Take 5! Integration Update - February 23, 2011 (Vol.2/#17)

Issue #17

“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

• Life.com – The Power of Historical Images – (Perfect for Black History Month) Begin a discussion with this collection of photos from Life.com — or have students use them to create a presentation or expository piece on a segment of history. Show an image with no captions and have students discuss what they think is going on. So many ideas you can come up with from images here. Getty Images purchased the rights to Life’s photos and has made them available for use at Life.com.  More information can be found at this Edutopia article. (NOTE: The site also includes "Today's Top Photos" on their home page -- watch history being made in the Middle East/North Africa) 

 

• Flashcards – (see sample quiz item above) From Dictionary.com, create your own study guide or use one already made — works great for vocabulary in any subject, foreign language, or anything else that has one right answer. (Thanks to Kathy Herman, HS, for this tip!)

Ponderings

• Teacher Blogging or Venting? (article) - PA teacher strikes nerve with 'lazy whiners' blog
  ... If you are a blogger (or know of any teachers who blog in any form), take a quick look at this article and consider the implications. This teacher occasionally used her personal blog to vent her frustration with her students' lack of motivation, and more. She claims "free speech," but even "free" often has hidden costs! Here are some excerpts from the article:

  • "My students are out of control," Munroe, who has taught 10th, 11th and 12th grades, wrote in one post. "They are rude, disengaged, lazy whiners...
  • Munroe did not use her full name or identify her students or school in the blog, which she started in August 2009 for friends and family. Last week, she said, students brought it to the attention of the school, which suspended her with pay.
  •  "She could have been any person, any teacher in America writing about their lives," he said, pointing out that Munroe blogged about 85 times and that only about 15 to 20 of the posts involved her being a teacher. "It's honest and raw and a little edgy depending on your taste. ... She has a deep frustration for the educational system in America."

Learning Opportunities

• 1. In-District Professional Development Opportunities
• 2. NWO's STEM Education Inquiry Series (at Rossford High School!) - Thurs., March 24th (from 5-8pm) 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.
•  3. 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)

Another set of gems from the photos at Life.com... Called "Heavy Stuff on Top of People," this could be used for a science/physics lesson, perhaps? (visuals only, no demonstrations or experiments!) People REALLY did stuff like that back then too, huh? Remember... do NOT try these at home!!!
  

Take 5! Integration Update - February 7, 2011 (Vol.2/#16)

Issue #16

“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!


===================================

Tips and Tools for Teachers 

• NewsMap – Ever wish you could see all the news at once? Well, you can (sort of)... Sorted by size, color, and hue, NewsMap represents the current news in several countries (and languages) across the globe in these disciplines: World, National, Business, Technology, Sports, and Health. Great for current events, history in the making, sociology, or even just to see what news event is the most or least popular. (NOTE--this site may take a few seconds to load; may not work on older computers) 
• The image below shows what was happening Monday, February 7th -- the day after the Superbowl... thus the big area about the Packers' rings! The Egypt crisis has also gotten a lot of press, so that also takes up a larger than normal size on the NewsMap.

• Google Art Project – For art teachers or anyone interested in art... Google has teamed up with several museums across the world to bring images and the gallery experience to your computer screen. (This may also give you an idea of what Google might be able to do with so many other venues around the globe and beyond... Visualizations of places and things we can't visit in person. My guess is there will be more on the way.) Check out the Google Art Project at:
• Google Art Project - http://www.googleartproject.com 
• Video Intro - http://www.googleartproject.com/c/faq 
• Read more in this New York Times article about Google Art Project.

• Big Huge Labs – "Do fun stuff with your photos" or as we educators like to say, "Do educational things with your photos!" A Flickr account allows you to use more of these tools, but some photos can be uploaded. Not all of their tools are educationally adaptable, but here are a few to think about...
• ID badges for cooperative group roles, "about me" activity, famous/historical people/biographies, shapes information, or book characters... 
• Image Cubes for review games (topics), similarities and differences, cooperative group roles (roll to get your role!)... or a 
• Magazine Cover for biographies, project visuals, guest speaker interest poster, portfolio cover, and more!
• Motivational Poster of whatever you need to say (see above)

Ponderings

• 10 Things... Before My 1st  Job ... Ever wish someone gave you clear advice about teaching BEFORE you began? (Well, many probably did, but here's some more!) Some of these might be good reminders year after year. From the "So You Want to Teach" blog, here's a sampling:
  

  1. Get a handle on classroom management early

  2. Have fun

  10. Set aside personal time 

Learning Opportunities

• 1. In-District Professional Development Opportunities
• 2. NWOCA's EdTech Training Schedule - learn more and sign up HERE
  
• 3. NWO's STEM Education Inquiry Series (at Rossford High School!) - Thurs., February 17th - 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)

 

• Dotty Dots - An interactive site of colored dots that interact with your mouse pointer or SMART Board touch. Try out the different scatter methods in the lower left. Make your own by entering your text at the top, then copy/paste the URL, like I did with this one.