Finding and Organizing Internet Resources

Telstar 3 at CPS Library, 3:30 - 7:30 Agenda



"Thinking about using Internet resources in the classroom is like . . . "


"Asking students to conduct Internet searches is like . . . "

"Let me tell you what keeps me up at night . . ."

Learning to Read

"Children are made readers on the laps of their parents." ~Emilie Buchwald

Free Reading

Teach a Child to Read: Learning to Read

Family Education: Learning to Read

Reading Rockets

Alphabet Action

Bembo's Zoo

StoryPlace

PBS KIDS: Between the Lions

Sesame Street

Owl & Mouse: Play Letter Sounds Online

Montessori Home: Learn to Read Free

Helping Your Children Learn How to Read

Starfall Learn to Read

The Myth of Learn to Read/Read to Learn

Add more resources at the LIM Resources wiki.

Image Credit

Web Browser for Young Children

I just downloaded this neat browser for kids called Kido'z. It has games, videos and websites for the younger set. I was a bit disappointed that I didn't see Starfall on it. Give it a try and tell us what you think.

Note: There is a Starfall browser for Windows here.

Learning Spanish

Spanish Language and Culture @ Diane Whitmore's site at Freeport High School

Teaching Spanish - Resources & Lesson Plans @ Richard Byrne's Free Technology for Teachers

SpanishDict Network

Teaching and Learning Spanish Blog


Any other Maine teachers have sites on learning Spanish that we can add here?

Learn Spanish Vocabulary for Learn Spanish 1.1 - Greetings and Introductions

View Scoreboard | Learn Spanish | Get Help with Spanish Translation

Online Language Tools

"You live a new life for every new language you speak. If you know only one language, you live only once." ~ Czech proverb

I only know one language - English - and after taking three years of French in high school and two years of German in College, that really bothers me. Have no idea how I nominally passed those courses, but ultimately they were pretty much a waste of time for me. Is it too late to get serious at age 61 on actually become fluent in a second language?

This time I have motivation. My grandson, Ilan, at one year old, is learning both English and Spanish at the same time. He is attending an all Spanish-speaking daycare, being immersed in it during the day, and then speaking English and Spanish with his parents when with them. If my grandson can learn 2 languages simultaneously, shouldn't I at least be able to learn one additional language . . . even if past my prime? ;)

And, by the way, whatever happened to Esperanto? When I was a young man, along with promoting birth control to keep the world population down, it was all the rage. Guess it went the same place that metric measurement in the U.S. went during the early eighties.

Anyhow . . . below find some online language tools I discovered on a recent search. In the end, I suspect I would be better off to use the RosettaStone methodology.

What do you think?

Diane Whitmore's Language Website (Freeport H.S.)

Omniglot

Nice Translator

BabelFish

Google Language Tools

Meta Language Translation

Online Language Dictionaries

Free Online Language Courses

Commercial Language Learning Courses

Second Language Software Reviews

Wicked Decent Call-In Show

Direct Link to Episode 51

Wicked Decent Learning Blog

Lessons for Living

"The difference between school and life? In school, you're taught a lesson and then given a test. In life, you're given a test that teaches you a lesson.” ~ Tom Bodett

Ground Rules for Living
Laura's Rules for Living
Dalai Lama's 18 Rules for Living
Rules for Living
26 Life Lessons Learned by Age 26
Life Lessons
Kubler-Ross: Life Lessons
Inspirational Quotes about Lesson in Life
Life Lesson Quotes
ThinkExist: Lesson Quotes
Life Lesson Quotes
Wisdom Quotes: Life Quotes
The Quotations Page: Life

Wicked Decent Learning: "They call me MISTER Ryder."

Podcast Episode #50

Wicked Decent Learning Blog


Teacher-Student Relationships - How to Make Right Decisions

The Ethics of Teacher/Student Contact

Google Book: "Knowing Where to Draw the Line"

Consumerism

Consumerism - the Musical


Big Ideas that Changed the World Series

Wikipedia: Consumerism

Lesson Plan: Critical Consumerism

Writing Prompts & Idea Generators

Writing Prompts

Idea Generators

How to Write a Book

Write and Publish Your Book

So You Want to Write a Book?

The Known Universe

Scott Love of AquaMinds shares "The Known Universe":

"Teeming with life. Social, electronic digital life. That's how I see the Internet. Deep and mysterious at times but always rich in content and information. How does one find it and then share it? I like to use NoteShare as a tool for aggregating information and content but also using it as a terrific way to share and publish discoveries. From another point of view, one can easily imagine this same process of gathering resources (we called them readings in college) and creating the super syllabus of the 21st century course notebook. And I've seen evidence already by middle school teachers who are way beyond the experts and ivory tower researchers when it comes to integrating and exploring the vast information riches of the Internet for classroom use. Teachers and librarians are cool!" ~ Scott Love

Link to Noteshare Web Notebook, "The Known Universe"

AquaMinds Weblog: Web Agents, NoteShare and Collaborative List Building and Note-Taking

Ann Marie Quiron Hutton's Video Noteshare Tutorials
Noteshare Server for OS X

"There Ought to Be a Law"

Will I Succumb to High Tech Reading?

by Becky Ranks

I tend to be an Oprah follower. I read her magazine, buy some of her recommended products, and read some of, but not all of her book choices. I actually even take some of her advice, and I find myself even more aware of the needs of people less fortunate as a result. Well, about a month ago Oprah came out with the ultimate recommendation...she actually blessed a piece of high tech equipment with her golden touch. That equipment is the Kindle. The Kindle is a wireless reading device unlike any other device on the market. It uses cell phone technology that enables you to buy books and newspapers from anywhere you might be. It has an electronic paper display that provides a sharp, high resolution screen that reads like real paper. It holds up to 200 books and has a long battery life. Everyone who owns one seems to love it and they claim it has changed the way they read. It is so wildly popular that you have to get in line on the Amazon site to purchase one. They sold out before December on Amazon. I am teetering on the brink of Kindle ownership. I am a reader. I love to read and read all kinds of different things. I am reading Twilight at the moment, but I may be reading a biography in the next moment or a thriller after that. I just finished reading The Story of Edgar Sawtelle, an Oprah book, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I think I might want a Kindle. The operative words are "think" and "might". I still love the touch and the feel of a real book. I love turning the pages and placing my Harry Potter bookmark in the crease when I put the book down. I love the smell of a book. I love the way it feels in my hands as I escape on whatever journey it takes me on. I might want a Kindle, but I am not sure. Reading is reading isn't it? Or is it? I would love to know if kindle owners regret their decision. Are there a lot of Kindles on eBay? That might tell me something. I love technology and new gadgets, but I am not sure if this new gadget will rob me of that real reading experience that I cherish. Is there anyone out there who has succumbed that might offer some advice?

Social Networking Pros & Cons

Question: Is online social networking socially enhancing or socially isolating?

The Economist Debate on Social Networking in Education
Horizon Project: Social Networking
Connecting Safely - Social Networking Dangers in Perspective
The Dangers of Social Networking
Washington Post: Social Isolation Is Growing in the U.S.

"No Shirt, No Shoes, No Service Learning"

Jeff 'n Dan of Western Maine present Show #49 (7X7) on Wicked Decent Learning.

TeLL MAINE Teaching, Leading & Learning Survey

Results Link

Free Technology for Teachers

Congratulations to Western Maine teacher, Richard Byrne for winning the 2008 Edublog Award for Best Resource Sharing Blog! If you aren't already a regular visitor to Richard's site, you really owe it to yourself to see his superb work. Maine is proud of you, Richard.

How Are We Using Our Wireless Gift?

"We can’t solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them." -Albert Einstein

I often forget that not all schools around our nation have wireless capabilities. In Maine, we are blessed to be the recipients of the forward-looking decisions made to create the MSLN and then the MLTI laptop program which, in turn, leveraged the creation of wireless networks in our schools and libraries. How are we using it?

Karl Fisch of "Did You Know" fame makes an excellent case for the importance of WIFI in schools here.

Questions: How are we using our WIFI capabilities? Is it transforming our school model or just a distraction of the status quo?

"The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read or write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn and relearn." - Alvin Toffler

"Hit the Road, Jack"

I know that many would disagree, but more and more, every day, I am finding YouTube and Wikipedia to be the most wondrous tools for learning. More and more, authority-based information, filtered by established elite, seems highly over-rated if not even of questionable validity.

Yes, I do know the warnings . . . from librarians, educators, and the keepers of the firewall and holy scripts - but, you know what - the genie is out of the bottle, the cat is out of the bag, the apple of consciousness has been eaten. We are no longer in Eden. We are simply in denial if we pretend that we can put the lid back on Pandora's box and everything will be as it was before. It is now a different game, and we need to learn the new rules and how to ethically work and play within this changed narrative.

YouTube is being used by many as a vehicle to develop their talents by sharing and building specialized communities. We all need audiences and encouragement in some form or another.

An example: Ulli Bogershausen is a famous German solo guitarist and teacher of guitar. He is an inspiration to South Korean child guitar prodigy, Sungha Jung,. YouTube, mentoring, the circle of life continues . . .







Sungha Jung's MySpace Page

What do you think?

Arne Duncan Nominated as U.S. Secretary of Education

Report from the Washington Post
Report from NYT
Google News Search
Susan Ohanian on the Nomination
Gary Stager at Huffington Post
Alfie Kohn: Beware of School "Reformers
Will Richardson: "Meet the Story, Same as the Old Story"
Education Week: Diane Ravitch & Deborah Meier
David Warlick: "They're Telling the Wrong Story Again"

Duncan signed the following document:












Full Statement

ArtReach at Telstar Middle

Last Wednesday evening I had the opportunity to observe part of the ArtReach project at Telstar Middle School that this year is centering its work and learning on helping to support the Harvest Hills Animal Shelter in Fryeburg. Under the leadership of art teacher, Melissa Prescott, students had earlier visited the shelter, interviewed the staff, and created a polished video documenting the experience using the laptop iMovie program. The evening events started with a presentation of the documentary and then continued with an auction of donated works of art by area artists as well as the sale of student art with school superintendent, David Murphy, acting as auctioneer. Subsequently, student musicians, under the leadership of Tom Coolidge, performed for the audience.



















There are great connections here. It is a powerful model for what education should be all about, with the integration of real-world needs, community involvement, citizenship, empowering technology, inspired teachers, and engaged students. Congratulations, Telstar!

Sun Journal Article
Melissa Prescott's Classroom Project Blog
Melissa's Art Portaportal
Digital Storytelling
Video 1 Workshop
Video 2 Workshop