NJ School Report Card

Take a look at NJ School Report Card.

Each year, the NJ Department of Education posts this information for the public to see. The NJ DOE's website claims, "The New Jersey School Report Card has provided the public with information about every school in New Jersey since 1995 when the Legislature mandated the annual accountability report."

Poetry 180

Here is a poetry website that provides a poem a day:

http://www.loc.gov/poetry/180/

This site claims, "Poetry can and should be an important part of our daily lives. Poems can inspire and make us think about what it means to be a member of the human race. By just spending a few minutes reading a poem each day, new worlds can be revealed."

Webquests to Web 2.0

Students in my GE555 classes are currently working on WebQuests.

I wanted to share some information and resources with them, but figured we could all benefit from them.

Take a look at this workshop link.

The web site claims, "When you combine quality Internet resources and effective technology tools with the power of Web 2.0 applications, learning comes alive for students. WebQuests are an inquiry-based approach to addressing standards that place emphasis on motivating assignments, authentic assessments, and developing independent readers and writers."

Hope this helps!

Education quote

Instruction begins when you, the teacher, learn from the learner; put yourself in his place so that you may understand… what he learns and the way he understands it.

-- Soren Kierkegaard

Online Chat: Technology and Literacy

I just got a reminder for a live online chat. Thought I would pass it along to you. If you are interested, it would be a great experience.

Here is the info I received:

Tech Literacy Confusion: What Knowledge and Skills Really Matter?

When: Thursday, Feb. 5th at 2pm Eastern time
Where: http://www.edweek-chat.org

Join us for an online discussion to tackle the question: What is technology literacy and how should it be taught and measured?

Teaching literacy—reading and writing—is a core mission for schools, but today’s young people increasingly "read" 3-D computer simulations and "write" via social networks such as Facebook. A growing chorus of experts say schools should add these forms of communication to their literacy mission as "technology literacy."

Many educators and digital learning experts argue, further, that technology literacy should include the processes and conventions of online communities in which young people may use the new forms of communication—for example, "fan fiction" Web sites and "massively multiplayer online games."

Others have much different ideas about what should define technology literacy. The science community and corporate world, for instance, say the need for young people to receive better preparation in STEM subjects—science, technology, engineering, and math—for 21st-century careers justifies adding the fundamentals of those areas to the definition of technology literacy.
Still other groups argue that technology literacy should cover Internet safety, cyberbullying, and the laws on the use of intellectual property.

All these different ideas about what should define technology literacy have created quite a bit of confusion. But the good news is that some new efforts may clarify the definition, including a high-profile push to add a technology-literacy test to the National Assessment of Educational Progress.

About the Guests:
Tess Jolls, President and CEO, The Center for Media Literacy.http://www.medialit.org
Chris Stephenson, President, Computer Science Teachers Association.http://www.csta.acm.org
This chat will be moderated by Kevin Bushweller, Executive Editor of Education Week's Digital Directions.

Super Bowl Fun

Here is a link to some Super Bowl fun for you and your students.

http://www.education-world.com/a_lesson/lesson096.shtml

As educators, we need to provide motivational activities to keep our students interested.


See what you can use!

Secretbuilders: New Site for Me!

I came across this site in one of my educational technology sites:

http://www.secretbuilders.com/

The site claims: "SecretBuilders is a site that can be used to supplement the teaching of various topics, including literature, arts, sciences and humanities. The site gives children an opportunity to interact with famous historical and fictional figures from world civilization, making learning more enjoyable and effective. We can provide teachers with examples of how to incorporate SecretBuilders into their school curriculum."

Take a look and see what you think.

Awards

This morning the Caldecott, Newbery, Printz, Coretta Scott King and Pura Belpre Awards were announced.

For a listing of the awards, please click here:
http://educationservicesnews.blogspot.com/2009/01/ala-youth-media-awards.html

Podcasting, Anyone?

As I think I mentioned in class, I have started podcasting. I added a podcast to my undergraduate online course Ed 301. Slowly.... Small steps...

What is a podcast? Why would I want one? Are they free? Do I need to create them?

I found this article on podcasting that may answer some of these questions. http://www.wtvi.com/TEKS/05_06_articles/classroom-audio-podcasting.html The article explains that "Thousands of podcasts are being published for both local and global audiences on a multitude of topics. Two excellent places to find classroom podcasts are the Education Podcast Network (http://epnweb.org) and the podcast directory within the iTunes Music Store. iTunes is free software available for both Windows and Macintosh computers (www.apple.com/itunes)."

Enjoy!

Also: Here's a link to a classroom that is podcasting http://bobsprankle.com/blog/C1697218367/E20050925120007/index.html

Project Gutenberg

Need resources for your classes or lessons?

Project Gutenberg offers free online materials. It is the first and largest single collection of free electronic books, or eBooks.

Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.

Take a look at the site and see what you think!

Blog Privacy

In response to my class discussion in GE-555 last night, I found this article.

Here is an interesting point, "Blogs are getting a lot of attention these days. You can no longer safely assume that people in your offline life won't find out about your blog, if you ever could. New RSS tools and services mean that it's even easier than ever search and aggregate blog entries. As long as you blog anonymously and in a work-safe way, what you say online is far less likely to come back to hurt you."

Take a look and see what you think.

Thanks!

Hello again!

This is another new blog for GE555-02.

Welcome to the Blog!

Hello to this class! I cannot wait to get started.

Blog Video

Semester Start

Today is our first class session (undergraduates). I am anxious to meet you and start this exciting semester.

Hopefully you can get started on creating your blogs and getting used to this format. If you need any assistance, let me know.

To get you started and thinking, here is a link to an article on How to Start your Own Blog:
http://www.techlearning.com/story/showArticle.php?articleID=163100418

Here is a video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NN2I1pWXjXI

Furthermore, if you have any questions that you think other students may benefit from, you can post them here and I will answer them. Hope you have a wonderful weekend and I look forward to a great term!

Almost time....

...to start blogging again~!

Just a note to say hello and that I have not forgotten about the blog. Spring semester starts soon and i look forward to hearing from you all again!

Take care~

Goodbye to you all....

Hello and goodbye to all of my blogging classes,

Well, the semester is coming to an end. It has been a pleasure to read each and every blog posting that you have written. I did not know how the blog would be received, but you have exceeded all of my expectations. Thank you.

Keep writing. Do not stop. The act of writing does not need to be painful; it should be a process that brings you to a better place. Writing can help you become a better reader, mathematician, and student. It can even help you become a better person. It really can.

Do not believe anyone who tells you that you cannot write. There will be some. It may be a professor or a friend or even a relative... Do not let them bring you down. You can write. I know it. You just not be writing in the way that person thinks is "good writing". However, what really is "good writing"?

I hope some of you continue this blog or start one of your own. Do not forget this when you are applying for jobs. This blog is a living document of your scholarly work and your interest in education.

Good luck in all you do!

Take care and have a wonderful holiday!

"Kids Know It" Website

Here is a site that one of my graduate students (John Lucas) examined for a class project. During the night he presented, the website would not load (OF COURSE) so he posted the site on his blog and I thought I would share it, too.

John explained: "It would be most useful for teachers that are working with younger students. I think that students could really benefit from the site. I think it's great that it's free and yet it isn't overwhelmed by a lot of advertising. The link can be found at the bottom of this post. I hope it works for you and enjoy.www.kidsknowit.com"

Thanks, John!

Educational Organizations

In my Ee204 (LAL) class we are discussing activities and affiliations you should add to your resumes.

Here is a link you can examine that may help you find some to meet your needs and interests:

http://www.theteachersguide.com/Educationassociations.html


Good luck!

Do You YouTube?

Take this quiz:

http://www.techlearning.com/instantpoll/