Jokes You Can Use:

Depression is merely anger without enthusiasm.

Three men were sitting on a bench in heaven discussing how they died. The first man said "I died of cancer." The second man said, "I died of tuberculosis". The third man said "I died of seenus". The first two men said, "No, you mean sinus." The third man said "No, I mean seenus. I was out with my best friend's wife and he seen us!"

A recently hired nurse listened while the doctor was yelling, “Malaria! Chicken pox!

Polio!” the nurse asked another nurse, “why is he going on like that?” The other nurse replied, “Oh, he just likes to call the shots around here.”

On Our Mind:

Holidays.

Eileen Award:

Stephanie Francis

Advisory:

The 45 Most Powerful Images Of 2011

*Warning, you need to review prior to showing live. You’ll probably want to download the ones that you want to share.

http://www.buzzfeed.com/mjs538/the-most-powerful-photos-of-2011

or

The year in 60 seconds

http://www.reuters.com/video/2011/12/06/year-in-60-seconds?videoId=226168503

or

Reuter’s Pictures

http://www.reuters.com/news/pictures

Middle School Science Minute

by Dave Bydlowski (k12science or [email protected])

From the Twitterverse:

Don’t forget to join the conversation on MiddleTalk and Twitter at #midleved this Friday at 8:00 pm EST.

News:

PE, Recess standards- more schools meet standards

Schools are more likely to offer students 150 minutes of physical education per week if located in a state or district that mandates that level of P.E., according to a study published online today in the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine.

http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/schooled_in_sports/2011/12/study_phys_ed_recess_mandates_boost_school_physical_activity_time.html

Friendly Advice For Teachers: Beware Of Facebook

by NANCY SOLOMON

The new and ever-changing world of social networking has blurred the lines between private and public, work and personal, friend and stranger. It's becoming a particular challenge for teachers who can quickly rile students and parents by posting comments or photos online.

http://www.npr.org/2011/12/07/143264921/friendly-advice-for-teachers-beware-of-facebook

Resources:

Online Conversion

Take just about any format and convert it to another.

Sections:

Audio

Image

Ebook

Hash Generator

Video

Document

Archive

http://www.online-convert.com/

Web Spotlight:

Strategies:

AMLE 2011:

Thursday Sessions

Keynote: Arne Duncan, Secretary of Education

See Dept. of Education website.

Rick Wormeli: Tiering Assignments and Assessments

"Even a man on the right track will get run over if he just stands there" -Will Rogers.

Events & Happenings:

Calendar of Events:

ISTE News:

ISTE Eduverse Talks are the recorded sessions held on ISTE Island every week. Join ISTE in their Second Life conference location for their weekly talks on education.

The ISTE Special Interest Group: Virtual Environments is holding meetings on Mondays from 4:00 - 6:00 pm (SLT) on ISTE Island.

Ohio Middle Level Association:

The Ohio Middle Level Association will hold their annual conference.

OMLA Registration Form

OMLA Presentation Proposal Form

AMLE Affiliate Conferences:

The Michigan Association of Middle School Educators Annual Conference is coming up March 2012 in Warren Woods, MI.

MAMSE Exhibitor Form

MAMSE Registration Form

MAMSE Presentation Form

MAMSE Conference Program Book (2011)

The North Carolina Middle School Association’s Annual Conference March 13-15, 2012

Conference Brochure

Presenter’s Application

Who They Are . . .

This year’s sessions . . .

Classroom 2.0’s Live Calendar.

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

Second Life:

Regular Tuesday meetings are scheduled. See the board on the ISTE Island for up to the minute details. Check frequently this week as the ISTE Annual Convention is this week.

Video: Educational Uses of Second Life