Cute Video - Based on Black Eyed Peas Song and dance from Oprah Show

Found this video today when reading Lisa Thumann's blog. So cute! Gotta Keep Reading!

It's About The LEARNING!

Wiki Skills
Originally uploaded by langwitches
I found this great blog post today through my Tech & Learning weekly update. It was written by Silvia Tolisano and also cross posted to her Langwitches blog - It's not about the Tools. It's about the Skills.  If I could shout this from the rooftops of every school building I came across, I would!  I know all of this web2.o and technology is intimidating to people who have never experienced working with it.  I get that.  I get that it is scary and could be viewed as "bells and whistles" when it comes to bringing these tools into the classroom.  How does this contribute to the learning environment?  How can we encourage the use of these tools to make sure the "goals, objectives, targets" are being met?  What if anything, will the students get out of the use of these tools?  I understand how these questions arise.

Please take a moment to read over the blog post linked that Silvia wrote.  I agree it is skill building.  I look at skills in a different light a bit, though.  I look at skills being concrete things like changing margins, adding tables to a document, etc.  Skills mentioned here are a much broader definition of the word skill.  Using these tools does teach the skill of each of the programs.  What I see as being the "outcome" if you will of all of the tools is;  learning, literacy enhancement, collaboration, engagement, as well as core curricular goals.

I really love the little posters for each type of tool.  Very creative and very visual for people like me!

If there is a learning outcome, I would never feel my time was wasted in the classroom.  It may take a lot longer to teach the tool along with the lesson, but in the long run, the kids are excited, engaged, having meaningful conversations with each other, sharing tricks they have learned, and being genuine with their learning experience.

In this day and age of the 24/7 connectedness of our youth, why would we hold them back?  Why would we want anything less for them.  Everything changes, some things faster than others, so why not be open to change?

Net Cetera - OnGuard - New Safety Guidelines

This website has a wonderful PDF to download with really great resources about online safety as well as cell phone safety. Advice for parents, how to talk to kids, socializing online, communicating online, mobile phones, protecting your computer, parental controls etc.

A Must See!

This project was done by Cassie, who just got a computer 3 weeks ago.  How wonderfully creative of her to complete this project about biomes(ecosystems).  I love it!  It was engaging, technologically sound and the content was presented amazingly well!  Why not give our students the choice to present their project in any way they feel works best for them.  I know our science teacher loves to have her students present projects in many different ways.  How about you?  Are you willing to dabble and allow your students to stop making that poster and start creating using some of blooms digital taxonomy?

Bullying - What can we do about it?

According to Inside the School - Bullying by the Numbers - 

In the classroom, so much of the bullying happens covertly and is tough to see -

• According to the National Center for Education Statistics (2007), about one-third of middle and high school students reported that they’d been bullied in the last six months.
• The American Medical Association estimates that two-thirds of students think that schools don’t respond well to bullying. That same study found that 25% of teachers think that bullying is normal behavior and just 4% intervene on behalf of students.
• Bullying victims are sick more often. They suffer from the common cold, from stomach cramps, headaches, sore throats, and sleep problems (Journal of the American Medical Association)
• Bullying victims miss school. According to the National Education Association, 160,000 students stay home every day because they’re too afraid to come to class.
• Students who bully in elementary school keep the bullying pattern throughout their school years. (Scientific American Special Edition)
• Bullies don’t suffer from low self-esteem. They’re usually dominant kids and pretty popular, too. They rise to the top of the social order by picking on others. (Scientific American Special Edition)

Bullying hurts.  Bullying can take many forms.  We all need to do our part to watch for it and stop it at all costs.  This is a very important part of our digital citizenship lessons we teach our students.   Our kids are connected and using technology more than ever.  Children today are now able to bully each other through many online technologies.  Whether it is through a text message, an email, an instant message, a comment on a social networking site or another medium, the ease of cyber bullying is scary.  There are no face to face interactions between the children, so it is so easy to gang up on other students.   It is a lot easier to tease someone or send nasty messages when you do not have to see the other persons reaction.

I encourage you all to please have these conversations with your students, your own children if you have them.  Let them know it is OK to tell an adult, a teacher, or a trusted friend.  It is nothing to be ashamed of.  These children should not have to live with this burden.

Educate them.  Tell the kids in your lives that it is not OK to call people names, send inappropriate messages, forward inappropriate messages, taunt someone, gang up on another child, etc.  There should be serious consequences for these behaviors.

Read this interesting interview with Jodee Blanco who was bullied her entire life and decided after Columbine, she would become an anti-bullying activist. 

We can make a difference - one child at a time.

Watch this powerful public service announcement - found on Teacher Tube about bullying  - 

This is what we should be doing in our classrooms!

Take a minute to read Jeff Utecht's blog posting about what his school is doing with Web2.0 tools. I am sure the children are so excited to get to class each day to work on their learning projects. A flip camera has to be one of the greatest inventions so far. I have only been using mine for a couple of weeks, and I must say, the usability factor is amazing. So easy, anyone can do it, if they can plug in a cord into a USB port. Wa-La, downloaded mini videos or .jpg files ready to edit or use. I hope this is what we want our students looking forward to each day when they come to our schools... fun, exciting, learning environments, where they are free to share with others and collaborate. Do you agree?

Did you know?

Did you know half of Americans use social networks????

Who are the largest population adopting this practice you ask??
Adults 35-54 years of age, where participation has grown by 60%! Read the USA Today blurb.