District Wide Information

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"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

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

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

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

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

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

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.