MSM 248: Visual Notetaking . . . but this is a Podcast . . .

Presented in collaboration with the Association for Middle Level Education.

Jokes You Can Use:

Three men were discussing at a bar about coincidences. The first man said, ” my wife was reading a “tale of two cities” and she gave birth to twins”

“That’s funny”, the second man remarked, “my wife was reading ‘the three musketeers’ and she gave birth to triplets”

The third man shouted, “Good God, I have to rush home!”

When asked what the problem was, he exclaimed, ” When I left the house, my wife was reading Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves”!!!

 

A guy drove to the beach and parked his car close to the water’s edge – not realizing it was Low Tide – then he went for a long hike up into the mountains. During his excursion, High Tide came and then receded – completely submersing his car for a period of time in the process. When he finally returned to his car – he became very concerned when he found out that he had Tuna in his Mercury!

http://flowingdata.com/2013/06/14/the-differences-between-a-geek-and-a-nerd/

 

Eileen Award:

  • Twitter: Megan Barker, CSPAN Classroom, Student Cam (CSPAN), HAsbell, Megan Gaven, LMS (Linwood Middle School) Public Relations, LearnPal, IPEVO, Gretchen Pace, Brenda Knobloch, Faith Howell, Dianne Krause, Gayle Andrews, Mark Lavine, K12 Inc., Chelsy Hooper, Dr. Scott Rimes, Kelly Dumont

  • Facebook: Brian Rice, Sue Anderson

 

Advisory:

Futuristic Inventions

Review the following futuristic inventions. Have students come up with their own and present.

http://mashable.com/2013/07/05/5-wish-list-inventions/?utm_cid=Mash-Product-RSS-Pheedo-All-Partial

 

200 Calories

What does 200 calories look like? (*Note that they do show alcohol).

Middle School Science Minute

by Dave Bydlowski (k12science or davidbydlowski@mac.com)

 

Middle School Science Minute — PBL and Fossil Finders

 

I was recently reading the March, 2013 issue of Science Scope, a magazine for middle school science teachers, published by the National Science Teachers Association.  An article that caught my attention was:

“Fossil Finders: Engaging All of Your Students Using, Project-Based Learning.”  It was written by Timothy Conner, Daniel Capps, Barbara Crawford, and Robert Ross.

 

The article does a nice job of explaining Project -Based Learning (PBL), why they use PBL and how Fossil Finders fits into the curriculum.  You can learn more about Fossil Finders by visiting:

http://www.fossilfinders.org

From the Twitterverse:

* Dana Huff ‏@danamhuff

Top story: Introducing Edmodo’s Brand New Look http://blog.edmodo.com/2013/07/11/introducing-edmodos-brand-new-look …, see more http://tweetedtimes.com/danamhuff

* teachertime123.com ‏@teachertime123

Behavior Management Plan-article on classrm behavior,positive intervention, how to write a behavior management planhttp://www.teachertime123.com/2011/01/691/

* Farrah Kilgo ‏@KilgosClass

How Twitter Made Me A Better Teacher http://zite.to/1bx4kMU  via @zite

* Mitchell Salerno ‏@wkndDisney

Cute and strangely true. Limericks for Leaders http://zite.to/15D2TKi  via @zite

* Michele Corbat ‏@MicheleCorbat

22 Easy Formative Assessment Techniques for Measuring Student Learning http://zite.to/14Oxq6F  via @zite #swcrkpln

* Garnet Hillman ‏@garnet_hillman

Working on #geniushour plans for next year… Can’t wait to see how they #Choose2Matter!

* Kyle Calderwood ‏@kcalderw

Wonderful Graphic Featuring 10 Simple Ways to Create your PLN http://goo.gl/k1HGM  #njed #edtech #smchat

* ann foreman ‏@ann_f

Speaking activities for low–level students http://ow.ly/mUkCM  #TeachingEnglish #elt

* Darth Vader ‏@DepressedDarth

If you understand Star Wars puns, you’re the Obi-Wan for me.   Retweeted by Pilar Pamblanco

* Steve Cushing ‏@Montberte

A must for every Edmodo Student – Big Planning – Flowchart Tool http://goo.gl/giYrU  #edmodo #edtools #elearning #edchat

* Barbara Bray ‏@bbray27

The 50 Best Smartphone Apps For Teachers Arranged By Category | @scoopit via @hVuj http://sco.lt/4qU0mH

* LearnPal ‏@LearnPal

How To Get An Education For Free Using Only Your Android Phone Or Tablet http://ow.ly/mPmxJ  via @edubeat

* Monte Tatom ‏@drmmtatom

Integrating the #iPad into my Teaching Style ~ Friday’s session at #tetaita2013 ~ http://fhu.edu/s/Tz4k2  #tn_teta #fhuedu642 #fhucid

#mschat every Thursday at 8:00 pm Eastern Standard Time.

 

Resources:

Adobe FormsCentral

Allows you to create forms for free. You must create an account by providing an email address. Responses are limited to 50 with the free version. Lots of templates available. I would use Google Forms in place of this. The templates are the one advantage to Adobe.

https://formscentral.acrobat.com/

 

One take on Standardized Testing

Do you know a class like this?

 

Coggle

Unleash your creativity

Produce beautiful notes, quickly and easily. Share them with friends and colleagues to enhance your ideas collaboratively. All for free! Sign in using Google credentials.

Easily create MindMaps. Each MindMap can be shared (either with Write or Read privileges).

You can download your work as a pdf or png. (Thus, it won’t be able to be edited).

You can also see a revision history.

https://coggle.it/

 

MindMup

These can be created in a number of places. You can create a public one, an offline version or save one in your Google Drive.

http://www.mindmup.com/#m:new

 

Free Resources from Larry Ferlazzo

Yesterday, I posted about how Routledge, who recently purchased Eye On Education (the publisher of my first two books on student motivation) had just made all the figures, including student hand-outs, available online for free (see All Figures, Including Student Hand-outs, From My Two Student Motivation Books Are Now Freely Available For Download).

http://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/2013/07/02/that-was-quick-my-new-publisher-has-made-even-more-free-downloadable-figures-from-my-newest-book-available/

Web Spotlight:

How To Learn Math

I’ve decided to attend Stanford. Sort of.

 

I just enrolled in EDUC115N: How to Learn Math:

In July 2013 a new course will be available on Stanford’s free on-line platform. The course is a short intervention designed to change students’ relationships with math. I have taught this intervention successfully in the past (in classrooms); it caused students to re-engage successfully with math, taking a new approach to the subject and their learning.

 

In the 2013-2014 school year the course will be offered to learners of math but in July of 2013 I will release a version of the course designed for teachers and other helpers of math learners, such as parents. In the teacher/parent version I will share the ideas I will present to students and hold a conversation with teachers and parents about the ideas. There will also be sessions giving teachers/parents particular strategies for achieving changes in students and opportunities for participants to work together on ideas through the forum pages. The ideas I will share will be really helpful as teachers prepare to implement the new Common Core State Standards.

http://thefischbowl.blogspot.com/2013/07/how-to-learn-math.html

 

Cinema Effects

http://youtu.be/XHa98mDfOR4

 

Visual Notetaking

I have learned a great deal about visual notetaking the past year as I’ve been working on my second eBook project, “Mapping Media to the Common Core: Vol I.” Canadian educator Giulia Forsythe has been and continues to be inspirational to me. Rachel Smith’s 18 minute TEDx talk, “Drawing in Class,” has also been a big influence. Since I believe we should all “walk our talk,” I resolved before the ISTE 2013 conference to try the suggestions of Giulia and Rachel at some of the conference sessions and create my own visual notes. Here are the results.

My visual notes of Stephen Johnson‘s morning keynote today at ISTE:

 

http://www.speedofcreativity.org/2013/06/26/visual-notetaking-at-iste-2013/

How to Create Visual

http://youtu.be/qRJG46hUAW8

 

Stop Penalizing Boys for Not Being Able to Sit Still at School

Instead, help them channel their energy into productive tasks.

This year’s end-of-year paper purge in my middle school office revealed a startling pattern in my teaching practices: I discipline boys far more often than I discipline girls.

Something is rotten in the state of boys’ education, and I can’t help but suspect that the pattern I have seen in my classroom may have something to do with a collective failure to adequately educate boys.

Boys are diagnosed with learning disorders and attention problems at nearly four times the rate of girls.

While I love teaching boys, many of my colleagues do not, particularly during the hormone-soaked, energetic, and distracted middle- and high-school years.

Teachers and school administrators lament that boys are too fidgety, too hyperactive, too disruptive, derailing the educational process for everyone while sabotaging their own intellectual development.

Peek into most American classrooms and you will see desks in rows, teachers pleading with students to stay in their seats and refrain from talking to their neighbors. Marks for good behavior are rewarded to the students who are proficient at sitting still for long periods of time. Many boys do not have this skill.

eight categories of instruction that succeeded in teaching boys. The most effective lessons included more than one of these elements:

  • Lessons that result in an end product–a booklet, a catapult, a poem, or a comic strip, for example.

  • Lessons that are structured as competitive games.

  • Lessons requiring motor activity.

  • Lessons requiring boys to assume responsibility for the learning of others.

  • Lessons that require boys to address open questions or unsolved problems.

  • Lessons that require a combination of competition and teamwork.

  • Lessons that focus on independent, personal discovery and realization.

  • Lessons that introduce drama in the form of novelty or surprise.

Rather than penalize the boys’ relatively higher energy and competitive drive, the most effective way to teach boys is to take advantage of that high energy, curiosity, and thirst for competition.

Educators should strive to teach all children, both girls and boys by acknowledging, rather than dismissing, their particular and distinctive educational needs.

http://www.theatlantic.com/sexes/archive/2013/06/stop-penalizing-boys-for-not-being-able-to-sit-still-at-school/276976/

 

Half-Baked Ideas . . .

Visual Recording

MSM 230: The Makings of a Good Teacher

Presented in collaboration with the Association for Middle Level Education.

Jokes You Can Use:

What do you call a 4 foot psychic who escapes from jail?

Why did the mermaid wear seashells?

What concert costs 45¢?

How did the hipster burn his tongue?

What do get when cross the Atlantic with the Titantic?

What did one eye says to the other eye?

Listen to the show for answers  🙂

Eileen Award:

  • Twitter: Richard Ball, Kenna Wilson

Advisory:

Seeing things differently

http://www.thisiscolossal.com/2013/01/brilliant-urban-interventions-by-oakoak-turn-crumbling-city-infrastructure-into-a-visual-playground/

Middle School Science Minute

by Dave Bydlowski (k12science or davidbydlowski@mac.com)

Heat Safety

I was recently reading the December, 2012 issue of Science Scope, a publication of the National Science Teachers Association for middle school teachers.  In the monthly section, “Scope on Safety “written by Ken Roy, director of environmental health and safety for Glastonbury Public Schools in Glastonbury, CT, he wrote about using heat sources safely in the middle school science laboratory.  The article was entitled “Turning Up the Heat on Safety.”  Safety-wise, the hot plate is probably by far the best choice.

From the Twitterverse:

* Dayna Lauckner ‏@Laucknerdig
Profanity is a strong way to express a weak mind
* WORLD Magazine ‏@WORLD_mag
Pakistani girl shot by Islamist militants leaves hospital http://ow.ly/gyUMs
* Will Richardson ‏@willrich45
Creativity, A Literacy http://buff.ly/S92j3p  #edchat #education
* jennyluca ‏@jennyluca
@mcleod: Why So Many Schools Remain Penitentiaries of Boredom http://huff.to/Zmx5Yr  #iaedfuture #plaea” by @MsEnglishTweets
* Huffington Post ‏@HuffingtonPost
Teen creates awesome Twitter account to spread compliments about kids at his school http://huff.to/Z44Bht
* Scott McLeod ‏@mcleod
New bookmark: Battling the “Bad Teacher” Bogeyman

New bookmark: The Mystery of Good Teaching | Education Next

* Miguel Guhlin ‏@mguhlin
Teach with Moodle course available on the MOOCH http://dlvr.it/2lNwvR
* Larry Ferlazzo ‏@Larryferlazzo
Documentary examines Rhee’s legacy in D.C. http://wapo.st/Wts89Z
* Ron Peck ‏@Ron_Peck
NOVA | Ancient Worlds http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/ancient/ … Excellent resource. #sschat #wrldchat
* David Britten ‏@colonelb
RT @OaklandSchools: What Learning Will Look Like in 2013 http://ow.ly/gpunT  via @anniemurphypaul #EdChat
#mschat every Thursday at 8:00 pm Eastern Standard Time.

Resources:

How We Know the Earth is Round

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=o_W280R_Jt8#!

Banished Word List

http://www.lssu.edu/banished/current.php

The Power of Mindset

Eduardo Briceño is the Co-Founder and CEO of Mindset Works (http://www.mindsetworks.com), an organization that helps schools and other organizations cultivate a growth mindset culture. The growth mindset was discovered by Stanford professor and Mindset Works co-founder Carol Dweck, Ph.D., and is described in her book Mindset: The New Psychology of Success (http://www.mindsetonline.com). Mindset Works offers Brainology, an innovative blended learning program to teach a growth mindset to students, teachers and schools, as well as teacher professional development and tools (http://www.mindsetworks.com/brainology/).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=pN34FNbOKXc

Essay Bank

9000 essays to steal look at.
http://www.essaybank.com/

Web Spotlight:

The Power of Love

The effect of a teacher and the effect in the classroom. Very motivating. Useful for principals especially.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=9bSu_Snlbsw#!

Dying teacher’s quest: Did I make a difference?

..nothing to do with my speaking, more to do with my listening…
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2012/12/23/inspirational-teacher/1785739/

News:

More Evidence Showing The Dangers Of Using High-Stakes Testing For Teacher Evaluation

Though slogging through academic papers like these often lead me to thoughts of shooting myself, I think this paragraph sums it up and is worth a read:

In sum, the results indicate that a teacher’s effect on test scores and other non-cognitive outcomes are largely orthogonal such that teachers who tend to improve test scores are no more or less likely to improve non-test score outcomes…. It is clear that a teacher’s effect on non-cognitive skills is essentially missed by her effect on test scores.
This implies that roughly half of teachers classified as above average at improving test score will be below average at improving non-cognitive ability and roughly 25 percent of teachers in the top 25 percent of improving test scores will be in the bottom 25 percent at improving non-cognitive ability. Because unexplained variability in outcomes associated with individual teachers is not just noise, but is systematically associated with their ability to improve unmeasured noncognitive skills, classifying teachers based on their test score value-added will likely lead to large shares of excellent teachers being deemed poor and vice versa
…. Another implication is that if teachers must expend less effort improving non-cognitive ability in order to improve cognitive ability, regimes that increase the external rewards for test scores (such as paying teachers for test score performance or test-based accountability) may undermine the creation of students’ non-cognitive skills (Holmstrom & Milgrom, 1991). In light of the large estimated benefits to higher noncognitive skills (particularly for students at the lower end of the earnings distribution) in Table 2, this may be cause for concern.

A cause for concern, indeed….

http://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/2013/01/04/more-evidence-showing-the-dangers-of-using-high-stakes-testing-for-teacher-evaluation/

Sure, Big Data Is Great. But So Is Intuition.

By STEVE LOHR
Published: December 29, 2012

The problem is that a math model, like a metaphor, is a simplification. This type of modeling came out of the sciences, where the behavior of particles in a fluid, for example, is predictable according to the laws of physics.
Models can create what data scientists call a behavioral loop. A person feeds in data, which is collected by an algorithm that then presents the user with choices, thus steering behavior.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/30/technology/big-data-is-great-but-dont-forget-intuition.html?partner=rss&emc=rss&smid=tw-nytimes&_r=1&

MSM 205: Split or Steal?

Jokes You Can Use:

“I haven’t slept for days.”
How come?
I only sleep at night.

On Our Mind:

ESL objectives, Professional Development & How to Win Friends and Influence People.
#PLNfail
Congrats to all the EMU students who were dismissed today . . .

Eileen Award:

  • Jeffry Prickett (Facebook & Twitter)
  • Eleanor Ricardo

Advisory:

Food

http://twentytwowords.com/2012/04/25/chart-showing-the-10-companies-that-own-most-of-the-food-products-we-buy/

Split or Steal

Here’s the deal. £13,600 are on the line. Each contestant must choose Split or Steal. If they both choose Split, they each get half of the money. If one chooses Split and the other Steal, the one who chose Steal gets all the money. And if they both choose Steal, nobody gets any money.
Before they choose, they are allowed to discuss their plan together. It is a battle of wits, combining both logic and the ability to read and manipulate one’s opponent. Check out how one ingenious contestant chose to let this scenario play out…

http://twentytwowords.com/2012/04/28/split-or-steal-a-creative-and-kind-use-of-logic-and-manipulation/

Middle School Science Minute

by Dave Bydlowski (k12science or davidbydlowski@mac.com)

The topic is Reading Ladders and Science.  “Climb on up and enjoy the podcast.”

In the March, 2012 issue of Science Scope, a publication of the National Science Teachers Association, Colleen Sheehy and Karina Clemmons shared an article entitled, “Opening the door to science instruction for all through literature.”

The article focused on a strategy called “reading ladders.”  The vision for reading ladders came from envisioning different levels of text difficulty to be different rungs on a ladder.  Teachers can use the idea of reading ladders as a metaphor and framework when employing text to enhance and supplement inquiry-based science instruction.

They provide a very good example of reading ladders in which they show how themed picture books, children’s books, and young adult literature novels can be used to build content knowledge and enhance science instruction.

From the Twitterverse:

50 resources for #iPad use in the classroom zite.to/L1EOng via @zite ~ @msmatters #fhuedu642 #mLearning #edtech

Social Media For Administrators [Blog Posts] #fhuedu642 #edtech ~ Great for @msmatters listeners tinyurl.com/d5lh5jm

25 Ways To Use #iPads In The Classroom by Degree of Difficulty | Edudemic #mLearning #edtech => @msmatters tinyurl.com/ctnwk5y

* Scott McLeod ‏ @mcleod
New bookmark: Backward Design – Digital Learning Toolbox

New bookmark: What’s the “problem” with MOOCs?

DangIrrel: Nurture your kids’ passions, even if they’re making Pokemon game walkthrough videos #edtech

* Nancy White ‏ @NancyW
RT @cmt1 How Do You Create A Culture Of Innovation? http://zite.to/IHQBqu via @zite #edchat #education #edchat
* Terie Engelbrecht ‏ @mrsebiology
RT @NMHS_Principal: Creating Assignments That Work for Digital Learning Environments http://j.mp/IZsCAe #edtech #edchat #elearning
* Will Richardson ‏ @willrich45
Depressing figures on the appeal of teaching in the US #edchat #edreform
* Mark Barnes ‏ @markbarnes19
Neat ideas “@technolit: Creative classroom seating ideas: http://tinyurl.com/7r82ldo via The Big Fresh enewsletter from @ChoiceLiteracy
* Miguel Guhlin ‏ @mguhlin
Ways to Evaluate Educational Apps ipad http://dlvr.it/1WsJ2W
* E-Learning Council ‏ @learningcouncil
RT @stileskelly 50 Best Sources of Free Education Online #edchat #edtech http://j.mp/Jyz5nk More sources for an information junkie!
* Terie Engelbrecht ‏ @mrsebiology
Formative Assessment Strategies List: http://goo.gl/R1z7X #edchat #midleved #elemchat
* Tweeter of Wit ‏ @TweeterofWit
@Kill_Weather: INSTALLING SUMMER….. ███████████████░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ 44% DONE. Installation failed. 404 error: Season not found. #iwn
* russeltarr ‏ @russeltarr
Evidence that IQ tests provide a very limited definition of “intelligence”: http://tinyurl.com/3wrm5cz
* Chris Christensen ‏ @christensen143
New website aims to guide educators through education technology maze #edtech
21h ☆ Lee Kolbert ‏ @TeachaKidd
25 educators to follow on Twitter. http://www.mathgametime.com/blog/2012/05/top-25-teachers-educators-on-twitter/
Watch for #midleved on Twitter!

News:

Change the World

by Vickie Davis – Cool Cat Teacher
We CAN change the world, say my ninth grade students Kerrie and Madison. These girls chose to animate a song using Nomad Paint brushes on touch screen (Lenovo m90z) computers and a Bamboo tablet for their Freshman project (see assignment here). They each animated half of this film. There is a definite improvement in their abilities as each half of the film progresses.
http://coolcatteacher.blogspot.com/2012/05/we-can-change-world-one-child-at-time.html

Parents who sued school over son’s punishment for cheating receive hate messages

Jack Berghouse doesn’t dispute that his son, a sophomore at Sequoia High School, copied someone else’s homework. But the Redwood City father believes the school district was wrong to kick his teenager out of an English honors class for the offense, and his decision to sue has embroiled the family in a public, opinionated debate.
Berghouse believes the punishment is disproportionate to the offense and will jeopardize the academic future of his son, who he said has a chance at attending an Ivy League school.
“He knows it’s wrong,” he said of his son. “You cannot imagine the mental and emotional penalty that has been inflicted upon him. We’ve offered several penalties, anything other than being kicked out of the English program.”
The parents suggested, for example, that their son could work as an after-school teacher’s assistant for the rest of the school year, Berghouse said.

http://www.mercurynews.com/san-mateo-county-times/ci_20493867/parents-who-sued-school-over-sons-punishment-cheating
and the follow up:
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/opinion-la/la-ol-school-cheat-20120427,0,1656872.story

Evaluate Me, Please

I want to know what works and what doesn’t. Like my students, I thrive on feedback. So evaluate me, please. But let’s lay down a few ground rules.

  • I teach children, not targets or standards, so please don’t walk into my classroom expecting to see me teaching a specific skill at an exact moment in time. That’s not how it works here.
  • Don’t assume you know my kids as well as I do. That little boy with his back to me? Yeah, I know he’s off-task, but six months ago he would’ve thrown a desk when he was angry. Now he just turns his back. If I leave him alone, he’ll calm down and eventually apologize. If I say something to him now he’ll explode. Ask me about it later, but right now, trust that I know my kids.
  • If you want to know how far I’ve taken my students, then look at where they were when they came in my room and where they are when they leave. I do good work, but I can’t bring a child who is three years behind up to grade level in one year. If I could, believe me I would.
  • Understand that social and emotional growth can’t be measured on a test, but they are measured in real life. When we meet, let’s talk about how my kids have progressed in these areas as well.
  • Join in. Ask questions. Talk to my kids. You’ll learn a lot more by being part of the learning than you will sitting in judgment in the back of the room.
  • Talk to me. You bring a different perspective to my room. Ask questions, offer suggestions, but don’t forget to point out my strengths.
  • Remember that every year is different. What was an area of strength last year may be an area of struggle this year. Don’t assume it’s because I’ve slacked off or done something wrong. Make me feel safe enough to ask for support.
  • Build a climate of collaboration and trust. My students don’t learn in isolation, and neither do I.
  • By all means, hold me accountable for what I do within the classroom.

Evaluate me, please. Just remember my worth shouldn’t be determined by some arbitrary value added model based on subpar standardized tests. It should come from what I do with the students I have each year, from my professional growth, and from formative, ongoing conversations.
http://teachfromtheheart.wordpress.com/2012/04/24/evaluate-me-please/

Resources:

KANEX Pro- AirPlay® Mirroring For VGA Projector

Kanex ATV Pro allows a VGA projector to use Apple AirPlay mirroring from an iPad to Apple TV.  Eliminate the need for expensive HDMI projection equipment upgrades.  Join the thousands of classrooms nationwide that can mirror and stream content direct to a VGA projector via an Apple TV.
http://www.kanexlive.com/atvpro

Technology Integration Matrix Grade Level Index

This page provides a breakdown of videos within the Technology Integration Matrix by grade level. Although you may be primarily interested in a particular level, we encourage you to view the ways in which technology is used in other grade levels. For example, you will find videos of high school classrooms in which the technology tools could be used in the same way with middle school or elementary level students. Some videos involve students from both middle and high school grades and some involve students from both middle and elementary grades. These videos appear in both lists below.
http://fcit.usf.edu/matrix/gradelevel.php

TED-Ed – Insults by Shakespeare

  • Watch
  • Quick Quiz
  • Think
  • Dig Deeper

If you sign in, you can make adjustments on most sections of the page. For example, you can deselect Quick Quiz questions, add Think questions, and add links to the Dig Deeper section.
http://ed.ted.com/lessons/insults-by-shakespeare

Google Education On-Air

https://sites.google.com/site/eduonair/home

Virtual 4T Conference

The Virtual Conference will be held May19th through May 22nd. It is a 24/7 conference and is free and open to any educator.
*Disclosure- I’m presenting a session.
http://4tvirtualcon.soe.umich.edu/
Conference Sessions:
http://4tvirtualcon.soe.umich.edu/?page_id=54
or
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/pub?key=0Amyg3kn2ZRP0dC1yMGxfVV9xTzkwYVIzVDhhbUtfUGc&output=html

Web Spotlight:

Broomstick

I’m Sebastian, a 14 year old Kiwi innovator, Mac app developer, student and tech enthusiast from New Zealand, currently living in Paris.
http://www.zibity.com/broomstick

Dangerously Irrelevant:  Web videos educators should see

http://dangerouslyirrelevant.org/2010/11/12-videos-to-spark-educators-thinking.html

Strategies:

TinkerCad

Design in 3D what you’ve always dreamed of, but never thought possible. Until now.
Join the Tinkercad community and learn how to create your first real things in just a few minutes.
https://tinkercad.com/home/
or

3D Tin

Create 3D models in your browser.
http://www.3dtin.com/

Events & Happenings:

Calendar of Events:

Ohio Middle Level Association:


AMLE Affiliate Conferences:


Classroom 2.0’s Live Calendar.

MSM 201: Retention, That’s Awkward. . . POST!

Jokes You Can Use:

Joe and Bill met on a street corner.
Joe said, “It’s great to see you again, my old friend”.
Bill responded, “How can you see me when I’m not here?”
Joe was confused: “What do you mean, you’re not here?”
Bill stated: “I’ll bet you $10, that I’m not here. I can prove it”.
Joe: “You’re going to bet me $10 that you’re not here? You’re on”.
Bill: “Am I in Chicago?”
Joe: “No.”
Bill: “Am I in New York?”
Joe: “No.”
Bill “Then I must be somewhere else. If I’m somewhere else, I can’t be here. Pay me my $10.”
Joe: “If you’re not here, I can’t pay you.”

On Our Mind:

Happy Birthday Rick Wormeli

Eileen Award:

  • Jennifer Applebaum
  • Liz Kolb:  Twitter
  • Paul Steele

Advisory:

How important is it to be at school, on time?

http://twentytwowords.com/2012/04/06/lady-carries-her-disabled-granddaughter-2-hours-to-school-every-day/

Middle School Science Minute

by Dave Bydlowski (k12science or davidbydlowski@mac.com)

Tough Climate for Teachers

This middle school science minute is about the difficult situation that teachers face today in the teaching of climate change.  In the March 2012 issue of Science Scope (NSTA publication) Inez Lifttig, editor of Science Scope wrote in the Editor’s Roundtable: “A Tough Climate for Teachers.”  In the editorial she discusses the hurdles that teachers have today and relates them to the problems that Biology teachers have had in the teaching of evolution.  She also points out that the teaching of climate change should not be a cautious approach because the Framework for K-12 Science Education, does not support a cautious approach and in fact emphasizes strongly that human activities impact climate change.

From the Twitterverse:

* Shelly S Terrell ‏ @ShellTerrell

* Rick Wormeli ‏ @RickWormeli

  • Hey, it’s my birthday today, and I realize how good it is to be in the world. Salsa, guacamole, & chips for everyone!
* Shannon Miller ‏ @shannonmmiller

* Miguel Guhlin ‏ @mguhlin

* Steven W. Anderson ‏ @web20classroom

* Erin Klein ‏ @KleinErin

* Scott McLeod ‏ @mcleod

* The Mind Trust ‏ @TheMindTrust

  • School reform in Detroit: 10 schools to have control over operations and central office providing services for fees http://ow.ly/a8jgN
* WORLD Magazine ‏ @WORLD_mag

  • Miracles of reconciliation: Witnessing ‘radical forgiveness’ in Rwanda taught this filmmaker to forgive @MarvinOlasky
* Apple Plaza ‏ @ApplePlaza

* Ron Peck ‏ @Ron_Peck

* Chan Hsiao-yun ‏ @hychan_edu

News:

More States Retaining Struggling 3rd Graders

By Erik W. Robelen

Oklahoma is one of several states that recently adopted new reading policies that—with limited exceptions—call for 3rd graders to be held back if they flunk a state standardized test.
But the policy is still controversial among Florida educators.
“After 10 years, I don’t like it. I don’t think it’s good for kids,” said Doug A. Whittaker, the superintendent of the 16,200-student Charlotte County school district in southwest Florida. “I don’t care how the adults frame it: The people making those decisions forget what it’s like to be 8 years old.”
Mr. Whittaker said he’s not opposed to holding students back, but said such action should not be driven by a test score. “It really should be a team of people that make the decision, including the parents,” he said.
Despite the decline, a recent federal report shows that Florida students represented one-third of all 3rd graders retained in a nationwide data set. (“Data Show Retention Disparities,” March 7, 2012.)
Ms. Emhof points to state data showing that far fewer students now score at the lowest level on the FCAT in reading, dropping from 27 percent in 2001-02 to 16 percent in 2010-11. But the figure has been stuck at about 16 percent for several years.
Although the forthcoming study finds that the benefit “dissipates” over time, co-author Marcus A. Winters, an assistant education professor at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, says it remains robust into 7th grade, the last year examined to date.
http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2012/03/28/26retention_ep.h31.html?tkn=PQYF7PMVJobJVLws0eMfYkGfp3CJqc4i5cfx&cmp=ENL-CM-NEWS1

Common-Core-Test Group Gives Higher Ed. Voting Rights

By Catherine Gewertz
A group of states that is designing tests for the common academic standards has taken a key step to ensure that the assessments reflect students’ readiness for college-level work: It gave top higher education officials from its leading states voting power on test-design questions that are closest to the heart of the college-readiness question.
“This cut-score thing is going to be a nightmare,” Chester E. Finn Jr., the president of the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, a Washington think tank, said at an August 2010 meeting of the National Assessment Governing Board, which sets policy for the National Assessment of Educational Progress, or NAEP. “I’m trying to envision Georgia and Connecticut trying to agree on a cut score for proficiency, and I’m envisioning an argument.”
http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2012/04/05/28parcc.h31.html?tkn=WNTF3nLXUTQZIM4Er2IcBitwRjDIyvbqq2He&cmp=ENL-EU-NEWS2

Resources:

The homework trap and what to do about it

By Valerie Strauss
There are many parents whose major concern is not public policy but what will happen at home tonight. They are not Tiger Moms, but ordinary parents who simply want the best for their children.
The problem starts in elementary school. The notes come home, and the parents get “the call.”
By middle school, there are several teachers, the disciplinarian and the nurse, all fretting over what these children do not do. Their parents feel pressured to oversee their work, as they also feel criticized as if they’ve done something wrong.
The key misconception about homework-trapped children is what I call the “myth of motivation.” These children are viewed as lazy and unmotivated,
Rather, they have “under the radar” learning problems.
The child, who is forced to keep on working without boundaries, will predictably learn how to avoid.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/post/the-homework-trap-and-what-to-do-about-it/2012/04/05/gIQAJt9YyS_blog.html

My Ten Most Used Apps to Become Fluent on the iPad

It is no secret, that I enjoy my iPad tremendously. I even proclaimed, now and then, that I love it! From the beginning, I approached the iPad with one goal in mind: I wanted to become fluent in using it. There is a distinct difference, in my opinion, between being skilled, literate and fluent in the use of an iPad.
http://www.techlearning.com/Default.aspx?tabid=67&EntryId=4046

Web Spotlight:

The Stanford Education Experiment Could Change Higher Learning Forever

Stanford doesn’t want me. I can say that because it’s a documented fact: I was once denied admission in writing.
http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2012/03/ff_aiclass/all/1

Strategies:

The Dreaded F Word: Fractions

By David Ginsburg on April 1, 2012 7:00 PM

Just hearing the F word can cause kids (adults too) to freak out. And if you think about it, there are lots of reasons students feel flummoxed by fractions. For one thing, there’s the misleading vocabulary, as when we reduce a fraction to lowest terms even though it doesn’t involve a reduction in value. Or when we call a fraction “improper” just because its value is greater than one.

http://blogs.edweek.org/teachers/coach_gs_teaching_tips/2012/04/the_dreaded_f_word_fractions.html

 

Do Students Know Enough Smart Learning Strategies?

What’s the key to effective learning? One intriguing body of research suggests a rather gnomic answer: It’s not just what you know. It’s what you know about what you know.
Research has found that students vary widely in what they know about how to learn, according to a team of educational researchers from Australia writing in this month’s issue of the journalInstructional Science.
Teaching students good learning strategies would ensure that they know how to acquire new knowledge, which leads to improved learning outcomes,…
Students can assess their own awareness by asking themselves which of the following learning strategies they regularly use (the response to each item is ideally “yes”):
http://blogs.kqed.org/mindshift/2012/03/do-students-know-enough-smart-learning-strategies/

Fun Failure: How to Make Learning Irresistible

Failure is a positive act of creativity,” Katie Salen said. Scientists, artists, engineers, and even entrepreneurs know this as adults. But in schools, the notion of failure is complicated.
Any practice – athletic, artistic, even social – involves repeatedly failing till one gets the experience or activity right. We need to “keep the challenge constant so players are able to fail and try again,” she said. “It’s hard and it leads to something rewarding.”
But the opposite is true in school, Salen said. School usually gives students one chance to get something right; failing grades work against practice, mastery, and creativity. To keep kids motivated, learning needs to be irresistible, Salen said.
Here’s what she learned in terms of gaming principles that can be applied to education:

  • Don’t shoot the player while she’s learning.
  • Learning is social.
  • A strong sense of community creates safety.
  • Learning that empowers the learner helps make it irresistible.

Events & Happenings:

Calendar of Events:

Ohio Middle Level Association:

 

AMLE Affiliate Conferences:

Classroom 2.0’s Live Calendar.

MSM 194: Para What? Para Dice? Para Pants?

Jokes You Can Use:

Customer: This food isn’t fit for a pig.
Waiter: I’m sorry. I’ll bring you some that is.

PARAPROSDOKIANS: (Winston Churchill loved them.)
Here is the definition:
“Figure of speech in which the latter part of a sentence or phrase is surprising or unexpected; frequently used in a humorous situation.”
“Where there’s a will, I want to be in it,” is a type of Paraprosdokian.

– A bus station is where a bus stops. A train station is where a train stops. On my desk, I have a work station.
– Whenever I fill out an application, in the part that says, ‘In case of emergency, notify:’ I put ‘DOCTOR.’
– You do not need a parachute to skydive. You only need a parachute to skydive twice.

On Our Mind:

“The ‘Good’ Kids Are Compliant, The ‘Bad’ Kids Are Defiant, And Nobody Is Engaged”
(Daniel Pink via http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/superintendent/bookclub.aspx )

Eileen Award:

  • Anabelle Maillard Morgan
  • Jamie Cruikshank
  • Congrats to Todd Williamson on his new position as Head Techie in his school district!


Advisory:

Touching “Arigato” (Thank You) Video From Japan

(via Larry Ferlazzo)
http://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/2012/02/12/touching-arigato-thank-you-video-from-japan/
YouTube Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=SS-sWdAQsYg

MistakeVille

Try the Job Interviews gone wrong.
http://www.mistakeville.com/

Middle School Science Minute

by Dave Bydlowski (k12science or davidbydlowski@mac.com)

Transforming Field Trips
This middle school science minute is about transforming field trips. In the January, 2012 issue of Science Scope (NSTA publication) Rebecca Morris wrote an article entitled, “Transforming a Field Trip Into an Expedition: Supporting Active Research and Science Content Through a Museum Visit.”  Rebecca shares the methods that she used with her 6th grade students.  She developed the museum field trip into a short-term, active research project assignment.

From the Twitterverse:

 nancyflanagan @nancyflanagan

 Terie Engelbrecht @mrsebiology

 Rich Kiker @rkiker

 The Dennys @DoTheMathBooks

  • Your Education is worth what You are worth. -Anon #quote
 Jeff Johnson @iLEADCommunity

 Scott McLeod @mcleod

  • New bookmark: Virtual Jamestown
  • New bookmark: The Past, Present and Future of Badges for Learning
Don’t forget to join #midleved chat on Twitter at 8:00 pm EST!

News:

Common Core Standards and Impact on Achievement

“A final word on what to expect in the next few years as the development of assessments tied to the Common Core unfolds. The debate is sure to grow in intensity. It is about big ideas—curriculum and federalism. Heated controversies about the best approaches to teaching reading and math have sprung up repeatedly over the past century.18 The proper role of the federal government, states, local districts, and schools in deciding key educational questions, especially in deciding what should be taught, remains a longstanding point of dispute. In addition, as NCLB illustrates, standards with real consequences are most popular when they are first proposed. Their popularity steadily declines from there, reaching a nadir when tests are given and consequences kick in. Just as the glow of consensus surrounding NCLB faded after a few years, cracks are now appearing in the wall of support for the Common Core.
Don’t let the ferocity of the oncoming debate fool you. The empirical evidence suggests that the Common Core will have little effect on American students’ achievement. The nation will have to look elsewhere for ways to improve its schools.”
http://www.brookings.edu/~/media/Files/rc/reports/2012/0216_brown_education_loveless/0216_brown_education_loveless.pdf

The Opportunity Cost in Education

What does “paperwork” cost to a school district?
http://coolcatteacher.blogspot.com/2012/02/count-opportunity-cost-of-teacher-tasks.html

Resources:

Quadratic Equations – The Main Ideas

To help pupils see the bigger picture in topics I have decided to experiment with some conceptual card sorts. I worry sometimes that pupils just learn methods and can’t see the links between them. Teachers I know encourage their pupils to ‘build a map’ in their minds of topics and ideas so that when they are faced with a maths problem they can ‘navigate’ to the correct section of their mind map and start using the skills they know. I love this idea but do think it is a perhaps a bit too challenging to ask pupils to do this with no support. My aim in producing the conceptual card sorts it to help pupils in their categorisation and organisation of maths concepts in their minds.
http://www.greatmathsteachingideas.com/2012/02/16/quadratic-equations-the-main-ideas-a-card-sort-to-support-conceptual-understanding/

Mission US

Mission US is a multimedia project that immerses players in U.S. history content through free interactive games.
Mission 1: “For Crown or Colony?” puts players in the shoes of Nat Wheeler, a printer’s apprentice in 1770 Boston. They encounter both Patriots and Loyalists, and when rising tensions result in the Boston Massacre, they must choose where their loyalties lie.
In Mission 2: “Flight to Freedom,” players take on the role of Lucy, a 14-year-old slave in Kentucky.  As they navigate her escape and journey  to Ohio, they discover that life in the “free” North is dangerous and difficult. In 1850, the Fugitive Slave Act brings disaster. Will Lucy ever truly be free?
Other missions are planned for release in 2013 and 2014.
Join the conversation and get updates about Mission US on Facebook and Twitter.  For more information, visit the Help page.  To share your feedback, email us via the contact form on this site. Thanks for playing!
http://www.mission-us.org/

Web Spotlight:

Microsoft Partners in Learning Apply today US Forum

The US Forum is a celebration of innovative teaching practices and innovative schools. It is a unique experience open to all K–12 U.S. educators and school leaders to share what they’re doing in the classroom, exchange ideas and collaborate to inspire their professional practice.
How to Apply:
If you are an innovative educator, we would love for you to share your ideas! Simply click “apply to the forum” below and complete the application. The application will allow us to understand a little more about your school, classroom, and how you are impacting students.
https://www.facebook.com/partnersinlearning?sk=app_368381589844161

Strategies:


What’s Your Story

Welcome to the third annual What’s Your Story? video contest from Trend Micro. With so many amazing submissions in years past, we can’t wait to see what inspiring, informative and original videos you create this year!
What’s it all about? Sharing photos, downloading music, texting, doing schoolwork, keeping in touch with friends — with more people spending more time online, it’s more important than ever to know how to do it safely and responsibly.
That’s why you’re invited to join our contest. Submit and share a short video to help others stay safe, smart and responsible online and you could win $10,000, or other cash prizes.

What’s the deal?

Prizes: One $10,000 USD grand prize; six cash category prizes (three awarded to schools per entry category and three awarded to individuals per entry category). Prizes are in US Dollars or equivalent in Canadian Dollars at contest closing date.
Deadline: Upload by 11:59:59 PM US Pacific Time on April 3, 2012
Content: Your video must address one of these topics:

  • Take action against bullying
  • Keep a good rep online
  • Be cell smart

Eligibility: All residents of Canada (excluding Quebec) and the US, 13 years of age and older.

http://whatsyourstory.trendmicro.com/internet-safety/Home.do

National Archives Digital Experience

Create Posters, Videos and/or Pathways revolving around the material in the National Archives. Easy to use.
http://www.freetech4teachers.com/2012/02/create-videos-and-posters-on-us.html
http://www.digitalvaults.org/#/create/

Events & Happenings:

Calendar of Events:

Ohio Middle Level Association:

AMLE Affiliate Conferences:


Classroom 2.0’s Live Calendar.

MSM 191: Becoming an Author(ity) on iBooks Author.

Jokes You Can Use:

Whilst escorting his wife to the concert, Jim asked his wife what they were seeing. “Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony” she replied. “Good” Jim responded. His wife was surprised, she didn’t think that Jim really enjoyed going to the symphony. “Well, I’m glad that you’re looking forward to this. Where have you heard this before?, she asked. “Huh”, Jim responded. “I’m just happy that we missed the first four”.

Whenever my wife needs money, she calls me handsome. “Hand some over”.

On Our Mind:

  • iBooks Author
  • Listener question:  Is Apple’s New Education Initiative Dangerous? ~ Interesting dialogue #fhuedu642 => @msmatters What do you think? tinyurl.com/6m4uzw4 – From Dr. Tatom.


Eileen Award:

  • Doc Tatom
  • Donnielle Kota-Moore


Middle School Science Minute

by Dave Bydlowski (k12science or davidbydlowski@mac.com)

Metal Safety.

This middle school science minute is about metal safety. In the December, 2011 issue of Science Scope (NSTA publication) Ken Roy wrote an article entitled, “Test Your Metal (safety knowledge).”  He investigates the safety issues involved in using metals with middle school students.

From the Twitterverse:

*bethanyvsmith rules without relationship equals rebellion #educon
*Ron_Peck Have I mentioned lately how awesome #Edmodo has become? Great new features for the site and app. If you’re not using it you’re missing out.
*drmmtatom emPower eLearning zite.to/x37xCG via @zite #fhucid #fhuedu642
*chrislehmann What if hallways were dry erase walls? What could kids create? #EduCon
*mbteach Talking about how teachers can take on different leadership roles in schools. We have a good list going #educon
*teromakotero shares tinyurl.com/6q5my7 (25 Free Digital Audio Editors You Should Know) plurk.com/p/fg5ywq
*onlinecourse Four Most Unemployable Majors – dedu.org/zqfC3E
*bethanyvsmith #bannedsites the truth about tech in school and blocking sites mindshift.kqed.org/2011/04/straig… #educon
*Mimadisonklein Check out Common Core on the Android Market! market.android.com/details?id=com… #FETC
*shannonmmiller So excited to be Skyping into #educon this morning with @mluhtala @InnovativeEdu @joycevalenza for our Banned Sites presentation #tlchat
*
tomshepp tomshepp
Rubrics for Assessments of Online Activities zite.to/z99SQW #edtech #elearning #mlearning

How to Create Your Own Textbook — With or Without Apple http://zite.to/AxcSlU #edtech #elearning #mlearning

*TJwolfe_ LiveBinders Resources bit.ly/woVXKn
*AngelaMaiers Does This Scare You? twrt.me/z9o973 via @knealemann

Don’t forget to join the conversation on MiddleTalk and Twitter at #midleved this Friday at 8:00 pm EST.

News:

Supreme Court Declines Cases on Student Internet Speech

The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday declined to take up major appeals involving student free speech rights on the Internet.

The 3rd Circuit held in the Blue Mountain case that a Pennsylvania middle school student’s 2007 MySpace parody depicting her principal as a sex addict and a pedophile was so outrageous that no one could have taken it seriously.
The 3rd Circuit court found that the profile did not create a substantial disruption in school, and the court rejected the school district’s arguments that other facts created a nexus between the parody and the school.
In her appeal to the Supreme Court, Kowalski said, “This court has never addressed the appropriate First Amendment test for student speech that occurs entirely off school premises.”
The justices declined on Jan. 17 to hear the cases without comment or recorded dissent.
http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/school_law/2012/01/supreme_court_declines_cases_o.html?cmp=ENL-DD-NEWS1

Resources:

25 Audio Editors:

“A digital audio editor is defined as a computer application for manipulating digital audio. As a multimedia creator, we normally use audio editor for recording audio, edit the duration and timeline, mix multiple sound tracks, apply simple effects for audio enhancement and create conversion between different audio file formats.
There are countless ways that digital audio editor can be used, and fortunately there are plenty of good and free digital audio editors out there to help you with your own implementation. So if you’re thinking to purchase a license for Adobe Audition, Cool Edit or Soundforge, hold that thought first. Not to say they aren’t cool, but it’s always wiser to tryout free applications before going to the pay deal.”


Most Amazing High Definition Image of Earth – Blue Marble 2012

A ‘Blue Marble’ image of the Earth taken from the VIIRS instrument aboard NASA’s most recently launched Earth-observing satellite – Suomi NPP. This composite image uses a number of swaths of the Earth’s surface taken on January 4, 2012. The NPP satellite was renamed ‘Suomi NPP’ on January 24, 2012 to honor the late Verner E. Suomi of the University of Wisconsin.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/gsfc/6760135001/

100 iPad Apps Perfect For Middle School

If you’re a student, teacher, or administrator at a middle school looking into adopting iPads for educational purposes, it’s important to know that the iPad is more than just an easy way to browse the web or visit the app store. There are actually thousands of educational apps hiding in the bowels of the app store.
http://edudemic.com/2011/11/ipad-middle-school/
http://palmbeachschooltalk.com/groups/ipadpilot/

Seinfeld

Seinfeld teaches History:
Think History, Saturday Night Live.
http://cooperativelearning.nuvvo.com/lesson/9592-seinfeld-tea

Alfie Kohn vs Dwight Schrute

Classic Schrute Bucks episode. Good for talking about classroom management.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G59KY7ek8Rk

Web Spotlight:

Straight from the DOE:  Dispelling Myths About Blocked Sites

100 Best YouTube Videos for Teachers

With the increasing use of technology in classrooms, it’s no wonder that teachers have a growing interest in using YouTube and other online media sharing sites to bring information into their classrooms. Here are 100 YouTube videos that can provide supplementary information for the class, give inspiration, help you keep control of class and even provide a few laughs here and there.
http://www.smartteaching.org/blog/2008/08/100-best-youtube-videos-for-teachers/
http://t.co/V6EeeuLv

Valentine’s Day Teaching Resources

http://www.squidoo.com/valentines-day-teaching-resources

Strategies:

Why Interactive White Boards are Used Ineffectively in Classrooms

An interactive White Board (IWB) or SMART Board has the potential to deliver content better than traditional methods of teaching. Why?
http://www.teachscienceandmath.com/2010/07/28/why-interactive-white-boards-are-used-ineffectively-in-classrooms/

Events & Happenings:

Calendar of Events:

ISTE News:

  • ISTE Eduverse Talks are the recorded sessions held on ISTE Island every week. Join ISTE in their Second Life conference location for their weekly talks on education.
    • The ISTE Special Interest Group:  Virtual Environments is holding meetings on Mondays from 4:00 – 6:00 pm (SLT) on ISTE Island.

Ohio Middle Level Association:

AMLE Affiliate Conferences:

Classroom 2.0’s Live Calendar.


Second Life:

    • Regular Tuesday meetings are scheduled. See the board on the ISTE Island for up to the minute details.  Check frequently this week as the ISTE Annual Convention is this week.
    • Video: Educational Uses of Second Life

MSM 189 – (Homework + Science) Dave^2 = Podcast

Homework:

Middle School Matters is proud to bring you a wonderful interview with Mr. Dave Tucker. His school has taken on the issue of homework with some terrific results. If your school struggles with students turning homework in, you need to listen to this interview.

Middle School Science Minute

by Dave Bydlowski (k12science or davidbydlowski@mac.com)

This middle school science minute is about the physics of curling. In the December, 2011 issue of Science Scope (NSTA publication), there is an article entitled, “Swept Away: Exploring the Physics of Curling” by Liza Esser.  In the article, Liza explains the game of curling, the physics of curling, and then she develops a 5E lesson that she uses in her unit on forces and motion.

Interview with Mr. Dave Tucker

School Improvement team effort

What things would improve the learning of the students?  Proficiency, meeting the needs of the students.

Changing it from a policy group to a learning policy group.

A strong indicator was the completion of homework.

Started with research and reading.

What should the policy be?

Decided that existing ones were not the best to choose from or merge into a policy.

Read stuff by Doug Reeves  (Wears a bow tie) in the pictures in his research articles.

Yes, it isn’t APA documentation, but will help you find it.  🙂    )

“No Missing Homework” policy wasn’t the best choice either.

All homework would be accepted, late or not, and accepted for full

credit.  No Killer Zeros.  A 0 is 10% below a D.

Tiered intervention system.

Homeroom/Advisory 30 mins.  (Homework Club Time)

Using Zangle, staff can pull the missing assignment list for each student.

Provides a coaching role for the Advisory teacher.

Level I:  Student gets a pass to Homework Club from Advisory and they have to continue to go there until it is all completed.

Level II:  Students are pulled from an elective class of administration’s choosing and put into an elective class called Homework Club II.  (Band seems to be an inoculation against Homework Club!)

Level III:  Intervention level that requires staying after school with the administrators  (This unjustified border is driving you nuts, isn’t it?)

What does homework mean?  Why give it?

It’s a good formative assessment.

Good way to introduce a subject.

Practice a skill that has been taught.

We don’t want homework to be a test of academic stamina.

It needed a systemic response with all of the teachers on board.

It is so labor and detail intensive.

Encore subjects are second to Core curriculum.

Art & Science of Teaching by Marzano


Find more information about Mr. Dave Tucker at 
gischools.org or contact us and we’ll pass it along.

Events & Happenings:

Calendar of Events:

ISTE News:

  • ISTE Eduverse Talks are the recorded sessions held on ISTE Island every week. Join ISTE in their Second Life conference location for their weekly talks on education.
    • The ISTE Special Interest Group:  Virtual Environments is holding meetings on Mondays from 4:00 – 6:00 pm (SLT) on ISTE Island.

Ohio Middle Level Association:

AMLE Affiliate Conferences:

Classroom 2.0’s Live Calendar.

Second Life:

    • Regular Tuesday meetings are scheduled. See the board on the ISTE Island for up to the minute details.  Check frequently this week as the ISTE Annual Convention is this week.
    • Video: Educational Uses of Second Life

MSM 183 You Vill Pass Dis Test, You Vill Like Dis Test, You Vill Attach De Schtandard To Each Schtandard . . .

Jokes You Can Use:

1. Why are round pizzas put in square boxes?
2. If a deaf person must appear in court is it still called a hearing?
3. Why does the sign read, “Enter at your own risk” who else could you risk other than yourself?
4. If it’s called “frying pan” is it OK to boil something in it?
5. Why doesn’t every doughnut have nuts in it?

Do you know what happens to quarterbacks when they reach the ends of their lives?
They just pass away.

Troy’s Backup Jokes:
Test Question:  Give a brief explanation of the meaning of the term “hard water.”
Student Answer:  Ice

Test Question:  What is methane?
Student Answer:  Methane is a smelly greenhouse gas that is produced when trees and/or cows are burned.
(F in Exams by Richard Benson)

On Our Mind:

Week and a half to AMLE/NMSA 2011 in Louisville . . .
Sessions
Affiliate Sessions:  Contact Doug Herlensky if you’re attending.
Dinner

Eileen Award:

Kam Yousaf

Advisory:

What would it take to make a model look like Barbie?

Here’s a breakdown of what she’d need done to be the kind of doll women aspire to: a brow lift, a jaw line shave, rhinoplasty, a cheek and neck reduction, a chin implant, scooped-out shoulders, a breast lift, liposuction on her arms, and tummy tuck, which would also have to be sculpted as if it were lined in whale-bone from the inside. And that’s just the half of her.
http://shine.yahoo.com/channel/beauty/the-plastic-surgery-a-model-needs-to-look-like-barbie-2584798

Respect

Respect Rap – I use this with grades 2 – 4 but it’s suitable through middle school. Just love the message, the instrumental track, the editing, the kids’ performances (and the Principal’s, too). The choreography is amazing, the scene setup, the dancing at the end … it’s just dripping with awesome. Congratulations, Fearless Lions at Frank Porter Graham Elementary in Chapel Hill, NC. YOU, QUITE LITERALLY, ROCK!
http://www.ncs-tech.org/?p=6844

Middle School Science Minute

by Dave Bydlowski (k12science or davidbydlowski@mac.com)

This middle school science minute is about Oobleck.  This is a great activity when students are full of extra energy.  Just mix cornstarch and water and it makes a “non-Newtonian” fluid.  It starts off with the consistency of peanut butter, then through handling becomes brittle and breaks, but then eventually becomes an oozing liquid again.

I thought it might be fun to do this podcast around Halloween, when slimy things are at the forefront.  Oobleck goes by many names but this is my favorite one because there is a nice tie in to the Dr Seuss book — Bartholomew and the Oobleck.

From the Twitterverse:

*web20classroom From @azjd-5 Skills For 21st Century Learners:7 Things You Should Know About Open Textbook Publishing (PDF): bit.ly/g7LhvC
*Maiju1975 Our race to the bottom. RT @DianeRavitch: This is the graph that shapes our future: nytimes.com/imagepages/201…
*willrich45 I don’t want best practice. I want changed practice. The former usually is just using tech to do the same as we’ve always done. #grumpytour
*rmbyrne Looking for Lesson Materials? Try OER Commons bit.ly/tzFMcI via @AddThis
*missnoor28 Miss Noor ㋡ Teach with your #ipad – Blooms Taxonomy with Apps | @scoopit goo.gl/f6nC1 #edtech #edchat #ipad #mlearningPeriodic Table of #QRcodes | @scoopit #edtech #edchat #science #mlearning
*csousanh Is there still a place for teacher autonomy in US Public schools? #edchat, #vted, #cpchat, #midleved educationalmusings.net
*fabclassroom Sign up for UPS My Choice & be entered into the Win What you want Sweepstakes twrt.me/vbs19v by @dallassinglemom
*sguditus iPad use in the middle school – communication, research and resources: bit.ly/wmsipad #midleved #masscue11
*mrsebiology Podcasting in the Classroom: bit.ly/ukZlEy #edchat #edtech #midleved #elemchat
*ssandifer Teaching with Technology in the Middle: Diigo for Digital Writing Reflection | @scoopit bit.ly/uiMOz6 #edtech
*DianeRavitch Tests for everything including auto shop and foreign languages, to rate teachers. Thanks @arneduncan: online.wsj.com/article/SB1000…
*mcleodScott McLeod

Every day in school students receive regular reminders they’re not trusted. Cumulative impact of that over many years is … ?

New bookmark: Social Media Guidelines:  http://www.delicious.com/ericstoller/social-media-guidelines

RT @ericstoller: Censoring social media is like trying to stop a waterfall with a colander. #NASPAtechC #NASPAtech

*This space intentionally left blank*  (I’ve always wanted to say that . . .)

Don’t forget to join the conversation on MiddleTalk and Twitter at #midleved this Friday at 8:00 pm EST.

News:

Testing Costs

As the nation endures its sputtering recovery, significant cuts to state and local education budgets continue to dominate headlines. With bruising fights over tenure, pensions, and collective bargaining, educators fear that these cuts may shrink educator jobs and benefits for years to come.
Within this context, though, it is testing that has emerged as the real villain. In protest blogs, op-eds, and tweets, critics rail against “billions and billions” spent on assessment, arguing that if only we stopped testing, teachers’ jobs, art classes, sports, school nurses, librarians, small classes, and more would be saved.
http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2011/10/12/07tucker.h31.html

Will Richardson:  Make It Stop. Please.

http://willrichardson.com/post/11862306546/make-it-stop-please

Resources:

60 Seconds

http://www.mediabistro.com/alltwitter/files/2011/06/internet-60-seconds-infographic.jpg

Stitch.it

Simply copy-and-paste a set of links in our text box and click ‘Stich It’. We’ll convert those links into one short URL for you to share. It’s that easy!
http://stich.it/

Good to Know

  • Stay safe online
  • Your data on the web
  • Your data on Google
  • Manage your data

http://www.google.com/goodtoknow/

WhatFolio

http://www.whatfolio.com/

Primary Sources:
Documents from a variety of eras. From 4000bc – 21st Century.
http://avalon.law.yale.edu/default.asp
Welcome to the David Rumsey Map Collection Database and Blog.
http://www.davidrumsey.com/
Royal Society
http://royalsocietypublishing.org/search

Music Primary Sources:

Victrola Book of Opera
http://www.loc.gov/jukebox/victor-book-of-the-opera
Acoustic Recordings
http://www.loc.gov/jukebox/about/acoustical-recording

iPad Resources

https://sites.google.com/site/iccarsproject/home/ipad-ios-resources

Web Spotlight:

Larry Ferlazzo

Daniel Pink was recently interviewed on a local Washington, D.C. television show along with a local university official. You watch it all here, but I thought the few minutes he spent discussing the role of grades, autonomy and inquiry in education to be particularly thought-provoking. I used Tube Chop to “chop” those two brief segments and have them embedded below. I don’t know if they will come through on an RSS Readers, so you might have to click through to my blog in order to view them.
http://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/2011/10/23/daniel-pink-on-grades-autonomy-inquiry/

Strategies:

How YouTube Is Changing The Classroom
As long as there have been teachers, they’ve battled the same problems: How can they reach students of multiple ability levels at once, cover more course material in limited time, and find more time to engage with students one-on-one?
Some educators think they’ve found a solution to all three problems in, of all things, YouTube.
A small group of teachers nationwide is replacing in-class lectures with short online videos students watch at home. This flip-flop of homework and lecture — from which the model gets its name, “the flipped classroom” — leaves class time open for students to complete their assignments with their teacher standing by to offer one-on-one help.
Research backing the model is scarce, and some critics have dismissed the model as a gimmick. Still, a handful Indiana teachers — and top state education officials — are willing to give it a try.http://stateimpact.npr.org/indiana/2011/10/12/how-youtube-is-changing-the-classroom/

Events & Happenings:

Calendar of Events:

AMLE News:

      • Other News:
  • ISTE Eduverse Talks are the recorded sessions held on ISTE Island every week. Join ISTE in their Second Life conference location for their weekly talks on education.
    • The ISTE Special Interest Group:  Virtual Environments is holding meetings on Mondays from 4:00 – 6:00 pm (SLT) on ISTE Island.

Ohio Middle Level Association:

AMLE Affiliate Conferences:  

Classroom 2.0’s Live Calendar.

Second Life:

    • Regular Tuesday meetings are scheduled. See the board on the ISTE Island for up to the minute details.  Check frequently this week as the ISTE Annual Convention is this week.
    • Video: Educational Uses of Second Life

MSM 181 A Separate Peace

Jokes You Can Use:

Pete and Larry had not seen each other in many years. Now they had a long talk trying to fill in the gap of those years by telling about their lives. Finally Pete invited Larry to visit him in his new apartment. “I got a wife and three kids and I’d love to have you visit us.”
“Great. Where do you live?”
“Here’s the address. And there’s plenty of parking behind the apartment. Park and come around to the front door, kick it open with your foot, go to the elevator and press the button with your left elbow, then enter! When you reach the sixth floor, go down the hall until you see my name on the door. Then press the doorbell with your right elbow and I’ll let you in.”
“Good. But tell me…what is all this business of kicking the front door open, then pressing elevator buttons with my right, then my left elbow?”
“Surely, you’re not coming empty-handed.”

*******************************************************

A Police officer approached a motorist stopped in the middle of the road before the river overpass holding up traffic. The officer noticed the driver jotting on a notebook frantically. He asked the driver, what in the world are you doing? The driver replied, “The sign says Draw Bridge”.

On Our Mind:

Congratulations to Dr. Monte Tatom

NMSA/AMLE early registration extended a week.
Dr. Debbie Silver is rumored to have a new book out soon on motivating the hard to motivate student.

Eileen Award:

Sara Kaviar

Middle School Science Minute

by Dave Bydlowski (k12science or davidbydlowski@mac.com)

Part 4 of the podcasts on Lab Safety.  It is about the 7 Standards for Maintaining a Safer Laboratory Environment.

From the Twitterverse:

*pammoran How 2 get started writing fiction – insights from master writing class teacher-novelist Jill Dawson via Guardian bit.ly/qxcmzF #nwp
*s_bearden Googlelittrips seems like a great tool for teaching Language Arts/English! #edcampcitrus #elemchat #engchat
*mcleod Congrats to @johnccarver for being recognized as a 2011 Innovator in Education! goo.gl/2yb4G #edtech #vanmeter
*robertjmarzano If you have more questions about Leaders of Learning, you can ask me live on Oct 17 6:30pm EDT on #edfocus. bit.ly/phLXht
*tombarrett The Graphic Classroom: The Best Comics List (for all grade levels) bit.ly/oXK5Nn #comics #graphicnovels

Graphic novels in the classroom | Scoop.it via @dilaycock #graphicnovels #comics

kevcreutz 60 Second Science Lessons bit.ly/qbHUI5 via @rmbyrne #edtech
*TeachnologyNews Riddle Of The Day For Students: What is easy to get into, but hard to get out of?- Trouble.
*fabclassroom Huge List of New Printable Coupons twrt.me/o2q8tv via @DebbieDoesCoups
*SeanBanville Soooo many fab blogs – RT @annabooklover: Best grammar blogs: bit.ly/pwSEo4
*AncientProverbs The greatest virtues are those which are most useful to other persons. -Aristotle
*Larryferlazzo “Should we all buy India’s new $60 tablet computer? ” BBC bbc.in/qmVhIN
*VirtualLrnAcad iNACOL Revises National Standards Guide for Online Learning j.mp/rtsVlF #onlinelearning #edtech
*russeltarr Rubrics for Assessment: tinyurl.com/5vdf878

Don’t forget to join the conversation on MiddleTalk and Twitter at #midleved this Friday at 8:00 pm EST.  

News:

A Separate Peace

Alliance’s founder and lead teacher, Tina Owen. She decided to start the school after she was outed at a large Milwaukee high school where she worked as an English teacher. After word spread, she decided her sexuality may as well be all the way out.

…suggested that such a school would not only create the impression that intolerance would be permitted everywhere else but also leave its sheltered graduates unprepared to deal with the sometimes harsh realities of being a gay person in America.

…He recently attended a homecoming dance at his boyfriend’s school, and though people said nasty things as the two boys made their way inside, Dylan notes, somewhat optimistically, that the trash talkers were parents rather than students. He adds, “It seems like my generation is getting over it.”

http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,2095385_2096859_2096805-1,00.html

Resources:

iPads in the Science Classroom

Last year, around October 2010, I got 13 iPads for my Science students through a service-learning grant. This is the start of my second year using those iPads with my Science students. The summer before I got the iPads I was able to try one out myself and wrote about the possibilities here. I elaborated further on how I was going to use the iPads here. Once students started to use the iPads I used a Google form to see which apps they liked the best. Here are the results of that survey.
http://www.educatoral.com/wordpress/2011/09/28/ipads-in-science-2/

Common Core Maps

http://commoncore.org/maps/

National Geographic Xpeditions

Geography lessons and free resources for your classroom:  http://www.nationalgeographic.com/xpeditions/lessons/g68.html

Better Lesson

http://betterlesson.com/home

Google Lit Trips

The short version is simple. Google Lit Trips are free downloadable files that mark the journeys of characters from famous literature on the surface of Google Earth. At each location along the journey there are placemarks with pop-up windows containing a variety of resources including relevant media, thought provoking discussion starters, and links to supplementary information about “real world” references made in that particular portion of the story.
The focus is on creating engaging and relevant literary experiences for students. I like to say Google Lit Trips “3-dimensionalize” the reading experience by placing readers “inside the story” traveling alongside the characters; looking through the windshield of that old jalopy in The Grapes of Wrath or waddling alongside Mr. and Mrs. Mallard’s duckling family in Make Way for Ducklings.”
What Google Lit Trips AREN’T
Google Lit Trips aren’t like sparknotes and other resources that can be used to circumvent the need to actually do the reading. They are designed to stimulate higher level thinking skills and to connect the story’s themes and messages to the issues of the real world in which students live.

http://www.googlelittrips.org/

Web Spotlight:

Welcome to the 21things4Students Site

This site was created by a grant from the REMC Association of Michigan for the creation of an educational resource for students preparing for 21st century skills. Members of the REMC Instructional Technology Specialists in Michigan along with teachers from around the state have created this site to provide project-based activities which are aligned to the National Educational Technology Standards for Students (NETS-S), and the Michigan Educational Technology Standards for students (METS) as well as the Framework for 21st Century Learning identified by the Partnership For 21st Century Skills.
http://www.21things4students.net/

For Educators:
http://www.21things4teachers.net/

For Administrators:
http://www.21things4administrators.net/

Strategies:

Deb’s Data Digest

A wide variety of resources and strategies.
http://datadeb.wordpress.com/

ScreenCasts as Assessment/Instruction

Here are some examples.
http://wwcsd.net/groups/screencasts/

Events & Happenings:

Calendar of Events:

NMSA News:

      • Other News:
  • ISTE Eduverse Talks are the recorded sessions held on ISTE Island every week. Join ISTE in their Second Life conference location for their weekly talks on education.
    • The ISTE Special Interest Group:  Virtual Environments is holding meetings on Mondays from 4:00 – 6:00 pm (SLT) on ISTE Island.

Ohio Middle Level Association:

Michigan Association of Middle School Educators

  • Second Life:
    • Regular Tuesday meetings are scheduled. See the board on the ISTE Island for up to the minute details.  Check frequently this week as the ISTE Annual Convention is this week.
    • Video: Educational Uses of Second Life

MSM 179 Common Core, Bad Baseball joke, and iPad Resources.

On Our Mind:

Changing positions
Start of the school year

Eileen Award:

Dr. Tatom:  Thanks for the mention on Twitter!

Advisory:

Permanent Record

http://www.slate.com/id/2301449/

The Secret to Success

https://plus.google.com/117689362923608221663/posts/8v7RBNncmAJ

How many really?

http://howmanyreally.com/

Middle School Science Minute

by Dave Bydlowski (k12science or davidbydlowski@mac.com)

Part two on lab safety and focuses in on personal safety of students.

From the Twitterverse:

*
drmmtatom #iPad Note Taking Apps Showdown zite.to/nztk9G via @zite #fhucid #hardintech #ccstech @msmattersNBC’s “Education Nation” Summit Begins September 25 #fhuedu610tinyurl.com/3aud82p

Highlights from the 2011 Educational Technology Conference [ETC] in Missoula #fhuedu642 http://www.speedofcreativity.org/2011/09/23/highlights-from-the-2011-educational-technology-conference-etc-in-missoula/

Building better teacher evaluations #fhuedu610   http://www.joannejacobs.com/2011/09/building-better-teacher-evaluations/

Virtual Schooling in the News #fhuedu642

*mcleod Scott McLeod
New bookmark: Presenting Learning with Stop Motion AnimationNew bookmark: The Myth of Learning Styles bit.ly/qqB1dg
*Mimadisonklein Use Emotion and Technology to Spark Writing nblo.gs/nx17m
*kevcreutz Video – The Last U.S. Veteran of WWI bit.ly/qQmavJ via @rmbyrne #edtech
*laroncarter Having trouble already with classroom management already? My Mission Statement has worked for thousands.
*congerjan shares tinyurl.com/4yhfdds (Livebinder of tools you never knew you needed!) plurk.com/p/e3tynm
*AncientProverbs Motivational Quotes
What is told into the ear of a man is often heard a hundred miles away. -Chinese Proverbs
*BethRitterGuth RT @mykidcancode: Free Online Lesson Planbook Software for Teachers bit.ly/jbDwyc #engchat

Don’t forget to join the conversation on MiddleTalk and Twitter at #midleved this Friday at 8:00 pm EST.

News:

Beautiful Teenage Brains

Moody. Impulsive. Maddening. Why do teenagers act the way they do? Viewed through the eyes of evolution, their most exasperating traits may be the key to success as adults.

Thanks to Richard Byrne for the link.
http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2011/10/teenage-brains/dobbs-text

Resources:

Writing Prompts

These are some of the daily writing prompts that I use in class. The prompts and pictures are scraped together from so many sources – forgotten websites, old journals, overheard conversations, the crusty recesses of my hard drive – that attribution is difficult. I’ve tried where I can, but if you know how any of them should be attributed
http://writingprompts.tumblr.com/

YouTube for Teachers

http://www.youtube.com/teachers
http://www.youtube.com/education

iPad App Resources:

In iTunes, go to the iTunes Store (sidebar on the left).
Then select App Store on the bar along the top of the window.
Then select the drop down Education under Categories on the right
(OR-Just to the right of the word App Store on the top will be a small triangle- click that and select Education)
This will reveal App categories for Teachers including:

  • Apps for Teachers
  • Special Education
  • Education Volume Purchasing

Mobile Learning

After reading this report, you’ll know more about:

  • How mobile technology has become a game-changer in education
  • Mobile device best practices from teachers and schools
  • Mobile device management
  • The latest in apps and mobile technology available today

http://www.eschoolnews.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/2/files/2011/09/mobile_star.pdf

Alternate Assessment Apps for Eighth Grade

Eighth graders need to demonstrate their mastery of skills in English, math and science.
http://www.techlearning.com/Default.aspx?tabid=67&EntryId=3110

Web Spotlight:

Implementing Common Core Standards

Over the next year, the accomplished teachers I met at CTQ will face down these tough questions. They will design—and test-drive in their own classrooms, with their own students—lessons and assessments linked to the Common Core State Standards.
http://transformed.teachingquality.org/blogs/advancing-teaching-profession/09-2011/implementing-common-core-standards

Cheating

Here’s an overview of some of the most shocking instances of teacher cheating, plus a few episodes that may have been overblown.
http://www.propublica.org/article/americas-most-outrageous-teacher-cheating-scandals

Students need to develop Grit

http://edcommentary.blogspot.com/2011/09/teaching-character-strengths-and-values.html

Common Core Maps

From the website:
“Common Core has released a new, Second Edition of the K-12 Curriculum Maps in English Language Arts. The Maps are designed to help educators meet the expectations of the Common Core State Standards, which call for the standards to be “complemented by a well-developed, content-rich curriculum.”

Our draft ELA Maps have received more than three million views since last August. We’ve listened to your advice and have added many new features, including:

  • Nearly 200 new writing, grammar, and research activities
  • Guidance for differentiated instruction
  • Library of seventy digital resources
  • More informational and contemporary texts throughout

Map users can now:

  • Rate and comment on each of the seventy-six unit Maps along with thousands of suggested works, activities, and resources
  • Submit lesson plans
  • Get preferred pricing on Maps services and tools that are under development

Common Core has been inundated with requests for professional development services, more Maps-based curriculum tools, and more Maps, including math Maps. In order to generate the resources needed to respond to these requests, we are offering the opportunity to become contributing members of the Mapping Project for a nominal cost.”

Strategies:

Inside Story Flash Cards

Combine visuals with vocabulary words to help increase retention.
http://www.insidestoryflashcards.com/

Jokes You Can Use:

Years ago, the Seattle Symphony was doing Beethoven’s Ninth under the baton of Milton Katims. At this point, you must understand two things:

1. There’s a long segment in this symphony where the bass violins don’t have a thing to do. Nothing. Not a single note for page after page;

2. There used to be a tavern called Dez’s 400 right across the street from the Seattle Opera House, favored by local musicians.

It was decided that during this performance, after the bass players had played their parts they’d quietly lay down their instruments and leave the stage rather than sit on their stools looking (and feeling) dumb for twenty minutes.
Well, once they got backstage, someone suggested that they trot across the street and have a few brews. After they had downed the first couple rounds, one said, “Shouldn’t we be getting back? It’d be awfully embarrassing if we were late.”
Another, presumably the one who suggested this excursion in the first place, replied, “Oh, I anticipated we could use a little more time, so I tied a string around the last pages of the conductor’s score. When he gets down to there, Milton’s going to have to slow the
tempo way down while he waves the baton with one hand and fumbles with the string with the other.”
So they had another round and finally returned to the Opera House, a little tipsy by now.
However, as they came back on stage, one look at their conductor’s face told them they were in serious trouble. Katims was furious!
And why not? After all (get ready, here it comes…)
It was the bottom of the Ninth, the score was tied, and the basses were loaded.

Events & Happenings:

Calendar of Events:

NMSA News:

      • Other News:
  • ISTE Eduverse Talks are the recorded sessions held on ISTE Island every week. Join ISTE in their Second Life conference location for their weekly talks on education.
    • The ISTE Special Interest Group:  Virtual Environments is holding meetings on Mondays from 4:00 – 6:00 pm (SLT) on ISTE Island.

Ohio Middle Level Association:

Michigan Association of Middle School Educators

  • Second Life:
    • Regular Tuesday meetings are scheduled. See the board on the ISTE Island for up to the minute details.  Check frequently this week as the ISTE Annual Convention is this week.
    • Video: Educational Uses of Second Life