Getting live data is one of the fundamentally great things about the internet. Now there is another way to get it. WildEarth.TV has live video feeds of African biomes. It also has live chat alongside the video and a whole catalog of related information. The calendar s a subscribable public calendar for your Google calendar. This is definitely a good example of how some things are possible with the internet that weren't before it.
link to the site here http://www.wildearth.tv/home
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Friday, September 26, 2008
Taking back the Territory
I have a colleague, Laura Hunter that talks about the "creepy tree house" Her analogy is that the kids love their tree house and it is a great place where kids get to be kids, but when the adults come up it gets a little weird. I tend to agree with her. The "creepy tree house" effect should be avoided, but with that said, I wonder if we are abdicating our responsibilities by not invading 'kids' spaces a little.
I think we need to take back some of the territory. Many people I talk to say things like:
But if I don't claim some space where the kids are then I am irrelevant. I wish that I had felt a little more comfortable doing that when I was a classroom teacher and I had understood better the perspective that the Administrators and IS Specialists. If I were back in the classroom I would want an online presence, but I would have to establish guidelines. What those guidelines would be I am still trying to formulate.
I think we need to take back some of the territory. Many people I talk to say things like:
- "No, I don't text"
- YouTube is just a bunch of garbage
- Kids are just so much better at this stuff
- I wouldn't want to have "FaceBook" page
- What if kids saw what I posted?
But if I don't claim some space where the kids are then I am irrelevant. I wish that I had felt a little more comfortable doing that when I was a classroom teacher and I had understood better the perspective that the Administrators and IS Specialists. If I were back in the classroom I would want an online presence, but I would have to establish guidelines. What those guidelines would be I am still trying to formulate.
Monday, September 22, 2008
The Evolving Online Environment
I found this fascinating quote today:
World of Warcraft and other Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games (MMORPGs) sure do look exciting (see screen grab of Battle Ready Cat Thingy with Large Sword and Big Fangs at right). And WoW is exciting. I should know, as I've wasted a fair amount of my life parked in front of a computer, fighting off the Horde, etc.Discovery News: Etherized, Aug 2008
You should read the whole article.
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Online Literacy
Teaching with technology isn't just about creating great websites and interactives often it is about creating better learning for students and increasing accessibility. When students struggle with reading educators often suggest having the audio version of the book available for them. Lit2Go has made that easier
I love finding great sources of free literature online. I just had a colleague show me this one. It is available through iTunes, but the direct link is: http://etc.usf.edu/lit2go/
Lit2Go is a clearinghouse of free mp3 files of books that are considered classics. They are all searchable, and available as chapters. Best of all they are free and have no expiration.
I love finding great sources of free literature online. I just had a colleague show me this one. It is available through iTunes, but the direct link is: http://etc.usf.edu/lit2go/Lit2Go is a clearinghouse of free mp3 files of books that are considered classics. They are all searchable, and available as chapters. Best of all they are free and have no expiration.
More online literature
I love finding great sources of free literature online. I just had a colleague show me this one. It is available through iTunes, but the direct link is: http://etc.usf.edu/lit2go/Lit2Go is a clearinghouse of free mp3 files of books that are considered classics. They are all searchable, and available as chapters. Best of all they are free and have no expiration.
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Why Are School-Age Boys Struggling? | Newsweek Education | Newsweek.com
Why Are School-Age Boys Struggling? Newsweek Education Newsweek.com
I certainly don't want to or intend to offend, but I have an opinion on this and nobody reads my blog anyway. The struggle that is described in this article was very evident to me as a school teacher. I have thought about it for the last several years, and at the risk of being politically incorrect at best and labeled a macho pig at worst. I think that a big part of this problem is exacerbated by the unequal proportions of men to women educators especially in the early grades. People all the time argue that men and women are equal, and they are and both should be treated equitably, but to ignore that fact that men and women are fundamentally, biologically, and psychologically different is foolish.
There is a disproportionate number of women educators especially in the early grades. Even the best and most educated and experienced female teacher simply can't remember what it was like to be a 'boy'. Largely our current educational practice, I am not talking the theory or the stated philosophy, but the actual practice encourages compliance. For thousands of years, boys that were strong, assertive, leaders were those that were encouraged. They became the Washingtons, the Martin Luther Kings Jr.s', the Lindbergh's, but now what is rewarded is compliance, submissiveness, obedience. "Sit down, and do you worksheet" We say on the surface we encourage innovation and leadership, but not when kids push back on the teachers decisions.
I know that in large part, at least in the state of Utah, part of the reason we have such a disproportionate number of male to female teachers has to do with salary. Your average Husband and Father simply can't provide effectively for his family as an educator. Salaries set by the State legislature are still based on the unspoken philosophy that teachers are: mostly housewives who want extra income for the family. Well, as long as that is true the kinds of men (and women, quite frankly) who are the most devoted spouses and best leaders are going to leave education creating a void for the boys who need a good example of how to be a good man without being disruptive to society.
I certainly don't want to or intend to offend, but I have an opinion on this and nobody reads my blog anyway. The struggle that is described in this article was very evident to me as a school teacher. I have thought about it for the last several years, and at the risk of being politically incorrect at best and labeled a macho pig at worst. I think that a big part of this problem is exacerbated by the unequal proportions of men to women educators especially in the early grades. People all the time argue that men and women are equal, and they are and both should be treated equitably, but to ignore that fact that men and women are fundamentally, biologically, and psychologically different is foolish.
There is a disproportionate number of women educators especially in the early grades. Even the best and most educated and experienced female teacher simply can't remember what it was like to be a 'boy'. Largely our current educational practice, I am not talking the theory or the stated philosophy, but the actual practice encourages compliance. For thousands of years, boys that were strong, assertive, leaders were those that were encouraged. They became the Washingtons, the Martin Luther Kings Jr.s', the Lindbergh's, but now what is rewarded is compliance, submissiveness, obedience. "Sit down, and do you worksheet" We say on the surface we encourage innovation and leadership, but not when kids push back on the teachers decisions.
I know that in large part, at least in the state of Utah, part of the reason we have such a disproportionate number of male to female teachers has to do with salary. Your average Husband and Father simply can't provide effectively for his family as an educator. Salaries set by the State legislature are still based on the unspoken philosophy that teachers are: mostly housewives who want extra income for the family. Well, as long as that is true the kinds of men (and women, quite frankly) who are the most devoted spouses and best leaders are going to leave education creating a void for the boys who need a good example of how to be a good man without being disruptive to society.
Friday, September 5, 2008
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Literacy- Old school???
Jared suggested that I am pretty animated about the literature resources on the web and that I ought to blog about them here. So if you like this I need to thank Jared for the suggestion, if you don't then it's Jared's fault and blame him. But, seriously. There are some really phenomenal web resources for bibliophiles out there. I want to highlight just one. It is multi-media in the way we usually think of it, but it does use multiple mediums. Many books that are no longer covered by copyright, ie: public domain, are now being digitized by multiple entities and in mutliple ways. One of those is Project Gutenburg, named after the famous inventor of the printing press. You can look up literally thousands and thousands of books and read them on your computer or with just a small learning curve and a portable device you can take them with you to read anywhere you go. Visit Project Gutenburg here: http://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Main_Page
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