Middle School Matters

Shawn and Troy talk about information gleaned from the Twitterverse, whether extending the school days and times are putting kids in "jail" and free stuff.

iTunes Reviews:

We're at 8, we are throwing down the gauntlet to make it to 10.

From the Twitterverse:

* michelledodd Have you seen Twitter Handbook for Teachers by @lasic? http://bit.ly/Z8a70 (via @elemtech)@suewaters

* michelledodd Nat Geo Infinite Photograph will be cool http://tinyurl.com/clpyvr (via @mmkrill)

* rrmurry RT @jerridkruse: Curriculum demands hinder effective teaching - kinda like missing the forest for the trees: http://bit.ly/4pSVZ

* KevG The Force appears to be strong in Strathclyde http://is.gd/sQLW

* SirKenRobinson At Milwaukee airport. Official wall sign after security searches reads Recombobulation Area. Great that someone sees the joke in all this.

* netsupport Retweeting @ErikaSays: Create your own Picasso: http://www.mrpicassohead.co... - cool!

* netsupport RT @cchater: RT @mrdatahs: If a teacher had designed Twitter: .. http://tinyurl.com/c73n7y - this looks great! Anyone used it so far? (This is Edmodo which we've talked about before on the podcast.)

* cindybrock http://www.readwritethink.org some great reading activities for students.

* Humor: AndreaWeiss I love this post on @dudeman718 blog http://is.gd/rVSJ - heard men's choir do it a month ago, laughing nearly caused aneurysm. (Very creative. Way too much time on this guy's hands. Jackson-Dawson needs to hire this guy.)

* librarycongress Shakespeare's Birthday Reading: William Shakespeare’s 445th birthday will be celebrated at the Library of Congress ... http://tinyurl.com/dhqrr7

* librarycongress Lincoln Exhibit Closing Date and Hours Extended: Because of overwhelming demand, the Library of Congress is extending ... http://tinyurl.com/cq94u4

* AngelaMaiers How Twitter makes you a better writer. http://TwitPWR.com/9Pl/

* russeltarr #englishteacher Simile of the Day Generator! http://tinyurl.com/dbq6r2 (RT @dianadell @ChristaAllan)

* Music, Art, and Science intersecting: AngelaMaiers RT@tedtalks- Demo AlloSphere, a stunning new way to see and hear complex scientific data http://is.gd/syYk

* AngelaMaiers Free ebook from ASCD: Educating the Whole Child (limited time download) http://blog.genyes.com (check to see if membership required).

* russeltarr Amaztype: Enter a topic, get a fantastic graphic made up of Amazon book links - http://twurl.nl/e5vxen

* netsupport Retweeting @gurnage: Good morning! I just sent my mom and dad "what's your NPR name?" - funny: http://is.gd/sCyl (thanks @jacksonCJ1)

* edupreneur Alexandria, VA Schools Superintendent Offers Plan to Revamp Middle Schools: http://bit.ly/ygIlC --@PostSchools

* LeoLaporte Unfollowing anyone who mentions Kutcher, Oprah, or uses the word Internets. Satisfying. #unfollowfriday

* cookp RT @russeltarr Moodle Tutorials - Educating Educators http://tinyurl.com/dlcz33

* bethanyvsmith So I'm thinking we need some edtech Nerd Merit badges http://nerdmeritbadges.com/

* Looking for software to make better use of Twitter? Try Nambu (Mac OS X only) or Tweetdeck (cross platform - built on Adobe Air).

Web Sitings:

* Google Earth Overlays- http://www.gearthhacks.com/userfiles.php?user=1698

* Creative Commons - http://creativecommons.org/ Licensing information

Letters:

"Troy and Shawn,

Great show this week. I liked the idea about decorating classroom doorways. I think we'll try it this September as an ice breaking activity.

Two questions: 1) I am trying to come up with an all school middle school read for the summer. My school is mainly boys. Any suggestions? 2) I would like to assign a book to the teachers for the summer as well. Any suggestions for us teachers?

Keep up the great work! Maybe I'll have all the teachers listen to all 70 some-odd MSM podcasts over the summer. It's worth it."

http://davidwarlick.com/2cents/

Shawn and Troy talk about Plano, Texas' plan to do away with homework counting. Things wouldn't have to be turned in on time. Non-behavior issues would not be part of grades. We also congratulate David Virtue, editor of Middle School Journal.

Ukraine is home of some smart educators as they put in an iTunes rating for us. [Thanks much!]

We also discuss some advisory ideas and resources.

We point out a few wonderful web sites as well.

Shawn & Troy talk about current events, advisory ideas, water in the classroom and a bill to require kids to get fit.

From our Listeners:

"This is Jack from BrainyFlix . If I hadn't done so already, I wanted to thank you for letting your visitors know about our video contest. We received about 800 video submissions (way more than we had expected!) and you were a big part of that. Much appreciated. :]

We built this new feature called lolcabulary, which lets kids make a flashcard that has a word attached to an image and sentence. We'll be running weekly contests to get kids to make flashcards by giving away iTunes to the winners. We're thinking we'll do themes like "make lolcabulary flashcards about ninjas" and then get teachers we've met to pick their favorites made that week."

Web sightings:

http://www.factmonster.com/

http://mrssmoke.onsugar.com/

http://www.loc.gov/library/libarch-digital.html

Advisory Ideas:

Life Skill Lessons...how to tie a tie, how to set the table, how to do anything....celebrate success!!

Q:C:Q: - Quote, Comment, Question...analyze a famous quote, old or new

News:

Structure More Effective In High School Science Classes, Study Reveals

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/03/090326114415.htm

Do you allow water bottles in the classroom?

http://www.eagletribune.com/punews/local_story_086010229.html

Student fitness bill raises questions

http://www.eschoolnews.com/news/top-news/index.cfm?i=58065

Podcast 69 - Current Cursive, Current Events, & Leftovers from Last Week.

Events and Happenings:

Shout-outs:

iTunes shoutouts: AK Jenny, Tsutherland, and Wirededucator! Thanks for posting reviews on iTunes for us.

WeFollow: Thanks to all the folks following us on Twitter & WeFollow. We're number one in the middle school category.

From our Listeners:

Web Sightings:

1. www.zombo.com Absurd, but fun. Just sit, watch, and enjoy.

2. http://www.nextvista.org/ - An online library of free videos for learners everywhere - find resources to help you learn just about anything, meet people who make a difference in their communities, and even discover new parts of the world. And Next Vista for Learning wants to post your educational videos online, too. Everyone has an insight to share and yours may be just what some student or teacher somewhere needs!

Advisory Ideas:

News:

Current Events

Shout-outs:

Those who visited iTunes to get our stars back:

TWilliamson15

MikeTeacher

SherrieR

... and the three others who remain nameless. (Their choice, not ours. No witness protection programs involved because the know us. Really.)

Web Sightings:

Shawn's New Favorite Website: Let Me Google That For You. Ever have that colleague that pops into your room asking you a question they could have gone to Google for themselves? This website is your new best friend.

Faux Smoking: The New Smarties Fad! (Here's an example of a Tiny Url: http://tinyurl.com/de7lhu)

Missed the MACUL conference? See the keynotes online. Here's one: Friday Keynote.

From MACUL: Steve Dembo has a great presentation on Social Networking Policies . His presentation is posted on the Discovery Educators Network site.

http://www.readwritethink.org/materials/storymap/

http://www.jasonohler.com/storytelling/index.cfm

Because Shawn can't remember what he tells Troy to try: www.evernote.com.

The Middle School Matters Calendar:

Vote on iTunes!

Letters from our Listeners:

News:

High schools may be in for big change

Algebra-for-All Policy Found to Raise Rates Of Failure in Chicago

Poverty and Potential: Out-of-School Factors and School Success

NMSA08:

Motivating Underachieving Students

Instruction in Support of Success with Every Child

Mike Muir

Podcast #66 Sorry Jack, National Standards and a "New" Route to Depths of Understanding.

Shout out to everyone who chatted up Jack and Apologies to Jack.

Middle School Matters Calendar:

Media Literacy Test

Advisory Activities:

News:

National Standards Gain Steam

Students Benefit From Depth, Rather Than Breadth, In High School Science Courses

NMSA08:

Web 2.0: Navigating the new web

Jonathan Edquid

Items, Events, and Other:

Websites:

1. Twiddla : Its like Elluminate, just without all the expense. (Thanks to Jenny for the heads up on this one!)

2. Forward Thinking Museum : A virtual museum worth checking out.

"Letters from our Listeners":

Shawn and Troy

I've spent some time in 5-8, 6-8 and K-8 school environments. Sometimes 5th graders were self-contained while older students moved from teacher to teacher. In other circumstances, 5th grade was used as a transition with single-teacher classrooms and locker access during passing time. I'm currently in a New Jersey K-8 school with no passing time, no lockers and 6-8th graders changing classes.

Knowing all too well the challenges of adolescent behavior and academic performance, I wonder what thoughts you had on the appropriate breakdown of grade levels for elementary vs. middle school. At what grade level should middle school begin (beside the legal requirements for teacher certifications)? Can a single administrator effectively manage a staff who work with students from kindergarten age to their teens, or should different principals handle different grade ranges? What impact does the proximity of 7th and 8th graders to elementary aged students have on academics and/or behavior? How about 5th and 6th graders? In my search for answers on this topic, I found a study done by Duke University in 2007 entitled "Should Sixth Grade be in Elementary or Middle School? An Analysis of Grade Configuration and Student Behavior."

Is there such a thing as either an elementary or middle school mentality? Can a teacher have both? Can a principal?

What are your thoughts on this topic?

News:

Public Schools Outperform Private Schools in Math Instruction

In another “Freakonomics”-style study that turns conventional wisdom about public- versus private-school education on its head, a team of University of Illinois education professors has found that public-school students outperform their private-school classmates on standardized math tests, thanks to two key factors: certified math teachers, and a modern, reform-oriented math curriculum.“According to our results, schools that hired more certified teachers and had a curriculum that de-emphasized learning by rote tended to do better on standardized math tests,” Lubienski said. “And public schools had more of both.”

Of the five factors, school size and parental involvement “didn’t seem to matter all that much,” Lubienski said, citing a weak correlation between the two factors as “mixed or marginally significant predictors” of student achievement.

They also discovered that smaller class sizes, which are more prevalent in private schools than in public schools, significantly correlate with achievement.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/02/090226093423.htm

Bridging the Character Education Achievement Gap

Throughout his now-famous "Last Lecture," the late Carnegie Mellon University professor of computer science Randy Pausch talked about what he called the "head fake." It is the idea that learning and education work best when they work on the personal and general levels simultaneously.

We miss one of the most important aspects of character education, the cognitive head fake, when our obsession with advanced coursework becomes myopic and overshadows the strength both areas could have if working to complement each other in high schools.

http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2009/02/26/23sutton-com.h28.html?tmp=804479676

Shawn & Troy discuss Advisory ideas, Why I didn't turn in my homework, Shout-outs, Graduation, and Debbie Silver's Lion Taming 101.

Why I didn't turn in my homework...

* I lost it fighting this kid you said you weren't the best teacher in the school.

* I was mugged on the way to school and the mugger took everything I had.

* Our furnace stopped working and we had to burn it to stop ourselves from freezing.

* I didn't do it because I didn't want to add to your already heavy workload.

* My father had a nervous breakdown and he cut it up to make paper dolls.

* I didn't do it, because I didn't want the other kids in the class to look bad.

* ET stopped by my house and he accidentally took it home with him.

Shout outs:

1. C-O Connections bloggers .

2. Will Richardson

3. Jenny from Facebook

Webspotlight:

History Before and After Humans

Shows an overview of the development of Homosapiens and the potential future of humans.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7348103/

Grad Nation: A Guidebook to Help Communities Tackle The Dropout Crisis

It is a guidebook that provides a road map to help communities tackle the dropout crisis. It is designed to help communities develop tailored plans for keeping students on track to graduate from high school, prepared for college, work and life. Grad Nation is a natural outgrowth of our local summit work to ensure that solutions are developed to put our youth on a path to success.

Grad Nation also includes ready-to-print tools and links to additional online resources, in addition to research-based guidance. It provides information and tools for developing and implementing a customized program that’s right for individual communities.

News:

Project Management Keeps Learning on Track

Like other teachers spearheading ambitious collaborative units, Smith's two-pronged approach to managing the Monster Project -- developing his students into self-directed learners while also harnessing technology tools to help keep things on track -- has allowed him to smoothly complete complex projects while maximizing student learning opportunities. "Teachers are only successful if they understand how to manage the project cycle," notes Bernie Trilling, global director for education strategy and partnerships for the Oracle Education Foundation, which emphasizes project learning.

San Jose dad in jail — and mom's on the way — for 13-year-old girl's chronic truancy

It started back in third grade with polite letters from the school principal to the East San Jose couple: Your daughter has had a series of unexcused absences; please contact us. Back then, Carol Reynoso and Jayvee Geronimo's youngest attended school about 80 percent of the time. Now, Vanessa said she's willing to do anything if only the court would spare her mother from jail, including face her worst fear — school. "I'm willing to really try this time, to go to school,'' said Vanessa, whose family says she was mercilessly teased about her weight. "I know I've said that before, but I mean it.''

http://www.mercurynews.com/education/ci_11743743?source=rss

Why All Teachers Must Learn How to Teach Online

Patrick says that public education has struggled to incorporate technology into schools and just adding computers piecemeal is not enough to engage students. Educators properly trained to use the Internet and digital tools can teach in a traditional manner and have unlimited resources at their fingertips. Online learning can also help create more personalized learning plans for each student.

http://ascd.typepad.com/blog/2009/02/patrick-speaker-spotlight.html

NMSA '08 Conference Sessions

Lion Taming 101 by Dr. Debbie Silver

Our new Twitter feed (MSMatters), we discuss events:

# NMSA's Middle Level Essentials Conference April 23-24, 2009. Robert Balfanz will be keynoting. He has done a bunch of research on 6th grade transition factors that has been cited by NMSA.

# NMSA ‘09 Invitation Video

# Michigan Association of Middle School Educators Annual Conference March 12 & 13 at White Pine Middle School in Saginaw Township. Mr. Ron Clark will be keynoting. Approximately 20 days left for the early registration discount.

# Ohio Middle School Association’s Annual Conference will be February 19-20 in Sandusky, OH. Keynote speakers this year include Mr. Mark McLeod and Mr. Ty Sells.

# North Carolina Middle School Association's Annual Conference will be March 16-17 in Pinehurst, NC. Keynote speakers include Bill McBride and Rick Wormeli. Ron Williamson from Eastern Michigan University will also be speaking at the conference this year.

# The National Forum to Accelerate Middle Grades Reform will be holding their annual conference in June. See the flyer at their website for details.

# Teacher Preparation Symposium information at NMSA.

# NMSA is accepting presentation proposals to their Annual Conference in Indianapolis next year. The deadline has been extended to February 8, 2009. Applications can be made online.

# Interested in a Science Quiz show online and in a virtual game show environment? Try The Second Question.

# NECC is coming this summer! Here's an excuse to travel to Washington D.C.

# If Mr. Berckemeyer dawdles on getting us the Kindles, soon we'll want these from Plastic Logic. "Did you bring pencil, eraser, and epaper with you to class today?"

# Classroom 2.0's Ning Blog: "The topic this Saturday (January 31) is "Classroom Blogging" with guest speaker Kathy Cassidy, author of blog "Primary Preoccupation". Kathy will discuss classroom blogging platforms, the pros/cons of blogging platforms and how she uses her classroom blog with her students. Our Newbie Question of the Week will be: "What is a blog and how do I find good blogs to read?" Information on how to watch or join in at http://live.classroom20.com.

# Second Life notices:

* 1/31 Basic Skills Workshop: Appearance (ISTE Island 3)

* 2/3 ISTE Speaker Series (TBA)

* Video: Educational Uses of Second Life

Shout outs:

1. Paul Nichols, thanks for letting us know you're listening!

2. Ron Miller, thanks for the email.

3. Jenny McAvoy-Anteau, congrats on your SL presentation!

Web spotlight:

http://www.onceuponaschool.org/

News:

Online Safety

Technology and Learning

Gates Foundation

Listener Letter