2005-11-27T23:43:00.000-05:00

20 Questions
Here's a whole other thing: Have you seen this toy, sold at Walmart? http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=4016333
It asks you to "think of something" and then proceeds to 'deduce' what it is you're thinking of through a series of questions to which the player can respond 'yes', 'no', 'sometimes' or 'rarely'.
Its a great demonstration of how 'concepts' are built. The designers have used a decision tree to allow the mechanism to arrive at a conclusion. What would the data bank, decision tree, or 'map' look like if kids drew it out?
In elementary school it could stimulate great '20 question' games in small or large groups. In secondary school, it fits right into Computer (data bases), Science & Math (algorithms) and English (literacy / concept attainment) curricula.

2005-11-27T23:12:00.000-05:00

Community Involvement Projects

Here's a fun project to inspire teachers: "Kids with Cameras"'Kids with Cameras' is a non-profit organization that teaches the art of photography to marginalized children in communities around the world. They use photography to capture the imaginations of children, to empower them, building confidence, self-esteem and hope.http://www.kids-with-cameras.org/mission/ .But why not try your own? Or how about a community web site? 'Our' neighbourhood?Interesting Toronto 'take' / connection on this idea:http://www.cbc.ca/toronto/features/marywiens/and/or a web site like http://www.jane-finch.com/Another great idea that uses the community to teach. See also Wianassa Hills story.

Seniors Telling Youth Lefie Experiences http://abc.net.au/tv/btn/yournews/006_wanniassa.htm

2005-10-23T22:59:00.000-05:00

Online Activities for Literacy
Turn it on & go:
OSSLT, ENG 1P, 2P, 3C & ESL development courses
****http://literacynet.org/cnnsf/
The Best one I’ve seen for the courses above is literacynet.org from CBS. Its totally free, totally organized, high interest and current. Go to current stories. The links on the left provide vocabulary teaching (by Quiz), cloze passage (word selection), multiple choice comprehension quiz, a sequencing exercise and a writing response activity. An outline view is included with the story.

This site is spectacular! It is targeted at high school kids and models literacy remediation strategies (like those used in “Stepping Out”). Teachers can use these in the classroom as paper lessons (you’d have to do a little cutting and pasting) or online to reinforce reading process. You can have students research information to use in conjunction with other projects while giving them the reading reinforcement they need. Use it as a model for subject specific reading assignments.

Check the archives. All the stories still work, and its really fun for kids to see their responses added. Most links in the archives still include streams of the original broadcast.

Because of the way they’re set up all of the stories meet the expectations for these courses. You can also see the instructor page for support http://literacynet.org/cnnsf/instructor.html

http://www.pitara.com/activities/quiz.asp
Pitara’s Quizomania links teach while requiring kids to read and interact with the computer. Appears to be based out of India, or have an Indian interest but its content has universal relevance.
“Browsing the Net”, “Film Making”, “Film Jargon” “Proverbally Your” , “Holi’s Here”, “Meaningful Flowers”, “Whose Who”, “StageoMania” and “Cinema, Cinema” can all help you meet expectations in the curricula listed above. Students can test their knowledge and get feedback.
Downside: The initial content delivery is not given as text. There is no mechanism for feedback to teachers. You would have to ask students to report if it mattered to you.

2005-10-14T16:46:00.000-05:00

Juz' wanna make sr u know about . . .
http://www.blinkxtv.com/
http://www.newseum.org/
http://www.answers.com/
Hit 'em! You won't regret it.

2005-10-11T22:57:00.000-05:00

Activism

World Wildlife Organization "Wildfinder" http://www.worldwildlife.org/wildfinder/ is a highly engaging interactive search mechanism leading users to information on species, including its ecological status. The database is searchable by place via maps or species via a search bar. USe the FAQ/Help bar to get the most out of the site.

Religious Tolerance at http://www.religioustolerance.org/ is the site of Ontario's Religious Tolerance Consultants, an agency of volunteers who make it their mission to dispel myths founded on prejudgments about 'other peoples' beliefs. The site includes essays and useful links.

Amnesty Interantional's Youth Page http://www.amnesty.ca/youth is a great primer for young activists. The toolkits are there to start a youth amnesty branch in schools or neighbourhoods. There are also resources for information on international issues.

*Idealist.org http://www.idealist.org/ is the 'what's what' of activist activity. Its a compendium of current campaigns on hot issues. Up to the minute. http://www.idealist.org/kt/index.html includes kits and ideas for teachers who want to promote and support youth activism.

2005-09-25T16:13:00.000-05:00

Efforts of the last few weeks have been directed at the building of a school library site, which will be an ongoing process. In a summer AQ course, I learned to think of the web in a slightly different way. I have a little more acuity. With it I am finding richer and richer sites for specific purposes. Here are some examples:

Archives Canada http://www.archivescanada.ca/car/menu.html
Digital Earth Science Library http://www.dlese.org/dds/index.jsp
Underwater History by Franck Goddio http://www.franckgoddio.org/
Newseaum http://www.newseum.org/
The Advertising Icon WalkThrough Museum http://www.advertisingiconmuseum.com/
The Media History Project http://www.mediahistory.umn.edu/index2.html

Next post: Activist Sites

2005-05-11T21:35:00.000-05:00

Thinking about CONCEPT MAPPING:
What if I used the templates in SMART IDEAS (lesson templates and others) to organize a lesson and then gave my 1P's and 3C's - who seem to have some difficulty pulling it all together - the map (maybe filled; maybe not . . .)? If they had that schema would they be a little more successful? It seems they have difficulty making those connections. What is implicit to us as teachers seems to have to be made explicit for them - not just in terms of content and skills but also in terms of delivery.

I was thinking concept maps could be used for 2 didactic purposes, primarily - to consolidate and to generate. I've tended to use them mostly to consolidate - after a unit, or lesson. Now I want to see how much more powerful concept mapping can be than webbing or mind mapping for generating ideas. The power would lie in the linking words and in the building of clusters.

I tried having my 3C's make a concept map on media. At first it wasn't going so well - a lot of "MEDIA is . . . . radio, TV, etc." After a few days it hit me: "What happens when you change 'is' to 'influences' or 'reflects'?" The change in the students' level of thought was astounding. This is in the Beyond Monet book but - ya know . . . - I just wasn't ready to 'see it' before!

2005-04-20T18:59:00.000-05:00

Why not have your students create a web site as a presentation of learning? On www.tripod.com they can make a web site - free! Just sign up, go to the site builder and get started. A great literacy activity for hesitant readers and writers. What's more fun than making your own web page? Tripod supports MAC as well as PC. The add ons are really fun, supporting streams and mp3's. Everyone gets a kick out of this.

This week's surfing also brought these to the surface:
http://nces.ed.gov/nceskids/Graphing/
http://www.tessellations.org/

And . . . Peter's comment about the grammarians and recent conversations with colleagues prompt me to post this little gem:

2005-03-23T22:25:00.000-05:00

Ooooohh MAN! Why didn't I try harder at Science? It would have been SO fun to teach!
Look at these! Bring a projector into your class room with a computer and make science multi-media! Yesterday I discovered http://www.keyhole.com that I had to download - but that let me see my favourite vacation spots (and my next destination, The Grand Canyon!), my house and my cottage from a satellite! Download the pro version. You get a free 7 day trial.

That got me hooked and tonight I went looking for more. I also found:
http://terraserver.microsoft.com/ and http://gisdata.usgs.net/website/Seamless/, which are similar, but internet based and free. Great for geography - but also for Science and (why not?) ELA (fun for finding settings of multi-cultural literature, political context settings etc., story material . . .)

When I went to find more like these I also got the following sites great for Science:
http://www.pbs.org/saf/1507/ - Video streams of the PBS show Scientific American Frontiers with Alan Alda. the site includes teacher / lesson support.
http://www.kettering.edu/~drussell/Demos.html of Acoustic and wave animations that allow you to see molecular movement / vibration. Like . . . how cool is this: http://www.kettering.edu/~drussell/Demos/waves-intro/waves-intro.html ?
or this:
http://www.kettering.edu/~drussell/Demos/doppler/doppler.html ?

Then there is also this one: http://www.exploratorium.edu/light_walk/index.html which outlines activites that teach about light.

Maybe you already know about all these. But in case you don't . . . have a look. A great way to add some punch to the classroom.

2005-03-13T22:06:00.000-05:00

Media Culture Strikes Back - Questions of Pedagogy is the website of : Douglas Kellner, Professor George F. Kneller Philosophy of Education ChairGraduate School of Education, UCLA for his 2002 course, Media Culture and Cultural Studies. http://www.gseis.ucla.edu/faculty/kellner/ed270/ The 'theorists' link provides a comprehensive list of archives of writings, web sites and presentation streams by media experts. Hugely illuminating. A great resource for teachers who want more depth to draw on when teaching media awareness and critical literacy skills.The 'mulitmedia' links takes you to a collection of 9/11 video streams and mp3's - the juxtapositioning of which creates an instructive collage. Fascinating.

Views on Literacy, Language and Childhood in light of Technology
http://aurora.icaap.org/archive/postman.html Niel Postman (2002) ( + http://www.bigbrother.net/~mugwump/Postman/ for more)
And a Teacher's Way Into Critical Literacy http://www.education.tas.gov.au/english/critlit.htm

2005-02-02T15:57:00.000-05:00

Here are some recent treasures:
http://www.tolerance.org/ a great site for teaching about and against bias that includes historical and contemporary political content

****http://www.lego.com**** is a great site. Go to Lego Designer under Products and create a winning lego design. On the next page go to ACTIVITIES. Take the tour. You will be instructed to sign in and download the lego designer. FANTASTIC!!

I am getting these from the Webby Award site I check out periodically, which is a list of the BEST sites on the NET. http://www.webbyawards.com/webbys/winners-2004.php

2005-01-04T08:28:00.000-05:00

Here's an awesome 'teacher ready' computer based unit! This is a didactic site on Joseph Campbell's Heroic Quest Pattern by a prof at Georgia Colege and State University. Hit the "Hero's Journey" link under Stages of the Heroic Journey for a fabulous interactive experience on story writing structure, myths and legends and writing your own story. Includes a teacher's guide. Great for Grade 11, 12 Academic English. http://www.faculty.de.gcsu.edu/~dvess/ids/2305/heroic.htm

2004-10-11T22:35:00.000-05:00

***PBS Video Streams and Lessons Online

Health / Sociology Video Streams online
"Dying to be Thin"
Book a LAB, send your students to http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/thin/program.html#, a page of links to PBS video streams on body image and eating disorders. Find your teacher package here http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/teachers/activities/2715_thin.html . Don't forget to check the teacher idea link on the right too!

Science - "Cracking the Code"
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/genome/program.html
Also PBS video stream learning, with a great teacher package at http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/teachers/activities/2809_genome.html Don't forget to check the teacher idea link on the right for more classroom ideas from other teachers.

A complete listing of lessons using PBS resources can be found at http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/teachers/resources/subject.html

2004-10-08T23:10:00.000-05:00

"Tell me exactly what to do."
I got feedback. The sites are fun and informative - but you'd like something immediately usable for a lesson. "Tell me what to do." So'll try to keep posts to a really limited application and include some lesson ideas.

Here are 3:

For narrative, Language Arts & English (story) or History, give students a short reading (15 minutes to read) and then ask them to open ComicCreator at www.readwritethink.org (go to Student Material) and create a 'summary' comic. The application won't save, so have kids print it out right there. You can even use it as an assessment of how well they get the gist of a short text. (read for main ideas in curric-speak) Keeps kids intently engaged for at least 30 minutes!
(Comic Creator also includes a long list of fabulous, more complex lessons using the application. No downloading required. Internet based. Book a lab and away you go.)

Teach High School French? This webquest is all set to go, including assignment instructions. Students of French are asked to make curatorial decision in the building of a collection of art by French speaking artists. Just book a lab and send your kids to http://www.geocities.com/Paris/LeftBank/9806/belleville.html (Requires Power Point though you could have them make a WORD or html presenation - they'll know what to do! And the lesson even includes the evaluation rubric!) 3 hours (3 classes); a week if you want them to produce a Power Point and present.

Getting Ready to study a Shakespeare Play? Set the Scene with "Shakespeare's England" at http://english.unitecnology.ac.nz/resources/units/shakespeare/worksheet_topics.html. Totally self explanatory. 2 hours (2 classes)

2004-08-30T12:24:00.000-05:00

Student Work!
S-l-o-w-l-y we are seeing great work done by young people posted as presentations of learning and for learning. These sites are all part of the Virtual School linked to earlier on this blog
Here are some of the best:
http://gvc03c17.virtualclassroom.org/ leads to "Children of An Endangered World" in which students from around the world joined forces to create an awareness project of wildlife endangered in their own part of the world.
http://gvc03c15.virtualclassroom.org/stefanini/music.htm takes you to a project on DNA that includes a number of media, including musical presentations by a group of Italian students who represent the molecular structures musically. Click on all the links in this site to be inspired by what's possible in terms of technology as well as in terms of integrated thinking!

2004-07-14T10:34:00.000-05:00

Popular Science's Website - http:www.popsci.com is a fun website to get sucked into. You can see and learn all kinds of interesting things. Articles are online. On the right are great links to more related sites. Nice legible layout and presentation.

2004-06-16T16:17:00.000-05:00

If you're a teacher with a little techucation tick, LOOK AT THIS!!
http://www.techlearning.com/story/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=16000694
This November 2003 edition of Tech-Learning, The Resource of Technology Education Teachers, features the top 10 innovative educational technology projects on the net. Check it out!

Only one link this time, cause you'll never come back from there anyway.

2004-06-02T22:46:00.000-05:00

See BEST FLASH post - May 12, below.

2004-06-02T22:09:00.000-05:00

FREE Learning Management System Download; a try that's more than a trial

FREE Learning Management System Download
Moodle http://moodle.org/I like it. I downloaded it and played with it. Its clean and visually BIG ( and I like the bubblegum colours!)The templates guide & invite good course & lesson design. All interactive capabilities you would look for including assignment uploading and timed tests are present. (I didn't make it 'go live' as I have no venue.)

Jones Standard.org http://www.jonesstandard.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=TheDemo&file=index
Play this demo and you will get your head around how LMS systems work and what they are for if you're not there already. Your school board likely has an LMS set up and if you're interested in knowing more about online ed., you should speak to the online school people.

An ultimate goal in public dayschool ed., it seems to me, is to go to an integrated model where teachers can put/get some units and lessons online, for some students some of the time, but still see students in class. Most boards aren't there yet; they give students a choice of classroom delivery OR online delivery. If YOU can find a host for a program like this, YOU can try it. Just trying it will blow a creative teacher's mind wide open!

(And don't forget your BEST I.T. 'department'; the kids in your class! Have THEM figure it out, set it up and teach you!)

2004-06-02T20:45:00.000-05:00

Absolutely free online education:

These sites offer absolutely free, no strings attached collections of educational materials, including course outlines, lessons, reading and resource lists, glossaries and exercises. An absolute gift for the retiree, the student without a summer job, the busy teacher (wink wink) and every other form of life-long learner known to cyberspace. Have a close look!
Massachusettes Institute of Technology(USA)
Free-Ed.Net(USA)
BBC Online Courses (Britain)
World Lecture Hall (courses not all free - but lots of syllabi, materials, resources - Texas, USA)
Barnes & Noble (the bookstore) "university"(USA)
and,
because WE are Canadian . . .
well . . . I'm working on it . . .

2004-05-31T23:11:00.000-05:00

Intellectual Curiosities

Jessica Crispin, apparently an editor or publisher or agent for a publishing company, calls herself "The Bookslut"; an altogether new angle on the world of books for avid readers.

The JollyRoger - another 'bookie'(or a set of them) generates this dense and intense, postmodernist melange of traditional and contemporary lit + commentary. The maritime metaphor pervades.

And . . . get this! A "A Blog of Death!" - a list of current obits of the the rich, famous and noteworthy who have made a difference. Actually a very uplifting site!

2004-05-27T19:47:00.000-05:00

A WALK on the WILD side - In someone else's shoes:

"Jerusalem Wanderings"
daily life in Jerusalem, thoughts on the peace process, on the people living in this country, brainstorming, dreams, personal stuff, etc."

American Heroes' Memorial is a place of remembrance and respect. Fatalities from the last 31 days, in reverse chronological order, are on this page; archives of previous months and a search tool are located in the sidebar at right."

http://riverbendblog.blogspot.com/ Out of Iraq by Chris Albritton. The site is called Baghdad Burning

2004-05-21T20:18:00.000-05:00

"The Global Schoolhouse" - High-Tech Teaching - Tomorrow!

These sites help you imagine the possiblities and provide all the information to make them happen:

Global Leap Video-conferencing Global Leap is a company based in the UK that facilitates live, real-time video connections between classrooms, classrooms and learning environments like museums and connections between guests and classrooms. Make a proposal and global leap will help you set it up. Video conferences can be interactive.

The Virtual Teaching Centre, based in Waco, Texas, offers listing of opportunities and projects for virtual classroom set ups, more explanations, P.D.

CU See ME is another classroom video conferencing resource connected to Global School Net (GSN) based in California with extensive curriculum connections and demonstrations. Just the site is inspiring to the techie teacher!

2004-05-12T21:08:00.000-05:00

Superb Flash for Educational Use (and a few for fun!)

Becoming Human - Evolution

Jerusalem Archeological Museum!! with interactive timeline great for High School kids trying to 'place' everything in Ancient time

http://www.privatehand.com/flash/request.html">Last Requests - a very evocative, disturbing site about the last (meal) request of prisoners going to the electric chair.

Preview these. They may not make it through the school board's sweeper.

KORN yacks back - on media.

Let them Learn Grammar! A funny FLASH with a special resonance for people who appreciate the wonderful juxtapositioning of media aesthetics (in other words 'old people')

And just to lift your spirits, my personal favourite: "Hooked on a Feeling"

2004-05-09T20:18:00.000-05:00

Teaching is Still A Political Act
http://www.aworldconnected.org/category.php/50.html Assign the essay contest on this site to Senior Academic High School Students and know you're providing time and resources for important learning. Easily meet expectations for Economics, History/Geography or Writer's Craft with this rich task. Hyperlinks to resources built in.

http://www.peacecorps.gov/wws/water/africa/lessons/MSgeog01/ Madagascar Adventures about Water In Africa from World Wise Schools. A totally designed unit to integrate into curriculum - Social Studies 6 - 8 or World Issues courses for the less academic High School Student. Great for the technology shy teacher. Just push the power button and away you go!

http://www.rethinkingschools.org/war/ Timely. American teachers opening windows and doors on America's involvement in Iraq

But WE are Canadian!:Check out WORLDBEAT http://www.earthbeat.sk.ca/worldbeat/vol1/hr/economicrights.htm