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A lecture sharing how leaders need solitude. If you study great leaders you will see this to be true. Yet another reason to unplug and get away from the noise.
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My first photowalk with Lytro’s lightfield camera — Scobleizer
Robert Scoble shares his walk with the Lytro camera that Dan Pink named the technology to watch in 2012. Time will tell.
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Drinking with William Faulkner
A very random but entertaining piece on William Faulkner that could be used tonprove the point that sometimes authors don't have a clue what they are writing. My son's term paper is on "As I lay Dying" and he has this article readybto use if necessary.;-)
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January 2012: Free Continuing Education Events | Library Developments
A list of free continuing education events for librarians and educators. Nice list.
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Shakespeare Teacher » Blog Archive » Top Ten Posts of 2011
Love reading top 10 posts. Here are some from Shakespeare teacher. A blog for you lit teachers out there.
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A. Kipta's Blog: Crayola For Educators
From a nice edtech resource sharing blog a. Kipta. ". Crayola For Educators: 2011/2012 Grant Opportunity: Champion Creatively Alive Children™ is a collaboration between the National Association of Elementary School Principals and Crayola. Principals who are members of NAESP may apply for a grant (valued at $3,000) to develop an innovative, arts-infused education program. "
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Tennessean: Teacher training holds the key « State Collaborative on Reforming Education
Current report on education in Tennessee. Of course 100% of the states will only be happy when they are all #1. it is time for states to start comparing themselves to how they did last year, not where they are in the rankings. Rankings dont tell you how you have improved. but one big point in this: "One of the key recommendations in SCORE’s report was a charge to ensure that teacher training programs in our state are producing high-quality teacher candidates who meet the needs of local school districts. We proposed revising the “teacher training report card” to measure the success and effectiveness of teachers in the classroom after they have completed teacher training programs.".
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A Teeny Tiny Teacher: Uno, dos, tres
This teacher has a contest and over 150 teachers responded. she is an elementary teacher and her blog is a hoot. while it is too late to enter the contest (ended at midnight on the first) it you want to know how to engage and have fun on your blog, you can learn a lot here.
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The pirates are coming to ebooks with 20% of books being downloaded illegally for frew. a scanner and ocr seems to be a simple way to do this. I personally wouldn't download and steal a book but then again, many have stolen music as well. I guess I think those who read would know better.
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The Best Shooting Challenges of the Year
Photography buffs have got to see this set of best "shooting challenges" of 2011.
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Tutorspree is an online market for tutors. We will continue to see things like this. i wonder, of course, about the online versus face to face aspect. i would be careful hiring a tutor for my child without really checking them out. however, I guess that vetting, etc. if it uses ebay like rankings would eventually emerge. who goes first?
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Google Health's Lifeline Runs Out
Google kills another service. I didnt use this one. Google Health dies for anemic performance.
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7 Reasons Schools Should Outsource Social Media Marketing
Edudemic writes about why schoolsmshould outsource social media marketing. I disagree. Genuine, real interactions with real people does more to help a school than some marketing firm. We do it ourselves at our school. the main thing I do wish to oursource,..processing and uploading the film to Youtube and pics. Either way, every school should have a social media marketing plan. No exceptions. you are either part of the message or the message just moves as it will.
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Need the motivation to walk? share this post with your buddies and get out there.
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Few teens sexting racy photos, new research says - Lake County News-Sun
Typical of the panicnthe news media causes about teen habits, a new study shows only 1% of teens are actually sexting nude pics. as always, we must get our facts and often the media gets it wrong. "Only 1 percent of kids aged 10 to 17 have shared images of themselves or others that involve explicit nudity, a nationally representative study found. Roughly the same number said they’d shared suggestive but less graphic photos; while 7 percent said they’d received either type of picture."
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New year holds hope for particles, planets | The Columbus Dispatch
What breakthroughs do scientists hope for in 2012? this is one for high school and college level profs to read. nice overview.
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AFP: Long-awaited Facebook IPO looms in New Year
Facebook to go public in 2012 say analysts.
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New Research Brief Defines The Value OF A Best-Of-Breed Approach To Unified Communications
Although this research brief is touting a particular company, the point that productive companies integrate technology, cloud computing, and telecommunications for increased productivity is ne to consider as we look at helping our students be more "productive" in their learning. i still wonder whybwe ignore telecommunications as a link to our students when it is the one technology they have with them all the time. " top performing companies were more likely to have integrated enterprise communications with other enterprise applications, and with the most current approaches to technology delivery-including cloud computing, virtualization and mobility."
Daily Education and Technology News for Schools 01/02/2012
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 and Technology News for Schools 01/10/2012
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Report calls for investments in STEM education, broadband - The Hill's Hillicon Valley
New report just released from the US Commerce Department this past Friday. You can expect even more investment in STEM.
“Underinvestment in sectors like STEM education, high-tech research, and 21st century infrastructure has diminished the nation’s competitive edge. Sustained federal investment in these sectors will not just help grow today’s economy, but it will also lay the groundwork for generations to come.” -
Seth's Blog: Simple thoughts about fair use
Seth Godin writes about fair use. Whether you claim fair use or not, give credit. That is the right thing to do.
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I'm glad all of these organizations have received money to recruit and retain women in computing and technology fields of studies, but I sure would like to see some online initiatives, campaigns, and social media type things being done. This approach seems a bit traditional to me.
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35% of Child Sex Abuse Caused by Minors - TIME
We have a hidden problem. Is it lack of supervision? How is it that 1/3 of sexual abuse of children is by other children?
"Recent high-profile cases of child sex abuse have roused national revulsion against the adults who perpetrated them. Rarely mentioned is the sobering statistic that more than one-third of the sexual abuse of America's children is committed by other minors."
Time Magazine -
The Human Anatomy, Animated With 3-D Technology - NYTimes.com
NYU Medical students wear 3-D glasses and dissect a virtual cadaver projected on a screen. The professor says "it's like a living digital textbook." I do, however, really hope my doctors have experience with the human body and don't do like a kid who has practiced basketball and never played in the game - bumble the ball as they start. No one wants to be a practice dummy - in this case a practice cadaver.
Yet, do you realize that we could now add human dissection to anatomy class? In 3D you could dissect the human body? There are very exciting things coming in this area. -
CBAL ELA Competency Model and Provisional Learning Progressions - home
This is interesting. ETS has launched a website about:
"Educational Testing Service (ETS), the world's leading measurement and research organization, has launched a new website to stimulate discussion, debate, and promote empirical research to help teachers and students meet the goals of the English language arts (ELA) Common Core State Standards." but this is most definitely a wiki (looks like wikispaces.) I find it fascinating that a company would use a wiki because so many have resisted this. I wonder who can join and who can edit. Interesting.
It says you can join. It will be interesting to see what they are doing with this. Perhaps some of you common core experts should join. -
Mystery Apple event to focus on education, iTunes U, digital publishing? | ZDNet
The end of this month we'll get a new kind of Apple for the teacher. Apple has a big event planned in New York (publisher central) that is rumored to talk about iTunes University, and textbook publishing. It willbe big news as this is a topic that is said to have been "dear to Steve Jobs."
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Kno Adds 15 Publishers to its Catalogue -- THE Journal
Textbook app, Kno, adds more publishers to the app.
The publishers include a range of diverging specialties, from humanities publisher Hackett to scholarly publishers such as The MIT Press, University of Nebraska Press, and Indiana University Press as well as more general publishers and Norton Publishing, producers of the long-time campus standby Norton Anthologies. Other recent additions include Morton Publishing, Oklahoma Career Tech, Berrett-Koehler Publishers, and AVA Books. -
Alfie Kohn: The Risks and Potential of Required Community Service
Requiring community service. I do this in National Honor Society. They have a certain number of hours to earn, however, they choose what they do. Serving and helping others is part of what we do. However, I see the points he makes in this article, particularly if a competition or reward is put in place.
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Tom Vander Ark: How Intelligent Scoring Will Create an Intelligent System
Yesterday a competition to improve automatic scoring of essays kicked off and computer scientists are invited to join the competition to "best well known testing firms including AIR, CTMMcGraw-Hill, ETS,and Pearson." The Open competition runs through april.
This is an effort to grade essays without a human grader involved.Personally, to me, writing implies audience and to not have a human read the writing of these students is problematic to me. -
Here we go again: Congress considers blocking government's open access policy
Publishers don't like the Federal government's open access policy that requires that research funded by government-sponsored grants be released to the general public a year after publication. I cannot believe how the publishers are continuing to try to shut down the flow of information. This is as infuriating as SOPA.
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Make a Local Backup Of Your Gmail Account - Wired How-To Wiki
How to make a backup of your gmail account. (I may have to do this to archive old emails as I am beginning to get a full inbox. Just don't know that I need things from 2007.)
Daily Education and Technology News for Schools 01/03/2012
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Columbia University to Offer ‘Occupy 101′ Course
"Columbia University is offering a new course on Occupy Wall Street next semester — sending upperclassmen and grad students into the field for full course credit. "
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Gov. Cuomo to announce state education commission to reform schools: A.M. News Links | SILive.com
On Wednesdain in New York state, education reform turns up a notch...". Gov. Cuomo, in his second state-of-state address Wednesday, will accuse New York's schools of being unaccountable and announce a commission to come up with reforms, the Daily News has learned."
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If you like open and free resources, you won't want to miss this humdinger of a post.
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A Difference: The Difference Between Curriculum and Pedagogy
Darren Kuropatwa writes about some of the current controversies in Manitoba Canada as they grapple with being ranked 10 out of 11 in a recent government benchmark. Again, it is troubling when governments get more into ranking than in to comparing how you did this year versus last year.
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The annual social network lynching mob arrives
Ewan McIntosh bemoans another round of social media critics in Scotland and the guidelines they are drawing up for educators. Some things are ubiquitous and this misunderstanding of social media and the role in education is just one of them.
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My 2012 Goal: To Embrace Ipukarea
Ss the Free Range Librarian heads to New Zealand, I am completely fascinated with the theme of this conference. ".Ipukarea (from the Māori language – Te Reo Māori) refers to the ancestral homeland, a significant water or land feature which relates to identity and source of livelihood. It is a place that represents New Zealand history and emotional attachment, a place to go to be rejuvenated, a place that represents the hopes and aspirations of the people and the life-giving waters from which they drink."
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A New Year: A New Learning Journey Begins
Beth Kanter is one of the leaders in managng a nonprofit and using social media. her upcoming booknaounds exciting. if you are a nonprofit or fundraiser you need to rewd her blog. here is her announcement anout what 2012 holds for her. ". As Visiting Scholar to the David and Lucile Packard Foundation this past year (my 3rd), one project I worked on was facilitating peer learning groups to test and develop case studies and frameworks for my next book, Measuring the Networked Nonprofit” that I co-authored with KD Paine and editor, Bill Paarlberg. The book will publish in the second half of 2012. The book is a how-to guide for using measurement and learning to improve networked nonprofit practices."
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The Best Space Stories of the Year
The top space stories of the year including amazing phooe you will want to use. (Except for the pic of the Russian cosmonaut Bresnev sent into space knowing he would die.)
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 12/31/2011
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Curriculum changes could spark supply crisis - news - TES
The US is not the only country in government educational induced turmoil. Here is an overview of what is happening in England right now.
"Make teachers redundant or have them teach subjects they are not trained in - that is the stark choice cash-strapped secondaries will face if national curriculum changes proposed this week are introduced, ministers are being warned.
The bleak scenario is predicted by heads’ leaders and teacher recruitment experts if the Government follows the recommendation of its national curriculum review expert panel to make history, geography and modern foreign languages compulsory for all 11 to 16-year-olds from 2014." -
January is national slavery and human trafficking prevention month. I don't care if this is an unsavory topic to many, there are more human slaves in our world this moment than in the history of this big globe in the sky. Don't criticize the slave owners and people in early US history if you're not willing to speak out now. There are age appropriate ways to broach this topic. Think about how the people of pre civil war times felt when you toss this topic over in your mind.
January is National Slavery and Human Trafficking prevention month. Celebrate it well and plan ahead. Yes, there are slaves in this country and you can educate students on how to protect themselves as well as bring awareness to what is happening in other places. -
Content Filtration: A little dirt for your health?
I was rereading this old post for some writing I'm doing about filtering and it struck me that although this post was written in 2008 it reads like it was written this morning. I think there are some very valid arguments to share as you discuss content filtering in your school.
When asked about how to help kids with allergies, researchers have made the bold statement , "Let them eat dirt! " As I read these articles, I was struck with the parallel to the content filtration debate that rages in education today. -
Submissions | Apps for Science
A science app competition with a hodge podge of "winners." This isn't what you think. It is more higher level science websites that provide functions. One of the first mentioned is altmetric which measures the impact of research studies in social media. (Not sure if this is hugely important, but I guess it could be useful to those wanting to respond to the tweets, etc. of an article. I certainly hope scientists would also have offline conversations about these as well.)
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Anis Bawarshi and Steven Corbett — Learning & Scholarly Technologies
Overview of the use of efolios in the Expository Writing course at the University of Washington. along with some sample portfolios. Currently the electronic portfolios are optional although having a portfolio is not.
"The six TAs who chose to teach with electronic portfolios discovered many advantages to introducing this technology. They found that students learned to write for a wider audience and were able to better connect to the course outcomes by showing a greater variety of examples such as graphics and links to relevant Web pages. The electronic portfolios also simplified some logistics, allowing the instructors to easily show examples of online portfolios and students to review each other's work. " -
Daily Kos: Internet giants seriously considering 'nuclear option' to stop SOPA
If Amazon, Google, Facebook and other Internet allies turn their home screens black to bring attention to the censorship of SOPA don't be surprised. Right now, SOPA is still favored to pass. time to call congress or email them. This website tells you how.
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Researchers Build Terminator Contact Lens
Small projectors, contact lenses with displays built in. Here is where we're going. These things make the "ban cell phone" movement even more preposterous. It is about behavior not banning or blocking as limiting behavior is only going to become harder.
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8 Amazing Emerging Technologies From 2011
Transmitting data via LED lightbulbs tops this list of 8 technologies from mashable.
By the way, the beginnings of display contacts is here - although it can only put one pixel on the screen (created by your contact) it is the beginning.
Again, we must get at behavior of our students. Because we will move from cell phones to glasses and contacts. We have to focus on helping people learn how to focus on the task at hand and hold them accountable for the work they do instead of playing the role of jailkeeper. Focus may indeed be the most important 21st century skill. -
ADHD: Your Brain On Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (VIDEO)
ADHD, medicine abuse, and a video to show you what it "feels like" to have ADHD. This post from Huffington is a great one to share with those who don't understand this disorder. There are still so many questions to ask, especially that of if we've somehow become so desk bound that our physical bodies are crying out for more running and moving, but that is for another post.
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So Here’s What I’d Do : 2¢ Worth
It started with Tim Holt asking "edtech gurus" how to actually do it. How to stimulate change.
This is a wonderful post from David Warlick on what he'd actually do. Many of these are great. The tough thing this brings to bear is that unless you can actually do it - it is hard to speak to it. This is why there is room for great practioners who are doing it to share how it works and what the results are. The tough thing is that in the real world, it is rarely simple and interpersonal dynamics often get in the way. The book I'd recommend is Kerry Patterson's the Influencer on this topic. -
10 Bad Trends in Ed Tech 2011 #6: Ed Tech Gurus - Holt Think: Ed, Creativity, Tech, Adminstration
Lots of conversation on this guru's post. Funny how the easiest way to get edubloggers to talk is to talk about edubloggers. ;-)
Daily Education and Technology News for Schools 01/11/2012
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Howard Gardner: Truth, Beauty, and Goodness Reframed | Harvard Graduate School of Education
At the Askwith Forum on December 1, Professor Howard Gardner discussed the challenges faced by traditional education in light of two forces: the post-modern critique from the humanities and the disruptive potentials of the new digital media. As addressed in his most recent book, Truth, Beauty, and Goodness Reframed: Educating for the Virtues of the Twenty-First Century, Gardner described how the core ideas of truth, beauty, and goodness can survive and even be strengthened in education across the life span.
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Harvard EdCast: Designing a Digital Curriculum | Harvard Graduate School of Education
There are so many great podcasts out there. I like to hear directly from the companies I work with. Julie's and my first book is from Pearson and this podcast is of interest to me.
"Susan Sclafani, vice president of programs for the Pearson Foundation shares insight into the new digital curriculum being developed to adopt the common core standards." -
American School has named their top education books of 2011. Not sure how it set up this list but there are a few I want to read.
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A report was released on January 10, 2012 about democratic engagement on US college campuses. You can read this and their recommendations on the Association of American Colleges and Universities website. Of course, social media tools, when used well, can facilitate many of these goals.
"The Task Force calls on educators and public leaders to advance a 21st century vision of college learning for all students—a vision with civic learning and democratic engagement an expected part of every student’s college education. The report documents the nation’s anemic civic health and includes recommendations for action that address campus culture, general education, and civic inquiry as part of major and career fields as well as hands-on civic problem solving across differences." -
SmarTots - We recommend the Best Educational Apps for your Child
This website for parents gives you app reviews and also reports on what your child is learning in one integrated interface. The concept here is beautiful. No matter what app your child is using, if they use the Smartots platform, you can see what they're learning. I will be testing this, but the concept is an important one. We need accountability for our apps not just our teachers, otherwise, they are a black box with "educational" slapped on them. We have to play them and how many of us are going to spend hours doing that?
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Today is "free day" on sparkfun. If you join, you can possibly get free electronics, circuit boards, etc. on January 11.
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Photo of high school senior Sydney Spies deemed too sexy for yearbook in Colorado - NY Daily News
This young lady is "in to modeling" has her yearbook photos rejected. She's pursuing "self expression" but is she rally seeking the publicity. Her parent says it is "artistic" and "stunning." This is an interesting discussion about what is appropriate. She's going to put it in as an ad in the back. This is interesting as the "censors" are fellow students who say it is not appropriate. We deal with this sort of thing on senior comments but haven't had problems with photos yet. This is an interesting conversation piece.
Daily Education and Technology News for Schools 01/07/2012
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Justice Department Redefines Rape : NPR
You may think this odd to include but rape has been redefined by the justice department. those who work in disciplinary areas of schools may want to listen to this NPR update.
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What Makes a Good Teacher? Ask a Student – SchoolBook
Interesting overview of a survey that set out to define a good teacher - in the eyes of students. One interesting conclusion... new is not always better. ". The survey indicated that teachers with 10 or more years of experience use methods that inspire students to learn, sometimes better than a younger, newer teacher might."
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GOOD Maker Challenge: Seeking College Changemakers
College changemakers are sought on a site that seeks to foster social entrepreneurship among college students. Also profiled here are some students already doing amazing work.mwhat is your educational organization doing to foster social entrepreneurship?
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Texas Students Caught Cheating: Hundreds Affected At 'Exemplary' High School
200 students in an exemplary Texas high school get the answers for a test in what may be one of the biggest cheating scandals yet. i guess there are negatives to social media. Word spreads quickly...even the answers to that test. ".Hundreds of high school seniors in Texas were caught cheating on their final exams last month. Now, officials at the southeast Houston Clear Creek Independent School District are investigating how around 200 students at Clear Lake High School acquired test answers before the exam in December."
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Everyone's favorite PE Geek has a new book about integratng technology into physicla education in ebook format. Jarrod Robinson a/k/a Mr. Robbo the PE Geek is one of my go to people for technology.
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I am noticing that some people are going to Google+ and using a service like Mail Chimp to turn it into an email for those not using the service.
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Teacher-Led Blended Learning, Students Win | Getting Smart
Great article
"Teachers do not fear technology, as most are embracing it. Teachers do not fear reform that is good for kids, as many are leading it. Teachers fear a political push that uses technology as a cost cutting tool, promoting processes that build learning walls impossible for students to climb. Teachers fear a politician-centered or corporate-centered approach to education that does not put the student first. Or as Tom Whitby put it here, another tarnished silver bullet." -
Nintendo could open an eBook store for the Wii U console | eSchool News
Rumor has appeared that Nintendo introduce an eBook download service with their redesigned Wii. ebooks are everywhere.