MSM 190: Hear Ye, Hear Ye! Go to College yet Mind the Gap! (London Tubers will get that joke . . . )

Jokes You Can Use:

Ever notice:
People who cough incessantly never seem to go to the doctor – they go to concerts, banquets, and church.
People who have a concrete mind – permanently set and all mixed up.
People who have a rare intelligence – as in they rarely show that they have intelligence.
People who have a keen sense of rumor.

On Our Mind:

Last week’s interview with Dave Tucker on homework.

 

Eileen Award:

• Justin Menard

 

 

Advisory:

100 Things that we didn’t know last year.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/magazinemonitor/2011/12/100_things_we_didnt_know_last_6.shtml

Middle School Science Minute

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

This middle school science minute is about cockroaches. In the December, 2011 issue of Science Scope (NSTA publication) Ron Wagler wrote an article entitled, “Using Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches to Develop and Enhance the Scientific Inquiry Skill of Observation in Middle School Students.”  He shares activities that students can do to enhance their observational skills.

 

From the Twitterverse:

 

 

News:

A decade of No Child Left Behind: Lessons from a policy failure

By Valerie Strauss
Ten years have passed since then president George W. Bush signed No Child Left Behind (NCLB), making it the educational law of the land. A review of a decade of evidence demonstrates that NCLB has failed badly both in terms of its own goals and more broadly. It has neither significantly increased academic performance nor significantly reduced achievement gaps, even as measured by standardized exams.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/post/a-decade-of-no-child-left-behind-lessons-from-a-policy-failure/2012/01/05/gIQAeb19gP_blog.html?wprss=answer-sheet

 

D.C. Lawmakers Propose Requiring Students to Apply to College

Lawmakers in the nation’s capital have floated a plan to require high school students to apply to college or trade school — even if the students have no interest in attending.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/01/07/dc-lawmakers-propose-requiring-students-to-apply-to-college/

Resources:

Learn Out Loud

LearnOutLoud.com has scoured the Internet to bring you over 5000 free audio and video titles. This directory features free audio books, lectures, speeches, sermons, interviews, and many other great free audio and video resources. Most audio titles can be downloaded in digital formats such as MP3 and most video titles are available to stream online. Enjoy!
http://www.learnoutloud.com/Free-Audio-Video

http://www.learnoutloud.com/Free-Audio-Video/History/Speeches

American Rhetoric

Database of and index to 5000+ full text, audio and video versions of public speeches, sermons, legal proceedings, lectures, debates, interviews, other recorded media events, and a declaration or two.
http://www.americanrhetoric.com/

 

Free Audio Books

Download hundreds of free audio books, mostly classics, to your MP3 player or computer. You’ll find great works of fiction, non-fiction and poetry.
http://www.openculture.com/freeaudiobooks

 

Song of the Week

Use the link to sign up for his Song of the Week. Also links to lots of information. Follow him on Facebook to hear his latest work with the students and classrooms he visits throughout the year.
http://www.monteselby.com/
http://www.monteselby.com/Refrigerator.mp3

 

SchoolHouse Rocks!

Relive my Saturday mornings!
http://community.eflclassroom.com/page/schoolhouserock-1?xg_source=activity

Web Spotlight:

iPad in Education

Tons of information, from soup to nuts of iPad implementation.
http://palmbeachschooltalk.com/groups/ipadpilot/

 

GapMinder

Gapminder is used in classrooms around the world to build a fact-based world view.
On this page we feature quality examples & resources. Share your own ideas and learn from others in the new Gapminder Movement forum!
http://www.gapminder.org/news/gapminder-desktop-launched/
http://www.gapminder.org/for-teachers/

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:

• The Ohio Middle Level Association will hold their annual conference.

• OMLA Registration Form
• OMLA Presentation Proposal Form

AMLE Affiliate Conferences:

• The Michigan Association of Middle School Educators Annual Conference is coming up March 2012 in Warren Woods, MI.  
• MAMSE Exhibitor Form
• MAMSE Registration Form

• MAMSE Presentation Form
• MAMSE Conference Program Book (2011)
• The North Carolina Middle School Association’s Annual Conference March 13-15, 2012
• Conference Brochure  
• Presenter’s Application
• Who They Are . . .
• This year’s sessions . . .

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.  Check frequently this week as the ISTE Annual Convention is this week.
• Video: Educational Uses of Second Life