October 2009 Blog Posts (118)

Character Poster

In class we made "Character Poster". We were instructed to choose a picture of ourselves and add a word that we think describes ourself as well as the definition of that word. We constructed this project using Microsoft Excel.

We printed the poster using four pieces of computer paper. We taped them together and then we laminated them so that they could be hung up for display in the classroom.

By doing this project, I was able to see that Excel can be used for much more… Continue

Added by Sarah Schnautz on October 9, 2009 at 10:11pm — No Comments

The Letterman Chickens Coming Home to Roost

David Letterman has made a fantastic living ruthlessly roasting people over their foibles. Their issues. Their own personal "affairs".

And now the chickens are coming home to roost for him, aren't they?

Now I am a fan of Dave. Or was. And I don't want to be smarmy or display schadenfreude. I started watching him in 1985 when he was on from 12:30 - 1:30 and used to do bits like… Continue

Added by Alan Sitomer on October 9, 2009 at 6:30am — No Comments

Looking for help....

I'm doing my graduate work (research project) on interactive science notebooks for my 7th grader science students. I would love to hear from any teacher who has used them, has done any research (data collection) and found any successes that would aid my adventure. Thanks a Hoot, Denise

Added by Denise L Lykens on October 8, 2009 at 3:26pm — 4 Comments

Revenge of the Edupunks

In a recent piece on educational technology, Anya Kamenetz discusses a significant trend that is transforming higher education. According to Kamenetz, Web 2.0 technology is transforming higher education from a centralized and highly organized top down distributive model to a decentralized student-oriented learning model–one that is highly individualized, fairly inexpensive, and accessible just about everywhere.… Continue

Added by Shawn Roner on October 8, 2009 at 11:09am — 2 Comments

Call for papers on LanguageQuests extended

Computer Resources for Language Learning (CORELL) is an international, peer-reviewed e-journal which releases annual issues on all aspects of research on computer resources in foreign language learning.

An editorial team, supported by Ton Koenraad as guest-editor, is preparing a monographic issue of CORELL on… Continue

Added by Ton Koenraad on October 8, 2009 at 7:54am — No Comments

No More Cookie Magazine leads to No More Orwell

I never read Cookie Magazine. Nor Modern Bride or Elegant Bride. I did flip through Gourmet magazing once. Matter of fact, I think I even bought a subscription of it for a holiday gift one year for a friend.

Yet now they will be no more. News just announced by Conde Nast is that the plug is officially being… Continue

Added by Alan Sitomer on October 8, 2009 at 6:30am — No Comments

Black Eyed Peas “Youth Voices” PSA Empowers Youth Through Digital Arts

The Adobe Foundation and The Black Eyed Peas Peapod Foundation today unveiled a new public service announcement called “Plant Inspiration.” The PSA promotes the launch of Adobe Youth Voices, a non-profit that stresses the power of technology to engage middle- and high school–age youth. Adobe Youth Voices provides… Continue

Added by Erik on October 7, 2009 at 4:21pm — No Comments

Redefining "success" to raise heathier, happier kids

I recently authored this piece for the SmartBean magazine, and thought I'd share it here - Redefining “Success” to Raise Healthier, Happier Kids. I think it's an important message that needs to get out, so that everyone can work together to de-stress our middle and high schoolers - not just parents, but teachers, schools and communities as well.

Added by Shuchi Grover on October 7, 2009 at 9:51am — 1 Comment

The shadows of fathers.

Today would have been my father's 67th birthday. He passed in 1994.

Never met my wife.

Never met my daughter.

Never saw me win Teacher of the Year for the state of California or publish a book... much less 9 of them (to date).

Died at the age of 51 from diabetes. (He was a juvenile diabetic.)

In many ways the life of my father was an absolute train wreck. And the shadow he cast over my life still colors vast amounts of psychological real… Continue

Added by Alan Sitomer on October 7, 2009 at 6:30am — 1 Comment

Survey of K-12 Educators on Social Networking

Reposted from Meg's Notebook

edWeb.net, a social networking site for educators, has just published the preliminary findings (never quite sure what that means) of a survey of K-12 Educators on social networking and online collaboration tools. The online… Continue

Added by Meg H on October 6, 2009 at 8:04pm — No Comments

Kidsperation

I really enjoyed doing the family/friends project. First, it was nice to get aquainted to Kidsperation. This project gave me the time and opprotunity to learn about how it works. That is always nice because I tend to have a mental block towards anything electronic or technology related.I hope this class can help me improve that lovely handicap. Second, I really enjoyed thinking about my family and friends. It was nice to write a little about them and who they are too me. I couldn't find the… Continue

Added by Michelle White on October 6, 2009 at 2:53pm — No Comments

Kidspiration

From what I have been able to experience with Kidspiration, I really have enjoyed the program. I have only played with the part that deals with making mind maps, but I had a great time making mine. For my mind map I had two bubbles in the middle where one was labeled family and the other friends. Then from each of those came five other parts. For family I included my mom, my dad, my sister, and both of my grandmas. For friends I included Kelli Macqueen, Aron Bennett, Heidi Fry, Penny Deacons,… Continue

Added by Kaleigh Marie West on October 6, 2009 at 2:30pm — No Comments

Unlimited Possibilities With Kidspiration

This week i used Kidspiration for the first time, which is a much more engaging alternative to the adult version. This thought mapping software is perfect for visualizing thought processes and organizing brainstorming sessions. I am personally not a visual learner, and the only option for auditory learners is a creepy voice that repeats whatever words your mouse pointer happens to be hovering on. But I still thought of a bunch of ways to use this in a classroom. It is unbelievably easy to use,… Continue

Added by Gabriel Lutz on October 6, 2009 at 2:28pm — No Comments

Travel to Peru – Peruvacationtours.com

Travel to Peru and all of its destinations; Cusco, Lima, Machu Picchu, Amazon, Arequipa and more – peruvacationtours.com

If you are looking for a good place to visit on your next vacations, you might want to consider traveling to Peru. If you travel to Peru you will find a country full of culture and great places to visit each with its very own identity and sub culture.

When you travel to Peru you will likely arrive in Lima the capital city. From Lima you have a variety of options to… Continue

Added by peru vacationtours on October 6, 2009 at 2:08pm — No Comments

Kidspiration

I enjoy how easy Kidspiration is to navigate. I had no problem figuring out what to do. It was fun adding pictures and images. Writing out the prayers for my friends and family was a great time to reflect and i even found myself getting teary. I really enjoyed this project. I will definitely use kidspiration for other projects in the future.

Added by Ashton Servies on October 6, 2009 at 1:30pm — No Comments

My Life Mind Map

So...my first time really using Kidspiration! And the verdict is.......it's functional enough so that I will probably use it in the future in some way, and it's easy enough to use that I CAN use it in the future! I am always scared when I am forced to experiment with a new piece of technology, but in the end, I am always amazed at what happens when I step out on that limb. Once again, I have learned about myself through the discovery of the new program, but also through the fulfillment of the… Continue

Added by Maegan Freese on October 6, 2009 at 12:00pm — No Comments

Ways to View Video in the Classroom

Cross-posted at The WebFooted Booklady.

A tweet requesting some ideas for engaging students during video screenings in class got me thinking. As I couldn't cram it all into 140 characters I responded on my blog:

- Show the video with no sound or with sound but no picture. Ask students to tell what they have understood and what questions they have. Show the video again with both sound and visuals and have them complete their summary.

- Show the video without sound and… Continue

Added by Lesley Edwards on October 6, 2009 at 8:27am — No Comments

War People Farming Kill Alpha Ranch Passive

Soldiers, politicians and the Holy Church all declare war to be an abomination and yet two global wars were fought in the last century and many conflicts since, some deliberately escalated. At first glance, it would appear that war is fought for two reasons defense or conquest. If this holds true than every military engagement can be quantified as either defensive or offensive. The problem with attempting to explain every military operation as either defensive or offensive comes with three… Continue

Added by H2onE2 on October 5, 2009 at 7:09pm — No Comments

Kidspiration

I really enjoyed working on my Kidspiration project. By doing the project and using the program myself, I was able to see how students in my future classroom would benefit from using the program. It is a great way to organize random brainstorms into ordered and manageable outlines.

Not only can you make outlines, but you can also apply visuals so that you can see the big picture and how each idea comes together to form the main idea- and in this case, it was what important… Continue

Added by Sarah Schnautz on October 5, 2009 at 10:17am — No Comments

Google Apps for Education vs Microsoft’s Live@edu

The second part of our look at the free online apps for education from these kingpins of the software industry.

One of the first things that struck me about Google’s “Education Edition” of Google Apps was that their informational pages seemed a lot less cluttered than Microsoft’s. You get a cleaner, more precise overview, and while there is some depth to the information and links provided, I didn’t find myself… Continue

Added by Kelly Walsh on October 5, 2009 at 9:00am — No Comments