MSM 200: In Conjunction With AMLE . . .

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Jokes You Can Use:

Overheard:

Husband: Janice, when I see you in that hat, I laugh.
Wife: Good, I’ll put it on when the bill comes.

Person 1: “You are the slowest person I’ve ever seen. Do you do anything quickly!”
Person 2: “I get tired real fast”.

Person 1: “Have any big men been born in this town?”
Person 2: “Nope. Just babies.”

On Our Mind:

This episode is brought to you in conjunction with AMLE. We need your feedback. What would you like us to focus on in conjunction with AMLE? Please send us suggestions and feedback. Pick any of the contact methods to the right on the web page.

Eileen Award:

  • Tim Purcell
  • Natasha Kardos
  • Janet Herr
  • Marchelle Lynn
  • Ron King:  AMLE suggestions

Advisory:

Advice to Girls by Kate Elizabeth Conner
http://kateelizabethconner.com/ten-things-i-want-to-tell-teenage-girls/
and the counter-point for boys
http://juntoboys.blogspot.com/2012/03/ten-things-i-wish-i-could-tell-every.html

Middle School Science Minute

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

This middle school science minute is about rocketry safety.  In the February 2012 issue of Science Scope (NSTA publication) Ken Roy wrote an article entitled: “Question of the Month – Rocket Safety.”  In the article you will learn about the safety expectations when using model rockets and how you can learn more about the National Association of Rocketry’s Model Rocket Safety Code at:

http://www.nar.org/NARmrsc.html

From the Twitterverse:

*Dean Groom ‏ @Vormamim

  • Is this true? Pearson buying Edmodo … and promise to keep it free just for US customers? must be a joke.
*EDSITEment ‏ @EDSITEment
*Sue Gorman  ‏ @sjgorman
*Doug Peterson ‏ @dougpete
*Bongo Interactive ‏ @BGOInteractive
*Lisa Fusco ‏ @LisaFusco

  • Assignment Grader App for iPad: Desire2Learn Incorporated today announced the debut of Desire2Learn Assignment Grader.
*Kathy Rains ‏ @krains
* Scott McLeod ‏ @mcleod
* Vicki Davis ‏ @coolcatteacher
* isteconnects ‏ @isteconnects
 Scott McLeod ‏ @mcleod
*Glogster EDU ‏ @GlogsterEDU

  • We’re getting some all new Glogster EDU tutorial videos ready to go!#Glogtips


News:

5 Vimeo Videos Every School Leader Should Bookmark

Vimeo is chock full of fun, artistic, and inspiring videos.  Below are five videos that anyone leading professional development could find inspiring.
http://edreach.us/2012/03/29/5-vimeo-videos-every-school-leader-should-bookmark/

Resources:


35 Useful and Free E-books for Web Designers

These could be useful resources for some students.
http://www.tripwiremagazine.com/2012/01/free-e-books-for-web-designers.html

Wild Animals

Smithsonian Wild Animals
http://siwild.si.edu/

Web Spotlight:

If The Test Wasn’t Coming…

Instead of allowing students to build sound evidence-based arguments on real issues, I am giving them practice choosing the best of someone else’s answers to someone else’s questions on a text with no context.
http://teacherleaders.typepad.com/shoulders_of_giants/2012/03/if-the-test-wasnt-coming.html

Fear And Self-Loathing In The Classroom

by William Johnson, at 12:43 pm
President Obama has said our students are failing; President Bush said they were failing. How many times do our students have to hear they’re no good before they start believing it? (Both presidents and pretty much every other prominent education reformer ignore the fact that when you control for poverty, our students are keeping pace with their international counterparts.)
Which brings me to my next point: On top of all the nasty rhetoric about our students, our educational leadership has actually created a system designed to make our students fearful. I’m writing, specifically, about the fear induced by years of repetitive, stressful, high-stakes testing. In a system designed almost entirely around these tests, how could all but the few who excel on these tests feel good about themselves? The fearfulness we teachers encounter on a daily basis is a predictable consequence of this system, not some surprising side effect.
The fear is not only predictable, but is in fact desirable for a small number of people. Specifically, fear is very useful for the people who will employ our students, if those students are lucky enough to make it through high school. A frightened, malleable workforce, desperate for approval, is far more agreeable to some of these employers than a confident workforce that demands its worth be recognized.
As long as a submissive workforce is a priority, we’ll all keep suffering in the classroom
http://gothamschools.org/2012/03/19/fear-and-self-loathing-in-the-classroom/#more-79685

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