Middle School Matters

MSM-96-NMSA09_Wrap_Up_1

MSM-95-NMSA

Shawn & Troy discuss advisory ideas, share some shout outs, spotlight a few web sites, and look forward to the NMSA09 conference. From the Twitterverse: * canyonsdave So true. @Edu4U: RT @baded: If you think you don't like change, wait and see how you like irrelevance. #otf09 * web20classroom RT @joycevalenza: Classroom 2.0 today: New diigo features w/MaggieTsai 12:00pm Eastern In Elluminate at http://tinyurl.com/cr20live * web20classroom RT @stevejmoore: Google Wave Wiki for Educators http://j.mp/2goA7h * schoolwise "...Every dollar spent on a teacher=more valuable that a dollar spent on a variety of other ed reforms." ~ Z. Vanderhoek * Lilylauren So I just rulked (run/walked) this http://www.gmap-pedometer.c... and I am going to brag cos I can - stab me if you don't like it * gardenglen Great resources 4 teaching about soil: http://url.ie/2qxt * gardenglen RT @jenwagner: http://twitpic.com/nlway - @gardenglen I bet we see this used a lot at upcoming conferences. (grins) * schoolwise Info 101 - School Bus Safety and Stopping Laws: http://EzineArticles.com/?i... * math2go Robert Marzano & interactive whiteboards: http://bit.ly/14CFgC * funnelbrain Happy to annouce that we have just launched the Academic Decathlon Online Srimmage with our partners from the... http://bit.ly/Xzin6 * Advisory: One Letter off Movies: #oneletteroffmovies * Urbane Cowboy * A Streetcar Named Desirex * Where the Mild Things Are * Sat VI * Boy Story Longer Temper: http://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/2009/10/22/i-like-this-lesson-because-it-make-me-have-a-longer-temper-part-one/ On Our Mind: Shout out to March Wells III: Still on dial up....2 hours to download our Podcast. The Dedicated Listener Award goes to . . . Shout out to L.C.: Thanks for the idea- Snag jokes from Reader's Digest (so you know they're funny) and then put them into cartoon form. Should the National Middle School Association change its name? This was brought up an annual conference or two ago . . . Oscar the 3 legged wonder dog. Webspotlight: Comparison of cell sizes: http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/begin/cells/scale/ Schoology https://www.schoology.com/home.php WatchKnow: http://www.watchknow.org/ Stress, Control, and the Deprofessionalizing of Teaching: By Thomas Newkirk http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2009/10/21/08newkirk.h29.html?tkn=SLXFVNI0pzgQlNmS03dWjNd3b5GbnRR0ra9D What Ted Sizer Meant to Us By Patrick J. McQuillan http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2009/10/29/10mcquillan.h29.html?tkn=PPLF+9RZuGGEuUfRwqevXDYZDDbIdJzHfqkX

From the Twitterverse: * KD9SR Participating in DEN Virtual Conference (Discovery Educator Network) http://blog.discoveryeducation.com/virtcon09/ #DEN * JohnMikulski Blog Post: Intro to Podcasting for Teachers http://trunc.it/2r1va * willrich45 "For U.S. college students, Internet technologies have become so ubiquitous as to seem invisible." http://bit.ly/2pg53 What about educators? * willrich45 EduCon 2.2 -- Call For Conversations and Registration" http://j.mp/9Y5Bh Don't Forget to submit proposals by Nov 1!!! * MrsPendergest Ghosts and Legends http://tinyurl.com/yjmuyxf is an extension of http://tinyurl.com/ylocf87 with this http://tinyurl.com/ygwdtys (Local History) * cfanch Key Curriculum Press is having a good sale on books for $7.50. We're stocking up! http://keypress.com/x24726.xml * math2go Instructional coaching: http://instructionalcoach.org/articles.html * rmbyrne Free Technology for Teachers: Week In Review - The Most Popular Items http://ff.im/-aoUeM * cshirky --hope-this-works (hackintoshing my HP Mini...) * paulallison Favorite thing that Ted Sizer used to say: "You should be able to have dinner with the people who set standards for your children." * tonitones Apple: we can find engineers - but we can't find engineers who will work in a group #adecamp09 * tonitones is the mindset in your school built around a culture of creativity and a strive for innovation? #adecamp09 * http://twitter.com/search?q=%23ADEcamp09 * NMSANMSAnews Start your conference experience now. Join NMSA09 Conference Connections http://nmsa09.ning.com/ * schoolwise NCLB cheats gifted kids says http://tinyurl.com/yhw59l3. Agree? Me, too. Advisory: What's My Line? Cartoon Edition: http://www.worldmag.com/articles/16000 Take the cartoon, erase the text and let students then create text to fit a scene. It doesn't have to relate On Our Mind: One of the biggest classroom management mistakes teachers make is that they take disrespectful behavior personally. http://www.smartclassroommanagement.com/2009/07/31/how-to-handle-disrespectful-students/ Webspotlight: Create easy flow charts (for Free): http://www.slickplan.com/ Google Apps for Education Lesson Plans: http://www.google.com/a/help/intl/en/edu/lesson_plans.html#utm_campaign=en&utm_source=educators_newsletter&utm_medium=email Museum Virtual Box: This site provides the tools for you to build up an argument or description of an event, person or historical period by placing items in a virtual box. http://museumbox.e2bn.org/index.php The CU On-line Handbook: So while online is not a cure-all or “magic bullet”, it does have the potential to revolutionize how we think about, and deliver education. https://www.cudenver.edu/Academics/CUOnline/FacultyResources/Handbook/Documents/2009/CU_Online_Handbook_2009.pdf#page=50 News: Stress, Control, and the Deprofessionalizing of Teaching: http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2009/10/21/08newkirk.h29.html?tkn=SLXFVNI0pzgQlNmS03dWjNd3b5GbnRR0ra9D Twitter Lessons in 140 Characters or Less By Kathleen Kennedy Manzo http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2009/10/21/08twitter_ep.h29.html?tkn=XTSF0PfbwZav1%2BekG07b5iRl6u4Y9q5vJbpA Nearly half of Dallas 5th-graders not ready for middle school As Dallas schools focus on getting all students ready for college, they face a daunting challenge uncovered by a new district tracking system: Almost half of fifth-graders are not even ready for middle school. To be considered ready for middle school, fifth-graders had to pass the state TAKS exams in reading, math and science, and could not fail more than one core academic class, according to the district's formula. "You don't just get on the college track in high school. You're really on the college track well before that," Dahlander said. http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/102209dnmetfifthgrade.3d3bdd1.html

Districts ban Facebook & social networking: Chicago Public Schools: http://www.chicagonow.com/blogs/district-299/2009/08/school-board-bans-facebook-twitter-for-teachers.html http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/article/CA6639197.html?nid=2413&source=title&rid=140246606 Cyberbullying: http://cyberbullying.us/blog/teachers-prohibited-from-using-facebook-to-communicate-with-students.html Should districts ban teachers from social networking?: http://ow.ly/oEXp Dallas-Fort Worth area district bans then unbans Social Networking: http://www.nbcdfw.com/news/tech/McKinney-ISD-May-Pull-Plug-on-Teacher-Student-E-Mail-Text-Ban-61266222.html AND http://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local-beat/McKinney-ISD-Backs-off-Teacher-Student-E-Mail-Text-Ban-62679187.html Two Mississippi districts ban social networking: http://www.aim.org/don-irvine-blog/doh-school-districts-ban-texting-between-teachers-and-students/ Podcast Awards Nominations due October 18th. http://podcastawards.com/ Advisory: Body Image: http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=1130618347958&ref=mf (Alternate: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kqlzBKFPxyE) (Submitted by AK Jenny) This idea is simple enough to implement in any size advisory group, in any amount of time, and in any way that best suits the needs of the students and teacher in the group. Students can be asked to list 5, 10, 20, or 25 random things about themselves. Students can create written or verbal lists or both. Lists can be kept private or volunteers can be asked to share them. Students can be asked to tally how many things they have in common with other students if the lists are shared. Students can be asked to choose their 3 most random things to be explored at a later date, possibly as an assignment in another class. Depending upon how often advisory groups meet and how long each advisory class lasts, the “25 Random Things” can be done in one day or spread out over one week. http://middle-school-lesson-plans.suite101.com/article.cfm/found_on_facebook_an_advisory_activity Chad Fry: Illustration Guy: http://www.chadfrye.com/ Monster a day for a month. Not so much an idea as a resource for an advisory . . . http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=home#/notes.php?id=66977838632 . Webspotlight: Comic Creation Online: http://www.wittycomics.com/ http://www.toondoo.com/ (Demo) http://cooltoolsforschools.wikispaces.com/

From the Twitterverse: * karlyb WOW! - 5th grade math resources by unit: http://www1.center.k12.mo.u... * karlyb Promethian giveaway contest at The Henry Ford: http://thehenryford.promo.e... * paulallison Download Troy Hicks and The Digital Writing Workshop, Part 2 of 3 - Exploring Author's Craft - TTT171- 10... http://bit.ly/1a4Zq0 * rmbyrne Free Technology for Teachers: Musopen - Free Recordings and Sheet Music http://ff.im/-9yQW0 or http://www.musopen.com/ * cliotech New blog post: Sharing Best Practices is OK! http://bit.ly/GtCzo * vtdeacon RT @DeborahMersino RT @russeltarr: Great 'classic' stories in comic form, awesome : http://tinyurl.com/okjoyc * Twilliamson15 @paulbogush we have more in common now...I'm quoted in Rick Wormeli's new book :) ...preview at http://snipurl.com/wormelibk * gardenglen Now available: CALL FOR BETA TESTERS OF NETS DRAFT RUBRIC http://url.ie/2m63 * vtdeacon this looks like a pretty cool lesson on using excel in math class- plus connection to halloween:) http://tinyurl.com/yl9susr * web20classroom RT @ejulez: by end of 2013, 70% of businesses will have behavior/dress code policies for employees online avatars. http://ow.ly/tEZV * schoolwise Children's Good Manners Month and Thank You Notes: http://EzineArticles.com/?i... * JoHart RT @coletteamber: Laughing at: "pencil metaphor - Leading a Digital School" ( http://bit.ly/EtSFT ) * ambermac OK, I'm moving to Sweden if this keeps up! RT @jeff_andersen Tune in to another invention by the Swedes: http://bit.ly/e8Eoe * web20classroom Good Advice for School Leaders- Decisions You Can Live With...http://is.gd/4765z On Our Mind: Technology: Project RED http://projectred.org/ Netbook News (from Twitter) Larry Ellison's take on Cloud Computer (think netbooks) Advisory: National Children's Good Manners Month: http://ezinearticles.com/?id=3016989 Middle School Advisory 101 http://middleschooladvisory101.blogspot.com/ Webspotlight: ClassTools: Classtools.net allows you to create free educational games, activities and diagrams in a Flash! Host them on your own blog, website or intranet! No signup, no passwords, no charge! http://classtools.net/ See an example: http://teachertube.com/viewVideo.php?video_id=78798&title=Classtools_net Timeline Creators: XTimeline xtimeline is a free web-based timeline. Easily create and share timelines with pictures and videos. http://www.xtimeline.com/ TimeGlider There is a time traveler in each of us. Whether you are a litigator or an 8th grader, TimeGlider can quickly enhance your experience of the past, present, and future. Once you’ve explored a TimeGlider timeline, you’ll wonder why you’ve never seen information organized like this before. http://timeglider.com/index.php Mind42.com - Mind Mapping software that fits in a browser: http://ow.ly/truL Seven Free software Apps (6 for Mac users): http://www.digmo.co.uk/news/software/7-free-apps-for-education/ News: More Time on Task: http://www.tennessean.com/article/20091006/OPINION01/910060315/Editorial++Give+kids+time+to+wrap+heads+around+learning Netbooks: http://www.eschoolnews.com/news/top-news/?&i=61122

Jokes: I’m failing geometry because I refuse to believe that pie are squared. The school board decided to remove speech and debate from the course schedule; there was no argument. Today in Art class we were going to paint a nude model, but the teacher sent her to the office for violating dress code. How does a blind skydiver know they're nearing the ground? The leash goes slack . . . From the Twitterverse: * DigMo Anyone interested in the competition, slow to get started this one :( very easy too iStopMotion 2http://bit.ly/pKhvd would appreciate it * kentmanning Just blogged about one of those "teacher moments" in a busy week. http://tinyurl.com/yesbxvb We've all had them. Looking forward to more. * bruingeek No, Honey. With the GPS we don't have to ask directions. And NO, GPS is not the acronym for General Purpose Shopping. *blondejoke* * zemote RT @tvanderark How will digital learning replace print? Here's 7 (sic) change forces http://bit.ly/15Fe6p * russeltarr How to Green Screen Using iMovie '09: http://tinyurl.com/rdvzkn * stevehargadon New Weebly for education is awesome. Great for both teachers & students to building their own web presence. http://education.weebly.com * russeltarr Creativity in the Classroom, Innovation in the Workplace (by @sirkenrobinson): http://tinyurl.com/q45hfy * russeltarr 70 Authors to Follow on Twitter (good for literature students?): http://tinyurl.com/plkkrj (Note: mostly for you, some for your students.) * eduinnovation PLC that confuses talk for action, confuses meeting for getting results, confuses time together for benefiting students.....just confused. * russeltarr Formal Education will make you a living; Self education will make you a fortune. Jim Rohn. * jonbecker Standby efforts failed. Gonna be at JFK for a few hours. Keep me company? * stevehargadon RT @jonmott Great summary of DoE meta-study concluding that online learners perform better than others. http://bit.ly/2WEWmq * AngelaMaiers "Habitudes" of Professional Learning Communities http://digg.com/u1DX4W Great stuff from @eduinnovation On Our Mind: Clocks. Is it necessary to know how to read an analog clock? MEAPs coming up, state mandated testing. Do you put the pressure on or do you soft-shoe it into the testing period? DropBox http://www.getdropbox.com/iphoneapp Advisory: Return to the overview: During the first month of school have every student take a piece of string and place one end under their shoe then stretch the string so it reaches the top of their head. Cut the string and fold it up. Place a piece of masking tape with the student’s name around the folded piece of string. Put all of the strings into a bag and do not open it until the last week of school. Then have them take their string and see how much they have grown over the last year. Many of your students will be amazed at how much they have grown. A way to show what adolescents stand for is to have them outline their foot and then list all of the things they believe in inside the outline. http://www.nmsa.org/portals/0/pdf/publications/On_Target/advisory/advisory_8.pdf October is MOYA! www.nmsa.org/moya Webspotlight: Educon 21 at the Science Leadership Academy in Philadelphia, PA. http://educon21.wikispaces.com/ Stumbleupon http://www.stumbleupon.com (or in Troy's universe: stumbleupon.com) VUE 3.0- The Visual Understanding Environment (VUE) is an Open Source project based at Tufts University. The VUE project is focused on creating flexible tools for managing and integrating digital resources in support of teaching, learning and research. VUE provides a flexible visual environment for structuring, presenting, and sharing digital information. http://vue.tufts.edu/ News: Govt talks about teacher effectiveness. Online learning expanding but slowing down.

Shawn and Troy discuss getting Middle Schoolers organized, happenings around the Twitterverse, some advisory ideas, web spotlights and more. Susan Mulcaire - The Middle School Student's Guide to Ruling the World www.middleschoolguide.com From the Twitterverse: * bhsprincipal Great overview on how to create your own PLN RT @tweetmeme Thank You PLN | Teacher Reboot Camp http://bit.ly/3WIMB * mayfieldc I remember when stage 4 scared me, but I managed. "Stages of PLN adoption" http://bit.ly/hI7p2 * mayfieldc Curriculum and lessons to teach copyright: http://bit.ly/Z1WdX * mayfieldc The ultimate GoogleMap scavenger hunt: http://bit.ly/fvbZm * mayfieldc Let your students run for congress: http://bit.ly/1uJQQ * MsCLanger Thank you all for such a warm welcome... and lovin the excellent resources - Keep it up! @bbarreda - Let's talk curriculum! (Note: She's a new user, feel free to follow.) * hickstro Prepping for three upcoming episodes of Teachers Teaching Teachers. Up this week, student choice and inquiry: http://bit.ly/OOsdG (This is Troy Hicks of CMU.) * mguhlin Over 800 Videos in Core Content Area Instruction http://ff.im/-8Ojqq * johnharrison1 Twitter is changing how ed nonprofits raise funds for good causes. @donorschoose in Fast Company http://bit.ly/1aDtqT * lthumann "Just Google" - a parody of "Beat It" by Michael Jackson http://tinyurl.com/2am3r4 (considering using this at the NJEA convention) * brasst http://twitdraw.com/jr3tss @chamada Thinking this could be very useful for tutoring and homework questions in math #twitdraw * plivings RT Chris Lehmann's call for participation in EduCon http://bit.ly/boSO1 thinking of attending/presenting this year ... Advisory: Advisory idea: 1. The Middle School Student's Guide to Ruling the World!* by Susan Mulcaire 2. Video – Silent Beats Video on Prejudice. Interesting point of views. If we don't teach kids literacy beyond the printed word, we are doing them a disservice. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=76BboyrEl48 Webspotlight: A Three Story Intellect! BLOOM’S TAXONOMY and Costa’s Levels of Questioning http://wwwstatic.kern.org/gems/AVID/NoelleCombsInquiryLesson.pdf Molecular Workbench http://mw.concord.org/modeler/ Awesome Highligter: http://www.awesomehighlighter.com/ News: National Subject-Matter Standards? Be Careful What You Wish For By Marion Brady “American education,” said Buckminster Fuller, “has evolved in such a way that it will be the undoing of the society.” http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2009/09/23/04brady.h29.html?tkn=QQQF7DtpOD4Av9Mp%2FladSCvhRcONy4acLzJG The promise of technology and change, so far, has fallen short at Philadelphia’s School of the Future. By Kathleen Kennedy Manzo http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2009/09/30/05future_ep.h29.html?tkn=Z[OFt1k7urdzHekhD%2FWbBZWenSpHHAb%2Ftq2C

What’s a pirate’s favorite TV show? E ARRRRRRRrrrrrrgghhhh! 3.14159% of sailors are Pi Rates … September 19th is also National Cheeseburger Day. (All the pirates will be at HAarrrdee’s.) Pirate Name Generator Shawn’s pirate name: Frownin’ Tad Hacke Troy’s pirate name: Cowerin’ Joe Smythe From the Twitterverse: * Frideswidel Starting to feel the excitement of first day back with kids. Anybody else not get any sleep the night before “The First Day”? * goSmithsonianEdSmithsonian Weekend Events: Nighttime Artworks and a Fiesta! http://bit.ly/2WzmgR via @AddToAny * sharon_elinMath teachers: check out 3Divinci w/Google SketchUp for teaching geometry etc.: http://is.gd/3recV via @rmbyrne‘ s rich & loaded blog * sharon_elinDigital Cheating page from the The Parent Summit 2009 in San Antonio: http://bit.ly/11HUOt * mguhlin GoogleApps Changes Web Publishing Policy http://ff.im/-8lZ1O * Webspotlight: Ten Totally Random Tips for Teachers: http://coolcatteacher.blogspot.com/2009/09/ten-totally-random-tips-for-teachers.html Online Conference: Smithsonian http://www.smithsonianeducation.org/educators/professional_development/conference/2009/climate_change/index.html (From AK Jenny) Lesson Plans for Literacy: http://www.readwritethink.org/ What’s on our Mind: Mindset by Carol Dweck http://www.mindsetonline.com/ Whole New Mind by Daniel Pink http://www.danpink.com/ Start of school: Advisory: Advisory idea: 1. Pirate Name Generator Shawn’s pirate name: Frownin’ Tad Hacke Troy’s pirate name: Cowerin’ Joe Smythe 2. Video – Silent Beats Video on Prejudice. Interesting point of views. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=76BboyrEl48 3. Word Teasers: Idioms The Word Teasers idiom edition has a “skit” activity that could make for a quick energy game to get kids ready for the day. Visit them at http://www.wordteasers.com/. News: Bait & Switch – Vouchers For almost two decades, Milwaukee has been home to the country’s oldest and largest voucher program—a beacon of hope for voucher supporters who want to use public dollars to fund private schools. But Milwaukee has now become the latest in a string of setbacks for vouchers. The Milwaukee study reaffirmed what public school supporters had argued for years: that the problems afflicting urban schools are grounded in economic and racial segregation and the power structure’s willingness to abandon central cities because they are disproportionately populated by low-income people of color.The Milwaukee study follows a number of disheartening developments for voucher advocates. There is little evidence that voucher or choice programs have succeeded in fostering the emergence of high-quality options.” Similarly, it is only common sense that voucher students take the same standardized tests as public school and charter students, and that each voucher school release its results, just as public schools provide a school-by-school breakdown. Regardless of the shortcomings of the test, and there are many, such a requirement is essential if all schools that receive public dollars are to be treated equitably. While private voucher schools cannot discriminate in admitting students with special needs, they are only required to give students those services that can be provided with minor adjustments. As a result, voucher schools have few special ed students. http://rethinkingschools.org/archive/23_04/bait234.shtml Blocking Facebook – Balance Last week, we made a conscious decision to block Facebook from being accessed on our network. …while arguably brimming with educational potential, is most often used for nothing more than recreational interaction among participants. Rather, it’s a matter of fighting for balance and the cognitive attention of our students. http://www.techlearning.com/blogs/23300 The Dragon of Chaos (and How to Slay it) Tips for getting the school year off on the organized foot. http://cossondra.blogspot.com/2008/11/mighty-dragon-of-chaos-when-you-are.html

From the Twitterverse: * Frideswidel Starting to feel the excitement of first day back with kids. Anybody else not get any sleep the night before "The First Day"? * JohnMikulski The best part of another school year is getting new shoes. * mrichme If anyone is looking for an ASUS netbook woot.com has an excellent deal today $149.99. http://bit.ly/nrheW * annemareemoore come see our students experience Indigenous Culture http://bit.ly/JM9Zl. Feel free to add your comment at http://bit.ly/xqtZL * russeltarr The 7 Most Impressive Libraries Throughout History: http://tinyurl.com/mkbl44 * rrmurry "Teaching Naked" at 7th grade level -- it works and is great. End class one day w/video to discuss next day. http://e4z2m.tk * AngelaMaiers: Soungle.com - Royalty Free Sound Effects (FX) Library for Download http://ow.ly/oWMc * AngelaMaiers: 100 Mobile Tools for Teachers - Tips - Mobile Maven http://ow.ly/oDRA * gardenglen intriguing idea why 2 not teach fractions from Penn State 60 sec. Lectures: http://url.ie/2exj * deangroom and finally today "Smart learners will find teachers who speak their own language" - go with honour ppl * http://www.worldhistoryblog.com/2009/09/free-medieval-history-courses.html NMSA Goal Setting Webspotlight: Book Suggestions: http://www.toreadnext.com/ Middle School "Dos and Don'ts" http://www.teachersfirst.com/20/getsource.cfm?id=7594 http://www.freetech4teachers.com/2009/08/three-student-planners-organization.html National Library of Virtual Manipulatives: http://nlvm.usu.edu/en/nav/vLibrary.html What's on our Mind: Mindset: By Carol Dweck The Graphing Calculator Story: http://www.pacifict.com/Story/ Video: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-7497796873809571567# 1. How do your regional coordinators stay in contact with you? 2. Are you a member of your state's middle school association? 3. Have you ever attended another state's middle school association annual conference? 4. What did you do to survive the first day of school? 5. Reading a book called "Readicide" at the moment.

Podcast 86: "No! I will not read the intro:" Set the Standard, Pass the Test, Crush the Opposition! - We're a Toddler Now! From the Twitterverse: * sharon_elin Creating graffiti type w/ http://www.graffiticreator.... -- takes a little playing around to figure out how to manipulate colors/patterns * gardenglen Today's Zits illustrates the multitasking of today's teens: http://url.ie/2aty * zmanrdz linux-for-education.org = a huge resource | Education IT | ZDNet.com http://tinyurl.com/mp32z5 via www.diigo.com/~zmanrdz * zmanrdz Are digital textbooks the money-saving wave of the future? http://tinyurl.com/lqk5pa via www.diigo.com/~zmanrdz * teachercookie72 Great geography gamemaker: http://www.umapper.com/blog... * teromakotero Dan Pink on the surprising science of motivation | Video on TED.com http://bit.ly/1558Hq #twine Webspotlight: Have text read out loud: http://www.readthewords.com/ Fair Use Copyright Chart: http://www.irvingisd.net/one2one/Cloning/fair_use_copyright_chart.pdf Idea Finder: http://www.ideafinder.com/history/index.html News: Should students be paid to perform on tests: http://education.nationaljournal.com/2009/08/should-students-be-paid-to-lea.php Ohio high school tightens computer security after cheating scandal Posted by Andrew Welsh-Huggins/Associated Press August 05, 2009 22:48PM More than half of the seniors at a top Ohio high school who took world studies tests last spring were involved in a cheating scheme that prompted school officials to cancel graduation ceremonies. School officials traced the cheating to a tech-savvy student who figured out a school computer password, and the district has tightened its computer security in the wake of the scandal. The school also will emphasize ethics to all students in the school year beginning Aug. 26. That includes updating the student handbook. But Holden acknowledged that the ethics message might not be enough to stop some students from cheating and others from turning a blind eye. All of society is becoming more accepting "of a degree of dishonesty," she said. http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2009/08/ohio_high_school_tightens_comp.html Cheating Survey: http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=news/national_world&id=6532050 Wisconsin does away with standardized test http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2009/08/27/wisconsin-dumps-standardized-test/ City schools increase training for substitutes: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09239/993542-53.stm Crowd Source Grading: http://macmomma.blogspot.com/2009/08/is-it-crowdsourcing-or-shirking.html http://www.hastac.org/blogs/cathy-davidson/how-crowdsource-grading Events & Happenings:

Shout outs: 1. Todd Williamson: Audio response. (Visit Todd at http://thetechnorateteacher.wordpress.com ) 2. Dr. Debra Franciosi: From the Twitterverse: * cthumphreys these make me laugh as a huge grammar geek-Humorous Grammar Rules: http://ow.ly/iM8X (via @barbsaka @carolrainbow ) (via @dianadell) * liteNup http://twitpic.com/cdt3m - This is the 4th one in 5 days! This one right in my back yard. Almost got struck by lightning looking 4 the rainbow. * leolaporte We launch a new TWiT show @ 3p today: TWig - This Week in google - with Jeff Jarvis and Gina Trapani. Google… [pic] http://ff.im/-61IaM * web20classroom RT @jgvanides: What is “eLearning”? How I explain variations in online learning http://bit.ly/mJ1u1 #edtech #eLearning #highered #edu * annemareemoore RT @heyjudeonline: great introduction video for students in science getting into blogging. http://bit.ly/16Dwxq * russeltarr Audioboo: Using IPhones as an audio blogging tool with students (e.g. poetry?): http://tinyurl.com/o6ooux FeedBack: I came across this podcast for the first time today, and while significant time has passed, I cannot let this go without comment. While some parts of your program were interesting, I was disappointed in your lack of critical analysis of the reading research. (Yes, I am in a biased position on this, being employed by one of the study treatment companies, but my doctoral work in ed and research came before my latest venture with CRISS, and there is injustice in this!) You (along with an Ed Week reporter, etc) shared that “none of them [treatments] are effective”. The fact is, a null effect or no positive effect in statistical research does NOT mean a treatment is ineffective. It means they didn’t find results — and that can be for a variety of reasons, including faulty research design. Having read the research report and talked to teachers and trainers (for CRISS), I know that the design was flawed, as was the way the researchers grouped the info. CRISS is the only one of the treatments that is a professional development program, NOT a canned curriculum. All four were treated as the same thing. Even if the design wasn’t flawed, the researchers themselves stated that the study demonstrates likely outcomes in a “typical” implementation. In the case of many of the sites CRISS worked with, teachers had NO input into their participation and therefore NO BUY-IN. Some teachers did not show up for the trainings, but the test data was kept in the mix anyway. It makes no sense. Before I started working for CRISS last September, I taught middle school for 9 years and was the 6-12 Literacy Specialist for 3. We implemented CRISS at the high school and the teachers that participated loved it and used what they learned — and saw positive results. But it takes time (3 years to get teachers fully implementing, with regular support); changing pedagogy isn’t easy. That said, gentlemen, I ask that you revisit adolescent literacy again — maybe after looking at the report that came out last spring(Ed Week March or April?)that noted that random control/treatment studies done by the IES are consistently coming out with null effects. It appears that education does not fit into that paradigm of research design. Kids aren’t widgets, and you can’t control for all the chaos that human subjects bring to public schools. There ARE concrete things educators can do to improve students’ literacy. No canned program (or professional development, for that matter) required. Thanks! Dr. Debra Franciosi California should fund Music: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/07/30/EDQ01910HK.DTL

Mr. Jeff LaRoux is an expert in middle school. He is a National Middle School Board Member. He graciously sat down with us and chatted about advisory and middle school fundamentals. Great information from a true leader and practitioner in the field of middle school.

Shawn & Troy discuss a listeners view of Web 1.0 vs Web 2.0. We take a look at the Twitterverse and some sparkly moments. We also discuss Woodlawn Elementary school's strategies over moving from a D to B. A new Texas law hits students with a $15 fee for confiscated cell phones. Finally, we discuss Parental Involvement.

MSM-82-Interview_with_Teresa_Sutherland