Search results matching tags 'uncategorized' and 'reading'

The disabled access friendly world blog challenge: Creature Discomforts

Anonymous — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 13:30:31 GMT

Following on from the recent blog challenge on raising awareness of disability access issues, I came across the Leonard Cheshire Disability campaign whilst watching Shaun the Sheep dvds with my daughter.

The campaign is called “Creature Discomforts” and has very similar aims to the blog challenge – namely to get people to think about the way they see disability.

If you go to the Creature Discomforts website, there are eight short video ads (about 20 – 30 seconds each) and nine short radio ads. Both of these have tapescripts available, so would be relatively easy to adapt into short listening tasks – the ads are very visually appealing and would be great with young learners.

There is also a “fun and games” section which contains a quiz about disability in the UK. It could be interesting to do the quiz (which is multiple choice, one question at a time – questions change each time you do it) and get learners to compare the answers with the situation in their country. For example, apparently only 50% of train stations in the UK offer step-free access to the platforms – what’s life like where you live? The section also offers four different games that put the game player in the position of having a disability – in the Callum the Chameleon game, you can play with or without sight as you try to catch the flies buzzing around. Sonny the Shrimp attempts to rescue fish from their hooks – from his wheelchair. Tim-the-crutches-using-Tortoise attempts the long-jump, and finally Millie the mouse attempts to feed peanuts to her elephant friend. I like the way the Chameleon game makes you think about the difference between playing the game sighted and unsighted – the other games are not quite as educational, but fun to play for the younger classes.

Leonard Cheshire Disability is also running a campaign called Action for Access from which you can download access survey forms for shops, organisations and buildings – there are separate forms for transport options. If you work in the UK, then a class project could contribute to developing the access map on the site and making a positive contribution to the local community. If you work outside the UK, then you could adapt the access survey forms (they’re available in pdf or word) to fit your surroundings and develop a class project to survey the area around your school. Some thoughts anyway!

Summer school teachers – have you considered that this could be a handy project to work with one week? You could even incorporate some of the work into one of your trips out and about in the UK?

The Joy of Summer Reading!

Anonymous — Fri, 10 Jun 2011 23:30:19 GMT

I went to the library today! I left, struggling with an armload of books by some of my favorite authors, Kellerman, Sanford, Block. I lovingly placed the books in the back of my car, envisioning myself on the couch, deck, gazebo, curled up with one of my books, lost in the story. I am also a [...]

Literacy and litter: A grocery store lesson

Anonymous — Mon, 23 May 2011 23:49:10 GMT

After dropping students off this morning, I decided to make a quick stop at the Fresh Grocer for some cereal and coffee. As I walked into the Fresh Grocer, I was stopped by a young boy—probably between 13 and 15—he was still too young for a real growth spurt, but had a thin mustache sprouting [...]

Stepping Stones Together Review

Anonymous — Mon, 02 May 2011 22:00:17 GMT

As a classroom teacher I feel just as much responsibility for my students learning during the summer months as I do during the school year. I want them to have a balanced summer filled with fun and learning support at home so they can begin the next school year right where they left off in my classroom. Unfortunately, research shows that children can experience significant learning loss during the summer months. Imagine if an athlete stopped training, he or she would see a significant decline in performance. The human brain is no different; it needs daily exercise to maintain learning.

In an attempt to prevent learning loss during the summer I provide parents with a calendar listing free or low-cost local activities such as library story times, public pool information, and discount days at the zoo or aquarium. I also send home a folder filled with educational activities for parents to do with their children. However, one skill that I am not able to fully support during the summer is reading. Many parents read to their children but when it comes to helping their children learn how to read parents want to help but often don’t know how.

I was recently introduced to Stepping Stones Together; an online program for parents who want to support their child’s reading abilities at home. I am not a fan of any pre-packaged curricula or “teach your baby to read” programs so you can be assured that Stepping Stones Together does not fall into either of these categories.

The philosophy of the Stepping Stones Together program is research based and focuses on fostering a love of reading in young children ages 3-7 while providing a positive bonding experience between parent and child. The program takes only 15-20 minutes per day so there is still pelnty of time for summer fun. This is not a program where the child sits in front of the computer while mom makes dinner; this is a fully interactive program that provides busy parents with the tools they need to take an active role in their child’s beginning reading skills.

Developed by Dr. Erika Burton, the Stepping Stones Together program provides simple, step-by-step directions that parents can easily follow. The program consists of the following components:

90 High-interest printable books on popular topics such as superheroes, princesses, sports, fairies and more
Printable incentive chart
Daily writing practice
Printable instructions explaining how to introduce the books
High-frequency word games
Printable certificates of completion for each level completed
Printable flash cards to introduce and review high frequency words in each book

While the program is designed with parents in mind, after careful review I believe it can be easily used by classroom teachers. Many teachers are required to teach their students to read but are not provided with all of the tools necessary to do so. Stepping Stones Together offers everything, including the books for a very affordable price. Classroom teachers can also send home the Stepping Stones URL in their summer educational packets for parents who are interested.

Here’s the good news, Stepping Stones Together is offering readers of Pre-K Pages a special one day only discount. This discount allows you to access to the complete program for one year for only $19.99, use discount the code Pre-K Pages If you missed the first day special you can still receive a 5% discount on the program using the same code.

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Anonymous — Fri, 04 Feb 2011 03:54:41 GMT

I won an Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) of Bumped from my FAVORITE AUTHOR Megan McCafferty SQUEEEEE!

Tagged: books, happy, reading, writing

A meme I stole from Facebook

Anonymous — Thu, 03 Feb 2011 13:48:31 GMT

This meme is awesome and everyone should do it!

1. Favourite childhood book?

I read SOOO much as a child. My favorites were Stuart Little, Matilda, The Star Wars book series (like I was an uber nerd in that genre, reading prequels and sequels and everything. Mara Jade rocks man! I read everything before the twins grew up and Chewie well y’know), and Harry Potter but that wasn’t so much as a child.

2. What are you reading right now?

The Summer of Skinny Dipping. It’s ok

3. What books do you have on request at the library?

None.

4. Bad book habit?

Getting irritated with the book and throwing it then having to chase it down and find my spot. No I don’t do that with the e-reader though.

5. What do you currently have checked out at the library?

None. I’m not even a member.

6. Do you have an e-reader?

YES! I read on my computer and on the iPad

7. Do you prefer to read one book at a time, or several at once?

Usually one, but if it is sucking I skim it to get it over faster.

8. Have your reading habits changed since starting a blog?

The blog didn’t cause the change, work does.

9. Least favorite book you read this year (so far?)

Linger by Maya Banks. It was just awful.

10. Favorite book you’ve read this year?

Anna and the French Kiss, anything by Lorelei James who I just discovered, and John Green

11. How often do you read out of your comfort zone?

I used to all of the time, but now the books that used to be out of my comfort zone are my comfort zone. I guess out of my comfort zone is currently reading happy endings and really academic or literary books. I’ve been doing more of the happy endings but I’m really over literary types.

12. What is your reading comfort zone?

Fantasy, sci-fi, ANGST, romance, apocalypse, YA, did I mention ANGST because that, and trashy romance which deserves a designation all it’s own because it’s really fun

13. Can you read on the bus?

I get carsick when I read, but since I’ve gotten glasses it’s not so bad if it’s not for a long period of time

14. Favorite place to read?

bed

15. What is your policy on book lending?

It depends on the person. I lend books to people I trust because I’ve had too many walk away. Since I trust too much and too easily with stuff it sometimes gets me in trouble.

16. Do you ever dog-ear books?

Only when there’s a REALLY good quote I never want to forget.

17. Do you ever write in the margins of your books?

Sometimes. I leave little messages next to great quotes.

18. Not even with text books?

In text books a lot.

19. What is your favorite language to read in?

English because I fly through it though I can read in the romantic languages. Dante is my favorite there.

20. What makes you love a book?

Character driven plot with characters that are thoughtful and introspective. I’m thinking Jessica Darling and Katniss and Zoey Redbird in the early House of Night books.

21. What will inspire you to recommend a book?

I recommend books like crazy. Things that move me, characters that I feel like I know, stories that touch me enough to bring me to tears (a huge feat might I add since I rarely cry). I’m looking at Suzanne Collins and Megan McCafferty here mostly. Stories that I want to just jump in their world, that I’m sad when it’s over because I feel like my friends are gone, things that inspire me to write. *insert whimsical sigh*

22. Favorite genre?

YA because it has everything all wrapped under one section

23. Genre you rarely read (but wish you did?)

I wish I could get into things that are more literary, but I just can’t find things to keep my attention. I wish I read more historical and non-fiction as well.

24. Favorite biography?

I haven’t read a biography in ages! I like twists on real life people like The Other Boleyn Girl. I still love The Diary of Anne Frank but that’s an autobiography. OH! There you go! The story of Anne Frank by Miep.

25. Have you ever read a self-help book?

Wedding planning and make-up stuff 5 years ago when I was getting married. Cookbooks?

26. Favorite cookbook?

ANYTHING BY ALTON BROWN! I do look up Ina and Giada’s recipes but I won’t buy them for myself. Hint Hint for my birthday.

27. Most inspirational book you’ve read this year (fiction or non-fiction)?

Anna and the French Kiss and the Lorelei James books have gotten me VERY inspired to write again. I mean, more than winning NaNo. I’ve written several short stories after reading these books and have been replotting my novels for submission again. HUZZAH!

28. Favorite reading snack?

I don’t really eat and read, but if I had to say probably popcorn or other salty things I love.

29. Name a case in which hype ruined your reading experience.

I’m stealing Lily’s answer: “Jane bleedin’ Austen. “Oh, she’s so MEANINGFUL!” No she isn’t. I hate Jane Austen.” I completely concur. People get all up in arms about Pride and Prejudice and Elizabeth Bennett is the coldest heroine I’ve ever met. If you have to read Austen, Sense and Sensibility is quite better. I’m generally turned off by Victorian prudes most of the time, but the Bronte sisters write so much better and never get the attention the deserve.

And for posterity’s sake, I’m going to write what a huge disappointment Twilight was. Though snarking at it has brought many hours of joy to my life. It really sucked. Spend 5 minutes tearing apart the logic (like the fact that Jacob would have imprinted on Bella’s daughter if he was the father, or Edward’s hundred year old little swimmers were still around cuz he never whacked it once). Sigh. I think someecards had it best about the books being a choice between necrophilia and bestiality. (I can’t wait to see the google search terms for this post. hahaha)

The True Blood books were awful, too.

30. How often do you agree with critics about a book?

Rarely. Most critics tend to take a very academic stance to review instead of capturing the essence of a book.

31. How do you feel about giving bad/negative reviews?

From my creative writing days in which I have been nailed to the wall mercilessly, I always try to put two or three things I liked about a book in any review, like the setting and mood was good, but if it’s bad and I didn’t like it I will definitely write that as well in a constructive, you could’ve done this way.

32. If you could read in a foreign language, which language would you chose?

Japanese. There’s loads of Japanese translated books I love but you KNOW they’re losing something in translation because they always do…

33. Most intimidating book you’ve ever read?

The books for my human sexuality course were pretty amazing. Walking around and sitting someplace public to read some of those books, or even in my own living room with my friends over. Yeah that was fun. Better than that was when my friends took my book and either tried to steal it or it became a topic of discussion. I’m thinking of The Guide to Getting it On here and how I had to rebuy it… twice.

34. Most intimidating book you’re too nervous to begin?

Not sure really. I have always wanted to read Stephen King and have a few of his books set up to be read on this trip, but I’m always scared I’ll have nightmares.

35. Favorite Poet?

I love Shakespeare’s sonnets as they aren’t the lovey things people think they are. I’m a big Sylvia Plath fan. Again with the ANGST!

36. How many books do you usually have checked out of the library at any given time?

I used to have dozens, but haven’t been to a library in years due to moving and work.

37. How often have you returned book to the library unread?

I always at least started them.

38. Favorite fictional character?

Oh my GAWD do you want a thesis on this subject? Sirius Black, James Potter, post Goblet of Fire Hermione Granger, Marcus Flutie, Jessica Darling, Zoey Redbird, Stark, KATNISS EVERDEEN!, Anna and Etienne from Anna and the French Kiss, Claire from Time Traveler’s Wife, Anne Boleyn, Mary Queen of Scots, Yelena from Poison Study, Patch from Hush, Hush, only from the books though Leia, Obi-Wan (especially Jedi Apprentice Obi-Wan), and MARA JADE, and a plethora of others if I don’t include literature. Like Rogue and Black Cat and Shadow Cat and Peter Parker and Janeway and Seven of Nine and Dax and Picard and Glee cast and on and on and on…

39. Favorite fictional villain?

HUGE list here. Voldemort is horribly wicked and vile until you get to book 6 and you’re supposed to pity him and Draco Malfoy, but I don’t give a *** because they’re both dirt in my eyes anyway. Darth Vader before the same bs happened to him in the prequels. He was a badass George Lucas! So was Indiana Jones and you crushed him, too. DIAF! Is it bad that my villains are becoming the writers who don’t do my villains justice? Magneto and Bellatrix are some of my faves as well.

40. Books I’m most likely to bring on vacation?

There are like 60 books on my e-reader right now…

41. The longest I’ve gone without reading.

Reading for pleasure? a couple of years because I was so burnt out on reading with the school work.

42. Name a book that you could/would not finish.

Anywhere but Here which was an excellent movie but a *** book. Gossip Girl and Sookie Stackhouse were a chore to say the least. Not reading anymore of those. I almost didn’t finish Broken Down I mean Breaking Dawn. It took me months to get through LOTR. I hated Narnia, even as a kid, because it’s patronizing. Some contrived Nicholas Sparks book, I think it was his lame sequel to The Notebook which was terrible. I didn’t want to finish The Hunger Games, Jessica Darling, or Harry Potter because then it would be over. And it is now.

43. What distracts you easily when you’re reading?

Video games, friends, facebook, movies, Steven

44. Favorite film adaptation of a novel?

LOTR, they did a good job. I Anywhere but Here. Harry Potter 7.1 was really *** good as well.

45. Most disappointing film adaptation?

THE GOLDEN COMPASS. WTF.

46. The most money I’ve ever spent in the bookstore at one time?

Never a bookstore, unless it was an indie. I prefer Amazon. I got over $200 for Amazon 2 years in a row. That was pretty amazing.

47. How often do you skim a book before reading it?

I read the blurb on the back…

48. What would cause you to stop reading a book half-way through?

the characters suck, there is no plot, something really stupid happens, a deus ex machina ending, it was a chore to get that far, etc.

49. Do you like to keep your books organized?

I used to alphabetize everything, but Steven doesn’t put things back where they belong so I gave up.

50. Do you prefer to keep books or give them away once you’ve read them?

I keep lots of books, I sell back books I’m not crazy for, and I hand out books to people I care about. Giving a book to me says something because I feel anyway you took time and care to read this over and find something that you know brings out something in the other person. It’s really thoughtful. That’s probably just me though because I’m a crazy book lady.

51. Are there any books you’ve been avoiding?

Stephen King. I have REALLY weird dreams as is.

52. Name a book that made you angry.

HAHAHAHAHAHA! I am stealing Lily’s answer again, which I’m pretty sure was a quote on my blog for a while: Lily says, “Breaking Dawn and I KNOW it was a pile of steaming poo anyway but jeez, Jacob the pedowolf? Really? Just say no!”

53. A book you didn’t expect to like but did?

Lorelei James because most romance novels are not well written and she is superb.

54. A book that you expected to like but didn’t?

Sookie Stackhouse, Gossip Girl, the end of the Harry Potter series

55. Favorite guilt-free, pleasure reading?

People feel guilty about books?

and check out my tumblr: fallingfromprams.tumblr.com

Tagged: book reviews, books, reading, recommendations, reviews, writing

Interactive “A Jury of Her Peers”

Anonymous — Sat, 04 Dec 2010 16:13:45 GMT

Hello fellow teachers and tech integration enthusiasts. I’m back from a short break. A major project in my graduate class has kept me away from blogging for nearly two weeks. The good news is I’ve been developing an interactive Shakespeare website I’ll soon be able to introduce here. For now, I’ve got another interactive text to tell you about. It is part of “Interactives” by Annenberg Media—a collection of lessons which span across the curriculum and that are meant to “enhance and improve students’ skills in a variety of curricular areas.” These activities range from 3D Geometry and History to the subject of this blog—Language Arts. Only four Language Arts “Interactives” are available at this time, but it is easy to imagine connections between Language Arts and some of the activities in other subjects such as history. For example, anyone teaching Marlowe or Shakespeare might find the Renaissance Interactives in the history section very useful.

Of particular interest for those of us in high school Language Arts, the Interactive version of Susan Glaspell’s “A Jury of Her Peers” is a good one. It is a simple website with no frills but well-designed interactive elements that teach some of the basic literary elements of short fiction. Because the story is in the public domain, audio versions of it are easy to find on the web too, along with recordings of the stage version (called Trifles). I’ve provided some links below.
When you arrive at the site, click the wooden door on the right to delve into the murder mystery. Throughout the story, there are points where the reader can click an icon to explore a literary term such as Point of View which is the first one you will come across. When a reader clicks this icon, he or she is taken to a separate section where the concept is explained and applied to the story in the form of a series of engaging questions. Once the reader has explored the section about that particular literary term, she is directed back to the story and may continue reading. There are several literary terms to learn about before the end of the story.

Navigation is easy because each page offers icon links to continue on with the story or to return to the main page. The icons are illustrations which complement the story. The site is a bit plain visually, so it might be easy to overlook this valuable resource. However, what this site may lack in aesthetic design, it makes up for with its engaging lessons—it’s a great way to teach the elements of plot with a chilling murder mystery online. With each of the literary elements the reader is given an opportunity to not only read the definition of the term but to actually apply it to what she is reading too.

My only disappointment with the site is that there is no place for students to take notes or to record their answers to the questions posed about the story. An easy fix for this is to have students open Google Documents accounts and create a document where they can record their answers. This way it would be easy then to have them work collaboratively, share their ideas, and submit their work to you online while reading the story. Tabbed browsing is great for this kind of multitasking.

In spite of its graphic simplicity, the Interactive “A Jury of Her Peers” is a site worth bookmarking and adding to your list of Interactive Language Arts resources. It isn’t as flashy as other digital textbooks, but it is useful and it meets my requirements for being interactive and not just multimedia. The last page of the story also provides some links for more information about the author, literary criticism of her work, and other related resources.

On a final note, you may want to stick to reading this one with upper-classmen and AP students or you may need to provide basic readers with support, because the story is mostly appropriate for advanced readers. Even some of my honors-level freshmen struggled to understand all the subtleties of the story, so you’ll want to plan ahead for this.

Enjoy…

^Scott

Links:

Audio Version of “A Jury of Her Peers”

Audio Version of “Trifles,” the play version of the story

last minute day review

Anonymous — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 02:52:14 GMT

Our boys made it to the finals of all city baseball.

I felt sad about leaving for the first time because I think I crushed my grade level principal. He kept asking if I was joking, then he just looked so sad and tired. I am sad about the reputation and relationships I have built this year. I am sad to start over though I know after everything I went through I am stronger and will make good choices. I am sad about the connections I have made with the great staff and the steps I have made on the way to bettering the school culture.

I also spent several hours bonding with a teacher who is very similar to me in philosophy and responsibility during the game, someone who I respect and have admired from afar.

And finally, testing went ok and I got to enjoy the latest book in my now second favorite series of all time: The House of Night book 7 BURNED! It rocks!

Tagged: administrators, books, issues, reading, stress, teaching

Higher Order Thinking Presentations

Anonymous — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 08:55:43 GMT

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Click on the picture to view the presentation.

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Empathy, Awareness, Creativity are the Goal…Technology is the Tool – Reflections on NMSA09

Anonymous — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 12:43:09 GMT

Please take a moment to enjoy this thought provoking reflection on the role of technology in education. This article contains my thoughts on the National Middle School Conference 2009 and its potential impact on 21st century learning and technology. It covers some of the featured speakers along with thoughts, links, and videos to allow you to investigate. I guarantee you there are priceless links in this posting!

I also want to recognize Mr. Alan Summers and his complete conference team from the NMSA for what will be remembered as an outstanding conference. The Indiana contribution from IMLEA was also evident along with the constant enthusiasm at their welcome area!

I also want to thank all of you for visiting this site and helping it grow. The wiki/blog have attracted close to 6000 unique visitors in about three short months of existence. It has now reached all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and 47 foreign countries. Your thoughts, reflections, emails, and invites to the network are so appreciated. Please visit the companion 21centuryedtech wiki for even more resources - Mike

A conference is always what you make of it. Since I am an avid technology conference attender, I decided to check out the technology message at the NMSA09 Conference in Indianapolis. I did not even have to attend a session to get my first taste. After strolling through the vendor area I found the 21 st Century Classroom filled with modern technology along with real teachers and students conducting lessons. Imagine not just lecturing about educational transformation, but creating the real experience for all to see. It is awesome to see that NMSA takes the time to model what it also advocates.

The NMSA09 Conference had close to 500 sessions with featured keynote speakers of national prominence accounting for many of these. The featured speakers and keynotes I attended included Will Daggett, Daniel Pink, and Alan November. As I listened to the three it was evident that the common theme appeared to be empathy, awareness, and creativity was needed for real transformation to happen.

Will Daggett opened with a reminder fto teachers that they really are part of the best educational system in the world. After all, the United States is one of the few countries that attempts to educate all children. United States schools are involved in a constant battle between excellence and equity. This is a difficult line to walk, but one the United States must continue to engage in. His constant theme revolved around the idea “Relevance makes Rigor Possible”, a phrase he coined. Daggett then emphasized that U.S. students need to be made aware of the social/economic change happening in the global community. He stressed this need for awareness as he emphasized that today’s students are in a battle for future jobs, and they do not even know it, because no one is teaching them. The new technology he demonstrated was awesome including both the siftable chip, a new technology manipulative, and SPOT (Smart Personal Object Technology) which allows for even more computing portability due to a virtual keyboard and a virtual monitor that are both beamed using laser technology. In fact, I did some research and found there is already a portable video projector for the iPhone. Be sure to also check out this virtual laser keyboard! Daggett then listed five concepts in learning which included: knowledge of one discipline, application of one discipline, application across disciplines, application to real world predictable situations, and application to real world unpredictable situations. He maintained that schools spend a lot of time on the first and second and very little time on the last three. It was the first time I realized that the very last step really identifies the difference between project based learning and problem based learning. My mind wandered to this year’s Future City problem. Students are to build short term housing that is sustainable and green for displaced people after an emergency sometime in the extended future. Wow, talk about a problem that is so difficult to answer, nothing is correct, and the possibilities are endless. Parts of the question even contradict each other from an engineering standpoint. Sounds like Daggett’s “applications to real world unpredictable situations” is being practiced in some arenas of education. This leads us perfectly into Daniel Pink’s keynote.

Daniel Pink, the author of A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future, described the increasing role of right-brain thinking in the new economies and describes the skills individuals and organizations must possess in this outsourced, automated age. Using brain research, Pink advocates that left brain (orderly, logical, and linear) thinking, while still important, is no longer adequate to survive in the 21st Century global economy. He attributes this theory to the role Asia now plays in the global economy with automation being software driven, and abundance of material in the market place. In essence, routine work is disappearing! Pink advocates that educators prepare kids for their future (right brain), not our past (left brain).He suggests including skills in our curriculum that cannot be outsourcedor automated. He includes such abilities as design, story telling, symphony (ability to see big picture), empathy, play, and meaning. One example used was Google’s idea to allow its employees 20% percent job time for self direction. From this effort, such big projects as G-Mail, and Google News have evolved. Finally, Pink suggested some ideas he feels educators should reflect and implement. Number one, explore the new metrics. IQ only accounts for 20% of success. We need to make sure we are measuring the right things. The next concept involves “getting real about STEM. Pink stressed that STEM must include the Arts because students must be taught to see. Engineering firms want people who have passion, are willing to be life-long learners, are systems thinkers, have multicultural values, and can understand interdisciplinary context. The third suggestion is to rethink motivation and look at intrinsic versus extrinsic motivation. The fourth idea really caught my attention as Pink suggested moving problem solving out of the terrarium and putting it in the forest. He described the terrarium as an environment that is much too clean, organized, and not real world. Problems should involve clarification, identification, multi-disciplines, several answers, non-perfection, exploration, challenge, and relevancy. Last, Pink suggests that artistic educational programs must be facilitated, encouraged, and practiced across the curriculum. China has an emphasis that states “Creative Arts are not a frivolous luxury“. I am anxious to bring the arts concept into my next STEM presentation! Have a little fun fooling your left brain by having your right brain look at this Fedex logo in a different and unique way.

Different and unique is a great way to describe Alan November. I had the honor to introduce this master of storytelling and thought provoking educational reformer. November emphasized that it is not the technology that will make the change happen, even asking participants to cross it off the program title. He stressed that kids need to be able to learn and use tools at school that are available in their homes. Education must understand that blocking certain websites is actually contributing to a lack of student awareness of proper and valuable web usage. It is important that the skills we teach today outlast technology change. November emphasized student creativity as he made the audience aware of Jing and Math Train TV. He also demonstrated a math search engine entitled Wolfram|Alpha. Enter your question or calculation and Wolfram|Alpha uses its built-in algorithms and a growing collection of data to compute the answer. While some schools may want to block this because using it could be considered cheating, November suggests allowing students to use it so they instantly know if they are right or wrong in a computation. He then suggested that students create their own multimedia story to explain the process. He also shared an exciting video about sixth sense work using technology. You maybe interested in exploring information on Web Literacy located at November Learning. Located at this site is a great collection of resources to teach students about using the web to retrieve information. Students have a chance to learn there is really no Pacific Northwest Tree Octopus and that Christopher Columbus was not born in Sydney in Australia in 1951, even though it says so on the web! November also covered the Way Back Machine, and Easy Who Is, to further validate web resources. All of these resources are explained on November Learning. Alan November is truly one of our time’s great thinkers in education and I recommend attending his BLC10 conference in Boston this summer. I have had the honor to both present and attend. It is a truly an amazing conference that will give you plenty of opportunity to reflect and acquire resources. Perhaps November’s most intruiging statement was that employers are seeking the skill of empathy as they hire. It would be interesting to see who has that concept in their standards beyond definition and vocabulary!

I did have a chance to attend some other sessions that were truly outstanding. Jim Wenzlof presented a valuable session entitled Read It, Write It, Say It. He introduced innovative ways to use Diigo, and Skype for teaching literacy. He suggested techniques to allow students to make movie trailers for books using Audacity, PhotoStory, and iMovie. He also introduced the websites Lit2Go, Itunes University, and the Story Starter. My favorite was a collaborative site called EtherPad. If you haven’t seen it give it a look! I also had a chance to see the state of Indiana’s new educational service presented by Gary Bates from the DOE called The Learning Connection. It is a service for Indiana educators interested in designing lessons, assessments aligned to standards, or wishing to collaborate and connect with other educators in the state of Indiana. Indiana educators, take the time to register now at The Learning Connection. I also had opportunity to talk with the people at both ePals and NSDL. These are two great organizations that understand 21st Century learning. I plan to become more familiar with both in the near future. I appreciated the time and energy both Dr. Kimberly Lightle from NSDL and Victoria McEachern from ePals spent with me.

As I close I want to thank all those people who attended my session on 21st Century learning. It was my intention to deliver a dynamic presentation to you. I appreciate how nearly 90 people made room for everyone in a room designed for 50. I also hope that the many who could not get in will at least take advantage of the handout sheet left at the door. As promised, the Power Point will be available on the wiki under Presentations. Thank you for all of the kind comments and I hope all of you keep in touch.

Overall it was a truly amazing conference. I was only able to see it from my limited perspective but I can tell you that it was one of the best I have ever attended. The goal is always to find at least one new idea and I surpassed that with an improved vision for transforming education in the 21st century. I am excited about NMSA10 in Baltimore as I hope to learn and contribute even more! Again, thank you to the great staff at both NMSA and IMLEA along with the countless volunteers and presenters. I feel it was a great “Welcome To The Future!” Please feel free to visit the 21st Century Ed Tech Wiki. Your comments, suggestions, and emails are always welcome! Keep up the great work at using technology to facilitate empathy, awareness, and creativity! They just may be the most important unwritten standards.

-Mike