Two Writing Teachers

"Two Writing Teachers" is a blog created by, you guessed it, two writing teachers. It's interesting to learn what not only goes on in their classrooms, but in their thought processes. Ruth Ayres and Stace Shubitz met in March 2007 while attending a conference, and they have remained in contact every day since then, despite the 800 miles between them.
One of their blog entries disccusses a mathematical rubric writing assignment. Now that is writing across the curriculum!

http://twowritingteachers.wordpress.com/

Non-Routine Math Problems

This site provides non-routine math problems that have been rated by viewers. I find many appropriate for use in classrooms. As with any resource, some are better than others so it is wise to review before using in classrooms.

http://mathforum.org/pow/other.html

Career Education in the Digital Age

"I watched a student use trigonometry to graph trajectories while building a catapult that launched a ping pong ball to land in an 8-ounce cup. His teacher had told me he couldn't add two numbers together," says Connecticut's Supervisor for Technology Education, Engineering, and Agricultural Education, Gregory Kane. Find out where the vocational education departments ended up after they were pushed out of high schools and how 21st Century Skills are embedded into training.
Read the article published in Technology & Learning - October 2007

FREE Online Vocabulary Tool

Tired of practicing the old fashioned way, a fifteen year old student created Quizlet. This free, online site has several methods for studying vocabulary words: flashcards, call and response, and testing, just to name a few. The user needs to only sign up for a free account (enter email and create a user name). Then enter the vocabulary words (chances are that they are entered already).

http://quizlet.com/

Forgetful? Email junkie? This might help!

There is a service online called jott where you can call their number from anywhere and leave a message for yourself, or for a group of your friends or coworkers, and it will translate your voice message into text and email you or your group. So if you've ever found yourself needing to remember vital information, but without a pen handy, just use your trusty cell phone to send yourself an email instead! There are also some very neat options for blogging from your cell (I did this the old fashioned way by typing it in) or using your cell to Twitter. The online service is free, but phone charges will vary by your agreement.

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Seeing Corporate Fingerprints in Wikipedia Edits

Remember what your mom told you? You can't believe everything you read? Wikipedia is a fine example of this. We must remember that this is a site that can be edited by anyone, so we shouldn't rely on the information to stand alone. It goes further than that now. Corporations can easily edit unfavorable articles about themselves to make them more positive. Likewise, consumers can easily edit articles to make them not so positive. The Wikiscanner has helped identify where ther entried are coming from. If an entry is coming from within the office of a corporation, then we can weigh that information carefully; if the edit is from a consumer, we can do the same. Either way, we must uyse a discriminating eye when reading ANY online information, not just that of Wikipedia.
This article, which discusses Wikipedia edits, was posted by a student in one of my online classes. It is from The New York Times. Check it out: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/19/technology/19wikipedia.html?pagewanted=2&_r=2&ref=technology

Digital Students at Analog Schools

This video was created by university students about their university experiences, but in too many of our K-12 classrooms, for a variety of reasons, the same situation exists--students are experiencing learning that is not taking advantage of all the tools they have access to outside the classrooms, and we are doing them a disservice by not teaching to their individuals needs as learners. Here's what these students had to say.

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Should schools block social networks/communication tools or utlize them?

TechnicallySpeaking@TIE: Should schools block social networks/communication tools or utlize them?

Click on the link directly above to read this TIE Tech blog.

What is your wiki wisdom?

Wiki's have grown in popularity and are being seen in increasing numbers in classrooms across the country. Wiki's are easy to use and are multi-faceted in their use in the classroom as well as throughout the education setting. According to Vicki Davis in Education Week's Digital Directions, “Wikis … allow you to get 100 percent participation.” To read more about this as well as find out where the word wiki comes from read the article below:

http://www.edweek.org/dd/articles/2007/09/12/02wiki.h01.html

One Laptop project offers machines to U.S. customers

As production of the One Laptop Per Child machines gets under way, the nonprofit will on Nov. 12 offer U.S. customers two laptops for $399, one for themselves and another for a child in Afghanistan, Cambodia, Haiti, and Rwanda. Denmark education professor Jan Soelberg said the early model he tried was a bit slow and buggy, but had the capabilities of any other modern laptop. BusinessWeek (9/24)

PowerPoint as an Effective Student Presentation Tool

PowerPoint has proven to be an engaging student presentation tool. However, is it also distracting? What's the best way to use it for student presentations? The article from Education World,"What's the Point of PowerPoint?", answers those questions and offers suggestions for its use in the classroom. It even includes a detailed lesson plan and rubric!


http://www.educationworld.com/a_tech/tech/tech204.shtml

Google Offers Free Presentation Tool

By signing up for a Google account, one can have access to Google Docs, an online word processor and spreadsheet developer. Why use these? The files can then be shared with anyone, and they are always available online. Suppose you are working on a report, and you need some help. With Google Docs, you can share the document with a friend and get his/her opinion.
Now Google is offering a free presentation tool that works very much like PowerPoint. Again, the presentation will always be available to you online and can be shared. This is a nice alternative if you do not have PowerPoint. To read the article from MSNBC, click http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20829609/.

Is User Education Pointless?

TechnicallySpeaking@TIE: Is User Education Pointless?

Please click on the link above to view the blog posting on TechnicallySpeaking@TIE.

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Generation YES

Generation YES has wonderful technology integration ideas for teachers. Students work with teachers to bring effective technology into the classrooms and libraries. The resulting collaboration provides the students with project-based learning and teachers with on-site, sustainable professional development. It is suitable for
Elementary, Middle, and High School.

Check out this blog article for an interactive graphic called a Voki - your students will love it!
Voki! A fun way to introduce yourself
or
Keeping Students Engaged On Many Levels - Fantasy Sports Leagues Teach Math

Assessing Preschools

Some states are creating an awareness of the preschools in their states. With a concern that some children begin school "behind," these states are proactive rather than reactive. Some critics argue that the state will not stop and begin placing unfair expectations on the preschool teachers - requiring them to get children to the level they need to be to enter school. I prefer to think of it as an assessment tool for parents when it comes to choosing preschools. As a parent, I would prefer to send my child to the preschool in which their graduates were doing well in kindergarten. There are pros and cons, but for now, I think it's a step in the right direction.

To read the article, "States Move Toward Closer Scrutiny of Preschools" from Education Week go to http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2007/09/12/03texas.h27.html

Make Your Life Less Hectic

We all know that teachers do not just teach; the job description goes far beyond that. Most teachers also take on extracurricular duties, from coaching the golf team to organizing the concession stand. It seems the time spent to arrange the necessary meetings and distributing information takes more time than a teacher has. Simplify your life: use a wiki. By creating a wiki, you can post schedules, eliminate the need for some meetings, and keep everyone informed.

For example, you are the staff sponsor for the school newspaper. Topics must be discussed, deadlines must be met, and finally, the paper must be published. Put some responsibility on the students. Create a wiki space where you can post deadlines. Award editing privileges to your editors. Now they can post the deadlines and any other information. Invite the other newspaper staffers to a discussion on possible topics to be covered.

The wiki is a good place to put football schedules, including the time the bus leaves. With the information on the internet, the parents can check out the information, rather than calling the school or the student. Include extra-curricular guidelines, coach's expectations, and maybe a weekly summary of the competitions.

Maintaining the communication line between students and coaches over the summer can be difficult. Use the wiki to post summer camp information. What camp will your band be attending? How long will the basketball team be gone? If you are a band or vocal instructor who gives lessons over the summer, use the wiki to post your schedule. Now the students and parents can check the wiki.

These are only a few uses for the wiki; the possibilities are endless. Even more satisfying is that the wiki is so easy to use. For more information on wikis go to: http://jrising.tie.wikispaces.net/Wiki

Google Earth Adds Astronomy Feature

Google Earth Adds Astronomy Feature
Please click the link directly above to view this posting on TechnicallySpeaking@TIE.

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Happy new year!

As the 2007-2008 school year begins teachers are searching to find new, innovative ways to teach content in a more exciting way than last year. Open Education Resources or OER is an online resource overflowing with ideas for every classroom. OER offer new ways to engage with free-to-use learning content.

OER Commons now features over 1200 K-12 lesson plans from LEARN NC, licensed under Creative Commons, in this case, the Attribution-NonCommerical-ShareAlike License. Terms specify that you may use, share, distribute, and modify these materials for your non-commercial purposes by crediting the creator and sharing your derivative works in a like manner.

Amee Godwin, Program director for OER Commons shared the following in her online newsletter. Speaking of favorites, we'd like to feature an example of an innovative lesson plan accompanied by activities, assignments, teaching strategies, and assessments for the Secondary Grade Level: An Ad for An Element: A lesson plan for Grades 9–12 Chemistry and Physical Science from LEARN NC. Students prepare an ad for an element, including properties and uses, in an attention getting format such as that used in the advertising business.

Comments from the author:"My students really showed creativity and enthusiasm in doing this activity. I have had every form of ad turned in from video commercials to pamphlets to movie posters."

See LEARN NC items on OER Commons

Bullying

In contrast to popular belief, bullying was man's first invention, even before fire and the wheel. Come on, do you really believe that every cave person liked each other? I'm certain that poor Ooga Ooga was taunted by his cavemates. I can see it now: the other cavekids edge him closer and closer to the mouth of the cave just as TRex is happening by. Ooga Ooga is consumed by fear and cries out just as the bullies pull him back into the cave in time to escape the jaws of the dinosaur. Outrageous? Maybe, maybe not.
As teachers, we want our students to feel safe; it's one of our goals to create a comfortable environment for our students. Sometimes with bullying we don't know what to do. Why? We are led to believe that by drawing attention to it, we are creating more angst for the victim. In addition, we don't recognize it.
Have you ever been bullied? Or were you the bully? I spent a year of my teens being a target. Each day was torture. Let me add that it's difficult enough being a teenage girl without having to worry about bullying. I could not walk down the hallway (that's right, singular, small school) of my school without having someone yell the name that had been circulated as my "nickname." I can remember when it started, or when it came to my attention. It was during our basketball season of my sophomore year. I was standing on the court during the fourth quarter when I began to hear this chant of initials. I didn't quite understand; I didn't get what "PBT" stood for. It took me several minutes to realize it was being yelled at me. And so it began...
No other student could even address me without saying, "Hey, PBT." What is this new nickname? Pit bull terrier. That's right. I was compared to a dog, and not a cute, fluffy canine. When I would address another student, he would bark as I spoke. Boys would roll down their car windows and bark at me. During class, when the teacher would read the answers to the multiple choice test, and say, "'D' as in dog," all eyes were upon me, and my nickname was shouted. I tried to ignore it, but it didn't go away. Where was all this coming from?
The bullying and teasing went on and on. Once an upper classman and I happened to be wearing the same t-shirt from a rock concert. Too bad for him; he was a quiet guy himself who minded his own business, but, alas, from somewhere in the hallway, a classmate of mine yelled at the top of his lungs, "Hey, you and PBT are wearing the same t-shirt today!" Another day of humiliation began. The bullying surrounded me like the air. I was tough though; why couldn't I shake this? I was the youngest child of four; my three big brothers made sure to instill toughness in me. At some point, even the toughest person collapses. With constant chipping, a rock will give way.
My friends were spineless; they would say nothing. One of the boys even dated my best friend, yet she said nothing. Finally, I asked her, begged her, to at least say something. She replied, "Well, I can't stop it." True that, but I begged her to make her feelings known to him; that I was her friend, and he shouldn't treat me that way. It took her a great deal of courage, but she eventually did say something. He at least stopped teasing me when she was around. Any reprieve was a welcome one.
I prayed to go unnoticed and for the school day to end, knowing that I would be safe once at home, where I was loved. Home was my solitude. I was free from torture for 12 hours before I had to go back to school and face it all over again. We didn't have a computer; even if we would have, this was before the days of the information superhighway: no email, no instant messaging (IM), no text messages. However, in the present day, this is not the case. Our bullied students are going home to their computers only to find hateful emails and IMs. Their sanctity has been violated; they have no reprieve. Constant torture 24/7.
It's embarrassing to be a target. It's hard to admit that I didn't measure up. Honestly, would you want to be a teenager and say to one of your teachers that you are the target of bullying? Please. It was hard enough to tell my mom. I couldn't even tell my dad. I certainly wasn't going to tell my brothers; I kept it a secret. I was embarrassed. I needed someone at school with whom I felt comfortable enough to say, "hey, this is going on, and I just can't deal with it any longer" and then I needed to feel reasonably secure that person was going to do something about it. I didn't have this. My mom talked to the principal (only after several months of me begging her not to), yet he denied ever hearing anything. As quickly as it started, the bullying started to taper off. Why? I don't know. There were no new targets. I do know that I began to stand up for myself. I came up with a name for one of the boys, and singled him out. I even got some of those spineless girls to help me chant it once or twice. That seemed to be enough to get him to quit. Though it's never been confirmed or denied, I believe one of my brothers had a word or two with another of the bullies, which caused him to stop. A couple of the guys graduated high school. Soon, it was gone, but not forgotten. It was a roller coaster of emotion.
In college, I ran into one of the offending gentlemen. We had a conversation in which I asked him, "Why?" His response: "Did you ever think it was because we thought you were tough and could handle it?" No, that never occurred to me, and it only angered me. They felt it was their right, or their duty, to break me, to remind me of my place. To this day, I do not understand. I saw another one of the bullies several years ago. We hadn't seen each other since high school. He introduced me to his wife and asked how I was and what I was doing. At the end of our brief conversation, he said I looked great and it was great to see me. These two instances taught me that their bullying certain didn't leave a mark in their memories as it had in mine. They didn't harass me because I was ugly; they did it because I was there. That in no way lessens the impact it had on my life, but it puts a different perspective on it. Many times I thought to myself, "if only I could get hit by a bus while crossing the street..." Of course, it would have had to have been a yellow school bus in front of the school because we didn't have a mass transit system in my hometown. It's only been in the past few years, that I've been able to freely discuss it, let alone use the word "pitbull," or "bulldog."
Well, what can we do? First of all, teaching our children to ignore it is a mistake. The torture will not go away. We must teach our kids to stand up for themselves, as scary as that is. It's very difficult to stand out there alone and say to the bullies, "Knock it off," but it has to be done. Secondly, drawing attention to it in the classroom doesn't make it any worse. If one teacher would have said, "Stop it. That is not acceptable, and it is certainly not acceptable in my classroom," it would have been appreciated. Yes, it would have been shining a light on it, but why do we think we need to keep this a dirty, little secret? Those 10 seconds of embarrassment are nothing compared to the entire year that I endured. I did not feel secure anywhere in my school. The problem needs exposure.
You see, I can understand the school shooter when he says, "I just couldn't take it anymore." I don't condone his violence, nor did I ever want to bring harm to my bullies (okay, that's not entirely true -- a little bit of physical and/or emotional pain would have been refreshing); I just wanted it to stop. The people who say (in regards to school shooters), "Why didn't he just tell someone?" don't get IT. We -- adults, teachers, parents -- need to dialog about bullying. Let's make it taboo to be a bully. We don't look upon child abusers favorably; bullies need the same treatment. How many times have you ever been in a conversation and one person says, "Well, you know, he was a bully," and the rest of the group gasps in shock and disbelief. I'm guessing never. We need to change the perception. The target of the bully no longer has to carry shame; it is the bully who should should have to live with the shame of treating another human so horribly. It is not okay to tease. It is not okay to hurt someone; it is not okay to take a person's security.
As for me, I'm okay. I'm good enough, smart enough, and doggonit, people like me.

Many articles, case studies, and books have been written. I would invite you to take a look or do a little research and help enact a change:

Books:
The Bully, the Bullied, and the Bystander: From Preschool to High School – How Parents and Teachers Can Help Break the Cycle of Violence by Barbara Coloroso.

Breaking the Culture of Bullying and Disrespect, Grades K-8: Best Practices and Successful Strategies by Marie-Nathalie Beaudoin and Maureen E. Taylor.

Cyber Bullying: Bullying in the Digital Age by Robin M. Kowalski

Odd Girl Out: The Hidden Culture of Aggression in Girls by Rachel Simmons **A must-read!

Websites:

WiredKids, Inc.
http://www.stopcyberbullying.org/
What cyberbullying is, how it works and how to understand and deal with cyberbullies.

Stop Cyberbullying: Because we all need to do what we can.
http://stopcyberbullying.ning.com/
A social network to discuss cyberbullying, identifying resources and solutions to address this epidemic of online cruelty.

de.licio.us

One of my favorite Web 2.0 tools is a social bookmarking service called de.licio.us. In the Sunday, August 12 edition of the the Rapid City Journal, librarian Marjorie Brekke shared de.licio.us basics along with information about how the library is using the tool to serve customers. You can find the Rapid City Public Library de.licio.us page here http://del.icio.us/RCPL . When you join de.licio.us, not only do you get a very effective mechanism to bookmark your favorite sites, you can also become part of a network that allows you to connect with other bookmarking people.