A recent story in Technology and Learning magazine(which is FREE), describes the one-to-one program in the state of Alaska. Students in 6th grade are issued a new iBook. The created the infrastructure for T1 connections, staff development, and a new curriculum to meet the needs of their students. Visit the Consortium for Digital Learning for details, or the Denali Borough School District. You can also read their story at Apple.com.
Teachers are still assigning the "create a political cartoon" homework. Why not give it a new angle and show kids how to use ToonDoo to make a comic! There are many examples to view before creating.
If you have ventured into the virtual world of SecondLife, then you might like the enhancement due this fall-----voice communication. This is reported on the www.techlearning.com website, March 2007. I must tell you that I created an avatar and did the tutorial, but lost interest in moving around the SL worlds. I can't play a Gameboy either!
I came across this product while reading my GoogleReader blogs. It is called Democracy and can manage as well as download videos. This link will take you to a biased discussion about Democracy vs. iTunes. You be the judge.
By the way if you read more than 5 blogs, then you might want to manage them through GoogleReader. I wasn't sure I would like this free service, but now that I have about 9 blogs collected there, I love seeing everything all in one place (Gmail, GReader, GoogleEducator).
By the way if you read more than 5 blogs, then you might want to manage them through GoogleReader. I wasn't sure I would like this free service, but now that I have about 9 blogs collected there, I love seeing everything all in one place (Gmail, GReader, GoogleEducator).
If your district is considering allowing blogging, perhaps a visit to this site by the EFF will provide some information about what is and not protected. It is NOT a legal document, but there are some good guidelines to review.
In addition to blogging, what about online stalkers? Here are some resources from the Stalking Resource Center.
In addition to blogging, what about online stalkers? Here are some resources from the Stalking Resource Center.
I wanted to learn about using a wiki, so knowing that students would have fun with this, I started the TechSeminar wiki at wetpaint.com. There are times that students have better insights about technology than adults. This is a place where they can comment, create and critique various technologies that I post. I have tried to encourage them to find new technologies to post, but just like a typical middle school student, they posted what is important to them! Disney, All About Bugs, and Bears were the pages they created. Even though this has nothing to do with technology, I left the pages for others to leave comments.
Some of their comments about inventing a technology are very good. Enjoy the read.
Some of their comments about inventing a technology are very good. Enjoy the read.
In a story reported by eschoolnews.com, Michigan legislators want to put more money into educational technology. The media however, reported that they wanted to buy iPods for every student in the state. You read the article and decide.
"It would open up a different way of teaching," Pominville said, noting that Apple's iTunes online store has free educational audio and video content for students. "Kids will love it. This is what they use all the time." He said teachers have approached him about doing podcasts and recording lessons, but the district doesn't have the money.
What caught my eye was the fact that Apple's iTunes would be making more educational content available to K-12 schools the way it does for colleges such as PennState and Harvard, also known as iTunes U.
"It would open up a different way of teaching," Pominville said, noting that Apple's iTunes online store has free educational audio and video content for students. "Kids will love it. This is what they use all the time." He said teachers have approached him about doing podcasts and recording lessons, but the district doesn't have the money.
What caught my eye was the fact that Apple's iTunes would be making more educational content available to K-12 schools the way it does for colleges such as PennState and Harvard, also known as iTunes U.
Quoted from the article on eschoolnews.com:
NEW YORK--April 10, 2007--Spike Lee and HBO's epic documentary, "When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts," is the centerpiece of a new curriculum package that will be available this fall for high school, college and community educators. The documentary, for which Lee and Sam Pollard recently won the 2006 George Polk Award for Documentary Television, will be accompanied by a multi-disciplinary curriculum guide, "Teaching The Levees: A Curriculum for Democratic Dialogue and Civic Engagement to Accompany the HBO Documentary Film Event," published and distributed by Teachers College Press.
Available free to educators, thanks to a grant from the Rockefeller Foundation, the curriculum package, which includes a complete version of the documentary in a two-disk DVD set and a complementary curriculum guide, can be requested at www.teachingthelevees.com while supplies last.
The lessons are aimed at three audiences: high school social studies students, college students in history-related courses, and adult learners in civic, religious and community groups. The documentary, "When the Levees Broke," was rated TV-14 when it was aired by HBO; the curriculum is intended for 11th and 12th grade high school students, college students and
NEW YORK--April 10, 2007--Spike Lee and HBO's epic documentary, "When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts," is the centerpiece of a new curriculum package that will be available this fall for high school, college and community educators. The documentary, for which Lee and Sam Pollard recently won the 2006 George Polk Award for Documentary Television, will be accompanied by a multi-disciplinary curriculum guide, "Teaching The Levees: A Curriculum for Democratic Dialogue and Civic Engagement to Accompany the HBO Documentary Film Event," published and distributed by Teachers College Press.
Available free to educators, thanks to a grant from the Rockefeller Foundation, the curriculum package, which includes a complete version of the documentary in a two-disk DVD set and a complementary curriculum guide, can be requested at www.teachingthelevees.com while supplies last.
The lessons are aimed at three audiences: high school social studies students, college students in history-related courses, and adult learners in civic, religious and community groups. The documentary, "When the Levees Broke," was rated TV-14 when it was aired by HBO; the curriculum is intended for 11th and 12th grade high school students, college students and
Have you been watching the Planet Earth series on Discovery Channel? Here is a webinar with the producers of the program:
http://discoveryeducation.typepad.com/pennsylvania/2007/04/bring_planet_ea.html
Scheduled for April 24, you can have your own class ask questions of the program producers. Read this blog link for all the details.
Click HERE to register.
On this site, Rare Book Room, you can view and read many photographed classics from Shakespeare to Gutenberg's Bible of 1455, documents such as the Magna Carta, the Bill of Rights, and Benjamin Franklin's Poor Richard's Almanac.
