Middle School Matters

AMLE Feature: Scheduling

Scheduling:

Key Principles:

There are two drivers to the schedule: bus and lunch.

Everything else can be adjusted. Don’t be locked into “this is how we’ve always done it”.

Decide what you want to “solve”. There is no perfect schedule.

Look at multiple days.

Prep for teachers to move to a new schedule?

Routine?

AMLE Resource:

http://www.amle.org/Publications/OnTarget/BlockScheduling/tabid/296/Default.aspx

http://www.amle.org/portals/0/pdf/publications/On_Target/scheduling/scheduling_5.pdf

Research Rationale: http://www.amle.org/Research/ResearchSummaries/FlexibleScheduling/tabid/1140/Default.aspx

Can’t access some of the articles on AMLE? Become a member!

Contact: [email protected]

Jokes You Can Use:

Puns:

How does Moses make his tea? Hebrews it.

I changed my iPod's name to Titanic. It's syncing now.

I know a guy who's addicted to brake fluid. He says he can stop any time.

Middle School Chemistry Theme Song (this one’s for Dave):

Sodium-Sodium-Sodium-Sodium-Sodium-Sodium-Sodium-Sodium-Batman!

On Our Mind:

Highland Park Public Schools Sued: http://t.co/UylIRygp

81,904 4th graders (note: number is the entire state of MI, not just Highland Park) still not proficient in Reading. (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2012)

David Gornto- Nice work. Let us know how the kids react.

Thought about using Google Docs for your script then copy/paste into your blog as a transcript? Up for screencasting like Camtasia? Me either. Not yet.

Eileen Award:

Scoopit: Jennifer Mangler

Twitter: Valia Reinsalu, Pora Ora,

Facebook: Jennifer McAvoy-Anteau (liked a link on FB)

iTunes:

Advisory:

The 11 Ways That Consumers Are Hopeless at Math

This is your brain on shopping, and it's not very smart.

http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2012/07/the-11-ways-that-consumers-are-hopeless-at-math/259479/

Middle School Science Minute

by Dave Bydlowski (k12science or [email protected])

The Summer, 2012 edition of Science Scope, a magazine for middle school science teachers produced by the National Science Teachers Association, featured an article entitled "Book Your Summer Vacation." The article was written by Juliana Texley. In this podcast, three books from the article are featured. They include:

Stories in Stone: Travels Through Urban Geology, by David B. Williams

The Visitor's Guide to American Gardens, by Jo Ellen Meyers Sharp

Concrete Planet, by Robert Courland

All of the books can be found at:

http://nsta.org/store

From the Twitterverse:

ISTE:

iPad Flipped Classroom:

Troy’s notes from ISTE.

Half-Baked Idea:

A “school only” cell phone

Ingredients:

1. Cheap cell phone (www.pandawill.com & cheapest available at this posting: F8 Quad Band Phone Dual SIM)

2. Google phone number and app

3. Optional: Pay-As-You-Go card (H20)

Web Spotlight:

Homograph/Homophone Venn Diagram

If, like me, you have difficulty remembering the difference between homophones,homographs, homonyms, heterographs, and heteronyms, you should find this WikipediaVenn diagram useful.

http://www.englishblog.com/2012/07/homographhomophone-venn-diagram.html

Events & Happenings:

Calendar of Events:

On Our Mind:

ISTE: After conference thoughts

Preparing for AMLE in November

Eileen Award:

Twitter: Rich Kiker, Steve Chen, Chris Sousa, Gina Gallo, Pora Ora, IAIB Network, Michael Richardson, Charles Perry, Mary Clark, Elana Leoni, Riaz Abdulla, Michael Cohen, Vilia Reinsalu, Ann-Caryn Cleveland, Jason Eifling, Diethild, ViewARcom, Valencio Cardoso, Schoology, Jeff Bradbury, TeacherCast, Sandra Wozniak, @Lilylauren, DonFriesen, Tori McMurray, Ellie Dix, “Teenage Whisperer”, Jazz Caine, Epic Limo Bus (which we didn’t use . . . ), and Emil Ahangarzadeh (Director of the Calif. Tech Statewide Education Tech Service).

Facebook: Kyle Paul

If I had to guess what was the ISTE PLN vehicle of choice, I’d guess . . .

Advisory:

Book Club.

Here is one example:

http://2busybrunettes.com/2012/03/23/25-series-to-read-if-you-love-the-hunger-games/

Middle School Science Minute

by Dave Bydlowski (k12science or [email protected])

In the Summer, 2012 issue of Science Scope, a publication of the National Science Teachers Association, the safety question of the month was "After lab work, should students use antibacterial hand wipes or just plain soap and water to clean their hands?"

Ken Roy, director of environmental health and safety for Glastonbury Public Schools in Glastonbury, Connecticut provides a great answer. If you would like more information on science safety, you can purchase Ken's book, "The NSTA Ready-Reference Guide to Safer Science," through the NSTA bookstore.

From the Twitterverse:

ISTE News:

Guest Post: “Four ISTE Challenges”

July 1, 2012 by Larry Ferlazzo

GUEST POST by Ben Curran

Less Tools, More Teaching

The End of the Echo Chamber

Diversity is Lacking

The End of Excess

http://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/2012/07/01/guest-post-four-iste-challenges/

ISTE Keynote: What were they thinking?

Posted by Brad Flickinger on Jun 26, 2012 in school technology

As I have said before in this blog, I attend edtech conferences to be inspired and to steal ideas to take back to my own school. But when I left the keynote that opened this year’s ISTE 2012 Conference, I was scratching my head wondering what was the purpose of what I had just witnessed. I felt embarrassed to be an educator. Did ISTE really just do this to me? Did they sell out? Did they take inspiring me too far?

http://www.schooltechnology.org/2012/06/26/iste-keynote-what-were-they-thinking/

ISTE Resources:

All of my notes can be found here.

ISTE Web Spotlight:

TIMMS/PISA vs. Entrepreneural Spirit:

http://zhaolearning.com/2012/06/06/test-scores-vs-entrepreneurship-pisa-timss-and-confidence/

Events & Happenings:

AMLE Feature:

Jokes You Can Use:

Boss: I’ve noticed that you go out and get your haircut during work hours.

Employee: It grows during work hours.

Boss: It also grows during non-work hours.

Employee: I didn’t get it all cut.

What did the leftovers say when put into the freezer?

Foiled again.

What’s another name for a nursery?

Bawlroom.

On Our Mind:

Eileen Award:

●Annie Murphy Paul

●Alise Herrara

●Joe Webb

●Sara Davenport Sisk

Advisory:

World of Coins

http://twentytwowords.com/2012/06/09/a-world-map-made-of-the-worlds-coins/

Food Tweeting Around the World

http://foodmood.in/

Challenges

http://twentytwowords.com/2012/06/11/10-bets-youll-always-win-unless-the-other-bettor-has-se

en-this-video-too/

Fun with Visual Charades and Narrated Slideshows Based on Fairy Tales

In their recently published article, “Five-Picture Charades: A Flexible Model for Technology

Training in Digital Media Tools and Teaching Strategies,” in the journal Contemporary Issues in

Technology and Teacher Education, Curby Alexander and Tom Hammond present a persuasive

case for using “visual charades” as a learning activity with students involving media and

creativity.

http://www.speedofcreativity.org/2012/06/06/fun-with-visual-charades-and-narrated-slideshows-

based-on-fairy-tales-edtech4u/

Middle School Science Minute

by Dave Bydlowski (k12science or [email protected])

In the Spring Edition of "Green Teacher," Emily Harris wrote an article entitled, "Fostering

Students' Water Wisdom." The purpose of the article was to bring water awareness into the

classroom and contribute to a better global future.

She says that teachers play a vital role in helping foster an early appreciation of this most

precious resource. For this reason, WaterCan developed curriculum resources in both English

and French which can be freely downloaded from the "Water Wisdom Portal" at:

http://www.watercan.com/students

She then goes on to share one of her favorite lesson plans for 7th - 8th grade students, entitled

"Water Around the World." This class project introduces students to water usage, and to data

gathering and analysis.

Dave’s Water Cycle Song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yw275056JtA

Hey Dave, what do you think about this?

“Voyager 1 Spaceship to Break Out of Solar System, Into Outer Space http://abcn.ws/N0eYA8”

From the Twitterverse:

News:

Thompson: The Humiliation Of High-Stakes Standardized Testing

http://scholasticadministrator.typepad.com/thisweekineducation/2012/06/thompson-pearson-anti

-testing-rally-illuminates-the-essence-of-bubble-in-testing.html

Future Shock

I'll have more to say on the iPad later but one can't help being struck by the volume and

vehemence of apparently technologically sophisticated people inveighing against the iPad.

http://speirs.org/blog/2010/1/29/future-shock.html

Computers Grade Essays Fast ... But Not Always Well

http://www.npr.org/2012/06/07/154452475/computers-grade-essays-fast-but-not-always-well?ft=

1&f=1019

What's Wrong With the Teenage Mind?

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203806504577181351486558984.html

Tools:

Quipper

Quipper produces entertaining and educational quiz apps. We also allows users to create their own apps!

Also available on iOS and Android.

http://www.quipper.com/

Go Class

http://www.goclass.com/guestapp/index.aspx

Resources:

50 Summer Learning Activities for Kids

Common Sense Media has produced a 16 page guide to summer learning activities.

http://www.freetech4teachers.com/2012/06/50-summer-learning-activities-for-kids.html

Summer Reading List

http://www.brainpickings.org/index.php/2012/06/11/summer-reading-list-2012/

Web Spotlight:

TIMMS/PISA vs. Entrepreneural Spirit:

http://zhaolearning.com/2012/06/06/test-scores-vs-entrepreneurship-pisa-timss-and-confidence/

Events & Happenings:

MSM 209: AMLE Feature Presentation .

. . Popcorn Please!

AMLE Feature Kick off...Tech in 20, we take longer.

Presented in collaboration with the Association for Middle Level Education.

AMLE Feature:

Today, join us for a interview with Todd Williamson. Director of Technology and Science

for Carteret County Schools, MiddleTalk contributor, and NCMSA Technology

Specialist.

●Science Experiment

●Tech-in-20 Series

●Math and Science Portal

●ISTE?

Jokes You Can Use:

Sign in a business:

We understand that your phone call is important.

So, we will not interrupt by serving you when you are on the phone.

RUTH BUZZI ‏@Ruth_A_Buzzi

Cats inherently dislike water. That explains why so many turn to alcohol. #HappyCATurday

On Our Mind:

●The power of crowdsourcing: Jerry Blumengarten goes to ISTE12.

●Death of MiJEC . . . ?

●Edmodo finally tips its hand:

http://www.hackeducation.com/2012/03/06/edmodo-makes-the-move-from-social-networ

k-to-education-platform/

Eileen Award:

●Facebook: Julie Smith Flack

●Twitter: John Winsor, US School Counselors, Microsoft TeachTec

●Special Guest: Todd Williamson

Advisory:

How big is your city?

http://twentytwowords.com/2012/06/07/how-big-is-l-a-at-least-8-other-major-u-s-cities-could-fit-in

side-it/

Middle School Science Minute

by Dave Bydlowski (k12science or [email protected])

In the Spring Edition of "Green Teacher," Emily Harris wrote an article entitled, "Fostering

Students' Water Wisdom." The purpose of the article was to bring water awareness into the

classroom and contribute to a better global future.

She says that teachers play a vital role in helping foster an early appreciation of this most

precious resource. For this reason, WaterCan developed curriculum resources in both English

and French which can be freely downloaded from the "Water Wisdom Portal" at:

http://www.watercan.com/students

She then goes on to share one of her favorite lesson plans for 5th - 6th grade students, entitled

"Water Alive!" This is a research based activity designed to help generate an understanding

about the universal dependence on water, through the "eyes" of an African animal.

From the Twitterverse:

News:

Teacher tenure: a Fairfax schools firing case

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/teacher-tenure-a-fairfax-schools-firing-case/201

2/06/02/gJQAVt4l9U_story.html

Resources:

KanBan2Go

https://kanban2go.com/

ScrollKit

A website builder that works more like drawing. No coding required.

https://www.scrollkit.com/

Web Spotlight:

The Greatest Teacher I Had in College

by Vicki Davis

http://coolcatteacher.blogspot.com/2012/06/greatest-teacher-i-had-in-college.html

BookType

http://www.sourcefabric.org/en/booktype/

4 Great & Free Museum Apps to Teach your Students (or to simply enjoy!)

http://www.edukwest.com/4-great-free-museum-apps-to-teach-your-students-or-to-simply-enjoy

/

Events & Happenings:

Jokes You Can Use:

RUTH BUZZI ‏@Ruth_A_Buzzi

Our cat ate a neighbor's canary this morning; his favorite breakfast is Shredded Tweet. #HappyCATurday

RUTH BUZZI ‏@Ruth_A_Buzzi

People who steal cats are not cat burglars; they're purr-snatchers. #HappyCATurday

RUTH BUZZI ‏@Ruth_A_Buzzi

You can't stand puns and you hate cat jokes? You gotta be kitten me. #HappyCATurday

On Our Mind:

AMLE Registration opened this week.

Kathy Hunt donations can be made to the AMLE Foundation Fund, use the code “KHU” when making a donation.

The Summer Slide

( http://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/2012/05/30/how-im-helping-my-students-try-to-avoid-the-summer-slide/ )

ISTE 2012 . . .

Eileen Award:

Dr. Monte Tatom, FunDave: Twitter

Curtis Fuller: email

Carol DenOtter: Facebook

Advisory:

32 Innovations that will change the world

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2012/06/03/magazine/innovations-issue.html

Where kids sleep or A Girl and her room:

http://www.brainpickings.org/index.php/2012/05/30/a-girl-and-her-room-rania-matar/

http://www.brainpickings.org/index.php/2011/08/08/where-children-sleep-james-mollison/

The New (AB)Normal:

Big portion sizes have become the new abnormal, and it's time to scale back.

http://makinghealtheasier.org/newabnormal

Liter of Light

http://isanglitrongliwanag.org/

Effect of Sunlight

http://twentytwowords.com/2012/06/01/what-the-sun-did-to-the-face-of-a-veteran-truck-driver/

How to be Kind:

http://coolcatteacher.blogspot.com/2012/06/10-inexpensive-ways-to-be-kind.html

Middle School Science Minute

by Dave Bydlowski (k12science or [email protected])

In the April/May, 2012 issue of Science Scope, a publication of the National Science Teachers Association, there is an article entitled, "More Than Just Guessing: The Difference Between Prediction and Hypothesis," written by Michelle Scribner-MacLean.

The topic of the article is to help teachers and students understand the difference between the two terms. Knowing the difference between making a prediction and formulating a hypothesis can go a long way toward helping students develop scientific literacy.

From the Twitterverse:

News:

Bunkum Awards

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=P-hJagz6ytM

http://nepc.colorado.edu/think-tank/bunkum-awards/2011

Resources:

Google World Wonders Project

http://www.google.com/culturalinstitute/worldwonders/

or

http://coolcatteacher.blogspot.com/2012/06/world-wonders-new-flipped-classroom.html

How Long Would It Take You to Read "War and Peace?"

http://www.leekolbert.com/2012/05/how-long-would-it-take-you-to-read-war.html

Web Spotlight:

Child Poverty

http://scholasticadministrator.typepad.com/thisweekineducation/2012/05/charts-pay-no-attention-to-the-nations-child-poverty-rate.html

The Chart:

http://scholasticadministrator.typepad.com/.a/6a00e54f8c25c988340168ebef9408970c-popup

Examples of PBL

APHistory. Interesting use of Google Sites. What if projects. The kids also published their work.

https://sites.google.com/a/micds.org/apush-2011-2012-final-projects/

Nathan Hall: 100+ Student Sites that don’t require registration

http://www.diigo.com/list/nathanghall/no-registration-needed-for-students

Strategies:

Games to Enhance Classroom Teaching

http://people.uncw.edu/ertzbergerj/all.html

ScienceFix: YouTube Science Channel for Middle School Experiments

http://www.youtube.com/user/sciencefix

Video of the Podcast:

http://youtu.be/Bh_3Jl_eHEk

Events & Happenings:

Calendar of Events:

Jokes You Can Use:

All visual jokes today. (Go see the Google+ recording.)

On Our Mind:

Kathy Hunt-Ullock 1951-2012

Virtual Presentations:

MiddleTalk: 9 Dangerous Things & Book Club this summer

9 Dangerous things you were taught in school:

Eileen Award:

Twitter People: Gary Johnston, Jeff Trudell, Aric Haley, Michael Jones, Connect Michigan (Michigan Public Service Commission), and @HeyLeeAnn!

Advisory:

New Computer Algorithm Knows Your Phony Smile [VIDEO]

Can you tell whether a smile is real or not?

http://mashable.com/2012/05/25/algorithm-smile/

Middle School Science Minute

by Dave Bydlowski (k12science or [email protected])

In the April/May, 2012 issue of Science Scope, a publication of the National Science Teachers Association, two articles dealt with the topic of misconceptions

In the first article, "Misunderstanding Misconceptions," Page Keeley defines the term misconceptions. In the second article, "Investigating Students' Ideas About the Flow of Matter and Energy in Living Systems," authors Melanie Taylor, Kimberly Cohen, R. Keith Esch, and P. Sean Smith give examples of student misconceptions and provide the corresponding correct ideas. The topic of this podcast mainly focuses in on the process of photosynthesis.

From the Twitterverse:

News:

Educators Use Mobile Devices More Than General Public

http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/DigitalEducation/2012/05/educators_more_likely_to_use_m.html

How summer increases the achievement gap

http://hechingered.org/content/how-summer-increases-the-achievement-gap_5072/

Our Principal’s Reaction To Being Included In The Wash. Post’s List Of Top High Schools

http://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/2012/05/20/our-principals-reaction-to-being-included-in-the-wash-posts-list-of-top-high-schools/

Standards would immerse Arizona students in science

http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2012/05/17/20120517arizona-science-standards.html

Student Principals (Contributed by Ron King)

How would students run the show if given a chance?

http://groups.diigo.com/site/redirect_item/student-principals-5342100

Resources:

Mr. Rogers talks sarcastically about children and consumerism

Apparently, kids and consumerism is nothing new.

http://twentytwowords.com/2012/05/25/mr-rogers-talks-sarcastically-about-children-and-consumerism/

Web Citizenship and Media Literacy Curriculum (Contributed by Ron King via Diigo)

http://groups.diigo.com/site/redirect_item/digital-literacy-and-citizenship-curriculum-for-grades-6-8-5342096

Play me a story?

Playfic, the online community that lets you write, remix, share, and play interactive text-based games with the world.

There is definitely a learning curve with the site.

http://playfic.com/

Burn Note

Burn Note lets you send messages that are deleted after they are read.

You can use Burn Note to send a password or have an off-the-record conversation with a friend.

https://burnnote.com/#/

Readlists

What’s a Readlist? A group of web pages—articles, recipes, course materials, anything—bundled into an e-book you can send to your Kindle, iPad, or iPhone.

http://readlists.com/

Easy Web Calendar

Localendar is great for Churches, Schools, Teams, Non-Profits, Families, and Webmasters that need a free web calendar

http://www.localendar.com/elsie

Web Spotlight:

Honesty In The Computer Lab

http://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/2012/05/25/honesty-in-the-computer-lab/

Knowledge Graph

http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2012/05/introducing-knowledge-graph-things-not.html

Strategies:

Project-Based Learning: Success Start to Finish

http://www.edutopia.org/stw-project-based-learning-best-practices

Events & Happenings:

Calendar of Events:

Classroom 2.0’s Ning Blog: Archived content is available.

Jokes You Can Use:

Auntie Matilta won’t kiss you with that dirty face!

That’s what I’m hoping.

Girl: I need a new dress

Dad: Why?

Girl: The girl in my class has the same one.

Dad: Why does that mean you need a new dress.

Girl: It’s cheaper than switching colleges.

On Our Mind:

ISTE Noob-ness!

Wrapping up the year yet?

Eileen Award:

Jeffry Prickett - Facebook & Twitter

Pamela Schneider - Facebook

Advisory:

How to Use a Paper Towel:

http://www.ted.com/talks/joe_smith_how_to_use_a_paper_towel.html

and

http://creativewealthprinciples.com/archives/285

The Other Side of the World

http://www.antipodemap.com/

Olympic Torch Relay Route

http://www.london2012.com/torch-relay/route/

Middle School Science Minute

by Dave Bydlowski (k12science or [email protected])

Drying Hands in the Lab.

In the March, 2012 issue of Science Scope, a publication of the National Science Teachers Association, the safety question of the month was "Are there any alternatives to paper towels for students to wash and dry their hands with at the end of lab?"

Ken Roy, director of environmental health and safety for Glastonbury Public Schools in Glastonbury, Connecticut provides a great answer. If you would like more information on science safety, you can purchase Ken's book, "The NSTA Ready-Reference Guide to Safer Science," through the NSTA bookstore. Please visit:

http://www.nsta.org/store/product_detail.aspx?id=10.2505/9781933531281

From the Twitterverse:

News:

Homeschool Is The Future

http://www.collegeathome.com/blog/2012/03/09/homeschool-is-the-future/

Dartmouth Researchers Are Learning How Exercise Affects the Brain

http://now.dartmouth.edu/2012/05/dartmouth-researchers-are-learning-how-exercise-affects-the-brain/

Are today's students truly 'tech savvy'?

It is difficult to prove that the Generation Y and young people today are not more technologically adapted than their older counterparts.

They may sometimes display an unhealthy level of dependence on their mobile phone, become bored easily when taught in school how to use basic commands in Microsoft Word and be called upon often to fix the problem with the printer, but are all members of this age bracket clued-up and comfortable with technology?

According to the research, there was little evidence that today’s students demand modern technology when entering university that the academic institution cannot provide. Technological integration is expanding, however in terms of study, students may not be as reliant on it to learn as we stereotype them to be.

http://www.zdnet.com/blog/igeneration/are-todays-students-truly-tech-savvy/16147

Congrats to Mike Muir, AMLE President-Elect!

Resources:

iPad Resource Links

http://www.21innovate.com/ipadipod.html

Documentaries On-Line

Watch free documentaries online! Full videos are available. Educate yourself with thousands of good documentaries about diverse subjects. The newest, latest, best and greatest top documentaries online can be watched here for free.

http://www.documentaryz.com/

A Twenty-One Protest Song Salute

[Warning to parents and teachers: Some songs contain profanity. Also, Moyers & Company and Public Affairs Television do not endorse any advertisements or promotional links contained within the embedded videos.]

http://billmoyers.com/content/a-twenty-one-protest-song-salute/

Web Spotlight:

iWitness

IWitness is an online application that gives educators and students access to search, watch, and learn from more than 1,000 video testimonies of Holocaust survivors and other witnesses.

http://iwitness.usc.edu/SFI/Default.aspx

Graduation Speeches

http://www.brainpickings.org/index.php/2011/06/10/best-commencement-graduation-speeches/

http://www.brainpickings.org/index.php/2012/05/18/commencement-speeches-2/

Strategies:

The Graphic Classroom

http://www.graphicclassroom.org/

Events & Happenings:

Jokes You Can Use:

“I haven’t slept for days.”

How come?

I only sleep at night.

On Our Mind:

ESL objectives, Professional Development & How to Win Friends and Influence People.

#PLNfail

Congrats to all the EMU students who were dismissed today . . .

Eileen Award:

Jeffry Prickett (Facebook & Twitter)

Eleanor Ricardo

Advisory:

Food

http://twentytwowords.com/2012/04/25/chart-showing-the-10-companies-that-own-most-of-the-food-products-we-buy/

Split or Steal

Here’s the deal. £13,600 are on the line. Each contestant must choose Split or Steal. If they both choose Split, they each get half of the money. If one chooses Split and the other Steal, the one who chose Steal gets all the money. And if they both choose Steal, nobody gets any money.

Before they choose, they are allowed to discuss their plan together. It is a battle of wits, combining both logic and the ability to read and manipulate one’s opponent. Check out how one ingenious contestant chose to let this scenario play out…

http://twentytwowords.com/2012/04/28/split-or-steal-a-creative-and-kind-use-of-logic-and-manipulation/

Middle School Science Minute

by Dave Bydlowski (k12science or [email protected])

The topic is Reading Ladders and Science. "Climb on up and enjoy the podcast."

From the Twitterverse:

News:

Change the World

Parents who sued school over son's punishment for cheating receive hate messages

http://www.mercurynews.com/san-mateo-county-times/ci_20493867/parents-who-sued-school-over-sons-punishment-cheating

and the follow up:

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/opinion-la/la-ol-school-cheat-20120427,0,1656872.story

Evaluate Me, Please

http://teachfromtheheart.wordpress.com/2012/04/24/evaluate-me-please/

Resources:

KANEX Pro- AirPlay® Mirroring For VGA Projector

http://www.kanexlive.com/atvpro

Technology Integration Matrix Grade Level Index

This page provides a breakdown of videos within the Technology Integration Matrix by grade level. Although you may be primarily interested in a particular level, we encourage you to view the ways in which technology is used in other grade levels. For example, you will find videos of high school classrooms in which the technology tools could be used in the same way with middle school or elementary level students. Some videos involve students from both middle and high school grades and some involve students from both middle and elementary grades. These videos appear in both lists below.

http://fcit.usf.edu/matrix/gradelevel.php

TED-Ed - Insults by Shakespeare

Watch

Quick Quiz

Think

Dig Deeper

If you sign in, you can make adjustments on most sections of the page. For example, you can deselect Quick Quiz questions, add Think questions, and add links to the Dig Deeper section.

http://ed.ted.com/lessons/insults-by-shakespeare

Google Education On-Air

https://sites.google.com/site/eduonair/home

Virtual 4T Conference

The Virtual Conference will be held May19th through May 22nd. It is a 24/7 conference and is free and open to any educator.

*Disclosure- I’m presenting a session.

http://4tvirtualcon.soe.umich.edu/

Conference Sessions:

http://4tvirtualcon.soe.umich.edu/?page_id=54

or

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/pub?key=0Amyg3kn2ZRP0dC1yMGxfVV9xTzkwYVIzVDhhbUtfUGc&output=html

Web Spotlight:

Broomstick

I'm Sebastian, a 14 year old Kiwi innovator, Mac app developer, student and tech enthusiast from New Zealand, currently living in Paris.

http://www.zibity.com/broomstick

Dangerously Irrelevant: Web videos educators should see

http://dangerouslyirrelevant.org/2010/11/12-videos-to-spark-educators-thinking.html

Strategies:

TinkerCad

Design in 3D what you've always dreamed of, but never thought possible. Until now.

Join the Tinkercad community and learn how to create your first real things in just a few minutes.

https://tinkercad.com/home/

or

3D Tin

Create 3D models in your browser.

http://www.3dtin.com/

Events & Happenings:

Calendar of Events:

Jokes You Can Use:

Johnny Depp is making another Pirates of the Carribean. It’s “Arrrrgh” Rated . . .

RUTH BUZZI ‏ @Ruth_A_Buzzi

My cat can hardly wait until his favorite holiday comes around next week: "Cinco de Meowo." #HappyCaturday (w/ thanks to @Liedertafel_pdx!)

On Our Mind:

Bad Pirate Jokes . . .

Eileen Award:

Dave Brown

Mary Alise Herrera

Craig Malkin

Advisory:

Thou Shall Not Commit Logical Fallacies

A logical fallacy is usually what has happened when someone is wrong about something. It's a flaw in reasoning. They're like tricks or illusions of thought, and they're often very sneakily used by politicians and the media to fool people.

Don't be fooled! This website and poster have been designed to help you identify and call out dodgy logic wherever it may raise its ugly, incoherent head.

If you see someone committing a logical fallacy, link them to the relevant fallacy to school them in thinky awesomeness and win the intellectual affections of those who happen across your comment by appearing clever and interesting e.g. yourlogicalfallacyis.com/strawman (rollover/click icons above).

http://yourlogicalfallacyis.com/

Middle School Science Minute

by Dave Bydlowski (k12science or [email protected])

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

Baby Mammoth Mummy Frozen in Time! A Prehistoric Animal's Journey into the 21st Century

by Christopher Sloan

The Elephant Scientist

by Caitlin O'Connell and Donna M. Jackson

Elephant Talk: The Surprising Science of Elephant Communication

by Ann Downer

From the Twitterverse:

News:

Can You Make Yourself Smarter?

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/22/magazine/can-you-make-yourself-smarter.html?_r=2&src=me&ref=magazine

Resources:

CorePlanner

CorePlanner: Resource tool for teachers planning their lessons around the Common Core Standards.

http://coreplanner.com/

???? http://www.mylessonplanner.com/

PBS Kids Cyberchase - Dozens of Math Activities

http://www.freetech4teachers.com/2012/04/pbs-kids-cyberchase-dozens-of-math.html

3D Toad

http://www.3dtoad.com/

Taylor Mali

http://transformed.teachingquality.org/blogs/get-fracas/04-2012/taylor-malis-what-teachers-make-book-winner

YouTube Speech: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxsOVK4syxU

Web Spotlight:

33 Animals Who Are Extremely Disappointed In You

Not angry, just disappointed

http://www.buzzfeed.com/expresident/animals-who-are-extremely-disappointed-in-you

The 5 Worst Things a Teacher Can Say to Students

By Dan Brown

5. “I know this may seem pointless but we have to get through it…”

4. “I don’t know what I’m doing.”

3. “The other class did well with this. What’s wrong with you guys?”

2. “You will never be able to (fill in the blank).”

1. “I get paid whether you (fill in the blank) or not.”

http://transformed.teachingquality.org/blogs/get-fracas/04-2012/5-worst-things-teacher-can-say-students

Test Scores and Housing Costs

http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/04/19/test-scores-and-housing-costs/

A Child’s Helping Hand on Portions

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/25/dining/a-child-offers-plan-on-portion-control-for-dieters.html

Events & Happenings:

Jokes You Can Use:

“Doctor, will I be able to read with these new glasses?”

“Of course, perfectly. Why?”

“Because, I couldn’t read before”.

When I got a bill for an operation, I found out why they wear masks.

On Our Mind:

Eileen Award:

Gr8t Lakes Teacher: Thanks for the feedback on iTunes!

Advisory:

Book Spine Poetry

Stack books up so that the Titles on the spine form a poem.

http://www.brainpickings.org/index.php/tag/book-spine-poetry/

Odd Advertisements

NSFW: Prescreening required

http://oddstuffmagazine.com/funniest-advertisements-ever.html

11 “Modern Antiques” Today’s Kids Have Probably Never Seen

http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/122762

Middle School Science Minute

by Dave Bydlowski (k12science or [email protected])

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

Friends: True Stories of Extraordinary Animal Friendships

by Catherine Thimmesh

Michael Vey: The Prisoner of Cell 25

by Richard Paul Evans

Bug Shots: The Good, the Bad, and the Bugly

by Alexandra Siy

From the Twitterverse:

News:

Student “Learning Styles” Theory Is Bunk (Daniel Willingham)

http://larrycuban.wordpress.com/2012/04/15/student-learning-styles-theory-is-bunk-daniel-willingham/

The Pineapple Story Tests Us: Have Test Publishers become Unquestionable Authorities?

http://blogs.edweek.org/teachers/living-in-dialogue/2012/04/the_pineapple_story_questions.html

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2012/04/20/151044647/the-pineapple-and-the-hare-can-you-answer-two-bizarre-state-exam-questions?sc=tw

Professional Development

Sweating my way through a workout the other day, I stumbled across an article titledGetting Principals to Think Like Managers in the Bloomberg Businessweek magazine. Considering that nearly every expert on the 21st Century principalship would argue that leading schools is about WAY more than "managing," the title caught my eye.

http://transformed.teachingquality.org/blogs/tempered-radical/04-2012/will-75000-really-change-your-principals-leadership-skills

Earth's quietest place

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2124581/The-worlds-quietest-place-chamber-Orfield-Laboratories.html

Resources:

Block Print

Create any size poster from any size picture.

http://www.blockposters.com/

iSLCollective

Free, printable ESL worksheets by teachers for teachers. Allows a variety of criteria: Level, Student Type, Grammar Focus, Vocabulary Focus, Skill, Material Type, Solution.

http://en.islcollective.com/

WorkFlowy

Easy ToDo list manager.

https://workflowy.com/

National Parks Tour

Provides a virtual tour of various parks: Grand Canyon, Great Smokies, YellowStone.

http://naturevalleytrailview.com/

Positive Thoughts

You might recall a charming antidote: Everything Is Going to Be OK, the lovely pocket-sized anthology of positive artwork. Now, it’s available as equally lovely 20 different note cards, featuring artists like Gemma Correll,Jessica Swift, Danna Ray, and Amy Borrell.

http://www.brainpickings.org/index.php/2012/04/19/everything-is-going-to-be-ok-cards/

KiKuText

Kikutext is all about parent engagement. We truly believe that an increase in parent engagement will mean an increase in student achievement. Every part of our application is designed to help you easily and quickly communicate with parents more regularly.

Parents can sign up for text messages. Teachers get a proxy phone number - no need to give out your personal cell phone number.

http://kikutext.com/

Web Spotlight:

5 Historical Misconceptions

Warning: Lady Godiva and bare bottom is included.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=sYzfKiIWN4g

Strategies:

Events & Happenings:

Calendar of Events: