advisory, AMLE, MSM, News, Web SpotlightBy Troy Patterson

MSM 202: String this…Sounds abound around Slo-Motion and the SAT

Jokes You Can Use:

A little boy was starting to dig into his dinner. His father gently reminded him that they hadn’t said a prayer yet.

“It’s OK, we don’t have to. Mommy is a good cook”.

On Our Mind:  

  • The Drunkard’s Walk by Leonard Mlodinow
  • 8 weeks to go.
  • ISTE

Eileen Award:

  • PivotalEllie Ellie Dix
  • Ron Peck:  Thanks for the Twitter answer.

Advisory:

How to Listen to Music

Music has a powerful grip on our emotional brain. It can breathe new life into seemingly lifeless minds. But if there is indeed no music instinct, music — not just its creation, but also its consumption — must be an acquired skill. How, then, do we “learn” music? Even more curiously, how do we “learn” to “listen” to music, something that seems so fundamental we take it for granted?

http://www.brainpickings.org/index.php/2012/04/12/elliott-schwartz-music-ways-of-listening/

 

Body Language Decoder

http://lifehacker.com/5901468/use-this-body-language-cheat-sheet-to-decode-common-non+verbal-cues

 

Middle School Science Minute  

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

 

This is a three part feature on outstanding science tradebooks for students in Grades 6 – 8.

Part 1:

The National Science Teachers Association has recently announced its Outstanding Science Trade Books for Students K-12.  In this podcast we look at two of the books which are very appropriate for students in grades 6 – 8.  They are:

Biomimicry: Inventions Inspired by Nature

by Dora Lee

Trapped: How the World Rescued 33 Miners from 2,000 feet Below the Chilean Desert

by Marc Aronson

 

From the Twitterverse:  

AMLE ‏ @AMLEnews

●Fun list for thoughtful conversation with middle schoolers: 50 Amazing
Numbers About Today’s Economy http://bit.ly/HhHOpT #midleved

Scott McLeod ‏ @mcleod

●Are Education Reforms Causing a Decline in Student Achievement?
http://bit.ly/HCtICn #edreform #iaedfuture #edchat
●Stop #Cyberbullying Your Masters! http://bit.ly/IxKDc1 Schools
backpedal after overreaching, disciplining students #schoollaw

Michelle Baldwin ‏ @michellek107

●@willrich45 would be interesting to see how much revenue “education”
corporations will make off of Common Core. :-/

Will Richardson ‏ @willrich45

●@michellek107 I think we’re already beyond a CCSS “cottage” industry.
Like shooting fish in a barrel for corporations.
●Question: If policy makers think they are making public schools great with
reforms, then why offer vouchers to opt out of reform? #edpolicy

On the ClassroomWall ‏ @FlyontheCWall

●study strategies … i often defer to this site http://www.studygs.net to help
me help the kids #5thchat
●food for thought: How to Learn Without Memorizing http://ht.ly/acjz9

Dan Witte ‏ @danwitte

●Starting our famous person press conference scripts. Link to the handout.
Anything I should add?
http://wp.lps.org/dwitte/files/2012/04/Press-Conference-Script.pdf
#midleved #engchat

Bill Ferriter ‏ @plugusin

●Have I ever showed you the feeds that I give my kids during SSR?
http://www.netvibes.com/wferriter#SSR_Collection #midleved #edtech

Monte Tatom ‏ @drmmtatom

●#QR Codes Explained & Ideas for Classroom Use #fhuedu508 #fhucid
#eLearning http://tinyurl.com/d3qr8tg

Larry Ferlazzo ‏ @Larryferlazzo

●All My Best Resources On Parent Engagement In One Place!
http://bit.ly/HJZiNk
Watch for middle level tweets on Twitter with the hashtag #midleved.

 

 

Resources:

An Open Letter to Educators

If the message in this video resonates with you feel free to send it to any teachers, principals, professors, university presidents, boards of regents, boards of education, etc. you think should see it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=-P2PGGeTOA4

 

TED offers free video lessons for high school and college students

By Lyndsey Layton, Published: March 12

Imagine you’re a high school biology teacher searching for the most vivid way to explain electrical activity in the brain. How about inserting metal wires into a cockroach’s severed leg and making that leg dance to music?

Starting Monday, that eye-popping lesson, performed in a six-minute video by neuroscientist and engineer Greg Gage, is available free online.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/ted-offers-free-video-lessons-for-high-school-and-college-students/2012/03/09/gIQAuw5O6R_story.html

 

http://www.youtube.com/tededucation

Web Spotlight:

Sound Maps

Use the interactive maps to find recordings of regional accents and dialects, wildlife and environmental sounds, and selected world and traditional music.

Includes dialects, and the Millenium Memory Bank. Also includes Holocaust survivors.

http://sounds.bl.uk/sound-maps

 

Ultra Slow Motion

http://www.brainpickings.org/index.php/2012/04/13/ultra-slow-motion/ 

 

What Happens When A 35-Year-Old Man Retakes The SAT?

*Warning – Not Safe for Work language is used.

Shockingly, little about the SAT has changed since I set foot in that classroom. Most students still have to take the test using bubble sheets and a No. 2 pencil, which is insane to me. They’ve managed to digitize VOTING

http://deadspin.com/5893189/what-happens-when-a-35+year+old-man-retakes-the-sat

Strategies:  

 Seussisms

http://www.brainpickings.org/index.php/2012/04/11/seuss-isms/

 

How Long Is a Piece of String? BBC and Comedian Alan Davies Explore Quantum Mechanics

by Maria Popova

In How Long is a Piece of String?, they enlist standup-comic-turned-physics-enthusiast Alan Davies in answering the seemingly simple question of the film’s title, only to find in it a lens — a very blurry lens — on the very fabric of reality.

http://www.brainpickings.org/index.php/2012/04/09/how-long-is-a-piece-of-string-bbc/

Events & Happenings:

Calendar of Events:

Ohio Middle Level Association:

 

AMLE Affiliate Conferences:

 

Classroom 2.0’s Live Calendar.

advisory, AMLE, Strategy, Teaching Tip, TechBy Troy Patterson

MSM 201: Retention, That’s Awkward. . . POST!

Jokes You Can Use:

Joe and Bill met on a street corner.
Joe said, “It’s great to see you again, my old friend”.
Bill responded, “How can you see me when I’m not here?”
Joe was confused: “What do you mean, you’re not here?”
Bill stated: “I’ll bet you $10, that I’m not here. I can prove it”.
Joe: “You’re going to bet me $10 that you’re not here? You’re on”.
Bill: “Am I in Chicago?”
Joe: “No.”
Bill: “Am I in New York?”
Joe: “No.”
Bill “Then I must be somewhere else. If I’m somewhere else, I can’t be here. Pay me my $10.”
Joe: “If you’re not here, I can’t pay you.”

On Our Mind:

Happy Birthday Rick Wormeli

Eileen Award:

  • Jennifer Applebaum
  • Liz Kolb:  Twitter
  • Paul Steele

Advisory:

How important is it to be at school, on time?

http://twentytwowords.com/2012/04/06/lady-carries-her-disabled-granddaughter-2-hours-to-school-every-day/

Middle School Science Minute

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

Tough Climate for Teachers

This middle school science minute is about the difficult situation that teachers face today in the teaching of climate change.  In the March 2012 issue of Science Scope (NSTA publication) Inez Lifttig, editor of Science Scope wrote in the Editor’s Roundtable: “A Tough Climate for Teachers.”  In the editorial she discusses the hurdles that teachers have today and relates them to the problems that Biology teachers have had in the teaching of evolution.  She also points out that the teaching of climate change should not be a cautious approach because the Framework for K-12 Science Education, does not support a cautious approach and in fact emphasizes strongly that human activities impact climate change.

From the Twitterverse:

* Shelly S Terrell ‏ @ShellTerrell
* Rick Wormeli ‏ @RickWormeli

  • Hey, it’s my birthday today, and I realize how good it is to be in the world. Salsa, guacamole, & chips for everyone!
* Shannon Miller ‏ @shannonmmiller
* Miguel Guhlin ‏ @mguhlin
* Steven W. Anderson ‏ @web20classroom
* Erin Klein ‏ @KleinErin
* Scott McLeod ‏ @mcleod
* The Mind Trust ‏ @TheMindTrust

  • School reform in Detroit: 10 schools to have control over operations and central office providing services for fees http://ow.ly/a8jgN
* WORLD Magazine ‏ @WORLD_mag

  • Miracles of reconciliation: Witnessing ‘radical forgiveness’ in Rwanda taught this filmmaker to forgive @MarvinOlasky
* Apple Plaza ‏ @ApplePlaza
* Ron Peck ‏ @Ron_Peck
* Chan Hsiao-yun ‏ @hychan_edu

News:

More States Retaining Struggling 3rd Graders

By Erik W. Robelen

Oklahoma is one of several states that recently adopted new reading policies that—with limited exceptions—call for 3rd graders to be held back if they flunk a state standardized test.
But the policy is still controversial among Florida educators.
“After 10 years, I don’t like it. I don’t think it’s good for kids,” said Doug A. Whittaker, the superintendent of the 16,200-student Charlotte County school district in southwest Florida. “I don’t care how the adults frame it: The people making those decisions forget what it’s like to be 8 years old.”
Mr. Whittaker said he’s not opposed to holding students back, but said such action should not be driven by a test score. “It really should be a team of people that make the decision, including the parents,” he said.
Despite the decline, a recent federal report shows that Florida students represented one-third of all 3rd graders retained in a nationwide data set. (“Data Show Retention Disparities,” March 7, 2012.)
Ms. Emhof points to state data showing that far fewer students now score at the lowest level on the FCAT in reading, dropping from 27 percent in 2001-02 to 16 percent in 2010-11. But the figure has been stuck at about 16 percent for several years.
Although the forthcoming study finds that the benefit “dissipates” over time, co-author Marcus A. Winters, an assistant education professor at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, says it remains robust into 7th grade, the last year examined to date.
http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2012/03/28/26retention_ep.h31.html?tkn=PQYF7PMVJobJVLws0eMfYkGfp3CJqc4i5cfx&cmp=ENL-CM-NEWS1

Common-Core-Test Group Gives Higher Ed. Voting Rights

By Catherine Gewertz
A group of states that is designing tests for the common academic standards has taken a key step to ensure that the assessments reflect students’ readiness for college-level work: It gave top higher education officials from its leading states voting power on test-design questions that are closest to the heart of the college-readiness question.
“This cut-score thing is going to be a nightmare,” Chester E. Finn Jr., the president of the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, a Washington think tank, said at an August 2010 meeting of the National Assessment Governing Board, which sets policy for the National Assessment of Educational Progress, or NAEP. “I’m trying to envision Georgia and Connecticut trying to agree on a cut score for proficiency, and I’m envisioning an argument.”
http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2012/04/05/28parcc.h31.html?tkn=WNTF3nLXUTQZIM4Er2IcBitwRjDIyvbqq2He&cmp=ENL-EU-NEWS2

Resources:

The homework trap and what to do about it

By Valerie Strauss
There are many parents whose major concern is not public policy but what will happen at home tonight. They are not Tiger Moms, but ordinary parents who simply want the best for their children.
The problem starts in elementary school. The notes come home, and the parents get “the call.”
By middle school, there are several teachers, the disciplinarian and the nurse, all fretting over what these children do not do. Their parents feel pressured to oversee their work, as they also feel criticized as if they’ve done something wrong.
The key misconception about homework-trapped children is what I call the “myth of motivation.” These children are viewed as lazy and unmotivated,
Rather, they have “under the radar” learning problems.
The child, who is forced to keep on working without boundaries, will predictably learn how to avoid.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/post/the-homework-trap-and-what-to-do-about-it/2012/04/05/gIQAJt9YyS_blog.html

My Ten Most Used Apps to Become Fluent on the iPad

It is no secret, that I enjoy my iPad tremendously. I even proclaimed, now and then, that I love it! From the beginning, I approached the iPad with one goal in mind: I wanted to become fluent in using it. There is a distinct difference, in my opinion, between being skilled, literate and fluent in the use of an iPad.
http://www.techlearning.com/Default.aspx?tabid=67&EntryId=4046

Web Spotlight:

The Stanford Education Experiment Could Change Higher Learning Forever

Stanford doesn’t want me. I can say that because it’s a documented fact: I was once denied admission in writing.
http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2012/03/ff_aiclass/all/1

Strategies:

The Dreaded F Word: Fractions

By David Ginsburg on April 1, 2012 7:00 PM

Just hearing the F word can cause kids (adults too) to freak out. And if you think about it, there are lots of reasons students feel flummoxed by fractions. For one thing, there’s the misleading vocabulary, as when we reduce a fraction to lowest terms even though it doesn’t involve a reduction in value. Or when we call a fraction “improper” just because its value is greater than one.

http://blogs.edweek.org/teachers/coach_gs_teaching_tips/2012/04/the_dreaded_f_word_fractions.html

 

Do Students Know Enough Smart Learning Strategies?

What’s the key to effective learning? One intriguing body of research suggests a rather gnomic answer: It’s not just what you know. It’s what you know about what you know.
Research has found that students vary widely in what they know about how to learn, according to a team of educational researchers from Australia writing in this month’s issue of the journalInstructional Science.
Teaching students good learning strategies would ensure that they know how to acquire new knowledge, which leads to improved learning outcomes,…
Students can assess their own awareness by asking themselves which of the following learning strategies they regularly use (the response to each item is ideally “yes”):
http://blogs.kqed.org/mindshift/2012/03/do-students-know-enough-smart-learning-strategies/

Fun Failure: How to Make Learning Irresistible

Failure is a positive act of creativity,” Katie Salen said. Scientists, artists, engineers, and even entrepreneurs know this as adults. But in schools, the notion of failure is complicated.
Any practice – athletic, artistic, even social – involves repeatedly failing till one gets the experience or activity right. We need to “keep the challenge constant so players are able to fail and try again,” she said. “It’s hard and it leads to something rewarding.”
But the opposite is true in school, Salen said. School usually gives students one chance to get something right; failing grades work against practice, mastery, and creativity. To keep kids motivated, learning needs to be irresistible, Salen said.
Here’s what she learned in terms of gaming principles that can be applied to education:

  • Don’t shoot the player while she’s learning.
  • Learning is social.
  • A strong sense of community creates safety.
  • Learning that empowers the learner helps make it irresistible.

Events & Happenings:

Calendar of Events:

Ohio Middle Level Association:

 

AMLE Affiliate Conferences:

Classroom 2.0’s Live Calendar.

AMLE, MSM, News, Podcast, TechBy Troy Patterson

MSM 200: In Conjunction With AMLE . . .

Jokes You Can Use:

Overheard:

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

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

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

On Our Mind:

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

Eileen Award:

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

Advisory:

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

Middle School Science Minute

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

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

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

From the Twitterverse:

*Dean Groom ‏ @Vormamim

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

  • Assignment Grader App for iPad: Desire2Learn Incorporated today announced the debut of Desire2Learn Assignment Grader.
*Kathy Rains ‏ @krains
* Scott McLeod ‏ @mcleod

  • New bookmark: Digital textbooks: U.S. Government ready for next chapter
* Vicki Davis ‏ @coolcatteacher
* isteconnects ‏ @isteconnects
 Scott McLeod ‏ @mcleod
*Glogster EDU ‏ @GlogsterEDU

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


News:

5 Vimeo Videos Every School Leader Should Bookmark

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

Resources:


35 Useful and Free E-books for Web Designers

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

Wild Animals

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

Web Spotlight:

If The Test Wasn’t Coming…

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

Fear And Self-Loathing In The Classroom

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

Events & Happenings:

Calendar of Events:

Ohio Middle Level Association:


AMLE Affiliate Conferences:


Classroom 2.0’s Live Calendar.

advisory, AMLE, ConferencesBy Troy Patterson

MSM 199: MAMSE Can you Hear us & a Major Announcement!

Jokes You Can Use:

What do you get when you cross a porcupine with a sheep?
An animal that knits it’s own sweaters.
What do you get when you cross a chicken with an elephant?
I don’t know, but Colonel Sanders would have trouble dipping it in batter.
If a dog loses his tail, where does he go?
To the retail store.

On Our Mind:

  • MAMSE
  • Major Announcement

Eileen Award:

  • John Bernia
  • Todd Bloch
  • Jeff Pelich

Advisory:

Even Disney Makes Mistakes:

Disney is a prolific company with its name on a great many successes, and it likes to hide its missteps and failures. The process of doing so sometimes helps those mistakes become things of legend. Song of the South, with its politically incorrect and racist portrayals of certain characters, is likely the most famous example. Another example might be The Sweatbox, a very rarely-seen documentary about the failed making of an animated film called Kingdom of the Sun, which eventually morphed into The Emperor’s New Groove. (Pictured above.)
The Sweatbox filmmakers John-Paul Davidson and Trudie Styler were given unprecedented access to Disney’s process and the resulting film painted the executives in such a negative light, they more or less made sure the film would never been seen in public.
Until now. For a little while at least. After the jump, you can watch the rarely seen 2002 documentary The Sweatbox.
http://www.slashfilm.com/watch-rare-disney-documentary-called-the-sweatbox/

Paper Toys

All kinds of paper projects. You could have the kids make a “scene” or use it.
http://papertoys.com/

Middle School Science Minute

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

This middle school science minute is about the misconceptions that middle school students have about light. In the February 2012 issue of Science Scope (NSTA publication) Amber Haslag and James P. Concannon wrote an article entitled: “Reflecting on students’ misconceptions about light: Using research to guide assessment and instruction”  They begin by sharing data on a study done through Michigan State University, which identifies the misconceptions that students have about light.  They then developed a two-day 5E lesson that helps students to clarify their misunderstandings.  After the lesson, they evaluate the students on their understanding of light.

 

From the Twitterverse:

* Angela Cunningham ‏ @kyteacher
More of my social studies LiveBinders: #edcampss
* International Center ‏ @RigorRelevance
RT @lmsahistory: I used to host Tedtalk Tuesdays at my school for staff and students. Watch one talk during lunch and discuss it. #edcampss
*Ron Peck ‏ @Ron_Peck
RT @sjunkins: Teaching History with the Silent Film Director app http://goo.gl/Fi7M8 #edcampss #sschat
 Aaron Eyler ‏ @Aaron_Eyler
My Socratic seminar page: #edcampsshttp://www.aaroneyler.com/-the-roundtable
* Ron Peck ‏ @Ron_Peck
Socratic Seminar activity instructions: and I’ll find the other forms a little later. #edcampss #sschat
 Distance Education ‏ @onlinecourse
Bad Habits Mean Bad Grades: Seven Habits That Could Be Hurting Your GPA. – http://dedu.org/9ZrrXD
 Scott McLeod ‏ @mcleod
New bookmark: Questioning Culture and Technology: Students’ Stories at DML Conference
 Terie Engelbrecht ‏ @mrsebiology
Problem and Project Based Learning Activities: #edchat #pblchat #midleved #elemchatOverview of standards-based grading rationale: #edchat #midleved #elemchat
Holly Pate ‏ @hollyeduc8r
Think-Pair-Share Variations http://ow.ly/1J3xt1 #edchat #edtech #edfocus
 George Couros ‏ @gcouros
RT @justintarte: “What makes a great middle grades principal?” – Nice list here! #edchat #cpchat #midleved
* Terie Engelbrecht ‏ @mrsebiology
Seven Literacy Strategies That Work: #edchat #midleved #elemchatRT @Edu_Thompson: Tips for Writing Instructional Objectives – Bloom’s Taxonomy Job Aids #edchat #midleved #elemchat
* AMLE ‏ @AMLEnews
Web 2.0 Collaborative Projects in the Middle School RT @JillBromen #midleved #edchatSeeking student art for the front cover of Middle School Journal http://bit.ly/AexZ6A #midleved
* Scott Eveslage ‏ @LeeVegas20
Video Tutorial on Using Flipsnack – Make your pdf’s into an interactive flip book: http://h30411.www3.hp.com/posts/1080357-VIDEO_Interactive_flip_books?mcid=Twitter #SetHU15 #midleved #cpchat #sschat
* pipoclub ‏ @juegospipo

20 Ways to Use Edmodo: http://slidesha.re/vMyxiN #edchat #edtech #midleved #elemchat RT @mrsebiology

 

 

MAMSE 2012


Formative Assessment

Formative assessment.
Fowlerville and Flatrock have also implemented this.

MDE and Measured Progress

  • Self reflection
  • Goal Setting
  • Prior Knowledge


Formative Assessment Toolbox ( A really thick binder – 4″, I do believe)

  • Non-negotiables
  • Rationale
  • Explanation
  • Ways to Incorporate
  • Grading Scale – How do we grade? Why?  Chose a 13 point scale.


ZAP – Zero’s Aren’t Permitted

Students are ZAPPED for lunch and after school. 3 Zaps in a week=after school.

Principal is heavily involved. Counselors are used to follow up with the student. The counselor does the scheduling of the student with the parent for after school ZAP.

This is also combined with the after school programs for support for students who are struggling.

This is more immediate than Saturday school. The issue with Saturday school was the delay.

They use Advisory for communication. They rely on the relationship development through Advisory to support the ZAP.

 

Collaborative Team work

Touch the numbers in order. 30 seconds to touch them in order. Then pair up. One person touches, the other helps.

Shows that you are more effective in a group. They usually get farther.

Wordles:
Group works together. Combine different groups.
When done, give out the answers, then process.
Teacher takes notes on what happens: groups talk things out. The teacher role is to observe and then help the students process.

Trying these out, the students respond genuinely.

IZZI:
8×8.

 

Resources:

Zopler

Zopler is a social network where writers, authors and students can easily collaborate on writing stories together as a group.
http://zopler.com/

 

Events & Happenings:

Calendar of Events:

Ohio Middle Level Association:


AMLE Affiliate Conferences:


Classroom 2.0’s Live Calendar.

 

Tagline:

UncategorizedBy Troy Patterson

Major Announcement Coming!

That’s right, we’ll have a major announcement on the next podcast. We are really excited about this upcoming AnnouceMent. LEt’s just say that we are super excited!

We think that you’ll be excited too when you hear this announcement.

Listen to the next podcast for details.

advisory, AMLE, Lesson Plan, MSM, News, Podcast, Strategy, TechBy Troy Patterson

MSM 198: Advisory, Abolition and the War on Teachers in 53 Hours.

Jokes You Can Use:

Boy: Will you marry me?
Girl: No, but I’ll always admire your good taste.

Girl: I’m telling you for the last time- you can’t kiss me.
Boy: I knew that you’d weaken!

Girl: Do you love me?
Boy: Yes, dear.
Girl: Would you die for me?
Boy: Um….mine is an undying love.

Ask me what I had for lunch on March 15th.  Go ahead, ask me.

On Our Mind:

  • MAMSE Conference

Eileen Award:

  • Debbie Silver – Happy Birthday
  • Ashley Kurth
  • Diigo Groupees:  Karen Chopra & G2One Networking
  • Diigo Posters:  Steve Davis & Ron King

Advisory:

Are you a risk taker?

National Geographic has an article on why teens take risks.  Worth a read but I think the picture essay that goes with it is more valuable for the discussion it could generate around the classroom.
http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2011/10/teenage-brains/risk-quiz
Viewing Teens Positively:  http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2011/10/teenage-brains/teenagers-video
Pictures:  http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2011/10/teenage-brains/cahana-photography#/10-getting-tongue-pierced-670.jpg

Should I raise my hand?

http://twentytwowords.com/2012/03/15/should-you-raise-your-hand-in-class-a-flowchart/

 

Middle School Science Minute

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

This middle school science minute is about the topic of what drives public opinion.  In the March 2012 issue of Science Scope, within the Scope’s Scoops section, there is a news article entitled “What drives public opinion on climate change?”  The article cites a study by Robert Bruelle and colleagues from Drexel University who set out to identify the informational, cultural and political processes that influence public concern about climate change.  Their conclusion was that the driving factor that most influences public opinion on climate change is the mobilizing efforts of advocacy groups and elites.  It seems that that information-based science advocacy has had only a minor effect on public concern.

 

From the Twitterverse:

Richard Byrne New post: Calameo – Free Multimedia Publishing to iPads and Morehttp://goo.gl/fb/q0p8W
* Kyle Calderwood ‏ @kcalderw
Navigating Apple’s Discount App Program for Educators | #ipaded #edtech #edadmin http://goo.gl/tR2np
* Teachnology.com ‏ @TeachnologyNews
A teacher who is not dogmatic is simply a teacher who is not teaching. Gilbert K. Chesterton
*Daniel J. Lewis ‏ @theRamenNoodle
Top of the Irish to you and luck of the morning! #DyslexicLeprechaun #pointlesshashtag
* HEIDI HAYES JACOBS ‏ @HeidiHayesJacob
#AASSA2012http://edge.ascd.org/_SOCRATES-FAILS-TEACHER-EVALUATION/blog/5822005/127586.htmlCan’t go to #ascd12 in Philadelphia? ASCD is streaming 22 sessions virtually. More at http://ascd.social27.com #ascdvc12
* Nancy White ‏ @NancyW
Why My Six-Year-Old Students Have Digital Portfolios | Getting Smart http://gettingsmart.com/blog/2012/03/why-my-six-year-old-students-have-digital-portfolios/ via @Getting_Smart #edchat #edtech
* Lisa Thumann ‏ @lthumann
We’re talking about using #ibooks to replace textbooks in our admin roundtable #wetech12 anyone doing this already?
* dave mcquaid ‏ @davemcquaid
It’s the last day to sponsor me on my 90-mile, 5-hour, and hopefully rain-free quest. Any takers?
* Vicki Davis ‏ @coolcatteacher
This free tool let’s you apply Bloom’s in your classroom http://vsb.li/6A9aNq #teaching #edtech – (May not work in Safari. Works fine in Firefox and Chrome)
* Virtual Nerd ‏ @VirtualNerd
Don’t let decimals get in the way of your long division fun! Check out how to handle decimals in long division:
* Amanda Dykes ‏ @amandacdykes
This would be so fun to have in my classroom. Its like a photo booth that takes onstage am pics. http://instaprint.me/
* Terie Engelbrecht ‏ @mrsebiology
Ideas for Podcasting in the Classroom: #edchat #edtech #midleved #elemchatBloom’s Taxonomy Web 2.0 Livebinder: Digital resources by level #edchat #edtech #midleved #elemchat
* Richard Byrne ‏ @rmbyrne
Smart Tools for Your Android Device http://ow.ly/9Fe01
* Rich Kiker ‏ @rkiker

Middle Schoolers Flash Mob for Reading
* Edmodo ‏ @edmodo
EdmodoCon 2012 is coming this summer Planning committee selection in April — @betsywhalen will be updating with details! #edmodo
* russeltarr ‏ @russeltarr
A collection of my favourite IPad resources #edtech
Watch the hashtag #midleved for daily tidbits.

 

 

News:

Why the Ed Department should be reconceived — or abolished

Over time, the Department of Education has become increasingly bureaucratic and invasive, and has formulated its policies on questionable information that appears to emanate from hunches, anecdotes, whims, and fads, buttressed by corroborating evidence from ideologically friendly think tanks and media blowhards.
Arne Duncan is only the latest, although probably the most test-obsessed, person to occupy the seat of U.S. secretary of education. A lot of people trace the testing movement that he currently enforces with a vengeance back to Rod Paige, George W. Bush’s first secretary of education and architect of the Houston Miracle.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/post/why-the-ed-department-should-be-reconceived–or-abolished/2012/03/09/gIQAHfdB5R_blog.html

 

The war on teachers: Why the public is watching it happen

All over the nation, teachers are under attack. Politicians of both parties, in every state, have blamed teachers and their unions for the nation’s low standing on international tests and our nation’s inability to create the educated labor force our economy needs.
In New York State, where teacher evaluations were just released to the press, the state Legislature just passed — and the governor signed — a bill that exempted police and firefighters from having their evaluations released to the public. What better symbolizes the way teachers have become “fair game” for public demonization?
There is another more insidious consequence of the attack on teaching. Every time you undermine the job security, working conditions, and wages of one group of workers, it makes it easier for employers to undermine them for all workers. This is why, during the Depression, many unemployed people organized in support of workers on strike, even though anybody with a job in that era was relatively privileged. They believed in the concept of solidarity — the idea that working people could only progress if they did so together, and if one group of workers improved their conditions, it would ultimately improve conditions for all.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/post/the-war-on-teachers-why-the-public-is-watching-it-happen/2012/03/11/gIQAD3XH6R_blog.html

Survey: Teachers work 53 hours per week on average

Teaching is a much talked about yet often misunderstood profession. Educators frequently hear well-meaning comments from parents and friends like “It must be so sweet to spend your days with children” or “How wonderful to be done for the day by three o’clock.” Are they serious?
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/post/survey-teachers-work-53-hours-per-week-on-average/2012/03/16/gIQAqGxYGS_blog.html

 

A South Carolina Teacher’s Been Suspended for Reading ‘Ender’s Game’ to His Class

A middle school teacher who read to his students from Ender’s Game is on “administrative leave” because a parent complained to the school that Orson Scott Card’s classic novel is “pornographic.”
Children’s advocacy group Commonsensemedia.org has recommended Ender’s Game for children aged 12 and up — and the child whose mother complained to the school and to the police was aged 14.
But at the same time, the school has a policy requiring teachers to “preview” any supplemental material they present in class, so school officials can check for offensive ideas or themes, and the unnamed teacher did not do that in this case.
http://thinkprogress.org/alyssa/2012/03/16/446431/a-south-carolina-teachers-been-suspended-for-reading-enders-game-to-his-class/?mobile=nc

 

Resources:

AudioViator

What is AudioViator?

AudioViator is a collaborative project among internet users. With AudioViator you can create and download audioguides in several languages and share your knowledge with people while they visit monuments, cities, nature reserves and anything else you can imagine! We know it’s just not the same to visit a city or a museum if you have to read large texts and carry heavy guides. It’s much better when you can listen to the history and explanations of the best spots and their details. This is why AudioViator wants to spread culture with your collaboration.

Creating your own:

It’s very easy! You only need to sign up to have all the necessary files for editing the audioguides. You can register in three easy steps. And rest assured, AudioViator will never use your email for advertising purposes! Then, start to edit your audioguide by filling in its main characteristics, giving a general description, and attaching a map or other image where you can plot the different points for the audioguide tour.
Next, you need to complete the informational text for each point. Later, you can choose the background music and the kind of the voice, a male or female one. Then, we dub all the texts and the audioguide will be available on the web. You will receive an e-mail when its ready for download.

How Can you Use the Audio Tours?

You are free to copy, distribute, display, and perform the work under the conditions set on http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/ You may not use this work for commercial purposes. You must attribute the work in the manner specified by AudioViator. You may not alter, transform, or build upon this work.. With these audioguides, you can

  1. listen to them on your mp3 when you travel
  2. share them with your friends
  3. help people to get to know your city
  4. insert them in a blog
  5. teach with them in schools and universities
  6. .  .  .

http://www.audioviator.com/en/

Web Spotlight:

11 Peculiar Meetings Between Famous People

You’d expect famous people to know other famous people. But maybe not these famous people.

1. Nikita Khrushchev & Marilyn Monroe

2. Samuel Beckett & André the Giant

3. T.S. Eliot & Groucho Marx

4. Federico Fellini & Stan Lee

5. James Brown & Alfred Hitchcock

6. The Beatles & Elvis Presley

7. Elvis Presley & Richard Nixon

8. Edgar Allan Poe & Charles Dickens

9. Orson Welles & Adolf Hitler

10. Bob Dylan & Woody Guthrie

11. Steve Jobs & Andy Warhol

http://www.worldsstrangest.com/mental-floss/11-peculiar-meetings-between-famous-people/

Strategies:

Failure Is an Option

Children may perform better in school if they are told that failure is a normal part of learning, rather than being pressured to succeed at all costs, according to new research published by the American Psychological Association.
The students who were told that learning is difficult performed significantly better on the working memory test, especially on more difficult problems, than the second group or a third control group who took the working memory test without doing the anagrams or talking with researchers.
http://psychcentral.com/news/2012/03/13/for-better-learning-failure-is-an-option/35920.html

 

Little Free Library

http://www.littlefreelibrary.org/index.html  

 

The Challenge of Challenging Text

How is reading complex text like lifting weights? Just as it’s impossible to build muscle without weight or resistance, it’s impossible to build robust reading skills without reading challenging text. The common core state standards in language arts treat text difficulty as akin to weight or resistance in an exercise program.

http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/mar12/vol69/num06/The-Challenge-of-Challenging-Text.aspx

Events & Happenings:

Calendar of Events:

Ohio Middle Level Association:


AMLE Affiliate Conferences:


Classroom 2.0’s Live Calendar.

advisory, Conferences, MSM, News, Podcast, TechBy Troy Patterson

MSM 197: Online, Hugs are Value added.

Jokes You Can Use:

Teacher: Why didn’t you brush your teeth this morning?
Student: How do you know?
Teacher: I can see what you had for breakfast.
Student: Really, then what did you have?
Teacher: Eggs.
Student: No I didn’t! That was yesterday.

On Our Mind:

  • MACUL
  • State wide on-line testing

 

 

Eileen Award:

  • Liz Kolb
  • Carol Hix of Science Six:  Recommendations:  lulu.com and Edmodo.com, Google Docs, Twiddla, www.mixedink.com.


Advisory: National Geographic ‏ @NatGeo

 

 

Middle School Science Minute

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

This middle school science minute is about the collaboration that can take place between math and science teachers. In the February 2012 issue of Science Scope (NSTA publication) Karen Charles, J.D. Canales, Angela Smith and Natalie Zimmerman wrote an article entitled: “Exploring the Solar System:? Let the Math Teachers Help!”  They explain how attending a week long academy offered by NASA in their school district encouraged math and science teachers to consider how using models and simulations could expand their repertoire of classroom strategies and engage students more fully in their own context-rich learning.

 

From the Twitterverse:

Dr. Phil @DrPhil“Everything in my life that’s been really important to me … has come because all my plans failed.” bit.ly/wL5BNx
Richard Byrne @rmbyrne“@dwarlick: “If you’re going to write I want it to be in a way that I can interact with you..” Ken Shelton – #ncties #ncties12”
* MACUL ‏ @MACUL
* Ben Rimes ‏ @techsavvyed
* Marialice BFX Curran ‏ @mbfxc
* Dr. Justin Tarte ‏ @justintarte
* Angela Anderson ‏ @AnAnderson7
* Teachnology.com ‏ @TeachnologyNews
* Mike Wendland ‏ @pcmike

  • What to do with your old iPad and other tech gear- PC Mike’s Tech and Gadget Blog ht.ly/9zD78
*Diane Ravitch ‏ @DianeRavitch

Hide media
* Will Richardson ‏ @willrich45
* National Geographic ‏ @NatGeo

 

 

News:

American Dropouts: Part I

http://transformed.teachingquality.org/blogs/03-2012/american-dropouts-part-i

 

A Lesson in Teaching to the Test, From E.B. White

White’s wonderful book about a mute swan given voice by a trumpet stolen for him by his father, “The Trumpet of the Swan,” contains the following passage that in a few paragraphs beautifully evokes the elementary-school classroom of yesteryear – and, we should all hope, of tomorrow. (The episode is at the close of the chapter entitled “School Days.”)
In light of current controversies around testing and teacher evaluation, let’s do a little thought experiment. How would Miss Snug have handled this lesson if it were occurring just before a round of standardized testing? Would she not have had to interrupt the children’s speculations and instructed them that actual circumstances in word problems must be completely disregarded, because the point is to arrive at the answer the test designers have in mind?
http://www.nytimes.com/schoolbook/2012/03/07/a-lesson-in-teaching-to-the-test-from-e-b-white

 

School Communities Wrecked by “Value-Added”: Two Must-Reads

Top-notch reporter Bill Turque at the Washington Post dropped this barnburner article today about Sarah Wysocki, a DCPS teacher who received praise from everyone she worked with… and then got fired over test scores. The whole article is a must-read, but the thing that leaped most off the page to me was how likely it seems that Wysocki, a fifth grade teacher, was the victim of a sinister consequence of high-stakes testing: cheating.
Would you want your child’s teachers working within this system— one ready to dole out public humiliation over the most arbitrary, minute stat movements?
Who is being educated— and what are they really learning from this?
http://transformed.teachingquality.org/blogs/get-fracas/03-2012/school-communities-wrecked-value-added-two-must-reads

Resources:

Mixed Ink

MixedInk’s collaborative writing platform allows groups of any size to weave their best ideas and language into a single text. Cutting-edge government agencies, news organizations, advocacy groups, and businesses use MixedInk to gather meaningful input and give their communities a voice.
http://www.mixedink.com/

 

K20Alt – Authentic Teaching and Learning

K20alt allows educators from around the country the opportunity to collaborate, dialogue, engage in lesson study and creation, and acquire content-specific PD all at the touch of a button through Virtual Communities of Practice. These groups are meant to engage and empower educators by providing a means by which they can share expertise, create content, and improve pedagogy. The free services that are provided within these Virtual Communities of Practice are outlined below.
http://k20alt.ou.edu/

 

10 Open Education Resources You May Not Know About (But Should)

This week, the OCW Consortium is holding its annual meeting, celebrating 10 years of OpenCourseWare. The movement to make university-level content freely and openly available online began a decade ago, when the faculty at MIT agreed to put the materials from all 2,000 of the university’s courses on the Web.
But as open educational resources and OCW increase in popularity and usage, there are a number of new resources out there that do offer just that. You probably already know about:Khan Academy and Wikipedia, for example. But in the spirit of 10 years of OCW, here’s a list of 10 cool OER and OCW resources that you might not know about, but should know:
http://mindshift.kqed.org/2011/05/10-open-education-resources-you-may-not-know-about-but-should/

 

CloudFTP

Create a wireless document server with CloudFTP and your own personal flash drive.  Bypass the district network altogether!  Avoid those nasty “I forgot my password!” comments in class.  Get a Cloud (FTP)!
http://www.hypershop.com/CloudFTP-p/cftp-black.htm  

Web Spotlight:


Stop Taking Pictures of the Whiteboard

http://www.edsocialmedia.com/2012/02/stop-taking-pictures-of-the-whiteboard/

GenoChoice

Good for web site evaluation.
http://genochoice.com/

 

Inside-Out Your Mind

Derek Sivers made a lot of money in the online music business and now lives in Singapore. He’s an entrepreneur, and when he gives talks, he shows his audience how different cultures think, well…oppositely.
http://www.npr.org/blogs/krulwich/2012/03/02/147825237/inside-out-your-mind?ft=1&f=1130

 

The Civil War, Part 1: The Places

Last year marked the 150th anniversary of the start of the American Civil War, a milestone commemorated by The Atlantic in a special issue (now available online). Although photography was still in its infancy, war correspondents produced thousands of images, bringing the harsh realities of the frontlines to those on the home front in a new and visceral way. As brother fought brother and the nation’s future grew uncertain, the public appetite for information was fed by these images from the trenches, rivers, farms, and cities that became fields of battle. Today’s collection is part 1 of 3, covering the places of the Civil War: the battleships, prisons, hospitals, urban centers, and rural pastures where history was made. Tomorrow’s installment features some of the people involved in the conflict, and on Friday I’ll be sharing some of the amazing three-dimensional stereographs of the war. Keep in mind, as you view these photographs, that they were taken 150 years ago — providing a glimpse of a United States that was only 85 years old at the time.
http://www.theatlantic.com/infocus/2012/02/the-civil-war-part-1-the-places/100241

 

Old Maps Online

http://www.oldmapsonline.org/#bbox=-110.3125,-51.774806,119.609375,72.104237&q=&datefrom=1000&dateto=2010

 

Events & Happenings:

Calendar of Events:

AMLE Affiliate Conferences:


Classroom 2.0’s Live Calendar.

MSM, News, Podcast, Tech, Web SpotlightBy Troy Patterson

MSM 196: iPads, Too much good stuff, and Paper (li & plane)

Jokes You Can Use:

Some people think that movies would be better if less film were shot and more actors.

On Our Mind:


Eileen Award:


Advisory:

Languages

http://ourmothertongues.org/Home.aspx

Paper AirPlanes

http://twentytwowords.com/2012/02/29/new-world-record-distance-for-a-paper-airplane-flight/

Middle School Science Minute

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

This middle school science minute is about life jackets, engineering, volume and density. In the February 2012 issue of Science Scope (NSTA publication) Richard Moyer and Susan Everett wrote an article entitled: “Increase your v to lower your D.”  They developed a 5E lesson that can easily be used by teachers.  The lesson integrates all of the STEM disciplines, while focusing on the core ideas of criteria and constraints in engineering and the practice of engineering design.  It also is focused on the concepts of density and volume.

BTW, Dick Moyer, in this article, teaches over at UM-Dearborn.  Pretty well known in the area.

From the Twitterverse:

* patrizia ‏ @4titania
* Jane Balvanz ‏ @JaneBalvanz
* Will Richardson ‏ @willrich45
* Kevin Creutz ‏ @kevcreutz
* Will Richardson ‏ @willrich45
* Larry Ferlazzo ‏ @Larryferlazzo
* Vicki Davis ‏ @coolcatteacher

  • All About Creative Commons And Copyright – LiveBinder – Steven Anderson’s livebinder on creative commons and… vsb.li/cQKeCl
* Ryan Gallwitz ‏ @rgallwitz
* Tom Whitby ‏ @tomwhitby

  • Virginia Teachers Plan “Wake” For Public Education In Light Of Bill That Slashes Retirement Benefits zite.to/wGpi8R #Edchat
* Diane Ravitch ‏ @DianeRavitch

Don’t forget #midleved on Friday, 8:00 EST on Twitter!

News:

ISTE Virtual Presence

ISTE opens a site on EduIsland9 to replace the four islands it once maintained in Second Life.

The Middle School Plunge

In 2010, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg (North Carolina) school district shuttered four of its eight middle schools, opting to serve students in elementary schools spanning kindergarten through grade 8. In so doing, it followed in the footsteps of urban school districts such as Baltimore, Milwaukee, Philadelphia, and New York City, all of which have in the past decade expanded their reliance on the once ubiquitous K–8 model.
…policymakers nationwide continue to wrestle with a basic question: At what grade level should students move to a new school?
http://educationnext.org/the-middle-school-plunge/

Resources:

iPad Resources for Administrators

From: Eric Sheninger
http://pinterest.com/esheninger/ipad-apps-for-administrators/

HelloSlide

Simply type the speech for each slide, instead of recording it, and HelloSlide automagically generates the audio.
It gives more exposure to your presentations, making them searchable, editable, and available in 20 different languages.
http://www.helloslide.com/

Canvas LMS

Learning enriches living. Discover how major universities and K-12 school districts are boosting teacher effectiveness, student success and parental engagement with the Canvas learning management system.

Learn more about canvas

http://www.instructure.com/

1,000 Educational Apps

Sure, there are plenty of apps you can use in education. There are even apps created specifically for use in education. Apple has a whole category dedicated to education in the App store. But how do you really know which ones are worth downloading, or possibly even paying for?
TCEA (Texas Computer Education Association) to the rescue! TCEA regularly tests available apps andrecommends apps that teachers should be using.
TCEA maintains a list of recommended apps in a shared document via Google Docs. The list is organized by subject area and free apps are color coded in white.
http://adecardy.visibli.com/share/C46fkd

*Tip: You can access the Google Doc below. Select Make a Copy. You can then filter the document to items that you want.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AvFbfb1mWoNwdGlweWtkZkFRS1gzUDMtTUtoTEw0MkE#gid=0

Web Spotlight:

“Bully” gets rated R

The MPAA rated the movie R on the basis of language used in the film — language that young teens hurled at a 13-year-old.
http://www.thewrap.com/movies/article/weinstein-company-considers-leaving-mpaa-over-bully-rating-35681

Cognitive Neuroscience Tools

FreeEDUCATIONAL TOOLS FOR COGNITIVE NEUROSCIENCE
Free access to materials for students, educators, and researchers in cognitive psychology and cognitive neuroscience.
Includes Memory Tests that students can take.
Sections include:

  • Change Blindness
  • Visual Search
  • Implicit Memory Test
  • Monsters & Globes Problem


This includes videos, demos and more.
This site could be used for Current Events, Social Studies, Science and more.
http://gocognitive.net/

Stop Selling Dreams

What is school for?

The economy has changed, probably forever.

School hasn’t.

School was invented to create a constant stream of compliant factory workers to the growing businesses of the 1900s. It continues to do an excellent job at achieving this goal, but it’s not a goal we need to achieve any longer.

In this 30,000 word manifesto, I imagine a different set of goals and start (I hope) a discussion about how we can reach them. One thing is certain: if we keep doing what we’ve been doing, we’re going to keep getting what we’ve been getting.


Our kids are too important to sacrifice to the status quo.

http://www.squidoo.com/stop-stealing-dreams

Socrates Fails his Teacher Evaluation

The results were posted in the Agora for all to see  the quality and performance of their teacher.  Socrates failed.    He simply spent too much time asking them to think.   A walk- through evaluation by his supervisor (undisclosed), determined that “ sometimes Socrates’s  students meander through endless dialogues examining challenging questions that do not have one right answer.”    Hopefully, he will be replaced or perhaps go through an intensive summer professional development program in Sparta.
http://edge.ascd.org/_SOCRATES-FAILS-TEACHER-EVALUATION/blog/5822005/127586.html

Students Engaged

So, how do they know if a student is engaged? What do “engaged” students look like? In my many observations, here’s some evidence to look for:
http://www.edutopia.org/blog/student-engagement-definition-ben-johnson

12 Must See Teacher Movies

http://www.teachhub.com/top-12-must-see-teacher-movies 

AMLE 2011:

Events & Happenings:

Calendar of Events:

Association of Middle Level Education

  • Annual Conference

AMLE Affiliate Conferences:

Classroom 2.0’s Live Calendar.

advisory, MSM, News, Podcast, Strategy, TechBy Troy Patterson

MSM 195: Conversion, Collaborate, and Smell.

Jokes You Can Use:

Fred met a friend that he hadn’t seen a while. They exchanged some pleasantries. Fred then inquired about the old friend’s wife.
“She’s in heaven now”.
“Oh, I’m so sorry”, said Fred. He immediately realized that this was not the best possible answer and could be misconstrued.
“I mean, I’m glad” he stammered.
Then he realized that might be even worse. He tried again.
“Well, what I really mean is, I’m surprised”.

Paraprosdokians

  • I used to be indecisive. Now I’m not so sure.
  • You’re never too old to learn something stupid.
  • To be sure of hitting the target, shoot first and call whatever you hit the target.
  • Going to church doesn’t make you a Christian any more than standing in a garage makes you a car.
  • We never really grow up; we only learn how to act in public.
  • I want to die peacefully in my sleep, like my grandfather, not screaming and yelling like the passengers in his car.
  • I asked God for a bike, but I know God doesn’t work that way. So I stole a bike and asked for forgiveness.
  • If you are supposed to learn from your mistakes, why do some people have more than one child?
  • Hospitality: making your guests feel like they’re at home, even if you wish they were.
  • Some cause happiness wherever they go. Others whenever they go.
  • Always borrow money from a pessimist. He won’t expect it back.
  • “I’ve had a perfectly wonderful evening, but this wasn’t it.” — Groucho Marx
  • I can read minds, but I’m illiterate.
  • “I haven’t slept for ten days, because that would be too long.” — Mitch Hedberg
  • The early bird might get the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese.


On Our Mind:


Eileen Award:

  • Ron King:  Diigo contributions.


Advisory: Jason Eifling ‏ @jeifling

Building Relationships Through Tools of Communication

Chris Klein is a graduate of Hope College, and is the driving force for Clay Vessel Inc (http://www.clayvesselinc.org ), a not-for-profit resource for assistive technology. Chris was born with cerebral palsy, and uses augmentative communication to help support his work with Clay Vessel, be a Motivational Speaker, be an active member of his community and local church, and live independently in Holland, Michigan. Chris strives to live his life to the fullest.

This video was produced by Chris Klein and David McNaughton as part of the work of the AAC-RERC (http://aac-rerc.com ). The AAC-RERC is funded by NIDRR under grant #H133E080011.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dupabkw46Qk

Pictures from Around the World

In 1909, millionaire French banker and philanthropist Albert Kahn decided to enlist the era’s burgeoning photographic technology in a mission far greater than aesthetic fetishism, and set out to use the new autochrome — the world’s first true color photographic process, invented by the Lumière brothers in 1903 and marketed in 1907 — to produce a color photographic record of human life on Earth as a way of promoting peace and fostering cross-cultural understanding.
http://www.brainpickings.org/index.php/2012/02/23/the-dawn-of-the-color-photograph-albert-kahn/

Middle School Science Minute

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

Eww, that smell. Can’t you smell that smell?!

This middle school science minute is about safety in the classroom. In the January, 2012 issue of Science Scope (NSTA publication) Ken Roy answered a question about foul odors found in some of the sinks in the back of a classroom.  He shares some possible solutions and some possible causes.

From the Twitterverse:

 Steven W. Anderson ‏ @web20classroom
 Diane Ravitch ‏ @DianeRavitch

  • @ctseymour @conncan @ctmirror Conservative economist Eric Hanushek found teachers account for 10-15% of score change, family=60%
  • NYC data is bunk. Uses state scores from 2007-2009, which state admits were bogus. 35 point margin of error. Why shame teachers w/this junk?
  • (Craig Westover)  @drgwbrown @DianeRavitch Can’t find in my Constitution where POTUS has authority to be involved in education. Help?
  • @CraigWestover @drgwbrown It’s not in Constitution. Education is supposedly a state and local function. Duncan doesn’t know that.
* Luann Lee ‏ @stardiverr

  • Nicely done. “@mikeklonsky: Teachers reject ed award – Connecticut Post bit.ly/A1FgfV “thanks but no thanks” to corp. reform group”
 Kevin Creutz ‏ @kevcreutz
 Ruth Ayres ‏ @ruth_ayres
 Scott McLeod ‏ @mcleod

  • New bookmark: The Curfew
  • New bookmark: A test for politicians on education (with cheat sheet) http://t.co/NywhDDnv
 John Norton ‏ @johncroftnorton
View media
 Larry Ferlazzo ‏ @Larryferlazzo

  • What Students Hear Is Sometimes Different From What Teachers Say bit.ly/ylnOlR fun comic
 pammoran ‏ @pammoran
 Michelle Nebel ‏ @mnebel
* Steve ‏ @2learn2
* ABC News ‏ @ABC

News:

Why don’t top private schools adopt corporate-driven reforms?

By Valerie Strauss
This was written by Bruce D. Baker, a professor in the Graduate School of Education at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. This first appeared on his School Finance 101 blog.
By Bruce D. Baker
Really… if running a school like a ‘business’ (or more precisely running a school as we like to pretend that ‘businesses’ are run… even though ‘most’ businesses aren’t really run the way we pretend they are) was such an awesome idea for elementary and secondary schools, wouldn’t we expect to see that our most elite, market oriented schools would be the ones pushing the envelope on such strategies?
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/post/why-dont-top-private-schools-adopt-corporate-driven-reforms/2012/02/17/gIQACrL3KR_blog.html?wprss=answer-sheet

Resources:

Looking for an image?

Try http://jpg.to/ . This site will return one image based upon your search criteria. This can be really handy if you want to find an image quickly without getting overly distracted.
http://jpg.to/

Collaborative Whiteboard

Mark up websites, graphics, and photos, or start brainstorming on a blank canvas. Browse the web with your friends or make that conference call more productive than ever. No plug-ins, downloads, or firewall voodoo – it’s all here, ready to go when you are. Browser-agnostic, user-friendly.
http://www.twiddla.com/

The iPad as…..

Over the past few months, iPads have exploded throughout schools and classrooms. Their flexibility, versatility, and mobility make them a phenomenal learning tool. In webinars and blog posts, we have talked about the iPad as….

  • Reader
  • Creator
  • Student Response System
  • Classroom Manager
  • Study Tool
  • Organizer
  • Differentiator


http://edtechteacher.org/index.php/teaching-technology/mobile-technology-apps/ipad-as

Transforming Education

For more than 150 years, the public school system in Connecticut has been successful at providing children with access to a quality education. But that’s no longer enough. Thanks to the dawn of the Information Age, the transition from a manufacturing economy to a service economy and the development of a global economy, a new system is needed to best prepare our children to succeed in 2011 and beyond.

In short, our public education must be transformed. With effective leadership and the help of every citizen in Connecticut, CAPSS truly believes that’s possible. This report recommends exactly how we can benefit all students in our state.

http://www.ctnexted.org/pdfs/CAPSS_0101-FullReport.pdf

Web Spotlight:

Woolly Mammoth Video

Last week, a new video surfaced claiming to show a live woolly mammoth — an animal scientists think has been extinct for at least four millennia — crossing a river in Russia.
The video became an Internet sensation, making headlines around the world. Some Bigfoot believers and Loch Ness Monster lovers murmured their tentative approval, hoping it proved that large unknown (or assumed extinct) animals still exist in Earth’s remote wilds.
Good opportunity to show hoaxes. This site includes both videos (the “woolly mammoth” and the original).
http://www.csmonitor.com/Science/2012/0213/Shocker-Video-of-live-woolly-mammoth-not-entirely-authentic-videos

Science & YouTube

From: Richard Byrne (Free Tech for Teachers)
The Spangler Effect is a new YouTube channel from Steve Spangler Science. Unlike his popular Sick Science videos which are no more than short demonstrations of science experiments students and parents can do at home, The Spangler Effect videos offer longer (15 minutes or so) explanations of science experiments. The Spangler Effect videos explain the science of do-it-yourself experiments and how you can recreate those experiments at home or in your classroom.
http://www.freetech4teachers.com/2012/02/spangler-effect-experiments-and.html

Bullying Strategies That Don’t Work

Via: Scott McLeod
In a review of bullying-reduction programs, Farrington and Ttofi (2009) found that interventions that involve peers, such as using students as peer mediators or engaging bystanders to disapprove of bullying and support victims of harassment, were associated with increases in victimization! In fact, of 20 program elements included in 44 school-based programs, work with peers was the only program element associated with significantlymore bullying and victimization. (In contrast, there were significant and positive effects for parent training and school meetings in reducing bullying.)
http://www.minddump.org/bullying-interventions-that-involve-student-p

Events & Happenings:

Calendar of Events:

Ohio Middle Level Association:

AMLE Affiliate Conferences:


Classroom 2.0’s Live Calendar.

advisory, MSM, News, Podcast, Strategy, Teaching Tip, Tech, Web SpotlightBy Troy Patterson

MSM 194: Para What? Para Dice? Para Pants?

Jokes You Can Use:

Customer: This food isn’t fit for a pig.
Waiter: I’m sorry. I’ll bring you some that is.

PARAPROSDOKIANS: (Winston Churchill loved them.)
Here is the definition:
“Figure of speech in which the latter part of a sentence or phrase is surprising or unexpected; frequently used in a humorous situation.”
“Where there’s a will, I want to be in it,” is a type of Paraprosdokian.

– A bus station is where a bus stops. A train station is where a train stops. On my desk, I have a work station.
– Whenever I fill out an application, in the part that says, ‘In case of emergency, notify:’ I put ‘DOCTOR.’
– You do not need a parachute to skydive. You only need a parachute to skydive twice.

On Our Mind:

“The ‘Good’ Kids Are Compliant, The ‘Bad’ Kids Are Defiant, And Nobody Is Engaged”
(Daniel Pink via http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/superintendent/bookclub.aspx )

Eileen Award:

  • Anabelle Maillard Morgan
  • Jamie Cruikshank
  • Congrats to Todd Williamson on his new position as Head Techie in his school district!


Advisory:

Touching “Arigato” (Thank You) Video From Japan

(via Larry Ferlazzo)
http://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/2012/02/12/touching-arigato-thank-you-video-from-japan/
YouTube Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=SS-sWdAQsYg

MistakeVille

Try the Job Interviews gone wrong.
http://www.mistakeville.com/

Middle School Science Minute

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

Transforming Field Trips
This middle school science minute is about transforming field trips. In the January, 2012 issue of Science Scope (NSTA publication) Rebecca Morris wrote an article entitled, “Transforming a Field Trip Into an Expedition: Supporting Active Research and Science Content Through a Museum Visit.”  Rebecca shares the methods that she used with her 6th grade students.  She developed the museum field trip into a short-term, active research project assignment.

From the Twitterverse:

 nancyflanagan @nancyflanagan
 Terie Engelbrecht @mrsebiology
 Rich Kiker @rkiker
 The Dennys @DoTheMathBooks

  • Your Education is worth what You are worth. -Anon #quote
 Jeff Johnson @iLEADCommunity
 Scott McLeod @mcleod

  • New bookmark: Virtual Jamestown
  • New bookmark: The Past, Present and Future of Badges for Learning
Don’t forget to join #midleved chat on Twitter at 8:00 pm EST!

News:

Common Core Standards and Impact on Achievement

“A final word on what to expect in the next few years as the development of assessments tied to the Common Core unfolds. The debate is sure to grow in intensity. It is about big ideas—curriculum and federalism. Heated controversies about the best approaches to teaching reading and math have sprung up repeatedly over the past century.18 The proper role of the federal government, states, local districts, and schools in deciding key educational questions, especially in deciding what should be taught, remains a longstanding point of dispute. In addition, as NCLB illustrates, standards with real consequences are most popular when they are first proposed. Their popularity steadily declines from there, reaching a nadir when tests are given and consequences kick in. Just as the glow of consensus surrounding NCLB faded after a few years, cracks are now appearing in the wall of support for the Common Core.
Don’t let the ferocity of the oncoming debate fool you. The empirical evidence suggests that the Common Core will have little effect on American students’ achievement. The nation will have to look elsewhere for ways to improve its schools.”
http://www.brookings.edu/~/media/Files/rc/reports/2012/0216_brown_education_loveless/0216_brown_education_loveless.pdf

The Opportunity Cost in Education

What does “paperwork” cost to a school district?
http://coolcatteacher.blogspot.com/2012/02/count-opportunity-cost-of-teacher-tasks.html

Resources:

Quadratic Equations – The Main Ideas

To help pupils see the bigger picture in topics I have decided to experiment with some conceptual card sorts. I worry sometimes that pupils just learn methods and can’t see the links between them. Teachers I know encourage their pupils to ‘build a map’ in their minds of topics and ideas so that when they are faced with a maths problem they can ‘navigate’ to the correct section of their mind map and start using the skills they know. I love this idea but do think it is a perhaps a bit too challenging to ask pupils to do this with no support. My aim in producing the conceptual card sorts it to help pupils in their categorisation and organisation of maths concepts in their minds.
http://www.greatmathsteachingideas.com/2012/02/16/quadratic-equations-the-main-ideas-a-card-sort-to-support-conceptual-understanding/

Mission US

Mission US is a multimedia project that immerses players in U.S. history content through free interactive games.
Mission 1: “For Crown or Colony?” puts players in the shoes of Nat Wheeler, a printer’s apprentice in 1770 Boston. They encounter both Patriots and Loyalists, and when rising tensions result in the Boston Massacre, they must choose where their loyalties lie.
In Mission 2: “Flight to Freedom,” players take on the role of Lucy, a 14-year-old slave in Kentucky.  As they navigate her escape and journey  to Ohio, they discover that life in the “free” North is dangerous and difficult. In 1850, the Fugitive Slave Act brings disaster. Will Lucy ever truly be free?
Other missions are planned for release in 2013 and 2014.
Join the conversation and get updates about Mission US on Facebook and Twitter.  For more information, visit the Help page.  To share your feedback, email us via the contact form on this site. Thanks for playing!
http://www.mission-us.org/

Web Spotlight:

Microsoft Partners in Learning Apply today US Forum

The US Forum is a celebration of innovative teaching practices and innovative schools. It is a unique experience open to all K–12 U.S. educators and school leaders to share what they’re doing in the classroom, exchange ideas and collaborate to inspire their professional practice.
How to Apply:
If you are an innovative educator, we would love for you to share your ideas! Simply click “apply to the forum” below and complete the application. The application will allow us to understand a little more about your school, classroom, and how you are impacting students.
https://www.facebook.com/partnersinlearning?sk=app_368381589844161

Strategies:


What’s Your Story

Welcome to the third annual What’s Your Story? video contest from Trend Micro. With so many amazing submissions in years past, we can’t wait to see what inspiring, informative and original videos you create this year!
What’s it all about? Sharing photos, downloading music, texting, doing schoolwork, keeping in touch with friends — with more people spending more time online, it’s more important than ever to know how to do it safely and responsibly.
That’s why you’re invited to join our contest. Submit and share a short video to help others stay safe, smart and responsible online and you could win $10,000, or other cash prizes.

What’s the deal?

Prizes: One $10,000 USD grand prize; six cash category prizes (three awarded to schools per entry category and three awarded to individuals per entry category). Prizes are in US Dollars or equivalent in Canadian Dollars at contest closing date.
Deadline: Upload by 11:59:59 PM US Pacific Time on April 3, 2012
Content: Your video must address one of these topics:

  • Take action against bullying
  • Keep a good rep online
  • Be cell smart

Eligibility: All residents of Canada (excluding Quebec) and the US, 13 years of age and older.

http://whatsyourstory.trendmicro.com/internet-safety/Home.do

National Archives Digital Experience

Create Posters, Videos and/or Pathways revolving around the material in the National Archives. Easy to use.
http://www.freetech4teachers.com/2012/02/create-videos-and-posters-on-us.html
http://www.digitalvaults.org/#/create/

Events & Happenings:

Calendar of Events:

Ohio Middle Level Association:

AMLE Affiliate Conferences:


Classroom 2.0’s Live Calendar.