Website: www.amle.org
Category: Teacher Resources
Audience: For Teachers
Grade Level 5-8
Subject Area: English/Language Arts
Description:
This
website is an overarching resource of informative information for
teachers, parents and community for the health and education of the
middle school child. News, headlines, featured links and connections to
all social media.
Website: www.teachingchannel.org
Category: Teacher Resource
Audience: For Teachers and Administration
Grade Level: All
Subject Area: All
Description:
This
site is a wide assortment of videos of techniques great teachers use in
their classrooms. This is especially useful for those teachers who
would like to see what other teachers are doing but don’t have the time
or the means to get out to observe peers.
Website: www.middleschool.net
Category: Teacher Resource
Audience: Middle School Educators, Parents and Students
Grade Level: Middle School
Subject Area: All
Description:
“For teachers by teachers.” Quality, free curriculum and professional
resources for the entire curriculum available. With vast categories,
look up a lesson, take a quiz, or do some research.
Website: http://www.findingdulcinea.com
Category: Resource for Students
Audience: Middle School
Grade Level: Middle School
Subject Area: English/Language Arts
Description:
FindingDulcinea presents only credible, high-quality and trustworthy
web sites. This makes it easy for students to research easily without
questioning the validity of every source.
Website: http://www.bibliomania.com
Category: Resource for Students
Audience: Middle School
Grade Level: Middle School
Subject Area: English/Language Arts/ Reading
Description:
The spot for those who just can’t read enough. It’s packed with
thousands of books, short stories and articles. Search by author or
title. Very user friendly.
Website: http://www.factmonster.com
Category: Resource for Students
Audience: Educators, Students and Parents
Grade Level: All
Subject Area: All
Description: Complete Online Almanac
Website: http://www.phschool.com
Category: Reading Resource
Audience: Educators, Students and Parents
Grade Level: Middle School
Subject Area: English/Language Arts Reading
Description: This is a complete updated list of popular suggested readings for middle school students
Website: http://www.booklistonline.com
Category: Reading Resource
Audience: Students, Educators and Parents
Grade Level: All
Subject Area: English/Language Arts - Reading
Description: More than 130,000 book reviews for librarians, book groups, and book lovers—from the trusted experts at the American Library Association
Website: http://langwitches.org/blog/2011/08/21/blooms-taxonomy-and-ipad-apps
Category: Blooms Taxonomy apps for the ipad
Audience: Educators, Students and Parents
Grade Level: All
Subject Area: All
Description:
This website is a complete overview of the various apps available to
use on ipad that touch all of Bloom’s levels of taxonomy with overviews
of each.
Website: http://www.refdesk.com
Category: Technology/Links
Audience: Students, Educators and Parents
Grade Level: K-8
Subject Area: All
Description:
This is a great place to navigate through to find anything you want.
There are literally links to whatever you might want or need, and then
some you would never think of! It’s wild and crazy!
Friday, August 10, 2012
Thursday, August 9, 2012
Wednesday, August 8, 2012
Complex Texts
My kids are both teenagers. One is 18, the other is 16. It is very natural for them to sit on the couch with the ipod in their ears, Music Videos on the TV, the phone on their lap and Facebook open on the laptop beside them - while they are "doing homework." At 16, a girl knows waaayyy more than her mother, even if she is a teacher, so for mom to attempt to stop the multi-tasking is futile. In the morning I ask, "Did you get your homework done last night?" She replies in mumbles because she was up so late working. She's frustrated because she only got half the essay done, most of the science done and completely didn't do math. Now she's grumpy because it dawns on her that she has a History quiz this morning and no study hall before it. It's a long ride into school this morning. When we get 2/3 of the way, she screams in the car... she forgot her workbook for Spanish. We turn around and go back, now we're in crunch time. It really doesn't matter how many times I tell her that she can't work this way, she says, "I know, I know." Grades are important, college, scholarships... do you really think I can afford to pay your way through college?? Besides, you need to earn enough money to take care of me when I'm old! The arguing goes on... Multi-tasking doesn't work.
It wasn't that long ago that the news adopted the scroll bar at the bottom of the screen. When it first came out I had such a hard time with it. I couldn't concentrate on both things. Then CNN came out with TWO scroll bars, an extra one for stocks. That really threw me. Yes, I did get used to it, but it took time and practice. But I still can't tell you what happened both on the screen and on the scroll bar.
I believe that there is a time, place, purpose, and approach for all types of reading. As a society, and as educators and parents, we need to guide our kids to what is appropriate. When reading a complex text, it is imperative that everything else is off and there are no distractions. Focus is paramount. Twittering, texting, Facebook are types of reading that can afford interference. Students need to know those parameters. Our culture today has molded young adults who are "plugged in," and who don't know the discipline of reading for critical thinking. And I believe the opportunities for them to learn this skill is limited. I'm happy to see the Common Core addressing these issues and am confident that education will help guide our children to address each reading for the manner it is was intended.
It wasn't that long ago that the news adopted the scroll bar at the bottom of the screen. When it first came out I had such a hard time with it. I couldn't concentrate on both things. Then CNN came out with TWO scroll bars, an extra one for stocks. That really threw me. Yes, I did get used to it, but it took time and practice. But I still can't tell you what happened both on the screen and on the scroll bar.
I believe that there is a time, place, purpose, and approach for all types of reading. As a society, and as educators and parents, we need to guide our kids to what is appropriate. When reading a complex text, it is imperative that everything else is off and there are no distractions. Focus is paramount. Twittering, texting, Facebook are types of reading that can afford interference. Students need to know those parameters. Our culture today has molded young adults who are "plugged in," and who don't know the discipline of reading for critical thinking. And I believe the opportunities for them to learn this skill is limited. I'm happy to see the Common Core addressing these issues and am confident that education will help guide our children to address each reading for the manner it is was intended.
Wikipedia: Friend or Foe? Response
Our librarian has always been dead against using Wikipedia. She has
posters everywhere about how unreliable it is. And she's right. But
should we not use it at all? I never really thought about it until I
read this article, then I realized what a treasure trove of teaching
opportunities it is! The author brings up many great points about the
positive side of Wikipedia: that it is a living, breathing document,for
it's exposure to many other topics that branch off, and the many things
students can learn by the way it is constructed. I truly agree with the
author that "The site becomes a 'stepping stone' for deeper research." I
think it is equally important to look at it for what NOT in the entry
as well. Finally, I like the idea that you can "wikify" or verify
sources,or "wikification" when needing revising.
I teach 8th grade English and I hope to use this information for my final project. I want to have my students work in groups to create a Wikipedia entry. I seem to have all the components in place, but the one thing that I'm stumped on that maybe you could help me with is this: What topics should I offer my students where they don't just go on Wikipedia and copy it?? :)
I teach 8th grade English and I hope to use this information for my final project. I want to have my students work in groups to create a Wikipedia entry. I seem to have all the components in place, but the one thing that I'm stumped on that maybe you could help me with is this: What topics should I offer my students where they don't just go on Wikipedia and copy it?? :)
Monday, August 6, 2012
edu629-Kim
I was born in December, 1963. President John F. Kennedy has just been assassinated and it was as important on the news as 9/11 was in it's time. Television was relatively new and people began to depend on this new form of technology. Television was nothing compared to the first man on the moon though. But the reality that technology was becoming advanced and progress was moving faster than we had ever seen before was evident in our society through many new purchases. I had dolls that talked, an electric typewriter, boom boxes were popular, and of course the first Sony Walkman came out. We talked on CB radios, listened to 8-track cassettes and had huge speakers that just looked intimidating! The microwave came out and my mom freaked! It took quite some time before she felt safe enough to use one. When I was in high school we still used the old typewriters that you had to push down hard on the keys. In college I learned graphic design and sweated it out to learn how to type-set. To imagine that in only a few short years we would be using personal home computers I never would have put myself in that stressful situation to learn all that coding just to make an upper-case and a lower-case letter. I eventually bought my first home computer and so excited! "IM"-ing was super cool! But I was completely disappointed that in just a few short years it was out of date. I wasn't able to communicate with people in the same way. If I didn't upgrade I didn't stay connected. Heaven forbid I pick up the phone and call someone. Even the phones had changed. Although I really don't miss my old rotary phone with four numbers for a telephone number, I feel afraid sometimes to keep up with the modern phones. Plus the expense of it all!! I clearly remember my father bringing home the first Nintendo. My brother and I were so excited! We sat on the floor in front of our huge floor TV with a giant black box and two controllers. We played the only game it had: Pong. It was literally a black screen with a green fluorescent vertical line in the middle with two small lines that could move up and down, and back and forth. We hit the "ball" - a square - until we couldn't see. What could possibly have been the attraction to us? In today's terms it is completely simple minded. Actually, it probably was then, but it was new so we did it.
Writing was also a journey for us. It evolved significantly over the years. In fourth grade I so clearly remember writing those book reports. My favorite was on Eli Whitney. I hated looking through the encyclopedias. They were so big and intimidating and had very few pictures. Every home had a set. I remember the encyclopedia salesman coming to our house. My parents were so proud! Then we had to make multiple copies so we used carbon paper. The purple would get all over my hands and clothes. It was easier just to write it over. Typing was always encouraged, especially for girls since they would be secretary's anyway. My fingers used to slip and get stuck between the keys. I got pretty good at it though. But the drafts and the white-out.... And you could never go back and put the paper back in after you rolled it out. The more I concentrated to not make mistakes I made mistakes.
One day my mother came home with an electric typewriter. I thought it was just about the coolest thing, until I tried to use it. You would type the sentence and it would appear in a box on top. Once you felt it was good you hit the enter key and it typed it. But I could never figure out whether to type or watch the letters and words form. It seemed they appeared in the box above so much longer after you actually typed the words. And if you did make a mistake you had to shift your focus from the keys to the box above to correct it... so confusing! So I went back to paper and pencil.
One of my first jobs out of college was working for the FDIC. My first task: Write a memo. Ok. What's a memo? It seemed to be a new language. I did have a little computer experience, but as it turned out it was all data entry into programs that were already established. I started to sweat at the thought of the typesetting days. When I realized how easy it was I wanted to work on the computer all the time. We worked on WYSIWYG or reveal codes. Eventually I made lots of forms and spread sheets. It seems such a long way from where we are today with Garage Band and claymation.
This past July I bought an ipad. I was very proud of myself. The expense was tough, but now that I have it I can't stop using it. I find I can literally spend hours just trying to figure out the apps. I recently went to a workshop where a woman gave a presentation on Prezi. I put together a Prezi presentation but mine didn't look anything like hers! Mine looked like the average boring powerpoint. Hers was powerpoint on steroids. For me it is frustrating to try to learn this technology at the pace it moves. My 8th grade students help me with most of it, but I realize I need to keep up with it to be an effective teacher. The information isn't anything that you can really build on either. You learn it, it becomes obsolete, you learn a new one.
My students today live in a very different generation. We have more fights in the lobby before school because kids were fighting on Facebook or texting the night before. These are kids who usually have never had a face-to-face conversation with the other person, but behind a computer believe they have super-powers. If I even mention that students do not know how to communicate with people they vehemently argue with me. They say my generation doesn't know how to communicate. Perhaps there is something to this since I don't have a Facebook, I don't use Twitter or Blog, I only text my own kids, and have never Skyped. I plan to change all that this year though. I'll be plugged in and wired for this century come hell or high water!
Writing was also a journey for us. It evolved significantly over the years. In fourth grade I so clearly remember writing those book reports. My favorite was on Eli Whitney. I hated looking through the encyclopedias. They were so big and intimidating and had very few pictures. Every home had a set. I remember the encyclopedia salesman coming to our house. My parents were so proud! Then we had to make multiple copies so we used carbon paper. The purple would get all over my hands and clothes. It was easier just to write it over. Typing was always encouraged, especially for girls since they would be secretary's anyway. My fingers used to slip and get stuck between the keys. I got pretty good at it though. But the drafts and the white-out.... And you could never go back and put the paper back in after you rolled it out. The more I concentrated to not make mistakes I made mistakes.
One day my mother came home with an electric typewriter. I thought it was just about the coolest thing, until I tried to use it. You would type the sentence and it would appear in a box on top. Once you felt it was good you hit the enter key and it typed it. But I could never figure out whether to type or watch the letters and words form. It seemed they appeared in the box above so much longer after you actually typed the words. And if you did make a mistake you had to shift your focus from the keys to the box above to correct it... so confusing! So I went back to paper and pencil.
One of my first jobs out of college was working for the FDIC. My first task: Write a memo. Ok. What's a memo? It seemed to be a new language. I did have a little computer experience, but as it turned out it was all data entry into programs that were already established. I started to sweat at the thought of the typesetting days. When I realized how easy it was I wanted to work on the computer all the time. We worked on WYSIWYG or reveal codes. Eventually I made lots of forms and spread sheets. It seems such a long way from where we are today with Garage Band and claymation.
This past July I bought an ipad. I was very proud of myself. The expense was tough, but now that I have it I can't stop using it. I find I can literally spend hours just trying to figure out the apps. I recently went to a workshop where a woman gave a presentation on Prezi. I put together a Prezi presentation but mine didn't look anything like hers! Mine looked like the average boring powerpoint. Hers was powerpoint on steroids. For me it is frustrating to try to learn this technology at the pace it moves. My 8th grade students help me with most of it, but I realize I need to keep up with it to be an effective teacher. The information isn't anything that you can really build on either. You learn it, it becomes obsolete, you learn a new one.
My students today live in a very different generation. We have more fights in the lobby before school because kids were fighting on Facebook or texting the night before. These are kids who usually have never had a face-to-face conversation with the other person, but behind a computer believe they have super-powers. If I even mention that students do not know how to communicate with people they vehemently argue with me. They say my generation doesn't know how to communicate. Perhaps there is something to this since I don't have a Facebook, I don't use Twitter or Blog, I only text my own kids, and have never Skyped. I plan to change all that this year though. I'll be plugged in and wired for this century come hell or high water!
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