Take 5! Integration Update - November 19, 2010 (Vol.2/#11)

Issue #11

“Take 5” is a weekly update containing information related to teaching and learning for today and beyond...

Take just 5 minutes (or less) to look over these resources and see what might be helpful for your and/or your students. Better yet, set aside at least 15-30 minutes a week (yes, that's been increased from last year!) to focus on finding resources and ideas that will improve student learning and prepare them for their future!


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Tips and Tools for Teachers 

• VozMe – a site that converts text to speech (an MP3 file) ... Female or Male voices (which I find the female one more clear). Use it for intervention, foreign language, proofreading (paste in some text from a paper), generating a "robot voice" for a project, and more!
  

• TypeWithMe or MeetingWords – Both do the same thing... allow "live" or "real-time" editing on a web page. It can be used for student (or teacher) brainstorming, editing, first drafts, collaborative projects (done over time or asynchronously), and more! It even allows you to save moments and play back the changes in a slideshow/movie. Some cautions: this is a "live" site with no ability to approve student text before it goes on there... also, it's a public site (for anyone with the address/URL), so private or touchy subjects should be avoided.
  

• PD Tip:"Google knows EVERYTHING!" (sort of) Perhaps they should be called the all-knowing Oz!?!? Now that we have YouTube access, you can find the answers to so many tech-related questions or otherwise... So, like the famous teacher saying, "Ask 3 then ask me," try Google first for your questions, then check with your building tech, then Josh or Sandy. Here are a few examples:
• "How do I combine two columns in Excel into one? (such as first and last names)" - type into Google: combine two columns in Excel youtube - and get THIS VIDEO... as the first site
• "How do I play a YouTube video in SMART Notebook?" - type into Google: how to play a Youtube video in SMART Notebook -- and get a few possibles... but the 5th one had a link to THIS FILE that shows how
• "How do I tie a tie?" (popular during holiday season) - type into Google search: how tie a tie youtube and get THIS VIDEO

Ponderings

• Waiting for Superman - Editorial response from Dennis Pierce at eSchoolNews... Read more about this film and the arguments it brings up, some very misleading or inaccurate or unfair. Take 5-10 minutes to read his response. A few highlights:
  

  ...in a documentary spanning nearly two hours, Guggenheim doesn’t interview a single classroom teacher about what’s wrong with American public education 

  ... If Superman’s contributors thought highly enough of teachers to listen to their concerns, they’d learn that teachers are crying out for more support. In fact, teachers would rather have this support than higher salaries. (cites this survey of teachers)

  ... We learn from the film that average spending per pupil has more than doubled since 1971, from $4,300 (in inflation-adjusted dollars) to $9,000... What’s missing from this indictment is any historical perspective for understanding why. As it turns out, there’s a pretty reasonable explanation—and much of it has to do with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)... despite promises by the federal government to cover up to two-fifths of the cost of providing these services, local school systems generally are left footing more than 80 percent of the bill themselves. 

  ...The challenges facing public education today require responsible, thoughtful, multifaceted solutions that involve all stakeholders working in concert—not shallow responses or agenda-driven reformers with superhero aspirations. We don’t need a Superman; what we need instead is a collective commitment to doing the hard work necessary to bolster public education as the foundation of a strong democracy. Anything less would be a disservice to our nation and our children.

Learning Opportunities

1. In-District Professional Development Opportunities - Calendar
2. Global Education Conference (online) Recordings of sessions can be found HERE ... lots of great sessions dealing with a global perspective in teaching & learning. Click for SESSIONS
3. NWO's STEM Education Inquiry Series (at Rossford High School!) - Thurs., Dec. 16th - a low-cost, local opportunity for elementary teachers and JH/HS science, math, and technology teachers offered 7 times from September 23 - April 14, 2011.
4. In the right margin of this blog, enter your email to receive future postings into your email Inbox (Take 5s and more!) -- plan on 1-3 posts per week.

;-) Just for Fun! (and a little learning, perhaps)

• Thanksgiving Fun - If you're in need of any games, clipart, recipes, and more... check out this site. So, if you're not the football-watching type, give "Turkey Rescue" a try (wait for the ad to finish, then you can save the turkey!)