Marshall Media Info Bits

District Wide Information

2012-01-29T14:40:00.002-06:00

I Love to Read Month and Dr. Seuss' Birthday
Wednesday kicks off I Love to Read Month ending on Friday, March 2nd with celebrating Dr. Seuss's Birthday. The following link is a wonderful resource of information about Theodore Seuss Geisel (aka Dr. Seuss). http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/politicaldrseuss/more.html
If anyone is interested in showing some videos about Dr. Seuss there are several available on Learn 360 in addition to the dvd titled the political Dr. Seuss that is available from the high school (this is probably most appropriate for students in grades 6-12). There is so much to learn from Dr. Seuss and his books and can be connected to history or character education that is taught in our schools. Did you know that The Butter Battle Book was in response to Reagan and the Cold War? There is so much to learn about Dr. Seuss and his political side.

District Wide Information

2012-01-22T21:56:00.000-06:00

Profile for Technology Literate Students

This week's example is from the Profiles for Technology Literate Students for grades 9-12.

3. Select digital tools or resources to use for real-world task and justify the selection based on their efficiency and effectiveness. (3, 6)
The Minnesota Learning Loop Teacher Classroom Resources, created by TIES, is a database of online resources linked to the Minnesota Academic Standards. It provides a great resource to address the Profile above. Using the filter by keyword, grade and content area you will find many MN Standards-based resources. Check out this K-12 resource at: http://learningloop.informns.k12.mn.us/resources
1. Creativity and Innovation
2. Communication and Collaboration
3. Research and Information Fluency
4. Critical Thinking, Problem Solving, and Decision Making
5. Digital Citizenship
6. Technology Operations and Concepts

District Wide Information

2012-01-15T10:49:00.002-06:00

Game-Based Learning
Below is a link to an article that was printed a year ago about what students learn in Game-Based Learning. I am still learning and following how Game-Based Learning is evolving and being used in education. If you are interested check out this article it references many of the leaders in this field including James Paul Gee.
http://www.utechtips.com/2010/01/22/games-what-exactly-are-kids-learning/

Math Videos to Inspire and Frighten
I must admit I did not watch the videos to frighten, but did watch the videos to inspire. If nothing else, watch the third video Teaching Math Without Words by Matthew Peterson. This may be something to further investigate! Please check it out!
http://www.fractuslearning.com/2012/01/10/6-math-videos-inspire-frighten/

Profile for Technology Literate Students

This week's example is from the Profiles for Technology Literate Students for grades K-2.

4. In a collaborative work group, use a variety of technologies to produce a digital presentation or product in a curriculum area. (1, 2, 6)
This profile can be seen in some of the projects Sue Strautz has done in her classroom this year using Prezi, Blabbercize, Animoto along with using tools such as a Flip Video camera and more! If you are looking for ideas that are happening in our schools stop in to see Sue or talk to your colleagues to find out what they are doing.
1. Creativity and Innovation
2. Communication and Collaboration
3. Research and Information Fluency
4. Critical Thinking, Problem Solving, and Decision Making
5. Digital Citizenship
6. Technology Operations and Concepts

District Wide Information

2012-01-08T17:22:00.000-06:00

Profile for Technology Literate Students

This week's example is from the Profiles for Technology Literate Students for grades 3-5.

1. Produce a media-rich digital story about a significant local event based on first-person interviews. (1, 2, 3, 4)
This profile is a great way for students to tell a story of wonderful things happening in our community or even in our schools where they interview other students or adults to tell their story and post it on a school or teacher website for parents and other community members to see. This is a great way for students to see how their learning is authentic.
1. Creativity and Innovation
2. Communication and Collaboration
3. Research and Information Fluency
4. Critical Thinking, Problem Solving, and Decision Making
5. Digital Citizenship
6. Technology Operations and Concepts

District Wide Information

2012-01-02T15:35:00.004-06:00

Using Common Craft Style Videos in the Classroom

Below is a short Common Craft Style Video that I made to explain how simple it is! Check it out! This video format can be used for student presentations or even digital storytelling.

I've also attached links to other information regarding Common Craft videos.

http://www.utechtips.com/2010/03/23/creating-common-craft-videos/
http://www.commoncraft.com/one-producers-perspective-copying-common-craft-style-videos
http://www.whenwework.com/2010/04/26/how-to-explain/

District Wide Information

2011-12-18T19:23:00.001-06:00

Profile for Technology Literate Students
This week's example is from the Profiles for Technology Literate Students for grades 6-8.
5. Evaluate digital resources to determine the credibility of the author and publisher and the timeliness and accuracy of the content. (3)
This profile is one I address in the library media lesson about website evaluations. I use the RADCAB website (http://www.radcab.com/) as a tool to help students know a quick way to think about and consider how to evaluate websites. It is important to remind students about website evaluation when using the internet.
1. Creativity and Innovation
2. Communication and Collaboration
3. Research and Information Fluency
4. Critical Thinking, Problem Solving, and Decision Making
5. Digital Citizenship
6. Technology Operations and Concepts

The NetSmartz Five
http://www.netsmartz.org/
NetSmartz Five is a free monthly email newsletter. Below is the December 2011 newsletter which is timely for the holidays, but helpful for any time of the year. All five things below include helpful information to share, but I personally like number 4 which includes a quiz regarding internet surfing habits. Check this out!

December 2011

Criminals use a variety of methods to trick people online. Check out this list of some of the most common online scams.

“Swatting,” a new and dangerous twist on the classic prank call, involves Internet pranksters getting swat teams to surround the homes of their unsuspecting victims, like in this case.

If you've been a victim of an online scam, you can report it to IC3, the Internet Crime Complaint Center.

Challenge your teen to test his or her Internet surfing habits with this quiz from the McAfee security company. Then, take it yourself and compare your scores.

Are you planning to avoid the in-store holiday rush by shopping online? Then you may want to read this article about some common methods of identity theft and ways to protect your family.

Articles and comments do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC). Any products or websites mentioned are not necessarily affiliated with, endorsed or licensed by NCMEC.

"Every week, the FTC hears from consumers about online scams--from phishing to spyware, internet auctions to foreign lotteries. Scammers use these tricks to try to get your money or personal information. But you can stop them: before you respond to that email from your “bank” or pay “taxes” on a claimed foreign lottery win, stop and think--and check it out at OnGuardOnline.gov.”

Commissioner Edith Ramirez,
Federal Trade Commission

District Wide Information

2011-12-11T17:25:00.001-06:00

Profile for Technology Literate Students
This week's example is from the Profiles for Technology Literate Students for grades 9-12.
1. Design, develop, and test a digital learning game to demonstrated knowledge and skills related to curriculum content. (1, 4)
This profile is related to Game-Based Learning. If you are interested in this check out edweb.net where there is a Game-Based Learning Community with monthly webinars and ongoing conversations about teachers and their interest and experience with Game-Based Learning. Marcia Ivers has done some of this in her classes and is a great resource too!
1. Creativity and Innovation
2. Communication and Collaboration
3. Research and Information Fluency
4. Critical Thinking, Problem Solving, and Decision Making
5. Digital Citizenship
6. Technology Operations and Concepts

District Wide Information

2011-12-04T21:35:00.001-06:00

Profile for Technology Literate Students
This week's example is from the Profiles for Technology Literate Students for grades PK-2.
10. Demonstrate the ability to navigate in virtual environments such as electronic books, simulation software, and web sites. (6)
This profile can be used in classrooms in a couple of different ways. E-books are available through the Park Side card catalog on Follett Shelf, an example of simulation software would be web-based games such as Spellathon (posted last week) as well as many learning web sites. Many teachers are already implementing this profile in their classroom...hooray!
1. Creativity and Innovation
2. Communication and Collaboration
3. Research and Information Fluency
4. Critical Thinking, Problem Solving, and Decision Making
5. Digital Citizenship
6. Technology Operations and Concepts

NBC Learn
http://www.nbclearn.com/portal/site/learn/resources
I posted about NBC Learn before, but I came across this again and feel it is a fantastic resource for teachers. This link is to the free resources available...check it out!!

Newseum
http://www.newseum.org/todaysfrontpages/flash/
Check out the Newseum - Washington, DC's most interactive museum. It's a clickable map; each city brings up the front page of the town's major newspaper. This site allows you to browse the front page news across the world visiting 60 different countries.

District Wide Information

2011-11-28T09:59:00.001-06:00

Profile for Technology Literate Students
This week's example is from the Profiles for Technology Literate Students for grades 3-5.
10. Apply previous knowledge of digital technology operations to analyze and solve current hardware and software problems. (4,6)
This profile is best with general troubleshooting techniques when having trouble with a computer. Such as restarting or making sure all cords and cables are properly plugged in. It is important to remind students that although they often feel that they know how to solve technology problems at home it is sometimes best to ask for teacher help at school so students are not held responsible if they make the probem worse. (I've witnessed students trying to solve a computer problem only to further damage the computer). There are many teachable moments in the classroom and with technology this is an important time to remind students frequently what is appropriate in solving technology problems and when it is better to ask for further assistance.
1. Creativity and Innovation
2. Communication and Collaboration
3. Research and Information Fluency
4. Critical Thinking, Problem Solving, and Decision Making
5. Digital Citizenship
6. Technology Operations and Concepts

Spellathon
http://www.spellathon.net/
The global and digital Spellathon is a new free resource for teachers and students to practice English spelling in the classroom and at home in a fun and engaging way.
Spellathon has been a successful, paper based annual fundraising event for learning disability charity Mencap for the last 18 years. In 2011, went digital where Spellathon will reach a global audience.
Registration is now open, so check it out to see how Spellathon can be a great resource to you and your students in your class or at home.

District Wide Information

2011-11-19T18:56:00.001-06:00

Profiles for Technology (ICT) Literate Students

This week's example is from the Profiles for Technology Literate Students for grades 6-8.
9. Integrate a variety of file types to create and illustrate a document or presentation. (1,6)
This profile is can be addressed in a variety of ways using web 2.0 tools such as Prezi, VoiceThread, Wordle, Voki, ToonDoo or Animoto. If you are interested in learning more about using any of these web 2.0 tools before trying them with a class project, let me know so we can focus on one or two together.
1. Creativity and Innovation
2. Communication and Collaboration
3. Research and Information Fluency
4. Critical Thinking, Problem Solving, and Decision Making
5. Digital Citizenship
6. Technology Operations and Concepts

Smithsonian's National Museum of American History

http://historyexplorer.americanhistory.si.edu/
This site offers hundreds of free, innovative online resources for teaching and learning American history. It includes lessons/activities, interactives/media, and museum artifacts. Our Story is designed to help children and adults enjoy and explore American History together. The following link is Our Story titled Martin's Big Words which is a wonderful way to learn about and celebrate Martin Luther King's Birthday. http://americanhistory.si.edu/ourstory/pdf/mlk/mlk_reading.pdf
Check it out!

District Wide Information

2011-11-13T13:05:00.001-06:00

Profiles for Technology (ICT) Literate Students

This week's example is from the Profiles for Technology Literate Students for grades 9-12.
6. Analyze the capabilities and limitations of current and emerging technology resources and assess their potential to address personal, social, lifelong learning, and career needs.(4, 5, 6)
This profile is can be addressed in a variety of ways. Students that take online courses, use of Edmodo as a learning platform and technology in the Careers classes taught at the high school are ways that this profile is already being used.
1. Creativity and Innovation
2. Communication and Collaboration
3. Research and Information Fluency
4. Critical Thinking, Problem Solving, and Decision Making
5. Digital Citizenship
6. Technology Operations and Concepts

One for Books Program
At each book fair held in our schools, we collect donations for the One for Books Program where Scholastic matches what we collect and donates to a national charity. We are fortunate then to take the amount collected to purchase books. These books are then donated to Adopted Families at Christmas time and the remainder are donated to Heart to Heart. This year we will be donating over $500.00 in books. Thank you to all that support this program through the encouragement of your students to participate. Nicole Mortenson's class alone collected $106.00 in coins to donate toward this program. We will have a collection box at the upcoming Community Book Sale at the high school.

District Wide Information

2011-11-06T13:19:00.004-06:00

Gaming and education:
The following article recently found in US News and World Report provides some insight as to how schools are using gaming to teach. http://education.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/education/high-schools/articles/2011/11/01/high-school-teachers-make-gaming-academic?PageNr=1
If you are interested in more about gaming and education consider joining the edWeb http://www.edweb.net/ learning community titled Game-Based Learning. This free professional learning community explores how to integrate games into the learning process to provide higher engagement and achievement for students.

Profiles for Technology (ICT) Literate Students

This week's example is from the Profiles for Technology Literate Students for grades PK-2.
7. Demonstrate the safe and cooperative use of technology. (5)
This profile is something that I address in one media class per year, but with your help and the help of parents this is definitely an important profile that should be integrated in all aspects of technology. Of course the more students hear about being safe online the better. I use Netsmartz resources http://www.netsmartzkids.org/

1. Creativity and Innovation

2. Communication and Collaboration

3. Research and Information Fluency

4. Critical Thinking, Problem Solving, and Decision Making

5. Digital Citizenship

6. Technology Operations and Concepts

NPR's Back-Seat Book Club
http://www.npr.org/series/141728003/nprs-back-seat-book-club
NPR's Back-Seat Book Club is another way for parents and teachers to encourage students to read! This is a relatively new program for NPR with the initial installment focusing on Neil Gaiman's The Graveyard Book. This is a fantastic read! Check out this Newbery Award winning story. This story can be heard in full length read by the author on his website during a national book tour.
http://www.mousecircus.com/videotour.aspx

District Wide Information

2011-10-23T13:15:00.001-05:00

Bloom's Taxonomy using Web 2.0 Tools

This Bloom's Taxonomy was developed at the University of Southern Indiana and is licensed through Creative Commons. I think this offers a multitude of educational opportunities. One of these may be a great idea to try in your classroom if you are choosing technology as a personal goal. I must admit I haven't tried all of these web 2.0 tools, but have used many if anyone would like to work together to try one. One I have recently looked at and looks like a fantastic resource is The Periodic Table of Videos. Check one out!

District Wide Information

2011-10-17T11:31:00.000-05:00

"How to get your kid to be a fanatic reader" by James Patterson
http://www.cnn.com/2011/09/28/opinion/patterson-kids-reading/index.html
Check out this article by James Patterson, author of the Maximum Ride Series and more. He reminds us that parents need to help encourage students to read too. There are a variety of websites embedded in this article to help promote reading. Please consider sharing these with parents through your teacher websites, newsletters and at conferences.

Profiles for Technology (ICT) Literate Students

This week's example is from the Profiles for Technology Literate Students for grades 3-5.

7. Conceptualize, guide, and manage individual or group learning projects using digital planning tools with teacher support. (4,6)

This profile might be something classrooms are already doing when individual or group Powerpoint projects are assigned. To stretch digital learning try Prezi.com or Voicethread for classroom or collaborative projects.

1. Creativity and Innovation
2. Communication and Collaboration
3. Research and Information Fluency
4. Critical Thinking, Problem Solving, and Decision Making
5. Digital Citizenship
6. Technology Operations and Concepts

District Wide Information

2011-10-09T21:22:00.001-05:00

Profiles for Technology (ICT) Literate Students

This week's example is from the Profiles for Technology Literate Students for grades 5-8.

8. Use collaborative electronic authoring tools to explore common curriculum content from multicultural perspectives with other learners (2,3,4,5)
This profile brings a couple of opportunities to mind. One is using TweenTribune.com, a daily online newspaper for tweens and an opportunity for students read daily news and to write/respond/comment on the news articles. Check out TweenTribune!
Another opportunity is using wiki or edmodo as platforms for students within a school or classroom to collaboratively work on a project together online.
1. Creativity and Innovation
2. Communication and Collaboration
3. Research and Information Fluency
4. Critical Thinking, Problem Solving, and Decision Making
5. Digital Citizenship
6. Technology Operations and Concepts

Elementary Level Teachers

2011-10-09T21:18:00.000-05:00

Momswithapps - http://momswithapps.com/
Thank you to Brenda Kellen for sharing this site! Elementary teachers using iPads in the classroom might find this blog helpful to find some fun apps to use in the classroom. Check it out!

Park Side Book Fair - Nov. 1-10, 2011

District Wide Information

2011-10-02T22:33:00.000-05:00

Pros and Cons of Controversial Issues
http://www.procon.org/ mission statement is "Promoting critical thinking, education, and informed citizenship by presenting controversial issues in a straightforward, nonpartisan, primarily pro-con format."

It has a tab on the home page called Teacher's Corner where it offers an outline including Lesson Planning with Pro-Con.org, Benefits of Teaching Controversial Issues, How schools use Pro-Con.org, How to Cite Pro-Con.org, and Quotes about Critical Thinking.

Profiles for Technology (ICT) Literate Students

This week's example is from the Profiles for Technology Literate Students for grades 9-12.
7. Design a Web site that meets accessibility requirements (1,5)
This learning activity is the focus of Web Design, a class at taught at the high school, but it can be something that other classes address when using a website to share and publish what is happening in a class. Students need to be aware of the need to meet accessiblity requirements so all that look at or interact with a website can do so regardless of special needs.

1. Creativity and Innovation
2. Communication and Collaboration
3. Research and Information Fluency
4. Critical Thinking, Problem Solving, and Decision Making
5. Digital Citizenship
6. Technology Operations and Concepts

District Wide Information

2011-09-25T22:41:00.000-05:00

Profiles for Technology (ICT) Literate Students
This week's example is from the Profiles for Technology Literate Students for grades PK-2.

This profile seems to fit well with a previous posting in August where digital storytelling was presented. Students sharing what is happening in class with digital tools and making a short PowerPoint or Prezi is one way to creatively use technology to tell their story. What a great idea for the upcoming district wide open house.

Once again, although this is presented for grades PK-2, it is a great opportunity for all grades to let students or classes of students "toot their horn" with the wonderful things happening in classes.
1. Creativity and Innovation
2. Communication and Collaboration
3. Research and Information Fluency
4. Critical Thinking, Problem Solving, and Decision Making
5. Digital Citizenship
6. Technology Operations and Concepts

1. Illustrate and communicate original ideas and stories using digital tools and media-rich

resources. (1, 2)

District Wide Information

2011-09-18T21:04:00.001-05:00

Profiles for Technology (ICT) Literate Students
This week's example is from the Profiles for Technology Literate Students for grades 3-5.
8. Practice injury prevention by applying a variety of ergonomic strategies when using technology. (5)

This profile seems to fit well with teaching students about physical dangers in using technology such as carpal tunnel syndrome, eyestrain, poor posture. Teaching students to take frequent breaks from using technology to prevent some of these physical dangers. Although this is profile is a focus for grades 3-5, this profile is one to remind students of all ages.

1. Creativity and Innovation
2. Communication and Collaboration
3. Research and Information Fluency
4. Critical Thinking, Problem Solving, and Decision Making
5. Digital Citizenship
6. Technology Operations and Concepts

Middle School Information

2011-09-11T12:06:00.002-05:00

The Marshall Middle School book fair is just around the corner. Watch for more information as well as posters in the building and flyers to send home. A reminder will be sent out to come in to choose books for the teacher wish list baskets.

Thank you in advance for your support!

District Wide Information

2011-09-11T10:38:00.001-05:00

Profiles for Technology (ICT) Literate Students
Along with each profile that I focus on each week, I will add numbers in parentheses to identify the ISTE standards that are most closely linked to the activity described.
1. Creativity and Innovation
2. Communication and Collaboration
3. Research and Information Fluency
4. Critical Thinking, Problem Solving, and Decision Making
5. Digital Citizenship
6. Technology Operations and Concepts

Remember these profiles are for you to consider how you are already providing Technology Literate activities in your classroom or to think of new ideas that you'd like to try.

This week's profile is for grades 5-8.
3. Gather data, examine patterns, and apply information for decision making using digital tools and resources. (1,4)

One activity related to this profile includes students using the MMS card catalog and resources to locate information for research projects or to simply know how to find and locate books of their choice.

District Wide Information

2011-09-05T21:47:00.002-05:00

Profiles for Technology (ICT) Literate Students

Each week I will highlight examples of learning activities in which students might engage. This week's example is from the Profiles for Technology Literate Students for grades 9-12. With the Profiles each week consider what you already do in your teaching that helps you to know that you are providing regular opportunities to use technology to develop skills that encourage personal productivity, creativity, critical thinking and collaboration in your classroom.
New Gadget
On the left side of this blog you will notice a new gadget. It allows you to follow my blog by email. Check it out and try it!

8. Model legal and ethical behaviors when using information and technology by properly

selecting, acquiring, and citing resources. (3, 5)

District Wide Information

2011-08-27T22:58:00.000-05:00

The Book Whisperer by Donalyn Miller

This summer I heard about The Book Whisperer by Donalyn Miller, then read the book in a couple of days and was energized. This, along with Camp Read-a-lot (a program through the MELSA libraries in the Cities) helped me to decide how I wanted to change the High School Reading Incentive Program. In essence, Donalyn is a 6th grade teacher that requires her students to read up to 40 books in a school year. She encourages her students, but does not penalize them if they do not read 40 books. She has a gift to help her readers develop a love of reading. Her students pass the Texas state reading test. As our district continues to work together to help students grow as readers and increase achievement test scores, students and teachers need to read, read, read. Teachers need to read too so a conversation begins to develop as well as a culture of excitement in sharing what you and your students are reading. This helps students develop a list of what books they want to read next. It is important for students to make a list of what they read throughout the year to help them realize that they do read a lot!

If you are interested in reading this book, each school library media center has a copy in the professional collection. Contact the media assistant to check out the copy in your building.

District Wide Information

2011-08-21T21:55:00.000-05:00

Welcome back to school!

This is my third year posting weekly on the Marshall Media Info Bits blog. I use this as a way to share information and new ideas to use in the classroom. I post every Sunday night and send out an email remainder to check out my new posting.

This week I will be adding new teacher names to the digital video library that the district subscribes to called Learn360. I will send more information via email to new teachers about this terrific resource.

Digital Storytelling
http://prezi.com/wjf0n4to97ck/digital-storytelling-for-communities/
Digital Storytelling is a way to combine telling a story with photos, background music and technology to present a short 3-5 minute video. This sounds like a great way for students to share with their parents and our community the exciting learning opportunities happening in classrooms. It is also a great way for students to share individually or in small groups what they are learning. If you are interested in exploring digital storytelling let me know if you would like me to work with you!

District Wide Information

2011-05-15T16:23:00.001-05:00

Thank you! - This the last blog posting until August. I appreciate the comments and email feedback about topics that I post. Feel free to browse through the archives of this blog to explore various learning tools and ideas that I've posted such as this last post for this year about Wordle.
Top 10 Wordle Lessons for the Classroom - http://www.brighthub.com/education/k-12/articles/58905.aspx and How to Make Word Clouds in the Classroom http://www.brighthub.com/education/k-12/articles/75426.aspx are two articles to share some ideas to use Wordle in the classroom. Wordle is a great way to have students show what they have learned in a creative way. Check it out and try it out!

District Wide Information

2011-05-08T22:34:00.000-05:00

Filament Games - http://www.filamentgames.com/
I continue to investigate and try out gaming in education. Filament Games has several games for science, civics (http://www.icivics.org/) , reading (for grades K-2) and more. I've tried Germs Make Me Sick! In this game the player decides whether to become a viral infection or a bacterial infection in a host/person. The player decides how to infect the host (airborne or physical). This game has a part that defines vocabulary used in the game. Check out the tutorial before playing the game.

icivics.org has several games too to help students learn about immigration and what it would be like to be the president of the United States. icivics.org has webquests to provide information to help gamers understand more about the topic that the game focuses on.

Filament Games seeks out teachers to pilot games they are testing. The information is found at this link if you are interested. http://www.filamentgames.com/gils/

If you are interested in exploring these games together, I am happy to work with you and your classes.

District Wide Information

2011-05-01T22:25:00.000-05:00

National STEM Video Game Challenge - http://www.stemchallenge.org/resources/Default.aspx
The National STEM Video Game Challenge site is an opportunity for middle school students to design and make their own video game. The learning opportunities for students is immense but primarily develops skills such as critical thinking stills, problem solving, and creative design. The timeline shows that this challenge begins in the fall of the school year, but there are some fantastic resources (Gamestar Mechanics, Scratch, Game Maker and Open Platforms) for teachers and students to design games to support learning concepts. I've used Scratch and have been to conference sessions where teachers from elementary through high school have used Scratch games for learning.

NBC Learn - http://www.nbclearn.com/portal/site/learn and Lessonopoly - http://www.lessonopoly.org/
NBC Learn and Lessonopoly sites provide some fascinating videos and lesson plans about the civil rights era, chemistry, climate change, the science of winter olympics, and the science of football. Check out these outstanding resources.

Math Teacher Information

2011-04-24T22:54:00.000-05:00

Get the Math - http://www.thirteen.org/get-the-math/
Get the Math is a project for middle school and high school students apply algebraic thinking skills in real world problems. This site provides videos and challenges to students to make a connections to careers with math related applications. Check it out and challenge your students!

District Wide Information

2011-04-17T20:42:00.002-05:00

Robert MacNeil returns to PBS to tell story of autism Minnesota Public Radio News - April is National Autism Awareness Month. This article introduces a six-part series on autism that will be shown on PBS starting Monday, April 18, 2011. As educators we are continuously learning about new strategies, best strategies for teaching and much more. It is also our responsibility to learn about this growing developmental disability. Check out this article and consider watching the upcoming series about autism.

Earth Day http://www.earthday.org/ - Earth Day is this Friday. Although we are on a holiday weekend break, this website has many great ideas to consider when talking about Earth Day.

Math Teacher Information

2011-04-10T23:11:00.000-05:00

Gaming in Education - I am so excited to share the following gaming resources with math teachers!
The following games are primarily designed for middle school students, but the concepts and videos might be appropriate in some manner from upper elementary grades through algebra in high school.

Math by Design - http://mathbydesign.thinkport.org/ - Flossville Town Park and Windjammer Environmental Center transforms students into junior architects.

Do students in your class ask "How will math help me when I grow up? Math in Action videos (found in Math by Design) help students learn how math is used everyday in a variety of careers, such as, how does a cake decorator/designer use math?

Proportionland - http://www.aptv.org/aptplus/flashlibrary/ - ProportionLand draws students in to “reason” their way through the eight interactive Attractions in this amusement park. Students hop on and enjoy the rides, but they must also explore and apply proportional reasoning skills to solve a variety of science-based, real world problems.

Rock-N-Roll Road Trip - http://www.stem.aetn.org/ - Rock-n Roll Road Trip World Tour is an experience for students to take a trip around the world with a rock band while solving real-life problems using measurement, ratio, and proportion.

Scale City - http://www.ket.org/scalecity/ - The games found in Scale City help students learn about the mathematics of scale. There are eight different games including World Chicken Festival, Louisville Slugger Museum, Kentucky Horse Park, and more!

District Wide Information

2011-04-03T20:40:00.001-05:00

Teaching the iGeneration - http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/feb11/vol68/num05/Teaching-the-iGeneration.aspx

Thank you to Brian Jones for sharing this article with the high school staff. If you haven't read it yet check out the link to the article. This article starts with scenarios of how technology is so intuitive to our students, yet we ask them to learn in an environment we grew up in "paper/pencil." This article illustrates and begs us to consider the idea of "engagement" with technology today so students are learning in ways that are familiar to them. If I can be of help as a "knowledge broker" or in any other way, please contact me. I love learning about new ways of learning involving technology. Consider reading this article.

April is Poetry Month - http://www.teachersfirst.com/spectopics/editors'choicepoetrymonth.cfm
Check out the great ideas and resources on this link to help you with poetry whether you are teaching it now in April or during another time of the school year.

District Wide Information

2011-03-27T13:56:00.003-05:00

Innovative Ideas That Make Sense for Those Hungry for Math Instruction -
http://theinnovativeeducator.blogspot.com/2010/02/innovative-educators-math-dream.html
The attached link to Lisa Nielsen's blog The Innovative Educator asks questions about math we as teachers are asked by our own students. "When will I ever use this?" "Why do I need to know this?" In this article you are introduced to Sal Khan, the innovator for Khan Academy. He started making a couple of Algebra videos for his cousins to better understand concepts in math. Today he has made over 2100 videos in the areas of algebra, basic math, calculus, finance, biology, and many more! Check out both the article and Khan Academy at http://www.khanacademy.org/ (You will need to view the videos at home since they are YouTube videos - sorry.)

District Wide Information

2011-03-20T19:34:00.000-05:00

Tutor.com for Military Families - http://www.tutor.com/military

The Department of Defense is funding Tutor.com for lessons and online assistance to children of active military personnel, which includes deployed U.S. Reserves and National Guard units. All immediate family members are eligible for tutoring.

Besides prepared lessons, Tutor.com offers online instructors who will chat, draw on a shared whiteboard, upload files, and browse the web with the student. This includes all subjects, all grade levels with academic help for K-12 learners including the following areas of study:

Math: Elementary, Mid-Level, Algebra I and II, Geometry, Trigonometry, Calculus, AP* level
Science: Elementary, Earth Science, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, AP level
Social Studies: U.S. History, World History, AP level
English: Essay Writing, Grammar, Literature, AP level

If you know of any students that may benefit from this, please share this.

District Wide Information

2011-03-14T21:49:00.000-05:00

Wolfram Alpha - http://www.wolframalpha.com/
Wolfram Alpha is a computational knowledge engine that allows you to enter what you would like to know or what you would like computed. If you click on examples you will find a wide range of things that Wolfram Alpha is able to compute or provide information. Wolfram Alpha is continually growing. This may be an excellent resource for you and your students!

Pi Day - http://www.piday.org/
Today is Pi Day (3/14) Check out the official website for Pi Day and find some wonderfully fun and learning aspects to celebrating Pi Day. You can shop, send Pi Day ecards and much more!

District Wide Information

2011-03-06T22:12:00.001-06:00

Congratulations to Vicki Radloff, the February Blog Comments Winner!

JASON Project - http://www.jason.org/public/whatis/start.aspx
JASON Project was founded in 1989 by Dr. Robert D. Ballard. The JASON Project connects students and teachers with scientists and researchers in science learning experiences in real- and near-real time. There is free downloadable curriculum available in the areas of weather, ecology, energy and geology. There are JASON games and digital labs available for free when you register. This curriculum is aimed at middle school learning, but could be adapted to other grade levels too.

NDSL (The National Science Digital Library) - http://nsdl.org/
The National Science Digital Library is a national network of digital environments focusing on advancing science, technology, engineering, and mathematics teaching and learning for all learners. Many resources including Pathways Projects and resources to support STEM teaching and learning.

District Wide Information

2011-02-27T22:35:00.000-06:00

Additional SMART Notebook Interactive Lessons - Holly Knudson, Todd Pickthorn and I worked together to purchase ready made MN state standards based interactive SMART Board Lessons for grades K-8 for Language Arts, Math and Science. I sent information on Friday how you can access these lessons. If you have any questions about accessing these lessons, please contact me. Teachers in preschool and high school should consider accessing these lessons too since these lessons can be edited by you to meet needs for your classes.

Information for Park Side Teachers

2011-02-27T22:29:00.000-06:00

SMART Response Systems - I was able to use the profits from the Park Side Book Fair to purchase two sets of SMART Response Systems (formerly Senteo). As soon as these are processed for check out they will be ready for use.

District Wide Information

2011-02-20T22:05:00.000-06:00

SocialBooks - I continue to read and follow new aspects inregard to ereaders and ereading. The following link is an app coming soon to The App Store. The premise of this is being able to read a book together with a friend or in an online book club and share reactions to the story or making notes or highlighting excerpts with those reading online too. This is a way to make ereading social. Check out the video found on this site to learn more about SocialBooks! (This is a YouTube video so you will need to access it outside of school.) http://www.getsocialbooks.com/

The Committed Sardine - http://www.fluency21.com/blog.cfm

his blog offers many topics related to what is happening in the news in relation to technology, articles of the history of technology, technology and education, and much more including a recent article titled "How To Use YouTube at School, Safely. http://www.fluency21.com/blogpost.cfm?blogID=1720 This article presents a new free website called VuSafe that lets educators search for relevant video content from YouTube and other sources. Read this article to find out more about this new resource to allow you, as an educator, to integrate YouTube videos into your classroom.
Why the "committed sardine?" Check out the left side of the blog with the link to committed sardines http://www.fluency21.com/sardines.cfm

District Wide Information

2011-02-13T22:26:00.001-06:00

"Can Ebooks Help Bridge Achievement Gaps?" is the found at the link below from the blog The Committed Sardine. I find many articles in this blog that ponder many questions in regard to 21st Century learning. Check out this article and consider joining The Committed Sardine blog. http://www.fluency21.com/blogpost.cfm?blogID=1704

District Wide Information

2011-02-06T10:42:00.001-06:00

E-Readers - E-Readers may be a consideration to engage students in reading. The following article makes me think more about this as an option for students in our classrooms. I welcome thoughts from teachers about e-readers in the classroom.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/05/books/05ebooks.html?_r=2&nl=todaysheadlines&emc=tha3

Congratulations! Deb Herrmann was the winner of the January Media Info Bits blog comments. Please continue to post on this blog or send your comments to me via email.

District Wide Information

2011-01-30T21:22:00.000-06:00

New Professional Materials available from the Middle School Media Center
Are you looking for new ideas in teaching vocabulary? The Professional Resources below provide new ideas for all content areas. If you are interested in looking at these new resources, send me an email and I will check them out to you and have them sent to you in our school mail delivery.

Bringing Words to Life: Robust Vocabulary Instruction by Isabel L. Beck, Margaret G. McKeown, Linda Kucan, 2002.

Words, Words, Words: Teaching Vocabulary in Grades 4-12 by Janet Allen, 1999.

Teaching Basic and Advanced Vocabulary: A Framework for Direct Instruction by Robert J. Marzano, 2010.

Vocabulary Games for the Classroom by Lindsay Carleton and Robert J. Marzano, 2010.

District Wide Information

2011-01-23T23:31:00.000-06:00

Internet4Classrooms
http://www.internet4classrooms.com/links_grades_kindergarten_12/whiteboard_lesson.htm
This link provides many, many resources with lessons for interactive whiteboards. Check it out!

District Wide Information

2011-01-16T21:20:00.000-06:00

Eduscapes - SMARTBoard in the classroom
http://eduscapes.com/sessions/smartboard/
Eduscapes - Engaging Learners the SMARTBoard Way provides many engaging activities and ideas to use in the classroom. Arts Alive Games looks like a great music website with many activities including composing music, learning about composers and a name that instrument game. Making vaccines allows you to make six vaccines in a virtual labratory (from NOVA science programming). In addition to some interactive activities, there are many Notebook examples of how to include fonts, colors, and shapes; include hyperlinks; rotate and move objects; as well as adding audio and video to your lessons and much more.

District Wide Information

2011-01-09T13:45:00.000-06:00

I have discovered two Art related websites/search engines. Hopefully these can be of help to teachers teaching art or looking for ways to integrate art into their lessons.

Artcyclopedia http://www.artcyclopedia.com/
Artcyclopedia is essentially an art search engine/encyclopedia to find information about an artist and the period of art during the time the artist lived, images of the artist's works.

Artsonia http://www.artsonia.com/teachers/lessonplans/
Artsonia is a free online art museum where all of the art is done by kids. The link above provides lesson plan ideas for grades K-12. This can be a great source for ideas! Sign up and check it out!

District Wide Information

2011-01-05T13:56:00.000-06:00

Welcome back!

Student Blogging Guidelines http://www.techlearning.com/article/23336

This article is a great resource to consider when you have students blog or comment on a blog for your classroom. Much of it is common sense, but great as a reminder for students. You may even consider requiring students to have students and parents sign off as a part of a blogging policy to follow for your class.

The Wayback Machine http://www.archive.org/web/web.php

The Wayback Machine is an internet archive dating from 1996. Check it out! Remember, once you post something on the internet it will always be there.

Information for Teachers grades 3-12

2010-12-19T11:21:00.001-06:00

Music Rules - http://www.music-rules.com/
Music Rules is a free educational program for grades 3-8, but I believe the information in Music Rules is appropriate for high school students as well. I am currently using this information at the middle school level to teach students about respecting intellectual property for music. This site has PDF documents with lessons and activities about ethical use of music in the digital age.

2010-12-12T21:24:00.000-06:00

Guys Read - http://www.guysread.com/
Jon Sciezka is probably best known for his collaborations with Lane Smith with the story The True Story of the Three Little Pigs. Jon has a website titled Guys Read to help boys become life-long readers. His website has a wonderful list of suggested reading not just for guys in a variety of interests such as, Great Series; War; Sports; Boxers, Wrestlers, Ultimate Fighters; and many more. He also has a tab where students can add their favorites and a tab where there are suggested ideas to start your own Guys Read program.

If you are looking for some great suggestions to parents or students check this website out!

District Wide Information

2010-12-05T11:07:00.000-06:00

Parental Controls at home - The following link provides a video as to how you can set parental controls on your Windows based computer.
http://www.microsoft.com/athome/video/parentalwin.aspx?WT.rss_f=At%20Home%20RSS&WT.rss_a=Safe%20computing%20for%20kids&WT.rss_ev=a

Kid Blog - This blog site is designed for elementary and middle school teachers that would like to use blogging in their classroom with a simple format for students at this age level. http://kidblog.org/home.php

District Wide Information - SMART Board lessons, resources and more

2010-11-28T23:32:00.001-06:00

If you are looking for more resources for SMART Board lessons than what you find on the SMART Exchange consider the following:

Scholastic SMART Board lessons http://www.scholastic.com/interactivewhiteboards/
Interactive whiteboard resources - Think Bank - United Kingdom http://www.think-bank.com/iwb/
SMART Board activities and lessons - Wichita School District http://technology.usd259.org/resources/whiteboards/smartlessons.htm
SMART Board lessons - Lexington, KY - 6-12 http://teachfcps.net/trt27/smart_board_lessons.htm

Professional Library Collections
Each library in our district has a Professional library collection. If you are looking for something, please be sure to look in our card catalog or ask me or a media assistant to help you find the resources you are looking for. We have quite an extensive collection at the high school and smaller collections at other buildings. Remember that you can request materials from any library in the district and we can send them to you via school mail delivery.

District Wide Information

2010-11-19T13:39:00.003-06:00

Marshall High School Community Book Sale
The Community Book Sale is here again. It runs Monday, Nov. 22nd through Wednesday, December 1st. Evening hours are until 8 PM on Monday, Nov. 22nd, until 5 PM on Tuesday, Nov. 23rd and Tuesday, Nov. 30th.

What is Transliteracy? According to the blog Transliteracy.com "it is the ability to read, write and interact across many platforms, tools and media from signing and orality through handwriting, print, TV, radio, and film to digital social networks." http://nlabnetworks.typepad.com/transliteracy/2010/02/transliteracy-some-thoughts-on-themes-and-common-ground.html

SMARTBoard Tips for cleaning and sanitizing:
1. Never spray anything directly on the SMART Board.
2. Spray Windex or Expo Cleaner on a clean cloth and wipe the SMART Board to clean it.
3. Get a 10% Bleach 90% water solution from you building custodian to sanitize your SMART Board.

SMART Board & a Sharpie...if someone uses a Sharpie or other permanent marker on an interactive white board, spray Aquanet hairspray (available at Casey's gas stations) on a clean cloth and wipe off the permanent marker.

District Wide Information

2010-11-14T21:10:00.001-06:00

Great Web Sites For Kids - Fun for Younger Children
Are you looking for fun web sites that are appropriate for preschool and early elementary grades? This link from the Amarican Library Association and Association for Library Service to Children offers several web sites. You may be familiar with some, but some may be new to you. Check it out!
http://www.ala.org/gwstemplate.cfm?section=greatwebsites&template=/cfapps/gws/displaysection.cfm&sec=6

Story Tubes http://storytubes.info/drupal/node/1
Story Tubes is a great alternative to book reports. The essence of it is making a 2-minute or less "my favorite book" video project to promote the excitement of reading and posting it on the internet. This is for grades K-12 students. I would love to hear if anyone has tried this or something similar.

District Wide Information

2010-11-07T23:09:00.000-06:00

Cool Tools for Schools: http://cooltoolsforschools.wikispaces.com/
Cool Tools for Schools has a plethora of web 2.0 tools to investigate and play with. I've looked at many of the tools and they look like fun such as the writing tools offers publishing, comic strip makers, writing tools, dictionary and grammar tools, and quoting and reference tools. Check out something that may relate to the subject you teach and try one or two. Let me know what tool is cool for you and I will share with our teachers and enter your name in the blog comment drawing for the month!

District Wide Information

2010-10-31T21:23:00.004-05:00

October is National Anti-Bullying Month
I realize that today is the first of November, but I feel bullying and cyberbullying are something we, as educators, need to continue to be aware of. The following website links provide resources to help us to be more informed and the pdf documents provide scenarios to use in the classroom as well as other cyberbullying activities including a word search of cyberbullying terminology.
http://www.cyberbullying.us/
http://www.cyberbullyingbook.com/downloads.php

Below you will also find an article about Facebook's Safety Page for Parents, Teens, and Educators.

Facebook Unveils Safety Page for Educators, Parents, Teens

2010-10-31T21:23:00.000-05:00

Facebook Unveils Safety Page for Educators, Parents, Teens

District Wide Information

2010-10-24T22:49:00.002-05:00

ABC's of E-mail Etiquette http://www.educationworld.com/a_tech/tech/tech185.shtml

Follow this link for an ABC listing of e-mail etiquette tips to read, consider and share with your students. Some are basic common sense and some are important for students to know given that e-mail has been something our students have grown up with and do not consider.

Park Side Book Fair - Oct. 25th - Nov. 2nd All are welcome to come to the book fair. We have extended hours until 8 PM on Tues. Oct. 26th and Thurs. Oct. 28th. Order the newest Diary of a Wimpy Kid book! It will be released on November 9th.

District Wide Information

2010-10-15T13:50:00.002-05:00

2010-2011 Letters About Literature essay contest
The Minnesota Humanities Center, along with local co-sponsors the St. Paul Pioneer Press and the Minnesota Council of Teachers of English, invites Minnesota’s fourth through 12th grade students to enter the 2010-2011 Letters About Literature essay contest. The contest closes December 10, 2010.

Sponsored nationally by the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress in partnership with Target, the contest asks readers to write a letter to an author describing how his or her work touched their life in a personal way. Authors can be of any genre or time period and can come from any country.

The contest focuses on reader response and reflective writing and has three competition levels: Level 1 for students in grades 4-6; Level 2 for students in grades 7 and 8; and Level 3 for students in grades 9-12. State level judges will choose the top essayists from each of the three competition levels who will receive a $50 Target GiftCard and advance to the National Level Judging. Prizes will also be awarded to the 2nd and 3rd place winners.

The national winners receive $1,000 and secure a $10,000 grant for their school libraries. Honorable mention winners receive $500 and $1,000 grants for their libraries.

For details and contact information, go to the Minnesota Humanities Center Letters About Literature webpage at http://minnesotahumanities.org/letters

District Wide Information

2010-10-10T17:04:00.001-05:00

StoryJumper http://www.storyjumper.com/
I discovered StoryJumper last week and needed to add this to my blog! It looks like fun and looks like a great writing activity for students to write and illustrate their own books. Best of all it is free. StoryJumper does offer the opportunity to print the story/book, but also offers to order the book published for a fee. Check it out!

Lit2Go http://etc.usf.edu/lit2go/index.htm
Lit2Go is an online service of Florida's Educational Technology Clearinghouse that offers stories and poems online. These stories can be downloaded to mp3 players or available as a pdf or online text. There are stories for grades K-12.

District Wide Information

2010-10-03T23:15:00.000-05:00

Maths Maps: A New Collaborative Project
http://edte.ch/blog/2009/10/31/maths-maps-a-new-collaborative-project/

This project is a great way to illustrate to students that math is all around us in our world. Using the idea in this link, you can use Google Earth along with the Maths in Madrid activity to see how this project may be helpful in your math classroom. Check it out!

10 Ideas for Class Blog Posts
http://edte.ch/blog/2010/09/25/10-ideas-for-class-blog-posts/

Another idea from the website link above provides ten ideas you might choose to use in a class blog post or perhaps as a part of your teacher website. Check it out!

District Wide Information

2010-09-26T22:31:00.001-05:00

Banned Book Week - Sept. 25 - Oct. 2, 2010
http://www.bannedbooksweek.org/info.html

http://www.ala.org/bbooks

This week is Banned Book Week. Check out the websites above to learn more about Banned Book Week and why we should teach our students about our freedom to read!

"During Banned Book Week (and every week), we honor two foundational beliefs--our rights to speak freely and make our own choices. We must safeguard these rights for children until they can exercise and demand these rights for themselves. "(Miller, 2009)

Miller, Donalyn. "Banned Book Week." The Book Whisperer. 2010 Editorial Projects in
Education: 22 Sept., 2009. 27 Sept. 2010
http://blogs.edweek.org/teachers/book_whisperer/2009/09/banned_book_week.html

Minnesota Historical Society www.mnhs.org/school
Minnesota Historical Society is a great educational resource and provides opportunities for

teacher workshops,
History Day (History Day is an exciting co-curricular program that encourages young people to explore a historical subject related to an annual theme. The 2011 theme is "Debate & Diplomacy in History: Successes, Failures, Consequences."),
School Outreach Programs (where History Players come to you! Using props and artifacts, costumed History Players engage students in their memorable life stories.)
and a wonderful State Capitol field trip like our students in grade 6 have taken advantage of for many years.

If you are looking for another way to enhance your curriculum, you may consider attending a teacher workshop or look to have a History Player come to your school to help bring history to life!

District Wide Information

2010-09-17T11:00:00.001-05:00

LCD Projectors in your classroom
Have you gotten a notice that your projector is overheating? It is important to have the filter in the LCD projectors cleaned now and then. This will help keep the air flowing in the projector to keep the bulb cooled. If there is not something in place to have the filter cleaned, please add a reminder on your calendar to clean it or have a custodian clean it monthly or every other month.

It is important to extend the life of the bulb in the LCD projectors so if you are not using your SMART board or the projector for a half hour, turn off the projector. This also helps reduce overheating the projector.

If you have any questions, please contact me.

Zoom Sci http://pbskids.org/zoom/activities/sci/#sound
Zoom Sci is a great site with many science activities in the following science areas: chemistry, engineering, the five senses, forces, life science, patterns, sound, structures, and water. Check it out!

District Wide Information

2010-09-12T21:38:00.000-05:00

ELM - http://www.elm4you.org/

Do you know what ELM is? ELM stands for Electronic Library for Minnesota. It is a tax paid resource available to all residents of Minnesota. These resources include online access to magazine, journal, and newspaper articles, eBooks (electronic books), and information from other reference sources. ELM provides information on a vast array of topics, including consumer information, arts and humanities, current events, health, science, social science, politics, business, education, and more.

If you are interested in how this resource can help you and your students contact Diane via email to schedule a short 15-20 minute overview.

District Wide Information

2010-09-06T22:24:00.001-05:00

How to access the library media resource pages through the new district website for each school
1. Go to the Marshall Public Schools website at http://www.marshall.k12.mn.us/
2. From the Departments tab click on media center
3. Click on the school media center that you are trying access then click on that school's resource page. This will allow you to access websites, databases and the card catalog.

Teaching with Computers (a tip from 180 Technology Tips at http://www.180techtips.com/108.htm)

1. Have students turn off their monitors while the teacher gives directions.
2. Try everything before you have the students in front of you.
3. If your lab has management software learn to use it. (Some of the labs at the MS and HS have Vision software for management)
4. Don't forget to check the Taskbar on student monitors as you wander around the computer lab. Students can easily wander off task when using a computer and many of them are experts at hiding what they're doing. They'll quickly minimize the windows they don't want you to see. Just remember to check the Taskbar at the bottom of their screen.

For more tips regarding teaching with computers, check out this link:
http://www.educationworld.com/a_tech/tech/tech116.shtml

District Wide Information

2010-08-29T20:15:00.001-05:00

Writing to Improve Reading http://carnegie.org/fileadmin/Media/Publications/WritingToRead_01.pdf

According to the authors of this research study (Graham and Hebert, 2010) this report from the Carnegie Corporation shows writing practices that improve students' reading ability. Practices include

having students write about texts they have read (through analysis, interpretation, personal reflection, or summary, or by creating or answering questions to improve comprehension through the act of students' reflecting on ideas presented in the text and putting those ideas in their own words).
explicitly teaching spelling and how to write sentences and paragraphs,
and increasing how much and how often students write.

District Wide Information

2010-08-22T19:44:00.006-05:00

Welcome back to school!

Media Centers will not open until Monday, August 30th unless the media assistants and I can get things in order before then. Media assistants start work tomorrow (Monday, August 23rd and only work on student contact days). Please know that if possible we will open the media centers as soon as possible. An announcement or email will be sent if the media center is able to open before next Monday.
Some things that need to be done before the media centers can be opened...

new student and teacher library accounts
AR rosters updated
library decorations completed

Like last year, this blog is my way of sharing ideas, websites and media information district wide throughout the school year. I post every Sunday evening and then send an email reminder to all in the district to check out my blog.

Last year I asked teachers and staff to comment on my blog or send me an email comment so I had some interaction with teachers asking to provide constructive comments about the postings. I kept track of everyone that sent comments and I had a monthly drawing for those that sent comments to win a prize.
Please send me a comment if you'd like me to continue the comment option to win a prize (last year I gave away a USB drive each month!) I look forward to hearing from you!

For those of you new to reading my blog, I have many great websites you should check out. Some include information about reading strategies, some are about internet safety and much more. Also note that I have my schedule posted on the left side of the blog as well as the names of the media assistants in each building. I will be updating the dates as to when the book fairs will be held at each building.

At the Middle School and High School I will be contacting teachers about library media orientation. At the high school, I would especially like to meet with 9th grade students at the high school. At the elementary buildings proper care of books and check out procedures will be taught at Story time and at the first library media lessons.

I will be in touch with teachers at the elementary and middle school levels about library lessons for the school year.

I look forward to a great year and enjoy working with you and the students in Marshall Public Schools!

District Wide Information

2010-05-31T20:50:00.002-05:00

Thank you and More to come in August 2010
This will be my last posting for Marshall Media Info Bits for the 2009-2010 school year. I want to express my gratitude to all teachers, staff and school district personnel that have commented on my blog or sent an email with comments. I appreciate your feedback about things that I've posted. Tomorrow I will announce the May winner for the Media Info Bits blog comments.

I hope you will continue to read my weekly blog postings next year. Have a great summer break!

Grants & Funding Opportunities

Public Welfare Foundation: Grants for Organizations that Serve Disadvantaged Communities
The Public Welfare Foundation supports organizations that address human needs in disadvantaged communities, with strong emphasis on organizations that include service, advocacy, and empowerment in their approach -- service that remedies specific problems; advocacy that addresses those problems in a systemic way through changes in public policy; and strategies to empower people in need to play leading roles in achieving those policy changes and in remedying specific problems. The foundation provides both general support and project-specific grants. The foundation is currently focusing on three program areas: criminal and juvenile justice, health reform, and workers' rights. Maximum award: $50,000. Eligibility: public and private entities, including nonprofit organizations and for-profit organizations. Deadline: June 26, 2010.
http://www.publicwelfare.org/ApplyGrant/Guidelines.aspx#deadlines

Finish Line Youth Foundation: Grants Program
Finish Line Youth Foundation Grants fund organizations that provide opportunities for youth participation in athletic programs promoting an active lifestyle and team-building skills, and established camps that emphasize sports and an active lifestyle, especially those serving disadvantaged and special-needs kids. Maximum award: $5,000. Eligibility: 501c(3) organizations that serve youth 18 years and younger. Deadline: June 30, 2010.
http://www.finishline.com/store/youthfoundation/youthfoundation.jsp

Dow Jones News Fund: High School Journalism Teacher of the Year
The DJNF High School Journalism Teacher of the Year program identifies outstanding high school journalism teachers. The winning teacher addresses the Journalism Education Association/National Scholastic Press Association, the Columbia Scholastic Press Association, the American Society of News Editors, and college journalism educators. Maximum award: a laptop computer; travel and lodging expenses and a per diem for substitute teacher fees during address and seminar; a quarterly column for the fund's newspaper, Adviser Update; and attendance at a seminar at the Poynter Institute for Media Studies in St. Petersburg, Fla. A senior student at the winning teacher's school will receive a $1,000 college scholarship to major in news-editorial journalism based on his or her performance in a writing contest. Eligibility: high school journalism teachers with at least three years' experience who have done exemplary work in the 2009-2010 academic year. Deadline: July 1, 2010.
https://www.newsfund.org/PageText/Prg_HomePages.aspx?Page_ID=Prg_Te...

United Methodist Women: A Brighter Future Grants
The Women's Division of the United Methodist General Board of Ministries offers grants for projects and programs that address the needs of children and young people between the ages of 5 to 18 in the areas of violence prevention, anti-abuse, and relationship abuse. Maximum award: $4,000. Eligibility: small-scale, community- and church-based programs and projects. Groups affiliated with national organizations, hospitals, and organizations with budgets totaling more than $3,000,000 will not be reviewed. Deadline: July 1, 2010.
http://new.gbgm-umc.org/umw/give/grants/brighterfuture/

Broad Center for the Management of School Systems: Superintendents Academy
The Broad Center for the Management of School Systems Superintendents Academy seeks leaders from business, the military, government, education, and nonprofit organizations to make an immediate impact as CEOs and senior executives in urban school districts. Maximum award: participation in the Broad Superintendents Academy. Eligibility: those with significant leadership and management experience at the central office level or the equivalent in another field. Deadline: August 13, 2010.
http://broadacademy.org/join/leaders.html

MHS and Middle School Information

2010-05-23T22:07:00.004-05:00

Poll Everywhere
http://www.polleverywhere.com/

TryPoll Everywhere yet this year. This may be a great way to check for understanding or just have fun with this web 2.0 tool using student cell phones in school.

Poll Everywhere is a simple text message voting application that works well for live audiences. People vote by sending text messages (or using Twitter) to options displayed on-screen. The poll that is embedded within the presentation or web page will update in real time.

You can vote by following the instructions shown on the poll when it is displayed. The poll does not need to be displayed to actively receive votes, but it does need to be "started" by the presenter on the edit poll page. In the US, you send a text message to the number 22333 that contains a voting keyword, like 1234, or blue.

The basic plan is free. It allows an unlimited number of polls, and up to 30 votes per poll. The free plan includes really great features: Live PowerPoint polls, web voting, widgets, Twitter, downloadable results, and more.

District Wide Information

2010-05-16T22:37:00.002-05:00

KissYouTube: Have you found a great YouTube video to support your curriculum, but could not show it in class because YouTube is filtered? Here are the steps to download a YouTube video at home and be able to play it at school.

1. First, go to YouTube and find a video you would like to use for your class.
2. Next, add "kiss" in the URL in front of the URL address (for example, the URL now reads: www.kissyoutube.com)
3. Once your page has loaded scroll down to the to "Press Run to activate the download option. Then download this video on a USB drive.
4. So name the file as an .flv file type. (for example; dance).
5. Bring the USB drive with you to school and open a Notebook software file.
6. After you open a Notebook Software file, pull your Youtube video through the Notebook Software and play your YouTube video.

Grant and Funding Opportunities:

Mitsubishi: Grants for Youth with Disabilities
Mitsubishi Electric America Foundation Grants Program is dedicated to helping young Americans with disabilities maximize their potential and fully participate in society. The foundation supports organizations and projects within its mission that have broad scope and impact and demonstrate potential for replication at other sites. A major program emphasis is inclusion: enabling young people with disabilities to have full access to educational, vocational, and recreational opportunities, and to participate alongside their non-disabled peers. Maximum award: varies. Eligibility: 501(c)3 organizations. Deadline: June 1, 2010.
http://www.meaf.org/how-to-apply.php

Lindbergh Foundation Grants
Lindbergh Foundation Grants honor Charles A. and Anne Morrow Lindbergh's legacy by funding projects that improve the quality of all life by seeking a balance between technological advancements and environmental preservation. Maximum award: $10,580 (a symbolic amount representing the cost of the Spirit of St. Louis). Eligibility: Citizens from all countries may apply. Deadline: June 10, 2010.
http://www.lindberghfoundation.org/docs/index.php/our-grants

America's Promise Alliance/AT&T: My Idea Grant Program
The My Idea grant program will empower young people to help more of their peers to graduate on time, improving outcomes for themselves and their community. Maximum award: $20,000. Eligibility: high school youth concerned about the dropout crisis, and youth service providers that work with them. Deadline: June 11, 2010.
http://www.americaspromise.org/How-to-Help/Young-Leaders/My-Idea-Gr...

American Legion Child Welfare Foundation: Grants to Help Children
American Legion Child Welfare Foundation Grants to Help Children fund proposals that aim to contribute to the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual welfare of children through innovative organizations and/or their programs designed to benefit youth. Maximum award: varies. Eligibility: 501(c)3 organizations. Deadline: July 15, 2010.
http://www.cwf-inc.org/grantseekers/overview/

Verizon Foundation Grants
The Verizon Foundation makes grants that help people to increase their literacy and educational achievement; avoid being an abuser or a victim of domestic violence; or achieve and sustain their health and safety. Maximum award: $10,000. Eligibility: 501(c)3 organizations. Deadline: October 31, 2010.
http://foundation.verizon.com/grant/guidelines.shtml

Marshall High School Information

2010-05-09T22:35:00.002-05:00

Project Gutenberg - http://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Main_Page From this website you can download over 30,000 free ebooks to read on your PC or other portable device such as a Kindle, Nook, iphone or others. These books are free in the United States because their copyright has expired. Some titles include: Frankenstein by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain, and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain.

District Wide Information - SMART Board Tip and more

2010-05-02T22:52:00.005-05:00

SMART Board & a Sharpie...if someone uses a Sharpie or other permanent marker on an interactive white board, spray Aquanet hairspray (available at Casey's gas stations) on a clean cloth and wipe off the permanent marker.

"Net Cetera: Chatting with Kids About Being Online"
This document is published by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). It offer parents and guardians tips to guide youth in learning that the online world includs certain risks such as inappropriate conduct, contact, and content. Help empower youth use the internet in a safe manner while reducing possible risks. http://www.onguardonline.gov/pdf/tec04.pdf

District Wide Information - SMART Board tips

2010-04-25T22:50:00.005-05:00

MPS Teachers, Consider joining the SW/WC Service Cooperative Online SMART Board User Group at http://swwcsmartboard.ning.com/ This networking group is a great way to ask questions, share SMART lessons, find resources and so much more!

Cleaning and Sanitizing your SMART Board:
1. Never spray anything directly on the SMART Board.
2. Spray Windex or Expo Cleaner on a clean cloth and wipe the SMART Board to clean it.
3. Get a 10% Bleach 90% water solution from you building custodian to sanitize your SMART Board.

Learn360

2010-04-19T09:25:00.001-05:00

The entire series of Reading Rainbow is available on Learn 360! Check it out!

Elementary end of the year information

2010-04-18T20:41:00.002-05:00

A Nation Without Libraries

2010-04-11T11:07:00.003-05:00

I am sharing this information from Laurie Conzemius (SIGMS Communications Chair and proud MEMO member - conzemius@q.com):

This is a sad visual, but one that we need to share. It's not only in Minnesota: across the country we can see more and more school libraries taking the hit in school budget cuts. Take a look at this map, created by Shonda Brisco, and share it with others. More importantly, ask yourself what you can do in your state and community to turn this crisis around. The map is located at: http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF&msa=0&msid=117551670433142326244.000482bb91ce51be5802b
You can also read more about it on Gwyneth Jones' blog at: http://www.thedaringlibrarian.com/2010/04/nation-without-school-librarians.html

If libraries continue to be a part of budget cuts, how will students learn necessary 21st Century Skills such as information literacy, searching for information for school research projects, become critical users of the internet and other information, or simply promote the life-long love of reading whether it be from an actual book, a Nook, Kindle or other book reader.

Marshall Middle School end of the year information

2010-04-11T11:00:00.005-05:00

To allow teachers to plan and consider if allowances need to be made for their students please note the schedule below. Here you will find end of the year information regarding the last day for checking out books, when all books are due and when the Marshall Middle School Media Center will be closed. We will post signs about this around the school in May. Please send an email to me about any concerns about this schedule.

Friday, May 21st - Last day for students to check out materials

Wed., May 26th - All student library materials are due in the library

Thurs., June 3rd - Library Closed

Marshall Senior High School end of year information

2010-04-11T10:50:00.004-05:00

To allow teachers to plan and consider if allowances need to be made for their students please note the schedule below. Here you will find end of the year information regarding the last day for checking out books, when all books are due and when the MHS Media Center will be closed. We will post signs about this around the school in May. Please send me an email about any concerns about this schedule.

5/21 – Last day for checkouts for students

5/25 – Senior students: all materials checkouts are due

5/26 - Senior check out day for the media center to sign off that all materials are turned in.

6/1 – All student materials are due

6/3 - MHS Library Media Center closed, except for student check out day for the media center to sign off that all materials are turned in.

District Wide Information

2010-04-05T22:22:00.002-05:00

Celebrate National Library Week - April 11-17, 2010
This year the American Library Association's Honorary Chair for National Library Week is Neil Gaiman, winner of the 2009 Newbery Award for The Graveyard Book. Neil is a bestselling author for readers of all ages. Check out his website www.neilgaiman.com If you haven't visited your local school or public library or if you do not have a public library card stop in today! Libraries offer free access to books as well as many services including computer access, ebooks, database information and much more!

Upcoming: End of the school year information
Watch in next week's posting for information regarding end of year happenings for each media center. This will include last day of check out, last day all books are due and when each media center will close for the school year.

District Wide Information

2010-03-28T21:18:00.003-05:00

Kevin Honeycutt http://kevinhoneycutt.org/
Kevin Honeycutt was the keynote speaker at the SW/WC Technology Conference earlier in March. Check out his website! He offers many things including 1) Project Based Learning where he has lessons available such as Digest This! - a board game about the digestive system and Launch a successful podcast; 2) Tradigital Learning is his blog that offers a balance between the past, present and future in education 3) Art Snacks provides 10 minute tutorial lessons for teaching art...even if you know nothing about teaching art! All you need to do is sign up for an account 4) Cyber Bullying and Online Safety with many resources and 5) Plethora of Cool Tools including Google Sketchup. Watch out there is a lot on his site and it is easy to get lost on an adventure of exploring what he has available!

Another website that Kevin talked about that I did not find in his Cool Tools is Lulu http://www.lulu.com/ a self-publishing website that offers the opportunity to publish student writing. Check it out!

District Wide Information

2010-03-21T23:31:00.001-05:00

Grant Opportunity

ING: Unsung Heroes
The ING Unsung Heroes awards program recognizes innovative and progressive thinking in education through monetary awards. Maximum award: $25,000. Eligibility: full-time educators, teachers, principals, paraprofessionals, or classified staff members with effective projects that improve student learning at an accredited K-12 public or private school. Deadline: April 30, 2010.
http://www.ing.com/us/unsungheroes

Middle School Information

2010-03-20T11:57:00.002-05:00

Orca Books Teacher Guides http://us.orcabook.com/client/client_pages/teachers/guides.cfm

Do your students love to read the Orca books from our library? Are you interested in teacher guides to accompany the books? Check out the link above to access teacher guides for the Orca book series.

District Wide Information

2010-03-14T22:28:00.002-05:00

Resources for 21st Century Skills - http://www.21stcenturyskills.org/route21/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=40&Itemid=28
Browse this part of the www.21stcenturyskills.org website to search and locate resources related to 21st Century Skills. You can browse by standards, skills and core subject. Check it out!

Park Side - First Grade Teachers

2010-03-14T20:06:00.001-05:00

First Grade Teachers check out Follett Resource Lists. There are Resource Lists available for you so you know what books we have in the Park Side Library to support the Tried and True Texts for Teaching Comprehension Strategies. If you have questions about accessing the Resource Lists contact Mickie or me.

District Information

2010-03-07T22:39:00.002-06:00

Lock your computer
Just a friendly reminder to lock your computer when you step away from it. Just by simply pressing Ctrl Alt Delete you can lock or unlock your computer and keep school related and confidential information secure from students.

Celestia http://www.shatters.net/celestia/
Celestia is an interactive version of our solar system and nearest planets. This is a free downloadable resource much like GoogleEarth. Be sure to email Shawn and Todd before downloading this resource, but it is amazing to see and share with students when studying our planets and solar system.

NASA Learning Technologies http://www.nasa.gov/offices/education/programs/national/ltp/classroom/index.html
Nasa offers lessons for teacher use in the classroom. These lessons/activities offer opportunities for students to learn and discover about the solar systems and how it affects our planet earth. These lessons also make connections between science and math.

District Information

2010-03-01T07:57:00.002-06:00

Congratulations to Leanna Ginocchio! She is the February winner for Media Info Bits blog comments. Please keep reading this blog and commenting either on the blog or by sending an email to me.

Big Huge Labs www.bighugelabs.com
This is a wonderful web 2.0 tool that allows for a lot of creativity! Check it out on the left side of this blog under Websites to Check Out! If you'd like you can contact me to share what I know about BigHugeLabs to get you started.

High School Information

2010-02-28T22:24:00.002-06:00

MHS Teachers,

This may be an opportunity for students in your class. Please share with students that you feel may benefit.

Questbridge: college prep for low-income high school juniors
Questbridge, a non-profit organization dedicated to giving high-achieving low-income students resources during the college application process, is accepting applications for its College Prep Program for high school juniors. Maximum award: full scholarship to summer program, college admissions counseling, and attendance at college preparatory conferences. Eligibility: qualified low-income high school juniors. Deadline: March 29, 2010.
http://www.questbridge.org/access/collegepreptext/

District Information

2010-02-21T16:32:00.002-06:00

Free Online Puzzle Maker Sites

Discovery Education Puzzlemaker: http://puzzlemaker.discoveryeducation.com/ This site offers many different puzzle making options including word search, crossword, math squares, mazes, cryptograms, and more!

Worksheet Library: http://www.worksheetlibrary.com/ This site offers over 850 K-8 free worksheets.

Teachnology Free Worksheets: http://www.teachnology.com/worksheets/ This site offers over 7,600 free printable K-12 teacher worksheets

District Wide Information

2010-02-15T21:44:00.000-06:00

GRANTS, AWARDS, & FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES

American Civic Education Teacher Awards
The American Civic Education Teacher Awards recognize educators annually for exemplary work in preparing young people to be informed and engaged citizens. Maximum award: trip to Washington, D.C. to take part in an educational program that includes attending floor sessions and committee hearings in the U.S. Congress, meeting members of Congress and other key officials, and visiting historical sites such as the National Archives and the U.S. Supreme Court. Eligibility: elementary and secondary teachers of civics, government, and related subjects who have demonstrated special expertise in motivating students to learn about the Constitution, Congress, and public policy. Deadline: February 16, 2010.
http://www.civiced.org/aceta.html

Guardian Life Insurance: Girls Going Places Awards
The Girls Going Places Entrepreneurship Program rewards the enterprising spirits of girls who demonstrate budding entrepreneurship, are taking the first steps toward financial independence, and make a difference in their schools and communities. Maximum award: three prizes totaling up to $30,000. Eligibility: girls between the ages of 12 and 18 as of December 31, 2009, who are enrolled in middle school or high school and are a U.S. legal resident. Deadline: February 26, 2010.
http://www.guardianlife.com/womens_channel/girls_going_places/girls_going_places.html

Civic Ventures: Purpose Prize
The Civic Ventures Purpose Prize recognizes Americans over 60 whose creativity, talent, and experience is transforming the way our nation addresses critical social problems. Maximum award: $100,000. Eligibility: Americans 60 years old by March 1, 2008 and currently working in a leadership capacity in an organization or institution (public, private, nonprofit, or for-profit) to address a major social problem. Deadline: March 5, 2010.
http://www.purposeprize.org/prize/

American Historical Association: Awards for Teaching of History
The American Historical Association Beveridge Family Teaching Prize recognizes excellence and innovation in elementary, middle school, and secondary history teaching, including career contributions and specific initiatives. Maximum award: $1,500. Eligibility: K-12 teachers in groups. Deadline: March 15, 2010.
http://www.historians.org/teaching/Beveridge.htm

Kohl's Corporation: Kohl's Kids Who Care Scholarships
The Kohl's Kids Who Care Program recognizes and rewards young volunteers who transform their communities for the better. Maximum award: $10,000 scholarship toward post-secondary education. Eligibility: youth 6 to 18 years old, not graduated from high school by March 15, 2010. Deadline: March 15, 2010.
http://www.kohlscorporation.com/CommunityRelations/scholarship/index.asp

District Wide Information

2010-02-07T11:57:00.003-06:00

Technology Tip Number 96
http://www.180techtips.com/96.htm

Who Are You?
Identity theft does happen and it can happen to you if you’re not careful. If you’re worried about it here are some links that you can use to better educate yourself:

How wide spread is the problem?
It’s actually hard to measure ID theft. According to USA Today: “The FTC report determined that fraudsters had opened new accounts or committed similar misdeeds in the names of 3.2 million Americans . . . The average victim lost $1,180 and wasted 60 hours trying to resolve the problem.” More in this story about the actual numbers of ID theft victims here: http://www.usatoday.com/ (11/13/05)

And there's always more stories in the news about identity theft.

How to protect yourself?
OK, what can the average citizen do to protect themselves? Here’s a couple ideas: “Destroy private records and statements…Empty your mailbox quickly…Safeguard your Social Security number…Never leave ATM, credit card or gas station receipts behind…” for MSN Money’s complete list of Ten Ways to Protect Your Identity check out this link: http://moneycentral.msn.com/

What should kids know about Identity Theft?
They are targets too and they should be careful with their personal information. In informal surveys middle school students report that about 16% of them know someone who has had their identity stolen. Students are particularly vulnerable to phishing scams and they need to be very careful about sharing personal information online. Here’s a link for more information about phishing scams:
http://moneycentral.msn.com/content/Savinganddebt/consumeractionguide/P102559.asp

Elementary Level Information

2010-02-07T11:54:00.002-06:00

Kari Kay, author of The Floppy Cat, will be visiting Park Side and West Side Elementary Schools on Thursday, February 18th in conjunction with I Love to Read Month. Students will have the opportunity to purchase her book and other merchandise related to The Floppy Cat story. Please look for this flyer to be sent home this week.

Middle School Information

2010-02-07T11:32:00.002-06:00

Middle School Scholastic Book Fair - Planning is underway for the Middle School Scholastic Book Fair that will run February 22nd - 26th. There will be extended hours during conferences and shortened hours on Wednesday, Feb. 24th for the early out day. We will have a Community Service Project in conjunction with this book fair. This is called One For Books. Each advisory will receive a One For Books container where students can bring in loose change. The advisory at each grade level with the most change will win a prize. This change will be used to purchase books off the book fair to be donated to a local charity. Please encourage your students to participate.

District Wide Information

2010-01-31T11:24:00.002-06:00

Media Info Bits Live!
Join me tomorrow for Media Info Bits Live! This month the focus is on Internet Safety. As always I will present at 7:30 AM and 3:30 PM in the Middle School E-22 computer lab and I will provide a snack and juice.

Ezra Jack Keats Minigrant Program For Public Schools and Public Libraries
Minigrant Award = $500 Have you got a creative idea, but need some funding for it? Click on the link below for more information about the Ezra Jack Keats Minigrant Program. September 15 deadline.

http://www.ezra-jack-keats.org/programs/minigrant.html

District Wide Information

2010-01-24T16:06:00.002-06:00

SMART Training
Please send me an email or send a comment on this blog by Friday, January 29, 2010 if you are interested in Level 2 SMART board training. I need to determine if I will have enough participants to offer two dates for the Level 2 training.

District Wide Information

2010-01-17T20:45:00.001-06:00

Below you will find grant and funding opportunities. The first one may be something for the high school agriculture department to consider and the last one for social studies teachers in elementary, middle school and high schools may be an opportunity too.

GRANTS AND FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES

Fiskars: Project Orange Thumb
Fiskars Project Orange Thumb grants Fiskars garden tools and materials such as plants, seeds, mulch, etc. to eligible gardening groups. Maximum award: $1,000 in implements and materials. Eligibility: gardens and/or gardening projects geared toward community involvement, neighborhood beautification, horticultural education, and/or sustainable agriculture. Deadline: February 19, 2010.
http://www.fiskars.com/content/garden_en_us/Garden/ProjectOrangeThu...

National Summer Learning Association: Excellence in Summer Learning
The Excellence in Summer Learning Award recognizes an outstanding summer program that accelerates academic achievement and promotes positive development for young people. Maximum award: national recognition, increased press opportunities, conference presentations, and complimentary registrations, professional development opportunities for staff, and increased publishing opportunities. Eligibility: public or private organizations or agencies (schools, community-based organizations, libraries, universities, faith-based organizations, etc.) serving young people between the ages of kindergarten and 12th grade over the summer months. Deadline: February 24, 2010.
http://www.summerlearning.org/?page=excellence_summer

Sodexo: STOP Hunger Scholarship
The Sodexo STOP Hunger Scholarship program supports the education of young people working to end hunger in communities across the United States, and brings attention to the innovative and effective solutions they are implementing toward ending hunger in their lifetime. Maximum award: a $5,000 scholarship award and a matching $5,000 grant in their name for the hunger-related charity of their choice. Eligibility: students enrolled in an accredited education institution (kindergarten through graduate school) in the United States who can demonstrate an ongoing commitment to hunger-relief activities in their community. Deadline: February 26, 2010.
http://www.sodexofoundation.org/hunger_us/scholarships/scholarships...

Caring Institute: 2010 Caring Awards
The Caring Institute is now accepting nominations for its annual Caring Awards. Nominees should exemplify caring and serve as worthy role models for others. Award criteria include length of service, scope and impact of work, challenges overcome, and imagination and innovation. Maximum award: All winners are honored at a special ceremony, and young adult winners receive funds for college. Eligibility: individuals from nine to 99 years old. Deadline: March 1, 2010.
http://www.caring-institute.org/caringawards.html

National Council for the Social Studies: Teacher of the Year
The NCSS Outstanding Social Studies Teacher of the Year Awards recognize exceptional classroom social studies teachers. Maximum award: $2,500. Eligibility: social studies teachers who teach social studies regularly and systematically in elementary school settings or at least half time in middle/junior high and high school settings; NCSS membership required, self-nominations accepted. Deadline: April 1, 2010.
http://www.socialstudies.org/awards/teaching

District Wide Information

2010-01-10T21:45:00.004-06:00

At my December PLC meeting, I shared some web 2.0 tools that may be great tools for teachers and students to use with reading in a variety of ways. Some of these web 2.0 tools include http://www.prezi.com/, an alternative to powerpoint presentations; http://www.googlelittrips.com/, a way to teach where stories take place by using GoogleEarth; www.voki.com, a way to introduce a character in a favorite book or a way to start a book talk; and www.wordle.com, is a way to make word clouds to illustrate main idea and supporting details or a way to illustrate main characters and minor characters and much more. All of these allow for student creativity and differentiated instruction. If you would like help with these tools, contact me.

District Wide Professional Resources

2010-01-03T21:31:00.004-06:00

Look for the new professional books as listed below that are available in the MHS media center.

Asperger Syndrome, adolescence and identity: Looking Beyond the Label by Harvey Molloy
and Latika Vasil
Differentiated Instructional Management: Work Smarter, Not Harder by Carolyn Chapman &
Rita King
Differentiated Instructional Strategies for Reading in the Content Areas by Carolyn Chapman
& Rita King
Teaching Writing to Visual, Auditory and Kinesthetic Learners by Donovan R. Walling
Primary Source Teaching the Web 2.0 Way - K-12 by Mary J. Johnson

Middle School Information

2010-01-03T21:27:00.002-06:00

All middle school students now have the ablility to login to MPSFollett both at school and at home. The username is the same as the username to log onto the computers at school. The password is student. This allows students to place holds on books, check what books they have checked out and when the books are due. This also allows students to make their own "lists" of books. This could be books they have read or books they'd like to read.

I will be sharing this information with classes as I meet with them at their Monday lessons.

District Wide Information

2010-01-03T21:06:00.002-06:00

Welcome back to school!

Watch for information about the January Media Info Bits Live! sessions being held next Monday, January 11, 2010.

I've added a couple of new websites to Websites to check out! on the left side of the blog. The first site is AdLit.org: Adolescent Literacy Resources for Parents and Educators of kids in grades 4-12. This site illustrates the importance of literacy instruction in grades 4-12 through reading strategies that help students with various types of text they encounter in content area classes.

The other sites that I've added are "sister sites" to AdLit.org. Colorincolorado.org is a bilingual site for families and educators of English Language Learners. Reading Rockets is focused on teaching younger readers to read and helping learners who struggle with reading and learning. LDonline.org is a website on learning disabilities and ADHD. This site works in association with the National Joint Committee on Learning Disabilities and is an educational service of public television WETA in Washington, D.C.

District Wide Information

2009-12-20T20:41:00.003-06:00

Last Monday and Tuesday I attended the TIES (Technology Information Education Services)Conference. I learned a lot about Cyber Safety (aka Internet Safety). I have a new part to my blog with resources for Internet Safety, please check it out for a personal or professional resource. It is possible that some sites are only accessible from home.

Happy Holidays to all!

District Wide Information

2009-12-13T17:12:00.004-06:00

Academic Vocabulary Powerpoint Games - http://jc-schools.net/tutorials/vocab/ppt-vocab.html

I posted this website in my blog a couple of weeks ago under Websites to check out! I removed it because it wasn't accessible from school. I checked it from home and it is accessible. Thank you to Jessica Liebfried for calling my attention to this.

Monday and Tuesday - I am attending the TIES Conference in the Cities. I will be checking email though.

Blog Comments - Thank you for all of the blog comments!

District Wide Information

2009-12-06T22:37:00.002-06:00

Community Book Sale
Thank you to all for your support with the Community Book Sale. This sale is open until 8 PM on Monday and closes at noon on Tuesday.

F.I.L.M. http://www.trulymovingpictures.org/FILM/Pages/default.aspx
Finding Inspiration in Literature & Movies is a website that I've added to the Websites to check out! F.I.L.M. is a movie curricula program for youth promoting literacy, activity-based learning and service. Its focus is the development and distribution of free curricula based on Truly Moving Picture Award-winning films to channel positive messages and life-affirming themes into the minds and lives of youth. Check it out!

District Wide Information

2009-11-29T22:32:00.003-06:00

The Annual Community Book Sale runs Wednesday, December 1 - Tuesday December 8 at the High School Media Center. All books and merchandise is 50% off! This is a great opportunity to buy Christmas gifts and save money!

Remember I am still interested in comments about this blog! You can post your comments on the blog or send an email to Diane Konjura to have your name entered in the monthly drawing. This drawing will take place at the end of the day on Monday, November 30th (tomorrow). Good luck to those that have sent comments!

Media Info Bits Live!
The next Media Info Bits Live! will be Monday, December 7th before school or after school. Watch for more information that will be sent via email this week. Hope to see you there!

Websites to check out!
The newest link I've added is Tween Tribune. Here’s how TweenTribune works. Each weekday, Tween Tribune searches the Web for age-appropriate news stories that will interest tweens (generally defined as kids aged 8 to 14), and invite them to comment. All comments are moderated before publishing, so it’s Web-safe. To find out more go to Tween Tribune at http://tweentribune.com/