Education Jargon Maker – Angela Maiers shared this one via Twitter.  Sure wish we’d known about it while we were still writing our ERT documentation!  Have some fun typing in a phrase and seeing how it is converted, ex: math skills translates as “deliver visionary critical thinking.”

If you don’t already follow her blog or twitter feeds, you NEED TO ADD HER RIGHT NOW!

Go on.

I’ll wait.

Hmmm, Hmmm, Hmmm, Hmmm.

Done?

Good.

Once you follow her you’ll find she shares a bunch of excellent educational resources as well as thought provoking posts.  While I was over on her page just now, I happened to see the following YouTube video “Goomoodleikiog” (Google, Moodle, Wikis, Blogs), which is a great introduction to an ideal virtual classroom ala CommonCraft style.  I SOOOOO, would love to develop something like this with one or more of my teachers (ahem! Mr. Forston, you reading this???)  I’ve attempted to embed the video below, but it is YouTube, meaning it is blocked by our district and you’ll have to watch from home.  Sorry, it hasn’t been posted in TeacherTube yet.

There is also a “sequel” for students “Goomoodleikiog 4 students” that is just as good, if not better, with two sock puppet students discussing the classes virtual classroom.

I hope you enjoyed the videos and have taken a moment to subscribe to Angela Maiers blog and twitter.  You won’t regret it!  I’ve got a bunch more resources to share, but I’ll pass them along in another Odds & Ends post later.  I was just too excited to share these to do a “proper” odds & ends piece!

A couple of recent posts by Linda Braun and Scott McLeod have got me thinking (not always a good thing) about the concept of the ‘digital divide’ in my school/community and how that impacts my library program as well as student learning.

Typically when people discuss the issue of the ‘digital divide’ they are referring to rural vs. urban access to computers and the Internet.   In Linda Braun’s post, “The Other Digital Divide,” she refers also to the ‘digital divide’ in software access (typically MSOffice products) between what is available at school (or not) and in students homes. She makes the argument that these technologies and access should be made available, not limited or eliminated, in our libraries BECAUSE they aren’t available to teens at home – this includes access to social networking sites like Facebook, to iPods/mp3 players, and to audiobooks/electronic materials!

Scott McLeod’s post asks “would you send your child to school with a laptop from home?“  His concern seems to be would the child feel awkward if they were the only one with a laptop?  Which is a high probability in my school!  Comments on the post are mixed and bring up interesting points.  The ones that caught my attention:

• laptops are/can be a distraction and detract from student participation in class
• puts the responsibility and care of the technology on the student/parents instead on the school for up keep and reduces tech cost to the school
• concerns for damage/theft/liability
• teacher buy-in and training on how to integrate the tech in the classroom
• educating students in the appropriate use of the tech during school
• if it’s just one more thing in a kids backpack it’s just another burden – however, if all of his/her textbooks were on it instead of hardcopy – how cool would that be!
• wireless access?  server security issues?

While most of the comments seem to bring up more concerns than positives, I have to say I lean on the side of why not let them bring them to school?  Of course the point is pretty much irrelevant in regards to my school, since we are a very rural and low socio-economic community – desktop computers and dial-up are are the norms.  I would be more interested in our district/schools developing policies/guidelines for using cell phones in the classroom – as I believe that the vast majority of our students have those mini computing devices instead!  Add iPods & MP3s in the mix and now we’re talkin’!  Unfortunately, all personal electronics are verboten.

Still what I take away from these discussions are that I need to push for technology, no transformative access for my students.  I need to look into the possibilities of iPods/MP3 players and downloadable materials, audiobooks/Playaways, relevant software, online access or cloud computing alternatives, filter overrides/unblocking of resources, etc. be made available in our school library.  Maybe I’m out of touch with my students and their needs.  Maybe it’s time for me to run a student tech and interest survey?!  Shoot, I should have done this last month before Teen Tech Week!  *sigh*

Photo Credit: “Laptop” by laRuth on Flickr

BBC News: “Primary eudcation ‘too narrow‘” – article arguing that early education focusing too much on math, English, and testing is leaving kids with a deficient education.

The Crisis of Credit Visualized – the video does a pretty good job of breaking down how our economy got the way it is today.

iSerenity – room too quiet (or has an annoying noise in the background)? Use iSerenity for soothing ambient noise?  I particularly like the Library Lullaby.

“My Top Tips for Teaching Teens” by Alan Sitomer – examines issues such as teaching teens to “bounce back,” change their attitudes, set goals, never give up, etc.  Well worth reading.

Last, but definately not least, two sites that highlight the Inauguration of President Obama.  The first is “The Big Picture” from The Boston Globe which has photographs of the event and from around the world.  The second is from Gigapan and has one large photograph that you can zoom or pull out to get the whole effect of the swearing in of President Obama.  Yes, it’s a little late in the scheme of things, but it’s still useful!

PatriotLedger.com: “Need help with class? YouTube video await” – YouTube video tutorials, specifically in math via Khan Academy.  Each video is about 10 minutes long and covers one specific topic.  Students can watch the video over and over until they grasp the concept.

Lifehacker: “WhichBook Will Help Fill Your Reading Lists” – With WhichBook, use slide rule to select characteristics you enjoy in your books, such as happy/sad or funny/serious.  Also mentioned in the article are What Should I Read Next and BookLamp which also help you find other reading selections.

LitWeb: The Norton Introduction to Literature Website – I was looking for the text for a short story and found this site.  It has stories, poetry, and some drama/plays, as well as quizzes and flashcards for literary terms.

Elona Hartjes – Teachers At Risk: Improve a child’s reading skills by having him read to a dog – Honest! – explains the Paws to Read program of having kids read to a non-judgmental audience – a dog!

Coraline: Explore a Hand-Made World - very engaging website to correspond with the movie release.  Be sure to check out the The Other Mother’s Workshop: Button Your Eyes page (sorry, I wont share my results – way too scary!)  Can’t wait to see the movie!  In case you didn’t know, Neil Gaiman’s The Graveyard Book received this years Newbery Medal Award.  You can watch/listen to Mr. Gaiman read The Graveyard Book via videos recorded on his video tour.

CNN.com: “Fans bid farewell to Polaroid film” – “… Sixty years after Polaroid introduced its first instant camera, the company’s iconic film is disappearing from stores. … Although Polaroid says the film should be available into 2009, this is the final month of its last production year. …”  Bummer.  While I no longer have a Polaroid camera, I do have fond memories of Mom taking pictures with hers and me fanning the photo until it magically appeared.  I guess I’ll have to take a look at Poladroid.net and see if, while I can’t have the real thing, I can at least keep the memories going!  There’s also an online movement called SavePolaroid.com if you want to read and share your Polaroid stories.

Scifi.com: “Video: Twilight: The Puppet Saga” – TOO FUNNY!  Watch a short, short, version of the book/movie using puppets.

Judy O’Connell over at HeyJude: Learning in an Online World shared a YouTube choose your own adventure story “The Time Machine: START HERE!“  How cool would it be for students to create their own stories and share them in this manner.  I could definitely see some of my students wanting to take on the challenge!

Newsweek.com: “The Royal Tenenbaum: Will Obama move beyond brand names, and pick from the field?” – I’m not going to comment, just passing it along as I’m sure it will be of interest to some folks I know.

Flicker CC: “cooper nose things” by mrpattersonsir