Category: Podcast

advisory, Conferences, Lesson Plan, MSM, News, Podcast, Strategy, Teaching Tip, TechBy Troy Patterson

MSM 155 Rice, Rice Baby … Kaplan for Kindergarten!

Jokes You Can Use:

Definitions:

BEAUTY PARLOR:
A place where women curl up and dye.
CANNIBAL:
Someone who is fed up with people.
CHICKENS:
The only animals you eat before they are born and after they are dead.
COMMITTEE:
A body that keeps minutes and wastes hours.
DUST:
Mud with the juice squeezed out.
EGOTIST:
Someone who is usually me-deep in conversation.
GOSSIP:
Never tell a lie if the truth will do more damage.
KLEENEX:
Cold Storage.
INFLATION:
Cutting money in half without damaging the paper.
MOSQUITO:
An insect that makes you like flies better.
RAISIN:
Grape with a sunburn.
SECRET:
Something you tell to one person at a time.
SKELETON:
A bunch of bones with the person scraped off.
TOOTHACHE:
The pain that drives you to extraction.
TOMORROW:
One of the greatest labor saving devices of today.
YAWN:
An honest opinion openly expressed.
WRINKLES:
Something other people have. You have character lines.

On Our Mind:

Embracing the Wide Sky
Daniel Tammet in audiobook format

From our Listeners:

No Eileen Award today

Advisory:

Free Rice

  • Click on the right answer in the middle of this page.
  • If you get it right, you get a harder question. If you get it wrong, you get an easier question.
  • For each answer you get right, we donate 10 grains of rice to the United Nations World Food Program.

WARNING: This game may make you smarter. It may improve your speaking, writing, thinking, grades, job performance.
http://freerice.com/

Middle School Science Minute

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

  • Science Songs
  • Plate Tectonics

From the Twitterverse:

*shannonmmiller Your Classroom as an Apple Store from Rethink the Box…Love the ideas! http://ow.ly/3ZABJ
*missnoor28 RT @simfin: RT @russeltarr: 10 Killer Content Sources for Your iPod Learning Mix: http://tinyurl.com/yflj5tu #mlearning #edtech

RT @marynabadenhors: If doctors were treated like teachers (I wish teachers were treated more like doctors) #edreform

RT @jdthomas7: 10 Ways 2 Use QR Codes in yr Classroom | Technology Teacher – #edtech #edchat
*tombarrett 14 Interesting Ways to use Web Conferencing in the Classroom – I know there are plenty more good ideas, pls add yours
*willrich45 ACT out against the SAT Interesting vid. Will be dealing with this soon enough. #college #testing
*IAM_SHAKESPEARE THE_REAL_WILLIAM Who steals my purse steals trash; ’tis something, nothing;
*itrt High School ipad apps http://www.diigo.com/annotated/34bd3822e59f5bae78327df034dd87d9
*maggiecary If Teachers Graded Parents:
*bethstill If you are new to ISTE this year you might want to check out this event on Saturday: #iste11

News:

Studies Find Language Is Key to Learning Math

By Sarah D. Sparks

New research shows a lack of language skills can hamstring a student’s ability to understand the most fundamental concepts in mathematics.
Children start counting everything in sight as soon as they begin to speak, but research shows they do not immediately attach abstract meaning to the numbers.
The findings provide more evidence for the link between early literacy and numeracy suggested by other recent research.
The findings also may suggest the importance of using number lines rather than finger-counting in early grades, Ms. Goldin-Meadow said.
http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2011/02/17/21math.h30.html?tkn=RMVFed6tRXiQd1a8OyriYPqFy8qmkJgPYe0F&cmp=clp-sb-ascd

Wisconsin

http://www.examiner.com/political-buzz-in-national/the-wisconsin-protests-do-public-employees-make-more-than-private-employees
http://www.cnn.com/2011/US/02/17/wisconsin.budget/index.html

Prepping for Kindergarten Test

This year she hired a former Montessori teacher to tutor her preschooler on everything from learning continents to sounding out words.
Tutor Lemi Erinkitola started a tutoring company for kids as young as 3, preparing children, mostly on the South Side, for CPS’ admissions tests. She said that when she went through the process with her own three children, she found few resources.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/education/ct-met-cps-testing-0215-20110214,0,3146773.story

Resources:

Find out who is linked to your (or your school’s) web site:

  1. Go to AltaVisa
  2. Type in link:webaddressIwanttoknowlinks.com (um, after link: type the address of your web site or your school’s web site).
  3. Change “Show Links” button to Except this domain – this will exclude your own posts.

Web site extensions:

.org – organization
.com – company
.sch – school (used outside of U.S.)
.k12 – most U.S. school sites
.edu – U.S. higher ed
.gov – U.S. government (add country code for outside U.S.)
.ac – higher ed outside of U.S. usually used with country code, example: “.ac.uk”
.net – network
.mil – U.S. military
.co – Company (if paired with a country code, example: “.co.uk,” the state of Colorado or the country, Columbia)

EmbedPlus as an educational tool for videos

Our core features could help teachers focus students on relevant parts of existing     videos and allow them to add extended material. See our initial ideas below:

  • Chapter/Scene Skipping – Videos often have specific segments or turning points that viewers may wish to jump back and forth to – especially after the first view. A video could span multiple topics and/or contain different speakers. Teachers can mark each turning point for easy navigation using the jump buttons on the player. Alternatively, if a video has certain ‘skippable’ parts that are not relevant to the desired lesson, the beginning of the relevant parts could be marked for direct access to them.
  • Movable Zoom and Slow Motion – These are the other DVD-like             controls. They can be particularly valuable for science and nature videos in which students are to make observations. To illustrate, a video might contain experiments     and chemical reactions that may happen too quickly for normal playback. Slow motion     and zoom offers students a chance to get a closer and clearer understanding of the     event. They can also provide greater accessibility that some students might need     for viewing text and other objects within a video.
  • Third Party Annotations -Teachers might wish to offer additional             information beyond what is presented in a video. Such information could be effectively     displayed using annotations that popup at user-defined times. EmbedPlus offers such     a feature for third-parties-i.e. anyone that wishes to embed a video. While annotations/captions are also possible through YouTube, they can only be added by a user with access to the video’s channel. EmbedPlus complements YouTube in this way. You will also find that with EmbedPlus’ annotations, the control bar of the player displays the text to avoid blocking the video screen and possibly distracting viewers.
  • Real-time Reactions – This optional feature displays YouTube and Twitter reactions right inside the player. We are speculating that some comments from YouTube and Twitter can offer students useful viewpoints from others that have viewed a video-particularly those outside the students’ classroom. This of course         depends on the nature of the commenters and tweeters.

http://www.embedplus.com/

Free Stuff from 3D Vinci

Sketch-Up tutorials
http://www.3dvinci.net/ccp0-display/freestuff.html

Math Practice – Make 5

Practice using Addition/Subtraction/Multiplication. Students answer questions to get 5 in a row.
http://www.fi.uu.nl/toepassingen/00091/toepassing_wisweb.en.html

TutPup

Welcome to Tutpup, where you can compete in fun, educational games against other kids from all over the World!
Our aim is to provide simple, fun, competitive games that help children learn and gain confidence with Maths, English and other key skills and knowledge.
http://tutpup.com/

Web Spotlight:

TED Conversations

A new platform for sharing ideas. 3 ways to engage:

  • Ideas
  • Questions
  • Debates

Useful to find ideas for discussions.
http://www.ted.com/conversations

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.
  • The Ohio Middle Level Association will hold their annual conference February 16 – 17, 2011.
  • 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
advisory, Lesson Plan, MSM, Podcast, Strategy, Teaching Tip, TechBy Troy Patterson

MSM-154 Throwing Cadbury Creme Eggs at Cyberbullying.

Jokes You Can Use:

Languages
A mother mouse and her three children crept out of their hole into the kitchen and began feasting on some delicious bits of food. Suddenly, out of the corner of her eye, Mother Mouse saw a cat slinking toward them. The cat was between the mice and their hole. The mother muse puffed up her lungs and went, “Woof! Woof!” The cat turned tail and ran. With that, the mother quickly led her children back to safety in their hole. When they were settle and breathing normally, Mother Mouse said to her children. “Now, what’s the lesson from that experience?” “We don’t know,” the baby mice squeaked. “It is this,” said Mother Mouse. “It’s always good to know a second language.”

On Our Mind:

Snow Days – Part 2
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/regional/s_721287.html

From our Listeners:

The Eileen Award:  It’s a great hands-on project being sponsored by the International Year of Chemistry for all elementary school and high school students, and according to the IYC there is little to no cost to perform the experiments.  They are trying to make it a World Record for largest chemistry experiment ever! I found more information about the experiment itself at http://www.iupac.org/publications/ci/2010/3205/3_wright.html .  From my understanding teachers just go to the website and sign up if they want to participate, and they can get lesson plans/walkthroughs right there.
-Alan

Advisory:

Jeopardy Archive
Just place your mouse over the dollar value for the question to reveal the “answer”.

Middle School Science Minute

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

Check out Dave’s Science Explosion Channel on YouTube.

From the Twitterverse:

*cybraryman1 My Glogs (Glogster) page (a fun approach to learning):
*AngelaMaiers Just got my invite 2 greplin.com (Thnx @gsiemens ) What do you think of it greplin users?
*ApplePlaza Google may buy podcaster Next New Networks http://sns.ly/o4b9y9
*CraftTestDummy This could be dangerous!RT @jenjentrixie: Did you know you can make a homemade version of the Cadbury Creme Eggs. Yum! http://fb.me/szfl279V
*hasai Spending Money on your Honey {Picture}
*HeyLeeAnn MI State Board of Ed votes 2 raise MEAP cut scores. Projected that %age schools not making AYP could jump from 14% to 66%. Yikes!
*pammoran James Paul Gee vid- on grading w/ games …. challenges status quo thinking (Shift from knowledge/fact based to creativity and innovation based schools.)
*leoniehaimson Ruling:D.C. teachers fired by Rhee must be offered jobs, back wages | | DC | Washington Examiner:
*Learngamer Tug-A-War sentence maker-write topic on paper strip, lay on floor, use rope/towel, players pull, touch paper must write http://ow.ly/3S8Fd
*shannonmmiller Create self grading tests Forms in Google Docs http://ow.ly/3S8DG #vanmeter
*Ron_Peck For those of you eagerly anticipating the #sschat archive from tonight’s chat…wait no more!

News:

Schools Tackle Legal Twists and Turns of Cyberbullying

High-profile incidents put legal, policy issues in the spotlight but lack of clarity remains
By Michelle R. Davis
School leaders across the country are dealing with more-routine cases daily and often feel they have little legal advice or precedent to guide them in their decision making.
Case law regarding student speech, particularly off-campus speech, is outdated, many legal experts say. School leaders say it’s unclear just what actions they can take in some cyberbullying cases. And recent rulings in cases that have dealt with some forms of cyberbullying haven’t clarified the matter.
Schools should have no qualms about taking action when cyberbullying affects the school setting, causing a safety issue either to other students or to faculty members, says Francisco M. Negrón Jr., the general counsel for the National School Boards Association, based in Alexandria, Va.
But the legalities surrounding how schools can respond in less clear-cut cases of cyberbullying are bewildering, to say the least, says Thomas E. Wheeler, the chairman of the Council of School Attorneys, a group affiliated with the NSBA, and a partner in the Indianapolis law firm of Frost Brown Todd LLC. “It’s beyond murky. It’s contradictory,” he says.
http://www.edweek.org/dd/articles/2011/02/09/02cyberbullying.h04.html?intc=DD2.11EM

Resources:

DrawIsland
Easy to use on-line drawing program. Nothing to download. You can download images once done.
http://drawisland.com/

Science Animation Gallery
takes what can be difficult to understand concepts, and animates them in a way that breaks down the concept into manageable parts.
http://ilearntechnology.com/?p=3637
http://www.sumanasinc.com/webcontent/animation.html

Filibustery
Welcome to Filibustery, a website devoted to making the filibuster — and the proposals in the U.S. Senate to reform it — more understandable.
http://filibustery.com/

Reading Concepts
3 resources on teaching reading available to download.:

  • How to Generate Interest So Reading Comprehension Improves
  • Four-Ply Vocabulary Plan
  • LINKING THE LANGUAGE-A Cross-Disciplinary Vocabulary Approach

http://www.cdl.org/resource-library/library_browse.php?type=author&id=75

Planet Foss
Share pictures of science.
http://www.fossweb.com/planetfoss/index.html

TopicMarks
Summary any text
http://topicmarks.com/

SPENT
If you were unemployed, what would you do?
http://playspent.org/

Web Spotlight:

Interdisciplinary Lessons in a Time of Testing

By Anthony Colucci

As the items on the agenda roll by, we wait to find out what buzzword, billionaire reformer, or babbling politician has created a new mountain of work for us.
Let’s also not forget that some people will only judge our students, our schools, and our teaching abilities based on the results of whatever standardized test is given at a particular grade level. What’s tested becomes the priority in this over-scheduled environment, and other important knowledge and skills—like the history of our country or its location on the Earth—are very likely to get left behind.
By stressing connections across the curriculum, learning becomes more meaningful and engaging to our students. Additionally, interdisciplinary teaching can revitalize us by increasing instructional time, promoting more collaboration within our professional communities, and giving us the satisfaction of knowing that we are acting in the best interests of our students, while simultaneously addressing standards that otherwise might be brushed over or ignored altogether in the mad rush to get ready for the Test.
http://www.edweek.org/tm/articles/2011/02/09/tln_interdis.html?tkn=MMCCEsbljhQJM1zKm5tfb2BhoBNuDlL9x4+s&cmp=clp-sb-ascd

SciTable
We hope that you have enjoyed the high quality resources we’ve published for you in Scitable  – eBooks in cell biology, genetics, readings in ecology, and special modules on scientific communication and career planning.   Now we’d like to ask you to do something to help us achieve our mission of expanding Scitable across all of the sciences.
The more classrooms that use Scitable, the more traffic we have, and the faster we can afford to expand our library.  So please let your fellow faculty know about Scitable.
You can tell your colleagues in your own department, post to listserves, speak about it at conferences…there are dozens of ways to spread the word.
Whichever way you choose, please take a few minutes today to tell your colleagues.

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.
  • The Ohio Middle Level Association will hold their annual conference February 17 – 18, 2011.
  • 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
advisory, MSM, News, Podcast, Tech, Web SpotlightBy Troy Patterson

MSM 152 Knock, Knock, Troy’s Here!

Jokes:

Knock, Knock!
Who’s there?
Honey bee.
Honey bee who?
Honey bee a dear and get me a soda.

Knock, Knock!
Who’s there?
Hatch.
Hatch who?
Bless you and please cover your mouth next time.

On Our Mind:

PLAN and Explore! Tests:  Elimination of Social Studies Tests to pay for Explore! and PLAN tests.

From our Listeners:

Here’s the workflow:

  • I use Audio HiJack Pro to record our conversation (normally over Skype, but sometimes iChat)
  • I then move the audio files into GarageBand for Post Production (yeah, I actually do some post production).
  • I export the mp3 file from GarageBand.
  • I upload the show to our web site via Fetch (ftp program).
  • I copy the show notes from Google Docs into a blog post (wordpress blog).
  • I add the link to the end of the blog post using a Podcast plugin
  • I then add the link into Podcast Maker (this writes the xml file that I use).
  • I then use TextWrangler to open the xml file from the server at middleschoolmatters to update that file with the new information from Podcast Maker. (Had I not done some customizing early on, I could skip this step and just use Podcast Maker to upload the xml file).

Thus, the short of it is this: I use GarageBand, then create an xml file for the web site.

Advisory:

Music Lovers:
http://www.studiomultitracks.com/

Middle School Science Minute

by Dave Bydlowski (k12science or davidbydlowski@mac.com)
Lab Safety Training Videos
http://labsafety.flinnsci.com

NIH Findings Magazine
http://publications.nigms.nih.gov/findings

From the Twitterverse:

*CBrannon Reminder: Only dead fish go with the flow.
*garystager Gary Stager, Ph.D.Saying we need to “prepare” 100,000 teachers. What does that mean? Does that mean that the govt is going to pay for it?

@chaltertop Education needs to be linked to health & poverty. I also think all decisions should be made at the classroom level
*DoTheMathBooks Education begins the gentleman, but reading, good company and reflection must finish him. John Locke #quote
*TeacherSabrina LOL! RT @gatorbonbc: When did my status as teacher switch from unsung hero 2 Lex Luther, enemy of the free world? #GeezTheyCouldHaveWarnedUs
*drmmtatom What’s in a Surname? – A Map of Names #fhuedu508 http://tinyurl.com/4g3qubm
*mikeklonsky Alabama Republicans pass bill that bans teachers from state Legislature.
*hrheingold 9 proposed courses for Rheingold U
*russeltarr What Are the Seven Reading Comprehension Strategies?: http://tinyurl.com/ykevbdz
*rrmurry Tennessee teacher evaluation system still lacks specifics 6 months before launch [result of soul-selling for RTTT funds] tennessean.com/article/201101…
*LDpodcast #educon. Educon is like an education revival. Amen.

News:

Study on Testing

http://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/2011/01/27/boy-there-are-so-many-problems-with-this-times-article-or-the-study-its-about-or-both/

Common Core Resource

http://commoncore.pearsoned.com/

Commentary Collection: The Future of Teaching

This collection of Commentaries explores the future course of the teaching profession.

http://www.edweek.org/ew/collections/commentaries-the-future-of-teaching/index.html

Parent Taken to Court for Falsifying Residency
http://www.ohio.com/news/break_news/114658564.html
http://www.ohio.com/news/113828954.html

Resources:

Library Apps for iPhone/iPad

http://mashable.com/2011/01/27/art-gallery-apps-iphone/#view_as_one_page-gallery_box707

Google Apps for Education

The education technology space has seen an explosion of new offerings in the past few years. What has been missing is a centralized platform for schools and universities to easily evaluate and utilize web apps. Today we are excited to launch an education category in the Google Apps Marketplace designed specifically to help schools and universities easily discover and deploy new web applications that integrate with their existing Google Apps accounts.

The new education category includes over 20 applications from 19 vendors ranging from learning management systems (LMS) to student tools and teaching aids – all of which integrate with Google Apps for Education. Each app can be accessed through single sign-on and the Google universal navigation bar and many offer deeper integrations that synchronize with Google Calendar and Documents.

This new education category will make it easier for schools to have more web apps at their fingertips, including popular existing apps such as Aviary, Grockit, and LearnBoost as well as the new apps launching today.
http://googleenterprise.blogspot.com/2011/01/google-apps-just-got-smarter.html

Names

http://www.whatalovelyname.com/

Easel iPad App

http://www.easellearning.com/

Web Spotlight:

Challenge.gov

Challenge.gov is a place where the public and government can solve problems together.
http://challenge.gov/

TED Talks

http://kalinago.blogspot.com/2011/01/speaking-tips-for-teaching-english-with.html

Murphy’s Teaching Law

http://www.murphys-laws.com/murphy/murphy-teaching.html

A Class Divided

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/divided/

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.
  • The Ohio Middle Level Association will hold their annual conference February 17 – 18, 2011.
  • 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
advisory, MSM, News, Podcast, Teaching Tip, Tech, Web SpotlightBy Troy Patterson

MSM 151 Praecaveo Probo Magister!

Jokes:

Pets
While eating in an expensive restaurant, a patron overhead the gentleman at the next table ask the waitress to pack the leftovers for their dog. It was then that his young son exclaimed loudly, “Whoopee! We’re going to get a dog.”

Signatures
A preacher was standing at the pulpit giving his Sunday sermon when a note was passed to him. The only word written on the sheet was IDIOT. Looking up at the congregation, the preacher smiled and said: I have heard of men who write letters and forget to sign their names but this is the first time I will see a man sign his name and forget to write the letters.

On Our Mind:

Feedback from our Listeners.

From our Listeners:

Shawn & Troy

This is a LONG OVERDUE note of appreciation for the fabulous job you do with your MSM podcast.  I’ve been subscribed to it via iTunes since you started and wouldn’t miss it.  Congratulations to you both on 150 shows, wow that’s a real achievement!  I’ve listened to you getting better and better over the years until now you are very professional.  The jokes are a fun touch.  My limit is knock knock jokes.

Why do I like your podcast so much?
1. It’s a conversation between yourselves and us the listeners
2. It guides me to news items and sites I wouldn’t otherwise get to but not only that, you explain their value and where they can be useful.
3. You have an opinion and are prepared to express it.
4. You discuss the professional literature, highlight reports and books you’ve read.  This I really like.  I’m presently ordering Rework by Jason Fried, David Heinemeier Hansson
5. The feedback from Twitter is good. (I’ve found you and now follow you myself)
6. Love the app recommendations.
7. You finish up every podcast with all your contact details.  So why did I take so long to get around to this email …………. that’s why I’m ordering Rework!

All the best from the land of fire and floods — Australia.  Hopefully the plague that has hit Texas in funding cuts this week will not come to you.

Thank you again
Camilla

Advisory:

Graphics programs aren’t simply for just editing your photos—they can have whatever fun application you can think of. For a fun, geeky project, here’s a simple papercraft toy you can make with a printer and simple household tools.
http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/40021/htg-projects-how-to-create-your-own-custom-papercraft-toy/

Middle School Science Minute

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

Clouds!!!

From the Twitterverse:

*EdWeekTeacher Living in Dialogue: Teachers Beware: They are Coming for Our Pensions
*krbiles RT @shannonmmiller: How are you using @Edmodo? Educators from around the world share their ideas http://ow.ly/3ErjZ @lionirons42
*DanielBeylerian Teachers’ Status? RT @CSCorganization: Apparently current gen. of kids better w/ their technology than actual life skools http://ow.ly/3HArB
*cfanch @heymsvalasquez think I’m going to write a blog post about our new collaboration evals @funkdaddytweet came up with. He gets the cred tho
*Larryferlazzo RT @brainpicker: 10 games that make you think about life http://j.mp/gkk9ju
*Learngamer Test prep-Essay, write concise introduction & conclusion, bulk of your time should be answering the question. Make it fun http://ow.ly/3HAbH
*shighley From my alma mater Test-Taking Cements Knowledge Better Than Studying- http://nyti.ms/fMytHC Hmmm
*markbarnes19 Free Technology for Teachers: 42 Tasks – A Free Task Management Tool http://ow.ly/3Hx79
*Orange23 “The problem with quotes on the Internet is that you can’t always be sure of their authenticity.” ~ Abraham Lincoln
*edmodo Edmodo Blog: More Inspiration: 7 brand new ideas from teachers
* drmmtatom “Alone Together”: An MIT Professor’s Book Urges Us to Unplug http://tinyurl.com/4ar4gt6 via @fastcompany #fhuedu610 @MSMatters INTERESTING
* The Choice 2.0 Technology Integration Checklist http://t.co/krpJKd8 via @educationweek #fhucid @msmatters
* Snag Films Introduces an #iPad App #fhucid @msmatters http://tinyurl.com/4nqmrh9

News:

Success of College-Readiness Intervention Hard to Gauge

Stubbornly high college remediation rates have revealed a painful equation: High school completion does not equal college readiness. That disconnection has prompted national leaders to focus like never before on figuring out how to ensure that high school graduates are truly ready to succeed in college. In that quest, a California program is often cited as a role model.

“We’ve gone from a system [of state tests] that looks backward, asking how well we did, to one that looks ahead, asking if we have really gotten students ready for college,” said Douglas McRae, who helped design the state’s tests in the 1990s. “That’s a big mindset shift.”

One part of that work is in carrying out new common academic standards that were written to reflect college-level skills and have been adopted fully or provisionally by all but seven states. Another part lies with two big groups of states that are collaborating to design new tests for those standards. Leaders of those efforts cite the EAP as a model as they endeavor to fold elements of it into work they hope will ultimately make college remediation unnecessary: aligning K-12 study and tests to college expectations, creating a feedback loop to inform learning, and providing supports to students and teachers.

Predictions for 2011

  1. Textbooks are dead! For real this time!
  2. Assessment will be comprehensive and constant!
  3. 1:1 becomes BYOT!
  4. Facebook will be encouraged!
  5. Students will surf away (kind of)!
  6. The end of testing is nigh!
  7. Students forced to use phones in class!
  8. Content will be free for all, all the time!
  9. Students will learn outside of school!
  10. All data become compatible—globally!

http://techlearning.com/article/35406

Resources:

Reform Symposium

This worldwide education conference will take place on January 8 (and 9th depending on your location), 2011.  The conference is free to attend from the comfort of your home or anywhere you have Internet access!  The Reform Symposium offers the opportunity to connect and learn with educators and professionals in the field of education worldwide. Over 2,400 educators from 59 countries attended our last conference in July! This year the conference will focus on interactive presentations that help teachers with creating engaging classrooms and lessons, building relationships with students, improving literacy, working with interactive whiteboards, and much more!  We look forward to 2 keynote speakers, 18 presentations, an open discussion on classroom management, a panel discussion on parental engagement, a mentor program, and an open lab for hands-on support in helping you continue your professional development in online educator communities.  You have never attended a conference quite like this one!  Join us by registering below for the conference and start connecting and participating now! View the linked video for help. If you need more help with the room links, registering and more please visit us all day in the Open Lab where someone will be available throughout the entire conference to help you!
http://reformsymposium.com/
http://reformsymposium.com/july-2010-podcasts/

Web Spotlight:

Doodle for Google:

Welcome to Doodle 4 Google, a competition where we invite K-12 students to use their artistic talents to think big and redesign Google’s homepage logo for millions to see. At Google, we believe that dreaming about future possibilities leads to tomorrow’s leaders and inventors, so this year we’re inviting U.S. kids to exercise their creative imaginations around the theme, “What I’d like to do someday…”
Whether students want to find a cure for cancer or take a trip to the moon, it all starts with art supplies and some 8.5″ x 11″ paper. And, one lucky student artist will take home a $15,000 college scholarship and $25,000 technology grant for their school, among many other prizes.
Registration closes at 11:59:59 p.m. Pacific Time (PT) on March 2, 2011, and entries must be postmarked by March 16, 2011 11:59:59 p.m. Pacific Time (PT). The winning doodle will be featured on our Google.com homepage on May 20, 2011.
http://www.google.com/doodle4google/

Qwiki
Qwiki’s goal is to forever improve the way people experience information.
Whether you’re planning a vacation on the web, evaluating restaurants on your phone, or helping with homework in front of the family AppleTV, Qwiki is working to deliver information in a format that’s quintessentially human – via storytelling instead of search.
We are the first to turn information into an experience. We believe that just because data is stored by machines doesn’t mean it should be presented as a machine-readable list. Let’s try harder.
Think of asking your favorite teacher about Leonardo Da Vinci, or your most well-traveled friend about Buenos Aires: this is the experience Qwiki will eventually deliver, on demand, wherever you are in the world… on whatever device you’re using.
We’ve all seen science fiction films (or read novels) where computers are able to collect data on behalf of humans, and present the most important details. This is our goal at Qwiki – to advance information technology to the point it acts human.
Currently, Qwiki’s technology has been applied to describe millions of popular topics – but soon we’ll do much more. Our team needs your help in reaching our goal: join our private alpha now to help test Qwiki and shape the future.
www.qwiki.com

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.
  • The Ohio Middle Level Association will hold their annual conference February 17 – 18, 2011.
  • 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
Conferences, NMSA10, Podcast, Tech, Web SpotlightBy Troy Patterson

MSM #150- Show #150! It’s Because of You!

Jokes:

Swimming
An urgent call was put in for a plumber at noon but he didn’t arrive until 5 hours later. “How is it?” he asked entering the house. “Not so bad,” replied the home owner. “While we were waiting for you to arrive, I taught my wife how to swim.”

Spots
“Doctor!” complained the patient, “I keep seeing spots before my eyes.” The doctor scratched his head. “Why have you come to me? Have you seen an ophthalmologist?” “No,” replied the patient, “just spots.”

On Our Mind:

Robert Nay:  Bubble Ball is the most popular free download for the Apple App Store. If he would have charged for it, he would have made 2 million dollars from it.  He’s 14.

From our Listeners:
Happy new year my friends

I’m not sure which of you are still active substitutes but i do hope all of you will do me the kindness of forwarding this to as many people and organizations who substitute or work with substitute teachers as you can.

A Seattle venue is relatively close for California and “right next door” for Oregon. The Northwest is a nice location for a conference/vacation combination for anyone!

Link to Flyer:  http://www.nstasubs.org/2011Conference/Call%20to%20Conference%202011-%20Final.pdf

Middle School Science Minute

by Dave Bydlowski (k12science or davidbydlowski@mac.com)
Girls and Science
http://www.braincake.org/
http://stemstories.org/

From the Twitterverse:

*PrometheanUSA RT WhiteheadsClass Martin Luther King, Jr. vocabulary and spelling games and resources: #promethean #iwb #edtech
*russeltarr Simple Graphic Organizer Makes Fractions a Little Less Painful: http://tinyurl.com/ycfqaud
*bhsprincipal RT @nothingfuture: A grade is the smallest amount of information we can possibly record about a student’s experience.
*stevehargadon We listen to business leaders more than educators “reform” dialog. Why? http://wapo.st/frBgX5 via @tonnet
*DanielBeylerian Any teachers found ways 2 supplement their income by teaching online? Ontario Certified Teacher. PD oriented instruction is goal #edchat
*rkiker Teens In Tech Launches Startup Incubator for Young Entrepreneurs http://pulsene.ws/JqK1
*clifmims Skype’s New Resource Specifically for Teachers http://ow.ly/3BZhl #education #edtech
*NancyTeaches RT @justwonderinY: I learn the most when PD is layered. (focused, embedded in daily practice, across year, & about kids) #elemchat
*stribs Story of man who’s spent over a decade trying to convince doctors that he’s not mentally ill > This American Life
*sharon_elin Virginia Poised to Ban Teacher-Student Texting, Facebooking rww.to/gMQPzF via @RWW Comment on google doc: cut.gd/sk6a
*kconners09 Have students draw to write- getting over writers block. Good 4 SS. Edutopia http://ow.ly/1rZtMc #english #sschat
*rushtheiceberg The GMAIL+ method I spoke about in my preso at #edcampoc The Edublogger #edchat
*lkolb Join us in May for first annual U of M Virtual Ed Tech Conference (Free! Wear your PJ’s and Network)….more info @umvirtualcon

NSMA 2010 Session 6:

Session 4:

He Says, She Says
The Home School Connection
Debbie Silver & Monte Shelby

Family Tree

The new research:
create a home environment that encourages learning.
communicate high, yet reasonable expectations.

Reading with parents. Muffins with moms/ donuts with dad. The kids read to the parents.
Saturday picnics. No “traditional” school focus, just a picnic held at school. provide the food and prizes. Just play games and make connections.
Staff development while the parents have all of the kids. Do they picked a routine thing that all of the kids could do. The parents then monitor the kids. The parents were trained. First thing on Monday morning – kids behave better at that time.
The parents ran the program. Agenda was shared with the parents. Parents called other parents with personal invitations. Social things where the only expectation was that parents show up.  Example of pool night at community center. Parents mentoring parents. 8th grader parents mentor 6th grade. Someone to call.

Develop list of things that parents can do:
Theatre Aid
Hall Moms and Pops
Teacher’s Aid
Have parents take pictures- make sure they get each kid over the weeks. Email the picture immediately to the parents.
Add question on a “take home” assignment that needs a parental response. Name a family member who emigrated. Name the favorite food of a parent.
Parent input page. The student has to teach the parent something. The parent has to respond with what they were taught.

Professional Development Kit: The what, the why, the how of student led conferences. by Jack Berckemeyer and Patti Kinney.

Make sure that you make good calls. Can be especially useful if you make a good call before you ever make a bad one.
Check NAESP for good suggestions for parents.

News:

SnagFilms

SnagFilms is committed to finding the world‘s most compelling documentaries, whether from established heavyweights or first-time filmmakers, and making them available to the wide audience these titles deserve.
SnagFilms.com is a website where you can watch full-length documentary films for free, but we’re also a platform that lets you “snag” a film and put it anywhere on the web. With a library of over 1500 films, and rapidly growing, you’re bound to find films that resonate with your interests. We make it easy for you to find a film that shines a light on a cause you care about. You can then open a virtual movie theater on any web site, so any one can watch your favorite SnagFilms for free.
SnagFilms can be summed up in four words: Find. Watch. Snag. Support.
Find. Whether using our custom search tools, browsing by topic, or tuning into one of the great channels provided by our partners, with a few clicks you’ll be able to find what you’re looking for.
Watch. By streaming films worldwide, on-demand, 24×7 and with no software installation or downloading required, we have radically expanded the audience for documentary films. All you need is a decent broadband connection. Just click play, go full-screen, and lean back and enjoy our films.
Snag. Widgets let you take your favorite SnagFilms with you wherever you like to go online. Open a virtual movie theater right in your webpage, blog, Facebook or MySpace page, or just about any other place online you can think of.
Support. At their best, documentaries don‘t merely entertain us, they engage and inspire us to action. We provide a link for you to a charity related to the topic of each film (many of them selected by the filmmaker) so you can get involved, immediately.  And just by embedding our widgets, you’ve donated your pixels and helped support independent film.

http://www.snagfilms.com/

Tech Spotlight:

British Library introduces first app for iOS, Android

The British Library has launched its first-ever mobile app, Treasures. The title is available in three separate editions, for iPad, iPhone/iPod and Android. It so far provides access to a little over 100 items from the Library’s collection, such as a 1215 copy of the Magna Carta, music manuscripts belonging to Handel, Purcell and Mozart, and Buddhist, Christian and Zoroastrian religious documents.
The iPad app, Treasures HD, is priced at £2.39, and benefits from a higher-resolution native interface. The iPhone/iPod title is £1.19. While the former requires only iOS 3.2, the latter demands at least iOS 4; both are restricted to the UK App Store.
http://www.ipodnn.com/articles/11/01/10/provides.access.to.rare.books/

Google Goggles gets faster, smarter and solves Sudoku
Check this out.

http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2011/01/google-goggles-gets-faster-smarter-and.html

GEL Conference

Short for “Good Experience Live”, Gel is a conference and community exploring good experience in all its forms – in art, business, technology, society, and life.
Gel was founded by Mark Hurst in 2003 and has run a spring event in New York City each year since.Gel 2011 will be the 9th annual event. (Hurst has also run two spinoff events, Gel Health in 2009 and euroGel in Copenhagen, Denmark in 2006. See Past Gels.)
Instead of focusing on just one thing – design, technology, user experience, business, etc. – like many conferences, Gel touches on many things. This challenges attendees to find, and learn from, the patterns that underlie good experience, even in disciplines vastly different from their own.
The best way to understand the Gel experience is to attend. (Next event is Gel 2011.) You might also like to watch videos from Gel 2010 to get a sense of the caliber and range of speakers – though attendees have said that the videos don’t fully describe the Gel experience.
http://www.gelconference.com/

99%

http://the99percent.com/videos

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.
  • The Ohio Middle Level Association will hold their annual conference February 17 – 18, 2011.
  • 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
advisory, MSM, News, NMSA, NMSA10, Podcast, Web SpotlightBy Troy Patterson

MSM 149 NMSA 2010: Weather, Differentiation

Jokes:

Apples
A man traveling through the country stopped at a small roadside fruit stand and bought some apples. When he mentioned they were awfully small, the farmer replied, “Yup.” The man took a bite of one of the apples and exclaimed, “Not very flavorful, either.” “That’s right,” said the farmer. “Lucky they’re small, ain’t it?”

Accountants
Did you hear about the accountant with insomnia? He decided to try counting sheep, but he made a mistake and was up all night trying to find it!

Middle School Science Minute

by Dave Bydlowski (k12science or davidbydlowski@mac.com)
Weather vs Climate – A Throw Down

Advisory:

Future Me:  A letter to the future . . . from yourself.
This Week in Rap

From the Twitterverse:

*missnoor28 RT @ShellTerrell: Google Doc of Presentations in Case the Website is Down #rscon11 Plz RT!
*steelepierce @johnccarver OH has two districts piloting e-days in lieu of snow days. We’re exploring that. @colonelb @pammoran
**DianeRavitch What you need to know about Finland: http://www.publicpolicyblogger.com/2010/12/before-its-too-late-fifteen-reasons-why.html
Key Quote:  “I think the things that CAN be imported are ideas that allow a refocusing away from testing and performance by giving teachers more autonomy, a focus on quality rather then quantity of teaching, higher level academic teacher training qualifications, improving the status of teaching as a profession.”  
*russeltarr Anecdotage: Great database of anecdotes for spicing up lessons!: http://tinyurl.com/yztfrxp
*hshawjr U.S. drive for high test scores has stifled students’ creativity | The Kennebec Journal, Augusta, ME: via @addthis
Referenced link:  http://www.oecd.org/document/61/0,3746,en_32252351_32235731_46567613_1_1_1_1,00.html
Key Quote:  “In fact, it keeps students from learning all the other things they need to know — literature, history, languages, mathematics, science — actual knowledge and skills that go into a well-educated mind, the raw material for creative and civic behavior.“
*missnoor28 Future Me – Send a Letter to Your Future Self freetech4teachers.com/2011/01/future… #edchat
*russeltarr Google Features That Make Teachers’ Lives Easier: http://tinyurl.com/m5bwgf
*DoTheMathBooks I’ve never know any trouble than an hour’s reading didn’t assuage. Arthur Schopenhauer #quote
*drmmtatom Girls arrested for Facebook teacher attack invite #fhuedu610 http://flne.ws/26341773 on Fluent News
*drmmtatom 100 Online Resources That Are Transforming Education: http://on.mash.to/i1NhRT
*mcleod Video: 3 phases of educational technology #edtech
1.  Dynamic presentation created by the teacher.  (Keynote, Powerpoint, etc.)
2.  Texts replaced by content based knowledge.  (Pencil/Paper outcomes)
3.  Students as producers of content.
*mcleod Print your own flute (yes, that’s correct) Did I mention I want a 3D printer?!
*lkolb Join us in May for first annual U of M Virtual Ed Tech Conference (Free! Wear your PJ’s and Network)….more info @umvirtualcon

NSMA 2010 Session 6:

Session 3

10 ways to differentiate:

Gretchen Goodman

Differentiation is part of RTI – Tier I
Pet Peeves by Joel Pett
Take a label. bubbasrealma@me.com

Practical tips
Appllication
Differentiated instruction is a concept that makes it possible to maximize learning for ALL students. It is a collection of instructionally intelligent strategies based on student centerned best practice that make it possible for teachers to create different pathways that respond to the needs of diverse learners

1. Tic Tac Toe

This is related to the student contract plans.
Don’t use any of these everyday.
this can lead to a large amount of work. be careful. You can have them do all 3, turn them in and pick the 1 that they want graded.
Label the boxes. Give them 2 die and let them roll. If they roll a 3 and a 4, they get to pick, they can either do #3 and #4 or #7.

2. Tiering

Always start with the standard and move up or down.
One of the most common DI strategies.
Teach one concept with layers of difficulty/complexity designed by need and readiness.
EG. (Civil War)Tier 1:
Define slavery

Tier II
Take facts and then analyze, apply knowledge.

Tier 3
Present a 3-4 page essay

3. Cubing – 6 sides to a lesson

Describe it
Compare it
Associate it
analyze it
Apply it
Argue for/against it

teachingmadeeasier.com
F6SDETME
60 days of access
Stuff it with paper and tape it.
The post office has cubes. Cover with contact paper. Priority cubes.
Michael’s has whiteboard cubes.
Use different cubes for different groups:
Above
On
Below

or by interest.

Can also use a spinner to pick numbers by box.

Use different cubes.

4. Task Cards

Review the information in the chart showing the habitat.
Can assign them a task as they enter or let them pick

5. Think Dots

Different assignments in boxes.
give the kids a popsicle stick with a different number of dots.

6. Grouping

Clock Partners
Colored clothes pins
Table tents with names
Pull a popsicle stick
Teacher assigned
CD covers- Go to a music store. Write down the first four songs of a variety of songs and cut down the strips. Students pick a song. They are then grouped by artists.
Puzzle pieces- Take a picture of something the kids like. Cut it into puzzles pieces. The kids pick a piece and put the puzzle together for a group. Keep hotel keys.
Hershey kiss groups.
Paint chips – get 4

This can really help cutting down on bullying. When kids know each other and work together, they are less likely to bully.
Have kids write 4 science vocabulary words on a page that is quartered. Have students pick a partner for each word.

7. Assessments

Gallery Walk – Large chart paper. Open ended questions on the chart paper. Kids have to answer a certain number of them. Nobody can use a ditto.
Write and Pass- Each kid has a question. They respond to the question within 1 minute, then pass to the next student.
1 minute write – Summarize for 1 minute at the end of class. Write everything that you learned today in 1 minute. One teacher called this “brain vomit”.
K-W-L+  – The plus is what do you still want to know.
Who-Has I Have ~ Get a set of index cards. Laminate with blanks. Each card has two pieces of information- the who has question and an answer of what they have. This means that they have to know answers.  (Browser based generator:  http://www.brendenisteaching.com/gen/myloops/)

8.  Exit Tickets

I don’t understand
I would like to learn about
The most important thing I learned today is
3-2-1 Exit card.

9. Know The children

Learning Style Inventory
Observations
Self evaluations
Scavenger Hunt – find someone who can….
That’s Me- ask questions. Have students raise their hand and shout “that’s me” if the question is yes.
80% of drop outs are tactile/kinesetic.

10. Pass Options

Turn to partner and discuss
Off the pass, but come back and have them restate. (Go to 2 more kids and then come back to them.)

Don’t Forget – Recognition:
Silent Cheer
Give them a hand – trace and pass
Way to go home call.
Post cards
e-mails…digital photos attached.

#11 Centers:

Tie to the curriculum
Match with the standards
Teach them how to use.
Can be games, boards, magnetic letters, computers, etc.
1. Train the troops.

FaceBook assignment- post a Facebook page of a famous person.

Menu:
• Appetizer: Everyone does together.
Entree – Do on your own.
Side Dishes – Select at least 2.
Dessert- optional. Extra credit.
XK6

News:

Internet Gains on Television as Public’s Main News Source

More Young People Cite Internet than TV

The internet is slowly closing in on television as Americans’ main source of national and international news. Currently, 41% say they get most of their news about national and international news from the internet, which is little changed over the past two years but up 17 points since 2007.
…more people continue to cite the internet than newspapers as their main source of news, reflecting both the growth of the internet, and the gradual decline in newspaper readership (from 34% in 2007 to 31% now).
In 2010, for the first time, the internet has surpassed television as the main source of national and international news for people younger than 30.

The Test Chinese Schools Still Fail

High scores for Shanghai’s 15-year-olds are actually a sign of weakness.
By JIANG XUEQIN

It’s ironic that just as the world is appreciating the strengths of China’s education system, Chinese are waking up to its weaknesses.
China’s most promising students still must go abroad to develop their managerial drive and creativity, and there they have to unlearn the test-centric approach to knowledge that was drilled into them.
Even Shanghai educators admit they’re merely producing competent mediocrity.
Shanghai’s stellar results on PISA are a symptom of the problem. Tests are less relevant to concrete life and work skills than the ability to write a coherent essay, which requires being able to identify a problem, break it down to its constituent parts, analyze it from multiple angles and assemble a solution in a succinct manner to communicate across cultures and time.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703766704576008692493038646.html

Webspotlight:

4 Promising Curation Tools That Help Make Sense of the Web

by Steve Rosenbaum

1. Storify

2. Scoop.it

3. Curated.by

4. Pearltrees

http://mashable.com/2011/01/06/curation-tools/

Big Huge Labs

http://bighugelabs.com/education.php

Do Amazing Things with your Photos

What is BeFunky?

BeFunky simplifies photo editing and effects for everyday people.

Marvelous Photo Effects

Choose from our constantly growing library of photo effects to turn your ordinary photos into extraordinary art with virtually no effort.

Smart Photo Editing

Photo editing made smart. Fix your common photo problems like bad lighting, digital noise, fuzzy colors and details with one click.

Design Goodies

Give your digital creations a whole lot of character with BeFunky Goodies. Add speech bubbles, frames and more…
http://befunky.com/

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.
  • The Ohio Middle Level Association will hold their annual conference February 17 – 18, 2011.
  • 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
advisory, MSM, News, NMSA10, Podcast, Web SpotlightBy Troy Patterson

MSM 148 NMSA 2010: Happy New Year!

Jokes:

On a visit to Chicago
On a visit to Chicago, a woman was eager to visit a posh department store a few blocks from her hotel. Her husband agreeably hailed a cab. “The lady wants to go to Neiman Marcus,” he told the driver. The cabby looked over his shoulder at them. “And the gentleman?” he asked. “Does he want to go to the bank?”

Marriage
“Honey,” said this husband to his wife, “I invited a friend home for supper.” “What? Are you crazy? The house is a mess, I didn’t go shopping, all the dishes are dirty, and I don’t feel like cooking a fancy meal!” “I know all that.” “Then, why did you invite a friend for supper?” “Because the poor guy is thinking about getting married.”

Blood Pressure
When a doctor remarked on a new patient?s extraordinarily ruddy complexion, he said, “High blood pressure, Doc. It runs in my family.” “Your mother’s side or your father’s?” the doctor asked. “Neither,” the patient replied. “It’s from my wife’s family.” “Oh, come now,” said the doctor “How could your wife’s family give you high blood pressure?” He sighed. “You oughta meet ’em sometime, Doc!”

Marriage
The wife saw her husband frustrated reading the Marriage Certificate from top to bottom, flip it over, and then read it again… She asked: “Honey, what are you looking for?” He answered: “Nothing dear, I’m just looking for the expiration date.”

On Our Mind:

Happy New Year!
Resolutions?

Middle School Science Minute

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

Did you Know…..
Ummmmm… Chemistry

Advisory:

2011 Predictions:  http://www.breakingnewsenglish.com/1101/110101-happy_new_year.html

From the Twitterverse:

*gatorbonBC by DianeRavitch  Corporate Schools vs Public Schools? No Separate is STILL not equal. Wear Red 4 Public Ed Tues Jan 4. #WearRedForEd #edchat @DianeRavitch
*nancyrubin by francesblo  Why Should Educators Blog? Reflective Writing Can Positively Affect Teaching http://ow.ly/3wNf3
*DianeRavitch What you need to know about Finland: http://www.publicpolicyblogger.com/2010/12/before-its-too-late-fifteen-reasons-why.html
*AnthonyCody Battling the “Bad Teacher” Bogeyman: A Teacher takes on Hanushek’s misguided model of improvement: #edreform
*mcleod New post: A hilarious (and scary) tale about standardized testing scoring #edtech
*web20classroom Want More Engaged Students? Give Them A Say:
*web20classroom RT @ransomtech: A good discussion starter: “21 Things That Will Become Obsolete in Education by 2020”
*NCMSA RT @mathematicsprof: 2011 is also the sum of 11 CONSECUTIVE prime numbers: 2011=157+163+167+173+179+181+191+193+197+199+211
*SeanBanville “2011 to Be Best Year Ever” – My latest BreakingNewsEnglish lesson plan – #ESL
*mcleod CASTLE blog post: Virtual Schooling In The News
*sarahhanawald RT @fredbartels: Blaming bad teachers for learning failure in high-poverty areas like blaming bad doctors for high disease rates in slums.
*DianeRavitch LA school that is “least effective” but not really: http://tinyurl.com/2busj8d
*terryfreedman 10 tips for planning the use of technology in lessons: Using educational technology effectively usu.. Pls RT, thx!

NSMA 2010 Session 5:

A five year multi-case study of middle level teachers

Dr. Holly Thornton
thorntonhj@app state.edu
(email her for the presentation)

Teacher Observation:  Caitlyn
A lot of these are self reporting.
It’s a legal can of worms.

Teacher Observation:  Caitlyn

Longitudinal case analysis.

Do these beliefs last over time.

Teacher Observation: Caitlyn

Put on your teacher evaluator hat.

What did they do well and what needs improvement?

Teacher Observation:  Amy

More organized.

Dispositions Observation form.

There is an observation form for this stuff.

Left hand column is responsiveness

Right hand column is technical

Center is Medium level.

The disconnected side sounds like a slam, but it isn’t intended to be so.

Dispositions in Action

Focus is impact on student learning/depth of understanding.

Responsive sees the kids getting learning deeply and technical is seeing the kids getting it correctly (technical details)

Context wasn’t a main factor in this study.

Aligned with Young Adolescent needs.

Responsive are better at teaching this.

Responsive dispositions align more with deeper teaching.  Both are necessary, but Responsive seems to have an advantage.

Manifested in teacher/student interaction.

Discourse analysis

Used to understand how the teachers got the kids to this place

Grounded theory from model middle school analysis

Evaluating Dispositions

Summary Findings Over Time

Young teachers’ dispositions remained fairly consistent over time.

They maintained their dispositions over time.

The testing pieces helped them live out their dispositions, maybe.

Many teachers leave the field because they don’t feel successful in what they choose to do.

What does this imply for us?

Factors that did not

Type of school setting

Content area taught

Testing emphasis

Factors that matter most

School climate

Collaborative time with teacher

School leadership

Principal trust was a huge influence.

Push on testing

Trust that they would do their jobs was important

Testing emphasis

How that emphasis was stressed moved people to the technical side.

Original dispositional orientation.

Can you teach dispositions?

All were dealing with a strong emphasis on standardized high stakes testing via No Child Left Behind.

(Note find teacher quality index)

All were held accountable to these tests and were successful in getting students to do well on them.

However, the young teachers’ dispositions affected how they reacted to the testing focus and how they ultimately defined teaching and learning in their classrooms.

Note:  The more middle school a middle school is the better the test scores.  (Find this study)
Consider as Middle Level Teacher Educators

Responsive teachers may at this time in education feel like they are teaching against the grain.  The question may be what types of dispositions we want our graduates to possess, given the current educational context and challenges.  What serves them best and ultimately what best serves their students and our future society?

The people who will be in the next century are the responsive types, not the technical types.

Look for publications in Teacher Ed Quarterly.

How to manifest it in the classroom.

CEU info:  AA7
2461 Session #
Send her stuff too.

21st Century Skills for students

Session 2
2229
Chad Foster

Teenagers preparing for the real world.
Mostly read by 8th graders. Written at a 7th grade level.
Based off of a 10 day short course.
Reading literacy is the basis.
Business background.

Students spend 15,000 hours in the classroom before graduation. Too many kids don’t know what to do after school. Schools do a good job of educating kids but not preparing them.
Success:

  • Good Friends
  • Reputation
  • Like what they are doing
  • Give back to the community

Need:
Knowledge- must be relevant

What part of the cell provides energy? mitocondri

  • Communication Skills
  • People Skills
  • Technology Skills
  • Time Management Skills

Skills must be learned. They can’t be Googled.
We need to teach the ability to talk to “strangers”.

80% of jobs that are being hired are never posted or advertised. People with networking skills are getting the jobs. In the past, you needed to work hard to stay in contact with others. Today it is easy.

Meet a stranger activity. Too many kids don’t know how to talk to business people. They think that they need lots of complex questions. They need to learn how to ask simple questions, listen and then follow up.

Teach kids to talk about:

  • Family
  • What they do
  • Hobbies

Have kids practice talking to “strangers”. Start with students acting like someone else. Then have adults do the same thing. Then bring in business people.
Have the students contact people who use outside the norm jobs. Students complete interviews and then do a one minute presentation.
Bring in a diverse panel for kids to ask questions.

Have kids write a handwritten thank you cards.

News:

Can Learning to Play the Violin Make you Smarter?

Brenda Brenner, a music education professor at the IU Jacobs School of Music, developed the program after academic research showed students who played string instruments performed better academically than those who did not.
http://www.indystar.com/article/20101224/NEWS04/12240324/1013/NEWS04/Attica-students-part-effort-see-music-improves-minds

Webspotlight:

Google Body
Played with Google Earth?  You know, that website the kids go to to look at their own homes via satellite?  Here’s one for the human body:  http://bodybrowser.googlelabs.com/

Math & Money

Mint.com, the popular personal finance management service, in collaboration with Scholastic has launched a free personal finance curriculum for middle school use. Math and Money is a collection of four short lessons (2 primary lessons and two “bonus” lessons) about personal finance. Lesson one is designed to teach students about wages, taxes, and costs of living. Lesson two is designed to teach students the benefits of saving their money in a bank. The bonus lessons expand the first two lessons. Scholastic hosts printable materials that you can download and use to support the lessons.
http://www.scholastic.com/mint/

Life on Minimum Wage

http://www.freetech4teachers.com/2009/11/life-on-minimum-wage-lesson-in-personal.html

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.
  • The Ohio Middle Level Association will hold their annual conference February 17 – 18, 2011.
  • 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
Conferences, NMSA10, PodcastBy Troy Patterson

MSM 146 NMSA 2010 Dinner Conversation

This week’s show is a recording of the dinner conversation we enjoyed during the National Middle School Annual Conference. There is a lot of background noise, but the audio is surprisingly decent considering. The conversation revolved largely around the Department of Education questions that Shawn was asked. We should be back with a “normal” show next week.

advisory, NMSA10, Podcast, TechBy Troy Patterson

MSM-145 NMSA 2010:U.S. Department of Education & JACK BERCKEMEYER!

Jokes:

Speed Versus Age
A Policeman stops a speeding car and tells the woman driver; When I saw you driving down the road, I thought to myself, sixty-five at least. The woman replied: “I don’t think that is quite fair. I think this hat makes me look younger.”

Hearing Aids
Seems an elderly gentleman had serious hearing problems for a number of years. He went to the doctor and the doctor was able to have him fitted for a set of hearing aids that allowed the gentleman to hear 100%. The elderly gentleman went back in a month to the doctor and the doctor said, “Your hearing is perfect. Your family must be really pleased you can hear again.” To which the gentleman said, “Oh, I haven’t told my family yet. I just sit around and listen to the conversations. I’ve changed my will five times!”

On Our Mind:

NMSA 2010 Conference
Santa:

North Pole

Activities – Paid site, but you could gather some ideas.

From the Audience:

In response to Reid’s question on digital science resources, I thought I could share a few thoughts and ideas.

Probably the best interactive online science simulations are called Gismos and can be found at:
http://www.explorelearning.com
They come at a cost but when you look at them you will see that they really provide skills in inquiry and understanding.  They are very “age appropriate” and include topics in earth, moon, and sun; measurement and lab skills; heredity and genetics; ecology and interdependence; motion and force, electricity and magnetism; and many, many more.  You can’t go wrong with Gizmos.
………………………..
As far as online textbooks go, there are not a lot of choices, unless you go with a textbook company and Reid did not want to go with a standard textbook.  I agree that he will have more success if he looks at “units” instead of a “full year.”  In Michigan we recommend four 9-10 week units in grades 5-7.  In 8th grade we recommend more units, but units that last shorter periods of time.  The other negative about online resources is that they tend to downplay inquiry, which is very important, as well as being more “high schoolish” in their content and delivery.  But here are a few choices:
Classzone—They provide resources to their student texts, but provide quite a bit of material.  Visit: http://www.classzone.com/cz/index.htm
Prisms—PRISMS is a collection of reviewed phenomena and representations for middle school. The goal is to help increase the amount of content aligned and pedagogically useful resources available in the National Science Digital Library (NSDL) for middle school teachers and students.  Visit: http://prisms.mmsa.org/
Khan Academy—You have mentioned quite a few times, but is worth a visit at: http://www.khanacademy.org/
………………………..
I would also recommend that he participate in the National Middle Level Science Teachers Association. Educators can join at: http://www.nmlsta.org/
You mentioned that I write a newsletter and it is the twice-monthly Michigan Science Matters Network eBlast.  It is archived at http://msta-mich.org/smn But Science Matters is a network from within the National Science Teachers Association and Indiana is a part of the Network.  I would encourage him to contact the State Coordinator:  Kate Baird.  They are also affiliated with the state science organization—Hoosier Association of Teachers and they can be found at: http://www.hasti.org/

Middle School Science Minute

by Dave Bydlowski (k12science or davidbydlowski@mac.com)
Pennies for the Planet! Penny Wars!

Advisory:

Secret Santa

The Secret Santa gift exchange is a favorite Christmas season activity. Put a twist on it in your classroom by having students give each other acts of kindness rather than gifts. Remind students how Secret Santa works. Tell them that instead of giving gifts they will be giving acts of kindness. Supply them with a few examples, such as giving compliments, helping with homework or sharing a joke. Give students slips of paper to write their names on and place them in a bag. Students draw the name of their partner for Secret Santa. Remind students to keep their identity secret.

Give the students pieces of A4 paper and have them decorate with Christmas borders so that they look like scrolls. Each day students write their acts of kindness on their scrolls. At the end of the week, everyone tries to guess who their Secret Santa is, and they turn their kindness scroll over to their partner.

http://www.ehow.com/list_6567051_holiday-activities-middle-school-students.html

From the Twitterverse:

*maggiecary Helping Your Child Transition from EZ Readers to Chapter Books:
*bdyck Wondering How the Internet Sees You?
*bhsprincipal The Answer Sheet | What Tom Friedman got wrong about schools and why it matters – http://wapo.st/eXgscu via @wackjacq #cpchat #bhschat
*bhsprincipal Patrick Larkin RT @MrWejr: Teachers Who Shun Social Media Left In the Dark- Vancouver Sun via @jsteffenhagen #edchat #bhschat
*cybraryman1 Email Around the World Project: #ellchat #kinderchat
*cybraryman1 @kconners09 My Ed Chats page: #sschat (every Monday 7 pm EST)  Here’s the link to tonight’s #sschat archive. http://ow.ly/3hdbh
@Ron_Peck A properly designed Cooperative Learning Project does work well. Cooperative Learning: #sschat
*WackJacq RT @mcleod: New post: The 7 tacit lessons which schools teach children http://bit.lhttp://bit.ly/hMaMCQ #sschat #cpchat (Note:  link in the tweet is bad.  Here it is:  http://www.minddump.org/the-7-tacit-lessons-which-schools-teach-child)
*TheSwish @MsTeacher28 We do a Bill of Rights “hand game” http://goo.gl/YHdBh & “Do I Have a Right” from @icivics #sschat
*Larryferlazzo The Best Teacher Resources For “Foldables”
*mbteach Come see a model lesson on using Skype in the classroom w/myself & @dancallahan at 11:20 #edcampnyc w/@jswiatek at #edcampcitrus

NSMA 2010

Department of Ed Interview

Session 4

April Tibbles is chief of staff.  (I got to sit next to the lovely and talented April Tibbles!)

Greg Darnieder is special advisor to Sec. Duncan.  College Access Initiative.
Leah Raphael, Patrick Desmond (Teacher fellows)  (LaDezma? A little difficult to hear)
Secondary planning group being developed.

Think about this while we talk:  If you had 60 seconds with the secretary, what would you say about middle school?

Speed round:
1st word:  Personalization
2nd word:  Looping
3rd word:  College and career readiness standards.
4th word:  Rigor
5th word:  Transitioning to high school.
6th word:  Data

Are the needs of middle school students distinct?
What does a middle school look like?
Reauthorization of Perkins is coming up next year.
Should that program be revised to include middle grades?
If you had 60 seconds with Arne Duncan . . .

1.  Exploratories to drive desire to learn and career choice.

2.  This We Believe – No half measures.

3.  We would love to have you on the podcast.
Secondary Schools Working Group

Session 4

LA Strategies that Meet the needs of the Adolescents

Jack Berckemeyer

Hands on. See hand out.

jackberckemeyer.com

steve spangler – diaper genie and bernoulli’s law.

I. Spelling:
Get words from other courses.
Put words on an index card. Tape the card on their back. They get 20 questions to figure out the word.
Harley Davidson spelling words. =

• Snap fingers and spell.
• Have them repeat you spelling the word. Change volume to really low.
• Chanting the word by syllable.
puzzlemaker.com

Word within a word

Paper plate Spelling – Put one letter on each plate. If a word includes more than one instance of a letter, the holder must move. If they start to spell it wrong, interrupt them. Then go back to them. Each and every group has to recite their answer. The kids hear it many times. (Always correct).

Replace a letter with a sound.
Blueberry and banana sentences. Replace the underline with a word. Use only 2 words to replace the line.

II. Reading Strategies
Book Talks
National Geographics (appropriate). Use for students who are finished with the assignments. Pick interesting articles. Use during pre and post learning time.
Story Pyramid- See handout
Useful for any subject. Just switch the questions.

3 Study card
The art of manipulation. The week of the test (Monday)use outlining, teaches listening skills and outlining. Then combine it down to a smaller piece of paper. Then cut it down to one index card.

READ magazine.
Pick a role and sell it to the kid first.

III. Academic Writing Strategies
19 Rules to Final Copy

IV. Creative Writing Strategies
Cliff Hangers
Make the kids be quite for 5 minutes at the beginning of class and write. It gets them focused.
How to make a Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwich. The follow up is important. Teaches sequence of events and transitions.
Spin a story – Put a brad on a piece of paper with names/locations/conflict. Can also use  Weekly World Report – just the headlines.

V. Grammar
We don’t think about grammar as visual. Go to the window- does anyone see a noun?
“Fanatasia” the dancing hippos – kids come up with adjectives.
“Grammar Rock”

VI. Listening Skills
Place an X on the floor where you give direct instruction.
Sound effects on CD. They write what it the effect is.
“Green Grass Grew All Around”- they listen then quiz them.

VII. Oral Communications
Commercials
Songs

Presenting:
Chin Up
Speak so you can be heard
Eye Contact
Have them memorize a poem, then project the words on the back wall.
Use a prop box.

News:

Scrapping Education Dept. Could Be Tough Task

By Alyson Klein
During the recent midterm election, a number of conservative Republican candidates eager to clamp down on what they see as bureaucratic waste took aim at scrapping a familiar target: the 30-year-old U.S. Department of Education.
http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2010/12/03/14department.h30.html?tkn=LPSFd931Pu0MSHTZwcv4b9T%2FrkBlNeC1Xsfh&cmp=clp-edweek

Webspotlight:

A Closer Look at a Christmas Carol

Need an example of an author rewriting? Want to teach the “secret” code of adults (cursive)? This is a great example of how Charles Dickens wrote the classic tale.
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2009/11/30/nyregion/dickens-christmas-carol-pages.html

Free Audio version of A Christmas Carol

Author: Charles Dickens
Narrator: Antonia Bath
Publisher:LearnOutLoud.com
Unabridged Edition
Running Time: 2 Hrs. 45 Min.
http://www.learnoutloud.com/Free-Audio-Video/Literature/European-Classics/A-Christmas-Carol/29311

The Power of Literature Circles
I promise to provide practical resources on the how, when, where, what of lit circles, but let me first make a case for why every K-12 classroom should institute some version of literature circles.
http://www.edutopia.org/blog/literature-circles-how-to-and-reasons-why-elena-aguilar
http://gallery.carnegiefoundation.org/collections/quest/collections/sites/aguilar_elena/literature_circles.htm

Interactive White Boards

Interactive White Boards are here, whether we like them or not. Golly, if your classroom doesn’t have one by now, I’d be real surprised.  And while tech educators often rail against them (because teachers hog them), I’ve decided to throw up the white flag of surrender- for the kids.  It would seem teachers aren’t going to give these things up and let the kids use them. Ever.
http://www.techlearning.com/blogs/34792

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.
  • The Ohio Middle Level Association will hold their annual conference February 17 – 18, 2011.
  • 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
advisory, Conferences, NMSA10, PodcastBy Troy Patterson

MSM 144 NMSA 2010: PLC’s, Listener Question & Adolescent Thinkers

Jokes:

Tuning
The doorbell rang, and the lady of the house discovered a workman, complete with tool chest, at the front door. “Lady,” he announced, “I’m the piano tuner.” The lady exclaimed, “Why, I didn’t send for a piano tuner.” The man replied, “I know, but your neighbors did.”

Age
A teacher said to her student, “Billy, if both of your parents were born in 1967, how old are they now?” After a few moments, Billy answered, “It depends.” “It depends on what?” she asked. “It depends on whether you ask my father or my mother.”

Space
When the Smith family moved into their new house, a visiting grandparent asked five-year-old Tommy how he liked the new place. “It’s great,” he said. “I have my own room, Alex has his own room, and Jamie has her own room. But poor mom is still in with dad.”

Painting
Mary goes to her first show at an art gallery and is looking at the paintings. One is a huge canvas that has black with yellow blobs of paint splattered all over it. The next painting is a murky gray color that has drips of purple paint streaked across it. Mary walks over to the artist and says, “I don’t understand your paintings.” “I paint what I feel inside me,” explains the artist. “Have you ever tried Alka-Seltzer?”

On Our Mind:

NMSA 2010 Conference

From the Audience:

Guys-  I have just recently started to listen to your podcasts and follow you on Twitter.  I am impressed and look forward to learning from the networking.  I am a middle school principal in Lowell, Indiana.  I need some help with a couple of things.  First,  it is a Science adoption year here in Indiana and I need help locating quality digital resources for adoption instead of textbooks.  Do you guys know of any that I could research.  Second,  I am interested in Second Life and how you guys use this web tool.
Reid

Middle School Science Minute

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

Cell Phones, iPods and energy. What do your students need to know?

Advisory:

Have your students take a short quiz on World Hunger. You could have the students take the quiz collaboratively, or take it yourself first, then give it to the students. Good discussion topics. Plus a donation is made every time someone takes the quiz.
http://gifts.wfp.org/quiz/

From the Twitterverse:

*ransomtech ✜ Stephen Ransom Gr8 screencasting tool on Mac!! RT @ScreenFlow: #BlackFriday is here! 15% off ScreenFlow thru end of November 🙂
*brasst Tami Brass Connect Safely |A Parents’ Guide to Facebook | Safety Advice Articles diigo.com/0dsjc via @Diigo
*rkiker How I Planned a Successful Unconference in 6 hours – and You Can Too http://pulsene.ws/o0Eo #edchat #edcamp
*kevcreutz Seven Ways to Build Your Own Educational Games #edtech
*
kconners09 RT @DanielPink: An inspired school principal (@L_Hilt) tries a FedEx Day for her teachers. Fantastic.
*shannonmmiller 10 Terrific iPhone and iPad Musical Performances http://ow.ly/3fUBZ @johnccarver
* drmmtatom Twitter Rubric: #fhucid
* jeanbont #pun outside class door today: “My arm!”, said Captain Hook, offhandedly.
*maggiecary When Your Child’s Grades are Failing:

This Part for Infamous40000 . . . :
Waiting to hear back from Infamous40000 . . .

NSMA 2010 Session 3:

Session 3

Professional Learning Communities

Making a School Great: Professional Learning Communities

PLC is NOT:

  • A program
  • A package of reforms to be adopted
  • A step-by-step recipe for change
  • A sure fire system borrowed by another school
  • One more thing to add to an already cluttered school agenda

The research says that we take on the characteristics of the students we teach.

Culture
Climate
•Standards based (Learning Targets)
Coaching

Early success breeds Hope.

Covey’s concept of Sphere of Influence.  Sphere of control is where we need to operate.

Collaboration leads to taking out the walls.

Professional Development:

  • Research Based
  • Center around principles
  • BS or BA (Borrow straight or Borrow adjusted)

True Colors

Adults do not learn from experience, they learn from reflection. J. Mezirow
Must build reflection into the PD experience.

The starting of the PLC:

  • Pacing Guides – Calendar
  • Academic vocabulary
  • Writing prompts

Led to:

  • Pre/Post tests
  • Summative assessments

Instructional Focus
Formative assessment
Metacognition (Think alouds)
Prior Knowledge

  • Foundation
  • Scaffolding

Collaboration is the key.

Starting collaboration:
Grade level;
2 collaborative sessions  required per 9 weeks. There was form for follow up.
The next year, 1 was required. The third year, no mention. The idea was to integrate it into what they do.
Special education started getting involved. The special ed teachers gave some ideas for accommodations.

Common planning for departments. Started vertical articulation. This lead to similarities being identified. Identified overlap of standards.
Developed a 2 year plan. Language Arts teachers decided to “loop”. (5th & 6th and 6th & 7th grades.).
Cross curricular

  • writing prompts
  • Sharing ideas

Leads to Differentiation as well.
Leadership Team

  • How did it begin?
  • What does it look like now?

The leadership team takes issues to the principal. Makes sure that all teachers have a voice.

Reading became the focus of the school.
Reading became the common core.

First Step:
SRA

  • Scripted
  • Starts with the basics
  • Progresses through levels
  • Remarkable progress

Next:

  • Researched reading strategies
  • School wide:
  • Word Walls
  • Book Walks
  • Anticipation Guides
  • Anticipation Guides
  • Graphic Organizers
  • Think-Alouds
  • QAR

Sphere of Influence.

ICU – Intensive Care Unit
Exploratory Math labs, Lit labs
Saturday School
Summer school

ICU questions. All students are listed on Google Docs. Students who have issues are marked and followed up by everyone (eg. student missing homework).

  • Who do you owe?
  • What do you owe?
  • What do you need?
  • How can I help you?

Every teacher has to make 3 parents calls a week. At least 1 must be positive.
Celebrations at card marking

  • Movies
  • Baseball game
  • Bowling

*************************************************************************************

NMSA 2010:  Developing Adolescent Thinkers

SoundNote Recording created November 4, 2010 12:30 PM:

Sheila_J_Berlinger@mcpsmd.org
Jennifer_Bernard@mcpsmd.org
Denise_M_DeFlore@mcpsmd.org
Elizabeth_A_Sandall@mcpsmd.org

Pink folder on table and name tag.  Types of development paper to share.

This we Believe
“For middle school students to be successful, the school’s organization, curriculum, pedagogy and programs must be based on the developmental readiness, needs and interests of young adolescent learners.”
We need to staff our middle schools with experts in teaching middle school kids.

Outcomes

•  Identify the characteristics of the adolescent learner

•  Explain the instructional implications for adolescents based on their brain development.

•  Articulate how the selection of instructional ….
Characteristics of the Adolescent Learner:  Step One
Step one

•  Draw 2-3 strips from the envelope.

•  Sort the characteristics by the categories on the placemat.

Step two

•  Look at the hot pink paper and discuss.

•  Consult the document titled “Characteristics of Adolescent Learners.”

•  Examine how the characteristics were sorted.

•  Compare your lists to one we have provided.

Implications for learning
What implications does the information on the characteristics of the adolescent learner handout have for planning and instruction based on your role in your school district?
I need to incorporate those characteristics into my teaching to support their learning.
Why is rigor important and why does it matter?

•  Review your rigor placement.

•  Define Rigor:

International competitiveness.
Teaching with the end in mind.
Using thinking based learning.
Green Handout:  Rigorous Instruction in the middle school
Triangle image on the page.

1.  Explicit opportunities for critical thinking

2.  Selection of rigorous instructional materials

3.  Appropriately matched and differentiated instructional strategies.
Application activity:
Toni Morrison’s The Big Box
Chosen for an adult audience in a conference setting.
This is an illustration for use around the triangle.

1.  Listen to and look at the Big Box.

2.  With your table mates, revisit the text with the elements of reasoning.

3.  Be prepared to share your assignment element(s).

Reflection:
How did this experience motivate and engage you?
Rigor selection process.

Provocative:  To what extent is the curriculum concerned with the central problems in the discipline that challenge students’ previous concepts?

Ambiguous:  To what extent does the curriculum focus on cymbals and images paced with multiple meanings?

Complex:  To what extent is the curriculum organized around complex, interrelated concepts?

Emotional:  To what extent is the curriculum …

(Lilac paper)

Ambiguous:  forced us to interpret

Emotional:  there were things there that each reader can identify with.

Provacative:  Things to defend or discuss vigorously.

Complex:

PACE and the Big Box.
Implications for planning and instruction
What implications do the definition and measure of rigor (PACE) have for planning and instruction based on your role in your school district?
Engaging the students in something worthy of their time.
The elements of thought:  The Reasoning Wheel
Richard Paul and Linda Elders model.

1.  Points of view

2.  Purpose of the thinking

3.  Question at issue

4.  Information

5.  Interpretation and inference

6.  Concepts

7.  Assumptions

8.  Implications and consequences

Am I critical thinker?

Implications:  things that might happen

Consequences:  Things that will happen.

Discussion:

How would this model support their learning and help ensure rigorous instruction?
Adolescent Brain Development
Emotions??  Highly developed …
Reasoning and reflection?
Under construction …
(Until early or mid-twenties)
Developmental Rates
Significant growth occurs in the adolescent similar to childhood growth.
As those synapses are growing, we need to use them or lose them.
The stronger the relationship between the student and the teacher, the better the ability to set emotions aside and learn.
Prune the students to direct their energy to where it should go and strengthen the core of the tree/student.
Which neuron provides the greater potential for connection?
What students are asked to think about and what they’re asked to do determines the level of neuron they have.
Neuron develops on feedback and challlenge.
Challenge:  problem solving, critical thinking, relevant projects, complex materials.
Feedback:  Exemplars, connected to clear standards and criteria, various forms, timely, opportunity to use it.

Sense and Meaning
Long term memory:  retrieving information
Sense:  comprehension, I understand it, it makes sense.  Until it makes sense, it’s not stored.
Meaning:  Relevance-I can connect it to something else I know.  No connection = no meaning.
“Of the two, meaning has the greater impact on the probablily that the information will be stored.”  -Sousa
Implications for planning and instruction:  What implications does the information on the adolescent brain have for planning and instruction based on your role in your school district?

Rigorous Instructional Practices

•  The content refers to WHAT students will learn.

•  The process refers to HOW students will learn or explore the content.

•  The product is the EVIDENCE of student learning.

Implications for planning and instruction
What do I now have to consider in order to successfully develop adolescent thinkers?
CEU Code:  UN8

News:

Thanksgiving Sites

What Really Happened?
A comparison of Thanksgiving stories:
http://learning.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/11/23/what-really-happened-comparing-stories-of-the-first-thanksgiving/

Webspotlight:

7 Ways to build your own games

Sharendipity
ClassTools.net
Purpose Games
What 2 Learn
YoYo Games
Jeopardy Labs
ProProfs Brain Games
http://www.freetech4teachers.com/2010/11/seven-ways-to-build-your-own.html

Students, Ownership and Creativity: 35 Resources

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.
  • The Ohio Middle Level Association will hold their annual conference February 17 – 18, 2011.
  • 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