Apr 22 2011
Oct 17 2010
Technology in the Classroom in the US
May 27 2010
PVRS Poetry Web Search due 6/4/10
Highlight and copy the following poetry Web Search into Word. When you have completed the search, file it in your e-portfolio and send me an email that you have completed it.
Poetry Web Search due 6/4/10
- Go to http://www.google.com
- Search for poets (use any method you choose)
- Choose a site, copy the full site address (URL) here: _____________________________
- Choose a poet, and answer the following questions:
1) What is your poet’s full name? __________________________________________________
2) What is your poet’s date of birth? ________________________________________________
3) Where was your poet born?_____________________________________________________
4) What is one other interesting fact about your poet? __________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
5) What is the title of one of your poet’s poems? ______________________________________
6) What was your favorite line of the poem? Copy it here:
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
7) Explain why it was your favorite line here:
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
- Go back to the Google homepage (second time)
- Search for a poet born in the SAME COUNTRY as your poet
- Choose a site, copy the full site address (URL) here: _____________________________
- Choose a poet, and answer the following questions:
1) What is your second poet’s full name? ____________________________________________
2) What is your second poet’s date of birth? __________________________________________
3) Where was your second poet born?_______________________________________________
4) What is one other interesting fact about your second poet? ____________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
5) What is the title of one of your second poet’s poems? ________________________________
6) What was your favorite line of the poem? Copy it here:
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
7) Explain why it was your favorite line here:
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
- Go back to the Google homepage (third time)
- Search for a poet born in the SAME YEAR OR DECADE as your poet
- Choose a site, copy the full site address (URL) here: _____________________________
- Choose a poet, and answer the following questions:
1) What is your third poet’s full name? ______________________________________________
2) What is your third poet’s date of birth? ____________________________________________
3) Where was your third poet born?________________________________________________
4) What is one other interesting fact about your third poet? ______________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
5) What is the title of one of your third poet’s poems? __________________________________
6) What was your favorite line of the poem? Copy it here:
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
7) Explain why it was your favorite line here:
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
- Go back to the Google homepage (last time!)
- Search for an image of one of your three poets
- Choose an image, copy the full site address (URL) here: __________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
Prepare a presentation about your poet. You may use an online site like Glogster, Voicethread or Aviary. You may use software that we have on our computers like Publisher, Word, or PowerPoint. You may make a physical poster, as well.
Record on the line below how you are going to create your presentation:
______________________________________________________________________
Be prepared to present to the class on June 11, 2010.
May 26 2010
Professional Development Development
How do you or would develop professional development opportunities for the staff of an educational institution?
Should I fly by the seat of my pants and simply see what the year brings?
Do I involve my principal in the scope and development, or should I only go to him after I have the basic program?
Perhaps I should put together a survey online and ask for feeedback.
What I am going to try this year is bring together our rookie and veteran SMARTboard users and use them for recon in their various departments for PD requirements.
I am going to work with the Technology Coordinator to support teachers in curriculum development by suggesting technology and tech strategies in the process.
We are beefing up our assistive technology by adding 20 standalone Kurzweil Learnstations and 2 scanner/programming units – these require some serious PD.
Finally, I am going to put together a biweekly program based on
21 Things for the 21st Century Project
Based on the
National Educational Technology Standards for Teachers
This will be wonderful opportunities for learn for the love of it.
What do you think?
May 21 2010
Two books in brief
Silvia Tolisano is one of my favorite bloggers. She has branded herself as Langwitches all over the Internet. Her avatar is a witch. She is at least tri-lingual, with an international flair, teaching in the United States with both European and South American roots. Her site is Langwitches.org.
Her latest effort effort of self publication at lulu.com is Digital Storytelling Tools For Educators.
It is a compendium of the online tools that she uses to tell stories digitally. Included among the tools are Audacity, Google Maps, Mixbook, VoiceThread, Windows Movie Maker, Wordle, and various other resources. She explains the use of the tool with well-annotated screen grabs and her well-turned prose.
Not only can download a free .pdf from Lulu, but the she has licensed her work under Creative Commons according to the cover of her book, available for $8.50. She does not explain on the book cover or on the Lulu what the terms are, however.
Doug Lemov came to instant notoriety in the lead story in New York Times Sunday Magazine on 3/7/2010, entitled Building A Better Teacher. It sent shockwaves through the edu-blogging communities, and educator-readers of The Times. The crux of his proposal is that”The smarter path to boosting student performance, Lemov maintains, is to improve the quality of the teachers who are already teaching.”
He proposes to do this by teaching teachers 49 specific techniques that he says will help any student to be 
college bound. His DVD-supported book is called Teach Like A Champion published this year by Jossey Bass Teacher.
To say the least, almost anyone would find it controversial, sort of Skinnerian to those truly hostile. There are two teacher in the school where I teach who want to make this one of our two faculty Summer reading selections. They are sold on the strength of the just the Times article.
Find Silvia’s book on Lulu, and read the newspaper article about Doug and see what you think.
May 07 2010
Bullying and our Grade 7s
Bullying has been very much in the news here in Massachusetts of late. We had two highly publicized student suicides here in, a boy and a girl. The boy was 11 years old, a sixth grader, when he hung himself with an extension cord on the second floor of the family home in April 2009 – His Story . The girl, in a case that is drawing national attention, hung herself earlier this year – Her Story. These events were, in part, reasons for the writing of a state law that was signed this week by the Governor of Massachusetts.
I am proud to say that the school where I teach, Pioneer Valley Regional School in Northfield Massachusetts, is ahead of the curve in combating bullying. This happened before I came here and began with the folks who are now my colleagues in the 7th grade. They created a program including videos and a PowerPoint® Bullying Powerpoint, and began working with their grade 7s to build an ABC – Anti Bullying Campaign. The students who are accepted into the program are called ABCs – Anti Bullying Consultants. Seeing it this year for the first time has been an enlightening and heartening experience, especially at the neurological and social levels of development at which these children find themselves.
The Anti Bullying Campaign complements well with a weekly recognition award – The Star Award – that the teachers have been presenting for several years.
