MSM 123 – Easy as 123…

Jokes:

The Book
Lunching with a friend in a fast food restaurant, I was telling her about a teenager who had rear-ended my car. The teen blamed me for the accident. “She called me every name in the book!” I said. Just then I looked over to the next table where two nine-year-old boys had apparently been paying close attention to my story. One said to the other, “There’s a book?”

A Birthday Number
A couple phoned a neighbor to extend birthday greetings. They dialed the number and then sang “Happy Birthday” to him. But when they finished their off-key rendition, they discovered that they had dialed the wrong number. “Don’t let it bother you,” said a strange but amused voice. “You folks need all the practice you can get.”

On Our Mind:

“Graduation”

Summer Time

From the Twitterverse:

• mrhgaddis RT @tomwhitby: If Admins do not take Tech and PD seriously, how can we expect teachers to do so? #edchat
• educatoral RT @NMHS_Principal Educational iPad apps #edtech
• DoTheMathBooks If one cannot enjoy reading a book over and over again, there is no use in reading it at all. Oscar Wilde #quote
• datruss I think I’ll be getting the book ‘What Makes a Great Teacher?’ A good ‘reminder’ post for teachers
• mguhlin BlogNotes – Inspiring Ways to Use Social Media In the Classroom http://ff.im/-lf0DR
• adambrice Data + Graphing + Google Forms = Engagement http://post.ly/i0JK
• dianadell The 10 Best Free Educational Games Online: http://ow.ly/1RKHA
• mguhlin ‘No God’ comment on fbook adds up to no job for fired math teacher
• Curriki Learn how to transform your classroom into a 21st Century Classroom with these skills: http://ow.ly/1Toec
• rmbyrne 100 Ways to Use VoiceThread in Education via Free Technology for Teachers – 100 Ways to Use VoiceThread in … http://tinyurl.com/2bbq7gf
• cybraryman1 Some suggested topics we can cover for new teachers: Organizing Pages: #ntcamp
• NMHS_Principal The PLN, fueled by intrinsic motivation+dedicated educators, is the best form of prof dev around.
• russeltarr TubeChop allows you to easily chop a section from any YouTube video and share it: http://tinyurl.com/nytp53
• lthumann Watching the videos at School Technology Integration Ideas: Teaching with #iPads the Movie (Take Two) http://bit.ly/bAimOK
• lgEduGator 5 Steps to Increasing Teacher Technology Integration | #Edchat Recap http://ow.ly/1RmOv

Advisory:

Bullying Awareness Project

Teacher Page:
http://www.ldcsb.on.ca/schools/cfe/rpt/RPT_Zero_Tolerance/teacher.html
Student Page:
http://www.ldcsb.on.ca/schools/cfe/rpt/RPT_Zero_Tolerance/student.html

Listeners:

Robert sent along the web site:
http://www.hippocampus.org/

Tech Tools:

Notalon
http://bitbucket.org/saketh/notalon/overview

Webspotlight:

UDL Discussion

http://lisaslingo.blogspot.com/2010/05/why-wont-more-teachers-set-up-udl.html?spref=fb

Rethinking Schools

As a special introduction to our new website, the text of the entire summer issue of Rethinking Schools is accessible here, free of charge. If you aren’t already a member of Rethinking Schools, we hope a look at the exciting and thought-provoking articles in this issue will inspire you to join.
http://www.rethinkingschools.org/index.shtml

Will the iPad make kids smarter?

http://www.examiner.com/x-46117-Long-Island-iPad-Examiner~y2010m6d5-Will-the-Apple-iPad-make-kids-smarter?cid=channel-rss-Gadgets_and_Tech

News:

Districts’ Financial Crisis Is Not the Time to Talk Reform

Financial chaos does not promote positive change. When districts’ funding is uncertain, administrators and school boards have no time to worry about innovation and transformation. All life is sucked from discussions of reform. The nitty-gritty of how to balance the budget, whether it is how many teachers to fire or which programs to cut, drowns out any consideration of real, long-term improvement.
http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2010/06/03/33kwalwasser.h29.html?tkn=XQQF13b3BxIwIjwm%2FHgRJ0uyoj6rmBYizVXS&cmp=clp-edweek

4 Day Weeks gain popularity

During the school year, Mondays in this rural Georgia community are for video games, trips to grandma’s house and hanging out at the neighborhood community center.

Don’t bother showing up for school. The doors are locked and the lights are off.

http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2010/06/04/358869usfourdayschoolweek_ap.html?tkn=WVTFdqIRlkDrbw0wXdYDRUmFzEFsRwCKamBh&cmp=clp-edweek

States’ Fiscal Condition Still Dismal, New Report Finds

By Alyson Klein on June 3, 2010 10:30 AM
State finances remain as bad as they have been in decades, and the fiscal picture isn’t likely to clear up anytime soon, according to a report released this morning by the National Governors Association and the National Association of State Budget Officers.
http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/campaign-k-12/2010/06/states_are_still_in_terrible_f.html

Events & Happenings:

Calendar of Events:

NMSA News:

• NMSA is looking for an Assistant Executive Director.
  
• National Conference: Thursday, November 04, 2010 —Saturday, November 06, 2010 Baltimore, Maryland
  • Need a letter to your administrator explaining the benefits of attending NMSA?  How about this one?
  • Registration forms are now on the website:
    
    • Individual and small group registration
      
    • Large Group registration (20 or more)
      
  • Promotional Materials:
    • Crossword Puzzle!
      

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.
  • ISTE 2010 June 27-30, 2010 (Formerly NECC) in Denver, Colorado.
• The Michigan Joint Education Conference will be at Thurston High School in Redford, MI this June 23, 2010.
  
• The Ohio Middle Level Association will hold their annual conference February 16 – 18, 2011.
  

• • OMLA Registration Form

• The Michigan Association of Middle School Educators Annual Conference is coming up March 17-18, 2011 in Coopersville, MI.  Coopersville Middle School is a National Schools to Watch School.    (Phone: (616) 997-3400))
  
  • MAMSE Exhibitor Form
  • MAMSE Registration Form

• • MAMSE Presentation Form  (Presenter Deadline Extended!)

• Classroom 2.0’s Live Calendar.

• • Classroom 2.0’s Ning Blog: Archived content is available.

• Second Life:
  • Regular Tuesday meetings are scheduled. See the board on the ISTE Island for up to the minute details.
  • Video: Educational Uses of Second Life
• Friendly’s Restaurants
  • Free ice cream Saturday June 5, 2010