Online Portfolios:
At CharterConservatory for Liberal Arts & Technology? we regularly integrate technology into our classes. One of our most unique ways of doing this is by requiring our students, 6th grade through 12th, to create and update their own personal website portfolios. The yearly schedule is their academic springboard to course projects (sample). These provide a way for teachers, parents, and students to see academic progress from year to year, even from session (nine weeks) to session. Portfolios are a collection of student work providing a record of where the student started, the progress the student has made and what the student is capable of accomplishing. Students are also required to begin developing an ever expanding resume to be included in their Homepage. The individual growth of Multiple Intelligences (MI) and Community Service work is also recorded within the eportfolio. Our CCAT Portfolios cover the twelve points from our Charter.

Applications Software:
In our efforts to be close to the cutting edge of communication technology for our student usage, CCAT opted to highlight a Linux operating system. We also provide Windows XP desktops along with three mobile carts of wireless laptops. Two of these are Windows and one holds Apple iBooks.
Each student has his or her own email account, web site, and personal (VR) desktop?. Each student (6th - 12th) has access to a word processor?, spreadsheet?, presentation application?, and a graphics manipulator. They are also instructed on how to use these softwares and expected to use them in their daily activities as a CCAT student .
The Video Production area includes 2 G4 Macs and a G5. These are equiped with GarageBand? (Audio creation and manipulation), iMovie (Video) and iDVD (dvd recording software). The Production area has lights, curtains, and tripods with digital DVDs and still cameras for student use. Students design and create our digital yearbooks? using a multiple DVD recorder.
We believe in using and supporting open source applications. A variety of applications in regular use by our students and faculty/staff are: GIMP?, a graphics editor; Portable Apps, applications used via a jump drive; Skype?, an internet telephone; and Nvu? also known as Kompozer?, a WYSIWYG editor. Our students are encouraged to use the Mozilla Firefox? browser and Google Apps? such as Google Earth and Google SketchUp.

Moodle@CCAT:
Teachers can deliver and receive assignments and students can maintain online journals through Moodle. There are resources like a wiki, blog, message, web page, etc. Long discussions or chats can be incorporated into the classroom environment via the course page, enabling absent students (or teachers) to participate in the daily activities. The chats can be archived as needed. A calendar can post important events to the course group, or the entire site. A user may also create a private personal calendar. Moodle also has RSS reader capability for podcasts and can be located within each course.

Intracommunications:
We are experimenting with Moodle as a school wide chat communications vehicle. This should include all fac/staff and students. CCAT is an open environment and classes flow from one to another without the jarring insertion of loud bells or oral messages over a loud speaker. Since a large part of our student body are on our networked computers at any given time, we feel that a delivery of messages in this way will be another successful experiment.

Learning Logic:
We have a Math Lab at CCAT with 25 student work stations. We are able to offer PreAlgebra, Algebra I, and Algebra II. Students are able to work at their own pace which may be slowed or accelerated depending upon student need. This lab is also available to students during scheduled times after the school day and during each break. We are exploring the ability to extend the lab remotely to students on a case by case basis. Learning Logic is a Linux? based math program developed by The National Science Center Foundation?.

Frequently Asked Questions FAQ:
The CCAT Communication Technology Wiki has a FAQ. We will be building these along with the wiki.