Michigan Governor Rick Snyder (Republican) has proposed a budget which would shift revenue from the Michigan School Aid Fund away from K-12 schools to Higher Education and Community colleges, and this is wrong. Currently the Michigan School Aid fund is fully funded and able to pay for K-12 education in Michigan, as it was intended to and designed to do so by voters, but Snyder wants to raid $895.6 million from it and divert that money to higher education and community colleges, the first time in the history of our state that the School Aid Fund is to be used in this manner.
Not everyone has an equal opportunity or desire or obligation to go to college in America. Attending college, is not part of creating a basis of education necessary for us all to be educated voters; it is not about giving everyone in America the same basic broad basis of knowledge to enable us to compete for jobs; it is not a requirement for being successful or making a decent living like passing high school is; it is not a task that everyone is up to mentally or emotionally; and it is not something that everyone can afford to do. Going to college is something that those who want to do can; those who feel that a higher education will benefit them; and is for those who can afford to, either on their own or by winning scholarships or grants or taking out loans or having the military pay for it. So the question I have to ask is why then do taxpayers assume they have an obligation to fund higher education and community colleges in a given state?
Oh, I am sure there are arguments in favor of the desire to fund higher education and community colleges- as a way for a state to stay competitive for jobs, as a community outreach program, as a way to make our state more prestigious or something, etc. Those are all good arguments for the desire to use taxpayer money to support the few with the means and inclination to go to college- but they are not convincing arguments to me of the necessity of diverting money from the K-12 School Aid Fund.
In Michigan, our K-12 school system, which does provide all children of our state with a quality education so that they all will have the same basic chances to compete for jobs and be solid citizens, is funded by state revenues including sales taxes, lottery taxes, property taxes, and other taxes which are all deposited into a fund called 'The School Aid Fund.'
Article IX, Section 11 of the Michigan Constitution of 1963 establishes the State School Aid Fund, which shall be used exclusively for aid to school districts, higher education, and school employee's retirement systems. This fund was considerably adjusted by Proposal A in 1994, which was a very important constitutional amendment in Michigan that considerably changed around the way that school districts are funded.
Although the MI Constitution does include the words 'higher education,' historically the School Aid Fund was used exclusively for K-12 funding, and a search of the records and conversation of the last time that voters addressed this issue revealed to me that there was no conversation in any way of using the school aid fund for anything other that K-12 funding. In fact, the publication Michigan in Brief's seventh edition, which was sponsored by the Michigan Nonprofit Association and the Council of Michigan Foundations and was prepared and published by Public Sector Consultants, Inc., describes the school aid fund this way- "School Aid Fund: A fund into which certain state revenues are deposited and from which funds may be spent only on K–12 education."- note that there is no mention of the school aid fund being used for higher or community college education, as it has never been used for this purpose in the past.
As a conservative, I have always favored this idea that voters would make their wishes known to the government, and the government would implement these wishes to the best of their abilities. Liberals and Democrats are the ones who want to rule over us and make decisions for us, not conservatives, and in this case, based on the long history of our state and the conversation regarding the last time voters looked at the issue of the School Aid Fund, it is clear to me that voters never intended the fund to be used to divert money away from K-12 schools to pay for college for rich smart kids. I am surprised that many Republicans support this idea.
As a conservative, I also believe in paying for services and using dedicated funds to pay for services. For example, I pay into social security, I pull out of the social security fund; or I pay into a gas tax, and then that gas tax is used to maintain roads; or I pay my property taxes, which are used to pay for local police, fire, and library services; etc. I'm not an anarchist or a libertarian- I do believe that government plays an important role in our society, providing order and safe-guarding rights so that we may be free and prosperous, and so I like the idea that voters decide to set aside certain amounts of money to pay for certain budget items, and if they don't like the amount of money or where the money is being spent, they can raise or lower those revenues or spending. Raiding dedicated school aid funds intended for K-12 education to pay for other services that have historically been paid for through the General Fund such as higher education and community education is therefore wrong to me and sounds to me more like a liberal idea of viewing all government money as some sort of slush fund to which to distribute gifts and buy off voters.
As a conservative teacher, I am surprised to find that I support the Michigan Education Association and the Democrats here in Michigan on this issue, and oppose Snyder's plan to divert funding from the one part of our budget that is balanced and working, the School Aid Fund. As a result of Snyder's plan, students in Michigan will face a per pupil cut of $470, which is unnecessary because the School Aid Fund is fully funded and if it is not raided to help pay for rich smart kids who want to go to college, students in Michigan would lose no funding at all. Listen to the voters and vote in favor of conservative values, Republicans, and don't raid the school aid fund.
Raiding the K-12 School Aid Fund for College Money?
Daily Education and Technology News for Schools 12/23/2011
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11 Tech Factors That Changed Education in 2011
TRENDS: 11 Tech Factors That Changed Education in 2011 via @mashable http://t.co/10ZTBIZZ #edtech #education
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Earlier this year a University claimed profits from an app developed by a student. This is only the beginning of what will happen as we spawn entrepreneurs in our midst.
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What SOPA Means For Education, Technology, and the Future of the Internet | Edudemic
An overview of SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act) and what it means to education. Fair use would become harder to defend from companies that don't care you are a school. Or, what if you're using a service like Ning that is for profit and charging you but you are a non profit. As the receipient of a take down notice for our digiteen project run through our nonprofit, it didn't matter that we responded to the concerns -- they ignore fair use and because Ning charges, they threatened to take us down. This will be a headache for schools.
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Income, Parental Education Linked To Pre-School Learning Gaps
This Huffington Post article summarizing findings from a recent Brookings Institute study showing that parental income and education are more highly linked to a child's preschool success than anything else. It also presents the naysayers making for a balanced overview of this report that has lots of people talking.
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Open Badges for Fostering, Extending, and Documenting Hacker Literacies
Badges for lifelong learning competition by Digital media and Learning. Stage 2 applications are now open. this is definitely something you need to review over break if you work in education to understand the implications for your organization.
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Past reports from speak Up including the new 3 e's of education: enabled, engaged and empowered.
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this survey for educators, parents, and students closes December 23. Please take the time to join in this online research project for those in the US.
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Will MITx Disrupt Higher Education? - Casting Out Nines - The Chronicle of Higher Education
MIT will launch MITx in Spring 2012 credentials. Certificates will be offered for those who pay for an MITx course with NO admissions requirements. (wonder how they will confirm someone is actually taking the course and not have it taken for them by another.) Fascinating developments that should have all universities standing up and taking note.
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His UK generated list of most influential non celebrity tweeters includes NPR's Andy Carvin. It is interesting how many personalities cross time zones and national lines to influence us all. Andy is a great tweeter. Sadly, this list doesn't seem to link. Kind of misses the point but worth a read anyway.
Daily Education and Technology News for Schools 12/30/2011
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This is the catalog of books from Pedia press. While some editors are wikipedians, it is interesting to me how one of the top books is American Warplanes of WWII that has one editor. It looks like you can take it and pull from wikipedia and then edit. This is very interesting. While it is not new news about pediapress, when it first came out we didn't have such examples to review.
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Application for Flat Classroom® Project 2011-2012
Current application dates for Flat Classroom projects.
I'll be running NetGenEd and co-planning Eracism with Julie as well as work with the book club starting in February.
Flat Classroom Project - application deadline January 23, 2012 for FCP12-1
Digiteen - application deadline February 1, 2012 for Digiteen 12-1
'A Week in the Life...' - application deadline February 15, 2012 for AWL12-1
Eracism - application deadline February 30, 2012 for Eracism 2012
NetGenEd - application deadline February 1, 2012 for NetGenEd 2012
APPLY NOW! to become a Flat Classroom® Certified Teacher. Courses will run starting in September and November 2011, as well as March 2012.
Global Education Conference 2011 -
Skitch for iPad! - Evernote User Forum
Skitch for the Ipad is here. This whiteboard drawing, mind mapping ipad tool saves to evernote. If you love evernote, this is a must download tool.
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Dabbleboard - Online whiteboard for drawing & team collaboration - Interactive whiteboard software
An online collaboration whiteboard. You can use it for free. Try using this for mindmapping and brainstorming between teams.
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10 predictions for 2012 | Daniel Pink
Dan Pink's predictions for 2012, bound to have some people talking.
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Dan Pink predicted that next year's hot technology item is going to be the Lytro camera. It captures everything and lets you focus afterwards. It looks very cool but it is one of those things I need to see to understand. Anyone using one yet?
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Great announcement about the winners of Microsoft's Global Educator Awards program. As a judge for the US competition, the coding guide is an amazing piece of research-based evaluation of teaching methods that should be shared. Unfortunately, this awards announcement has NO hyperlinks. It always makes me upset when teachers are recognized without Twitter handles, links to their efolios. If we want to disseminate best practice, it should be done using the web. Static press releases, especially for something like this, are a waste of space. now, I have to search for all of these things.
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American Teacher | Microsoft Partners in Learning
A new movie "the American teacher" is coming out and Microsoft is coordinating the community screening of this film based upon the New York Times Best Seller "Teachers Have it Easy: The Big Sacrifices and Small Salaries of America's Teachers" produced by Vanessa Roth and narrated by Matt Damon. This website lets you order the DVD or volunteer to host a screening. I cannot find a release date on the site.
I hope it is balanced. Teachers aren't perfect but it is not ok how teachers are being treated. Unfortunately, very few people are talking about just teachers -- it seems to be focused on union vs. anti union at this point in politics with teachers caught in between. -
This is the Microsoft Research so.cl website (pronounced social) that is being tested in a few universities. I find it incredibly interesting that students sign in using Facebook instead of Windows Live ID, the preferred sign in for other services.
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Will the Google-FTC Buzz Settlement Butt Into Larry Page's Social Mission? - Forbes
For those comparing the FTC's stand against Facebook with Google Buzz, here is the Forbes article on the April 2011 Google Buzz settlement. We will have our Digiteen students looking at this material as they discuss privacy.
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Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg: 'We've Made A Bunch Of Mistakes' - Forbes
Facebook faces 20 years of privacy audits by the Federal Trade Commission. Similar to an agreement with Google Buzz,this shows the FTC's commitment to project consumer privacy. (Any wonder Google Buzz is going bye- bye.)
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New Google+ service Find My Face lets you opt in to photo tagging. For information on this service and how Google is trying not to repeat some of the "mistakes" of Facebook. However, some would argue that mistakes of Facebook have also been what made it wildly popular.
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Gaffe prompts official to resign - World News - MSN News UK
It seems harmless but sometimes just commenting on Facebook in the normal course of business causes problems. Now that every person on Facebook literally has a fan page (people can follow you without you having a fanpage) you are going to see this happen more often. If you really want to share with your friends, this certainly gives rise to websites like Path that only let you friend up to 150 people and keep things very private. Public officials may be left with no other option. Show me a person who doesn't say something politically incorrect and I'll show you someone in the graveyard. We all mess up.
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Google Apps Education Training Center
Free Google Apps training center. This will take you through the tools that are part of Google apps for education. Share this with your teachers and students.
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Age requirements on Google Accounts - Google+ Help
"The following age requirements apply for owners of a Google Account (with the exception of accounts in Apps for Education domains):
Spain: 14 or older
South Korea: 14 or older
Netherlands: 16 or older
All other countries (including the US): 13 or older
Keep in mind that specific products may have additional age requirements. For instance, Google+ requires users to be 18 or older." -
Frequently Asked Questions about Google Account and Age Requirements - Accounts Help
I'm seeing more information about children activating G+ accounts and putting in an age that is "too young" to have an account (under 18.) Here are the instructions for reactivating an account (which involve a credit card charge that is then removed.) As more kids move to G+ this will be a problem. I told my students to stay away from G+. Of course, having them on Google apps for domains helps you on this as the terms of service are between the school and Google and with parent permission, you are accepting the terms of behalf of the students.
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Why researchers want to overhaul the Gregorian calendar | MNN - Mother Nature Network
Give up accuracy and go for convenience? Wish your birthday or Christmas was on the same way every year? Researchers at Johns Hopkins think we need a new calendar. What do you think?
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iPads and the Embarrassment Factor - ProfHacker - The Chronicle of Higher Education
Fascinating read from a professor about the response of his graduate students when they all received ipads. Some felt that by carrying them they came across as elitist. Perhaps it is because so many people want them and they are still very expensive. Very interesting read.
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Times Higher Education - BIS research to study private providers
British government is studying how effectively private and alternative suppliers provide higher education services. As educators prime for the upheaval to learning that is already upon us, institutions of higher education are being eyed as places for potential cost savings and to determine if education can be delivered more effectively in other ways. They also looked at some US studies as they prepare this study.
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Microsoft Working On Social Network For Students
Microsoft not going for social networking but for educational networking. Before you roll your eyes, the fact is that overlaying educational networks on top of social networks is rife with problems. This is being tested at University of Washington, Syracuse University and New York University. There are many benefits to keeping work and personal separate and educational networks may be a great asset if done right, to the education space.
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Email blackout: Victory for workers or last gasp for trade unions? | ExtremeTech
Volkskwagen agrees to turn of blackberries after hours as part of a union agreement. While I don't know a lot of teachers connected via blackberries,I do personally know the complexities of global collaboration in schools. We must learn to balance work and home and know when to disconnect but then again, a work environment can become so fast paced that everyone seems to expect the others that they should work 24/7. Yet another reason to advocate checking email 2-3 times a day - let everyone know when you will be available and stick to the schedule.
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Connect anything to the cloud with Twine | ExtremeTech
New project started by 2 MIT students.Twine seeks to help you easily access your home remotely. The small bar-of-soap looking object monitors the temperature and movement of the device usinga simple app called spool. Increasingly computing is about intertwining with our lives.
I'm going to draw another conclusion here that may bother some of you. As we increasingly use our smart phones to control our homes, let people in the door, monitor things,are we causing danger and/or damage by denying students the right to access their phone, say, for example, if the house says it is on fire and mom and dad are out of town.
I think we're going to have to coexist with cellular and smart phone technologies. It is inevitable but it is also about behavior. A child wouldn't have 1,000 emergencies in a day ( a text message isn't an emergency) but may have one that becomes a big deal and a big liability. -
If you like controversies between leading thinkers, you'll want to read wired.com's overview of the verbal jousting between Clay Shirky and Malcom Gladwell over the importance of social media in social uprisings. I think this author has a very neutral perspective that is valuable for evaluating this discussion between two very influential people.
The thing I find odd is that Gladwell in his book Outliers talks about the importance of "mavens" and their influence. Surely, mavens online can have more influence than ever before. I'm not sure how he can forget his own work in Outliers as he puts down the importance of social media in politics. -
Transistors made from cotton yarn, t-shirt computers incoming | ExtremeTech
T-shirt transistors. Wearable computing is very close. I doubt it will look like it does on the fantastic model in this post, but there are uses we cannot imagine as of yet. It would be fun to have students read this and invent the future of wearable computing. Or you could do this as a writing assignment and have them write about it.
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Why Hasn't Google Responded to Death Threats on Google+?
Big controversy running through Google plus. Because controversial photographer Brandon Campeaux had over a quarter of a million followers, they are connected to just about everyone. He left Google+ in a huff and deleted his account when he says Google refused to respond to death threats against him. Word is,some of the people he asked to help him "are on vacation."
On another note, once a Google+ post is reshared, you can no longer delete it. This is perhaps a very interesting case study for whether Google+ is ready to grow. By the way, Myspace still has more active users than Google+.
Daily Education & Technology News for Schools 06/14/2011
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Free Technology for Teachers: 77 Web Resources for Teachers to Try This Summer
77 Free web resources to try out this summer. Actually, I usually just pick 2 or 3 as that is all I can handle. From Richard Byrne at Free Tech for Teachers
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Some commentary of the backlash that is beginning against "greedy publishers" for the Georgia state lawsuit that threatens the current definition of fair use used by most institutes of higher education.
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This is an important read and important case for anyone in higher education to follow as it can shift the very definition of scholarly work to a system that encourages open sharing versus the use of traditional publishers. This could be a case that publishers live to regret.
"A closely watched trial in federal court in Atlanta, Cambridge University Press et al. v. Patton et al., is pitting faculty, libraries, and publishers against one another in a case that could clarify the nature of copyright and define the meaning of fair use in the digital age." -
Family Feud…Skype Style | Techie Kids
A "Skype Feud" where students answered questions against students in another classroom via Skype. What an exciting activity for students!
Daily Education and Technology News for Schools 01/06/2012
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20+ Free educational opportunities from Shelly Terrell. not on the list (but yet to be announced.) 10 week flat classroom book club
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Taxpayer funding of universities 'to drop to 100 year low' - Telegraph
It is tough all over in education. This study from the UK. ".Research shows that annual public spending on teaching and research in England will drop to just 15 per cent – the lowest in more than a century. The decline in taxpayer funding is being offset by a sharp increase in student tuition fees."
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WealthEngine Releases New Higher Education Fundraising Report - MarketWatch
Researchers in higher ed looking for fundraising ideas may want to look into this report and their webinar coming up. "Best Practices for Prospect Research in Higher Education Fundraising, Second Edition. Originally released in the fall of 2009, this new edition contains significant updates and research intended to facilitate knowledge sharing and help institutions of education achieve a higher level of fundraising effectiveness.".
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HighBeam Research chooses top 10 blogs for educational research
High Beam research shares their pick for best education blogs. Some new ones and a few familiar ones too.
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a beautiful mess...: It is supposed to be FREE!
If you like long listsvof Free educational resources, here is one for you. it starts with sushidog, one I had not heard of.
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Six Flags Offers Free Tickets to Encourage Reading Outside the Classroom | Jackson Township NJ News
If you live near this New Jersey theme park, you will want to participate in this reading program. ".Six Flags Great Adventure and Discovery Education are partnering together to offer free admission to the New Jersey theme park for K-6 students who participate in Read to Succeed, an online program geared to encourage students to read outside of the classroom."
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iPads revolutionizing Flagstaff classrooms
News article about how Flagstaff schools are using these tablet devices."Flagstaff Unified School District has about 500 new touch-screen mobile devices around the schools. Last spring, the district had one classroom set of Apple iPads for a pilot program. At that time, the tablets had only been on the market for about a year. The first tablets debuted in Nelson's class at Thomas and were purchased with grant money.The students took to them like fish to water, and FUSD bought more devices. Federal funds and grants have allowed the district to assemble its cache. An iPad would retail for at least about $500, and a basic iPod Touch for about $200, at the electronics superstore. Students do not take them home and, at least in Nelson's class, drafted their own user agreement that says they promise to be careful with the valuable computers."
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I love this reflection from another teacher in the trenches. Somehow, I don't feel alone in my stress when I read blog posts like this one from Patricia. If you want a pick me up to remember why you're in this profession, take a read...Excerpt"Teacher stress is very real but it's not unmanageable. Recognizing that you are experiencing it and acknowledging that it is a normal emotion in this profession is perhaps key to staying sane!"
Daily Education and Technology News for Schools 11/16/2011
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Nominations Open – The 2011 Edublog Awards are on! | The Edublog Awards
2011 Edublog awards are open. Yes, I think these are important. It helped me a lot in knowing that what I said mattered when I've been nominated, been a finalist, and won as well. Join in the nominations.
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A sticky note account. I may use this for my pkflow method that uses stickys. This website lets you have a page with online stickys and notes. Cool tool that reminds me of corkulous on the ipad.
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Knol - a unit of knowledge: share what you know, publish your expertise.
A website where people share knowledge. This was listed as an important website for learning. I haven't explored it yet, but hope that some of you will share what you're doing in the comments.
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This open source mathematics software includes graphics, algebra, and spreadsheet capabilities and is increasing in use. This is one of those "must loads" on your school or university websites.
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Here is the list of Winners and losers from Jane Hart's list. Some new entries: Google+ (debuting the highest at 26), Ted Talks (at 30), and for math teachers - Geogebra.
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» 2011 Top 100 Tools List and Presentation finalised Learning in the Social Workplace
Jane Hart's list of Top 100 Tools for Learning in 2011. (Hat tip Stephen Downes) This is from a survey - not just one person's opinion. Topping the list (again): Twitter. I also LOVE how this list shows the previous rankings from the prior 4 years.
Youtube is #2 although still blocked in SOOOOO many places followed by Google Docs, Skype, Wordpress, Dropbox, Prezi (something I haven't gotten into yet), Moodle, Slideshare, and Glogster EDU. Take a look at the entire list on her blog post. -
50 Free Apps We're Most Thankful For
Great post from Lifehacker of their 50 apps they are most thankful for with the links to the posts they've written about them. This is my kind of very functional list. I love it!
One note. I totally agree about Dropbox, ccCleaner, Audacity, and Paint.net. My students LOVE paint.net. -
iTunes Match Review – Does iTunes Match Live up to the Hype? | PadGadget
iTunes match is an eagerly awaited cloud playing app touted to people who love music and don't have a lot of space for music. The price is around $2.00 a month and this is one of the first reviews I've read of the service.
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Amazon Kindle Fire could Burn Up iPad's Lead | ITProPortal.com
This survey shows that iPad with the $199 price tag is a 'serious" contender for the ipad. I had someone ask me about Kindle fire vs. iPad. Definitely people are comparing it.
One of the top complaints about Droids has been the somewhat loosely managed droid store but the Kindle fire will use Amazon's app store not droid.I also had some people on Google plus point out to me as we talked about this that the droid OS on tablet device has a much better response to touch than do the smaller devices. This is one of those wait and see type things, I think. -
Teaching All Students: Cheap, DIY options for iPad Stands #iPadEd #mlearning #edtech #assistivetech
Interesting blog post on DIY "cheap" ipad stands for students (with youtube videos.)
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5 Reasons Why i Want Ipad2 in My Classroom Ppt Presentation
This is a great presentation to view for two reasons:
1) This author shares why she wants ipad 2's in her classroom and the reasons are pretty unique.
2) She uses Author stream which boasts it can "do more with powerpoint" - is this an alternative to slideshare? Interesting tool. -
Professor tries improving lectures by removing them from class | Inside Higher Ed
This case study in Inside Higher Ed about Professor Mike Garver (Central Michigan University - Marketing) shows how this professor is giving lectures by no longer giving lectures. Interestingly, he talks about how Bloom's Taxonomy impacted his change in style. This article ALSO includes a video and I totally applaud the journal of higher ed for including a video. There are so many articles talking about a "great teacher" doing this or "great professor" doing that - SHOW ME. This article did just that. Applause to Inside higher ed and Steve Kolowich - give us more articles like this.
If you're in higher ed or a teacher in high school - this is a great read.
“It’s a good way to, in his words, ‘Put a movie in your mind,’ -
Social Games: 5 Growing Threats to Watch - IndustryGamers
Interesting analysis on why some social games (Zynga in this case study) are having problems online. I think the "friend spam" approach is something for many of us to learn as we join spaces. This is an interesting article for FlatClassroom students to read as they analyze game based activities.
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Secondary Maths resources collections - Resources - TES
A monstrous list of math links including some cool math bingo and other math collections. This UK collection has a ton of resources for those who are always looking for math things.
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Year Long Technology Project (US Grade 9) - Resources - TES
I uploaded my "Freshman Project" to the @Tesconnect website. This is a very large network of teachers that I'm using now as it links with English speaking classrooms outside the US. This is the assignment that begins the year long project in my class as students design their own project. This is based upon the senior project I first saw this summer in Evansville, Indiana. Yes, you need to join TES to download the resource. I am promoting this site as part of some work I'm doing for them (as I disclosed two weeks a go) but it is a great site and I like the work they are doing very much! So join in, share, and download.
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Kodu and English - Resources - TES
Some guides for using Kodu game lab in the classroom. I've used this in my classroom. Kodu is a free game creation software from Microsoft. Cool tool.
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Fifth Graders Go Global with Holiday Card Exchange | Edutopia
Donna Roman is such a great teacher. Here in her Edutopia article she shares how her classroom is going global. Just a great example for elementary teachers to follow.
Daily Education & Technology News for Schools 04/12/2011
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YouTube - Teachers Who Inspire Student Entrepreneurs
Winners for imagine cup:
Thanks so much!
This afternoon in Redmond, WA, the nation's best and brightest tech students gathered for the ninth annual Imagine Cup 2011 U.S. Finals. Starting with a field of more than 74,000 students, the final 12 teams presented their life-changing projects to a panel of elite judges, tackling diverse issues from eliminating malaria to promoting alternative energy. After an intense weekend of presentations and eliminations, the winners were named:
* 1st Place, Software Design: Team Note-Taker, Arizona State University. Project: "Note-Taker" - A portable, assistive technology to help vision-impaired students take notes in class.
* 1st Place, Game Design - Windows/Xbox: Team Bloom, Tribeca Flashpoint Media Arts Academy. Project: "Spero" - A game focused on alternative energy solutions and educating people on how to live healthier lives.
* 1st Place, Game Design - Mobile: Team Big Impact Bear, University of Houston. Project: "Forest Gun" - A game that aims to prevent and reverse deforestation in the world.
* 1st Place, People's Choice Award - Software Design: Team BearPaw, Brigham Young University. Project: A mobile and cloud solution for ultrasound images that is cost-effective, widely available and easy to implement.
* 1st Place, People's Choice Award - Game Design: Team Bloom, Tribeca Flashpoint Media Arts Academy. Project: "Spero" - A game focused on alternative energy solutions and educating people on how to live healthier lives. -
Home to Homeroom | Stop Medicine Abuse
A website about helping teens with medicine abuse. A good specific website from the national association of school nurses.
"Multiple national surveys point to the disturbing abuse of prescription (Rx) and over-the-counter (OTC) medicines, like OTC cough medicine, among today's teens. Five percent of high school teens admit to having abused cough medicine containing dextromethorphan, or DXM, to get high in the past year." -
From this organization:
"We’re launching a new “60 Second Lecture” campaign in conjunction with the Ford Focus Global Test Drive, and many interesting individuals from the PresidentAmy Gutmann of the University of Pennsylvania to Dean Thomas Robertson of the Wharton School have already agreed to share their insights." -
MacdonaldTechForTeachers - iPad Apps for Education
Ann McDonald is building a very nice wiki with so many resources! She is an excellent Flat Classroom teacher.
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Excellent article about a struggle to ban cell phones in schools and why it is not working.
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Social Media Policy Best Practices: Trust Is Cheaper Than Control | Beth’s Blog
Nice Social Media Policy Best Practices discussion for nonprofits. The social media policy is related to your strategy. Most schools only have a strategy to prevent litigation and certainly, that is a factor as we look at schools and yet - we're not there yet on this discussion. I have to think at some point we're either going to have platforms that do a better job of protecting the privacy of minors or we're going to have to grow up in how we deal with these tools.
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Flat Classroom : The Tornado Tribune
Helen Harvey's Flat Classroom participation received a write up in her local paper. An important part of each of our projects is to issue press releases to gain media attention for the schools that break down the walls.
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Seth's Blog: Moving beyond teachers and bosses
So we, as teachers, are characterized like this from Seth Godin:
"We train kids to deal with teachers in a certain way: Find out what they want, and do that, just barely, because there are other things to work on. Figure out how to say back exactly what they want to hear, with the least amount of effort, and you are a 'good student.'"
Are we the kind of teachers who have to move past or someone that kids are moved with.
Do we have a limiting mindset? -
Knight Foundation Webinars - Knight Foundation
April 20th from 2-3 pm EDT - a connected citizens webinar about their new report "Connected Citizens: The Power, Peril and Potential of Networks"
sign up for this event here. -
Connected Citizens Report: The Power, Peril, and Potential of Networks | Beth’s Blog
If you have no idea what network-centric grantmaking is and you write grants or work with fundraising - this blog post is an important read for you. (Buy Beth's book - the networked nonprofit - it is great.)
Themes as per Beth:
These themes include:
1. Listening to and consulting the crowds: Actively listening to online conversations and openly asking for advice.
2. Designing for serendipity: Creating environments, in person and online, where helpful connections can form.
3. Bridging differences: Deliberately connecting people with different perspectives.
4. Catalyzing mutual support: Helping people directly help each other.
5. Providing handrails for collective action: Giving enough direction for individuals to take effective and coordinated action. -
join the crowdsourced keynote at the BC educational technology users group. Here are instructions:
We Want Your Videos
April 7, 2011 By grantpotter Leave a Comment
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In June 2011 the BC educational technology users’ group (etug) will be hosting a Spring Workshop in Nelson, BC. The theme? OPEN 4 LEARNING.
In the spirit of openness we would like to invite YOU to participate in a crowd-sourced keynote. Our vision is to create a keynote video that highlights the collective voice on the value of openness.
Here’s what we would LOVE for you to do:
Create a short video/interview/montage answering one or two of the following questions:
1. What is the value of openness?
2. What examples of openness stand out to you as being valuable/worthwhile?
3. WHY do you believe in the value of open education?
If you are interested in participating we would love to have you be a part of this exciting opportunity, to collectively gather voices across the globe in answering the question “what is the value of openness”. Have fun with your video – the more creative the better.
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Upload your video to:
http://www.dropitto.me/etug
password: open
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Deadline: May 9, 2011 -
Online Learning in Australia - Connections, Partnerships and Successes ~ Stephen's Web
A report on the state of elearning in Australia. Every collection must comprise 40% free content.
Again, this article proves that if you're in education and not reading Stephen Downes' feature-rich blog, you're missing out. -
Colleges Spend Far Less on Educating Students Than They Claim, Report Says ~ Stephen's Web
Colleges actually spend LESS educating students than students are paying. From Stephen Downes as cited from the Chronicle of Higher Education April 8, 2011.
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STUDYBLUE | Make online flashcards & notes. Study anywhere, anytime.
Study Blue website to let you make flashcards to study and put on your ipod, ipad, cell phone, etc. Over 12,000 have recommended via facebook. Facebook is linking with learning as are mobiles.
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20 Terrific TED Talks for Language Lovers | Bachelor's Degree Online
Ted Talks for Language Lovers.
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The Truth is Out There | November Learning
Interesting discussion about "blue blood" and the quest for truth in an age where even Googling something may not change minds. By Bob Sprankle
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TLC = Tech + Library + Classroom: iPad Apps To Love
Tara from the TLC (Tech + Library + Classroom) Blog posts her iPad apps she loves.
I think the I write words app is very interesting for handwriting. I wonder if the fact that they are using their finger is a drawback but think that it will help the kids take the strokes the same way. -
Speak Up National Findings 2010
Important study surveying students about empowered education with emerging technologies.
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One Year Later: Assessing the Impact of iPads on Education - iPads in Education
Assessing the impact of iPads on education one year later by Sam Gliksman on the Ipad educators ning (hat tip to Julie Lindsay for this information.)
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Final Teams in US Imagine Cup:
Software Design
TTHV - Harvard University, University of Pennsylvania, Central Connecticut State University
Uca Ursus - University of Central Arkansas
Lifelens - Anderson School of Management, Harvard School of Business, University of California San Diego, University of California Davis, University of Central Florida
Note-Taker - Arizona State University
Game Design –Windows/XBOX (XNA):
Bloom - Tribeca Flashpoint Academy
Plump Pixel - California State University Chico
Righteous Noodle - University of Houston
XozGaming - Lick-Wilmerding High School
Game Design Mobile (Zune/Phone)
Big Impact Bear - University of Houston
EDO - Arizona State University
Team AAMP - University of Houston
Team Mintrus - Columbia College in Chicago, University of Louisville
Read Alfred's blog for more. -
Alfred Thompson's ongoing coverage of the Imagine Cup. I love this interview with the kids who invented a program about fighting a global pandemic.
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Sneak Peak of New Facebook Nonprofit Use Research from Idealware | Beth’s Blog
Yes, nonprofits are seeing success on Facebook. Beth Kanter, nonprofit social media guru, has a guest post from Kyle Andrei of Idealware on their findings about Facebook and nonprofits. Fundraisers, schools, and facebook fans read up.
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Gesture-Based ‘Gmail Motion’ April Fools’ Day Prank Gets Real - Techland - TIME.com
I love this! Gmail motion was Google's april fools day prank and many people fell for it. Heck, if I'd had time, I might have played with it but after thinking I realized what day it was! Tee hee.
But a lot of people WANTED this -even though the gestures were designed to be silly (who is going to do a jumping jack for making a star on an email.) so ICT used a kinect camera and actually made Gmail actions work! Watch the video and enjoy.
People actually WANT this just not with the exaggerated motions and definitely not a shot that requires the camera to see your feet.
Learning about Learning: Research and Edreform News and Views 12/31/2011
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11 Tools for the 21st Century Learner
This is a course for Spring Branch ISD which uses a blog as the framework. I also love how 9 hours of professional development is being given for the educators in this course. We need more embedded PD that gives teachers an opportunity to embed their learning in their daily activity. Embedded PD is the key to transformational learning. While there is a time and place for getting away, we have traditionally only used that "away" method when we also need to use the "learn right here" method of delivery as well.
Take a look at what Karen is doing here as you evaluate your pd delivery methods. I also have to admit that Spring Woods High school is one that has been an outstanding contributor to Flat Classroom in the past, so I personally know they are walking the walk here. -
Wikis in Writing Education Research - WolfWikis
Although not updated for some time, this wiki has been helpful in my wiki research. This shows the advantage of moving the master's thesis research online. It becomes a useful part of scholarly research. This wiki is dedicated to wikis in writing education research.
The one thing I'd love to see is eventually that such projects would become legacies where another student could build on what has already been created either through a template or handing it off like a baton, but so much of how academia is set up screams opposition to this. But why should a great wiki like this die when the creator graduates? -
Lessons learned from using Khan Academy content in a blended learning pilot
Very interesting study on the effectiveness of Khan Academy on the scores of low performing students. The study thoerizes that the success is not the videos at all but the problems and rewards system that accompanies the videos which have a gaming feel. Like many, we assumed the videos would be the predominant learning mechanism for students tackling new material. In fact, the students rarely watched the videos. This result is consistent with some of the observations in the Los Altos pilot. The students greatly preferred working through the problem sets to watching the videos."
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New Learning Environments for the 21st Century
John Seely Brown's PDF on the new learning environments for the 21st century based upon a 2005 presentation he did at the Forum of Higher Education's 2005 Aspen symposium.
The quote I like best:
"As the pace of change in the 21st century continues to increase, the world is becoming more interconnected and complex, and the knowledge economy is craving more intellectual property. In this environment, it is critical that we shift our focus from education to life-long learning."
This is a great lead from a thought leader in this area.
If you wonder why I'm digging into the research, it is as I work on my second book on collaborative writing. It is amazing to me that I can find so many more things online than I ever could in the Georgia Tech library when I was a research assistant for the then president of the national Economics Association, Dr. Danny Boston.
I may not be in an institution of higher learning but I can institute higher learning in my daily practice. I want everything I write for publication to be well grounded. I hope that is why those of you who gift me with your presence on this blog will feel free to let me know in the comments if you have concerns or pointers to other work. -
This 2004 study on second-language writers determined that although students prefer oral feedback that e-feedback has a greater impact on the revisions process. Online feedback is a valuable tool in the revisions process.