Bring the News Into Your Classroom

I just learned of this site DOGO News, from Richard Byrne's blog, Free Technology for Teachers. You can check out what Byrne had to write about the site at his post, DOGO News Create and Share Lessons about the News.

One thing that intrigued me about the site is that once a news story is accessed, a teacher can grab an embed code and post the story right within a blog post. I am trying it out now with one of the stories. Perhaps this specific story won't interest you, so I will try a second embed code and post another story. What captured my attention is that a teacher can easily embed one of the stories from the site and then post on a blog or website questions to ask students related to the story. The site also has a variety of other features for sharing as well as a link to CCSS and vocabulary terms. Be sure to check the options, and let us know what you think about how DOGO News can be used in the classroom.

Videos Feature Winning Digital Natives

See some wonderful digital media projects created by students, some as young as 8 and 13, and read their profiles to learn more about who they are. Youth Portraits at Eutopia features the stories of students showcased in the Digital Generation Project. This project is intended to help educators and parents understand how students are using digital media. Spend time reading the students' profiles and seeing their digital work. Afterwards, return to this blog and post your comments about the project. Which students' work did you find impressive? What have you discovered by viewing the students' profiles and work? Note what the students have to say about their education and how digital media has motivated them as students and learners. If you have some extra time, explore the Digital Generation: Educators section for specific teaching ideas. Let us know what you fnd of particular of interest to you.

Measuring Teacher Effectivness: Can It Be Done?

What about teacher tenure? What about merit pay? Should tenure or the alternate option of merit pay to replace tenure be tied to test scores? As the national debate unwinds about these controversial issues, we as educators need to stay informed.

When a post was made to the English Companion Ning, the posting generated a volumnious number of replies. The title of the blog, If We Can Put a Man on the Moon, We Can Certainly Measure Teacher Effectiveness, is controversial enough, and already 15 pages of comments have been left. By the time you check, more pages of comments are likely to have been added.

The English Companion Ning is read by over 12,000 English teachers, and surely other professional education nings and blogs are already generating a plethora of commentary on the topic of measuring teacher effectiveness. Just check the If We Can Put a Man on the Moon... and the comments posted to get a feel of some of the response in one community of educators.

This ning, The English Companion, is one of the most popular in the K-12 setting and is read by more than just English and language arts teachers. The discussion on the ning was started by Alan Sitomer, a former California teacher of the year and an author of young adult literature.

By the way, those interested in the teaching of literature and language arts skills, should check out the English Companion Ning regularly; it is a storehouse of information, and why not also join the ning to become part of the conversation.

In the meantime, post your comments on this blog regarding the discussion that has evolved based on Sitomer's blog and the whole controversy of a method to measure teacher effectiveness. Can it be done? Is tenure the answer? Is merit pay a better answer? What about using test scores to measure teacher effectiveness? If not test scores, then what else? Check out the discussion at, If We Can Put a Man on the Moon..., as well as Sitomer's What I Believe Measuring Teacher Effectivess is About. He has posted on the main English Companion Ning as well as within his own Page on the English Companion Ning; thus, you will see two forms of commentary in each place.

Top NCLB Advocate Reverses Position: Hot News and More to Follow

Yes, it has hit the press that Diane Ravitch, one of the chief engineers of the NCLB, has changed her mind after all these years. I will be posting more information, but in case you missed this big news story, click on the title of this post to get to the NPR coverage. Since the story will be all over the news, post links in your comments to other helpful media you find. Here is a quick ink to the story from the New York Times.

Photo, courtesy of Basic Books as taken from the NPR cover story.

YouTube Now Accepts College Applications

Some of the nation’s most prestigious institutions of higher education now encourage applicants to submit a YouTube video as part of their application. Okay, this might be a good idea on the surface. High school students already enjoy making videos and uploading them to YouTube. But what the college application now be made public via the Internet? Here are two videos high school seniors submitted as part of their application to Tufts University. Given I found them on YouTube and can easily embed them as ready-to-play on Blogger.com, what do you see as the pros and cons of college application materials moving to public spaces and social networking sites? Here's Chania Cohen's "Walk in My Shoes" video she used for her application. (Click the arrow to view it; the videos is shorter than 2 minutes.)



Here's Amelia Downs' math nerd and dancing video, also part of her Tufts' application.



These videos and others that students have submitted to YouTube as part of their application packet have had over a 3,000 hits as of yesterday. Tufts claims that this year as many as 1,000 applicants submitted YouTubes. Given the number, it is understandable why an admission committee finds YouTube a convenient storage site and easy way to access and organize reams of digital materials.

Some schools even send with acceptance letters a video that pops on the screen as soon as the student opens email. For instance, Yale sends a rendition of "High School Musical."

What's your response to the use of videos, especially ones available on the world wide web, as part of the college application packet? How do you feel about the application process being in public view? When was the last time a college essay had that many readers? Will a centralized blog or wiki, available to the public, be the way students submit essays? Or is the visual nature of YouTube and its capacity to store large video files that make it more so the go-to venue for telling admissions committees, and in the meantime the rest of the world, "Who Am I."

10 th Grade Graduation to Begin 2011 in Connecticut

The New Haven Register today ran a story about the soon-to-be 10th grade graduation in the state. Parents and teachers offered responses to the article. Read both the article and comments. I know I have posted on this topic two times in the last week, but given the reality that this initiative is in our own backyard, let's be knowledgeable and keep current of the dialogue. Read all about it at: State to Test Early Graduation Initiative. And see the other two blog postings from last week that speak to the initiative on both the national and state level. Even consider posting a comment on the New Haven Register page; there is place that invites comments.

Logo from New Haven Register, online.

Graduating High School After 10th Grade

Just this past Wednesday, Feb. 17, 2010, I posted an article, High Schools to Offer Plan to Graduate 2 Years Early, about students getting a jump start on college. I am now posting a link to read about the issue from the perspective of several educators including college presidents. Check on this debate using a posting from The New York Times, Feb. 18, 2010: A Diploma in 10th Grade?

The Gates Foundation has already funded such initiatives and plans to be involved in the 10th grade graduation initiative. School systems are likely to join the bandwagon knowing both private and public funding will be forthcoming. The federal government has already earmarked funding, and states have applied for the funding. One of the states to start the program in the immediate future is Connecticut, as part of the federal initiative. Several towns and the cities will be participating, and invitations have been sent out statewide.

Those of you interested in secondary education should keep current of the issue. In fact, those interested in education in the earlier grades might want to consider how the traditional K-12 curricular sequence will change with implementation of this plan.

After reading through the postings about the debate, via A Diploma in 10th Grade?, what is your position, and why?

Wi Fi School Buses

One school district has extended the school day by equipping a school bus with wi fi access and laptops. So far, the project is working well for this Arizona school district, where students have bus rides of over an hour each way. This same school system, which is outside of Tuscon, AZ, has also replaced textbooks with e-books. One spokesperson for the federal Dept. of Education has indicated the experiment is part of a wider effort to extend the school day. The company that manufactures the routers to equip school buses with the laptops already has contracts out with school systems in Florida, Missouri, and DC. Wonder how long it will be before the idea catches on in other places. To read more about this method for extending the school day, check this New York Times Article: Wi-Fi Turns Rowdy Bus Into Rolling Study Hall.

Photo credit & information : http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/12/education/12bus.html?hp Joshua Lott for The New York Times
Jerod Reyes, left, and Dylan Powell use their bus's Wi-Fi to do homework on their way to school.

Obama's Fireside Chat

Today, at 1:45 p.m., President Obama will go live on YouTube to answer questions from the public. The chat, broadcast from the White House, will be a webcast. YouTube users have submitted questions and voted on their top picks. Questions concern jobs, education, and government reform. With Obama seeking major changes to the No Child Left Behind law, the webcast promises to address pressing educational issues. To read more about the YouTube event and keep current on proposals to NCLB, check these two articles from today’s The New York Times:

Obama to Field Questions Posted by YouTube Users
Obama to Seek Sweeping Changes in ‘No Child’ Law

Here is the video of Obama's State of Union Address from last week. You will find other Obama speeches also at YouTube. How is online access changing how news is delivered to the public? What are your thoughts on access to new events on YouTube, as well as the fact that many school systems block access to YouTube videos? If you watch the YouTube public press conference today, let us know what you think of the format.

Peace Prize

By now, you have heard Obama has won the Nobel Peace Prize. Here's a link to some world reaction. If you care to, weigh in on the situation. At the end of the article, you will find comments from readers. As of 7:11 pm., Oct. 9, 2009, more than 340 comments were posted. Here is a link to a running debate on What Does A Nobel Do for U.S. Leaders?

Image from: Stephen Crowley, New York Times, Oct. 9, 2009