focused on setting up the infrastructure: classroom computers, a LAN, closed circuit TV, and Internet access, which currently consists of one phone line. “We have fiber optics running through our building, but we’re waiting for the router and T-1 connectivity. We’re a large county…,” Miller says,  “It comes down to money . . . and equity.” Some rural schools, she explains, have not been as fortunate as Davis Drive.

The second year, Miller wanted Davis Drive to have a Web page, so she went on the school TV and asked for 10 kids to design a Web page. Thirty-five students applied, and thus the SWAT team was born, a solution that so far seems to be making everyone happy, most of all the students.

Great Leaders Aren’t Born; They’re Developed
A former “Mac person,” Miller had to cross the great divide to PC land when she began work at Davis Drive, and she had to do it in a hurry. If it weren’t for her students helping, Miller says, laughing “I don’t know what I would have done.”

Miller was greatly influenced by the work of William Glasser, author of Control Theory in the Classroom, who advocates giving students more control over their own learning process. “The more opportunity you give them to be leaders,” explains Miller, “the more naturally learning will occur.” Allowing students to work independently is the backbone of her philosophy, and the only practical way for the team to work, since Miller can’t clone herself to supervise every student (at least not yet). Miller cites an instance where two fifth graders used Microsoft FrontPage to create a Web page, with minimal assistance from a volunteer college student. “If they’d had to wait for me to learn the product, we never would have got up and running as fast as we did.” (Two students designed the home page in three months.) 

Most of the SWAT team work for Miller is up front, with “applications, interviews, training. I will fade out eventually, and they’ll be on their ownand that’s my goal.” The first step [for students] is filling out the application (only grades four and five apply), answering questions such as: Why is technology important? How have you used a computer? List the ways that the Internet can be used to help students and teachers. How would you improve the Davis Drive Elementary Home Page? How will computers be used in the future? Miller has been handed back everything from incomplete sentences for answers (promptly sent back to the student for revision) to completed Web pages. Everyone who applies is accepted, although they may not receive the first choice of support teams, if more qualified candidates apply. 

Next Miller conducts a personal interview with each child. Not only does Miller learn about future team members, but she also uses the time to teach interview skills and to let the students know what will be expected of them. 

Some of the questions Miller asks are: Tell me about yourself. (“I love my computers, and I love my sisters too.”) Tell me the skills you can bring to this group. (“I don’t have any. I just want to learn everything I can.” “I can help fix computers, and I can find good Web sites.”) What does responsibility mean to you? (“Being honest.” “Getting my homework done on time.” “Taking care of my dog.”) What experience do you have on computers? (“We’re a busy family; we have four computers at home.” “I help my parents use the computer, because they get too impatient.” ”I use the computer to type reports.” ) How have you used the Internet? (“Pen-pal letters.” “Shopping.” “Finding information on different countries for a project.” “Playing games.” “Helping Mom find stuff.”) Why do you want to be a SWAT team member? (“I want a  new experience.” “I think it will be fun.” “I want to help other people at the library.” “I want to be a leader and help others.”)

Finally, students select the teams they want to work on from the following descriptions: 

•	Home page developers: Interview teachers, learn FrontPage, create and update Web pages and take digital photos. Students meet often to update the Web pages.
•	Internet researchers: One student assigned per class to perform a teacher-requested search. Student may need to do some work on home computers. Monthly update and/or morning update meetings.
•	TV/weather film crew: Students report one-half hour before announcements. Download film crew may need to come to school early. One student per day to report weather on morning announcement. (Miller says using a laser pen to point out weather patterns worked a lot better than a pointer for those students who are a bit “shaky” in front of the camera.)
•	Computer buddies: Students leave class to assist other students per teacher request, for no more than 40-minute periods. Students are responsible for making up missed assignments. Periodic update meetings after school two times per month.
•	Mobile unit: Work at Eva Perry Library to assist adults with computer needs as Kid Consultants and Tiny Tutors. 
•	SWAT team central unit: Assist with multimedia productions, computer maintenance and clerical work. Attend periodic morning meetings.

Many of the 78 SWAT team members already have computer skills, and the rest are trained either by Miller or by volunteers, especially parents, whom Miller describes as “a lot of very bright people willing to pitch in.”  

This year, for example, Miller has a few kids who aren’t totally comfortable with the Internet. “I’ll make sure they know how to surf the Net,” she says, “and explain safe practices to them.” Again, Miller stresses that students must be responsible for sticking to the rules. If not, one mistake and they are bumped off the team and deprived of Internet access for the rest of the year: “We haven’t had any strays so far,” she says.
 
Teaching Teachers 
At the Town School for Boys, a small private school in San Francisco, California, Leni Donlan is director of technology development and integration, which means she is responsible for curriculum integration and the school’s technology plan. She also teaches technology classes, helps teachers learn how to integrate technology into their lesson plans, and supervises the 22-member technology team drawn from sixth-, seventh- and eighth-graders. 

Members of the technology team assist in a “Web for Teachers” class that Donlan offers during the summer, and during the year, they run classes on basic computer skills and the Internet for parents completely independently. Like Miller’s students, many of them come to the team with considerable experience. “Most of them know more than I do, to be perfectly honest,” says Donlan. “They generally tend to have the skills that they need when they join us.” 

When reviewing applications for the team, Donlan looks first for a sense of responsibility and a caring attitude. Being on the team fulfills a community service requirement, but it can easily take more time than the requisite two hours per week. 

Students who work with adults, says Donlan, worry a lot about having all the answers. Donlan tries to shift that focus on the “right answer” to learning teaching skills. “They [students] don’t always understand how to share information with someone else in a way that makes sense.” 

“The most important thing,” Donlan stresses to her students, “is that you realize where the teachers (or parents) are. Think about what they really need. Keep it down to a level that is understandable, organized and systematic.” 

When Donlan first introduced the idea of student assistants at her summer institute, some teachers were ambivalent. “I saw them kind of roll their eyes at one another. ‘Oh great, we get to be taught by the students.’ But after we started working with them they were very gracious. Teachers have reacted really well.”

As you might guess, when students become teachers, turnabout is fair play. Every so often says Donlan, she’ll need to remind the boys who create Web pages not to do all the work themselves but “to make sure this is the teacher’s product; make sure the teacher is involved.” 

How does it feel from the students’ point of view? Donlan says team members are asked that question a lot. “Some teachers are really open, and others just don’t want it,” they reply. But most all of the students say that teaching teachers and parents “opens up a new kind of relationship.” They like the fact that they can share knowledge as equals. 

Donlan says the team has been tremendously helpful to the staff and has accelerated the use of technology at the school. The team “pushes the staff along. The boys want IRC (Internet Relay Chat), they want to do Web pages.” 

Kids With a Mission
Parents at Davis Drive have commented that being on the SWAT team turned a child’s year around because he or she assumed new responsibilities. And teachers at both schools have welcomed the in-class assistance. “If teachers saw a child was willing to take the time to sit down with a teacher,” says Miller, “they felt there was support out there.” In another role reversal, example is again the best teacher.  “When teachers see team members diving headfirst into software or the Internet,” says Miller, the response is often “well, if the kids can do it, I can try.”

What do students get out of being on the team? At the Town School, “boys feel they really hone their skills,” says Donlan. “They gain a lot of practical experience. They develop a sense of leadership. They prize the relationship they’re able to develop with teachers.” 

Miller seconds that opinion: “I’ve seen so many children change from being quiet, shy and apprehensive to confident and assertive.” The transformation, she says, stems from being part of a group that is well known, liked and highly valued within the school.

Students “visibly bloom,” says Donlan. “They have a real sense of pride in what they can do and what they are. It’s kind of unusual for kids to have a real leadership role in schools,” she reflects, “especially elementary school.”

Thinking about a technology team at your school?  

YES!

About the author: Maureen O’Neill is the editor of the Microsoft K-12 Connection.

Lucy Miller is winner of the 1997 Technology & Learning Magazine Teacher of the Year award. Miller writes: “I am currently in the process of putting all materials online for other teachers to replicate the SWAT Team program. I am also seeking pilot sites for this program at all levels. I am willing to provide online support, phone support, and in some cases, I can visit schools in person. This is one of my many missions as being the 1997 Technology Teacher of the Year. This is what I want to give back. 

Also, I am in the process of designing a SWAT Team Web site, http://w3.ncat.edu/~schofed/SWAT. This site will have all materials that I use and I will continue to add materials designed by other SWAT pilot sites. We hope to use all the technologies—digital photos, video clips—to represent the team.”

This material will also be linked to the Davis Drive Elementary school Web site at www.geocities.com/Athens/Forum/6607/index.htm.”

Leni Donlan is director of technology development and integration at the Town School for Boys in San Francisco, California. A veteran classroom teacher with broad experience in special education and K-8, she currently administers the school’s technology plan and conducts staff development on integrating technology into the curriculum. Donlan is a Library of Congress Teaching Fellow, recipient of an Apple Computer Club award, and has published in Instructor Magazine, Technology & Learning Magazine,  and Multimedia Online.

Visit the Town School for Boys Web site at  http://town.pvt.k12.ca.us/ .

© 1997. Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

Playing It Safe on the Web: Security Features of Internet Explorer 4.0 

This article was originally published in the September issue of this magazine. We are reprinting it now to correct an error concerning the use of security zones. Please note: security zones cannot be used to prevent your students from viewing the content of a Web site. Using the Content Advisor feature is the only way to block offensive content.

By Suzanne Sowinska, Ph.D.

With the growing popularity of ActiveX controls, scripts and Java applets, there is an increased chance that scripts contained in the HTML source code you receive in an e-mail message or on a Web page could access or modify files on your network computers without your knowledge or consent. Security zones, a new feature in Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.0, help to block unauthorized access to your computers by preventing unwelcome downloads of “active content” ActiveX controls, scripts, or Java applets. 

In parts of the user interface of Internet Explorer, the word “content” refers to things that are dangerous to your computer (e.g., viruses, harmful code, or scripting). To prevent the viewing of content that is offensive or dangerous to your students, you can use the Internet Explorer Content Advisor, described later in this article.

The following security features in Internet Explorer will help you tighten security at your school or district:

•	Security zones help network administrators or technology coordinators to block unauthorized downloads of “active content,” that is, ActiveX controls, scripts, or Java applets. 
•	Secure downloads allow you to control how ActiveX controls, plug-ins, Java applets and JavaScript interact with network computers.
•	Certificate management allow you to designate which software publishers and credentials agencies are trustworthy.
•	Content Advisor helps you control the types of content teachers and students can access on the Internet. Only rated content that meets or exceeds your district’s criteria can be displayed.

Security Zones
The security zones feature divides the Web into the following predefined zones so that a network administrators, district technology coordinator or teacher can designate which sites are safe to download active content from and which are not.

•	Local intranet zone: The sites on your district intranet are likely to have safe content and be virus-free, so you’ll probably want to add them to this zone and allow all types of active content and controls to run there. The addresses included are defined by a network administrator using the Internet Explorer Administrator's Kit (IEAK). The default security level for the local intranet zone is Medium. You can change this setting to Low if you feel confident that everything inside the district firewall is safe for downloads.*
•	Trusted sites zone: This zone contains sites you trust, that is, sites that you believe you can download or run files from without worrying about damage to your computer or data. A district technology coordinator or a teacher can assign sites to this zone. The default security level for the trusted sites zone is Low.
•	Restricted sites zone: This zone contains sites you don't trust, that is, sites that you're not sure you can download or run files from without damage to your computer or data. A network administrator or district technology coordinator can assign sites to this zone. The default security level for the restricted sites zone is High.
•	Internet zone: By default, this zone contains anything that is not on your computer or an intranet or assigned to any other zone. The default security level for the Internet zone is Medium. 

In a science class, for example, a teacher might preview Web sites that contain information about the Mars Pathfinder mission and then add them to the trusted sites zone. A network administrator might decide she wants to prevent students visiting those sites from downloading certain multimedia files. Working together, the teacher decides on the Web pages to add to the trusted sites zone while the network administrator decides how to protect the system.

Using the Internet Explorer Administrator's Kit detailed at http://microsoft.com/ie/ieak, a network administrator can either lock down all the security-level settings at the server level or allow teachers or students to change security settings at the client level.

Setting up a trusted sites zone can also protect individual computers without interrupting students with repeated security warnings as they visit Web sites. You can tell which zone the current Web page is in by looking at the right side of the Internet Explorer status bar. Whenever you attempt to open or download content from the Web, Internet Explorer checks the security settings for that Web site's zone. 

Any files already on your local computer are assumed to be completely safe, and very few security settings are applied to them. This allows you to open and run files and programs on your computer without prompting or interruption. You cannot assign a folder or drive on your computer to a security zone.

To set security zones up, go to the View menu, click Internet Options and then click the Security tab.

*Note: If your district does not use a proxy server, the intranet zone can more broadly represent a "local known network."  From Internet Explorer 4.0, click View and then click Internet Options. Click the Security tab, choose Local Intranet Zone and then click Add Sites. Click Include local (intranet) sites not listed in other zones, and then click Advanced.

In the Add This Web Site to the Zone box, enter the name of the local network Web site, for example: file://local or file://district/website. Or, you can add Internet locations from other schools in your district, for example: http://www.school-district.edu.

Fine-tuning Security Levels
Although most network administrators will find the standard High, Medium, and Low security settings to be specific enough for the needs of their school districts, you can fine-tune them using the custom security settings feature for security zones. For example, if you don't want teachers and students to have to make security decisions on a case-by-case basis, you can set automatic boundaries, such as restricting the download of all “unsigned” ActiveX controls or Java applets.

Or, if you are concerned about what a Java applet is actually going to do to your system once it is downloaded, you can decide exactly what applets can or can't do when interacting with a computer in your network. At the highest security level, you'll be able to restrict Java applets on a local hard drive so they can run only in a safe and secure storage area in the memory of the client computer outside of which the program cannot make calls. You can also choose to lower the security requirements for Java applets that you trust, enabling more powerful and interactive features.

The Custom setting gives network administrators and technology coordinators more control over all security options, including: 

•	How ActiveX controls and plug-ins are downloaded, run, and scripted for each security zone on your network computers.
•	The level of permissions given for running Java applets within a security zone.
•	Whether or not files can be downloaded within a security zone.
•	Password protection. Depending on which security zone a server is in, Internet Explorer can send password information automatically, prompt the user for user and password information or simply deny any log-on request.

To view security options, on the View menu, click Internet Options, Custom, and then Settings. To set district level security options, you must modify the settings by using the Internet Explorer Administrator’s Kit.

Authentication
Authentication certificates are a key tool in providing Internet security through the use of Microsoft Authenticode™ technology, a digital identification process that software publishers use to sign their code.

Authenticode technology identifies the publisher of a piece of software and verifies that the software hasn't been tampered withso you can trust that viruses aren't going to infect your system, and that software has been tested and will do what it promises to do without crashing your system. Certificates are assigned only to software publishers who meet defined levels of integrity and security in their code.

Using the Internet Explorer Administrator’s Kit, a network administrator can install certificates on a computer, meaning that users can download only those certificates and no others. This has the following benefits: 

•	Network administrators have greater control over what software can be downloaded onto a classroom computer.
•	Teachers and students are presented with fewer warnings and choices for downloading software. 

A network administrator can allow or deny certificates for each security zone. If controls are allowed to run in a zone, then the teacher or student using a network computer will also have permission to accept or reject new code.

When determining which code to accept or reject, a network administrator might decide to rely on brand name security. For example, because of the amount of testing that goes into them, a network administrator might decide that ActiveX controls signed by Microsoft are safe to automatically run on their systems. Student and teachers would no longer need to go through the tedious process of reading and accepting an Authenticode certificate for every ActiveX control from Microsoft they wanted to download.

After the initial Internet Explorer 4.0 installation, a network administrator or technology coordinator can remotely manage all allowed publisher (and site) certificates by adding new certificates to—or even removing them from—the allowed list.

Don’t Forget To Use Content Advisor!
While the security features described above are useful for protecting against content dangerous to a network computer, they don’t filter out offensive text or visual content. The most common complaint of parents and teachers is that they aren't sure the content students are viewing on the Internet is safe and appropriate. For example, a student might accidentally stumble across a Web site with adult content or spend research time reading jokes from a comedy Web page.

For these more common types of security problems, use Content Advisor (available from the Internet Explorer Options menu). Keep in mind, however, that Content Advisor relies on a ratings system that not all Web sites use, and you can inadvertently block access to a perfectly suitable site for your students that because the site is not rated. (See related article on Content Advisor http://www.microsoft.com/education/k12/articles/intjan97.asp#Tip_Jan.)

Resources
For more information on the new security features in Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.0, visit the Microsoft Internet Explorer Security Web site at http://www.microsoft.com/security/.

Some of the new security features are also available to users of Microsoft Internet Explorer version 3.0. For example, you can download the Authenticode 2.0 update by going to the Web site listed above and clicking the Authenticode link.

About the author: Suzanne Sowinska is a software content and online authoring systems consultant, technology writer and university educator. You can reach her at sowinska@oz.net.

© 1997 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

3. Network & Desktop Operating Systems
What Do You Want to Do Today? 

By Annmarie Flynn Kelly

Are your high school students learning programming through an Internet distance education program? Do your music students want to learn to compose using computers? Can your administrative staff get by with an ultra slimmed down PC? How long can you hang onto those donated 286s? What’s the best choice for a classroom learning station? Would NetPCs work in the lab? Should the computer applications instructor have a laptop? 

To help educators match the right computer to the right job, Microsoft and our hardware partners offer a range of desktop options, all compatible with the Windows operating system. These solutions—ranging from the sophisticated and powerful Windows NT® Workstation to the mobile Windows CE–based handheld device—can each play a specific role in your school or district, depending on the learning objectives of your students, your administrative needs, your budget, and your security concerns. 

A Full Range of Solutions

Windows CE
It may be small, but it’s powerful. Lightweight and portable, handheld computers running Windows CE will go wherever your students go, making them an obvious choice for tasks such as collecting data on the migrating birds your fifth-grade students spotted during their annual visit to the wildlife sanctuary. 

Because the Windows CE operating system is compatible with Windows 95, students can use “pocket versions” of applications they are already familiar with, such as Microsoft Word and Excel, to record and analyze their data. When they get back to school, they can easily download the data to their desktop PCs and create a PowerPoint presentation to share their findings with the other classes.

At an average cost of $700, these mobile computers are definitely affordable. Look for a sub-notebook running Windows CE by the end of this school year.

Windows-based Terminal
Windows-based terminals are a new super-thin Windows family client device. All applications and the operating system run from a centrally managed server. Centralized management is a plus when you need to lower your administrative overhead or when security is a pressing concern, but remember, if the network goes down, so go the terminals. These terminals do not have standalone or multimedia functionality.

Priced at about $500, Windows-based terminals may be a good solution for repetitive, task-based uses and for information collection; for example, they may be perfect for libraries or for those working in certain types of administrative positions. And since everything is run off the server, schools using Windows NT Server as their network operating system can put Macintoshes, 286s, and bare-bones terminals to better use as clients that can access full-featured Windows applications such as Microsoft Office. 

NetPC
Like the Windows-based terminal, the NetPC is a totally sealed box with a small footprint. Although the NetPC does come with an internal hard drive, it does not have CD or floppy drives. Since no new software can be added by students, no viruses can be introduced; and since the hard drive is “out of reach,” there is little for students to tinker with. 

In addition, if you run Windows NT 4.0 as your network operating system, the Zero Administration Kit* (ZAK) now available for free download at http://www.microsoft.com/windows/zak/getzak.htm, greatly simplifies the task of installing applications at the desktop. ZAK also enhances desktop security by, for example, allowing network administrators to alter the Start menu so that it displays only selected programs. 

Finally, since applications can be installed on the hard drive in addition to running them off the server, the NetPC can function as a standalone computer, limiting its vulnerability to network problems. 

Installing NetPCs might be right for you if tightening security and decreasing the time you spend servicing your network are primary concerns: for example, in computer labs and some classroom environments. The low cost of about $1,000 per machine also makes them attractive. 

Full-featured PCs
Full-featured desktop PCs running Microsoft Windows are now the most commonly purchased client solution for education. Small wonder, since these PCs are powerful, fast, and reliable and offer rich multimedia capabilities—making them ideal for instructional use. 

Windows 95 offers ease of use and manageability, and is extremely cost-effective. Again, if you run Windows NT 4.0 as your network operating system, ZAK will reduce support costs and give your network administrator greater levels of control by limiting access to applications and automating tasks as desktop lockdown, operating system updates and application installation.

The portable PC is the model of the Anytime Anywhere Learning approach (http://www.microsoft.com/education/k12/aal/default.htm), in which more than 20,000 students and educators this year are going back to school with Windows-based laptops loaded with Microsoft Office Professional and a modem for connectivity to the Internet—a basic “learner’s tool kit.” 

Some full-featured PCs are now selling for as little as $1,000. If you want to offer students a rich, multimedia learning environment where the computer becomes a learning tool, rather than simply a vehicle to deliver information, there’s no contest: the full-featured PC is the right choice.

Windows NT Workstation
The Windows NT Workstation client running on a server platform is most useful in schools for administrative tasks such as working with large databases of student information, computer-aided design (CAD), simulations in labs, and specific computer science learning and problem solving. It is extremely powerful, secure and reliable. However, because of the design goals for this new operating system, you will be able to run fewer Windows 3.1 and MS-DOS®-based applications. Also, Windows NT Workstation generally requires more system resources in terms of memory and processing power than Windows 95. 

Use the following table to compare and contrast the benefits of Windows client solutions. 

Windows Client Solution	Features/Benefits	
Windows CE	•	Great basic skills device.
•	Powerful 32-bit operating system.
•	Familiar user interface based on Windows 95.
•	 “Pocket” versions of popular Microsoft Office applications.
•	Designed for a broad range of communications, entertainment and mobile-computing devices.
Limitations:
•	Pocket versions of Microsoft applications don’t have advanced features.	
Windows-based terminal	•	32-bit Windows-based applications delivered to remote and legacy desktops.
•	All applications run from the server
•	No floppy disk or CD drives: eliminates threat of infection from contaminated floppies.
•	Fast dial-up or remote access to centralized applications.
•	Low total cost of ownership.
Limitations:
•	Vulnerable to network crashes.
•	No multimedia capabilities.	
NetPC	•	Secure: sealed case prevents modifications to the desktop hardware configuration. 
•	Safe: threat of infection from contaminated floppies eliminated.
•	Internal hard drive and RAM allow NetPC to function as standalone.
•	32-bit applications run from server or from local hard drive.
•	ZAK initiative enhances management of desktop computers. 
•	Easy management reduces support costs, lowering total cost of ownership.
•	Familiar Windows user interface.
Limitations:
•	Cannot be upgraded. 
•	CD-ROMS cannot be played locally.	
Full-featured desktop PC with 
Windows 95	•	Rich multimedia capabilities.
•	Broad range of accessibility features.
•	Fast performance. 
•	Available in portable models.
•	Highest level of software and hardware compatibility available. 1,800+ curriculum applications available. 
•	ZAK initiative enhances management of desktop computers and enhanced desktop security.
•	Easy-to-use interface. 
•	Best platform for navigating the Web.
•	Supports many 16-bit applications.	
Windows NT Workstation	•	Powerful performance and reliability.
•	Same user interface as Windows 95.
•	Offers the highest level of stability and security.
•	ZAK initiative enhances management of desktop computers. 
•	Low cost of ownership.
•	Efficient management.
Limitations:
•	High system requirements.
•	Less support for 16-bit applications.	

Which Client Solutions Are Right for Your School?
“In the past,” explains Jim Kuhr, technology initiatives manager for the education group at Microsoft, “schools have purchased just one class of device: a PC or a Mac. Now you have to look at what you’re going to do and choose the device that matches it. You’ve got to choose based on cost and function.”

Kuhr is enthusiastic about what each solution offers: Windows CE promises an attractive price point with a great set of productivity features. At the other end of the spectrum, the full-featured PC can help create a learning environment where “real critical-thinking skills are developed, where the computer is a tool, not a delivery environment.”

“Just want Internet access?” asks Kuhr, “then use the NetPC. In the lab or library, the Windows-based terminal is superb because no one can gain access to the system files. They just get Internet access and at a low price point.”  But for teachers and students working on creative, interactive curriculum, Kuhr advises moving to full-featured PCs or laptops. 

From Frill to Necessity
Once considered a luxury, classroom computers are becoming a necessary and extraordinarily useful educational tool. According to the 1996 Quality Education Data survey, there is now one desktop computer for every nine students in the United States; compare that to a 1:20 ratio just five years ago. 

Only Windows offers a range of solutions capable of meeting the diverse needs of the education environment—and all running on a single operating system. “The beauty of this architecture,” says Kuhr, “is that the interface is always the same . . . I can enter this spectrum at any point and maintain manageability and my investment.”  

* ZAK is the first part of the Zero Administration Kit for Windows initiative (ZAW) for the Windows 95 and Windows NT workstation environments. For more information, visit  the ZAW Web site at http:// /windows/platform/info/zawmb.htm.

•	To see what schools across the country are doing to integrate laptops as a core tool in everyday curriculum,  visit the home page for Anytime Anywhere Learning at  http://www.microsoft.com/education/k12/aal/default.htm.

About the author: Annmarie Flynn Kelly is a technical writer for IKON Office Solutions/Technology Services/Valinor.

© 1997. Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved
4. Classroom Corner 
Crossing the Great Divide

By Steven Gunter

A year or so ago, the great benefactor of the Bentonville Public Schools (Bentonville, AR), Mrs. Helen Walton (wife of "Mr. Sam"), waved the magic wand of the Family Foundation, donating $1.5 million to our schools. This donation made possible the purchase of computers and training time for teachers, complete with networked Internet-ready labs in every school and a minimum of one PC in every classroom.

Many of us resisted that brave vision of a better and different school. We who had achieved a mastery of print skills and who had effective oral performance strategies did not cotton to the deconstruction of our current teaching practices. (As we saw it, technology threatened to eliminate teachers in the emerging global village.)

The Brave New Wired World
I have crossed the Great Divide. Now, at last, I understand that the new "wired world" makes my job much more important and interesting, and even much more liberating than ever before. Our students need us now, more than ever.

In the year of the implementation of the grant, the mighty marvels of the new technology advanced step by step into our schools. We soon discovered that wiring of schools for Internet access is no simple task. Much mechanical misery came with our efforts to build the computer network. In the beginning, the computers were erratic and highly unstable. The fragility of the Net (or at least the link from Bentonville High School [BHS] to the backbone) caught us by surprise. The difficulty of finding people to run the technical side of the computer network made using the Net in the classrooms virtually impossible. Many grew frustrated and ceased to try to adjust lesson plans for the new tools that technology offers. Fearful critics used these problems to condemn the entire enterprise. Negative notes abounded, and students felt cheated and betrayed, because we could not incorporate the Net into our library or classes with any widespread success.

Up Against the Wall
As the second year begins—despite our memories of glitches, snags, and constant breakdowns—change is now looking like our friend. We’ve conquered some fears and are more ready to head into the new Information Age Renaissance that is rapidly evolving around us in business, entertainment and our homes.

What does this mean to faculty like me (year 23 of teaching, year 45 of life)? It means we must acknowledge that tools of technology of the Information Age will no more go away than did the tools of the Industrial Age, that we must either join the bitter "refuseniks" (anti-computer teachers) who have left the profession, or change. Those of us who remain, for the most part, are committed to the new era, for our kids and for our teaching.

Goodbye Lone Ranger. Hello Alpha Geek?
In my budding enthusiasm for technology, I built a personal home page on the Web using a server maintained by the University of Arkansas. In learning how to create the page, I discovered I had to give up my Lone-Ranger style of teaching. 

I took my first step over the Great Divide by accessing INFOSEEK, an excellent quick reference tool located at http://www.infoseek.com.  There I found The HTML Writers Guild (http://www.hwg.org/), home to a most wonderful band of Web writers open to all the earnest, honest questions of a completely ignorant person, questions which they responded to in a kind-hearted and gentle manner. And despite my knowing absolutely nothing about writing HTML, the guild granted me membership, and I have worked very hard ever since to become a more capable and worthy peer. This alone taught me powerful lessons about teaching and my expectations for others. I have practiced distance learning with people from all over the globe as I have learned how to write the code that makes my pages possible. I began to imagine a totally new kind of class, a completely new style for my teaching. I have lost nothing; I have gained everything.

When I built “Steve’s Stuff,” my personal Web page, I accepted the bitter risk of failure in order that I might taste the sweet wine of victory. I learned I can do much more than merely survive; I can succeed and be part of the change for the better. What's on my page? Was this worth all the hassle, the misery, the fear for my professional future? When I look at the animated atom marking arrival at my “Homework helper” page, I know that building the page helped me cross over the mountain of change. My page evolves daily. I have a million and one ideas for its improvement. 

What will be on my page? Since BHS is a Break-the-Mold School, which means that much of the educational government paperwork has been abolished, we can try all sorts of things without the laborious intervention and approval of Arkansas state legislators and the Education Department. I foresee models, tutorials, further resources, alternative assignments, alternative paths of learning for A-level credit. Only imagination could limit “Cyber 257”: my room on the Web. In a page called “My Ozark diary,” I seek to establish a model for the writing I shall expect from every student I teach. No more will my students find themselves without examples to guide them. I’ve built my pages so that students can send e-mail to me directly from my home page to ask, for example, for a direct extension of the day's activities and lessons.

My kids deserve a teacher who has crossed the Great Divide. They deserve a teacher who is no more afraid to keep on learning than they must be. My kids are able, bright, creative, dynamic, energetic, first-class, great, helpful, intelligent, jubilant, kinetic, loving, mindful, notable, outstanding, proficient, questioners, reasoners, smart, teachers themselves, underappreciated, vigorous, wonderful, (e)Xtra-special, young and (e)Z to teach! They deserve the electronic best that I may learn to share with them.

I seek to make my page better daily. I have learned the lesson of life: To live is to embrace change. Living is all about learning new things and doing things in new ways. Teachers were almost the last ones to find this out. In fact I know that if I were to deconstruct “Room 257,” my kids would build a Cyber 257 filled with their dynamic Web documents and pages and tremendous discoveries Gunter-guaranteed to astound one and all who choose to visit us online anytime all the time. C ya soon? 

About the author: Steve Gunter writes “I have spent 24 of the finest years of my life teaching in the public schools and the local community college: they have been full of wonderful experiences with young people and the challenging lives they lead today. The computer just radically renewed my teaching life. I reside in a pleasant home with my wonderful wife, Linda (year 25: two become one this year!). Our daughter, Nancee, is a senior in the high school where I teach. Audrey, our pampered kitty, tries to help me type with mixed results. All in all I have lived a most wonderful life.”

You can send e-mail to Steve Gunter at sgunter@comp.uark.edu|R.257 or visit his home page at http://members.tripod.com/~surrealist/aaa.html.