MSM 165 Skype is our “friend”, Peter is Math, Econ raps

Jokes You Can Use:

A married couple, both avid golfers, was discussing the future one night.
“Honey”, the wife said, “if I were to die and you were to remarry, would you two live in this house?”
“I suppose so – it’s paid for.”
“How about our car? Continued the woman. “Would the two of you keep that?
“I suppose so – it’s paid for.”
“What about my golf clubs? Would you let her use them too?
“Heck, no,” the husband blurted out. “She is left-handed.”

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Notice to Employees (Includes Part Time Workers)

SICKNESS
We will no longer accept your doctors’ statements as proof.
We believe if you are able to go to the doctor, you are able to work.

LEAVE OF ABSENCE FOR SURGERY
We are no longer allowing this practice. As long as you are employed here, you will need all of whatever you have and should not consider having anything removed. We hired you as you are, and to have anything removed would certainly make you less than we bargained for. Anyone having operations will be FIRED immediately.

PREGNANCY
In the event of extreme pregnancy, you will be allowed to go to the first aid room when the pains are FIVE MINUTES apart. If it is false labor, you will have to take an hour’s leave without pay.

DEATH
This will be accepted as an excuse, BUT we would like two weeks notice, as we feel it is your duty to teach someone your job prior to . . . or after death.

This new benefit program started yesterday.
The Management

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A French man nearly got away with stealing a number of paintings from the Louvre.
However, after planning the robbery and getting in and out and past security, he was captured only three blocks away when his Econoline ran out of gas. When asked how he could mastermind such a crime and then make such an obvious error, he replied, “I had no Monet to buy Degas to make the Van Gogh.”

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This guy goes up to a bar located at the top of the Empire State Building in New York. It looks like a nice place, and he takes a seat at the bar.

“This is a nice place. I’ve never been here before,” he says to the guy next to him.
“Oh, really?” the other replies. “It is a nice place. It’s also a very special bar.”
“Why is that?” the first guy asks. “Well, do you see that painting on the far wall? That’s an original Van Gogh, and this stool I’m sitting on was on the Titanic.”
“Gee, that’s amazing!” says the first guy.
“Not only that, but you see that window over there, fourth from the right? Well, the wind does strange things outside that window. If you jump out you’ll fall about 50 feet before the wind catches you and you’re pushed back up.”
“No way! That’s impossible,” the guy scoffs.
“Not at all. Take a look,” the other man replies, and with that he walks over to the window and opens it. He climbs over the sill and falls out. He drops 10… 20… 30… 40…50 feet, comes to a stop, and whoosh — he comes right back up and sails back through the window. “See? It’s fun. You should try it,” he says.
“Try it? I don’t even believe I saw it!” the first man shouts.
“It’s easy. Watch, I’ll do it again.” And with that, he falls out the window again. He drops 10… 20… 30… 40… 50 feet, comes to a stop, and whoosh — he comes right back up and sails back through the window. “Give it a try. It’s a blast,” he says.
“Well, what the heck, I’ll give it a try,” the first man says, and proceeds to fall out the window. He falls 10… 20… 30… 40… 50…60…70…80…90… 100 feet and splat — he ends up as road pizza on the sidewalk.
After watching this, the second guy casually closes the window, heads back to the bar and orders a drink. The bartender arrives with the drink and says, “You know, Superman, you’re a real jerk when you’re drunk.”

On Our Mind:

Happy Birthday to Ron King!

Eileen Award

Camilla from Australia

Peter Price the Math Guy:  http://www.classroomprofessor.com

Advisory:

How much of an eight hour day does a person work, on average, to pay for taxes?
http://www.taxfoundation.org/publications/show/27256.html

Middle School Science Minute

by Dave Bydlowski (k12science or davidbydlowski@mac.com)
NASA eClips.  You can view them at: http://nasa.gov/eclips. It is a great video resource for middle school teachers and students.

From the Twitterverse:

shoemap at #edcampdetroit unconference. first session is mobile learning led bu @clykowski
*bhsprincipal RT @hdiblasi: How Bin Laden News Exploded on Twitter: A Visualization #edchat #bhschat Evidence of Twilliamson15’s NIHCTTAR Theory.
*mrdaj78 Goodbye, friends and family… I am heading into a grading cave for the day. I expect to come out with weary eyes, covered in red pen marks.
*JoHart Only one person has helped @suewaters with one of her interview questions here since I “helped” over 8 hrs ago!
*ckendall Apply now for a MACUL technology grant
*mthman RT @gdahlby: http://j.mp/EXki3 would be good source for teacher’s tomorrow. #edchat #midleved #elemchat
*Gizmodo This Was Osama’s Hideout gizmodo.com/#!5797548/this…
*kyteacher Two sites I will rely on tomorrow: newsmap & Newseum’s front pages. #sschat
Don’t forget to join the conversation on MiddleTalk and Twitter at #midleved this Friday at 8:00 pm EST.

News:

Many high school seniors may be old enough to vote, but just one-quarter of them demonstrate at least a “proficient” level of civics knowledge and skills, based on the latest results from a prominent national exam.
http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2011/05/04/30naep.h30.html?tkn=RMPFOV3rVoDO%2FJcoQfhRKdSuqL0NUqmg9zNN&cmp=clp-sb-ascd

District Administration

http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/pmg/da0511/#/0

Strategy of the Week:

Using teaching as inquiry to guide an eLearning action plan

http://www.freetech4teachers.com/2011/04/using-teaching-as-inquiry-to-guide.html

Resources:

Wifiiti:  http://wiffiti.com/

Wiffiti publishes real time messages to screens in thousands of locations from jumbotrons to jukeboxes, bars to bowling alleys and cafes to colleges.
Use it for brainstorming
Put test questions up there for review …

Visibile Vote:  http://www.visiblevote.us

Shadow a Congressman or Senator.  Take a position on an issue or take theirs.  Connect with legislators.  Need the latest info on the legislator from your district?  VisibileVote!

Econ Stories

Hayek vs Keynes in an economic showdown.
http://econstories.tv/

Say It Visually

Check out their portfolio.
http://www.sayitvisually.com/portfolio

Web 2.0 Tools for Math Educators

http://www.guide2digitallearning.com/tools_technologies/web_2_0_tools_math_educators

Web Spotlight:

20 Technology Skills that Every Educator Should Have

By Laura Turner
Although, realistically, you would not use all of these technologies, you should be knowledgeable in what each of the following technology is and how it could be/might be used in a classroom.
http://www.guide2digitallearning.com/tools_technologies/20_technology_skills_every_educator_should_have

21 Things for Administrators.
http://www.solutionwhere.com/inghamisd/cw/showcourse.asp?1796

Have Schools Reached Their Limits?

Have we reached the limits of our traditional school system’s capacity to deal with the diversity of learners that come into our schools today?
http://weblogg-ed.com/2011/have-schools-reached-their-limits/

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