Middle School Matters

Jokes: Waiters A man walks into a restaurant and is shown to his seat by the hostess. The waiter approaches and asks, "Would you like to try our house special? The man replies, "No, just bring me a steak, and make it lean". The waiter, somewhat puzzled, looks at him and replies, "which way?" Important Tasks A doctor got a phone call from one of his colleagues. "We need a fourth for poker," the voice on the phone said. "I'll be right over," replied the doctor. As he was putting on his overcoat, his wife asked, "Is it serious?" "Oh yes, quite serious," he said gravely. "They've had to call in three other doctors as well." On Our Mind: Catching Up or Leading the Way Yong Zhao Listeners: Comment: Thank you for keeping us updated. I incredibly enjoy it and discover all the information really useful. Krav Maga Hi guys, I am at the Technology Integration and Instruction for the 21st Century Learner conference in Storm Lake, Iowa at Buena Vista University. I listen to your podcasts (and have given you the 4 stars on i-Tunes). Love the links, discussion and your thoughts. It gives me time to reflect, something we do not do enough of. I do have a suggestion, and this is on the technical side of the the podcast production. Please moderate the theme music, it is so loud that it drowns out the voice and is much louder than the volume of the spoken word. I have to quick reach for the volume on my i-pod, or computer so it does not wake my daughter or wife in the next rooms as I listen to you late at night when everyone is in bed. I know through using garage band that the volumes can be adjusted. It is way worse than the increase in volume of commercials on TV. Thanks again for your great work, Craig Cadman Middle School Science From ASCD: Middle-school students create podcasts as part of place-based learning Middle-school students at an Oregon charter school created podcasts as part of their study of a local streetcar line that used to operate near their school. Educators say the streetcar project and the podcasts are a form of place-based learning, which includes studying the history of neighborhoods, communities and buildings under the umbrella of environmental education. The student recordings are posted on the website of the regional transportation planning agency, which is considering reviving the original line. http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2010/06/southwest_charter_school_stude.html David Bydlowski From the Twitterverse: Tech Tools: Doodle - Collaborative Scheduling http://doodle.com/ DabbleBoard - http://dabbleboard.com/ Free Web Pages http://pageeasy.com/ Webspotlight: Interesting world view: http://timemaps.com/history/ Top 100 technology blogs for teachers Posted on Jun. 17th 2010 6:23 PM by alexis (This article is a continuation and combination of two previous lists: “The Top 25 eLearning Blogs,” and “The Top 20 Teacher Blogs“) http://www.onlinedegrees.org/top-100-technology-blogs-for-teachers/ News: Report finds KIPP students outscore public school peers Prince George's bans student cellphone use during school day Carpe Data: In Defense of Common Standards Events & Happenings:

Jokes: Obedience A father of five won a large stuffed animal in a raffle. All the way home he agonized about which child should receive the toy. When he arrived, he called the kids together. "I have decided this gift should go to the most deserving," he said. "Who is the most obedient?" he asked. "Who never talks back to mommy? Who does everything she says?" Five small voices cried in unison. "You do, Daddy!" On Our Mind: The "Reply All" button The Michigan Joint Education Conference: www.mijec.org Shawn presents at the 8:00 and 10:00 sessions. You've got to be there! From the Twitterverse: Listeners: Hey guys, Hope you are enjoying your summer. We still have another full week of school. Ran across this the other day and thought you might be interested: http://www.microsoft.com/multipoint/mouse-mischief/ It is a free product from Microsoft. Since most students learn how to use powerpoint in computer class, this would be a fun tool for student presentations. Robert PS Still not on Twitter. -- Robert Jackson Kyiv, Ukraine Model Schools Conference, Orlando HUGE thanks to Dr. John Harrison for recommending Middle School Matters to his session attenders at the Model Schools Conference in Orlando, Florida this week. We really appreciate the recommendation, though it cost us the last of our business cards. Tech Tools: Teen Chat Decoder http://www.teenchatdecoder.com/ Create Short Animations at Fuzzwich http://www.fuzzwich.com/ Free Quizzes that you can play right in your browser! Welcome to Quiz-Tree.com! Who said that learning has to be boring? Everybody learns better when they are having fun! Here at Quiz-Tree.com you will find educational games and quizzes on many subjects, including Math, Reading, Spanish, Geography, SAT, Spelling, Music and more. All activities come with animated interface, fun sounds and other cool features that make learning more enjoyable. To find an activity, start by clicking on the general subject that you are interested in. http://www.quiz-tree.com/index.html Webspotlight: Your Next Read http://www.yournextread.com/us/ Forbes Map Interactive Feature Map: Where Americans Are Moving Jon Bruner More than 10 million Americans moved from one county to another during 2008. The map below visualizes those moves. Click on any county to see comings and goings: black lines indicate net inward movement, red lines net outward movement. http://www.forbes.com/2010/06/04/migration-moving-wealthy-interactive-counties-map.html Understanding Genetics http://www.thetech.org/exhibits/online/ugenetics/ Are Good Teachers Always Good, No Matter Where They Go? The more we fixate on the "good teacher," the less we seem to concern ourselves with good teaching. But the story also drove home how seldom we hear about the conditions that foster good teaching. Most news stories on ed reform leave the impression that a good teacher is a good teacher is a good teacher, no matter where he teaches, no matter what challenges he faces, no matter how toxic the climate in his school is. Good teachers, it seems, are widgets to be deployed to all manner of schools, where they'll climb every mountain and ford every stream. http://www.publicschoolinsights.org/are-good-teachers-always-good-no-matter-where-they-go?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+LFA+%28Public+School+Insights%3A+What+is+WORKING+in+our+Public+Schools%29 News: Middle Schools Conference Notes

Title: Summer Blues? We're still talking. Jokes: "In making a sermon, think up a good beginning, then think up a good ending and finally bring these two as close together as you possibly can." - Frederick Temple Graduation Day: It's graduation day, and everybody's going to get their diploma but Josh. At the assembly, the entire senior class stands up and shouts "Let Josh graduate, let Josh graduate!" The principal agrees to give Josh one last chance. "If I have five apples in my right hand and five in my left hand, Josh, how many apples do I have?" he asked. Josh thought long and hard and then said: "Ten." And the entire senior class stood up and shouted, "Give Josh another chance. Give Josh another chance!" New Principal: A new school principal was checking over his school the day before the first school class day. Passing the stockroom, he was startled to see the door wide open and teachers bustling in and out, carrying off books and supplies in preparation for the arrival of students the next day. The school where he had been a principal the previous year had used a check-out system only slightly less elaborate than that at Fort Knox. Cautiously, he asked the school's long time custodian, "Do you think it's wise to keep the stockroom unlocked and to let the teachers take things without requisitions?" The custodian looked at him gravely and said, "We trust them with the children, don't we?" On Our Mind: From the Twitterverse: Listeners: Response to podcast #123 - UDL article Tech Tools: MicroMobs: Micro Mobs is a free service that allows anyone to create their own public or private micromessaging network. To get started just name your mob (network) pick a URL then register for an account. You can register for a Micro Mobs account or use your Twitter or Facebook account to login into Micro Mobs. Once you've created your Micro Mobs network you can invite others by email, Twitter, or Facebook message. If you choose to make your Micro Mobs network private it can only be accessed by the people you have invited. Micro Mobs could be a good private platform for hosting a backchannel chat in your classroom. Micro Mobs might also be a good platform for keeping in contact with parents or colleagues. http://www.freetech4teachers.com/2010/06/micro-mobs-realtime-group-messaging.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+freetech4teachers%2FcGEY+%28Free+Technology+for+Teachers%29 http://micromobs.com/ Weebly Easy website creation is our passion. When we say easy, we mean it! Weebly was named one of TIME’s 50 Best Websites of the year in 2007 and we’ve since made our service even more powerful, while keeping it simple. We have 3 million customers who would likely agree that there’s really no better place to create a website online – here’s why: * Create a free website & blog * Easy drag and drop interface * No technical skills required * Dozens of professional designs * Free domain hosting http://www.weebly.com/ Webspotlight: NCLB damages US education by narrowing the curriculum No Child Left Behind (NCLB) continues to harm the formal educational experiences of millions of students and teachers in the United States. In her recent book, "The Death and Life of the Great American School System," Diane Ravitch explains why. In her chapter titled, "Hijacked!" on page 29, Ravitch writes: http://www.speedofcreativity.org/2010/06/05/nclb-damages-us-education-by-narrowing-the-curriculum/ Educational Leadership Archives: Now available for FREE http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/archived-issues.aspx http://crescentok.com/staff/jaskew/WebBased/WebBased.htm News: Teacher Evaluation

Jokes: The Book Lunching with a friend in a fast food restaurant, I was telling her about a teenager who had rear-ended my car. The teen blamed me for the accident. "She called me every name in the book!" I said. Just then I looked over to the next table where two nine-year-old boys had apparently been paying close attention to my story. One said to the other, "There's a book?" A Birthday Number A couple phoned a neighbor to extend birthday greetings. They dialed the number and then sang "Happy Birthday" to him. But when they finished their off-key rendition, they discovered that they had dialed the wrong number. "Don't let it bother you," said a strange but amused voice. "You folks need all the practice you can get." On Our Mind: Gifted Bias: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/01/nyregion/01gifted.html?ref=education "Graduation" Summer Time From the Twitterverse: Advisory: Bullying Awareness Project Teacher Page: http://www.ldcsb.on.ca/schools/cfe/rpt/RPT_Zero_Tolerance/teacher.html Student Page: http://www.ldcsb.on.ca/schools/cfe/rpt/RPT_Zero_Tolerance/student.html Listeners: Robert sent along the web site: http://www.hippocampus.org/ Tech Tools: Notalon http://bitbucket.org/saketh/notalon/overview Webspotlight: UDL Discussion http://lisaslingo.blogspot.com/2010/05/why-wont-more-teachers-set-up-udl.html?spref=fb Rethinking Schools As a special introduction to our new website, the text of the entire summer issue of Rethinking Schools is accessible here, free of charge. If you aren’t already a member of Rethinking Schools, we hope a look at the exciting and thought-provoking articles in this issue will inspire you to join. http://www.rethinkingschools.org/index.shtml Will the iPad make kids smarter? http://www.examiner.com/x-46117-Long-Island-iPad-Examiner~y2010m6d5-Will-the-Apple-iPad-make-kids-smarter?cid=channel-rss-Gadgets_and_Tech News: Districts' Financial Crisis Is Not the Time to Talk Reform By Harold J. Kwalwasser Financial chaos does not promote positive change. When districts’ funding is uncertain, administrators and school boards have no time to worry about innovation and transformation. All life is sucked from discussions of reform. The nitty-gritty of how to balance the budget, whether it is how many teachers to fire or which programs to cut, drowns out any consideration of real, long-term improvement. http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2010/06/03/33kwalwasser.h29.html?tkn=XQQF13b3BxIwIjwm%2FHgRJ0uyoj6rmBYizVXS&cmp=clp-edweek 4 Day Weeks gain popularity During the school year, Mondays in this rural Georgia community are for video games, trips to grandma's house and hanging out at the neighborhood community center. Don't bother showing up for school. The doors are locked and the lights are off. http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2010/06/04/358869usfourdayschoolweek_ap.html?tkn=WVTFdqIRlkDrbw0wXdYDRUmFzEFsRwCKamBh&cmp=clp-edweek States' Fiscal Condition Still Dismal, New Report Finds By Alyson Klein on June 3, 2010 10:30 AM State finances remain as bad as they have been in decades, and the fiscal picture isn't likely to clear up anytime soon, according to a report released this morning by the National Governors Association and the National Association of State Budget Officers. http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/campaign-k-12/2010/06/states_are_still_in_terrible_f.html Events & Happenings:

Jokes: On Our Mind: Memorial Day Weekend Red Skelton - Pledge of Allegiance From the Twitterverse: Advisory: 1. 10 YouTube Videos of People Doing Amazing Things *Note- turn the sound off for the breakdance video http://mashable.com/2010/05/24/youtube-amazing-people/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Mashable+%28Mashable%29 2. Time to revisit one of your Advisory activities from the Fall! Remember measuring your Advisory students' height this past fall? We talked about an activity to help your students see their growth over the course of the year. In case you missed that podcast, you take a length of twine and have the student put one end at their heel and the other end at their head. Try to get as exact as you can (you'll be off by a little, don't worry about it) and then label each students' string for June. When the last week of school comes around do the activity again and have the students compare strings. Some will be dramatically different, some not so much. Listeners: From Dave Bydlowski, RESA Science Specialist: 10a. You Be the Chemist on TV This Week 9a. Introduce Your Students to Nanoscale Science 9c. New Science Teacher Academy 9d. Spark Interest in STEM Careers MWM’s inquiry- and design-based STEM program trains teachers on what are called Materials World Modules, teaching units focused on matter and its applications. The idea is to give teachers the lessons and tools to increase student interest and achievement in STEM subjects and careers. The program pairs teachers with scientists and engineers, who will also serve as mentors and resources after the program is completed. Just visit: http://www.materialsworldmodules.org/ From the website: 1. Todd Williamson Says: May 27th, 2010 at 9:35 pm Hey Troy, thanks for your thoughts on the iPad. I’m still holding out (though barely) for the 2nd Generation as I think there will be some significant changes between the 1st and 2nd. I know during one of my MLE sessions someone mentioned having a class set of iPod Touches and that they were able to sync them all to a single iTunes account. I’d love some clarification on that from a legal standpoint, but it seems like that is likely what has happened so far with the Touch. That would mean that Apps purchased for the account were available to all Touch/iPads connected to that account. Seems like a loophole Apple would want to clarify one way or the other. I really think we’re going to see a significant price drop or production drop on the eReaders from Amazon and B&N now that apps exist for both companies for the iPad. Overall, those two companies are focused on selling books, both digital and dead tree. Why stay in a market you aren’t built for (eReader hardware design) when there is a platform available that you can pump money into the software side, and still sell your books? Time will tell… Thanks again! Tech Tools: Online Stickies: (similar to WallWisher). http://en.linoit.com/ FedFlix: http://www.archive.org/details/FedFlix Technology Assessment A plethora of links to evaluate technology planning, web resources, technology impact, and evaluations & reports. http://www.4teachers.org/inttech/index.php?inttechid=ta GradePad iPhone/iPod Touch/iPad app that lets you take grades in a rubric format while you circle the room. Webspotlight: Cognitive Surplus: The Great Spare-Time Revolution http://www.wired.com/magazine/2010/05/ff_pink_shirky/all/1 Videos: Making Data Matter http://www.edweek.org/ew/section/video-galleries/april10-event-data.html News: Banking Giant Offers Financing for Charter Schools http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2010/05/28/33jpmorgan.h29.html?tkn=PPYFbNdxAuarBPKe2qcSOmnhI+20xtqZ+oV6&cmp=clp-edweek School's out, but should it be? But experts say extended school year would avoid "summer slide" http://www.denverpost.com/education/ci_15178799 Events & Happenings: Calendar of Events:

Jokes: Ugly Suits When the store manager returned from lunch, he noticed his clerk's hand was bandaged, but before he could ask about the bandage, the clerk had some very good news for him. "Guess what, sir?" the clerk said. "I finally sold that terrible, ugly suit we've had so long!" "Do you mean that repulsive pink-and-blue double-breasted thing?!" the manager asked. "That's the one!" "That's great!" the manager cried, "I thought we'd never get rid of that monstrosity! That had to be the ugliest suit we've ever had! But tell me, why is your hand bandaged?" "Oh," the clerk replied, "after I sold the guy that suit, his seeing-eye dog bit me." On Our Mind: Thanks for the ratings. We've added to the iTunes rating and really appreciate that. School year is coming to a close. From the Twitterverse: Advisory: Ad Hoc idea: Info Please/ChaCha - Here's an idea to let your kids use those smart phones in school. Grab some worksheets from your teammates and hold a surprise review quiz in Advisory. They can use two resources to help them find the answers: Info Please and ChaCha. Info Please is a reference site put together by Pearson. Tons of resources at the ready. Not enough computers in your Advisory classroom? Fine. Let the kiddos pull out their cell phones and get the answers from ChaCha, a cell phone based search engine. Tech Tools: Gpanion: Gives you an online dashboard to your Google Apps and life. http://gpanion.com/ Timeline tools: http://www.freetech4teachers.com/2010/05/five-ways-for-students-to-build.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+freetech4teachers%2FcGEY+%28Free+Technology+for+Teachers%29 XTimeline TimeGlider Time Toast TimeRime Dipity Facebook search engine: Openbook draws attention to the information Facebook makes public about its users via its search API. Facebook exposed this service on April 21st, 2010. Our goal is to get Facebook to restore the privacy of this information, so that this website and others like it no longer work. Anybody can search, even if they don't have a Facebook account. However, if you are logged into your Facebook account, you'll see full profile pages when you click on a user. http://youropenbook.org/ AutoMotivator AutoMotivator is for making printable motivational posters or parody demotivational posters. You choose the picture, colors, and text, and we make your poster. You can put the poster on your website, or even get a print for just $9.95. A giant, 36" wide print is just $19.95! http://wigflip.com/automotivator/ e.g.: Mistakes Poster http://site.despair.com/images/dpage/mistakes03.jpg Webspotlight: Net Generation: Downloadable information revolving around the Federal Government and its IT capabilities. Also has sections on Net Generation, use of web 2.0 tools, etc. http://www.slideshare.net/DepartmentofDefense/net-generation?from=embed News: Common-Standards Draft Excludes ELL Proficiency By Mary Ann Zehr http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2010/05/20/33common-ell.h29.html?tkn=MQOFnULgtF%2Fgh5hnaIt1UWPBxqDYo516eELj&cmp=clp-edweek Education officials may scrap MCAS test http://www.boston.com/news/education/k_12/mcas/articles/2010/05/20/education_officials_may_scrap_mcas_test/ Are We Really Teaching Them How To Fish (by Jennifer Wagner) Teaching teachers to fish instead of simply relying on PLN's for all the answers. http://www.techlearning.com/blogs/29850 Opportunity: Knowledge For Teaching Study http://www.ets.org/Media/Campaign/13700/ What makes a good teacher? Here's a study to find out and a chance for you to participate in a study that is designed to find out those very things. Events & Happenings:

Title: Sneaky Science Achievement . . . Jokes: How do you keep a parrot on its perch? Polly Grip. On Our Mind: NMSA hires new Executive Director: Dr. Drew Allbritten NMSA hires new Research Journal Editor: Dr. Karen Weller Swanson NMSA announces new Voucher Program. * Minimum amount $250/No Maximum. * Expires two years from date of issue. * Valid on membership, book purchases, event registrations, on-site professional development, and Middle Grades Assessment. * No refunds or cash back. * Voucher may be redeemed via mail, fax, phone, or online. Limitations apply to online redemption and cannot be used for on-site purchases. * Member discounts apply upon usage of voucher. From the Twitterverse: Advisory: Origami Projects: http://en.origami-club.com//index.html http://www.thinkgeek.com/homeoffice/supplies/b21b/: Sticky Notes Book version: Sticky Note Origami Don't Buy It - Consumer Awareness: http://pbskids.org/dontbuyit/ http://pbskids.org/dontbuyit/buyingsmart/ Tech Tools: GeoGebra GeoGebra is free and multi-platform dynamic mathematics software for all levels of education that joins geometry, algebra, tables, graphing, statistics and calculus in one easy-to-use package. It has received several educational software awards in Europe and the USA. http://www.geogebra.org/cms/ MeetingWords: MeetingWords is a simple text editor for the web. Your text is saved on the web, and more than one person can edit the same document at the same time. Everybody's changes are instantly reflected on all screens. Work together on meeting notes, brainstorming sessions, homework, team programming and more! http://meetingwords.com/ Webspotlight: Scitable A free science library and personal learning tool brought to you by Nature Publishing Group, the world's leading publisher of science. Scitable currently concentrates on genetics, the study of evolution, variation, and the rich complexity of living organisms. http://www.nature.com/scitable Udemy Udemy is a website that enables anyone to create an online course. Our goal is to provide our teachers with everything they could possibly need to create a great learning experience over the internet. We've worked hard to build this site and we hope you like it. Everything is completely free, because we believe nobody should have to pay for Udemy unless they are making money themselves. http://udemy.com/ Physics Central: Learn how your world works. Includes Physics Quest: PhysicsQuest is a story-based activity that exposes middle school students to the fun and relevance of science. APS provides a free PhysicsQuest kit to registered 6-9th grade physical science classes, home school groups, science clubs, and after-school programs. The kit includes a user's manual and materials for four physics experiments. Also: Ask a Physicist http://www.physicscentral.com/ News: Educational Attainment Rises Among All Americans Demographic Shift Could Pose Challenges for Schools By Erik W. Robelen College for all? Experts say not necessarily By ALAN SCHER ZAGIER (AP) http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gFJnsnt6zUOz2LwZnZgsoBxUQC6QD9FM535G0 An Idea to Consider: The Purpose Is the Point By Phillip Harris & Bruce Smith http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2010/05/12/31harris.h29.html?tkn=WYVFhdem88gTCb5WD1xyQ%2B1JQ8ZRGaX2lOUF&cmp=clp-edweek Events & Happenings:

Title: Teaching Secrets that we just gave away! Jokes: Technology The world's first fully computerized airliner was ready for its maiden flight without pilots or crew. The plane taxied to the loading area automatically, its doors opened automatically, the steps came out automatically. The passengers boarded the plane and took their seats. The steps retreated automatically, the doors closed, and the airplane taxied toward the runway. "Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen," a voice intoned. "Welcome to the debut of the world's first fully computerized airliner. Everything on this aircraft is run electronically. Just sit back and relax. Nothing can go wrong ... Nothing can go wrong...nothing can go wrong...." Homework Assignments A father came home from work one night to find his little boy sitting on the cat, with a pen and paper in his hand. "Why are you sitting on Felix?" he asked. "Well, teacher told us to write an essay on the family pet." On Our Mind: Happy Belated Birthday to Ron King! Transitions Elementary to Middle http://www.nea.org/tools/16657.htm http://www.ericdigests.org/1999-2/middle.htm http://learningtogive.org/lessons/unit32/ http://www.lpcsc.k12.in.us/kesling/docs/Survival_Tips.pdf Middle to High http://www.ldaofmichigan.org/articles/Mizelle3-06.htm http://www.kidsource.com/education/middlehigh.html From Our Listeners: I was listening to the podcast ... As we talked, it was obvious that there was a lot of confusion between formative and summative, especially when it came to grades. I shared your example of the students who both learned the content, but started their learning at different levels. As you talked about you, it was clear that if a student had more prior knowledge they would probably get a better grade. But a student who learned the same things, yet had less prior knowledge would probably not get as good a grade. This was a striking example for the participants in the workshop. All of a sudden, people got a much better understanding of formative assessment, summative assessment and its impact on grading. I think it is a great example and it had a great impact on 40 science teachers. Keep up the good work, Dave Bydlowski resa.net/science k12science.net Twitter: k12science Facebook: k12science From the Twitterverse: Advisory: The Learners Profile http://www.ncwiseowl.org/kscope/techknowpark/kiosk/Profile_Teachers.html Webspotlight: Teens & Mobile Phone Infographic: http://www.flowtown.com/blog/teens-and-their-mobile-phones?display=wide Timelines: Create your own timelines: http://www.xtimeline.com/ Students Provide Feedback on Teachers: Teaching Secrets: 10 To-Dos for New Teachers 1. Find your curriculum and read through it several times. 2. Find all your supporting materials, both student and teacher copies. 3. Ask to look over last year’s yearbook. 4. Create a birthday list for each class (celebrate half-birthdays for summer birthdays, six months from the actual date). 5. Develop some sort of impartial method for calling on students during class. 6. Figure out how you will capture students on the first day of school. 7. Design some method to manage and keep track of daily paperwork, especially for absent students. 8. Make an appointment to sit down with important building specialists. 9. Introduce yourself to the school secretaries, the nurse, the bookkeepers and the paraprofessionals. 10. Decide where and when you will fight your battles with the kids. http://www.edweek.org/tm/articles/2010/05/05/tln_ratzel_newteachertodos.html?tkn=WOYCT4%2FR0wxIx1HwBu%2Bs1%2FE2wCPYug9wyhjq&cmp=clp-sb-ascd Reading Programs Yield Few Gains in Comprehension Events & Happenings:

Jokes: Phones After the telephone was installed in her home, the lady called the operator. My telephone cord is too long, she said. Would you please pull it a little from your end? Daughters A certain little girl, when asked her name, would reply, "I'm Mr. Sugarbrown's daughter." Her mother told her this was wrong, she must say, "I'm Jane Sugarbrown." The Vicar spoke to her in Sunday school, and said, "Aren't you Mr. Sugarbrown's daughter?" She replied, "I thought I was, but mother says I'm not." Positive Attributes A doctor examining a woman who had been rushed to the Emergency Room took the husband aside, and said, "I don't like the looks of your wife at all. "Me neither doc," said the husband. "But she's a great cook and really good with the kids." On Our Mind: Google Apps for All in Oregon From Our Listeners: Thanks to Michael DePass for the podcast requests. We hope that you enjoy them. Gentlemen, Just listened to ep 114 (sorry I'm a little behind) and enjoyed your discussion about allowing students to text the teacher an answer to a problem in class. One question: What phone # should the students be given to text to? I for one, would not give my cell phone # to the class. Keep up the good work! Mike Cohen This weekend I attended WAMLE10 and had the opportunity to listen to Christian Moore present on his program Why Try? Listening to him present, he reminded me of so many of my "at risk" kids. He talked about how many of "them" are visual learners, yet many teachers predominately use auditory ways to present information. His program is built around visual metaphors and music and I thought it was right on target. He said something surprising during his breakout session though. He mentioned presenting at NMSA this year and there being an absence of dropout prevention presenters. While I was not able to attend, do you recall that being true? Do you know anything about his program? Did either of you attend his session this year? I have included some to links in case you aren't too familiar with him. It sounds to me like a great advisory or enrichment program for schools to look into. What do you think? Ron From Doc. Tatom: The 2010 Discovery Education 3M Young Scientist Challenge is for students grades 5-8. Ten finalists will be selected to receive an all-expense paid trip to New York City to compete in the final challenge in October. The winner will receive $50,000 in U.S. Savings Bonds ($25,000 cash value), a tour of 3M's Innovation Center in St. Paul Minnesota given by the world's top scientists, and the title of "America's Top Young Scientist." Competition Details: 1. Middle school students in the U.S. are challenged to create a 1-2 minute video communicating the science behind the danger of one of the following safety and security issues that are present in everyday life, and offer a possible solution: a. Preventing the spread of germs and diseases b. Food safety c. Sun protection d. Wind resistant structures 2. All video entries must be submitted online at www.youngscientistchallenge.com by May 27, 2010. 3. Videos will be evaluated by a panel of judges based on creativity, persuasiveness, classroom suitability, and overall presentation. Students can learn how to craft a winning video by checking out Entry Video Tips at www.youngscientistchallenge.com/about/entry_video_tips.html, which features advice from previous winners. 4. The official submission rules can be found at www.youngscientistchallenge.com . From Dave Bydlowski: ----------------------------------------------------------------- Middle School Science Teachers From the Twitterverse:

Jokes: Qualifications for Presidency An eighth grade teacher was leading a discussion on the qualifications for being president of the United States. After the teacher commented that a person must be a natural-born citizen, one of the students raised her hand. Does that mean that if you were born by Caesarean section that you can't be president? From the Twitterverse: * Monte Tatom drmmtatom 5 Trends in Education Technology Leadership -- THE Journal http://tinyurl.com/2a2f9l5 * Glen Westbroek gardenglen Solar observation spacecraft delivers stunning close-ups of sun http://usat.me?89018 * OH Science Teachers OCESS State Board of Ed agrees teachers' address, phone, e-mail shouldn't be released to public http://ow.ly/1B8z7 * russeltarr russeltarr Stupeflix: Video creation made easy (does this have an edge over Animoto?) http://tinyurl.com/mw5xta * Casey Mayfield mayfieldc Manual to begin using Twitter for social networking; http://bit.ly/a0pUpj * Casey Mayfield mayfieldc Wallwisher in a science classroom, ideas for use: http://bit.ly/aJ79Yy o Concept Wall o Interactive KWL o Interactive Science Games o Project Based Learning * russeltarr russeltarr iPhone Apps for Education: A particularly well organised list: http://tinyurl.com/y8hm6ok * russeltarr russeltarr World Clock - nice for to have up on the Whiteboard between lessons - http://tinyurl.com/nlmm37 * Debra Lee debralee7 Are You A Teacher or a Babysitter?: http://ow.ly/1BDT6 #edchat (via @Aaron_Eyler) * Scott McLeod mcleod Grading "formative" assessments? http://goo.gl/qW2Q Superb post by @mctownsley * Miguel Guhlin mguhlin Graphs: Digital Tool Use in Middle and High School http://ff.im/-iW3n1 * Patrick Larkin bhsprincipal RT @snbeach: New Prof Development for teachers-- Don't teach them; Help them learn by enabling them to build a global network. * Twilliamson15 #MLE2010 Webspotlight: Wacky Web Tales http://www.educationplace.biz/tales/ Relaxed Minds Learn better http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE62N4VJ20100324 Difference Between: http://www.differencebetween.net/ Tagxedo: http://www.tagxedo.com/ America on the Move: http://americanhistory.si.edu/onthemove/ Hear Names: http://www.hearnames.com/index.php Video Science http://www.sciencehouse.com/videoscience-experiments.html Virtual Owl Pellet: http://www.kidwings.com/index.htm MiddleTalk: This We Believe http://www.nmsa.org/ProfessionalDevelopment/MiddleTalkListserve/tabid/1212/Default.aspx Siftables: http://sifteo.com/ Etherpad Alternatives http://tech4teaching.org/wpblog/?p=929 Ning Ends Free Service: (See TechCrunch's Article) Alternatives: -Cubetree -Jabbster -Shoutem Texas' Textbook Influence http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2010/04/22/30texts_ep.h29.html?tkn=ROMFSqn2MnKy5KlKQ6xol0G2%2BkVr2NP6ZRwL&cmp=clp-edweek Math Curriculum http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BlvKWEvKSi8 Events & Happenings:

Title: Show Me The Money! (Next week's show is done too.) Jokes: Drill Sergeants A drill sergeant had just chewed out one of his cadets, and as he was walking away, he turned to the cadet and said, "I guess when I die you'll come and dance on my grave." The cadet replied, "Not me, Sarge...no sir! I promised myself that when I got out of the Army I'd never stand in another line!" During a recent password audit, it was found that a young woman was using the following password: "MickeyMinniePlutoHueyLouieDeweyDonaldGoofySacramento" When asked why she had such a long password, she said she was told that it had to be at least 8 characters long and include at least one capital. On Our Mind: Class Size http://www.publicschoolinsights.org/class-size-really-irrelevant?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feedutm_campaign=Feed%3A+LFA+%28Public+School+Insights%3A+What+is+WORKING+in+our+Public+Schools%29 What can you do with an iPhone (or 4)? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8QD5Mj_wC-I&feature=related New Directions for Music Programs: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8QD5Mj_wC-I&feature=related (There are other videos of this lady performing other pop songs without the OMG cat.) From our Listeners: Troy & Shawn, Thanks for all that you do! I've attached a 4 minute comment on your current podcast. (Any chance on sharing what apps the University puts on those iPads/iPhones/iPod Touches?) (FHU's iKnow + FHU) Rationale, Applications, Research structure, Paradigm, Hey guys, interesting article about paying for performance in schools. If this catches on, then I will write my former middle school, asking for my "back pay" from when I was a student there. Robert (Mr. Jackson to some of us. ;-) ) PS What is a good book for advisory about study skills? Carol Josel 1. Other-wise and School-wise could be a resource (http://www.schoolwisebooks.com/html/owsw.html) 2. The Parenting School-wise Tips book certainly could be used to teach kids study skills. 3. I'd sign up for the newsletter also. That and the cooking ideas at the end of the newsletter are rather tasty! Susan Krueger Haven't tried it, but: SOAR Curriculum. 7 Habits for Highly Effective Teens, Sean Covey Have tried it. You can also get it in audio format and use with the kids. Make sure you have money committed to the program over time. The Middle School Student's Guide to Ruling the World! by Susan Mulcaire We've reviewed this work in a previous podcast. Should Kids be Bribed: http://news.yahoo.com/s/time/20100409/us_time/08599197858900 http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1978589,00.html From listener Dave Bydlowski From the Twitterverse:

Advisory: Online Personal Finance Game from the Council on Economic Education: http://www.genirevolution.org/index.php Set up in a popular game format, students work their way through challenges answering key questions to earn points to advance through the game. If you've been to the International Spy Museum in Washington, D.C. you'll be familiar with the "cloak and dagger" feel of the mission briefings, information gathering, and operative training incorporated in the game. http://pewresearch.org/millennials/quiz/ On Our Mind: Thanks to all of our Facebook Fans! Looking for some more iTunes reviews. Samsung Grant: Digital Presenter Contest http://www.samsunggrants.com/ From The Twitterverse: * web20classroom RT @jackiegerstein: Wired's Colleges Dream of Paperless, iPad-Centric Education http://bit.ly/cOkwz1 * andreacshaw RT @PFoundation: It's the last week to apply for the Pearson Prize for Higher Edu. Spread the word to college students http://bit.ly/bAP9FP * mayfieldc Personal finance game for kids: http://bit.ly/7xoOLc (Mentioned in the Advisory section of the podcast.) * bhsprincipal RT @blairteach: RT @ryanbretag: Show faculty this video; it is full of relevant, important ideas for discussion w/edus http://bit.ly/aFGwKL * mikeroberts1973 RT: @BarackObama Tomorrow, Arne Duncan will be answering your questions on education reform. Ask a question here: http://j.mp/cTzX6i * drmmtatom Virtual Field Trip Planning Kit http://tinyurl.com/yabxdbp * terryfreedman RT @GrahamBM: The opening morning videos of Game Based Learning 2010 are now online http://bit.ly/aApOuy * DonorsChoose KnowHow2GO – Helping *middle* school students prepare for college http://bit.ly/c5Ca3e * markgammon How to Set Up a Mail Merge in Gmail for Personalized Mass Emails http://bit.ly/a48ISc /via Lifehacker * Twilliamson15 http://bit.ly/c1zTzu Notes from IMPACT Staff Development using K12Online Conference Sessions. * Alfonso Gonzalez educatoral RT @NMHS_Principal: Our Children Are Telling Us How They Want to Learn http://bit.ly/dadsri #edtech * Steven W. Anderson web20classroom RT @rww: You Are Not a Gadget: The Continuing Case Against Web 2.0 http://bit.ly/acAJn6 * Alfonso Gonzalez educatoral RT @englishteach8: RT @delicious50: 11 Great Hidden Things Google Can Do That You Should Know @ SmashingApps http://bit.ly/kS73n * Keisa Williams keisawilliams Teaching Literary Devices with Comics http://bit.ly/cA0wnd * matthewktabor matthewktabor The Creepiest Children's Books Ever (with pictures): http://twurl.nl/vnicrq From our Listeners: Hi Guys, I have been enjoying the podcast, but I get lazy about sending out science information. I hope you don't mind if I continue to send it along to you. I hope these work out for you. Enjoy your Spring Break!! Dave Bydlowski Podcast Site: k12science.net In the iTunes store, just do a search for: k12science Twitter: twitter.com/k12science Letter from Mr. Jackson Webspotlight: Social Media Explained in 4 minutes: http://www.freetech4teachers.com/2010/03/social-media-explained-visually.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+freetech4teachers%2FcGEY+%28Free+Technology+for+Teachers%29 Four Day Week? http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/editorials/ct-edit-4day-20100330,0,1138284.story Video Editing: http://jaycut.com/ Freeology http://freeology.com/ Google For Teachers Guide http://www.freetech4teachers.com/2010/03/free-33-page-guide-google-for-teachers.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+freetech4teachers%2FcGEY+%28Free+Technology+for+Teachers%29 Events & Happenings:

Jokes: Suits My wife and I were at my high school reunion. As I looked around, I noticed the other men in their expensive suits with their bulging stomachs. Proud of the fact that I weighed just five pounds more than I did when I was in high school, the result of trying to beat a living out of a rocky hillside farm, I said to my wife, "I'm the only guy here who can wear the suit he graduated in." She glanced at the prosperous crowd. "You're the only one here who has to." Charity A devastated-looking man knocks on the door of a woman known for her charity. "Please, ma'am," he says when she opens up, "can you help this poor, tragic family down the block? The father just lost his job, and his wife is too ill to work. They're about to be turned out into the cold streets unless someone can pay their rent." "That's the worst thing I've ever heard in my life!" says the woman. "May I ask who you are?" "Their landlord." Advisory: What's Your Story $10,000 Student Video contest is looking for your original work. Create a video on internet safety and you could win $10,000 in prize money. Must be 13+ to participate. http://whatsyourstory.trendmicro.com/internet-safety/Home.do On Our Mind: Mindless Entertainment to get you through this week: Muppets Humor 1. Ode to Joy 2. Classical Chicken 3. Beaker's Ballad * Tip- don't move on when the big play button shows up, wait a minute. From The Twitterverse: From our Listeners: Howdy gents! I enjoyed seeing the article about using smart phones in Algebra class. Last year I tried another approach to meet students with their own technologies. I had my “ticket to leave” problem on the board and students had to send me a text message with the answer before they were excused for lunch. I tried it for a couple of weeks to shake things up and students really enjoyed it. Your Ukrainian fanclub President, Robert Jackson Kyiv International School http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pSsvt8LBEV4 MAMSE: http://middleschoolmatters.com/Conference_Notes/MAMSE_2010.pdf Webspotlight: Amazing Web 2.0 Projects http://www.terry-freedman.org.uk/web2_2010/Amazing%20Web%202%20Projects.pdf Girls and Boys on Achievement http://www.cep-dc.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=document_ext.showDocumentByID&nodeID=1&DocumentID=304 DocsPal http://www.docspal.com/ Create printable PDFs and eBooks from any online content. Use zinepal.com to create your own magazines and eBooks from any online content. You can select content from blogs, Atom/RSS feeds and other websites. zinepal.com reformats the content into a printable PDF and eBooks for use with eBook readers such as the Amazon Kindle, Barnes&Noble Nook or Sony PRS. It is the easiest way to repurpose online content for other distribution mediums. http://www.zinepal.com/ Remove pdf password protections: http://www.macosxhints.com/article.php?story=200512231728165 Youblisher: http://www.youblisher.com/ Chartle: Make online charts and tables that can be exported or shared via the web. http://www.chartle.net/ Events & Happenings: Calendar of Events: NMSA News: * NMSA is looking for both an Executive Director and an Assistant Executive Director. You can apply here. Good luck! Other News:

Jokes: In Medical Terms Advisory: NCMSA Want to send a message from your school to outer space? Send it on two lightsail missions. http://bit.ly/8ZQBqO On Our Mind: Gender Equity: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/03/17/national/main6307774.shtml From The Twitterverse: From our Listeners: Thank you to Language Arts Teacher for the iTunes post. We greatly appreciate it! To all of those who are now our fans on Facebook - Thank you! (You know who you are!) MAMSE: http://middleschoolmatters.com/Conference_Notes/MAMSE_2010.pdf Service Learning Students take leadership roles. They develop the activities. Webspotlight: Solving Algebra on Smartphones Research shows that a project to use the devices as teaching tools in some N.C. districts has had a measurable impact on student achievement in math. By Michelle R. Davis Students, some initially skeptical that a phone would help them do better in math, have been quick to embrace the idea of using the mobile device to learn, says Denton, who attends Dixon High School in the 24,000-student Onslow County, N.C., schools. For some math classes, particularly Algebra 1, Project K-Nect had mathematicians at Drexel University in Philadelphia develop short animated video math problems that teachers can assign to students as homework or classwork. Some students have taken the technology a step further and created movies with graphics, student actors, and stories highlighting math. Particularly popular are student-created movies with a “CSI” theme in which the drama uses math to solve a crime. One student produced and posted a rap song on polynomials, which was ultimately posted to YouTube and spawned thousands of imitators, says Gross of Digital Millennial Consulting. Learning Science: http://learningscience.org/index.htm Slum Dog Millionaire and Education: "Having watched hundreds of Indian children learning without teachers at the Hole In The Wall computers, it became obvious that all children can work by themselves, if they want to," Mitra says. "Most British children grow up with the internet and have the means to learn what they want in minutes, and this challenges the traditional idea of school being about learning things that will come in handy in the future. They become disengaged." Mitra is not alone in noticing this problem. John Dunford, head of the Association of School and College Leaders, last week told the group's annual conference that computer games and websites have made children impatient and harder to motivate. http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2010/mar/16/slumdog-millionaire-education-online-independent NCMSA10 Conference Notes (Todd Williamson) http://thetechnorateteacher.wordpress.com/2010/03/13/ncmsa10-education-in-japan/#comment-285 MAMSE10 Conference session notes hosted by Dexter Public Schools. http://www.dexterschools.org/~millcreek/mamse2010/MCMAMSE/Resources_Pg1.html Events & Happenings: Calendar of Events: NMSA News:

Podcast #112: Wimp Yourself into Middle school Jokes: Rabbits The LAPD, The FBI, and the CIA are all trying to prove that they are the best at apprehending criminals. The President decides to give them a test. He releases a rabbit into a forest and each of them has to catch it. First the CIA goes in. They place animal informants throughout the forest. They question all plant and mineral witnesses. After three months of extensive investigations they conclude that rabbits do not exist. Next the FBI goes in. After two weeks with no leads they burn the forest, killing everything in it, including the rabbit, and they make no apologies. The rabbit had it coming. Finally the LAPD goes in. They come out two hours later with a badly beaten bear. The bear is yelling: "Okay! Okay! I'm a rabbit! I'm a rabbit!" Advisory: http://www.wimpyourself.com/ On Our Mind: You can now sign up to receive updates via email. The Michigan Joint Education Conference is coming up June 23, 2010. Presentation proposals are due April 2, 2010. $79.00 for non-members and $49.00 for members of the member organizations sponsoring the event. This is a great way to pick up some PD this summer and you won't have to sell your soul to your administrator . . . From the Twitterverse: * web20classroom Flixtime-Similar To Animoto: http://is.gd/aJ4CV (via @Lifehacker & @gastondigital) * Frideswidel Lots of neat stuff from @Twilliamson15 at #ncmsa10 * russeltarr 10 most creative resumes: To stress to students the importance of "going the extra mile": http://tinyurl.com/yetnrj2 * Lilylauren Have you ever imagined a world with no hypothetical situations? * drmmtatom Teachers say in survey that good leadership is more important than pay http://tinyurl.com/yguoy3o * Twilliamson15 Just Posted: Making Videoconferencing Easy and Cheap to Use http://bit.ly/a5eS2L #ncmsa10 * zmanrdz Rethink what your school looks like?... http://tinyurl.com/ylqactg via www.diigo.com/~zmanrdz * JohnHarrison1 How cool is that? RT @techtipsPRMS: Totally weirded out to realize I'm @ a session of someone I follow on Twitter! #ncmsa10 * sharon_elin "No Teacher Left Behind" blog by newly-laid off teacher, creating a voice 4 many educators, aka sacrificial budget lambs. http://is.gd/aBvJG * colonelb Compilation of Michigan's MACUL Conference Tweets for 3/10-3/12/10 | http://tinyurl.com/MACUL10Tweets #edchat #edtech #macul10 From our Listeners: Kitty Holman: Google Earth for Educators: 50 Exciting Ideas for the Classroom Ideas for all ages. http://www.associatesdegree.com/2010/03/14/google-earth-for-educators-50-exciting-ideas-for-the-classroom/ MCSS: Super Social Studies Saturday! (3-13-2010) Link to the conference notes including the ones mentioned in the podcast: http://web.me.com/mcgirr/MCSS_Super_Saturday_3_13_2010/ Lots of great stuff presented integrating middle school geography and World History. MAMSE: http://middleschoolmatters.com/Conference_Notes/MAMSE_2010.pdf Webspotlight: Events & Happenings: Calendar of Events: