"I'm Here"

Thanks to the PLN, Ernie Easter, Deb Barrow, Paul Reynolds, and others for pointing this video out:

Playing with Words: Alliteration

"Avoid Alliteration Always - I do!"

Read•Write•Think: Lesson Plan: Alliteration in Headline Poems
Read•Write•Think: All About Alliteration
Alliteration Lesson Plans and Resources
Suite 101: Alliteration Lesson Plan
"I'm Going on a Trip" Game
Mrs. Dowling's Literature Terms: Alliteration
The Tongue Twister Database
1st International Collection of Tongue Twisters

Netbooks & Education

I just received my netbook in the mail this morning. It is an Asus Eee PC 1005HA-V 10.1-Inch Black. Wow . . . what a joy to work/play with this little gem today. I immediately switched out the 1 gig of memory for 2 gigs . . .then trashed the trial version of MS Office and some other unnecessary stuff. Before trashing Internet Explorer, I downloaded Google Chrome and Firefox. I then added OpenOffice, Audacity, Google Earth, SketchUp, Scratch, iTunes, Skype and Picasa. I noted that MS Moviemaker and Norton Antivirus were included with the original software . . . which was a plus.

I was pleasantly surprised how peppy the netbook is and how quickly it downloads photos, videos, and software files. Plugging it into a 20" flat screen monitor for work that might require more real estate worked without a hitch.

First Impression: It might be small, but this is no toy. It is a powerful device for getting serious work done. I was particularly impressed with how well Google Earth and SketchUp responded. Nifty!

Now, it could be argued that the netbooks are fine and dandy but that they don't have the necessary power for content creation such as higher end laptops or desktops . . . and that that is the direction schools should be headed, not in the direction of simply reading and writing text. For this viewpoint, read this:: The Netbook Fad in Education.

Here's a more balanced view: Netbooks or Notebooks?

Other reflections:

Learning in Hand - Netbooks
1 to 1 Netbook Trial
Clarence Fisher: OS and Education
Teaching with Netbooks
Richard Byrne: Netbook vs. Cheap Notebook Decision

It will be interesting to see what the verdict is on netbooks in education a few years down the road. Will they be durable enough to stand up to student use? Will they allow a new way of learning?



I invite you to add to the lists below. Who is going to start? Simply put your addition in comments and I'll add it here with your name.


What can netbooks do?


What can they not do?


Final question: Which list is going to be longer?

Education History

150 Years of Education in Maine

K-12 Education in Maine

American Educational History Timeline

History of American Education Web Project

John's History of Education

Wikipedia: History of Education

Gatto: The Underground History of American Education

American Educational History: Some Helpful Hints

SCHOOL: The History of American Public Education

The History of Education in America

Editable Archive on Education History at LIM Wiki

Photo Credit: Otisfield Schools @ Maine Memory

Corporations, Democracy & Schooling

In Life Inc., Douglas Rushkoff speaks of the dominance of corporations and how we all accept this as a given, not questioning motives or the effects on our humanity. This of course gets into the question, asked previously here, of whom schools are for? What should the purpose of schools be?

Life Inc. The Movie from Douglas Rushkoff on Vimeo.

Amazon: Life Inc.: How the World Became a Corporation and How to Take It Back

Alfie Kohn: The 500 Pound Gorilla: The Corporate Role in the High-stakes Obsession & Other Methods of Turning Education into a Business

Reclaim Democracy.org: Corporations and Our Schools

The Ninth Annual Report on Schoolhouse Commercialism Trends: 2005 - 2006

Consumers Union: Captive Kids: A Report on Commercial Pressures on Kids at Schools

PTAs and Commercialism in Schools

Deborah Meier: Democracy-friendly Education

Meier: What Does It Take to Build a School for Democracy?

Meier: Educating a Democracy

"The Rivals"

The 12th Annual Maine International Film Festival will be happening from July 10-19 in Waterville. Among the films will be a documentary by Lone Wolf Documentary Group on the football rivalry of two very different Maine towns.


MBR Comments
Morning Sentinel

Cape Elizabeth vs Mountain Valley - 10 Minute Sample

"Endangered Teachers"

Maureen Downey in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Medieval Times

Ellsworth Middle School Medieval Fair

Shire of Endewearde, Society for Creative Anachronism

Maine Renaissance Faire

Maine Renaissance Faire at Castle Treasure

Medieval at LIM Resources




Photo credit

Google Chrome OS

Google has announced a new operating system.

NYT: Google Plans a PC Operating System
Introducing the Google Chrome OS
Google OS Announced: How Will It Affect Apple?
Prediction: Google and Apple Go to War

Many questions are being asked in this move to "cloud" computing. Question 1: "What will happen when you go offline?" See some more questions here:

10 Things We're Dying to Know About Chrome OS

One final question: Is there a danger in Google having too much power?

"Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely." ~ Lord Acton

"Partnership for 19th Century Skills"

Ever wonder who funds and is on the board of Partnership for 21st Century Skills?

Ever wonder when the major essential question of schooling became this:

"How do we create the schools America needs to remain competitive?"

Do you remember when the major goal was this:

"How do we create the schools America needs to create responsible citizens?

Diane Ravitch speaks to another side of learning at Common Core.

Susan Ohanian's take on this.

Also see earlier post: 22nd Century Learning

ACT - Professional Association for Citizenship Teaching (UK)

Featuring Hattie DeRaps

Hattie is an alternative education teacher at Mt. Blue High School. I discovered her work on Darlene Bassett's blog, Reflections on Meta-cognition - For Educators by Educators. Hattie makes great use of blogs, using them for professional development and as a tool for her students

Check these out:

Literacy Strategies in Action
Mrs. DeRaps Goes to College
Class Blog

10BP

10CD

10CJT

10CNB

10EG

10GT

10JK

10LA

10MH

Open Thinking

Wow, thanks to Dan Ryder at Wicked Decent Learning, I've discovered Open Thinking: Rants & Resources from an Open Educator. This is an incredible blog that you don't want to miss. In particular, check out "80+ Videos for Tech. & Media Literacy." Love it!

"Those Who Came Before"

Wicked Decent Learning Episode 71 with Jeff & Dan

WDL Blog

"Being Human in a Digital World"

Discussion on Brian Lehrer Show

"More Depth than Breadth"

Arne Duncan talks about education on the Brian Lehrer Show

National Standards

This is happening very fast. Questions need to be asked:

What should our schools' primary purpose be? Should it be to create a more efficient and docile workforce? Should it be to promote democratic citizenship with the ability to think critically, collaborate, and work as a team? Something else? All of the above?

Who is involved in creating the standards? Who should be?

See government site: Common Core State Standards Initiative

Check this article out in Education Week: "Expert Panels Named in Common Standards Push"

Other involved organizations: Achieve, Inc., ACT, College Board, NGA, CCSSO

Note that national educator associations such as NCTM, NCTE and ISTE don't seem to be included.

It is time to be vigilant and vocal.

Your thoughts?

“It is the supreme art of the
teacher to awaken joy in creative
expressions and knowledge.”

“Teaching should be such that what
is offered is perceived as a valuable
gift and not as a hard duty.”

~ Albert Einstein

Back to Maine . . . Thinking More Globally

After a whirlwind five days at the NECC09 Conference in Washington, D. C., we'll be boarding the ACTEM bus this evening for the return trip to Maine. This morning I'm sitting in Ballroom B to listen to the Alan November presentation on Global Learning.

Points from November presentation:

• Teaching ethics is important.
• What information and relationships do we need?
• What skills can we teach today that will outlast the technology?
• Globalize the curriculum. Think globally, act locally.
• Dissonance captures students' imagination.
• Zoom in so can't see it all . . . want to see rest.
• Need to give different type of assignment if want to avoid copy/paste game. Design assignments where cannot plagarize.
• Pedagogy trumps technology. Pedagogy should be taught along side with` the technical skills of a new tool.
• Assignments should compare and contrast global views . . . re-contexualizing content.
• Awareness of points of view and critical thinking is very important.
• Who owns the learning? Students should own the learning.
* Every classroom can be globally involved . . . .tools such as Skype. (Skype in parents).
• EPGY Stanford
• Engaging family is important.
• Every school should have a social network for sharing.
• Technology planning is not important. Ownership is. Who should own the learning? Who does own the learning?
• Classroom question walking out the door: "What just happened?"
• What do you do when you don't get it?
• host: nasa.gov to find number of pages of a domain
• Shifting Control to the Learner:

- Screencasting 12 Screencasting Tools, 5 Free Screencasting Tools
- Curriculum Review Bob Sprankle and Room 208
- How to find your own answers: Narrowing the Search: Create a Custom Search Engine
- Collaborative Tools Google Docs Collaboration with Google Docs
- Notetaking with recording devices (phones, laptops, etc.)
- Larger World, Social Responsibility Kiva Kivapedia
- Wikipedia, Creating classroom content wikis
- Teach children to work with other children. Lois Lowry, Number the Stars, see what other kids do on same topic around the world.

NECC Exhibition Hall vs. Blogger Cafe

I'm having a delightful time here at NECC '09. This morning I risked going to the exhibition which is a huge carnival of commercialism with vendors barking their wares. If I closed my eyes, it sounded very much like the cacophony of an agricultural fair, only with a digital edge. There seemed to be a royal battle between a variety of interactive whiteboard manufacturers. There was also a huge number of content management "solutions" vying for attention. Interesting. Having heard the phrase, "follow the money," I wonder about this royal battle between putting content into smaller and smaller boxes to make money and the concept of open software and open resources. How will it all shake out?

Right now I'm sitting in the Blogger Cafe which is a wonderfully open and collaborative environment where online friends have the opportunity to meet and talk face to face in an informal setting. No question that this is my preference to the loudness of the exhibition hall. But gosh, I do know the ISTE needs to pay the bills.

Highlights from NECC 2009

by Olga Laplante

I am at a wonderful model lesson here, at NECC in Washington. A bit of a preview, the Essential Question, "How do natural disasters affect people?", the current Project Coordinator of the TRC project as well as a former TRC Project Coordinator will guide students through an exploration of natural disasters around the world. Through email exchanges, students discover where and under what conditions natural disasters are most likely to occur, as well as the impact they have on humans. Particular attention will be given to natural disasters that impact their own lives and those of their corresponding ePal.

Try this wiki for more information, http://naturaldisasterspbl.wikispaces.com. Great presenters, Amber Rowland, University of Kansas with Kari Stubbs. Check it out.

Bus to D.C.

Gathering from all around the State at the Portsmouth Bus Terminal, we are on our way to NECC in Washington, D.C. with estimated arrival time early this evening.

Photo Credit