Week+of+May+11,+2009

toc =Interesting Web Sites= Twitter: A few weeks ago, I mentioned Twitter and thought I'd just mention another reason for following Twitter. Astronaut Mike Massimino of the current Space Shuttle flight is [|Twittering his experience] while in space.

What a great way for students to follow what's going on in what is sure to be one of the more [|risky missions] of late, making repairs on the Hubble Telescope.

[|The Week in Rap] : If you like using current events, this site is worthwhile. The videos are 2 minutes long, but you'll need your override to show them in class. Here's an example: media type="custom" key="3790549"

[|LMK] : I have no idea what LMK means,(It means "let me know") but it's a website created for the purpose of educating girls about online safety. LMK Life Online is sponsored by the Girl Scouts and Microsoft. On the site girls can learn through articles and videos about protecting themselves from online predators. Girls will also find lessons about cyberbullying and online privacy. After reading the articles and watching the videos, girls can test their knowledge through interactive quizzes

[|TED] : TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, and Design. It's been around since 1984 and has had 100s of fascinating speakers. You can watch these lectures now for free and really have an engaging conversation in the classroom. The videos can be embedded also for your blog or even in School Space. Here is an example of Bill Gates, and here is the same lecture with a [|French Translation] :

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I think using TED talks after the SOLs and the laptops are collected would be a great way to get students talking and hopefully using what you taught them in the discussion.

[|Kodak] : Kodak has been a household name for over one hundred years, but when most people hear the name Kodak they think "camera" not "lesson plans." A little-known aspect of Kodak's website offers lesson plans for every grade level in twelve subject areas. The lesson plans are organized by grade level and subject area. These are not skeleton lesson plans, the Kodak lesson plans have very detailed directions for classroom implementation. All of the lesson plans include the use of photographs and or cameras.

Applications for Education The Kodak Lesson Plans provide good ideas for integrating art and photography into just about any subject area.

[|The Shuttle] : Is this photoshoped? (I don't think so from what I can find it is possible. This is the original source: [])

=Teaching Tips= I saw a great response on a [|post] asking "What are the chief current issues in education? What are the most controversial and nagging questions that we face?"

The response was: How do we prepare children for a collaborative world in a multiple choice education system?

I think that says it all. As we end our year, and it winds down, it often feels more like summer camp than a place of learning (how many movies will our students watch in the next few weeks?)

This is especially true for SOL classes, where the content is "done." But why not keep teaching. In fact, why not prepare the students for their next class? So in US History, the 3-4 weeks after SOLs focuses purely on US and VA Government? World History 2 goes into US History. Algebra I teachers can start teaching the first few chapters of Algebra 2.

You can also keep a psuedo-report card, meaning, give kids a grade for the last 3-4 weeks that kids can then take with them to their next class. So if you're teaching government over the next few weeks, and a student gets an A, he or she can present that grade to their next teacher and start off strong. Make it optional so kids don't start with an F if you want.

=Student Work= Students taking Business classes created this newsletter about the Department. Creating newsletters about anything can work in any content area. It's a great way for students to do research, pictures, summarize information, and present. There are also many tools you can use to do this: Word, Publisher, wikispaces, and there are even templates you can use for a blog to give a newspaper feel. For example, this [|link takes] you to our online school newspaper.

Here is the newsletter: media type="custom" key="3816373" =General Notes= Our focus should not be on using technology to make our students easier to teach. It should be on crafting learning experiences, within networked, digital, and information-abundant learning environments, where students are learning to teach themselves, and begin to cultivate a mutually common cultural and environmental context for for their lives.

I [|read this Thursday], which I think should be mandatory reading. Here are the two pieces that mean the most:

If our purpose is student learning than all decisions should start by answering this question. What do we expect students to do with their laptops? What kind of experience do we want them to have? What learning do we hope to see/expect from them when the laptops are in use. Starting with what you want students to do with the laptops allows you to create a plan that will support their use.
 * What do you want students to do?**

Once we know what type of learning we want to see from the students we can then talk about a Professional Development plan that allows teachers to know what they need to know to make that learning a reality. Sure they are going to have to learn some skills, some tools, but more than that they will need support in understanding how the classroom changes with those tools. When every student is sitting at a desk and has the knowledge of the world in front of them, it changes the classroom. How do we support teachers, help teachers, and train teachers to teach facilitate in that environment?
 * What do teachers need to know?**

=School Space= From the email Ron sent earlier this week: //In this era of large stable institutions like the automotive and banking industries facing mergers and acquisitions, so too is the education industry. On May 6th, Angel Learning (branded SchoolSpace in HCPS), a major player in education course management systems, was acquired by Blackboard Inc.

The question this immediately stirs in all of us is what is the fate of our SchoolSpace system? The fundamental question is whether course management technology has a place in Henrico Schools. The answer is a definite YES. HCPS is committed to the technology to provide 21st Century Teaching and Learning opportunities for the district and maintain the district position as a leader in K12 education.

Preliminary communication received from Blackboard and Angel Learning indicates that current products will be supported. As the merger continues the companies have expressed that their intention is to combine the two platform's best features for their customers. As more information and product plans are shared with the district, information will be passed along to all of you.

Thanks for your continued support in advancing course management technology in the district.//

Basically, SchoolSpace won't be changing for the next 4 years.

=Reminders= The new laptops should arrive in early June. Please start backing up material now that you want to transfer over to your new laptop. This does not include music.

Soon, you'll be given a check off list for "summer work" so that you can become more familiar with the new laptop. I've been playing with Word 2007 and while the look of it is different, once you play with it for a few days, you'll get it. It actually makes more sense than how 2003 is, but you're used to 2003, so there is that learning curve.