Category: Podcast

advisory, Conferences, Podcast, TechBy Troy Patterson

MSM 134- Advisory and a Way with Words.

Jokes:

Best Signs
Sign on company bulletin board: “This firm requires no physical-fitness program. Everyone gets enough exercise jumping to conclusions, flying of the handle, running down the boss, flogging dead horses, knifing friends in the back, dodging responsibility, and pushing their luck.”

Listeners:

Dave Bydlowski:  thanks for the email.  Looking forward to hearing from you throughout the year!  Go Science!  (David’s Podcast)

From the Twitterverse:

  • * paulbogush @msstewart You can lead kids..don’t give tool, ask what do you need to be successful, they will give Ans, you suggest tool …
  • * Larryferlazzo Good Parent Engagement Video
  • * teach42 An to anyone I may have wronged without realizing it this year, I apologize. #Twitonment
  • * tombarrett I’d be grateful of you visited Class 9’s Blog + comment to encourage them as they begin their blogging journey :-
  • * msstewart Anyone ever given opt-in group work? Students have option to work either independently or in a group for different parts of project
  • * web20classroom Lessons in the Absence of Teachers « Cooperative Catalyst
  • * phsprincipal Whew… someone else RT @micwalker: RT @garystager: Ladies & gentlemen, I give you the worst principal in the world –
  • * web20classroom From @TeachPaperless-Increasing Student Engagement By Getting Rid Of Textbooks:

Advisory:

Making Hard Decisions:

What would your students do if they discovered that they had broken a rule?
http://www.pgatour.com/2010/r/09/02/teenager-disqualified.ap/index.html

Career Path Discussion:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703466704575489773416987814.html

Tech Tools:

Basic Google Search that everyone should know:

10 Basics tips to make your google searching better and easier.
http://www.techlearning.com/article/32300

Wordia

From their About page:
Wordia.com is a high-quality online dictionary: a professional authoritative textual dictionary but with one big difference…
Like a traditional dictionary, Wordia allows users to search for the spelling, meaning and etymology of a word but what makes Wordia unique is the ability for users to explore the personal connotation of word through video.
My Take:
Videos vary in quality. However, look beyond just the video. There are also definitions, etymologies and more. It is a great idea though. You could do something similar with your class. Or your class could contribute.
http://www.wordia.com/

SnappyWords

Free visual English dictionary.  An online interactive English dictionary and thesaurus that helps you find the meanings of words and draw connections to associated words. You can easily see the meaning of each by simply placing the mouse cursor over it.
http://www.snappywords.com/

DocDroid

DocDroid is a completely free online document uploading, conversion and sharing tool.

  • Upload documents in nearly any format.
  • Share the document via eMail, Twitter or Facebook.
  • Fast HTML preview for readers.
  • Let the reader choose in which format he wants to download the document.
  • Multiple file upload is possible.
  • Password protection is possible.
  • Supported formats: PDF, DOCX, DOC, ODT, PAGES, RTF, OTT, XLS, XLSX, TXT, PPT, PPTX, ODP and more!
  • Documents can be deleted by you or are deleted after 60 days without view.

http://www.docdroid.net/

Webspotlight:

Free Teaching History Poster

You can order a FREE historical thinking poster. They also have resources for elementary, middle and high school.
http://teachinghistory.org/

Math Fun Facts

This archive is designed as a resource for enriching your math courses and nurturing your interest and talent in mathematics! Each Math Fun Fact is a math puzzle or short article that contains a cool mathematics idea. You’ll can learn about the mathematics of things like card shuffling to poker to computer vision to fractals to music, just to name a few. This makes great enrichment material for gifted math students or problem-solving groups.
http://www.math.hmc.edu/funfacts/

Commonly misheard expressions

From a friend Down Under. Still a great discussion.
http://www.lifehacker.com.au/2010/09/ten-misheard-expressions-to-avoid-in-your-writing/

Classroom Secrets- Taking My Students on a Classroom Tour

By Marsha Ratzel
The first tour stop is the “Start of Class Procedure and Class Agenda,” projected on my interactive whiteboard.
I’m not sure the procedures and routines of Room 66 are worth much, monetarily speaking. But collectively they maximize our learning time together by allowing us to accomplish the administrative tasks quickly, efficiently, and without trauma to students. I estimate that they give me an extra 4-5 minutes of class time every day – which means I’m able to squeeze out an extra day of instruction every 10 days. Since we are in school for 10 months, that means I’m creating nearly 18 extra class periods of instruction versus someone who doesn’t use these kinds of tricks. That’s almost a month of extra instructional time in each class.
http://www.edweek.org/tm/articles/2010/09/15/tln_ratzel.html?tkn=ZRZF%2FCsty6RQ0ltMWceCfc%2B5%2FYBAcGhCp00l&cmp=clp-edweek

News:

Did Bill Gates waste billions of dollars over math errors?

Did Bill Gates waste a billion dollars because he failed to understand the formula for the standard deviation of the mean?  Howard Wainer makes the case in the entertaining Picturing the Uncertain World (first chapter with the Gates story free here).

http://www.marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2010/09/the-small-schools-myth.html

ISTE 2010

Kathleen Blake Yancey:  kyancey@fsu.edu
National Council of Teachers of English
Former President of said organization.
Online Resourcing and Researching
Two large parts
1.  What it was to research and what it means to research now.
2.  How can we help them research online now.
Assumptions
1.  Sources = Materials
2.  Materials = Verbal, Visual, and Multimedia
3.  Use of the Materials of Others
4.  Creation of Materials
One:  An Historical Document
The Victorian Albert Museum of London
Anybody can access the library . . . when they’re open.
Banker’s Hours
7 slips in order to get the material you want to view.
If they’re still open, you get to read it.
The Seattle Public Library
$15.00 cost if you’re not a citizen of Seattle.
Very recently were we allowed to access it ourselves.
Victorian Albert Museum Library has open shelves.
The amount of material that is accessible is very new and very recent.
Two:  Web -> Print Upload
Libraries are getting rid of duplicate copies and divesting themselves of print materials because of space.
JSTOR is a research device that will let students archive material to read, i.e. make their own collection.
Example:  Visual Search ability
Think of it as a MindMap research context.
Three:  Ecology!
Genetics?
New England Journal of Medicine
Wired Science
LA Times Online
DNA Talk – off topic source
Genetics and Health
The Medical Quack
The Classroom (STEDMAN/YANCEY)
Ethics
Knows how information/knowledge is created, historically and currently.
Knows academic conventions
Knows IP/copyright law (including fair use)
Composes ethically with the materials of others.
Knowledgeable
Finds appropriate information
Contextualizes information
Evaluates information
Creates new meanings with information
Searching Text/Context
Focused and systematic (Card Catalogues/Search Engines)
Stumbling -> Physical context as search instrument (Principle of Proximity:  What’s next door?)
Breadcrumbing/Linking -> Electronic, hypertextual context as search instrument (principle of conceptual proximity:  What’s related?)
The first two are direct, the last is indirect.
Sam Wineberg’s Three Moves That Make History
Corroboration:  Walther Fisher’s “Fidelity”
Convergency begets competence.
Sourcing
Contextualization
His book:  How Knowledge Is Made
Case Study I:  How do they compare?
1.  Analysis of an Encyclopedia entry and a Wikipedia entry – an opportunity to consider how a given term is defined in two spaces purporting to provide information of the same quality; intended to help us understand how they are alike and different and what one might do in creating a Wikipedia entry.
Case Study II:  Answering a question using online resources.
1.  Is Bright Star accurate?  http://www.rc.mud.edu
2.  Patients Like Me  www.patientslikeme.com
Shows the patient’s symptoms through the view of the patient.
3.  New York Times:  State of the Union Addresses Search Tool.
4.  Weather/Climate Events
Which sources of information do you trust and why?
Convergence Begets Confidence
1.  What sources did you find?
2.  How do they compare?
3.  Can you map them?
4.  How credible are they?
5.  How did you know?
And just the other day ….
Beth:  A lot of it begins with medical/pharmaceutical research and then considers research in other areas.  At a quick glance, really just a quick Google search [if you want a more complete bibliography, I have one in my office …]
Case Study III:  What’s the Story Behind Copenhagen?
The New York Times:  Times Topics
Case Study IV:  How Would You Document the Decade?
The New York Times:  Documenting the Decade.
How would you document the decade and you get one image to represent the decade.
Each picture comes with student written text, so it doesn’t stand alone.
The Learning Network (NYT)
Student challenge:  Create a New York Times ‘Found Poem’.  (example given)
National Gallery of Writing Website
www.galleryofwriting.org
Create a profile
Search/contribute
writing
audio
scanable images
Teachers can create their own gallery and have the ability to approve/disapprove pieces.

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
MSM, PodcastBy Troy Patterson

MSM- 133 It’s Constitution Day!

Jokes:

A beginner rider at the stables was trying to saddle a horse. “Excuse me,” said the old hand, “but you are putting that saddle on backwards.” “How do you know,” snapped the student. “You do not know which way I’m going.”

On Our Mind:

First week back to school . . .
Constitution Day Resources . . .
Cybrary Man:  http://cybraryman.com/constitution.html

Listeners:

Thanks to @Mthman & @rushtheiceberg for the recommendation on Twitter!
Best wishes to Kevin at Honey Grove on his new blog!

From the Twitterverse:

  • * topedutweets  Teachers to take online professional development courses – study says improves instruction & student achievement http://ow.ly/2yAwX
  • * math2go   Survival Kit for New Teachers:
  • * Twilliamson15  have done podcasting with my students to cover the hundreds of human body systems topics we can’t fit into class. #scichat
  • * gcouros  Focus on results can make children do worse, study finds
  • * Larryferlazzo  Oxford English Dictionary May Never Be Published Again
  • * cybraryman1  Have students do a What if? and then have them make a map. For example if Americans lost Am Revol. #sschat
  • * drmmtatom  RT @NMHS_Principal: How Do You Measure the Effectiveness of Professional Development? by @snbeach
  • * shareski  Great story about integrity and sports from this teen from Wisconsin via@rmcdonald17
  • * ipadeducators  An interesting discssion of iPad project in eighth grade classrooms – what do you think?:
  • * cybraryman1  My Constitution page (Constitution Day – Sept 17th):
  • * DoTheMathBooks The worst thing about new books is that they keep us from reading the old ones. John Wooden #quote

Advisory:

NMSA Video Contest

“Showcase your students’ video production talent as they share how they are making a difference!
NMSA is accepting video submissions to be played at its 37th Annual Conference in Baltimore, Maryland, November 4-6, 2010. More than 7,000 educators from around the world will view the winning videos and see them recognized on the conference website, SchoolTube, and the conference program book.
Challenge your students to use their 21st century technology and communication skills to showcase how they, their class, or school have been innovative, creative, or inspiring.”
http://www.nmsa.org/annual/AbouttheConference/VideoContest/tabid/2264/Default.aspx

Tech Tools:

ThoughtAudio:

As the world moves toward more complex interactions, one of the most fundamental aspects of humanity is to enjoy its thoughts and its great works. Our journey has always been one of making classic literature available to anyone willing to listen, and now in this next phase, to expand our scope to include more thinkers, writers and essayists. Although thinking may not seem as relevant today, with advancing technology providing alternative vehicles of entertainment, we are committed to bringing a small part of intellectual enjoyment to the globe.
http://www.thoughtaudio.com/

Reading Logs
Reading Logs gives students a better way to track reading, create vocabulary cards and practice spelling. Learning material is uploaded by teachers and is accessed online by students in their class.
http://www.readinglogs.com/

How Safe is your password?
http://howsecureismypassword.net/

Voki:  Animated avatars
Education application form for the animated avatar app.
From the website:  “Voki is a free service that allows you to create personalized speaking avatars and use them on your blog, profile, and in email messages.”

Webspotlight:

TheApple is a diverse community of aspiring and current educators that want to support each other and advance their careers. Think of it as social networking with great career resources. We have a very active group of members from the veteran teacher, career changer, and even the pre-college student. Mentoring and career building is a good part of what we do. Let me be the first to invite you to become an active part of TheApple

http://theapple.monster.com/

47+ Alternatives to YouTube:
Some excellent educational content can be found on YouTube. However, many teachers cannot access YouTube in their classrooms. That is why I originally wrote what became one of the most popular posts to ever appear on Free Technology for Teachers, 30+ Alternatives to YouTube. That post is now fourteen months old and I’ve come across more alternatives in that time. Also in that time span some of the resources on the list have shut down. So it’s time to update the list.
http://www.freetech4teachers.com/2010/09/47-alternatives-to-using-youtube-in.html

News:

California testing iPads as Algebra Textbook Replacements

A pilot project in four California school districts will replace 400 students’ eighth-grade algebra textbooks with Apple iPads in an attempt to prove the advantages of interactive digital technologies over traditional teaching methods.
http://thehill.com/blogs/hillicon-valley/technology/117625-california-testing-ipads-as-algebra-textbooks

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, Podcast, TechBy Troy Patterson

MSM 132 Advisory Snowballs

Jokes:

Customer Service
“I’m not saying that the customer service in my bank is bad, but when I went in the other day and asked the clerk to check my balance … she leaned over and pushed me.”

Job Application
Employer: “In this job we need someone who is responsible.” Applicant: “I’m the one you want. On my last job, every time anything went wrong, they said I was responsible.”

The Blame Game
This is the story of four people named Everybody, Somebody, Anybody, and Nobody. There was an important job to be done and Everybody was asked to do it. Anybody could have done it, but Nobody did it. Somebody got angry about that, because it was Everybody’s job. Everybody thought Anybody could do it, but Nobody realized that Everybody wouldn’t do it. Consequently, it wound up that Nobody told Anybody, so Everybody blamed Somebody.

Laughing
The boss returned from lunch in a good mood and called the whole staff in to listen to a couple of jokes he had picked up. Everybody, but one girl laughed uproariously. “What’s the matter?” grumbled the boss. “Haven’t you got a sense of humor?” “I don’t have to laugh,” she replied. “I’m leaving Friday.”

On Our Mind:

iWork ‘09 Update- ePub creation is now possible.

Listeners:

Hi,
I’ve been a fan of your blog for awhile, after stumbling upon it a few months ago. Thanks for the great content! We here at oedb.org take good content seriously, and we recently published an article “100 Ways Google Can Make You a Better Educator” that you may be interested in sharing with your readers. For your convenience, here’s the link: (http://oedb.org/library/features/100_ways_google_make_you_better_educator ) if you’d like, you can also find the story on our blog home page.
I hope you enjoy it. Thanks for your time and take care!
Julia Watson

Like the show, but you should also put info on the podcast for the kids that also like the show. Please give me a shoutout.
infamous40000

From the Twitterverse:

Advisory:

My kids like the ‘snowball fight’. Everyone writes something about themselves on a piece of white paper but they don’t name it. Then they scrunch the paper into a ball and on the teacher’s signal a snowball fight ensues. After everyone’s had the chance to throw a lot of paper around ( a few minutes) another signal announces the end of the ‘fight’. Each student picks up the snowball closest to them and takes turns to read out the info and maybe guess who it belongs to.

Anne De Manser ( http://twitter.com/Aaannne )

Tech Tools:

RubiStar

Want to make exemplary rubrics in a short amount of time? Try RubiStar out! Registered users can save and edit rubrics online. You can access them from home, school, or on the road. Registration and use of this tool is free, so click the Register link in the login area to the right to get started now.
http://rubistar.4teachers.org/index.php

Webspotlight:

Science YouTube Videos from Mashable

Do you ever stare off into the cosmos, wondering about all the matter and particles swirling about in the universe? Or gaze into the spiraling petals of a rose and contemplate the Golden Ratio and all it connotes?
No? Well, take some time out from your weekend of quietly quaffing to think, really think, about why, oh why the forces of nature chose to forge us within this mighty smithy we call life. Strain your mind, dear reader, and test the mettle of your brain fibers ruminating on the fact that there are more things in heaven and earth than are dreamed of in our philosophy…
Or, you could just watch this week’s YouTube ( roundup, the theme of which is science!
Take a look down below and get yourselves some education, you desk set daredevils.
http://mashable.com/2010/08/27/youtube-roundup-science/

News:

Reshirting the Little Ones

By PAMELA PAUL
Sitting out Kindergarten to gain an advantage. “Redshirting” of kindergartners — the term comes from the practice of postponing the participation of college athletes in competitive games — became increasingly widespread in the 1990s, and shows no signs of waning.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/22/fashion/22Cultural.html?_r=2

Common Core Standards

By Stephen Sawchuk
More than two-thirds of the states—including Massachusetts, a state long famed for excellent academic-content standards—have adopted common grade-level expectations, as the movement to align nationwide what students are learning continues to gain steam.
http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2010/08/06/37standards.h29.html?tkn=LYQFx%2FKcK6NQoGyVPUaQ1jxL%2BVGTKhbLgyMt&cmp=clp-edweek

Class Size. Does it Matter?

By Tamara Henry
Conventional wisdom says the smaller the classes, the better the education, because teachers can pay more attention to each child. But while smaller classes are popular, decades of research has found that the relationship between class size and student outcomes is murky.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2010-08-26-classsize26_ST_N.htm

ISTE 2010

Mindy Johnson, Dr. Boris Goldowsky, and Ge Vue.
Overview
What is the problem?
Why smart content?
What does it look like?
Reframing Literacy
Learners are diverse.
Sustain desired difficulties.
Reduce undesired difficulties.
Universal Design for Learning
What?
Provide multiple means of representation.
How?
Provide multiple means of action and expression.
Why?
Provide multiple means of engagement.
http://www.udlcenter.org/aboutudl/udlguidelines
(See the video on the index page.)  
Smart Content
Is accessible
Contains learning supports
Has opportunities
The world is moving in a different direction from books.
UDL Editions:  Free on the Web.
Integrated with Google Maps
How can teachers build it?
Standard Open formats
Smart Content is time intensive and repurposable
HTML
ePub
aim.cast.org
DAISY
This is the CAST format of choice.
www.daisy.org
NIMAS format is the government standard.
Presentation will be on the ISTE website.
You can save a document as DAISY format in Word and Open Office.
www.openlibrary.org
Xmlmind XML editor
Daisy players
Gives the reader control over content.
nimbus2html
National Educational Technology Plan:  It’s a Smart Document
http://cast.org
UDL Inquiry Science Project
University of Michigan’s iQuest project for middle schools.
Kids can upload “other literacy” type of responses.
Ultimately we will be able to do this.
What is the impact?
Being able to read text at grade level.
Unlocking student understanding.
The teacher becomes the innovator.

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, Podcast, TechBy Troy Patterson

MSM- 131 Strategies for your Classroom!

Jokes:

Learn from your elders…

A lawyer and a senior citizen are sitting next to each other on a long flight. The lawyer is thinking that seniors are so dumb that he could get one over on them easy. So the lawyer asks if the senior would like to play a fun game.

The senior is tired and just wants to take a nap, so he politely declines and tries to catch a few winks.  The lawyer persists, saying that the game is a lot of fun.  I ask you a question, and if you don’t know the answer, you pay me only $5.  Then you ask me one, and if I don’t know the answer, I will pay you $500, he says.

This catches the senior’s attention and to keep the lawyer quiet, he agrees to play the game.  The lawyer asks the first question. ‘What’s the distance from the Earth to the Moon?’  The senior doesn’t say a word, but reaches into his pocket, pulls out a five-dollar bill, and hands it to the lawyer.

Now it’s the senior’s turn.  He asks the lawyer, ‘What goes up a hill with three legs, and comes down with four?’  The lawyer uses his laptop and searches all references he could find on the Net.  He sends e-mails to all the smart friends he knows; all to no avail.  After an hour of searching, he finally gives up.  He wakes the senior and hands him $500.  The senior pockets the $500 and goes right back to sleep.

The lawyer is going nuts not knowing the answer.  He wakes the senior up and asks, ‘Well, so what goes up a hill with three legs and comes down with four?’  The senior reaches into his pocket, hands the lawyer $5 and goes back to sleep.

On Our Mind:

More iTunes Ratings.  (Thanks Eric!)

Listeners:

“I recently compiled a list of the Top 40 podcasts for teachers, and I just wanted to let you know that you made the list! It is published online at http://www.onlinedegrees.org/top-40-podcasts-for-teachers/“

From the Twitterverse:

Advisory:

Ice Breakers

http://macmomma.blogspot.com/2010/08/breaking-ice.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+AGeekymommasBlog+%28A+GeekyMomma%27s+Blog%29&utm_content=Google+Reader

Tech Tools:

UDL Book Builder

Welcome to Book Builder! Use this site to create, share, publish, and read digital books that engage and support diverse learners according to their individual needs, interests, and skills.
http://bookbuilder.cast.org/

Webspotlight:

Strategies Gallore:

A bunch of different categories. Many, many different strategies for each category.
http://franklincountyschools.k12tn.net/Show%20Me%20the%20Strategies.htm

Earth Calendar

The Earth Calendar is a daybook of holidays and celebrations around the world.For the purpose of this web site a “holiday” is any day that recognizes a cultural event.
http://www.earthcalendar.net//index.php

News:

Putting Teachers to the Test:

By Carl Bialik
“My print column this week examines the debate over so-called value-added measures for teachers, which evaluate their performance based on how much they improve their students’ standardized test scores.”
http://blogs.wsj.com/numbersguy/putting-teachers-to-the-test-982/

ISTE 2010
Next week folks.  🙂

MiJEC 2010

Rogers City Schools
What they did:
Created a template on Word
Basic tech is needed.
http://mijec.org/attendees/2010program/wozinak/
Directions for the Fakebook Project
BE CREATIVE
You must choose a “REAL” historical figure that lived …
The project is modifiable.
Sample:  FAKEBOOK.US
Have their characters dialoguing with other people’s characters and there’s another type of lesson.
Template is on the website.
Fakebook It!
Author:  Melissa Wozniak
missywozniak@hotmail.com
Presenter (in absentia)
Katy Xanakis-Makowski
kmakowski@rcas.k12.mi.us
Rogers City Area Schools
Links and Documents:
Directions for Fakebook project. – BE CREATIVE

You must choose a “REAL” historical figure that lived in or influenced the United States between the years of 1960 – 1978.  They may be, anyone that you would like to know more about.

Follow the Template that is saved.  You must scour the internet/books in order to find out the Historical information, anything that you can not find out, feel free to embellish as long as it could be historically accurate and APPROPRIATE.

The “general information”, “education” and “favorites” – find the info that you can.  For the “favorites” section, see what you can come up with as you learn about the person. – these can be humorous or serious – which ever you choose.

The “status update” – should have a historical fact of which the person was involved – be it a “fun” update.

The “groups” section – think about what the person you chose would be into – and create 2 groups that they would have been a part of.  (1 must be serious, and 1 can be humorous)

For the “friends” section – as you do your research, find 6 individuals that they would have been “friends” with.   They could be co-workers, other people that did what they did etc. You must put their photo with their name.

For the “about me section – again research your person and place accurate information in the section
.
The “Wall” posts.  Find 6 events that your person was involved in or a part of, and then find 6 individuals that would have talked with them about those events, and make them your wall posts.  Each post must be in a separate text box and have a photo of the person making the statement and the “date” of the statement.

For the “we’re related” section – you must have 3 photos of people they are related to and how they are related.

**This is meant to be both a fun and learning project.  These will be printed off and put into a binder so that they can be shared with other students.  You have three days to finish these, which is why I want them to be “ACCURATE” and FUN!!!.***

Fakebook Example

Template:  http://www.mijec.org/downloads/mijec_2010/facebook_template.doc

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, Podcast, TechBy Troy Patterson

MSM-130 Super Sized, Open Textbooks and the iPad!

Jokes:

Business Plans
Two women were comparing notes on the difficulties of running a small business. “I started a new practice last year,” the first one said. “I insist that each of my employees take at least a week off every three months.” “Why in the world would you do that?” the other asked. She responded, “It’s the best way I can learn which ones I can do without.”

Friends
Pete and Larry had not seen each other in many years. They had a long talk trying to fill in the gap of those years by talking about their lives. Finally, Pete invited Larry to visit him in his new apartment. “I got a wife and three kids and I’d love to have you visit us.” “Great. Where do you live?” “Here’s the address. And there’s plenty of parking behind the apartment. Park and come around to the front door, kick it open with your foot, go to the elevator and press the button with your left elbow, then enter! When you reach the sixth floor, go down the hall until you see my name on the door. Then press the doorbell with your right elbow and I’ll let you in.” “Good. But tell me, what is all this business of kicking the front door open, then pressing elevator buttons with my right, then my left elbow?” “Surely, you’re not coming empty-handed.”

Mosquitoes
Two young men were camping out in the forest one night. But the mosquitoes were so fierce that the boys had to hide under their blankets to keep from getting bitten. Then one of the boys saw some lightning bugs. “We may as well give up,” he told his friend. “Now they are coming at us with flashlights.”

On Our Mind:

Gearing up for the school year.
iPads in the classroom.
Eric’s Shirt.

Listeners:

Guys,

I hope you are having a super fantastic summer.  Yes, during my 6 days in the States, I picked up an iPad. I was very skeptical at first, but WOW!  This thing is amazing.

My question is about the practical use of the iPad in the class. I see that Apple just upgraded iBooks to allow videos and audio within the epub format. This means that textbooks could have audio/video boxes that support the main text or apply material in a cross curricular presentation. My question is this – who is creating the open source etexts that we can use in class, and how can I help?

Robert

Sent from my iPad

Related links we sent Robert:
http://open-education.org/
http://www.worldchanging.com/archives/000027.html
http://www.opentextbook.org/about/
http://web.me.com/mcgirr/Summer_PD_Notes__ISTE__MiJEC____MSC_/pages/20.html

From the Twitterverse:

  • courosa OpenScholar looks like a useful (and free) tool for academics. http://is.gd/dZcsi
  • drmmtatom Technology Tools for Learninghttp://tinyurl.com/2wv463s
  • willrich45 Open source textbooks a viable option? Der. http://nyti.ms/97f6GB
  • akipta Copyrights for Educators: Everything you wanted to know, but didn’t ask. http://goo.gl/fb/kiQyo
  • marynabadenhors Very cool Numeracy teaching notes (downloadable) http://billsteachingnotes.wikispaces.com/Numeracy+Teaching+Notes #kedu #elemchat #vicpln
  • NMHS_Principal Vodcasting: Education of the Future #edtech
  • kellyhines RT @kcollazo: Several Google Form templates so I didn’t have to figure out the formulas to auto grade! Yes! http://trunc.it/9zp6w
  • kiwicarol 15 Mind Blowing Thins [sic] about the Internet via Jane Hart
  • samharrelson This is up there with “we didn’t land on the moon” craziness for me. 8th grade is still “hard” folks. No worries 🙂
  • Larryferlazzo  US Dept. of Ed prepares to launch “2010 National Education Technology Plan 1.0”
  • GuyKawasaki  The blurry rules of plagiarism for college students http://idek.net/2uW5
  • kusdiva  Beauty is in the eye of the beholder & it may be necessary from time to time to give a stupid/misinformed beholder a black eye. ~Miss Piggy
  • eduinnovation  Teacher- “Stop networking, searching, creating with your cell phones now. Put them away. I am going to teach U the skills for future!”
  • web20classroom   RT @gcouros: 70 Ways to Keep Students Engaged Some great ideas here!

Advisory:

Is “What you see, What you get?”
Here are 5 optical illusions that you could share with your students (or class). Good lead in to discussion about perception, point of view, etc.
http://mashable.com/2010/08/01/optical-illusions-videos/

Stats on Soft Drinks
http://www.onlineschools.org/blog/softdrinks/  (Link removed at the request of www.onlineschools.org.  Search their site for update link.)

TED Talk:  The Art of Choosing:  http://www.ted.com/talks/sheena_iyengar_on_the_art_of_choosing.html

Tech Tools:

Teacher’s First

TeachersFirst is a rich collection of lessons, units, and web resources designed to save teachers time by delivering just what they need in a practical, user-friendly, and ad-free format. We offer our own professional and classroom-ready content along with thousands of reviewed web resources, including practical ideas for classroom use and safe classroom use of Web 2.0. Busy teachers, parents, and students can find resources using our subject/grade level search, keyword search, or extensive menus.
http://teachersfirst.com/index.cfm

Vanilla Forums

Vanilla Forums is an open-source, standards-compliant, customizable, modern, community-building discussion forum.
http://vanillaforums.org/

KnoteBooks

http://knotebooks.com/

Webspotlight:

Firing the Wrong Teachers?

http://hechingered.org/content/firing-the-wrong-teachers_1801/

Teacher inspires students to work through adversity

By Donna Vickroy
Juanita Lopez understands adversity – and the rewards of overcoming it.
“Believe it or not, the kids seem to work harder, to have more respect when they see you as a real person, with real struggles,” she said. “I have fewer discipline problems in the classroom because of it, too.”

http://www.southtownstar.com/lifestyles/vickroy/2551488,080110vickroy.article

Tiering Lessons
http://help4teachers.com/samples2.htm

News:

Minnesota rejects National Standards

The U.S. Education Department is offering about $350 million to help develop tests — but only for states that adopt the national standards by the end of 2011.
http://www.twincities.com/education/ci_15655121?nclick_check=1

5 Developing Themes at ISTE ‘10

By Henry Thiele
I attended EduBloggerCon, the Constructivist Consortium, the opening events, and more at ISTE ’10, and through my interactions there, I have begun to see some themes developing in the conference:
1 It has been a rough year. Between budget cuts, leadership challenges, and the increasing responsibilities associated with technology in schools, everyone was mentally exhausted heading into the conference. Excitement about changing practices and adding resources to schools has been tempered by budget concerns.
2 We have some pretty big decisions looming about how we are going to handle an influx of personal mobile computing devices into our society. With the iPad, the new iPhone, Android devices, and the continued growth of netbooks, there are a lot more discussions of how we are going to respond to this trend as schools. These conversations center on network infrastructure, policy, instructional strategies, and preparing teachers for this change.
3 Digital divide. The changes described in number 2 are starting to show how ugly the digital divide is becoming. The gap between those able to have the world’s information in their hands and those unable to is a growing social problem. When connectivity is factored in along with access to hardware, the difficulty becomes greater and more complex.
4 Assessment: Many educators are struggling more with assessment and its design. It seems that most agree with attaching some form of accountability to assessment. But nobody has quite figured out how to do it. It is becoming apparent, however, that technology will have to be involved in whatever solution does present itself, if for efficiency if nothing else.
5 Personalizing education: More people are talking about making teaching and learning more personal, saying that education has to be tailored to each individual. There is a lot of frustration and confusion about how to make this happen when we are still working in an environment designed to “press out parts” rather than create individual masterpieces.
http://www.techlearning.com/article/31550

ISTE 2010

CEO’s presentation.
Panel discussion begins at 18:08
Three agendas
New global citizenship
Global citizenship first and national citizenship second.
New skills agenda
New learning teaching and education technology agenda.
– Jean Francois Rischard
21st Century Learning in the new global classroom.
This is an activist agenda.
Table
See pic
21st cent skills
Karen C.
We need to change the focus and flip the conversation in the classroom.
Shaun Koh
Standardized testing kills dreams.
Use technology to inspire the dream in each student.
The teacher is more of a shepherd. (paraklete principle).
He wishes he had been taught interdisciplinarily and how subjects interact.
Jennifer is a nut.
Look up Tony Wagner as an author.
Karen Cantor says outright that national assessments are worthless.
But we’re on the train and can’t stop to fix the wheels.
We’re asking schools to make three changes taw once and the curriculum doesn’t give much leeway.
“Dictatorship of the Curriculum”.
Why don’t schools do “FedEx” days?
How do we learn to learn?
Denmark lets seniors use Google on their Senior exams.
How to grow a global citizen?
Stop teaching US History.
Teach problem solving.
Think multiculturally.
“Raised in Singapore, grew up on the Internet”
Get your culture from TV and the Internet.
National technology plan.
Need to download.
Why are educational systems so slow to change?
The Charles TED Talk.
It’s not enough
Side Notes:
The hostess was perky and covering for JFR’s shortcomings.
Jennifer was way to much of an advocate for “one world government” as was the other Canadian and JFR.
The University of Michigan kid has learned his subject, but hasn’t learned how to live.  He’s rudderless and lacks a grounding philosophy.
Tony Wagner Books:
Global Achievement Gap:  Why Even Our Best Schools Don’t Teach The New Survival Skills Our Kids Need.
http://www.amazon.com/Global-Achievement-Gap-Survival-Need/dp/B003P2VC02/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1278627763&sr=8-1

Reinventing Americas Schools

http://www.amazon.com/Making-Grade-Reinventing-Americas-Schools/dp/0415927625/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1278627763&sr=8-4

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, Podcast, TechBy Troy Patterson

MSM 129- “The Exquisite Corpse . . .”

Jokes:

Danger
One night a husband and his wife were sleeping and suddenly the wife woke up. “Dear, there’s a burglar eating the cake downstairs!” said the wife. “So should I call the police or the ambulance?” asked the husband.

Circles
During basic army training, a sergeant was telling his group how a submachine gun sprayed bullets. He drew a circle on a blackboard and announced that it had a 260 degree angle. “But, sergeant, all circles have 360 degrees,” called out a conscript. “Don’t be stupid,” the sergeant roared. “This is a small circle.”

Tee Time
Two men were talking about golf. One of them said, “I shoot in the 70’s.” The other replied, “That’s great!” The first one said, “Yeah, if it gets any cooler than that, I go to the clubhouse.”

On Our Mind:

PLNs enforced by administration.
http://thetechnorateteacher.wordpress.com/2010/07/25/great-pln-backlash-of-2010/

Listeners:

To Eric:  Thanks for the email!
To reviewer #28 thanks for the stars on iTunes!

From the Twitterverse:

  • WESatD2L  The six levels of Benjamin Bloom’s Taxonomy of Educational Objectives as found in Pirates of the Caribbean
  • russeltarr  e-Textbooks: Feasible or Futile? http://tinyurl.com/njpxaf
  • web20classroom  RT @gcouros: 70 Ways to Keep Students Engaged Some great ideas here!
  • mcleod  Coach Brown: “Bad prof devt is a monumental waste; can’t remember good use of prof devt within my own district.” http://goo.gl/M2wS
  • Curriki  Popular this month: Teaching Understanding By Design http://ow.ly/2fJhV
  • markbarnes19  How do you Teach Creativity? | ISTE Connects – Educational Technology http://ow.ly/2fQ8U
  • erinmisegadis  User guide for Edmodo – http://www.edmodo.com/guide
  • rmbyrne  Screenjelly – Quick and Easy Screencasting via Free Technology for Teachers – Screenjelly is a free … http://tinyurl.com/33evthh
  • web20classroom  Educational Grants For The 2010-2011 School Year:

Advisory:

Library of Congress:  The Exquisite Corpse . . .
http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-library-congress-the-exquisite/id374009707

Tech Tools:

Gradebook:

LearnBoost’s product allows teachers to manage their classroom by offering an amazing gradebook and software for managing and creating lesson plans, tracking attendance, maintaining schedules, integrating calendars including Google calendars, seamless tagging of Common Core State Standards, and so much more.
Manage your gradebook, lesson plans, calendars, scheduling, and more from one place: LearnBoost.
Once you switch, you’ll wonder what life was like before LearnBoost.
Sign up for your free account!
Standards Supported
The majority of states have announced support for the Common Core Standards. We’re the first to fully support and integrate these leading standards across our gradebook and lesson plan software.
You’ll love how we let you “tag” standards to your lesson plans, gradebook, and more.
http://www.learnboost.com/

LearnPort

A National Online Library of Professional Development Resources Compiled to Help Bridge Research, Policy and Practice.
Across states, national organizations and technical assistance investments, an extensive amount of professional development material is available. This library provides local educators with easy access to an array of resources that can be used or customized to meet their needs.
http://www.learningport.us/

Survey Tools:

Free Tech 4 Teachers:
A wonderful write up of 9 tools that you can use to create surveys. Interesting. The list does NOT include Google Forms, which is most commonly used survey tool.
http://www.freetech4teachers.com/2010/07/nine-survey-tools-for-teachers-and.html

Webspotlight:

Schoolwide
Videos useful for Professional Development.
The Schoolwide Network was created in response to the lack of quality video (and print) resources available on the Internet today. With all of the rich media now available via the Internet and mobile technologies, it is easy to be overwhelmed by the sheer volume of information being pushed toward us and our children every day.

Schoolwide believes, however, that it is quality—not quantity—that defines any successful educational practice or professional development enterprise. Since our inception, quality has always been at the core of our educational efforts, from the very first Student-Run Bookstore that got us started to the thousands of Fundamentals Units of Study we have sold to school districts across the country.

Schoolwide also believes that with so much information just a keystroke away, never before has the need for practical and useful professional development resources been more paramount. To this end, our primary objective is to provide educators with the tools and resources to help them be better teachers for their students—not only with the quality content we provide but also in the way we present, organize, and provide educators access to this information.
http://www.schoolwidenetwork.com/?search_type=grade_9

Tiering Lessons
http://help4teachers.com/samples2.htm

Shout out:

To Eric. It’s on the way.

ISTE 2010

ISTE 2010:  Virtual Schools

Virtual School Initiative:  21st Century Learning and Teaching
Dr. Kathy Hayden:  Assistant Professor of Educational Technology, California State University, San Marcos khayden@csusm.edu
Stacey Campo via Skype (teacher):  Poway Unified School District

  • Stacey is an Apple Professor at Cal. State.
  • Path to Growth
  • This developed out of a book they read.
    • Does your district offer online courses?
  • Articulating the Vision
    • “Our district goal that every student is using technology to engage in learning customized to their needs, master rigorous content which develops 21st century literacy skills and culminates in college readiness.”
  • Articulating the vision:  Support learning activities delivered from a shared knowledge of principles of effective learning with multiple opportunities …
  • Summit feedback:  The online learning summit participants recognized that a successful launch of a PUSD Virtual High School will require:
    • On-going staff development in online pedagogy.
    • Teacher Union/Administrative Counseling suport.
    • Curriculum alignment with PUSD and CA standards.
    • Technical Support
    • Sufficient, sustainable technical resources.
    • Competition was a driving force.
  • Modeling and embedding principles of effective learning and teaching.
    • Tier 1:  Basic integration
    • Tier 2:  Integrated practices.
    • Tier 3:  Thought Leaders
  • Professional Development
    • 1.  Directly engage staff
    • 2.  Leverage technology
    • 3.  Create alternative evaluations
    • All of this comes with a pay raise.
  • TLC:  Teaching and Learning Cooperatives
  • Partnership:  Poway USD and California State University
    • Distinguished Professor in Residence Grant
    • 360 Hours of support
    • Professional expertise and experience
  • Polling question:  Should teachers be certified to teach online?
    • Audience answer:  25% yes.
  • Health is one of the first things that high schools take online.
  • “Learning Point Portal” on the screen now.
  • Teacher Pay
    • $2500 to develop the course.
    • If they teach the course, they get a fractional pay for it.
    • Additional pay if they are teaching outside their content area.
    • Site to check out:  http://floridaitunesu.org
  • Find interesting ways to have conversations in an on-line settng.
    • INACOL: Standards (not a perfect match)
    • Essential Elements:  Concord Consortium
    • PUSD Virtual School
    • Discussion Forums
      • It is important that these kids talk.
      • It led to kids reconnecting with kids they had been friends with at other schools.
    • Scaffolding for success
      • Constant communication in multiple mediums.
      • If they fell below the 70% line, parents were called by the grading software.
        • ConnectEd messages.
      • Real-world thinking
      • Decision-Making
      • Authentic Learning
      • Engaged the teachers and students in project based learning.

ISTE 2010:  10 Essential Technology Leadership Components (http://leaders.wikispaces.com/iste2010)
This session is filled with folks.  Standing room only.  10 mins. to go to presentation too!
“Very quick and inappropriate video”. Old lady sets off airbag. Very funny.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6bBVJAFrN0U

Sponsor info:
www.skoodat.com
Chris O’Neal, University of Virginia Professor.

Storm the stage. Alternate title.
Chris.wikispace.com
Ten Considerations for Technology Leadership
Equity of access. (http://leaders.wikispaces.com/equity)
This should include access at home.
We should have this between 8 & 3:30
We should not use tech as a reward but as a tool.
Our problem is not enough tech to use in the classroom.
Understanding and Using Data.   (http://pewinternet.org/)
Rigor and relevance.
Effective Professional Development.  (http://www.nsdc.org/)
Think individual schools and individual grades.
Walk the walk, talk the talk.  (http://www.edutopia.org/)
We have to model the tech we want people to use.
Vision: collaborative and authentic:  http://tinyurl.com/istelead
Using a google survey/form in a faculty meeting.
Establish a Common Vision  (http://profilerpro.com/)
Does everyone speak the same language and work toward the same ultimate goals?  Does everyone see where technology can take us?
Reward and encourage innovation.  (http://www.iste.org/)
Do we encourage, praise, reward those who move forward, innovate, show growth?  Are some of your non-techies at this conference?
Look for the ASCD survey on rewards
Genuine Reflection  (http://docs.google.com/)
NSD says that reflection is critical to integrating PD.
Student-driven technology  (http://genyes.com/)
Get student managers.  They are less likely to disengage if they’re able to offer expertise on issues.
PLN. (http://www.twitter.com/ #edchat)
Do you rely on only yourself or journals?
Your topic is …?
Why is that important?

Chris.wikispaces.com
Web 2.0 for Leaders
onealchris on Twitter.  onealchris@gmail.com  http://chris.wikispaces.com
Technology Leadership by Modeling
NETS-A Based
Google Apps for Education http://www.google.com/a/help/intl/en/edu/index.html
Audacity http://audacity.sourceforge.net/
Wordle  http://www.wordle.net/
Delicious  http://delicious.com/
Wikis  http://www.wikispaces.com/
Creative Commons  http://creativecommons.org/
Skype  http://www.skype.com/
Challenge to Leaders for Summer 2010:  Play around over the summer.  Build a few “back to school” faculty meetings:
Model a new, relevant technology (His suggestion:  Animoto)
Lead higher-order conversations about technology.  (http://tpck.org/)
Ensure classroom-level digital equity.  (http://leaders.wikispaces.com/equity)
Ten Web 2 Apps for Leaders
Google Apps:  Google Docs Education Version  (http://www.google.com/a/help/intl/en/edu/)
Blogging:  21 Classes or Edublogs  (http://21classes.com/)
Wikis:  Wikispaces for Education  (http://www.wikispaces.com/site/for/teachers)
Social Bookmarking:  Delicious  (http://delicious.com/edleadersonline)
Copyright:  Creative Commons  (http://creativecommons.org/)
Social Presentations:  http://www.slideshare.net/)
Free audio & video chat:  Skype  (http://www.skype.com/)
Audio recording and Podcasting:  Audacity  (http://audacity.sourceforge.net/)
Social Video – the Education Version:  SchoolTube  (http://www.schooltube.com/)
Microblogging:  Twitter  (http://www.twitter.com/onealchris)
Web 2.0 questions/issues to consider
Student engagement
Student safety
Curricular worthiness
Reliability of tool
Cost
Technical issues (storage, bandwidth)
Professional Development and/or Support needs.  (http://prodev.wikispaces.com/)
Other Web 2 Sites to Explore:
School 2.0: http://school2.wikispaces.com
Educator’s Social Network: http://classroom20.ning.com
Wikicommons: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Main_Page
Librivox: http://www.librivox.org
Learn Out Loud: http://www.learnoutloud.com/Free-Audio-Video
Library Thing: http://www.librarything.com
Glogster: http://www.glogster.com/edu
Animoto: http://animoto.com/education
Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/
Netvibes: http://www.netvibes.com
Gliffy: http://www.gliffy.com/
Government/Policy:
ISTE’s Advocacy and Policy:  https://www.iste.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Advocacy
United States Department of Education:  http://www.ed.gov/index.jhtml
State Departments of Education:  http://nces.ed.gov/ccd/ccseas.asp
21st Century Skills
Edutopia:  http://www.edutopia.org
Partnership for 21st Century Skills:  http://www.21stcenturyskills.org/
Organizations
ISTE:  http://www.iste.org
CoSN:  http://www.cosn.org
ASCD:  http://www.ascd.org
VASCD:  http://www.vaascd.org
VSTE:  http://www.vste.org
Multimedia Archives:
Internet Archive:  http://www.archive.org/
Teacher Tube:  http://www.teachertube.com/
Google Video:  http://video.google.com/
Zamzar:  http://www.zamzar.com/
Blogs/Podcasts:
Assorted Stuff:  http://www.assortedstuff.com/
21st Century Collaborative: http://21stcenturylearning.typepad.com/blog/
Technology Times Live Podcast: http://www.glnd.k12.va.us/podcasts/TechnologyTimesLive.xml
The List at elearnspace.com: http://www.elearnspace.org/edutechblogs.htm
Principals/Administrative Blog: http://www.leadertalk.org/
Dangerously Irrelevant: http://www.dangerouslyirrelevant.org/
Sharing/Utility:
Box.net: http://www.box.net
SendSpace: http://www.sendspace.com/
Backpackit: http://www.backpackit.com/
TinyURL: http://tinyurl.com/
ThinkFree Online Office Suite: http://www.thinkfree.com
Furl: http://www.furl.net
Open Source Software:
Open Source Assistive Technology: http://www.oatsoft.org/
SourceForge: http://sourceforge.net/
SchoolForge: http://www.schoolforge.net/
Online Professional Development:
Edutopia George Lucas Videos on iTunesU (link will launch iTunes): http://tinyurl.com/3wwkus
Virginia’s iTunes University (link will launch iTunes): http://deimos.apple.com/WebObjects/Core.woa/Browsev2/vdoe.brpbs.org
Get a Free Education Online: http://tinyurl.com/lkgsq
Microsoft’s Education Competencies: http://www.microsoft.com/education/competencies/allcompetencies.mspx
PT3 Now!: http://www.pt3now.org/
Netfiles: http://www.netfiles.org
Annenberg Media: http://www.learner.org/
Internet Safety:
NetSmartz: http://www.netsmartz.org/
SafeKids: http://www.safekids.com/
Buying Stuff:
ZDNet: http://review.zdnet.com
CNET: http://reviews.cnet.com
Educational Leadership Readings:
UbD and Technology
Change and Leadership
Marzano’s Classroom Instruction that Works
Presenters:
Chris O’Neal:  http://www.edleadersonline.org
Karen (?):  http://www.ivyrun.com
ISTE 2010 Site for this presentation:  http://leaders.wikispaces.com/iste2010

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, Podcast, TechBy Troy Patterson

MSM-128 Pirate T-Shirts for all the listeners! (Well, as many as Promotion’s budget will allow…)

Jokes:

Counting
A man rushed into a doctor’s office, jumped on his back, and started screaming, “One! Two! Three! Four!” “Wait a minute!” yelled the doctor, trying to get free. “What do you think you’re doing?” The man said, “Well doctor, they did say I could count on you!”

On Our Mind:

ISTE 2010 Swag!

Listeners:

Letter 1:
“Hi guys,
I listened to the June 26 podcast today while driving to my summer job, (a teacher with a summer job?!).  Thanks for the moderation of the the theme music.  I enjoyed the discussion and your thoughts.  I teach at a fairly small rural school and our cell phone policy is pretty simple.  You can have it.  You can use it with permission in class, it sits on the desktop, off, no ringer, no vibrate. I find that you are using it, without permission,  you have lost it for 24 hours, or until the next time class meets, (don’t get caught on a Friday!) you can use it at passing times and at lunch.
The high school was pretty good with this policy, it was a group of HS students that convinced our principal to adopt this policy.  The MS kids had a harder time with it, there were a small number  that just could not follow these simple rules.  I am not sure where we will be with this policy next year.  We are going to 1 to 1 computers (MacBook) in 6-12 next year so there will be a lot of changes in the next school year.
Keep up the good work, summer is about over, argh!!! ;)”

Craig

Letter 2:
Shawn and Troy~~

I wanted to share how much I enjoy your podcasts.  They actually make me look forward to my daily exercise when I have to opportunity to listen.  I have just started listening and I am catching up on old ones.

Your topics and enthusiasm give me a refreshed outlook for the school year.  I have been spending the last 2 hours reviewing your webpage and found so many interesting links.  In a time that can be very negative toward education, you have given me a reason to continue my positive outlook and remind me each time I listen why I got into teaching.

Thanks so much~~

Kerry

Letter 3:
From AK Jenny:  http://www.conquercollegewithld.com/

Letter 4:
Dear Shawn & Troy,

On behalf of the stakeholder and partner organizations of the Michigan Joint Education Conference (MIJEC), I want to express my appreciation to you for sharing your expertise with the attendees of last month’s conference at Thurston High School in South Redford.

By sharing your best practices with other educators, you enhanced our conference and helped to further the professional development of our attendees.

I hope that you will consider presenting next year’s Michigan Joint Education Conference, which will be held on Wednesday, June 22.  Watch the MIJEC website for announcements concerning our call for presenters.

Thanks again for your participation in the 2010 Michigan Joint Education Conference.

Sincerely,
Ric Wiltse, MACUL

From the Twitterverse:

  • WhiteheadsClass  RT @JamiePortman: 15 ways to foster a love of learning. Great stuff!!
  • thart74  Video: STUDENTS use tools to assess the effectiveness of instructional strategies and teaching techniques.
  • thart74  Catching Readers Before They Fall – instructional strategies,PD guide, group activities. Preview entire book online!
  • brasst  Apps for interacting with US govt resources – APPS via www.diigo.com/~brasst
  • elemenous  If you’re interested in finding more apps, try Appolicious http://tinyurl.com/mof69f #psls
  • getschooled  Even with rising #collegecost, 4 year degree is still important to earn more than your parents http://ow.ly/29msV
  • posterous  I’ve started using http://NutshellMail.com to manage my Facebook and Twitter accounts through one simple email.
  • johnrwoodman  Nobody who bought a drill actually wanted a drill. They wanted a hole. – Perry Marshall
  • hrheingold  Participative Pedagogy for a Literacy of Literacies http://tinyurl.com/5rct2w about 9 hours ago via Seesmic
  • SMART_Tech  New! SMART Certified Interactive Teacher program available. Be the first to be Certified in your school!
  • getschooled  Men may earn less today than in 1979 if they don’t have a college degree. http://ow.ly/29fJe
  • ngcbrown  #clcs10 try gamesalad for Mac. Bit like scratch but glossier. Can make itouch/phone games with it
  • russeltarr  The 15 most inspiring teachers in films (would be an interesting vote during a staff training day!): http://tinyurl.com/muco5f
  • drmmtatom  ISTE Unplugged Recordings Now Available http://tinyurl.com/289a3xs
  • russeltarr  Collection of Free Mathematics Classroom Posters: http://tinyurl.com/2vucuqp
  • moodlenews  interested in the #Blackboard acquisition? Read this now: #moodle @cytochromec
  • lesliefisher  I learned that the staff at the Apple Store can only sit down when you do, so, when you like the person, sit down! If not, run in circles!
  • russeltarr  AutoMotivator is for making printable motivational posters or parody demotivational posters.: http://tinyurl.com/ksfqum
  • cmtoy  ‘You’re racing toward our old model!” Chinese educator to American educator. Who the heck is leading us and why are they taking us there?
  • solennial  Teachers in Pender Co. can’t be Facebook friends with students WECT.com – Wilmington, NC news and weather –
  • WhiteheadsClass  More than a million creative writing prompts at
  • .FakeAPStylebook  hacker – Anyone who knows anything at all about computers beyond e-mail/web browsing, and therefore is a troublemaker.

Advisory:

8 Ways to get to know a new class:
http://docs.google.com/present/view?id=dhn2vcv5_650dvtj3dgk

Tech Tools:

SnagIt for Mac (beta)

http://www.techsmith.com/snagitmac/

Book Suggestion engine
Uses Amazon and LibraryThing
http://bookseer.com/

SlideSix
Allows voiceover of uploaded powerpoint, keynote, OpenOffice presentations.
http://slidesix.com/

ISock
www.guppiesinthedark.com
http://itunes.apple.com/nl/app/isock-de-pratende-sok/id346782860?mt=8

Webspotlight:

Big Thinkers:  T. Barry Brazelton on Parents as Partners in Education

Scientists answer the question of which came first, the Chicken or the Egg?
http://jeffreyhill.typepad.com/english/2010/07/newsy-video-chicken-or-the-egg-question-finally-solved.html

Should we require educators to use RSS?
http://dangerouslyirrelevant.org/2010/07/should-we-require-school-employees-to-have-rss-readers-part-2-more-questions.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+dangerouslyirrelevant+%28Dangerously+Irrelevant%29

Schoolwide
http://www.schoolwidenetwork.com/?search_type=grade_9

Shout out:

Kerry, Craig and Jenny thanks for the feedback!

News:

ISTE 2010:  Virtual Schools

Virtual School Initiative:  21st Century Learning and Teaching
Dr. Kathy Hayden:  Assistant Professor of Educational Technology, California State University, San Marcos khayden@csusm.edu
Stacey Campo via Skype (teacher):  Poway Unified School District

  • Stacey is an Apple Professor at Cal. State.
  • Path to Growth
  • This developed out of a book they read.
    • Does your district offer online courses?
  • Articulating the Vision
    • “Our district goal that every student is using technology to engage in learning customized to their needs, master rigorous content which develops 21st century literacy skills and culminates in college readiness.”
  • Articulating the vision:  Support learning activities delivered from a shared knowledge of principles of effective learning with multiple opportunities …
  • Summit feedback:  The online learning summit participants recognized that a successful launch of a PUSD Virtual High School will require:
    • On-going staff development in online pedagogy.
    • Teacher Union/Administrative Counseling suport.
    • Curriculum alignment with PUSD and CA standards.
    • Technical Support
    • Sufficient, sustainable technical resources.
    • Competition was a driving force.
  • Modeling and embedding principles of effective learning and teaching.
    • Tier 1:  Basic integration
    • Tier 2:  Integrated practices.
    • Tier 3:  Thought Leaders
  • Professional Development
    • 1.  Directly engage staff
    • 2.  Leverage technology
    • 3.  Create alternative evaluations
    • All of this comes with a pay raise.
  • TLC:  Teaching and Learning Cooperatives
  • Partnership:  Poway USD and California State University
    • Distinguished Professor in Residence Grant
    • 360 Hours of support
    • Professional expertise and experience
  • Polling question:  Should teachers be certified to teach online?
    • Audience answer:  25% yes.
  • Health is one of the first things that high schools take online.
  • “Learning Point Portal” on the screen now.
  • Teacher Pay
    • $2500 to develop the course.
    • If they teach the course, they get a fractional pay for it.
    • Additional pay if they are teaching outside their content area.
    • Site to check out:  http://floridaitunesu.org
  • Find interesting ways to have conversations in an on-line settng.
    • INACOL: Standards (not a perfect match)
    • Essential Elements:  Concord Consortium
    • PUSD Virtual School
    • Discussion Forums
      • It is important that these kids talk.
      • It led to kids reconnecting with kids they had been friends with at other schools.
    • Scaffolding for success
      • Constant communication in multiple mediums.
      • If they fell below the 70% line, parents were called by the grading software.
        • ConnectEd messages.
      • Real-world thinking
      • Decision-Making
      • Authentic Learning
      • Engaged the teachers and students in project based learning.

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
MSM, Podcast, TechBy Troy Patterson

MSM-127 Back Channel and Boy Crisis

Jokes:

Serious Questions
A police recruit was asked during the exam, “What would you do if you had to arrest your own mother?” He said: “Call for backup.”

Great News
While eating in an expensive restaurant, a patron overheard 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.”

Lord Send Me A Hundred
A little boy wanted $100 badly and prayed for two weeks but nothing happened. Then he decided to write a letter to the Lord requesting the $100. When the postal authorities received the letter addressed to the Lord, USA, they decided to send it to the President. The President was so impressed, touched, and amused that he instructed his secretary to send the little boy a $5.00 bill, as this would appear to be a lot of money to a little boy. The little boy was delighted with the $5.00, and sat down to write a thank-you note to the Lord. It said: Dear Lord, Thank you very much for sending me the money. However, I noticed that for some reason you had to send it through Washington, DC and as usual, those jerks deducted $95.

On Our Mind:

ISTE 2010 and Back Channels . . .
What do you get when you mash up a former VP of the World Bank, a PowerPoint, and a bunch of tech savvy educators?

Conference Survival Gear
Maxpedition Mongo Bag
Soundpaper

Listeners:

Teachers in Illinois use iPod Touch to customize lessons
One Illinois school district will have teachers and students using iPod Touch devices in classrooms this fall. District staff received 15 hours of training on using the devices for individualizing lessons and helping students improve reading fluency by listening to their recorded voices reading aloud. “This is the way students are wired to learn, and we are looking at every method to make learning more engaging and stimulating for our students and teaching more exciting for our staff,” the district’s superintendent said.
David Bydlowski
Science Consultant

Hey Guys — I still need to respond to your response to my response to the UDL article!  I came a cross this link today – and thought you might be interested —http://atcubed.blogspot.com/2010/06/thinking-about-relationships.html — it does go with the UDL topic.

later – jen

From the Twitterverse:

  • gardenglen WOW! RT @wbasinger: RT @ChrisLAtkinson: Web.AppStorm – 10 [More] Killer Dropbox Tips and Tricks
  • drmmtatom RT @gcouros: 10 ways to encourage students to take responsibility for their learning… « What Ed Said via @phsprincipal
  • drmmtatom RT @GMcKBlogs: School Uses Video Games To Teach Thinking Skills http://n.pr/dtaQO3 #fhuedu642
  • K4sons  iApps Users Group meets on VSTE ISland at 1:30 Second Life time Monday, July 5th. Come ready to share one cool app for iPad iPod or Droid.
  • ssandifer  @jonbecker For me, my PLN (for lack of a better term) are more like a Critical Friends Group…
  • deangroom Blogged. Working and sharing docs on the ipad. An better alternative to Pages #ipad for the mobile edtecher
  • teach42  ISTE 2010 Resources from my presentations up at Teach42:
  • lhoog “Speak with your students not at them.” Rushton Hurley #iste10 #TIE2010
  • pgoerner RT @web20classroom : Check out the #ISTE10 Diigo Group for great resources shared at the conference:
  • BethRitterGuth RT @jenisecook: RT @edteck: Thinking about #ISTE10 ? Try the Taxonomy of Reflection #edtech
  • cybraryman1  I have gone to & presented at many conferences. Very important for morale, support, collaboration & learning #ntchat
  • lthumann  How to: WiFi Tether a Motorola Droid to an iPad #ipad #iste10 – will try this later today

Advisory:

Xtranormal:  Go Play!  Report back here what you learned.  We’ll talk about it on the show.

Tech Tools:

WordPress Now Lets You Phone in Your Blog Posts

You can already write and publish WordPress blog posts from your iPhone, iPad, Android, e-mail and desktop, but now you can also post audio via your phone.

http://mashable.com/2010/07/01/wordpress-phone/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Mashable+%28Mashable%29

Aviary in Education:
A safe, private environment to use Aviary tools with your students

  • Create private student accounts
  • Manage assignments and projects
  • Use the image editor, vector editor, audio editor & music creator
  • All content and images are 100% school safe

http://www.aviaryeducation.com/

Webspotlight:

Putting the “Boy Crisis” in Context

Finding solutions to boys’ reading problems may require looking beyond gender
By MICHAEL SADOWSKI
“The Boys Have Fallen Behind.” “Girls Lead the Nation in Reading Scores.” “Are Teachers Failing Our Sons?”

http://www.hepg.org/hel/article/473

Word Games

http://www.wordgames.com/

Google Apps Education Training Center

Welcome to the Google Apps Education Training Center. This is an online learning environment dedicated for educators and students to learn how to effectively use Google Apps in an educational context.
Access to a Google Apps Education account is strongly recommended so that you can experiment and apply what you learn.
http://edutraining.googleapps.com/Training-Home

Shout out:

Thanks to InFocus for the shout out on Twitter and for the USB drive at the conference!  ()

News:

International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE 2010)

10 Leadership Components of Effective Technology Leadership
Observation:  This session is filled with folks.  Standing room only.  10 mins. to go to presentation too!
“Very quick and inappropriate” video. Old lady sets off airbag.  Patience is not only a virtue, it’s a money saver.  Here’s the link:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I11k-OUXaAw

Sponsor info:  Skoodat.com
Presenter:  Chris O’Neal

“Storm the stage” – Alternate title.
His website:  Chris.wikispace.com and this presentation’s site:  http://leaders.wikispaces.com/
T to (?)
Equity of access.
This should include access at home.
We should have this between 8 & 3:30
We should not use tech as a reward but as a tool.
Our problem is not enough tech to use in the classroom.
Understanding and Using Data.
Rigor and relevance.
Effective Professional Development.
Think individual schools and individual grades.
Walk the walk, talk the talk.
We have to model the tech we want people to use.
Vision: collaborative and authentic:  http://tiny url.com/istelead
Using a google survey/form in a faculty meeting.
Vision.
Write down what your technology vision is for your school/district/students.
Have the staff write down what their technology vision for your school/district/students.
Throw it into wordle and see what commonalities pop up and what differences you need to address.
Reward growth.
Look for the ASCD survey on rewards.
Reward those who push themselves outside of their comfort zones.
Genuine Reflection
NSD says that reflection is critical to integrating PD.
Student-driven technology
Get student managers
PLN.  You need one.  Your teachers need one.

NETS-A:  National Educational Technology Standards for Administrators
1. Visionary Leadership
2. Digital Age Learning Culture
3. Excellence in Professional Practice
4. Systemic Improvement
5. Digital Citizenship

Presenter’s website and local for presentation notes:  Chris.wikispaces.com
Fellow attendee’s blog about the session:  http://edtechworkshop.blogspot.com/

By the way, if he goes up to you and gives you a smiley-face sticker . . .

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.
    • ISTE 2010 June 27-30, 2010 (Formerly NECC) in Denver, Colorado.
        • Experience a virtual learning experience sim as the ISTE folks take you on an authentic silver mine tour.  Meet at the Denver Convention Lobby.
  • The Ohio Middle Level Association will hold their annual conference February 16 – 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
MSM, Podcast, TechBy Troy Patterson

MSM-126 Title: China Test and Creativity KIPP Shoots, KIPP Scores, KIPP Kicks Kids Off of the Island!

Jokes:

Waiters
A man walks into a restaurant and is shown to his seat by the hostess. The waiter approaches and asks, “Would you like to try our house special? The man replies, “No, just bring me a steak, and make it lean”. The waiter, somewhat puzzled, looks at him and replies, “which way?”

Important Tasks
A doctor got a phone call from one of his colleagues. “We need a fourth for poker,” the voice on the phone said. “I’ll be right over,” replied the doctor. As he was putting on his overcoat, his wife asked, “Is it serious?” “Oh yes, quite serious,” he said gravely. “They’ve had to call in three other doctors as well.”

On Our Mind:

Catching Up or Leading the Way
Yong Zhao

Listeners:

Comment:
Thank you for keeping us updated. I incredibly enjoy it and discover all the information really useful.
Krav Maga

Hi guys,
I am at the Technology Integration and Instruction for the 21st Century Learner conference in Storm Lake, Iowa at Buena Vista University.  I listen to your podcasts (and have given you the 4 stars on i-Tunes).  Love the links, discussion and your thoughts.  It gives me time to reflect, something we do not do enough of.  I do have a suggestion, and this is on the technical side of the the podcast production.  Please moderate the theme music, it is so loud that it drowns out the voice and is much louder than the volume of the spoken word.  I have to quick reach for the volume on my i-pod, or computer so it does not wake my daughter or wife in the next rooms as I listen to you late at night when everyone is in bed.  I know through using garage band that the volumes can be adjusted.  It is way worse than the increase in volume of commercials on TV.
Thanks again for your great work,

Craig Cadman
Middle School Science

From ASCD:
Middle-school students create podcasts as part of place-based learning
Middle-school students at an Oregon charter school created podcasts as part of their study of a local streetcar line that used to operate near their school. Educators say the streetcar project and the podcasts are a form of place-based learning, which includes studying the history of neighborhoods, communities and buildings under the umbrella of environmental education. The student recordings are posted on the website of the regional transportation planning agency, which is considering reviving the original line.

http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2010/06/southwest_charter_school_stude.html

David Bydlowski

From the Twitterverse:

Advisory:

Remember that origami stuff we talked about before?  Here’s a website that illustrates it:  http://www.en.origami-club.com/others/index.html

Tech Tools:

Doodle – Collaborative Scheduling

http://doodle.com/

DabbleBoard –

Dabbleboard is an online collaboration application that’s centered around the whiteboard. With a new type of drawing interface that’s actually easy and fun to use, Dabbleboard gets out of your way and just lets you draw. Finally the whiteboard enters the digital age!
http://dabbleboard.com/

Free Web Pages
http://pageeasy.com/

Webspotlight:

Interesting world view:
http://timemaps.com/history/

Top 100 technology blogs for teachers

Posted on Jun. 17th 2010 6:23 PM by alexis

(This article is a continuation and combination of two previous lists: “The Top 25 eLearning Blogs,” and “The Top 20 Teacher Blogs“)


http://www.onlinedegrees.org/top-100-technology-blogs-for-teachers/

News:

Report finds KIPP students outscore public school peers

The study, which KIPP commissioned, comes as the Obama administration is promoting the spread of strong charter schools as a strategy to improve urban education. 
Skeptics say that the program benefits from highly motivated parents seeking alternatives to ineffective public schools and that KIPP often winnows out students who don’t fit its program. 
Read more… 
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/06/22/AR2010062200009.html

Prince George’s bans student cellphone use during school day

There is an epidemic of under-the-desk text messages during class, a virtual economy of exam pictures posted to Facebook, a trade in school fight videos on YouTube, they say. To combat it, the county school board voted Thursday to ban cellphones and other electronics during the school day, even as many school systems across the country are loosening their rules.

Nor will students be allowed to post photos and videos shot on school property on the Web, which would include such sites as Facebook and YouTube.

“We know for a fact that the use of cellphones on school property around this country has led to a number of problems around safety,” said Board of Education Chairman Verjeana M. Jacobs (At Large), citing issues of explicit text messages and videos of fights posted online — one case of which happened just last week at Bowie High School.

Read more…
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/06/18/AR2010061804420.html?wprss=rss_education


Carpe Data: In Defense of Common Standards

By H. Ogden Morse III

For me, the epiphany came on a Tuesday in September two years ago. I was sitting around a small conference table with our assistant superintendent, principal, and English chair, as we tried to determine whether we should be concerned about the reading and writing capabilities of some of the students in our senior class. Before us, across paper and laptop screen, were various pieces of data—an SAT score here, some classroom grades there—intended to aid us in making this determination.

Only they weren’t. Instead, I grew increasingly perplexed as I realized that the four experienced educators sitting around that table were engaged in a comparison of apples and oranges that was proving, well, fruitless.

Read more…
http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2010/06/25/36morse.h29.html?tkn=RVSFiEEZ47gbiUHMUSM5DK9Da1ygfd6HtbYj&cmp=clp-edweek

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.
    • ISTE 2010 June 27-30, 2010 (Formerly NECC) in Denver, Colorado. 
      • June 19:  ISTE Denver Metaverse Meeting 4:00 – 5:00 in Second Life ISTE Island
        • Experience a virtual learning experience sim as the ISTE folks take you on an authentic silver mine tour.  Meet at the Denver Convention Lobby. 
  • The Ohio Middle Level Association will hold their annual conference February 16 – 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


MSM, Podcast, TechBy Troy Patterson

MSM-125 Twitter is our friend.

Jokes:

Obedience
A father of five won a large stuffed animal in a raffle. All the way home he agonized about which child should receive the toy. When he arrived, he called the kids together. “I have decided this gift should go to the most deserving,” he said. “Who is the most obedient?” he asked. “Who never talks back to mommy? Who does everything she says?” Five small voices cried in unison. “You do, Daddy!”

Helping the Town
A seedy-looking man was sitting in the first row heckling the mayor as he delivered a lengthy speech. Finally the mayor pointed to the heckler and said, “Will that gentleman who differs with me please stand up and tell the audience what he has ever done for the good of the city?” “Well, Mr. Mayor,” the man said in a firm voice. “I voted against you in the last election.”

IRS
One day at the local all you can eat buffet, a man suddenly called out, “My son’s choking! He swallowed a quarter! Help! Please, anyone! Help!” A man from a nearby table quikly stood up and announced that he was quite experienced at this sort of thing. He stepped over they boy with almost no look of concern at all, wrapped his hands around the boy, and squeezed. Out popped the quarter. The man then went back to his table as though nothing had happened. “Thank you! Thank you!” the father cried. “Are you a paramedic?” “No,” replied the man. “I work for the IRS.”

Pregnancy Questions
The room was full of pregnant women and their partners, and the Lamaze class was in full swing. The instructor was teaching the women how to breathe properly, along with informing the men how to give the necessary assurances at this stage of the plan. The teacher then announced, “Ladies, exercise is good for you. Walking is especially beneficial. And, gentlemen, it wouldn’t hurt you to take the time to go walking with your partner!” The room really got quiet. Finally, a man in the middle of the group raised his hand. “Yes?” replied the teacher. “Is it okay if she carries a golf bag while we walk?”

On Our Mind:

The “Reply All” button

The Michigan Joint Education Conference:  www.mijec.org
Troy presents at the 8:00 and 10:00 sessions.  You’ve got to be there!

From the Twitterverse:

Advisory:

Listeners:

Hey guys,

Hope you are enjoying your summer.  We still have another full week of school.

Ran across this the other day and thought you might be interested:

http://www.microsoft.com/multipoint/mouse-mischief/

It is a free product from Microsoft.  Since most students learn how to use powerpoint in computer class, this would be a fun tool for student presentations.

Robert

PS  Still not on Twitter.

—
Robert Jackson
Kyiv, Ukraine

Model Schools Conference, Orlando
HUGE thanks to Dr. John Harrison for recommending Middle School Matters to his session attenders at the Model Schools Conference in Orlando, Florida this week.  We really appreciate the recommendation, though it cost us the last of our business cards.

Tech Tools:

Teen Chat Decoder

http://www.teenchatdecoder.com/

Create Short Animations at Fuzzwich

http://www.fuzzwich.com/

Free Quizzes that you can play right in your browser!

Welcome to Quiz-Tree.com! Who said that learning has to be boring? Everybody learns better when they are having fun! Here at Quiz-Tree.com you will find educational games and quizzes on many subjects, including Math, Reading, Spanish, Geography, SAT, Spelling, Music and more. All activities come with animated interface, fun sounds and other cool features that make learning more enjoyable.

To find an activity, start by clicking on the general subject that you are interested in.
http://www.quiz-tree.com/index.html

Webspotlight:

Your Next Read

http://www.yournextread.com/us/

Forbes Map

Interactive Feature Map: Where Americans Are Moving Jon Bruner
More than 10 million Americans moved from one county to another during 2008. The map below visualizes those moves. Click on any county to see comings and goings: black lines indicate net inward movement, red lines net outward movement.
http://www.forbes.com/2010/06/04/migration-moving-wealthy-interactive-counties-map.html

Understanding Genetics

http://www.thetech.org/exhibits/online/ugenetics/

Are Good Teachers Always Good, No Matter Where They Go?

The more we fixate on the “good teacher,” the less we seem to concern ourselves with good teaching.
But the story also drove home how seldom we hear about the conditions that foster good teaching. Most news stories on ed reform leave the impression that a good teacher is a good teacher is a good teacher, no matter where he teaches, no matter what challenges he faces, no matter how toxic the climate in his school is. Good teachers, it seems, are widgets to be deployed to all manner of schools, where they’ll climb every mountain and ford every stream.
http://www.publicschoolinsights.org/are-good-teachers-always-good-no-matter-where-they-go?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+LFA+%28Public+School+Insights%3A+What+is+WORKING+in+our+Public+Schools%29

News:

Prince William middle school to try single-sex classes

Fred M. Lynn Middle School will run a pilot program during the coming school year that will have single-sex classrooms for core academic classes for sixth-, seventh- and eighth-grade students. Lunch and elective courses will be coed. Coleman, who launched a similar program when she taught in another school system, pitched the idea to school administrators this month and sent a letter to parents June 11 describing the pilot program. Applications to be in the single-sex classes are due Friday, but Coleman said that if 150 students aren’t signed up by then, the deadline will be extended.
A staple at many private schools, single-sex classrooms are making their way onto public campuses — more than 500 U.S. public schools, including Woodbridge Middle, offer single-sex education opportunities, according to the National Association for Single Sex Public Education.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/06/15/AR2010061505183.html

Old Mill Elementary teachers building centers of learning

Literacy effort to intensify next school year
“Literacy centers have really become best practice for teaching reading skills, and we want our teachers to be able to become more purposeful and comfortable using them,” Vachon said.
http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20100616/ZONE10/6160309/1060/NEWS0105/Old+Mill+Elementary+teachers+building+centers+of+learning

Educators, students can benefit from technology training

By Michael Hildebrandt
http://www.eschoolnews.com/2010/06/17/educators-students-can-benefit-from-technology-training/

Middle Schools Conference Notes

Ironies:
1.  You’re expected to use technology, just don’t plug it it.
2.  You’re expected to use technology, but there’s no internet access point where the sessions take place.
3.  You’re expected to tweet and facebook the conference, but not where the sessions take place.
4.  All presentations are on the website.  Presenters then fly through the slides not letting you read the info on the screen because . . . it’s on the website . . . you can’t access.

Boston Globe example.

Teachers need to be the objects of change.
Stop waiting for the cure, Educators are the cure!!
Educators should be the agents of change.
In order to get better, we need to be different.
So what is stopping us?
Themes
The challenge we face
Best Practices, Next Practices and innovation
Empowerment
Closing thoughts
FUN.
YOU WILL PARTICIPATE
TEXT.
What got us to where we are today in education is not what will get us to the future.
In many cases, our efforts to transform education look much like the original system.
Shreddies Video
Add value without changing the value.
TED Conference Video.  LOL!
Why is it so hard to change?
The more successful a system is, the more difficult it is to recognize when it must change. By example, market leaders are the last ones to transform.
The American Education System, “The market leader during the industrial era.”
Dominant logic.  “That’s the way we do things here.”
We need to stop looking at threats and opportunities that we face through our dominant logic!
In the years ahead the “forgetting curve” may be more important than the learning curve!
(the most adaptable)
Have we adapted?

Mental Lock
We don’t need to be cretive for most of what we do (driving, shopping, business of living).  So staying on routine thought paths enables us to do many things without having to think about it.
The Right Answer.
The Second Right Answer
Not:  What is the answer?
What are the answers?
Not:  What is the meaning of this?
What are the meanings of this?
Not:  What is the result?
What are the results?

Activity:
Soft Hard
Metaphor                     logic
Fantasy                       Direct
Dream                        Focused
Hunch                         Parody
Child                           Adult
Generalization              Work
Appropriate

Answers
metaphor                     Logic
Dream                         reason
Humor                         precision
anbiguity                         …

shades of gray             black and wihte
hard to pick up             easy to pick up
many answers              right answer

What is the connection between these two words:  cat – refrigerator
They purr
They have tails
Excuses we use in education.
That’s not logical  (side)
Follow the rules
The rules keep you doing what you’re doing in the current system.
Be Practical

Theme:  Best Practices, Next Practices and Innovation.
“I don’t want non-education people telling us what to do.”
AYP line
Get to the line by Researched Based Successful Practices.
“Tight-Tight” environment
Critical point when you get to the AYP line.
Remain Tight-Tight
Will not get you any higher and eventually will decline.
Go Tight-Loose
When you institute this environment there will be an implementation dip and then you will go up and get to a critical point.
Best practices allow you to do what you are currently doing a little better, while next practices increase your organization’s capability to do things that it has never done before.
Best Practices
Researched Based
Imitation
Copy
Replication
Successful Practices Network
Read 180
I Can Learn
Learning Together

Best practices allow you to do what your are currently doing a little better, while next practices incrust your organization’s capability to do things that it has never done before.

College and career readiness Defined
Cognitive strategies
Content knowledge
Academic behaviors
Contextual skills and knowledge.
Next practices
Penn Foster
Princeton Review
Expert Space
Expert 21

Expertise can sometimes be a roadblock to aproblem solving and the development of Next Practices.  Experts see their points as critical to resolution, wihtout sometimes valuing the thinking of others.

“In the beginner’s mind there are many possibilities; in the expert’s mind there are few.”
Shumyu Suzuki

System (round circle)
Great idea:  (Triangle)
Fit the triangle into the round circle.
Edges overlap
This is sustaining Innovation
The pieces that were cut off because they aren’t in the circle are “Next Practices”
Make the circle an oval and include the corners of the traingel and that’s “Disruptive Innovation”
Video clip:  The Marshmallow Challenge.  TED Video
18 mintues
Who consistently performs poorly?
Business school
Who does well?
Kindergarteners.
Why?
Kindergarteners build prototypes.
They get consistent feedback.
They learn from FAILURE.

Next Practice Thinking
The Iterative Process
We need the freedom to fail and to retry ideas.
People need empowerment.
Sustainability is about the relationship between people . . .
“Well.  I would have exhibited more leadership if someone would have told me.
Successful lleadership . . .  lost it.
Four quadrants of leadership
A:  Authoritative
B:  Collaborative Leadership
C.  Visionary Leadership
D.  (Moved too fast . . . “it’s on the website.”)
Quadrant D Leadership cannot be implemented unless people are empowered to act.  Developing teacher’s and students’ capacities to lead is clearly important.
Empowerment is a soft word, can you measure it?
Why good spreadsheets make bad strategies.
We live in a world obsessed with science, predictability and control.  If we can’t measure it, it doesn’t count.
PollEverywhere used to find out what audience thinks.
We must consider the possibility that if we can’t measure something, it might be the very most important thing!
www.eharmony.com
Culture Trumps Strategy
What does empowerment look like?
Talking with kids …
What makes a teacher worth going to and what makes a teacher worth listening to?
It’s not us against them!
(Title of his book by the way …)
Empowering the students:  Day of Pink:  A day to stand against bullying, harrassment, and discrimination.
Kids chose to tie it to curriculum by doing “Quick Writes.”
Question:  Do you feel like you’ve been bullied or has there been a time where you’ve been pressured by a bully?  Then held an assembly where the kids were the speaker.
CULTURE TRUMPS STRATEGY
Versions
Create a disciplined , managed space for deelopment of new way to accomplish difficult tasks.

Theme:  Closing Remarks
The system is not to blame, we are, for not adapting it to our ever changing world.
Two ways to move your system.
1.  Find a system that starts with the What, How and then the Why.
What:  We educate all the children
How We have the best.  (tech, teachers . . )
Why:  OUr children deserve the best.
Highly effective starts with the:
Why:  OUr children’s future success rests on their ability to apply what they know against what they don’t know.
How: Engaging our children . . .
What:  lost it.
I can’t imagine anything worse than looking back at the oppportunity before us in education and thinking we blew it!

Connecting Successful Practices to Next Practices and the Role of Empowerment.

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.
    • ISTE 2010 June 27-30, 2010 (Formerly NECC) in Denver, Colorado.

      • June 19:  ISTE Denver Metaverse Meeting 4:00 – 5:00 in Second Life ISTE Island
        • Experience a virtual learning experience sim as the ISTE folks take you on an authentic silver mine tour.  Meet at the Denver Convention Lobby.
  • The Michigan Joint Education Conference will be at Thurston High School in Redford, MI this June 23, 2010.
  • The Ohio Middle Level Association will hold their annual conference February 16 – 18, 2011.
  • Second Life: