SMARTboard

I attended a great crash course on how to use and teach with a smart board. Not all school districts have smart boards in their classroom, but many schools are trying to get the funds to incorporate them into the classroom. They are very useful and a great way to bring teaching to life. Although it does take some time and lots of practice getting to know how to use this new form of technology, it is very beneficial and rewarding. There is a website that anyone can log-on to and try a FREE 30 day trial to get used to working with a smart board and also help you prepare a sample demo for the future...or a upcoming interview! Check it out: www.smarttech.com

Have Fun!

Active Participation Ideas

Keeping children actively engaged during lessons is a strategy the teacher often has to face with his or her students. When children are actively involved in their lesson it keeps them motivated, engaged, and interested in learning more. It also helps children stay on track and gives them a chance to be a valuable member of their class.

There are many various forms of active participation strategies a educator can use. These strategies can be used for partners, groups, or whole class.

Partner active participation strategies include: Poems for Two Voices: when reading a poem, have the children pair to read every other line and a second strategy is Timed-Pair-Share: where students share with a partner for a predetermined amount of time, and then the partner shares with them for the same amount of time.

Group active participation ideas include: Talking chips: is when the teacher poses a question for the students in the group to discuss. each member is given a "chip" and the students each take a turn "talking" by placing their chip into the center of the table or basket. another idea is Team-Pair-Solo: students solve problems first as a team, then as a pair, and finally alone.

Whole Class active participation strategy include: Fish Bowl: this strategy provides students an opportunity to engage in formal discussion and to experience roles both as participant and as active listener; students also have the responsibility of supporting their opinions and response using specific textual evidence. Students are asked to engage in a group discussion about a specific topic- within two circles. Inner circle students will model appropriate discussion techniques, while the outer circle students will listen, respond, and evaluate.

Summer Fun 2009

Summer is finally here!!!! Although I will be taking several graduate courses, I will be blogging about interesting topics in regard to the courses I am enrolled in.

I cannot wait to make it down to the shore as well to soak up the sizzling summer sun.

Enjoy!

Memorial Day

Happy Memorial Day!!!!! Enjoy your weekend!

Cinco De Mayo!!!!

Cinco de Mayo is a date of great importance for the Mexican and Chicano communities. It marks the victory of the Mexican Army over the French at the Battle of Puebla. Althought the Mexican army was eventually defeated, the "Batalla de Puebla" came to represent a symbol of Mexican unity and patriotism. With this victory, Mexico demonstrated to the world that Mexico and all of Latin America were willing to defend themselves of any foreign intervention. Especially those from imperialist states bent on world conquest.

Cinco de Mayo's history has its roots in the French Occupation of Mexico. The French occupation took shape in the aftermath of the Mexican-American War of 1846-48. With this war, Mexico entered a period of national crisis during the 1850's. Years of not only fighting the Americans but also a Civil War, had left Mexico devastated and bankrupt. On July 17, 1861, President Benito Juarez issued a moratorium in which all foreign debt payments would be suspended for a brief period of two years, with the promise that after this period, payments would resume.
The English, Spanish and French refused to allow president Juarez to do this, and instead decided to invade Mexico and get payments by whatever means necessary. The Spanish and English eventually withdrew, but the French refused to leave. Their intention was to create an Empire in Mexico under Napoleon III. Some have argued that the true French occupation was a response to growing American power and to the Monroe Doctrine (America for the Americans). Napoleon III believed that if the United States was allowed to prosper indescriminantly, it would eventually become a power in and of itself.

In 1862, the French army began its advance. Under General Ignacio Zaragoza, 5,000 ill-equipped Mestizo and Zapotec Indians defeated the French army in what came to be known as the "Batalla de Puebla" on the fifth of May.

In the United States, the "Batalla de Puebla" came to be known as simply "5 de Mayo" and unfortunately, many people wrongly equate it with Mexican Independence which was on September 16, 1810, nearly a fifty year difference. Over, the years Cinco de Mayo has become very commercialized and many people see this holiday as a time for fun and dance. Oddly enough, Cinco de Mayo has become more of Chicano holiday than a Mexican one. Cinco de Mayo is celebrated on a much larger scale here in the United States than it is in Mexico. People of Mexican descent in the United States celebrate this significant day by having parades, mariachi music, folklorico dancing and other types of festive activities.

Source: http://clnet.ucla.edu/cinco.html

Peta

I Am A Educator, and I Am a
Check Out All the Celebrity 'Veggie Testimonials' at PETA.org

Final Reflection

This past semester has been an absolute pleasure being a student in Dr. Luongo's graduate class. I have nothing but great things to say in regard to the professor and the class. This was my first online class and I absolutely enjoyed every minute. Having an online course teaches you to be self-discilplined, independent, responsible, and most of all it provides you with confidence. Dr. Luongo has worked wonderfully to keep everyone updated and in the "loop" with our weekly modules, but gave us our independence as well. She has taught us how to be in control of our assignments as well as make us feel confident and comfortable in our academic success.

I particularly enjoyed the educational videos, articles, and websites we examined and read. On a weekly basis we were responsible for: weekly powerpoint presentations which were available on Blackboard to use as a guide for each of the chapters, reading the chapters and handouts, taking quizzes, and blogging about related topics and any other kind of topic we wished to share with our classmates. I also had a blast working on the projects, which allowed us to be creative and incorporate material we were learning.

Dr. Luongo has made this semester a joy and I am proud I was part of her class, she has always been very clear on what she expects and what the class is about and I would recommend her to anyone and would take more of her classes as well...actually I'm keeping my fingers crossed she is teaching more online classes. I think the college should offer more online courses, it really is a great benefit to have.

Summer Reading Challenge

Today, April 30 there is a live webcast about: Summer Reading. Here is the link: http://www2.scholastic.com/browse/collection.jsp?id=608&eml=TNL/20090430/TNL

Join the countdown and encourage summer reading!!!!

Standardized Tests

I cringe when I hear the word: standardized testing. Although every school uses this form of assessing students on a broad range across the country, I think it is an unfair way to determine a child's academic ability. The most common standardized test is the TerraNova test which tests students on a variety of subjects. the test results are given to the school, school district, and parent/child. The test is based on a scale-percentile, which is divided into three (3) levels: above average (80 or higher), average (30-79), and below average (29 and below). Seriously, how can you say a student is average if they receive a score of 40 in math? A 40 on a classroom test is failing and on a report card would be a failing mark as well. This form of assessment is all over the place and very unreliable. Also, not all students are great test-takers and because of this standardized testing is useless. I know that these tests will continue to be used to assess the students in our schools and continue to be compared to other children across the country, but I do feel they should not be taken as serious as they are and not to make them so important where classes are stopped for a week, now that is silly!

Report Cards

Report cards were never my favorite part of school. I used to dread when my parents would have back-to-school-night to go and speak with my teachers and get my report card. I was always so nervous and I didn't have a reason to be because I always did well in school, I just worried over nothing and I thing many children have this feeling. It's not like college where you have more control over your grades that you earn because in high school, and college you know when you are having a test or quiz whereas in elementary school it is sometimes sprung upon you without knowing. I used to feel it was not a fair evaluation/assessment. I also used to think how important the letter grades were, for example for outstanding work you would receive an "A" and for poor work you would get an "F." What a great way to make children hate those letters that represented poor or failing marks.

In today's schools there are many methods to communicate with students and parents and to keep records of students' s achievement. There are several methods when reporting student progress depending on the grade level. For example, letter grades may be used for those in the upper elementary, junior high, and high school levels. besides report cards many teachers will use progress reports to assess their students on a monthly basis, or for the younger children, a weekly basis.

Report cards will always exist and they will always make some children out their worry and nervous, but the purpose of them is still needed and the purpose of report cards will always give the parent and child a broad sense of their achievement and a better understanding of where improvement is needed.

California Learning Resources Network (CLRN)

CLRN provides educators with a "one-stop" resource for critical information needed for the selection of supplemental electronic learning resources aligned to the State Board of Education academic content standards.

CLRN objectives:
1. Identify and review supplemental electronic learning resources such as software, video, and Internet resources.
2. Identify learning units aligned to resources and the state academic content standards.
3. Maintain an interactive web site to provide information about electronic learning resources through an online searchable database and links to state education technology projects and resources.

After reading a little about CLRN I was eager to explore the site and see what it was really all about. I was aware that they had many of the traditional subjects, but when I discovered there was a link for visual and performing arts I was overjoyed. I have always had an interest the the performing arts field. One day when I am a teacher I hope to be able to incorporate some kind of program in the school for children to have access to.

There were several links I found useful and enjoyed. I also found the grade levels to be mixed which gave teachers a wide range of choices to work with. There were so many topics to choose from, such as: acting in a television series, acting in musicals, acting in a comedy, how to read music, understanding drama, and so on.

Check it out..it's FREE at: http://www.clrn.org/home/

Lesson Plans

Teachers at every level prepare plans that aid in the organization and delivery of their daily lessons. These plans vary widely in the style and degree of specificity. Some instructors prefer to construct detailed types of outlines while others prefer a more simple brief format. Regardless of the format, all teachers need to make wise decisions about the strategies and methods they will use to help students achieve their goals. A lesson plan will not only help you, as the educator, stay on track but it also serves as a guide for a substitute teacher to help him/her manage a learning environment.

When creating a lesson plan you have to think about the following: what are the goals, what content will I be teaching, and is this student-level appropriate? Once you are aware of what you will be doing, the next step is to create the lesson plan. A typical lesson plan consists of: the unit title, instructional goals, objectives, procedures, materials (if any), assessment, state standards, and provisions.

My past two projects for my education courses have been on creating: a unit of instruction lesson plan and a technology enhanced lesson plan. the unit of instruction lesson plan was based a subject of choice and creating a week long outline for that subject to teach in a classroom, whereas my technology enhanced lesson plan was to focus on how to incorporate technology into everyday teaching. I know that formatting a lesson plan for each subject is time consuming but I feel it's a great way to map out ones goals and instructions to see how he or she will accomplish what they plan to by using their lesson plans as guides. Lesson plans also help you stay on track and stay organized which is essential when teaching children, unorganized teacher = unorganized students. You set the standards and if you cannot hold it together when instructing a lesson or the class as a whole than it is inevitable to expect the students to do the same.

Portfolios

Another form of assessment is a portfolio, which is a "limited collection of a student's work used either to present the student's best work(s) or to demonstrate the student's educational growth over a given time, on one or a set of learning targets."

The work that is selected for a portfolio is carefully selected to add to the whole document to show one's growth and academic achievement over a period of time. "Presenting one's best work and demonstrating educational growth are two purposes for a portfolio," of course there are many more. Another type of portfolio is a growth and learning-progress portfolio, which contains examples of a student's work, along with comments, given by the instructor to demonstrate how well the student's ;earning has progressed over a given period of time. This type of portfolio is used for formative assessment. When putting a portfolio together student's will insert work into the document several times a year, typically three (3) or two (2). Along with the pieces of work the student should include a little write-up explaining why each piece was included/it's meaning, student reviews, whether it be your own or from other's, and student drafts, notes/teacher notes and comments on the progress.

I think portfolios are great because it gives other's a chance to appreciate your hard work and it's a great way to speak confidently about your work and include other's in on your project and what details go into creating your portfolio. It really allows other's to see a different side of you and what your achievement includes and how well you comprehend the material. It is especially great for those who are going on interviews, they can easily bring that and speak about certain assignments and give the interviewer a chance to see a piece of their work, that they are proud of.

- "Assessment and Grading in Classrooms." Chapter 9, Page 180-185

To Test or Not To Test?

Testing has been and always will be a major part of assessment in the classroom. Growing up I was never a great test taker-I was decent-but not great. Prior to attending catholic school, when I was in public school, I was in the 98 percent tile of the standardize test scores. when my parents moved me to catholic school my grades dropped drastically. My teacher from the public school always told my mom I was best suited for the public schools system and that I would thrive, whereas my sister would do better in a catholic school. I'm not sure if i even understand this myself but I guess she knew what she was talking about because I only attend a public school once more throughout all of my schooling and again when I was in the public school I did excellent. Nowadays I am in a catholic college, but this time my grades are great and I work hard to maintain my G.P.A. Does the school really have something to do with how a child academically succeeds? I'm not sure if it has something to do with the school, as it would with the teacher.

Since I never liked to take tests and never felt I could show my full potential and understanding, I was not a fan of tests and always had a stigma against them. I feel schools place too much emphasis on the tests rather than other material that could be counted or taken in place of tests. I am not saying that we should get rid of tests altogether, but I do think we need more forms of assessment than just tests.

There are several kinds of tests: essay based tests and multiple choice based tests. each subject requires different kinds of test formats. Essay based tests are a great way, in my opinion, to let the students fully explain their knowledge and comprehension of that subject/topic, and I would rather have an essay formatted test. Multiple choice based tests can go in many directions: they can either really give you the lead way because of the various choices or they could really confuse you and turn out to be worse than any other kind of test. I look at a multiple choice test in these ways: 1. if you are stumped, you have several other choices to narrow the answer down to, or secondly, if you really know the material but when you see other choice answers you begin to second guess yourself and a test you studied for hours for and were confident you would get a passing grade can turn to be a disaster.

I think tests are important to keep in the curriculum but to make some modifications to the types of tests given and to make sure they are related to the subject the educator is testing the students on.

Earth Day 2009

April 22nd is Earth Day! There are many great sites that you can use to access helpful tips on how to go green, fun classroom activities, games, and reading material.

Senator Gaylord Nelson, founder of Earth Day wrote this interesting article: "How the First Earth Day Came About"

Article: What was the purpose of Earth Day? How did it start? These are the questions I am most frequently asked.

Actually, the idea for Earth Day evolved over a period of seven years starting in 1962. For several years, it had been troubling me that the state of our environment was simply a non-issue in the politics of the country. Finally, in November 1962, an idea occurred to me that was, I thought, a virtual cinch to put the environment into the political "limelight" once and for all. The idea was to persuade President Kennedy to give visibility to this issue by going on a national conservation tour. I flew to Washington to discuss the proposal with Attorney General Robert Kennedy, who liked the idea. So did the President. The President began his five-day, eleven-state conservation tour in September 1963. For many reasons the tour did not succeed in putting the issue onto the national political agenda. However, it was the germ of the idea that ultimately flowered into Earth Day.

I continued to speak on environmental issues to a variety of audiences in some twenty-five states. All across the country, evidence of environmental degradation was appearing everywhere, and everyone noticed except the political establishment. The environmental issue simply was not to be found on the nation's political agenda. The people were concerned, but the politicians were not.

After President Kennedy's tour, I still hoped for some idea that would thrust the environment into the political mainstream. Six years would pass before the idea that became Earth Day occurred to me while on a conservation speaking tour out West in the summer of 1969. At the time, anti-Vietnam War demonstrations, called "teach-ins," had spread to college campuses all across the nation. Suddenly, the idea occurred to me - why not organize a huge grassroots protest over what was happening to our environment?

I was satisfied that if we could tap into the environmental concerns of the general public and infuse the student anti-war energy into the environmental cause, we could generate a demonstration that would force this issue onto the political agenda. It was a big gamble, but worth a try.

At a conference in Seattle in September 1969, I announced that in the spring of 1970 there would be a nationwide grassroots demonstration on behalf of the environment and invited everyone to participate. The wire services carried the story from coast to coast. The response was electric. It took off like gangbusters. Telegrams, letters, and telephone inquiries poured in from all across the country. The American people finally had a forum to express its concern about what was happening to the land, rivers, lakes, and air - and they did so with spectacular exuberance.

For the next four months, two members of my Senate staff, Linda Billings and John Heritage, managed Earth Day affairs out of my Senate office. Five months before Earth Day, on Sunday, November 30, 1969, The New York Times carried a lengthy article by Gladwin Hill reporting on the astonishing proliferation of environmental events:

"Rising concern about the environmental crisis is sweeping the nation's campuses with an intensity that may be on its way to eclipsing student discontent over the war in Vietnam...a national day of observance of environmental problems...is being planned for next spring...when a nationwide environmental 'teach-in'...coordinated from the office of Senator Gaylord Nelson is planned...."

It was obvious that we were headed for a spectacular success on Earth Day. It was also obvious that grassroots activities had ballooned beyond the capacity of my U.S. Senate office staff to keep up with the telephone calls, paper work, inquiries, etc. In mid-January, three months before Earth Day, John Gardner, Founder of Common Cause, provided temporary space for a Washington, D.C. headquarters. I staffed the office with college students and selected Denis Hayes as coordinator of activities. Earth Day worked because of the spontaneous response at the grassroots level. We had neither the time nor resources to organize 20 million demonstrators and the thousands of schools and local communities that participated. That was the remarkable thing about Earth Day. It organized itself.

***Please keep in mind I did not write this article it was written by Senator Nelson. When I came across it I found it interesting and wanted to share it with everyone. I also added links to websites that I found interesting, feel free to take a look...

http://holidays.kaboose.com/earth-day/
http://www.earthday.net/
http://earthday.wilderness.org/history/
http://www.epa.gov/earthday/

*Also check out the Scholastic web page for cool "going green" ideas. For example, go green report cards.

Videos & Social Networking

The videos for this module had a variety of topics being discussed. The titles were: Le Book, Cyberbullying, and Social networking with special education students and tips.

The first video: Le Book was a French video which portrayed how someone reacts to something "new." Like many of us who are introduced to new things all the time, we can grasp certain things easier than others. We may not always like being forced to use for example, new software and by trying to figure it out we become frustrated. Just like the man in the video he was unsure and nervous to tackle the book, he was afraid he was going to loose the story if he turned the page and was unsure what would happen if he closed the book. I think this is a great example of how we all get and can see a little part of us in him. once you learn how to use the new software, or for his case open and close or turn the pages of the book, we become more comfortable and eager to proceed with exploring.

The next video: cyberbullying, is a serious case with many young children and teens today. although the video was animated with panda bears there is more behind this topic, a topic that harms and affects many people in the world today. And unfortunately does not always get resolved with a happy ending. Cyberbullying is a main cause for children and teens committing suicide today. Not to long ago I was watching a TV program on investigating the Internet and cyberspace with teens and older children (typically 8 and older) and many of the stories shared were about children being bullied through the Internet and becoming so frustrated they took their own life. Many of the parents were not aware since it had been going on on the computer and became aware of the cyber abuse after it was too late. The severity of the abuse ranges from being told you are "fat" to naming calling, such as "you're gay!" I think parents need to definitely become more active in their child's computer use and need to teach their children how to protect themselves from bullying going further. In the video they mentioned three great words to help stop or prevent this from happening: "STOP, BLOCK, and TELL!!!!"

Social networking is part of our daily lives and the computer. We are all aware of myspace, facebook, twitter, and blog pages, so it is no surprise when people talk about the "creeps" that are out there pretending to be people they truly are not. Teens these days are now making sure their web pages are set to private because of those individuals who's incentive is to cause harm, etc. Networking is a great way to get yourself out there, but it can also be dangerous. The teens in the video seemed very aware of who is out there and what could happen if they are not careful. Being able to have access to a computer and the technology is amazing as long as you know the do's and don't's. The teens expressed how many of them set their pages to private to secure that nobody other than those they know can access them or send them anything through mail or IM's, their parents seem to be very on top of what is going on, for example one boy said that he computer is placed in his living room where his family spends much of their time and his mom is always making sure he is not on bad websites or people are not bothering him. There are pros ands cons to everything and if you are caution there is no harm in trying new things out and there is definitely no harm in making sure your child is using the computer wisely and is not being bullied.

April- National Poetry Month

April is National Poetry Month, and a great time to explore the world of words with your students!

Some Interesting books for the classroom are:
1. Hip Hop Speaks to Children, by, Nikki Giovanni
2. Poetry for Young People by, Emily Dickinson and Lewis Carroll and Robert Frost
3. Dinothesaurus, by, Douglas Florian
4. Fathers, Mothers, Sisters, Brothers, by, Mary Ann Hoberman

Hoppy Easter!

HAPPY EASTER!!!

Great sites full of resources and activities for teachers:

http://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/teacher/easter.htm

http://familyfun.go.com/easter/

http://crafts.kaboose.com/holidays/easter/easter-party-crafts.html

http://abcteach.com/directory/seasonalholidays/easter/

http://www.eslkidstuff.com/EasterGames.htm

School Web Pages

Classroom web sites can be a helpful resource not only for students but to their parents as well. It is a site designed and created by you, the teacher, where you can post announcements, homework, educational links, upload photos, add a reading list or books, and so much more!

You can be as creative as you want and really make the site as personal as you wish. Having a class web site is almost a requirement these days and making sure you are on top of constantly updating it can make or break the idea of having a resourceful class site.

As I searched around my districts school web pages, I noticed many of the teachers sites are very similar. Although I am unsure of how much access they truly have to adding certain things onto their pages, I would assume they would have more about their class and students added on to view. Again, this could be a security issue with posting pictures of children and their names. Safety first!

I think the websites in which the teachers create and build their pages through may not be the most recent sites and have the latest layouts, etc. could inhibit them from making a really fun and interactive site.

All in all, having a school web page is not only great for each teacher's classroom (for students and parents) but also great for the school to have the opportunity to present what they are all about.

Peanut FREE Schools

Below is a link for a news segment from Good Morning America as they visited Wallace Primary School in Hoboken, NJ, where my sister, Lea, is a kindergarten teacher. The Interview was based on Wallace becoming one of the schools taking a step forward to become a safer environment for children with peanut allergies. They are now a complete peanut free school, but many question is this a good step in the right direction or a step backwards in the wrong direction? I think schools in general try to do everything they could to make the school a safe haven for all the children attending it. I would love to hear feedback from everyone and see what you all think.

Please feel free to real the article and watch the video clip....enjoy!

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Weekend/story?id=7141066&page=1

Web Page Building

Creating a web page can be intimidating and make you want to run in the opposite direction, but there are many sites out there that provide step-by-step tools to help guide you in building your very own web page. Web pages can be used for multiple purposes, for example, school web pages. Educators and faculty members use school web pages to connect with students, parents, and other members of the school board to post updated news and activity announcements.

"Creating a web page can be as basic as typing information into a single online form." - Lauren Goldberg, "How to Build Your Own Web Page"

Through these sites you will be guided on how to enter text, add links, upload pictures, learn how to post homework assignments, update calendar dates, and highlight school activities.

There are many benefits to having a web page. For example, if you are using it for your classroom it can provide parents and students with information. Everybody today uses the computer for one reason or another, whether it may be to check your e-mail, write a paper, create a PowerPoint presentation, or to simply google something. It will forever be part of our lives and adding this form of technology to our classroom, where half the children know how to access and use a computer would be great.

Web page building can be a fun project to take on, plus you can learn something new and be that much more technology savvy because you have mastered how to create a web page with neat gadgets, links, educational information, photos, etc.

Creating a web page does take time, practice, and patience, but so do many things we try to accomplish and succeed at in life. Why not try it out, you never know what can come of it, but also remember to be wise of what you post and puiblish because it can only come back to haunt you if you allow it to.

How NOT to Use PowerPoint

Below is a funny youtube clip on the do's and don't's when creating a PowerPoint presentation. It you like comedy and enjoy learning something new then you will love this clip. I first saw this clip in my graduate class with Dr. Luongo and wanted to share it with everyone. Take some notes!

Saint Patrick's Day

Happy Saint Patrick's Day!

I know I'm a few days early but I wanted to give teachers an opportunity to visit these sites to collect fun printables, learn the history, and gather other classroom crafts before the holiday is over. Enjoy!!!

Fun Sites:
http://familyfun.go.com/stpatricks/

http://www.northcanton.sparcc.org/~greentown/stpat/stpat.htm

http://www.fvsd.ab.ca/stm/St%20Patricks%20Day.htm

http://arthur.k12.il.us/arthurgs/stpthunt.htm

Web-Based Educational Resources

Educational resources or "e-learning" is instruction delivered via a computer that is designed to build knowledge and skills. The Educational Technology Division (ETD)collaborates with teachers in the development of Interactive Resources (IRs) for teaching and learning in schools. Each web-based IR is a stand alone resource that can be reused and customized to meet the needs of teachers and pupils. The IRs developed with teachers are added to the pool of resources that can be shared and used in classroom teaching and learning.

Jose Fermosos, a writer for an online newspaper wrote a funny and interesting article about web-based educational resources. his opening paragraph was: "Want an education? Open up a browser. With the information available online, you could probably get a complete education without ever leaving your house" and how true it is. for many traditional teachers, students, and parents it is hard to find reliable, relevant, age-appropriate, and safe sources online that could be used for educational purposes.

He rated the top web-based educational resources:
1. Cosmeo- an online homework toolkit from the Discovery Channel for kids in grades K-12. It includes over 30,000 videos and math tutorials, close to 150,000 reference articles and entertaining, but always educational, interactive games.

2. Best Robotics - If your kids dream of electric sheep.... encourage their interest in robots, and you might help spur them on to a future in engineering or science. Best Robotics can help, with a robotics competition that attracts more than 10,000 students in grades 6-12 nationwide. It matches up tech pros with kids in a robot-building process that leads up to the competition, which includes oral presentations and sportsmanship evaluations.

3. Education.com- The recently launched Education.com fills a need as a one-stop educational online resource for parents, and it has a strong community aspect too. It includes more than 4,000 reference articles from reliable sources such as education Ph.D.s and government agency studies. The site still has a way to go, but we can't wait for it to fully grow up.

4. Curriki.com- Teachers, do you need lesson plans or guidelines on how to teach a segment on Romeo & Juliet? Check out Curriki.org, a nonprofit site that aims to do for school curricula what Linux did for operating systems: Create a freely accessible, open-source alternative. The site is continually updated with input from educators and parents. Teachers have free access to add lesson plans and the more knowledgeable educators become involved, the more they improve each lesson plan.

5. Kiddix- If you want to protect your kids from online threats while giving them a hand up on the educational ladder, why not give them an operating system tailored to their needs? Kiddix is a good start. Its colorful, simplified interface is easier for kids to pick up on their own than Windows or OS X. The Linux-based OS is secure and it's got built-in parental monitoring tools too.

6. eNature- A crucial aspect of growing up is figuring out your place within the rest of the natural world, and this means more than just measuring up to bullies in the playground. Kids love animals and with the help of eNature.com, they'll get a close-up guide to enhance their curiosity. There's also a similar open-source project, the Tree of Life, covered recently on Wired Science.

7. Idealist.org- Many schools and colleges emphasize volunteering as part of the educational process. But how do you find the right place to volunteer? At Idealist.org, nonprofits post volunteer opportunities for kids (and adults too) in an easily searchable interface. There's a similar site at iEarn, which enables teachers and students to collaborate on volunteer projects.

8. Smithsonian Institution- The Smithsonian Institution is more than just a large cluster of crusty old buildings. It's also an incredible online resource for every child in America -- there are innumerable educational features on everything from sharks and grizzly bears to Presidents and musicians. Be sure to check out Smithsonian Education, a site-within-a-site made specifically for younger children, with engaging Flash-based presentations as well as the Smithsonian Research site, which features detailed cultural programs for kids of all ages.

As you can see there are a variety of resources online that could be helpful for all teachers, students, and parents. The web has become a world-wide resource for the "average Joe". everyone can use the computer to research different topics and learn something new every day. it is a a multi-dimensional useful tool.

Creating A Web Page

Creating a web page is something that is not always easy to accomplish but definitely rewarding in the end. It is very time consuming and may take a few days to even several weeks to complete but the finished product can and is so useful for so many things, whether it is for one's classroom, which can be beneficial for the students and parents; or if it is for a business, which can help consumers know exactly what you are selling.

I created a WebQuest and although it took awhile to finish I was so proud of the end result and would recommend it to anyone looking to improve their style of teaching, etc. especially if you are into technology. I am now building a school web page through the Scholastic website, and this website will allow students and parents to access the class's homepage for homework, news, announcements, photos, and events. It is very kid-friendly and geared toward a elementary school level with the bright, colorful layouts and fun animated pictures. It is something I would also recommend for educators to use in their classroom, only if you are going to update it daily, otherwise you know how parents can get...they will complain and trying to avoid that would be by taking charge and keeping on top of things.

Creating a web page is a learning experience because it gets you familiar with using the computer and different sites, researching the web, creating something for others to access and use as well as yourself, and becoming in tune with the changing times. Whether you've had a positive or negative experience creating a web page, you should never let that inhibit you from trying again. Turn it into a fun experience and see how creative you can be!

Teacher Expectations

Nearly all schools hold high expectations for all students. In reality, however, what is professed is not always practiced. Although some schools and teachers maintain uniformly high expectations for all students, others have "great expectations."

Below are educators/psychologists who express their idea and feelings in regard to expectations by the teacher:

The expectations teachers have for their students and the assumptions they make about their potential have a tangible effect on student achievement. Research "clearly establishes that teacher expectations do play a significant role in determining how well and how much students learn" - Jerry Bamberg

Students tend to internalize the beliefs teachers have about their ability. Generally, they "rise or fall to the level of expectation of their teachers.... When teachers believe in students, students believe in themselves. When those you respect think you can, YOU think you can" -James Raffini.

Conversely, when students are viewed as lacking in ability or motivation and are not expected to make significant progress, they tend to adopt this perception of themselves. Regrettably, some students, particularly those from certain social, economic, or ethnic groups, discover that their teachers consider them "incapable of handling demanding work" -Peggy Gonder.

Teachers' expectations for students-whether high or low-can become a self-fulfilling prophecy. That is, students tend to give to teachers as much or as little as teachers expect of them.
A characteristic shared by most highly effective teachers is their adherence to uniformly high expectations. They "refuse to alter their attitudes or expectations for their students-regardless of the students' race or ethnicity, life experiences and interests, and family wealth or stability"
-Barbara J. Omotani and Les Omotani.

All of these thoughts are true and can be found in schools from different districts. I personally agree with James Raffini's quote: "When teachers believe in students, students believe in themselves"....how true! as educators we need to be aware of how we come across to our students and keep in mind they have feelings too and people who love them, like their parents, so being demanding or harsh is never good.

Homework

Teachers often give assignments consisting of reading, problem solving or writing that the students must do after class--typically at home. Ideally, the purpose of homework is to help reinforce what was taught in class. Sometimes it is gathering extra information beyond what was taught in class. Unfortunately, there are some teachers that don't understand the meaning of homework and give it as something to keep the students busy.

Reinforce Knowledge: The teacher can provide information and explain the subject in class. The problem is that you typically will only remember 50% of the information you get by seeing and hearing explanations. Also, you may not completely understand the principles or facts involved. You need to apply that knowledge to really learn the subject.
For example, the teacher may explain how to solve a certain type of math problem in class. But unless you go home and solve a couple of problems yourself, you probably won't really learn or understand the method involved. By the next day, you may have already forgotten what was taught. Likewise, your teacher may explain the reasons for the action of people in an historical event. When you read about the event, you will then pick up on what really happened and why.

Beyond Classwork: Sometimes teachers will only give an overview of material and assign reading to get the major part of the information. Then the next day, the teacher may answer any questions students may have or perhaps verbally quiz them on the material. History, English Literature and Sociology are examples of classes that require extensive reading outside of class.
The advantage of this is that much more material can be covered than what could be covered in class. The disadvantage to the student is that often questions aren't answered and there is no reinforcement to enhance remembering what was read. If the homework includes writing essays or answering questions in the book on what was read, there is a degree of reinforcement. You need to apply what you have just read, and often that will help you remember and understand the material. Unfortunately, the only way to find out if you understood the material is if your homework is graded. But that doesn't explain it to you.

Meaningless Homework: The worst type of homework is the type that is meaningless or just "busy-work". It is common for a teacher assign students to look up some subject on the Internet and put together an essay on it. Many will find a number of resources and copy and paste the material without really reading or understanding it. All this amounts to is an exercise in using Google to find things. Another type of homework is doing repetitive problems or solving puzzles that really don't add to your knowledge. Unfortunately, you may have to do this sort of nonsense to get a good grade in the class.

The purpose of homework is to help you learn what was taught in class or to gain information by reading and answering questions. One type is reinforcing what was taught in class, another type is studying beyond what was explained in class, and the third type is primarily meant to keep the students busy. In any case, it is necessary to do your homework--and do it well--to get a good grade in the class.

Rubistar Website

RubiStar is a website designed for teachers to help create a well-organized, neat, and precise rubric based on any subject you desire. There is a step-by-step process to help guide you in creating your own web rubric for your personal use or for all to view and use.

"If you want to make exemplary rubrics in a short amount of time, then try RubiStar. Registered users can save and edit rubrics online. You can access them from home, school, or on the road." And the best part.....registration and use of this tool is free!!!! It is safe, reliable, and very useful. It is as easy as 1-2-3.

Any educator can create a rubric for subjects like: a class debate, a puppet show, making a game, a web site design, lab report, math- problem solving, persuassive essay writing, art history reports, and music compositions...the sky is the limit! RubiStar is also availabe in spanish, so it is ideal for all PC users.

Visit the website and try it out for free: http://rubistar.4teachers.org/index.php

Inspiration

Inspiration is the essential visual thinking and learning tools students rely on to plan, research and complete projects successfully. With the integrated diagram and outline views, learners create graphic organizers and expand topics into writing. This powerful combination encourages learning in multiple modes. as a result, students gain and retain a better understanding of concepts and demonstrate knowledge, improving their performance across the curriculum. This website is ideal for children and teens in grades 6-12.

Students use Inspiration to:

1. Plan and organize
2. Research and Evaluate and
3. Comprehend and communicate.

Like Kidspiration, Inspiration has the same layout and goals. With over 120 cross curriculum templates, Inspiration is easily accessible for all students. With enhanced features, students in grades 6-12 can create projects, papers, and everything they need with the appropriate tools needed to guide them through the process. Using the same idea as Kidspiration by beginning with a main idea focual point, Inspiration builds upon brain storming techniques to create the ultimate outline and web design to organize and create a end product....a paper/web design. With Inspiration, students can add videos and URLs to their pages to show demonstrations or educational information that may go along with their topics being dicussed. Studenst can easily transfer their work into a word processor and link their documents to other sites to create their very own webpage/site. Like kidspiration, Inspiration offers: examples and lesson plans, videos, success stories, resources, inspired learning community, and a help center. This site like the kidspiration site are great helpful programs that should be used at home and if possible in the classroom when needed. There are so many benefical benfits to using this program, especially if the student is a visual learner.......GET INSPIRED!!!

Kidspiration

Kidspiration is the visual way to explore and understand words, numbers and concepts. It is designed specifically for students in kindergarten through fifth grade curriculum. Created for K-5 learners, kidspiration develops thinking, literacy, and numeracy skills using proven visual learning principles. In reading and writing, kidspiration strengthens word recognition, vocabulary, comprehension and written expression. With new visual math tools, students build reasoning and problem solving skills.

Kidspiration is designed to explores all areas of learning. the various categories include:
1. Picture View- which helps build graphic images and organizes and develops ideas.
2. Writing View- which organizes thoughts and develops ones writing skills.
3. Math View- which uses visual math tools to learn the skills core concept of counting, place value, and geometric thinking.

Kidspiration offers over 150 activities to help begin to create and develop projects. Kids can easily navigate on their own with icons that speak to you and inform you what each icon represents. And an easy search section using key words to help create and design a template. The writing view begins with a main idea which is the starting point, from there kids can build upon the main idea using icons and tools created especially for the writing section. which a child is doing this, kidspiration is creating a outline where children can create their work by developing their writing skills and literacy. the most powerful aspect of kidspiration is it connects kids visually through their thoughts with written expression.

Kidspiration also offers a word guide with a online dictionary and thesaurus. Children can also save their work onto a word processor. This website strengthens reading and writing skills for a children in grades K-5. It also builds a conceptual understanding in math and develops thinking skills. Kidspiration provides:
1. Examples and lesson plans
2. Video demo
3. Success stories
4. Awards
5. Standards matches
6. Resources and
7. A help center

Blogging

"Blog" is an abbreviated version of "weblog," which is a term used to describe web sites that maintain an ongoing chronicle of information. A blog is a frequently updated, personal website featuring diary-type commentary and links to articles on other Web sites. Blogs range from the personal to the political, and can focus on one narrow subject or a whole range of subjects.
Many blogs focus on a particular topic, such as web design, home staging ideas, sports, or new and fun updated technology. Some are more eclectic, presenting links to all types of other sites. And others are more like personal journals, presenting the author's daily life and thoughts.

The main question you want to ask yourself is, are you blogging for the right reasons? People are blogging just because it’s the ‘cool thing to do’ or the latest trend or the next big thing. Blogging has definitely changed over the past few years.

There are both Pros and Cons when it comes to the blogging world. The Cons include: Blogging without the right mindset is perhaps one of the worst things you can do when blogging. Blogs also take away the great feeling of finding things on your own through research and exploration, and blogs aren’t always accurate. Blogs tend to be a one way conversation, you post and receive a comment, typically will not go any further. When you do actually write a good blog you have to compete with others just to try and get ranked or even have your blog read. It’s also hard to be original these days because so many people have written about the same or similar topics over and over.

The Pros include: Blogging of course has its benefits as well. If you are truly a good writer or know how to get your point across better online then you may indeed be a good blogger. Blogging allows the person to become more creative and improves your typing speed, accuracy and Internet knowledge. Blogging can be good for sharing information on specific topics by giving your professional opinion about something. Blogging can simply be a diary for you or a way to express yourself and how you feel that day or about a particular situation. Now a days blogging programs can even be used to create websites for ones company. The sky's the limit!

Since I began blogging in January, I have enjoyed every aspect of the blogging world. I have had only positive experiences and would continue to blog even after the class is over. I am proud of my blog page and will even use it when I am an educator for my class/school updates and news postings. I think the biggest misconception about blogging is that you can post something and many years down the line someone will "discover" you in a negative way...kind of wrong and right?! Although this can happen, if you do not let it happen it won't, you are in full control of what you post and if you are skeptical than do not post it, it's better to be safe than sorry.

Rubrics

A rubric is a scoring guide. It organizes criteria that describe what students need to complete for an assignment, and it measures the levels of proficiency of student work. Rubrics can be used in any content area. They are time consuming to create, but they allow students and parents to know exactly how a teacher will grade an assignment.

Rubrics can be used by teachers for:
1. Student self-evaluation
2. Peer evaluation
3. Teacher assessment

When teachers design specific performance criteria, students know how they will be evaluated. Rubrics allow students to better understand the meaning behind their grade. If students know exactly how their work will be evaluated, they are more likely to produce higher quality work. Rubrics allow students and parents to see specifically how a teacher arrived at a specific score. In addition, rubrics give teachers well-defined criteria for areas in an assignment that are subjective, such as artwork or style.

For educators the best part is that once a rubric is created, grading goes much faster. Fewer written comments are needed on products because the rubric's descriptors can be circled. Circling comments takes much less time than writing them.

There are several types of grading rubrics. They include:
1. Scales
2. Checklists
3. Analytic Rubrics
4. Holistic Rubric
5. Generic Rubrics and
6. Task-Specific Ruberics.
Two of the six rubrics are explained as:
Holistic Rubrics list the expectations and rate different levels of proficiency. The student work receives a single rating. This rating is an “overall ranking” for the quality of his/her work. Many state writing tests use a holistic rubric and assign a number for the quality of a student writing prompt.

Analytic Rubrics list the criteria on a grid. It has a rating scale that clearly shows the level of proficiency at the top. Each criterion, usually on the left column, tells what the teacher focusing on to assess the product. Each criterion has a descriptor for each rating scale level.

Rubrics are designed to be fair and to allow both the student and parent fully understand how a educator is assessing a test or homework assignment.

Valentine Fun!!!

Below are a few websites for games and worksheets for the classroom for Valentine's Day!

http://www.crayola.com/holidays/valentines/

http://www.teach-nology.com/gold/feb2.html

http://www.math-drills.com/valentines.shtml

http://www.toolsforeducators.com/valentines.php

WebQuest is H.O.T.

A WebQuest is an inquiry-oriented activity in which some or all of the information that students interact with comes from resources on the Internet. There are short-and long-term forms of WebQuest. A short-term WebQuest is designed to be completed in a typical one to three class periods, and a long-term WebQuest is designed to take between one week and one month. The WebQuest is comprised of the following:

1. An introduction that sets the stage and provides some background information.
2. A task that is doable and interesting.
3. A set of information sources needed to complete the task. Information sources might include web documents, experts available via e-mail or real time conferencing, searchable databases on the net, and books and other documents physically available in the learner's setting.
4. A description of the process the learners should go through in accomplishing the task. The process should be broken out into clearly described steps.
5. Some guidance on how to organize the information acquired. This can take the form of guiding questions, or directions to complete organizational frameworks such as time lines, concept maps, or cause-and-effect diagrams and
6. A conclusion that brings closure to the quest, reminds the learners about what they've learned, and perhaps encourages them to extend the experience into other domains.

WebQuests include questions that prompt Higher Level of Thinking (H.O.T.). WebQuests also use the technique known as "scaffolding". This new form of technology can let students go out and find information about subject areas, and it is our responsibility, as teachers, to provide helpful and educational resources to students.

Fairness in Assessment

Fairness to different types of students includes all ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds, as well as students with disabilities. "Assessments need not be free of any reference to race, ethnicity, or gender; rather; eliminate stereotypes and balance the references among various groups."

- Chapter 2: Assessments and Grading in the Classroom

Since fairness in assessment is crucial in the classroom, by the teacher, it is important to use various strategies to help the students achieve their fullest potential. Assessment results help students learn by giving them information about where their performance stands in relation to the learning target and by supporting their motivation to learn. This information can come to students in the form of teacher feedback, peer feedback, self-evaluation, by going over questions and so forth. a teacher's assessment should result in student learning.

To ensure the assessment in a classroom is fair, the following should be part of the criteria:
- Objective Testing
- Essays, Papers, and Projects with rubrics
- Make-up work
- Oral Questioning (optional) and Observations
- Peer editing, group collaborations, and additional peer evaluation techniques
- Self-evaluation and
- Grading (report cards)

All of these combined help make fairness in assessment possible, for not all students learn the same; there are students who learn and work in better ways others do not, therefore these types of learning objectives are necessary.

Growing up I have come across multiple teachers who have not believed in this method, it was there way and that it is. Going to Catholic school from kindergarten up until the present, I learned that many of the teachers, especially the traditional nuns, were very set in their ways and did not branch out to find different forms of learning techniques; almost all learning was traditional- the teacher taught, you had a test, and you received a grade, rarely left any room for improvement. Over the years, I learned that I was not always an excellent test taker, I always hoped that a teacher would give the students another opinion or more projects to help balance the two, but that did not happen- from this I made a promise to myself that when I am a educator I will not do this. I want all my students to feel as though they can strive for the best and they feel confident in what they are learning and can truly comprehend any subject they put their mind to.

Learning Targets

A learning objective specifies what you would like students to achieve when they have completed a specific subject area. Teachers and students are most successful when they focus on where they are heading. The term objective means more than covering the material and keeping students actively engaged; the focus of one's teaching should be on student achievements as well as on the learning process. A learning objective states what students should be able to do, value, or feel after you have taught them.

Deciding the specific targets you, as the educator, expect students to learn is an important step in the teaching process. By taking simple steps to achieve your goal, helps you in the future become a more effective teacher. For example, decide what the student is to learn, carry out the actual instruction, and evaluate the learning. These few steps help make the teaching process, especially to new teachers, easier and precise to the student and teacher.

Learning Targets:
1. Help teachers make their own educational goals explicit.
2. Provides the basis for teachers to analyze what they teach and to construct learning activities.
3. Help educators to focus and to clarify discussions of educational goals with parents.
4. Communicate to students the performance they are expected to learn- which may even motivate them to direct their own learning.
5. Make individualizing instruction easier.

Learning targets also include: general learning targets, specific learning targets, a state standard learning target, and deveopmental learning targets.

A taxonomy can help you bring to mind the wide range of important learning targets and thinking skills relevant to a particular general learning target. Taxonomies of instructional learning taregts are highly organzied schemes for classifying learning targets into various levels of complexity. Several different taxonomies have been developed for sorting learning targets, inclduing: knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation. These stages range from simple ot complex. The taxonomy calls your attention to the variety of abilities and skills toward which you can direct instruction and assessment.

Learning Targets can be:
1. Student Centered
2. Performance Centered and
3. Content Centered

- Brookhart, Susan. Assessment and Grading in Classrooms. Pearson, Ohio. 2008.

NJCCCS

The Secretary’s Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills (SCANS) stated that students should be able to select equipment and tools, apply technology to specific tasks, and maintain and troubleshoot equipment.



The Department of Education recognized its importance by including technology in the original cross-content workplace readiness standards. In keeping with today’s technological society, technological literacy has been further emphasized by its inclusion as a separate standards area which focuses on both computer and information literacy and technology education.



Their vision: "All students must understand and be comfortable with the concepts and
application of technology, not only in order to function in today’s complex society, but also to become informed and productive adults of tomorrow."

NJCCCS breakdown the forms of learning into two standards: 1. Computer and information literacy, which supports skills in information-gathering, information-organizing, and problem solving, because administrators require students and employees to possess a broad range of skills in computers. The computer and information literacy standard is designed to be integrated and applied in all of the content areas of the core curriculum content standards. 2. Technology education standard was developed to ensure the literacy needed by all students to succeed in such a technological based world.

Computer & Information Literacy:

A. Basic computer tools: keyboarding, word processing, Internet usage, and spread sheets.

B. Application of productivity tools: social aspects, information access and research, and problem solving.

What can students achieve by the 4th, 8th, and 12th grade?

Grade 4: Use of basic technology vocabulary, input and access text and data by using appropriate keyboarding technology, produce and interpret a simple graph or chart, create and maintain files and folders, discuss the common uses of computer applications and identify their advantages and disadvantages, recognize and practice responsible behavior such as: Internet access, copyright material, and personal security and safety issues, recognize the need for accessing and using information, and locate specific information by searching a database, and solve problems individually and collaboratively using computer application.

Grade 8: Use common features of an opening system (ex: creating/organizing files or folders), create documents with advanced text-formation and graphs using word processing, design and produce a basic multimedia project, use network resources for storing and retrieving data, and create, organize, and manipulate shortcuts, describe and practice safe Internet usage, explain the purpose of an acceptable use policy and the consequences of inappropriate use of technology.

Grade 12: Create a multi-page document with citations using word processing software in conjunction with other tools that demonstrates the ability to format, edit, and print, develop a document or file for inclusion into a website or web page, and exhibit legal and ethical behaviors when using information and technology, and discuss consequences of misuse, compose, send, and organize e-mail messages with and without attachments, and identify, diagnose, and suggest solutions for non-functioning technology systems.

Technology Education:

A. Nature & Impact of technology

B. Design Process & Impact of assessment

C. Systems in the Designed World

What can students achieve by the 4th, 8th, and 12th grade?

Grade 4: All of the above (A,B, and C) with reference to Science Standards

Grade 8: Describe the nature of technology and the consequences of technological activity,
Describe how technological activity has an affect on economic development, political actions, and
cultural change,use hands on activities to analyze products and systems to determine how the design process was applied to create the solution, describe how variations in resources can affect solutions to a technological problem and select and safely use appropriate tools and materials in analyzing, designing, modeling or making a technological product, system or environment, and
explain reasons why human-designed systems, products, and environments need to be monitored, maintained, and improved to ensure safety, quality, cost efficiency, and sustainability.

Grade 12: Use appropriate data to discuss the full costs, benefits and trade-offs, and risks related to the use of technologies, analyze a given technological product, system, or environment to understand how the engineering design process and design specification limitations influenced the final solution, diagnose a malfunctioning product and system using appropriate critical thinking methods, and compare and contrast the effectiveness of various products, systems, and environments associated with technological activities in energy, transportation, manufacturing, and information and communication.

Montessori Schools

Rubric Help

ED 301: Here is a helpful video which includes a website you can visit to get some hints and ideas for our upcoming project....I hope it is useful to you all!

Staying Safe on the Internet: A Practical Guide for Kids

Children today are constantly browsing through websites on the computer. Although it is possible to block harmful and dangerous sites, there always seems to be a way for "creepy" individuals to get in touch with our students, children, brothers or sisters, cousins, and friends...that is why teaching children what is allowed and what is not allowed when using a computer is crucial.

When children use the computer to look at a new museum that just opened, talk to friends, or visit sites to learn about other countries, one cannot be too sure who is actually on the other end of the computer interacting with them. It has often occurred that many adults interact with these children pretending to be younger kids and portray themselves as potential friends.

Set rules/guidelines for kids:
1. Do not tell others your real name.
2. Do not provide strangers with your address.
3. Never tell someone you do not know you are home alone.
4. Do not purchase items on the Internet.
5. Never, Never, Never make plans to meet up with somebody.
6. If you receive any disturbing images...tell someone!

Having the Internet is a great advantage, but always remember to let children know they should ask permission before accessing a PC, for this will help keep them safe!

Internet Safety 101

With advancements in modern technology has followed many positive and negative outcomes. It's important to be cautious when using the web and to remember that there are clever hackers out there who can easily retrieve personal information without one's discretion.



Many questions are raised in regard to proper Internet safety, such as:



Q: Why is it so important to tell people my personal information?

A: Because it is so easy to find out where you live. All one needs is the Country, State, Name, and Gender. By logging into yellowbook.com and the click of a mouse all of this information can pop up. Many individuals choose to meet up with people they meet online, this can often lead to problems such as:

-Rape

-Murder

-Kidnapping and

-Thievery



Q:What do I do when I report a bad user to sites such as: youtube.com, myspace.com, or facebook.com and they do not care?

A: Block them, remove them as a friend, report them again, ignore there messages and message them back saying: " you've been reported", keep it clean. Spread the word of the bad user, do not give up, keep reporting the user, and contact services for assistance.



Q: How can I tell if what that person is someone i should stay away from?

A: Look for severe foul language, including inappropriate talk- conversations including sexual related words. If they ask you for a lot of personal information- that is a RED FLAG!



Q: If I'm being harassed who should I talk to?

A: For the most part a counselor, but with severe situations:

- Police or

- Family Member



Q: What are some good websites to check out for help?

A: freewebs.com/kevinyoungx, freewebs.com/youngstudious, young008.tripod.com, amw.com, and youtube.com/young008. (These link were provided by a Internet Safety Video, and should be used with caution).

NETS: Using Technology to Learn & Teach

The International Society for Technology in Education has led a federally funded initiative to develop standards for technology for both the teachers and students. This initiative is helping to define what you need to know about educational technology. ISTE's project is known as the National Educational Technology Standards for Teachers Project, also known as NETS for short.

- Teaching and Learning with Technology, Lever-Duffy, Judy. Chapter 1.

"ISTE standards for students, teachers, and administrators help to measure proficiency and set aspirational goals for the knowledge, skills, and attitudes needed to succeed in today’s Digital Age. NETS for teachers help: Facilitate and Inspire Student Learning and Creativity, Design and Develop Digital-Age Learning Experiences and Assessment, Model Digital-Age Work and Learning, Promote and Model Digital Citizenship and Responsibility, and Engage in Professional Growth and Leadership."

- NETS website, goal for teachers for 2008

The NETS category provides the standards for both students and teachers, administrators, technology facilitators, and leaders. What is great about the site are the publications and research projects it has to offer.

The NETS for students are what students should know and be able to do to learn effectively and live productively in an increasingly digital world. They focus on, innovation and creativity, communication and collaboration, research, critical thinking, problem solving, and decision making, in addition to technology operations and concepts. The NETS defined fundamental concepts, knowledge, skills, and attitudes for applying technology in educational settings.

Administrators play a essential role in determining how well technology is used in schools and NETS helps them do so.

It's great how the NETS site is a guide for educators and administrators who are incorporating modern educational technology into the curriculum with the basic fundamentals.

What's Your Philosophy?

Need help writing your Philosophy of Education? Below are a few helpful guides:

http://ftad.osu.edu/portfolio/philosophy/Philosophy.html

http://www.uwsp.edu/education/block1/Preparing%20to%20Write%20a%20Personal%20Philosophy%20of%20Education.htm

These sites guide you along in the process to create a solid philosophy statement, while explaining the Do's & Don't's.

Great Links For All:

Here are some helpful websites for those who are teachers, those admiring to becomes teachers, and everyone inbetween:

Math Site: http://www.bestedsites.com/mathlinks.html

Science Site: http://www.bestedsites.com/sciencelinks.html

Games: http://www.bestedsites.com/games.html

Language Arts Site: http://www.bestedsites.com/Languageartslinks.html

Having trouble adding videos to your blog?

The other day I was trying to add a YouTube video clip to my page and had some difficulty adding it so it could be visible on my blog page without having to click on the link and then go to another page before one could view the video...so if anyone else is having some trouble here's how to do it......To post a Youtube video:

You have to copy the "Embed video" link of the video
Go to Blogger
Click New Post
Click "Edit HTML" (right above the posting area)
Paste the code in

(Thanks Dr. Luongo!!!!)

Power Teaching...Positive or Negative?

Hi everyone!!!!

This is mainly for elmentary school teachers...

Many of you may have already heard of this new trend in the classrooms today and might have already seen video clips, but I wanted to post the video of "power teaching" and see what everyone's opinion is...is it positive or negative?

Assessment...What is it?

Textbook definition for assessment is described as: the process for obtaining information that is used for making decisions about students, curricula and programs, and educational policy. There are a large number of assessment techniques that may be used to collect this information. For example, these techniques include informal and formal observations, oral questions and discussions, classroom tests/exams, homework, class projects, and research papers. The most common way to assess a student is by a test, which can become controversial, for not all students are the same.

Shaun Longstreet, explained assessment in a variety of ways. He broke down different types of components, dimensions, and techniques as a way of "decoding" assessment and how to assess a student. He first tackled the four (4) dimensions of learning: 1. declarative, 2. procedural, 3. conditional, and 4. reflective. Declarative is the "what" process and is the basic foundation for the second level, procedural, also known as the "how" stage. The third stage is called the conditional stage and here a student questions "when" and "where" to apply learning objectives and how to analyze the subject. The last stage is known as reflective. Here the main question is "why." This includes the evaluation process, how students can become creative in the classroom with specific topics, and the value of learning for both the student and teacher; what we as educators value for our students.

The two (2) types of assessment are: 1. summative and 2. formative. According to the text summative assessment is "providing information for a final judgement of worth or accomplishment." For example, an exam or paper. This form of assessment, provides an instructor with the knowledge of "gaps" in the classroom, it also helps with student achievement. The second type of assessment is formative assessment, the "providing of information for improvement." This is typically an on-going process, where observation and feedback on students work is crucial. This type of assessment also allows a teacher to intervene with assistance.

Types of techniques commonly used for assessment, includes: probe and the muddiest point techniques. A probe is used to discover what a student(s) thinks or knows about a specific topic or subject that will be discussed. This also provides the instructor with information on where his or her students are for that subject matter and how to approach the topic. The muddiest point is a technique used after a ceretain subject is addressed. This provides the educator with unclear elements being taught.

Although there are several types of techniques used to assess children in the classroom, the most important technique to use is communication. Through communication an educator can provide a rationale, explaining how a student can achieve in the class, strive for clarity, plan for consistency, keeping the course objectives in mind, and respond quickly by explaining changes along the way and make improvments when needed.

Source: You Tube video: Classroom Assessment Techniques and Text: Assessment and Grading in Classrooms, Brookhart, Susan and Anthony Nitko.