Franken’s Victory Bolsters Democratic Grip in Senate - NYTimes.com

• Franken’s Victory Bolsters Democratic Grip in Senate - NYTimes.com

  tags: no_tag

  • After nearly eight months of waiting, almost 20,000 pages of legal briefs, and millions of dollars in election costs,
    • What is wrong with this picture? Top down party politics from Chuck Shumer and the DNC made it impossible for Kentucky Democrats to field a decent candidate so I am forced to conclude that the two party system is what's wrong. And the biggest stumbling block to change--incumbency. Solution might be, in part, term limits. I know that means losing the likes of Russ Feingold, but it also means that Kentucky could get out from under the grip of McConnel and Bunning on the Senate side and Rogers and Chandler on the House side. - post by tellio
  • In weeks past, some Republican leaders had urged Mr. Coleman to press on to the federal courts if need be, but those calls faded Tuesday.
    • The lesson here for Democrats? Never give up. Put your money where your mouth is. Fight for your people and keep fighting. - post by tellio
  • “The Supreme Court of Minnesota has spoken, and I respect its decision and will abide by the result. It’s time for Minnesota to come together under the leaders it has chosen and move forward. I join all Minnesotans in congratulating our newest United States senator — Al Franken.”
    • A mouthful of bitter for Coleman, one of those Senators whose whining over the last year has reeked of self-indulgence and entitlement. The voters spoke eight months ago so why does the NYT allow this guy a pass. - post by tellio
  • “When you win an election this close, you know that not one bit of effort went to waste,” said Mr. Franken
    • Spoken like someone who is already running again. I wonder if his truncated term will give voters the feeling that he needs a full term when he comes up for re-election. This recount destroys any chance that Coleman could challenge again. Republicans aren't very good at the unintended consequences game. - post by tellio
  • With 60 votes (including those of two independents) now most likely aligned with the Democrats, the party could avoid filibusters.
    • Assumes party discipline and a willingness on Obama's part to call Dems out if needed and punish if called to do so. He hasn't shown much stomach for this yet. - post by tellio
  • Mr. Coleman, who some in Minnesota were already speculating might run for governor in 2010
    • I cannot hope that he would make it past the primary. - post by tellio
  • After so much turmoil, the phone call was warm and gracious, Mr. Franken said, adding later that he had recalled thinking in the midst of it: “This is nice. This is a nice way to end it.”
    • And there it is- that damned club. We are damned if we cannot get this notion out of Washington. The sick, entitled sense that any guild gets when it invests a new member. Now you are one of us so you have to follow our rules foremost and not the rules of those you are constituted to serve. - post by tellio

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

News: U.S. Push for Free Online Courses - Inside Higher Ed

• News: U.S. Push for Free Online Courses - Inside Higher Ed

  
  

  • Community colleges and high schools would receive federal funds to create free, online courses in a program that is in the final stages of being drafted by the Obama administration.
    • This is overdue for high schools. My question here is this: who will manage the systems involved? Local servers? In the cloud with someone like Amazon s3? - post by tellio
  • reach more students and to link basic skills education to job training.
    • Fits Kentucky's higher ed mandate. Now how shall we provide the necessary 'learning brokers and concierges" needed to imagine this into being? - post by tellio
  • John White, press secretary for the Education Department
    • Flack? Of course. - post by tellio
    • John White has joined the U.S. Department of Education as Press Secretary. White was Chief Communications Officer for the Prince George’s County (Md.) Public Schools. Before that, he worked at AAA Mid-Atlantic and also served as Press Secretary to Maryland’s Secretary of State. - post by tellio
  • the federal government pay for (and own) courses that would be free for all, as well as setting up a system to assess learning in those courses, and creating a "National Skills College" to coordinate these efforts, the plan could be significant far beyond its dollars.
    • Effects on existing systems--developmental courses in community colleges, lack of experience with online learning systems. - post by tellio
  • and offer them free -- and is also pushing that movement in the direction of community colleges.
    • Who will teach these free courses? Who will they be affiliated with? How does this affect university bottom lines especially those whose bottom lines have come to increasingly depend upon tuition from students who have been able to borrow cheaply? - post by tellio
    • If these free courses are used to keep from having to pay bucks for general education and developmental/remedial courses, what will this mean for those teaching these courses now? - post by tellio
    • so - post by tellio
  • "This is so spot on in terms of what's needed," said Curtis J. Bonk, a professor of instructional systems technology at Indiana University at Bloomington and author of The World Is Open: How Web Technology Is Revolutionizing Education (forthcoming from Jossey-Bass).
    • - post by tellio
    • Interesting book on open education-- - post by tellio
  • the impact of bringing free online courses to those who may need basic skills and job training could have much more of an impact than the free courses from elite universities.
    • A very appropriate area for research--who can predict now what will happen? Don't we need to hypothesize b4 we spend? - post by tellio
  • the impact on the individuals and the economy could be huge.
    • Ilich's Convivial Tool - post by tellio
  • According to the draft materials from the administration, the program would support the development of 20-25 "high quality" courses a year, with a mix of high school and community college courses. Initial preference would go to "career oriented" courses. The courses would be owned by the government and would be free for anyone to take. Courses would be selected competitively, through peer review, for support. And the courses would be "modular" or "object based" such that they would be "interoperable" and could be offered with a variety of technology platforms.
    • In writing terms what are "career-oriented" courses? Resume writing? Essay writing? Web skills? Research skills? Where do we help folks become better people? Is that any of our business? Is this the death of the university? - post by tellio
  • work to develop examinations that could be given at the end of the courses so that colleges, employers and students could judge how much learning had taken place.
    • OK. there it is--the agenda item that I had been waiting for, the corollary to NCLB-- a national higher ed curriculum. - post by tellio
  • And the National Skills College would work to promote programs that might mix the free courses with tuition courses so students could earn degrees at lower cost.
    • Please, limn out the consequences. Don't just do it. Nike be damned. - post by tellio
  • t would be open to public agencies and to private for-profit or nonprofit groups.
    • I cannot help but think this is a process ripe with possibilities for corruption and rife with those who are good at gaming the system with rigged research and glossy applications and money to beat out those who might have better courses not packaged as well. - post by tellio
    • Bias toward those who are good at jumping through the hoops of federal grant writing. - post by tellio
  • Martha J. Kanter,
    • http://www.linkedin.com/pub/dr-martha-j-kanter/0/938/bb7 - post by tellio
  • the Community College Consortium for Open Education Resources, which has pioneered the idea of making textbooks and other course materials for community college students available free and online.
    • And they have a Ning site:http://collegeopentextbooks.ning.com/ - post by tellio
    • The consortium seems well thought out: http://oerconsortium.org/ And it is grand to think that such folks have made their way into the Obama UnderSecy circle. - post by tellio
    • Here is a textbook that was developed. http://www.collegeopentextbooks.org/tour05.html - post by tellio
  • "It's time for this," he said.
    • Homogenizing toward the best? Fine if we know they are the best, but my experience in these matters indicates transitional certainty at best. In other words, everything I know is wrong. - post by tellio
  • 'Hey there are these courses now available for free' is going to create incentives for lots of laptop programs to appear," he said.
    • And there is a whole new layer of devices in the technopolis that offer other affordances (smartphones, netbooks, library internet access, community wi-fi) that if beefed up could really make this happen. - post by tellio
  • The discussion draft for the job training program calls for spending $500 million a year in the first five years of the program, during which grants would be awarded competitively to community colleges, and $1.3 billion after that, at which point 50 percent of funds would be awarded by formula to states, 25 percent awarded to those states showing high performance programs, and 25 percent to community colleges, awarded competitively.
    • The carrot - post by tellio
  • To be eligible, community colleges would need to agree to track and report on student outcomes, and to set targets for graduation rates and "employment-related outcomes," while also serving "high need populations." Funds could then be used to create programs that "blend basic skills and occupational training," to provide "comprehensive, personalized services to help students plan their coursework and careers and support services that will keep them in school," and to create programs in partnerships with employers
    • How they must sing for their supper. Not exactly a stick, but indirectly a big one for those administrators who fail to belly up to this bar. - post by tellio
  • The loan fund for community college facilities would receive $10 billion under the plan.
    • Ahhh, bricks for clicks. - post by tellio
  • States would distribute funds based on "demonstrated need," with an emphasis on expanding capacity in programs that "meet employer needs in the areas of health care, green jobs, science, engineering and technology."
    • Seems like a godsend to anyone wanting to teach or create learning objects/courses in nursing, sustainability, solar and green retrofitting, and access/training for using the online tools needed to make this work. - post by tellio
  • but that they were generally encouraged by the ideas in play.
    • They smell that 10,000,000,000 bucks in the air. The 50,000,000? Well, just look at the zeroes, dude. So as I understand it we create the courses for the National Skills College and they will come? I can see lots of ancillary benefits much like we got when we called the Interstate Highway System a national defense project, but need I point out the downside of that system. And who is considering and talking about these long terms effects especially in rural areas where many of these students expect to be. - post by tellio
  • He said that colleges are being forced to turn students away, "which is the wrong thing to be doing in this economy," and that the funds for job training programs could help community colleges educate more people, and help them prepare for good jobs.
    • Yes, this happened here at my university. They raised admission standards in an attempt to stabilize student enrollment. Why? Because funds were static and everyone knows what happens to university programs when too little money chases too many students-the degradation of existing programs under the increased enrollment pressure. - post by tellio
  • Boggs said that his association has estimated a $100 billion need for new community college facilities,
    • Here are some stats from their pages: http://www2.aacc.nche.edu/research/index_institutions.htm but not exactly what I was hoping for. - post by tellio
    • Would like to know where this big round number came from. - post by tellio
  • Boggs also noted the unusual prominence that the administration is giving to community colleges as institutions that can help deal with the country's economic mess. "I think the spotlight is really shining on community colleges right now," he said.
    • Not really so surprising given Obama's community organizer orientation. Public policy is taking a much needed turn to the 80% who might benefit immensely from such programs. (That 80% figure is simply a blind obeisance to Pareto.) - post by tellio

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

Web 2.0 Keychain Users - iConnect iLearn in the 21st Century

Web 2.0 Keychain Users - iConnect iLearn in the 21st Century

"This is a place for users of the keychain to share your versions and your experiences!"

• Kevin H Informal leadership activity Certification/authentification activity Informal learning What emergent activity might this be evidence of? 

• Emerging?  Since contemporary certification in areas like this is so slow or non-existent (a characteristic that is likely to grow in tech areas as the rate of change accelerates in an open source/massively multi-developer world) then I might look for alternatives to "badges of expertise" that we see here with the keychains.  The little laminated keyring cards are little diplomas the growing weight of which visually signifies ones growing weight of authority. 

Iran: Crackdown on Dissidents Silences Opposition | theTrumpet.com

• Iran: Crackdown on Dissidents Silences Opposition | theTrumpet.com

  tags: emergence, leadership

  • ehran’s brutal crackdown on Iranians protesting against the country’s June 12 election results, which has largely succeeded in clearing the streets, has received extensive media coverage around the world. At the same time, however, the Iranian authorities have been conducting another crackdown behind the scenes that is perhaps more consequential.
    • The opposition in Iran might be said to be informal in many ways. Who leads in their Twitter Revolution? - post by tellio

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

Test

• The Best Places Where Students Can Write For An “Authentic Audience” | Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day...

  tags: no_tag

  • I’ve been spending time over this past year reflecting and evaluating on how I can be more effective in teaching writing — both to English Language Learners and my mainstream ninth-grade students.
    • In Kentucky writing teachers have had to cope with the 'demise' of the writing portfolio in their own classrooms, but perhaps what's worse they have had to deal with its demise in other content area classrooms. - post by tellio
  • the extraordinary The Write Institute curriculum
    • "The WRITE Institute is a National Academic Excellence model for sustained professional development in writing. WRITE establishes partnerships with schools, districts, and county offices of education to improve student achievement by building teacher efficacy and skills in the teaching of writing." - post by tellio
  • “authentic audience” — in other words, someone other than me.
    • I like this very simple definition. Writing to learn, yes, but mostly to do since the object of all teaching is to get student to use what they learn. Writing to learn that does not result in 'doing' of some sort is... A WASTE OF EVERYONE'S TIME. - post by tellio
  • I’ve also been trying to pull together a list of easy online sites where students write more for an “authentic audience” and meet the following criteria:
    • I am a sucker for lists like this. I am just going to visit and annotate a few of these, not a bad idea for students to do either using Diigo and a blog. - post by tellio

  • * The writing required would be short, not lengthy pieces, that could be done in a reasonable amount of time — a few days at a maximum and preferably less.

    * The creating and posting process is simple — accessible both to my English Language Learner students and to me.

    * Posting the piece does not necessarily require any kind of ongoing commitment for communication — once it’s up, it might be interesting to check-back after awhile to see if there have been any reactions (if the site is set-up for that kind of involvement), but it’s really just a matter of sticking it up there in a place that gets a fair amount of “traffic” and  knowing that it’s likely others will read it.

    * There seems to be some kind of enforced standards for all the content that’s posted on the site.  In other words,  when students explore it to see models of what others have written, it’s unlikely they will encounter something that is inappropriate for classroom use.

    • Larry Ferlazzo's Authentic Writing Criteria in a Nutshell 1. Make 'em short to produce and do. 2. Make publishing simple and accessible. 3. Write and done and move on to the next task. 4. Make sure the publishing site has a cop. - post by tellio
  • What Percent lets you state a simple opinion
    • you need to sign up to comment, but does allow you to do a little more indepth research on issue. - post by tellio
  • Recipe Key lets you drag-and-drop items into a virtual pantry
    • Perfect for classroom recipe books. Perfect for family living activities. Students need to know about online food info. This is one of many. In fact it would make a very authentic writing to get students to gather cool, student-centric food/recipe websites together for an annotated post. - post by tellio
  • Shelfari, though, seems like a very reasonable alternative. Students can create their own virtual bookshelf and write reviews of them.
    • I use this one and find it to be excellent. You could start a new shelfari for your class, open up a new discussion, then have students discuss the book selected. After a round of discussion you could ask students to pick a top five then create a rubric in groups that would be used to evaluate the next round of writings. I know it would have to be adapted, but wouldn't this make for interesting action research as you compare first and last discussions using this method. - post by tellio
  • Library Thing is similar to Shelfari
    • Go here just to see this: http://www.librarything.com/zeitgeist - post by tellio
  • Zunal is a free and easy way for students (and teachers) to create webquests (though they might be more appropriately called Internet Scavenger Hunts).
    • Great idea in their demo for a math teacher to use writing as learning. http://zunal.com/webquest.php?user=1 - post by tellio
  • Travel DK, which lets you easily create your own online travel guides including writing reviews of attractions (Thanks to Diana Dell for the tip).
    • OK, you are taking a fieldtrip or a class group (Ok imagine you have the money to do this or just do it virtually). Do this guide first, then do 'reporting' while there, then do a follow up. Print the book and allow folks to buy it and buy one for the library. Documenting one's life is an old idea, but now everyone can do it. Shouldn't we show them before they make a dog's breakfast of it on MySpace or Facebook? - post by tellio
  • Students can pick a painting, or create their own artwork, and then write a story about it at  The Art of Storytelling. 
    • A great idea, execution is very simple, requires a quiet place for students to record. Constrained to the art in their museum, but still a great way to demo the process that multimedia production might go through: image-->script-->voice-->product-->publish. - post by tellio
  • Students both asking and answering questions at the various online Wiki-like sites like Yahoo Answers, WikiAnswers, and Wikianswers (yes, the last two are indeed different sites) are definitely examples of writing for an “authentic audience.” 
    • I can't even begin to draw out the implications for authentic writing here. Perhaps the class could keep a list of running questions that need answering at one of these sites. Allow any student to publicly add to the list, take a cellphone picture of the list, prilnt it out and allow students to work at "fallow" times of the day. My motto in any classroom: always have something cool to do. - post by tellio
  • My Hero is a site where students can write about people they view as…heroes. You can register and create a multimedia webpage about your choices, but, even better (at least, in my view), you can go to the Guestbook area and write a short piece that appears immediately (there are automatic filters to screen content, plus it’s manually screened later).
    • This site has evolved quite beautifully over the last five years into one of the most interesting project sites on the web. If you like multimedia then you might like to start the year doing a film. Check it out: http://myhero.com/myhero/go/filmfestival/ff_inform.asp - post by tellio

  •  

    BBC Memoryshare is a “place to share and explore memories.” The site has a cool-looking timeline where you can access memories that people have written — on just about anything.

    • Start you class's memory book, assign a class historian, begin to think in historical terms. The more you look, the more opportunities arise. - post by tellio
  • I’ll be creating another “The Best…” list sharing them (I’ve done this — The Best Places Where Students Can Create Online Learning/Teaching Objects For An “Authentic Audience”).

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

My Languages: Skype Interview : Social Bookmarking

My Languages: Skype Interview : Social Bookmarking

• Is tagging a cognitive activity ? Does tagging force you to reflect on categories to find the correct key word?
  Yes, but I feel that it remains quite personal too. Lately, I attended an Elluminate session on tagging for Flickr. We were asked to tag a picture and we then compared all the different words and categories suggested-fascinating... For photos the choice of categories is maybe wider but I believe that we also get the categories to fit our needs. The question is always: if I want to find this again to do… what key word do I need?

This would be a valuable icebreaker in a social networking class.

NECC 2009 Attendees | Program | Search Results Details

• NECC 2009 Attendees | Program | Search Results Details

  
  

  • How do we break down the isolated, teacher centered classroom and create a learning environment for the 21st century?

This is the question isn't it.  The answer is oftentimes balled up in the question. Or perhaps we already are swimming in the answer?  As Izaak Rabin once said, "If  a problem has been a problem for a long time, maybe it's not a problem.  Maybe it's a fact."  What is the fact that we are overlooking because it is hiding in plain sight?

PasturePoultry : Message: RE: [PasturePoultry] Re:Speckled Communist Americauna - Barbara and Connie

• PasturePoultry : Message: RE: [PasturePoultry] Re:Speckled Communist Americauna - Barbara and Connie (need too join in order to read the whole thread)
  

• Tales of Strange Chickens--taken from the PasturePoultry Group on Yahoo
• (I doubt they were Cornish Crosses.
  
  • A few years ago several chickens fell out of a truck hauling them to
    slaughter. They ended up living in the median of I-5 near an overpass.
    Since there was room to pull over, people started to put out food and water
    for them. They lived there happily for months. I don't know if they were
    finally picked up or got squished; the highway department wanted them gone
    because locals would slow down to look for them and they were a traffic
    hazard. And the highway department guys are locals, too, so I am guessing
    they caught them. I never saw them squished, and they were big birds when
    they grew up - Cornish crosses.
    
    Alice Royle
    
    Union Point Custom Feeds
    
    Brownsville, OR
    
    www.unionpoint.com

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

Google Wave the Next Killer App? — Virtual Real Estate Marketing

Google Wave the Next Killer App? — Virtual Real Estate Marketing

• Google Wave is really much more than a basic collaboration application, actually it’s really many things:

  • a real-time communication platform.
  • blogging
  • tweeting
  • email
  • instant messaging
  • social networking
  • photo sharing
  • video sharing
  • forum discussion
  • data collector and collaborator

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

Clay Shirky on Information Filter Function

• Clay Shirky on Information Filter Function

  We have had info overload since the invention of the printing press in the fifteenth century what has changed now is this: the old filters are breaking, designing new filters doesn't just mean updating the old filters.

  tags: information, overload, filtering, social, networking, stories

http://web2expo.blip.tv/file/1277460/

Failure of the filter

eg spam

    not abouit increase in volume, but a failure of filter

    

 All filter solutions are temporary

 

 You have to assume that spam will never go away therefore a filtering problem

 

 A general design problem--a social system problem

     Applying to other systems

         former student-FB change--implications/total disaster privacy meltdown.

         Grimmerman?

         managing privacy prefs- an unnatural act

         privacy is a way of managing info flow. 

         slow ripples b4, quakes now

         

Moving from an evolved system into an engineered system

       Our personal life is no longer personal

      " The inefficiency of information flow is not a bug it is a feature."  

      

 Filters are both outbound and inbound--now this is a new idea to me 

 

 A story about the in and out flows of filtered info

 

     Facebook Chemistry Study Grouip_chris avenir

         school charges him.

         147 charges 1 for setting it up and 146 stkudents

         cheating--publication of individual work in a collaborative environment is cheating

         CA response--what about tutoring

         

 Problem

 

     welcome to community ---conversation join us

     or we do qc on their minds.

     collide very difficult

     FB cause the methods to collide

     

 If you have to make that choice you will make the wrong choice.  FB is not a mimeo. it is different in kind not degree

 

 Ryerson says the real groups are just way too big.  FB is free rider tolerant unlike real world.

 

 Our job is to require stukdents to figure things out.  With the unfilter on--well...

 

 The new context:  we are to information overload ::  fish are to the sea  It is just what we swim in.

 

 If you have the same problem for a long time maybe it's not a problem, maybe it's a fact.  Izaak Rabin

 

 No college of future tomorrow            

 

 We have had info overload since the invention of the printing press in the fifteenth century what has changed now is this:  the old filters are breaking,  designing new filters doesn't just mean updating the old filters.  

     eg digg voting 

     eg tagging

     

 When you feel overloaded you have to ask now:  what filter just broke,      

 

 

 

 

                

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

Education World ® Technology Center: Doug Johnson: Seven Brilliant Things Teachers Do With Technology

Education World ® Technology Center: Doug Johnson: Seven Brilliant Things Teachers Do With Technology

A useful list of seven general priniples for every tech using teacher. - post by tellio

• 1. Empower kids with technology.

• 2. Creatively find and use resources.

• 4. Put kids in touch with the world.

• "Flat Classroom"
  • Love this teacher's work, but the metaphor is devastatingly bad and the writer she has latched onto is a hack at best and an apologist of the privileged at least. Warning to all--beware of the metaphors you embrace--they represent the outer limits of behavior if you own them too much. - post by tellio
  
  
• 5. Accept the role of co-leaner.

• 6. Use the kids’ own devices to teach them.

• "Students are increasingly and unstoppably bringing in personal communication devices -- cell phones, cameras, game devices, iPods/mp3 players, netbooks, laptops, and PDAs. Brilliant teachers know how to use cell phones to poll their classes; create podcasts of lectures for later review; use games to teach difficult concepts; and make "Google-jockeys" of student wireless laptop users."
  • Best quote and a roadmap for learning that I need to seriously embrace. - post by tellio
  
  
• 7. Delight in the discovery, the newness, and the fun technology holds.

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

PhD is just a bumpy road, sooner or later I’ll be there — Mathemagenic

• PhD is just a bumpy road, sooner or later I’ll be there — Mathemagenic

  tags: no_tag

  • PhD is just a bumpy road, sooner or later I’ll be there

    by Lilia Efimova on July 23, 2004

    I knew that doing a PhD is about ups and downs, but it’s a kind of special fun to discover the bumpy road as you go along. This time it’s about mixed feelings of discovering a good paper…

    I’m reading A Confessional Account of an Ethnography About Knowledge Work by Ulrike Schultze (spotted it some time ago, but got a version only yesterday) and my feelings go everywhere between:

    • gut feeling of finding one of “the papers” that can make core foundations of my research
    • thinking “why the hell I didn’t find the paper a year ago?”
    • admiration of research done by someone else and a way of presenting it
    • loosing confidence thinking “I will never be able to do it that good”
    • happy insights and “aha!” moments – “now I know what to do!”
    • getting a bit down understanding how much time doing it will take
    • trying to get myself together “it’s just a bumpy road, sooner or later I’ll be there”…

    And I’m still in the middle of reading it :)

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

Blogging Innovation: Innovation in Education - Latest innovation articles, videos, and insights

• Blogging Innovation: Innovation in Education - Latest innovation articles, videos, and insights

  
  

  Am I innovating? This article will provide a touchstone for personal evaluation.
  
  • Teaching Moves Beyond the Classroom
    
    • I have always thought that social software, starting for me with blogs and commenting, was a way to punch holes in the classroom walls so that my students could escape to the real world. The Web is an inherently subversive communication medium. I have never understood why fundamentalist tolerate it at all. It is their downfall because of the assumptions that underly it--diversity, multiplicity, tolerance, and freedom for all among others. These values are woven into my desire to use technological innovations in the classroom.
    • But how much do I really use technology in the classroom to enable differing and perhaps more informal learning that matches "real" learning in the "wild".
    • I used this article to challenge my own work and to set goals for the coming school year.
    • There are four areas to consider in assessing where I stand:  social media, online video and other media outside the classroom, gaming,  cellphone/mobile learning
      
    
    
  
  
  • Social Media
    
    • What social media do I use? Really use. Facebook, but barely. Twitter, professionally but not with students. Diigo, personally and professionally, but only scratched surface with students GoogleDocs, personally and professionally, but only begun in classes. 
  • Online Video Creates a Global Classroom
    • I use online video regularly to make points, to open discussion in class. I have brought in data visualization tools (see NYT) 
      
  • ###############
•  
•  
• • Even Britain's grandly named Royal Society provides free webcasts of their events and lectures.
    • I need to do more to expand the idea of the classroom? No, I need to expand the idea of what it takes to learn in this newly connect up world. I need to expand your consciousness of what is required to be a learner today. - post by tellio
  • Gaming Gets Serious
    
    • I am not doing anything here. I don't even own a gaming console or even handhelds like the PSP or Nintendo DL. How can a noob teach this when he is not entirely convinced that we are just recreating classrooms inside of silica. Rigid, rigid silica. Ask students, explore with students, point stuff out to students. In fact before every class I need to have a Webslide of potential cool places to go and learn, but never mention learn because that truly is putting the cart in front of... - post by tellio
  • Mobile Learning Comes Into Its Own
    • I have been waffling about on deciding whether or not to get texting at a monthly rate for my phone. I have to do way more of this. I need a smart phone. I am using the iPod touch as my second computer and am adding apps for it on a regular basis (Educate is the latest one) This is where most of my students live. This is where I need to weigh in much more completely and in a regular committed way. - post by tellio

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

Untitled

• The Best Places Where Students Can Write For An “Authentic Audience” | Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day...

  tags: no_tag

  • I’ve been spending time over this past year reflecting and evaluating on how I can be more effective in teaching writing — both to English Language Learners and my mainstream ninth-grade students.
    • In Kentucky writing teachers have had to cope with the 'demise' of the writing portfolio in their own classrooms, but perhaps what's worse they have had to deal with its demise in other content area classrooms. - post by tellio
  • the extraordinary The Write Institute curriculum
    • "The WRITE Institute is a National Academic Excellence model for sustained professional development in writing. WRITE establishes partnerships with schools, districts, and county offices of education to improve student achievement by building teacher efficacy and skills in the teaching of writing." - post by tellio
  • “authentic audience” — in other words, someone other than me.
    • I like this very simple definition. Writing to learn, yes, but mostly to do since the object of all teaching is to get student to use what they learn. Writing to learn that does not result in 'doing' of some sort is... A WASTE OF EVERYONE'S TIME. - post by tellio
  • I’ve also been trying to pull together a list of easy online sites where students write more for an “authentic audience” and meet the following criteria:
    • I am a sucker for lists like this. I am just going to visit and annotate a few of these, not a bad idea for students to do either using Diigo and a blog. - post by tellio

  • * The writing required would be short, not lengthy pieces, that could be done in a reasonable amount of time — a few days at a maximum and preferably less.

    * The creating and posting process is simple — accessible both to my English Language Learner students and to me.

    * Posting the piece does not necessarily require any kind of ongoing commitment for communication — once it’s up, it might be interesting to check-back after awhile to see if there have been any reactions (if the site is set-up for that kind of involvement), but it’s really just a matter of sticking it up there in a place that gets a fair amount of “traffic” and  knowing that it’s likely others will read it.

    * There seems to be some kind of enforced standards for all the content that’s posted on the site.  In other words,  when students explore it to see models of what others have written, it’s unlikely they will encounter something that is inappropriate for classroom use.

    • Larry Ferlazzo's Authentic Writing Criteria in a Nutshell 1. Make 'em short to produce and do. 2. Make publishing simple and accessible. 3. Write and done and move on to the next task. 4. Make sure the publishing site has a cop. - post by tellio
  • What Percent lets you state a simple opinion
    • you need to sign up to comment, but does allow you to do a little more indepth research on issue. - post by tellio
  • Recipe Key lets you drag-and-drop items into a virtual pantry
    • Perfect for classroom recipe books. Perfect for family living activities. Students need to know about online food info. This is one of many. In fact it would make a very authentic writing to get students to gather cool, student-centric food/recipe websites together for an annotated post. - post by tellio
  • Shelfari, though, seems like a very reasonable alternative. Students can create their own virtual bookshelf and write reviews of them.
    • I use this one and find it to be excellent. You could start a new shelfari for your class, open up a new discussion, then have students discuss the book selected. After a round of discussion you could ask students to pick a top five then create a rubric in groups that would be used to evaluate the next round of writings. I know it would have to be adapted, but wouldn't this make for interesting action research as you compare first and last discussions using this method. - post by tellio
  • Library Thing is similar to Shelfari
    • Go here just to see this: http://www.librarything.com/zeitgeist - post by tellio
  • Zunal is a free and easy way for students (and teachers) to create webquests (though they might be more appropriately called Internet Scavenger Hunts).
    • Great idea in their demo for a math teacher to use writing as learning. http://zunal.com/webquest.php?user=1 - post by tellio
  • Travel DK, which lets you easily create your own online travel guides including writing reviews of attractions (Thanks to Diana Dell for the tip).
    • OK, you are taking a fieldtrip or a class group (Ok imagine you have the money to do this or just do it virtually). Do this guide first, then do 'reporting' while there, then do a follow up. Print the book and allow folks to buy it and buy one for the library. Documenting one's life is an old idea, but now everyone can do it. Shouldn't we show them before they make a dog's breakfast of it on MySpace or Facebook? - post by tellio
  • Students can pick a painting, or create their own artwork, and then write a story about it at  The Art of Storytelling. 
    • A great idea, execution is very simple, requires a quiet place for students to record. Constrained to the art in their museum, but still a great way to demo the process that multimedia production might go through: image-->script-->voice-->product-->publish. - post by tellio
  • Students both asking and answering questions at the various online Wiki-like sites like Yahoo Answers, WikiAnswers, and Wikianswers (yes, the last two are indeed different sites) are definitely examples of writing for an “authentic audience.” 
    • I can't even begin to draw out the implications for authentic writing here. Perhaps the class could keep a list of running questions that need answering at one of these sites. Allow any student to publicly add to the list, take a cellphone picture of the list, prilnt it out and allow students to work at "fallow" times of the day. My motto in any classroom: always have something cool to do. - post by tellio
  • My Hero is a site where students can write about people they view as…heroes. You can register and create a multimedia webpage about your choices, but, even better (at least, in my view), you can go to the Guestbook area and write a short piece that appears immediately (there are automatic filters to screen content, plus it’s manually screened later).
    • This site has evolved quite beautifully over the last five years into one of the most interesting project sites on the web. If you like multimedia then you might like to start the year doing a film. Check it out: http://myhero.com/myhero/go/filmfestival/ff_inform.asp - post by tellio

  •  

    BBC Memoryshare is a “place to share and explore memories.” The site has a cool-looking timeline where you can access memories that people have written — on just about anything.

    • Start you class's memory book, assign a class historian, begin to think in historical terms. The more you look, the more opportunities arise. - post by tellio
  • I’ll be creating another “The Best…” list sharing them (I’ve done this — The Best Places Where Students Can Create Online Learning/Teaching Objects For An “Authentic Audience”).

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

Google Teacher Academy Application

• Google Teacher Academy Application

  This looks awesome in its totality and totally not evil.

Links to the good Google stuff:

Google Classroom Activities

Google Tools for Your Classroom

Google Posters for Your Classroom

Google Education Home

Untitled

• First Draft Secrets: Five Simple Steps

  tags: no_tag

  • first draft
  • Accept the Chatter
    • 1. - post by tellio
  • “Flow” won’t happen every time we write.
  • We diffuse our focus and use up valuable writing energy when we try to “reason with” or overcome  distracting thoughts. The solution to creating fantastic first drafts is much simpler.  First, accept that “mental chatter happens.” Then, redirect your mental chatter as you write.
  • Redirect
    • 2. - post by tellio

  • Ever notice that when you’re just about to get a shot, the nurse suddenly asks about your job, your family or your summer plans?  When we’re faced with a task we resist (getting a shot, writing a first draft), it’s much easier to relax when we’re focused on something else.

     

  • “Swiss Cheese Draft”
    • 3. - post by tellio
  • Step #1 - Limit Your Focus
  • Decide What the “Cheese” Is.  
Before you begin to write, choose one element (”content” or “form”) to define your Swiss cheese draft’s structure.  In other words, answer the question, “what’s the ‘cheese?’”
  • •  
    • If you’re drafting a persuasive essay, you may want to sketch out the basic structure of your argument, using placeholders for specific facts, anecdotes or context to support your points.  This emphasis on drafting the piece’s structure is an example of a focus on form.
  • Once you’re defined your “cheese,” write a one-sentence statement of “what I’m going for in this draft” and put it at the top of your screen or page.  (Tip:  you may choose to emphasize the word “draft” as a reminder.)
  • Step #2 - Limit Your Time.
  • Decide to spend a specific and limited amount of time writing your Swiss cheese draft.  For example, “I’ll draft my new article for the next two hours, until 12 noon…no more, no less.”
  • (Tip:  To stay focused on your project, send a friend a “bookending” email, Tweet or text message.  Tell them you’re starting your draft, and describe your time limit.  Let them know how long it’ll be before you report back to them with a quick progress report.  Bookending is amazingly effective!)
  • Step #3 - Mark the Holes as You Go.
  • As you write, use placeholders such as “X”, “[REWORK],” [??]” or  “_________________” to hold space for things to add later.
  • Step #4 - Notice and Redirect.
  • 
As you’re writing, your mind may still speak up and try to distract you from writing.  If this happens, here’s your chance to greet it wisely.
  • “Sit tight, now…I’ll be with you shortly.”
  • Step # 5 - Cure the Draft Before You Revise
  • Your finished Swiss cheese draft may be cured and ready to revise as early as two days after creation.  It may need longer to settle.  Let your aesthetic palette guide you, and when it’s time to sample your draft, enjoy your flavorful first effort.

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

Larry Ferlazzo's Authentic Writing List

• The Best Places Where Students Can Write For An “Authentic Audience” | Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day...

  • I’ve been spending time over this past year reflecting and evaluating on how I can be more effective in teaching writing — both to English Language Learners and my mainstream ninth-grade students.
    • In Kentucky writing teachers have had to cope with the 'demise' of the writing portfolio in their own classrooms, but perhaps what's worse they have had to deal with its demise in other content area classrooms. - post by tellio
  
  
  • “authentic audience” — in other words, someone other than me.
    • I like this very simple definition. Writing to learn, yes, but mostly to do since the object of all teaching is to get student to use what they learn. Writing to learn that does not result in 'doing' of some sort is... A WASTE OF EVERYONE'S TIME. - post by tellio
    
    
  • I’ve also been trying to pull together a list of easy online sites where students write more for an “authentic audience” and meet the following criteria:
    • I am a sucker for lists like this. I am just going to visit and annotate a few of these, not a bad idea for students to do either using Diigo and a blog. - post by tellio

  • * The writing required would be short, not lengthy pieces, that could be done in a reasonable amount of time — a few days at a maximum and preferably less.

    * The creating and posting process is simple — accessible both to my English Language Learner students and to me.

    * Posting the piece does not necessarily require any kind of ongoing commitment for communication — once it’s up, it might be interesting to check-back after awhile to see if there have been any reactions (if the site is set-up for that kind of involvement), but it’s really just a matter of sticking it up there in a place that gets a fair amount of “traffic” and  knowing that it’s likely others will read it.

    * There seems to be some kind of enforced standards for all the content that’s posted on the site.  In other words,  when students explore it to see models of what others have written, it’s unlikely they will encounter something that is inappropriate for classroom use.

    • Larry Ferlazzo's Authentic Writing Criteria in a Nutshell 1. Make 'em short to produce and do. 2. Make publishing simple and accessible. 3. Write and done and move on to the next task. 4. Make sure the publishing site has a cop. - post by tellio
    
    
  • What Percent lets you state a simple opinion
    • you need to sign up to comment, but does allow you to do a little more indepth research on issue. - post by tellio
    
    
  • Recipe Key lets you drag-and-drop items into a virtual pantry
    • Perfect for classroom recipe books. Perfect for family living activities. Students need to know about online food info. This is one of many. In fact it would make a very authentic writing to get students to gather cool, student-centric food/recipe websites together for an annotated post. - post by tellio
    
    
  • Shelfari, though, seems like a very reasonable alternative. Students can create their own virtual bookshelf and write reviews of them.
    • I use this one and find it to be excellent. You could start a new shelfari for your class, open up a new discussion, then have students discuss the book selected. After a round of discussion you could ask students to pick a top five then create a rubric in groups that would be used to evaluate the next round of writings. I know it would have to be adapted, but wouldn't this make for interesting action research as you compare first and last discussions using this method. - post by tellio
    
    
  • Library Thing is similar to Shelfari
    • Go here just to see this: http://www.librarything.com/zeitgeist - post by tellio
    
    
  • Zunal is a free and easy way for students (and teachers) to create webquests (though they might be more appropriately called Internet Scavenger Hunts).
    • Great idea in their demo for a math teacher to use writing as learning. http://zunal.com/webquest.php?user=1 - post by tellio
  • Travel DK, which lets you easily create your own online travel guides including writing reviews of attractions (Thanks to Diana Dell for the tip).
    • OK, you are taking a fieldtrip or a class group (Ok imagine you have the money to do this or just do it virtually). Do this guide first, then do 'reporting' while there, then do a follow up. Print the book and allow folks to buy it and buy one for the library. Documenting one's life is an old idea, but now everyone can do it. Shouldn't we show them before they make a dog's breakfast of it on MySpace or Facebook? - post by tellio
    
    
  • Students can pick a painting, or create their own artwork, and then write a story about it at  The Art of Storytelling. 
    • A great idea, execution is very simple, requires a quiet place for students to record. Constrained to the art in their museum, but still a great way to demo the process that multimedia production might go through: image-->script-->voice-->product-->publish. - post by tellio
    
    
  • Students both asking and answering questions at the various online Wiki-like sites like Yahoo Answers, WikiAnswers, and Wikianswers (yes, the last two are indeed different sites) are definitely examples of writing for an “authentic audience.” 
    • I can't even begin to draw out the implications for authentic writing here. Perhaps the class could keep a list of running questions that need answering at one of these sites. Allow any student to publicly add to the list, take a cellphone picture of the list, prilnt it out and allow students to work at "fallow" times of the day. My motto in any classroom: always have something cool to do. - post by tellio
    
    
  • My Hero is a site where students can write about people they view as…heroes. You can register and create a multimedia webpage about your choices, but, even better (at least, in my view), you can go to the Guestbook area and write a short piece that appears immediately (there are automatic filters to screen content, plus it’s manually screened later).
    • This site has evolved quite beautifully over the last five years into one of the most interesting project sites on the web. If you like multimedia then you might like to start the year doing a film. Check it out: http://myhero.com/myhero/go/filmfestival/ff_inform.asp - post by tellio

  • BBC Memoryshare is a “place to share and explore memories.” The site has a cool-looking timeline where you can access memories that people have written — on just about anything.

    • Start you class's memory book, assign a class historian, begin to think in historical terms. The more you look, the more opportunities arise. - post by tellio
    
    
  • I’ll be creating another “The Best…” list sharing them (I’ve done this — The Best Places Where Students Can Create Online Learning/Teaching Objects For An “Authentic Audience”).

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

Lexipedia - Where words have meaning

http://www.lexipedia.com

 

Thought about the grammar demo today at the WKUWP24 and ran across this.  Try it out.

Big-name movies and shows, now starring you - Springwise

• Big-name movies and shows, now starring you - Springwise

  • Remove the lead vocals from a hit song, and you've got the makings for karaoke. Erase a lead actor from a popular film, and you've got the idea behind Yoostar.
  • Yoostar is a new technology that includes all the tools consumers need to digitally insert themselves in the place of original lead actors in famous movies and television shows. Included in the USD 170 system—slated to become available in July—are a studio-grade web cam with built-in dual microphones and remote control, portable green screen, professional stand, and Yoostar software that is PC- and Mac-compatible. Yoostar’s patented Active Immersion Technology begins by digitally removing original actors from iconic Hollywood scenes, creating clips with roles that need to be filled. Among the films to be available, for example, are “The Godfather,” “The Terminator” and "Psycho," thanks to Yoostar's partnerships with Paramount Pictures, Universal Pictures, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Warner Bros., Lions Gate Films, the NBA and “Sesame Street.” The system will ship with an assortment of such clips featuring 38 different roles, and more will be available for purchase and download from Yoostar's continuously updated library of film, television and NBA moments.
  • Once they choose the role they'd like to play, consumers will simply step between the camera and the green screen, get in the character's position and start filming. They can deliver faithful, on-script performances or choose their own interpretations; the number of takes is unlimited, ensuring that the user gets exactly the performance they want before wrapping the scene. In addition to recording scenes to their Mac or PC for local viewing, users can also upload and share them on Yoostar's site, where content is available for viewing, rating and competition. In true social networking fashion, user profiles, communities of friends, and embeddable players and widgets will all be available.

  • f there's anything the prolific members of Generation C(ontent) love more than creating their own content, it's giving well-known content a spin of their own. Could this lead to the discovery of the silver screen's own Susan Boyle? Only time will tell. Meanwhile, following its July 1 release online, the Yoostar system will become available through retailers on Aug. 24; might be a good idea to be one of them. ;-) (Related: Tuning in to a personalized radio tribute — Online auditions for a crowdsourced movie.)

    Website: www.yoostar.com
    
    

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.