The St. Charles Parish school system in Louisiana will begin a pilot program this fall to allow students to bring their mobile devices to school. Educators say the initiative is aimed at offering more personalized lessons and encouraging students to bring lessons home. “We want to teach them responsible use of developing technology,” district official Colleen Charles said.
Read the full story The Times-Picayune (New Orleans)
School leaders at all levels face the daunting but exciting task of moving education into the 21st Century. Graduates of today need to be prepared to participate in a world that is not only complex and globalized, but also increasingly diverse. Additionally, they’ll compete in a media saturated environment that is no longer limited to one-way communication. What does this mean for a new education paradigm?
Join your colleagues for a day of learning and networking. Learn first-hand how others are stepping up to the plate to provide the kind of learning experiences that would best prepare kids for success in the world in which they live.
Education leaders at all levels will walk away energized and with new ideas for using technology, strategies for engaging the public as well as ideas for improving instructional practices.
August 4th 9 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.
Ramada Conference Center
1400 N. Lorraine
Hutchinson, KS
Learn More: http://www.leadership20conference.com/page1.php
Posted by Patrick Larkin on 7/15/11 from Connected Principals
Thanks to the efforts of Jeff Pulver and Chris Lehmann, the first-ever #140edu Conference will take place in New York City on August 2 and 3. There is a fantastic slate of speakers lined up including: Connected Principal’s own Eric Sheninger, #edchat founders Shell Terrell, Tom Whitby, and Steve Anderson, and many other amazing educators.
The statement from the #140edu site sums up the goal of this event clearly:
“The changes in the way we live our lives must create change in the way we teach and learn. The real-time web should create profound changes in the way we think about what, how and why students and teachers can do, create and communicate. The very nature of what we consider “school” should be radically different given the powerful reach of the communicate tools our students have at their disposal. #140edu is dedicated to exploring and expanding that change.”
Don’t miss this opportunity to be part of the conversation about how we can change education for all students!
Educators can register on-line here.
by Silvia Tolisano, blog@langwitches.org, Langwitches Blog
The Passion Driven Classroom-Summer Book Club Starting Soon
Don’t miss out on a virtual summer book club discussing Angela Maier’s and Amy Sandvold’s book “The Passion-Driven Classroom”.
I already have one quote from the first few chapters that has give me plenty to think about as I reflect on this past school year and wonder what makes the difference between an educator who doesn’t [...]
Read the full story and join the discussion: http://langwitches.org/blog/2011/06/10/the-passion-driven-classroom-summer-book-club-starting-soon/
Online social networking includes much more than Facebook and Twitter. It is any online use of technology to connect people, enable them to collaborate with each other, and form virtual communities.
By Stan Bumgardner and Kirk Knestis
Social networking has become an important vehicle for connecting people, but schools and educators have lagged behind in use. As many schools struggle to develop social-networking policies and ensure student safety, research shows that educators want to harness such tools for learning. The writers of this article cite a study suggesting that schools capitalize on students’ interest in social media by determining which sites they most like to use, inform students of free learning opportunities available through social networking and teach them how to create their own blogs.
Read the full story from District Administration magazine (5/2011)
Cloud computing and mobile devices are the technologies expected to change education over the next year, according to an annual report by the New Media Consortium. The report, released Tuesday, named game-based learning and open content as technologies to watch over the next two to three years. Personal learning environments and learning analytics are expected to make a major impact on education in closer to four or five years. Education Week/Digital Education blog (5/17), T.H.E. Journal (5/17)
by Larry Ferlazzo
Do Students Think Learning About Bloom’s Taxonomy Is Useful?
“Over the past week, I’ve been sharing lessons we’ve been doing with students on Bloom’s Taxonomy, as well as studies and ideas on the general idea of helping students reflect on if what they are learning in school is relevant to their lives (see Why Is It Important For Students To Learn About Bloom’s Taxonomy? and “Relevance” & Student Learning).
Today, students began to post on our class blog short responses to the question:
“Is it important to to learn about Bloom’s Taxonomy?”
You can see the first twenty or so responses here, including a couple of Fotobabbles.
The vast majority there are positive, though there are one or two students who answered negatively.”
Read the full story and this insightful reflection by Larry. CLICK HERE
by Wesley Fryer, Moving at the Speed of Creativity
The following 54 second video is not only an effective marketing message for the July 30th“Save our Schools” march in our nation’s capitol, it’s also a poignant reminder that as citizens we need to stand up and take action on behalf of students as well as teachers in our public schools.
Learn more at http://www.saveourschoolsmarch.org/ The second in our series trumpeting the values teachers, students and parents want to see reflected in the nation’s education policy. We will elaborate much more during activities in Washington DC and around the country July 25-31, and especially July 30.
http://youtu.be/w8zkjH8pGNk
Learn more at http://www.saveourschoolsmarch.org/
Join us July 28-31 2011 in Washington DC to support equitable funding for all public school communities, end high stakes testing used for the purpose of student, teacher, and school evaluation, give teacher, family and community leadership a clear place in forming public education policies, and encourage local school communities to develop curriculum specific to their needs.
Are you planning on attending or considering attending the “Save our Schools” march? Wesley is and so am I thinking seriously about it.
P.S. Yes, I know this is the second time for this post, but it is so important, it deserves repeating.
And these videos resemble the Apple Think Different Ad campaign. One of my favorites. It is such a powerful message.
by Mark Brumley has a fantastic entry relating to the fueled discussion taking place in many schools about letting students bring their own computers to school. I must admit, I agree completely, in this time of extremely tight school budgets, it makes perfect sense to allow students to bring their own devices.
“Don’t be scared of bring your own device…here’s why.”
CLICK HERE to discover what Mark says, by the way, Mark works in technology administration.
Reasons school give for not allowing…..
- Our network will get corrupted!
- Student will not have access to network drives?
- Students will not have the same applications!
- Some students will not be able to afford a computer.
Mark clarifies each of the above reasons. If you are a teacher, school administrator, school board member or IT, you need to read this story. http://www.guide2digitallearning.com/blog_mark_brumley/don%E2%80%99t_be_scared_%E2%80%9Cbring_your_own_device%E2%80%9D
Seven Questions to Ask About Texting in Class
As schools begin to experiment with using mobile phones for educational purposes, this blog post focuses on how text-messaging on simple, low-end phones might be used in a lesson or assignment. The writer asks educators to consider seven questions in developing such a project, including what type of learning is best suited to texting, whether schools could subsidize any texting fees and whether students could or would choose to participate.
Read the full story: KQED.org/Mind/Shift blog
Learn more at http://www.saveourschoolsmarch.org/ The second in our series trumpeting the values teachers, students and parents want to see reflected in the nation’s education policy. We will elaborate much more during activities in Washington DC and around the country July 25-31, and especially July 30.
Here’s to the Teachers! SOS March and National Call to Action
Learn more at http://www.saveourschoolsmarch.org/
Join us July 28-31 2011 in Washington DC to support equitable funding for all public school communities, end high stakes testing used for the purpose of student, teacher, and school evaluation, give teacher, family and community leadership a clear place in forming public education policies, and encourage local school communities to develop curriculum specific to their needs.
Ed-tech access is an issue, but students’ personal devices are an attractive option to a growing number of districts
With access issues in mind, allowing students to bring their own devices from home can offer educational benefits, as well as some surprisingly positive results when it comes to creative thinking and classroom behavior.”
Read the full story, CLICK HERE
I have to say, I do see tremendous potential for letting students bring and use their laptops and mobile devices own. I understand the networking issues. But on the other hand, the money savings would be so great. This would require some intense planning for sure and likely some minimum requirements for what needs to be on the device so students could accomplish the school tasks. Network Nazi’s are going to have to let go! But colleges have been doing that for some time now. I also think about the money saved on purchasing the hardware and even software. That money could be used to improve the infrastructure and bandwidth issues that most schools are facing. This is really an area schools need to be exploring. I would not advocate jumping in without serious planning, maybe do a pilot with a group for a while to work out the issues, but this warrants discussion in this time of tight and disappearing budgets.
David Andrade, has a wonderful entry on his blog Educational Technology Guy called Welcome to the hardest job you’ll ever love. David is a Physics teacher and educational technology specialist in Southwestern, CT.
“As I think about the fact that most colleges will be holding graduation next month, I thought about all those new graduates that will be joining the education profession next year and thought I’d share some advice and resources for them. I’ll be speaking to some from a few different area programs and I hope you will share these with new graduates that you know. I also figured this would be a good time because many seniors are still doing student teaching now. “
Read the full list, CLICK HERE
David has a great list and is worth reading, and maybe you are an experienced teacher with some advice to share. I work with pre-service teachers and they could use all the help and advice you are willing to share. Please add yours in comments, my students would love them. Yes, I make them read my blog, I know I’m bad forcing them to read it, but hey, they gain tons from it.!!
Out on a Limb: A Guide to Getting Along is an interactive online guide designed by the Urban Programs Resource Network at the University of Illinois to help children learn to manage conflicts peacefully while also having a lot of fun with Maria and her friends. The activities are designed primarily for third graders, but they can be used to entertain and educate youth from the second and fourth grades as well.
The online guide is accessible in English, Spanish and Arabic.
Click Here to Access Free Online Guide
Michael Zimmer is doing a series on technology for Administrators. An Ed Tech Tip for Administrators – Wallwisher. I agree with Michael. “It is important that we get administrators to buy into using technology. If they are using it and get more comfortable with it, then it will trickle down to the teachers.“ His last post was about Google Alerts and this one is about Wallwisher. He has some great ideas.
A North Carolina school district is in its third year of a one-to-one laptop program that officials say has led to higher test scores and a lower dropout rate. Educators say the Digital Conversion program, which has been expanded from high school down through fourth grade, has changed the way they approach instruction. Administrators say the program — which is seen as a national model – is well worth the cost, which is estimated at $200 per student each year. WSOC-TV (Charlotte, N.C.)
“MOORESVILLE, N.C. — One North Carolina Board of 
Education member said Monday that Mooresville Graded School District is doing what all districts should be doing — heavily integrating technology in the classroom.”
Watch the video and read the full story: CLICK HERE
Check out their Technology and Digital Conversation page of their school district website, you will find lots of information about the programs as well as links to student project examples.
And there is even a PBS video about the school.
Watch the full episode. See more PBS NewsHour.
Oxford Study: Reading Books Is Only Out-Of-School Activity That Helps Students Get Better Job Later
“Reading books is the only out-of-school activity for 16-year-olds that is linked to getting a managerial or professional job in later life, says an Oxford study.
Researcher Mark Taylor, from the Department of Sociology, analysed 17,200 questionnaire responses from people born in 1970, which gave details of extra-curricular activities at the age of 16 and their careers at the age of 33. The findings, to be presented at the British Sociological Association today, show that girls who had read books at 16 had a 39 per cent probability of a professional or managerial post at 33, but only a 25 per cent chance if they had not. For boys who read regularly, the figure went up from 48 per cent to 58 per cent.”
Does this really surprise anyone, although, it is nice to have some tangible research to back it up.
Related:
Larry ferlazzo has a great list on his blog: My Best Posts On Books: Why They’re Important & How To Help Students Select, Read, Write & Discuss Them
Richard Byrne of Free Technology for Teachers has issued a request. And Richard shares so much will teachers, how could we even think about not responding to his request.
“An Education Video Playlist – Suggestions Wanted
Did You Know, A Vision of Students Today, and Do Schools Kill Creativity are popular videos addressing topics related to education in today’s modern world. This morning I got the idea to start creating a YouTube playlist of some of these popular education videos. I kind of lost my momentum after seven videos so I’m looking for some help. You can see my playlist here. What do you suggest that I add to the list?”
Here is what Richard has so far, do you have suggestions add them to comments and I will pass them on to Richard.
A former student, Katie Gibson, of mine and a colleague, Sally Yahnke, is doing her student teaching in Olathe. Below you will find information about a very cool project she is doing with her students. Make sure you watch the Animoto Video, it is very powerful.
A two-day project in the Family and Consumer Science (FACS) classroom at California Trail Middle School became a school-wide fundraiser to benefit victims of the Japan earthquake and tsunami. Katie Gibson’s students are making and selling tote bags and iPod covers for their fellow Bulldogs, with proceeds benefiting the American Red Cross.
“As a teacher, I focus so much on the curriculum and math/reading skills that it is easy to overlook some of the other issues students need to learn – compassion and humility,” Gibson said. “I approached my class about using our sewing skills and time to help those in need. We worked together to think of agencies to contact, items to make, and how to encourage others to donate.”
Her FACS students learned about the devastation in Japan and wanted to use their sewing skills to help those in need. They brainstormed items that could be sewn quickly, not cost a lot, and appeal to many students. FACS instructor Cheryl Hackmann made the patterns.
“I think it’s really cool that we can practice our sewing skills and help people in need,” student Rachel Lewis said.
The tote bags and iPod/phone covers have the class’ Hope for Japan logo on them. Only $1 of each sale will be used to cover the cost of producing the items, and remaining funds after expenses will also be donated. Wal-Mart donated $100 worth of fabric.
“I hope people will purchase what we make not for what it is, but because it helps people who desperately need it,” student Mia Gama said.
Original article: http://www.olatheschools.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2183&Itemid=1
(Photo: California Trail students made these tote bags and iPod/phone covers to benefit victims of the Japan tsunami.)
Check out the video: http://animoto.com/play/fO07h7k8899haSWj6EgCzQ?utm_content=challenger
