Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Educational cyber-playground

http://www.edu-cyberpg.com/



“Provides information about U.S. K-12 public, private, and charter schools in all 50 states. Find Content for Music, Teachers, Internet, Technology, Literacy, Arts and Linguistics. For students, teachers, parents, and policy makers.”

Friday, March 27, 2009

Teaching Twitter could become a class act

British school students may soon be learning about William Shakespeare and Ashton Kutcher.

British school students may soon be learning about William Shakespeare and Ashton Kutcher.

British schoolchildren may soon be studying the tweets of Ashton Kutcher along with the sonnets of Shakespeare.

A leaked Government report due to be released shortly, recommends that British primary school teachers be given much more flexibility in deciding what lessons to teach.

And while it emphasises the continued necessity of teaching traditional subjects such as spelling, history and arithmetic, it also recommends that students be taught about online media and instructed about web-based skills including how to use a spell checker.

more

Thursday, March 26, 2009

Magic studio

http://www.magicstudio.co.uk/


“Magic Studio enables you to build and share interactive learning resources quickly and easily, with no specialist skills required. It's an online service so you don't have to install any complicated software - you can access your account from anywhere with a broadband connection. This means you can prepare content when and where it's convenient and have the flexibility to deliver learning wherever it's needed, both in and outside the classroom.”

Sunday, March 22, 2009

Transgender youth face extreme harassment at school, report says


Transgender youth are physically and verbally harassed and face extremely high levels of harassment in school, even more than lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGBT) students, says a new study released by the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN), a national education organization focused on ensuring safe schools for all students.

At the same time, however, transgender youth are more likely to speak out about LGBT issues in the classroom, says “Harsh Realities: The Experiences of Transgender Youth in Our Nation’s Schools,” the first comprehensive study on transgender students. more » » »

Friday, March 20, 2009

The Textbook Problem

Is It Possible to Teach World History in High School? The other day I browsed through a tenth grade world history textbook. It was full of lush color. It offered many angles of entry into history -...
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Thursday, March 19, 2009

Free Access to Digital Textbooks and Bestsellers from Bookshare

Free Access to Digital Textbooks and Bestsellers from Bookshare
Bookshare, the world’s largest accessible digital library for persons with print and learning disabilities, such as dyslexia, is providing free membership to qualified U.S. schools and students thanks to an award from the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Special Education (OSEP). more » » »

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

How Teachers Can Get More Respect, Part 1

Most teachers feel that their profession does not get the respect it deserves. In 2000 a survey of teachers conducted by Scholastic reported that 79% felt that respect for the profession is a problem in teacher retention. I don’t think much has changed since 2000.

read on ...

Monday, March 16, 2009

Quiz Builder

Quiz Builder
The big melt
Global warming affects the polar regions. Use the introduction to the International Polar Year to select the appropriate answers

Friday, March 13, 2009

What Does Obama's Education Agenda Mean For Us?


Taking School Seriously

President Obama outlined his view of K-12 public education yesterday, www.latimes.com/classified/jobs/news/la-me-obama-education-2009mar11,0,817684.story

Most of the ne...

more » » »

Thursday, March 12, 2009

accessED

education.au - accessED

http://educationau.edu.au/jahia/Jahia/pid/573

accessED is a tool that allows you to test your website, intranet or learning management system content for conformance to W3C accessibility guidelines. More information and links to the toolbar can be found through the education.au website.

Saturday, March 07, 2009

Comics, Power and Society:

Q and A with Louis Schubert and Arthur Nishimura

At the City College of San Francisco, two professors have employed their enthusiasm for comics in an innovative approach to teaching. In their course Comics, Power and Society, Arthur Nishimura and Louis Schubert use a variety of comics and graphic novels as a creative and engaging way to introduce students to the social sciences. We were fortunate to get an interview with Schubert and Nishimura about how they use graphic novels and comics in this course. (full story)

Thursday, March 05, 2009

Book - You can't say you can't play



You Can't Say You Can't Play
by Vivian Gussin Paley

I picked up this book at my daughters' school parent lending library- a school that works hard to implement policies like 'you can't say you can't play' (YCSYCP) and it often works. It certainly works inter-age but problems remain between age-mates. I, too, was a rejected child many times and hate to see any child rejected.

Tuesday, March 03, 2009

Flawed Assumptions Undergird the Program at the Partnership for 21st-Century Skills

Posted: 01 Mar 2009 09:42 PM PST

At the forefront is the Partnership for 21st Century Skills (hereafter, P21), a group that seeks to serve as a catalyst for educators, business leaders, and government seeking to change the curricula, teaching methods, and assessments used in K-12 schools. Ten states have joined the effort, agreeing to design new standards, assessments, and professional development programs in line with the P21 goals.

read more ...

Saturday, February 28, 2009

Free Microsoft curriculum encourages students to be good 'digital citizens'

"Students interact with music, movies, software, and other digital content every day—but many don’t fully understand the rules surrounding the appropriate use of these materials, or why this should even matter. To help teach students about intellectual property rights and encourage them to become good “digitalcitizens,” software giant Microsoft Corp. has unveiled a free curriculum that offers cross-curricular classroom activities aligned with national standards."

http://digitalcitizenshiped.com/

Friday, February 27, 2009

WI Schools Ban Facebook, IM Fraternizing Between Staff, Students

A student calling her teacher to check in about a field trip? Not a problem. The two friending one another on Facebook is another story. Per new policy, the School District of Elmbrook in Brookfield, WI, has banned all chatter between Elmbrook staff and students on instant messaging or social networking applications not sponsored by the district. The policy, approved by the school board on February 10, stipulated a range of “practices considered irresponsible,” including personal communication between staff and students via social networking and IM. more » » »

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Code of silence: students who alert teachers of student behavious

Students who feel connected to their peers and teachers are more inclined to alert a teacher or principal if they hear a fellow student “wants to do something dangerous,” according to a new study published by the American Psychological Association. http://adjix.com/4wx9

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Bullying among young children

Bullying Among Young Children - A Guide for Parents - PDF


Bullying Among Young Children - A Guide for Teachers and Carers - PDF


The guides provide useful advice to parents, teachers and other carers on recognising changes in moods and behaviours that are associated with bullying. They also provide strategies to help children who bully and those who are bullied.

Monday, February 23, 2009

Quote for the day

"To acquire knowledge, one must study; but to acquire wisdom, one must observe."
-- Marilyn vos Savant

Saturday, February 21, 2009

Resources for teachers


Teachnology - providing free and easy to use resources for teachers dedicated to improving the education of today's generation of students.

FREE access to 28,500 lesson plans, Teaching tips and themes, 7,500 free printable worksheets, games and donload, read-to-use rubrics, reviews sites, printable genertors and webquests.

Teachnology

Friday, February 20, 2009

AASL Releases 'Standards for the 21st-Century Learner in Action'

For those of you wondering how the American Association of School Librarians' (AASL) new learning standards are being incorporated into school library programs, the wait is over.


AASL has just released Standards for the 21st-Century Learner in Action, which takes an in-depth look at Standards for the 21st-Century Learner and examines how the skills in it relate to each other.


Accompanied by colorful pages and graphics, the publication provides benchmarks along with examples that show how to put the learning standards into action at different grade levels.


A glossary is also provided to define key concepts found throughout the book.


more » » »