Summary: Advisory! Advisory! Advisory! A New Zealand man fled with his girlfriend after receiving millions of dollars in a banking error. http://jeffreyhill.typepad.com/english/2009/05/its-not-often-that-new-zealand-gets-a-mention-on-the-english-blog-but-heres-a-story-from-the-times-which-would-make-a-good-s.html From the Twitterverse: * AngelaMaiers RT@cristama...this year has transformed me (and my teaching) in so many ways. (I feel the same- so much I owe to PLN!) * shareski Kramer on Openness and Transparency. @courosa you should use this in a presentation http://bit.ly/lV1Bo * AngelaMaiers RT @Zweibz7 @problogger: if there's one lesson I've learned this week it is - 'build your network before you need it'. * paulallison Looking for stories about resilient students in your classroom: First a request, then an invitation. (If you’ve .. http://tinyurl.com/nmvh8f * AngelaMaiers RT @education_com @BNBuzz - giving free book 2 kids who complete summer reading program http://bit.ly/bU2pj Shout Outs: Thanks to our Robert Jackson in Kiev for the link to the Aspire One as Kindle. News: Report: Costly plan failed to improve schools A $100 million investment in Miami-Dade County's lowest performing public schools failed to boost student achievement, according to the school district's final report on the program. The School Improvement Zone was a three-year push at 39 elementary, middle and senior high schools throughout the county. Students participated in a specialized reading program and had a longer school day than students at other schools. They also had a longer school year. ''The zone program exhibited at best an inconsistent impact that was limited to the elementary grades,'' program evaluators wrote. The report also noted that the extended school year -- starting a week early and tacking extra days onto the end -- was ineffective. http://www.miamiherald.com/news/miami-dade/story/1049341.html New CEO: Gates Foundation learns from experiments The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation spent billions of dollars exploring the idea that smaller high schools might result in higher graduation rates and better test scores. Instead, it found that the key to better education is not necessarily smaller schools but more effective teachers. http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gBfu1Zu7aIsLeH_NGiMaHbc4AEnQD98F58R80 Senate bill supports 21st-century skills Shelley Pasnik, director of the Education Development Center's Center for Children and Technology, said she is pleased to see the bill addresses more than simply putting more technology into schools. "Students need to go beyond just learning today's academic context to develop critical thinking and problem solving skills, communications skills, creativity and innovation skills, collaboration skills, contextual learning skills, and information and media literacy skills," the bill reads. http://www.eschoolnews.com/news/top-news/index.cfm?i=58949 Not all higher education costs a pretty penny. You can peek into some college classrooms around the world, experience lectures in text, audio, or video at any time, and, in some cases, take the final, all without leaving home -- and all for free. Teaching Ideas: Using Google Docs Spreadsheet for Education: 1. Flash Cards 2. Word Study 3. Word Search Twenty Interesting Ways* to use Google Docs in the Classroom(*and Tips)
