Monthly Archives: March 2010

Podcast #114: Ukraine Fan Club and more!

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Jokes:

Suits
My wife and I were at my high school reunion. As I looked around, I noticed the other men in their expensive suits with their bulging stomachs. Proud of the fact that I weighed just five pounds more than I did when I was in high school, the result of trying to beat a living out of a rocky hillside farm, I said to my wife, “I’m the only guy here who can wear the suit he graduated in.” She glanced at the prosperous crowd. “You’re the only one here who has to.”

Charity
A devastated-looking man knocks on the door of a woman known for her charity. “Please, ma’am,” he says when she opens up, “can you help this poor, tragic family down the block? The father just lost his job, and his wife is too ill to work. They’re about to be turned out into the cold streets unless someone can pay their rent.” “That’s the worst thing I’ve ever heard in my life!” says the woman. “May I ask who you are?” “Their landlord.”

Advisory:

What’s Your Story $10,000 Student Video contest is looking for your original work.  Create a video on internet safety and you could win $10,000 in prize money.  Must be 13+ to participate.
http://whatsyourstory.trendmicro.com/internet-safety/Home.do

On Our Mind:

Mindless Entertainment to get you through this week:
Muppets Humor
1.  Ode to Joy
2.  Classical Chicken
3.  Beaker’s Ballad
* Tip- don’t move on when the big play button shows up, wait a minute.

From The Twitterverse:

  • alancross FINALLY… The Difference between Nerd, Dork, and Geek Explained by a Venn Diagram (via @JPWP)
  • russeltarr Second Life to host first college graduation: http://tinyurl.com/r6oapg
  • teromakotero Royalty free music for Education: http://tinyurl.com/yh82a7e http://plurk.com/p/4d7hae
  • mguhlin Thinking about BYOT – Bring Your Own Technology? Start with students! http://ff.im/-ic1vR
  • willrich45 Reading: “Duncan silent on Florida’s education mess” http://tinyurl.com/yf9qnvz Wow.
  • kchichester Teacher should not be the hardest worker in the classroom @jimwenz #mra2010
  • mbcampbell360 A wealth of resources on McTighe and Wiggins Backward Design process <- highly recommend for creating lessons #edchat
  • Nmsa_normal NMSAnews New Digital Catalog! The NMSA Catalog April 2010: Leadership Resources For Middle Grades
  • Todd_normal Twilliamson15 Grant Wiggins EQ slides and info from presentation…use NSTA2010 as group password
  • Bill Bass wbass3 I love it when students create things to help teachers in their classrooms. http://is.gd/b0CG1
  • 21stprincipal 21stprincipal “Our current education system systematically drains the creativity out of our children.” Ken Robinson
  • 21stprincipal 21stprincipal NCLB’s emphasis on uniform standards is putting emphasis on “conformity and finding the “right” answers. Robinson
  • 21stprincipal 21stprincipal Post to share with teachers having classroom management issues.

From our Listeners:

Howdy gents!  I enjoyed seeing the article about using smart phones in Algebra class.  Last year I tried another approach to meet students with their own technologies.  I had my “ticket to leave” problem on the board and students had to send me a text message with the answer before they were excused for lunch.  I tried it for a couple of weeks to shake things up and students really enjoyed it.

Your Ukrainian fanclub President,

Robert Jackson
Kyiv International School
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pSsvt8LBEV4

MAMSE:

https://middleschoolmatters.com/Conference_Notes/MAMSE_2010.pdf

Webspotlight:

Amazing Web 2.0 Projects

http://www.terry-freedman.org.uk/web2_2010/Amazing%20Web%202%20Projects.pdf

Girls and Boys on Achievement

http://www.cep-dc.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=document_ext.showDocumentByID&nodeID=1&DocumentID=304

DocsPal

http://www.docspal.com/

Create printable PDFs and eBooks from any online content.

Use zinepal.com to create your own magazines and eBooks from any online content. You can select content from blogs, Atom/RSS feeds and other websites. zinepal.com reformats the content into a printable PDF and eBooks for use with eBook readers such as the Amazon Kindle, Barnes&Noble Nook or Sony PRS. It is the easiest way to repurpose online content for other distribution mediums.
http://www.zinepal.com/

Remove pdf password protections:
http://www.macosxhints.com/article.php?story=200512231728165

Youblisher:
http://www.youblisher.com/

Chartle:  Make online charts and tables that can be exported or shared via the web.
http://www.chartle.net/

Events & Happenings:

Calendar of Events:

NMSA News:

Other News:

  • Second Life:

Podcast #113: Phone the Algebra In.

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Jokes:

In Medical Terms
A man told his doctor that he wasn’t able to do all the things around the house that he used to do.
When the exam was complete, he said, Now, Doc, I can take it. Tell me in plain English what is wrong with me.
Well, in plain English, the doctor said, you’re just lazy.
Okay, said the man. Now give me the big, long, complex medical term so I can tell my wife.

Advisory:

NCMSA Want to send a message from your school to outer space? Send it on two lightsail missions.

On Our Mind:

Gender Equity:
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/03/17/national/main6307774.shtml

From The Twitterverse:

From our Listeners:

Thank you to Language Arts Teacher for the iTunes post. We greatly appreciate it!

To all of those who are now our fans on Facebook – Thank you! (You know who you are!)

MAMSE:

https://middleschoolmatters.com/Conference_Notes/MAMSE_2010.pdf

Service Learning
Students take leadership roles. They develop the activities.
•    Raise money for local charities.

◦    Alpha House
◦    Humane Society
◦    Lion’s Club
◦    Faith in Action
◦    Hospitals
◦    Make a Wish
◦    Chamber of Commerce
◦    Special Olympics
◦    Elementary schools
◦    Local Church events
◦    Senior Centers
◦    Knights of Columbus
◦    Usher local events
◦    Salvation Army
◦    Food Gatherers
◦    American Red Cross
◦    Library
◦    Fire Department

•    Make a partnership (Lions Club)

◦    They talk about why they volunteer as adults
◦    They want the school connection

•    Do a service learning class.
•    Dance Marathons

◦    Stand on your feet for those who can’t stand themselves.
◦    They raise a minimum amount of money to participate.

•    The kids pick the projects. They keep a list of organizations.
•    Gets the kids in front of the community.
•    In class, they practice social skills.
•    Tie in with Social Studies classes. (eg. Studying famine, did chores for charity – brought in money to donate to address famine.)
•    Pin awards to kids with service of 25, 50, 74, 100 & 150 hours of service. Present the pins to the kids at a school board meeting.
•    Presidential Awards are also available online. ( 50,75, 100 hours per calendar year).
•    The idea is that students will always be part of a community.
•    9 week class. Starts in 7th grade. Goes for 2 years. (Building is 7-8)

◦New kids every 9 weeks.
◦ Creates culture of helping.
◦ Custodians participate as well.

•    Middle School students need to be needed.
•    Kids need to know that not every community service opportunity is for everyone. Some kids may not like working with little kids or old people.
•    National Junior Honor’s Society
•    Mill Creek CS&L website on Dexter Schools.
•    Join Middle School Student Council (Michigan Association of Student Councils)
•    Exchange Day between schools

Webspotlight:

Solving Algebra on Smartphones

Research shows that a project to use the devices as teaching tools in some N.C. districts has had a measurable impact on student achievement in math.

Students, some initially skeptical that a phone would help them do better in math, have been quick to embrace the idea of using the mobile device to learn, says Denton, who attends Dixon High School in the 24,000-student Onslow County, N.C., schools.
For some math classes, particularly Algebra 1, Project K-Nect had mathematicians at Drexel University in Philadelphia develop short animated video math problems that teachers can assign to students as homework or classwork.
Some students have taken the technology a step further and created movies with graphics, student actors, and stories highlighting math. Particularly popular are student-created movies with a “CSI” theme in which the drama uses math to solve a crime. One student produced and posted a rap song on polynomials, which was ultimately posted to YouTube and spawned thousands of imitators, says Gross of Digital Millennial Consulting.

Learning Science:

learningscience.org is an organization dedicated to sharing the newer and emerging “learning tools” of science education. Tools such as real-time data collection, simulations, inquiry based lessons, interactive web lessons, micro-worlds, and imaging,  among others, can help make teaching science an exciting and engaging endeavor. These tools can help connect students with science, in ways that were impossible just a few years ago. Take a look at a few different types of “learning tools” at this link, Tool Examples. At this point in our project we are highlighting some of the best web resources for science concepts. Although our main emphasis is on students, teachers, and parents, really anyone interested in science education will find the site useful and informative.

Using the National Science Education Standards (1996, National Academy of Sciences) as our framework, we highlight only the best of these “learning tools” for students and teachers. All of the featured tools go through a  review process. Once a “learning tool” is submitted it is analyzed by an editorial panel of science educators and scientists for content and design.

learningscience.org is proof of concept project and a work in progress. Most of our “learning tools” are web based and free. We will remain a totally FREE online learning community that researches, reviews, and recommends the best of world wide science education interactives. This means that most of these are accessible to teachers, students, and parents who have access to the Internet.  For some of the concepts, we have only a few “learning tools”.  That is why it is important that you join us in this effort. If you are a science professional, or someone who enjoys science, please consider sending us your ideas.. If you have found science resources that we should add,  please share your ideas with others, we would love to hear from you. Just email George Mehler with your suggestions.

learningscience.org is a collaborative project of the Central Bucks School District (PA,USA), the teachers of the Central Bucks School District, The College of Education at Temple University (PA, USA), and George Mehler Ed.D.  George Mehler can be reached at gmehler@cbsd.org or 267 893 2044.
http://learningscience.org/index.htm

Slum Dog Millionaire and Education:

“Having watched hundreds of Indian children learning without teachers at the Hole In The Wall computers, it became obvious that all children can work by themselves, if they want to,” Mitra says.
“Most British children grow up with the internet and have the means to learn what they want in minutes, and this challenges the traditional idea of school being about learning things that will come in handy in the future. They become disengaged.”
Mitra is not alone in noticing this problem. John Dunford, head of the Association of School and College Leaders, last week told the group’s annual conference that computer games and websites have made children impatient and harder to motivate.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2010/mar/16/slumdog-millionaire-education-online-independent

NCMSA10 Conference Notes (Todd Williamson)

NCMSA10: Education in Japan

MAMSE10 Conference session notes hosted by Dexter Public Schools.
http://www.dexterschools.org/~millcreek/mamse2010/MCMAMSE/Resources_Pg1.html

Events & Happenings:

Calendar of Events:

NMSA News:

Other News:

  • Second Life:

Podcast #112: Wimp Yourself into Middle school

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Jokes:

Rabbits
The LAPD, The FBI, and the CIA are all trying to prove that they are the best at apprehending criminals. The President decides to give them a test. He releases a rabbit into a forest and each of them has to catch it. First the CIA goes in. They place animal informants throughout the forest. They question all plant and mineral witnesses. After three months of extensive investigations they conclude that rabbits do not exist. Next the FBI goes in. After two weeks with no leads they burn the forest, killing everything in it, including the rabbit, and they make no apologies. The rabbit had it coming. Finally the LAPD goes in. They come out two hours later with a badly beaten bear. The bear is yelling: “Okay! Okay! I’m a rabbit! I’m a rabbit!”

Advisory:

http://www.wimpyourself.com/

On Our Mind:

You can now sign up to receive updates via email.

The Michigan Joint Education Conference is coming up June 23, 2010.  Presentation proposals are due April 2, 2010.  $79.00 for non-members and $49.00 for members of the member organizations sponsoring the event.  This is a great way to pick up some PD this summer and you won’t have to sell your soul to your administrator . . .

From the Twitterverse:

From our Listeners:

Kitty Holman:

Google Earth for Educators: 50 Exciting Ideas for the Classroom

Ideas for all ages.

http://www.associatesdegree.com/2010/03/14/google-earth-for-educators-50-exciting-ideas-for-the-classroom/

MCSS:  Super Social Studies Saturday! (3-13-2010)
Link to the conference notes including the ones mentioned in the podcast:  http://web.me.com/mcgirr/MCSS_Super_Saturday_3_13_2010/
Lots of great stuff presented integrating middle school geography and World History.

MAMSE:

https://middleschoolmatters.com/Conference_Notes/MAMSE_2010.pdf

Online Learning in the Classroom – a Tool for Differentiation

Melanie Dever

Typical online courses are designed for remote learners, but there are benefits to using an online class structure in a traditional classroom.  This format allows for differentiated instruction and pacing, aids in catching up absent students, and provides materials parents can use to help struggling students.  This session will show different ways to use online course systems in the classroom.  Topics will include online delivery of new material, online assessments, and student collaboration.

A tool for differentiating instruction in a traditional classroom.
From the student: Know and trust the students. They may not work at the same pace every day. Some days they may do very little.
How Parents view Online vs Classroom Learning.
Traditional Classroom
•    Everyone moves at the same pace.
•    Advanced learners could be doing more
•    Struggling learners need more time.
•    Teacher is available to help ,but stretched too thin.
Online Class:
•    Students move at their own pace
•    A greater variety of content
•    Not all kids are disciplined enough to learn independently.
•    Teacher is available, but not necessarily when you need it.
Choose:
Online:
•    Parent think child is bored.
•    Advanced students
•    Independent and motivated students
Traditional
•    child needs guidance
Students who are the most motivated and disciplined and who have the most involved and supportive parents may “self track” out of traditional classrooms.
For profit companies are aggressively seeking out those families.
Combining
•    Blended learning
Just inside the traditional instruction:
tools:
• Weebly
• Wix
•    Google Sites
Examples:
•    Homework Calendar
•    Online Worksheets
•    Online class notes
Mr. Nale.com
Other end (online course:)
Tools:
• Moodle
• Blackboard
• MyiCourse (free)
• Textbook Publishers

Differentiation Benefits:
• • •
Students can work on their own pace, fast or slow. Built in assessments can monitor for mastery before allowing students to progress. Students can choose different tasks or activities.
Cool things you can do:
1.    Be in two places at once:
1.    Students can pause and rewind a lesson
2.    Students can ask questions in a low risk setting.
3.    Teacher is free to have
4.    Parents have access to the lesson
5.    Students can go back to it again.
2.    Show don’t Tell
1.    Use Jing to create screencast.
3. Expand opportunities for student choice in activities and sequence.
4. More
1.    Get out of the “what did I miss”
2.    Give parents and kids access to notes.
3.    Make sub plans
4.    Have tests instantly graded and disaggregated.

Events & Happenings:

Calendar of Events:

NMSA News:

Other News:

  • Second Life:

MSM #111: Dr. Silver’s MAMSE Moment

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Jokes:

Business Man
A young businessman had just started his own firm. He’d rented a beautiful office and had it furnished with antiques. Sitting there, he saw a man come into the outer office. Wishing to appear busy, the businessman picked up the phone and started to pretend he had a big deal working. He threw huge figures around and made giant commitments. Finally, he hung up and asked the visitor, “Can I help you?” The man said, “Sure. I’ve come to install the phone!”

On Our Mind:

You can now sign up to receive updates via email.

From the Twitterverse:

  • stevefarber  Friend: “Someone who knows the song in your heart and can sing it back to you when you’ve forgotten the words.” -Jim Warner
  • mjsamberg  Resources from “Linux in the Classroom”: http://www.tinyurl.com/nctieslinux #ncties
  • zeitz  Who’s pushing Emerging Technologies in higher education? students . . . http://is.gd/9Niwi
  • DanielPink  Fascinating NPR interview with NCLB supporter-turned-critic Diane Ravitch….
  • russeltarr  Using Edmodo in the classroom: http://tinyurl.com/l2nvsb
  • Lilylauren Oh the irony- my predictive text doesn’t know how to spell Nostradamus
  • DeronDurflinger RT @NMHS_Principal: Worst thing to do when moving towards change/successful implementation is to “mandate” #GTAdmin Agreed!
  • drmmtatom Jeopardy Labs: Make Your Own Online Jeopardy Game http://tinyurl.com/yaeha54
  • rmbyrne It’s Not All Flowers and Sausages: Why The Superintendent Firing All the Teachers in One School Should Be Ashamed… http://ff.im/-gEkyv

Twitter MAMSE Special:

  • Griffbuddy #MAMSE http://www.strengtheningfamiliesprogram.org/ Parents train parents. #mamse10
  • Frideswidel #mamse making rainsticks and using the design as a prompt for writing.
  • Griffbuddy #MAMSE One out of every three middle school students are obsese or in danger of being obese! #MAMSE10
  • Smhearty School worked with a court system. Saved the court $64,000 a year. #mamse
  • Griffbuddy #MAMSE majority of parents are not PITAS (pain in the a**es). We want them involved. #MAMSE10
  • Frideswidel #mamse Candy Writing Assignment: Using the senses to create an advertisement for the candy (then they can eat it).
  • Frideswidel RT @Griffbuddy: #MAMSE Dr. Santo Pino, NMSA, and Dean Hook, presentation: Securing Parent Involvement In Your School.
  • Frideswidel #mamse Art teacher talking about incorporating Art with writing (6+1 Traits). www.marymillerart.com
  • Frideswidel #mamse demo of Stratalogica.
  • dexgeek Technology is only one of the tools that teachers use to engage students. I’m glad I can arm them with the tools and skills. #MAMSE
  • Smhearty We train kids not to think but how to get an A. #mamse
  • Smhearty Got a great compliment today – “Aren’t you guys presenting today? We have other teachers here today.” #mamse
  • Griffbuddy #MAMSE Be there. Choose your attitude. Make their day. Play. Fish philosophy in schools (choose your attitude when you come to work).
  • Griffbuddy #MAMSE Advisory is necessary because strong relationships help teachers become adept @ diagnosing student needs. #MAMSE10
  • tanyaov #mamse Wow. MAMSE conference is excellent. I LOVE learning new things.

Finger Wag:

The State of Michigan put out a memo with a bitly link.

Advisory:

Blame Darwin:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704454304575081613327728110.html#articleTabs%3Dinteractive

MAMSE:

Dr. Debbie Silver:  www.debbiesilver.com
Keynotes:  http://www.debbiesilver.com/keynotes/

New Favorite Conference Software:  Skim

Webspotlight:

Google Docs for Administrators:
Sarah Rolle, Director of Technology for Elisabeth Morrow School, shared tips on GoogleDocs Tips for Administrators.
http://www.mguhlin.org/2010/03/googledocs-tips-for-administrators.html

Stratalogica:  http://www.stratalogica.com/NystromDigital/home/login.html;jsessionid=501B5A5D36B68C44263525336DA8C718.StrataLogica1

Mary Miller:  Artist, Teacher, Integrator of Curriculum
http://www.marymillerart.com/

Events & Happenings:

Calendar of Events:

NMSA News:

Other News:

  • Second Life: