Cool Cat Teacher Blog is at coolcatteacher.com

Interesting article from ZDNET on the Open Source Initiative in California : First, it’s interesting to note that it’s nonprofits, not the textbook giants, who are producing the best books. The state looked at 16 titles and found that 10 of them met 90% of the state standards. Only four met 100% — and three of them were produced by the nonprofit CK-12 Foundation. CK-12’s other books all scored at least 94%. By contrast, Pearson Education’s Biology text scored a lousy 42 percent. On the other hand, Wiki-oriented groups like Curriki didn’t even come close to meeting the California standards; obviously they weren’t writing to the standards. There are so many standards!  I have to wonder if somehow we should consider writing open standards of some kinds - to me the multitude of standards for so many states are also a hindrance.  Just because California rejected it doesn't mean that some of the texts aren't good ones.  If California is the only one asking this, do we ris...

I've not ever accepted advertisers on my blog - Google Adsense just doesn't give me control. I have however, used Amazon Affiliate program, just because I share so many books and although it isn't enough to cover the costs I have with the various cool cat teacher websites I have, it still is a little bit. Well, recently Amazon has made it very clear that they weren't going to accept tweets as generating affiliate income.  Which was a bummer, although I didn't do it intentionally, when Kindle 2   came out, I tweeted it and had gotten about $80 in income showing in the affiliate account with amazon - but it came out that Amazon doesn't count tweets - so, easy come, easy go and they took it out of my affiliate income.  That is NOT why I do cool Cat Teacher, anyway. But when I saw I'vread on TechCrunch this Sunday, I was intrigued.  This newly launched website gives you two useful features: 1)  Tweet:  any book you've read @ivread and a review  ...

Students Get New Assignment: Pick Books You Like New movement to let students pick books they like - called "reading workshop." I could see how this would be good but also there should be balance. Interesting. tags : education , reading 50 Ways to Use Wikis for a More Collaborative and Interactive Classroom | Smart Teaching Some interesting ideas, with examples of each. tags : education , wiki 25 Surprising Facts About China’s Education System | Teaching Tips Julie Lindsay is in China and so I've been looking up information about their system. It is very different, but this is a fascinating listing of items about China and their system of education. tags : education , learning , information_change , web2.0 Mobile Vein Authentication Technology Looks like your veins may become your identification instead of your fingerprints. Interesting. tags : education , tool , mobile , science_health , virtual_communication , invention PeKay’s Little Author Facebook app that lets yo...

Curriki - AboutCurrikiReviewSystem This is the curriki review system. I think I may need some help getting started. I guess my biggest struggle as I look at Curriki is that I do lesson plans an entirely different way than most of these I see here. The core of what I have is a note on my methodology but a lot of information to give to students. We spend much less time here documenting things to go to administration and more on creating really good material for students. I guess it makes me nervous thinking about submitting what I do because it will not be in the format that most teachers are used to having - it is going to take me a lot more work than I have time for to share what I'm doing now on binary numbers, for example. tags : education , binary , learning , curriki Curriki - ContinuityofLearning Just received this in my inbox: "WASHINGTON DC (August 25th, 2009) - Curriki, the largest online community for creating and sharing open source K-12 curricula, was asked by the...

Image of Lisa Parisi I love Lisa Parisi and just think she is one of the best at what she does. (There are so many great teachers out there -- and yes, point to yourself!)  I particularly love what she does with Universal Design for Learning (UDL) and learned so much from the portion of her session at NECC that I sat in on. I was checking in on Lisa's Blog today and I saw a reflection from when she was on vacation in early August.  In her post My Vacation? words reminded me of me: " And now I am settled down for the night. My husband and daughter are watching television. I was watching with them for a while but my mind was churning. You see, as much as I love this vacation, love summer, love hanging out with my family, I can't s eem to stop thinking about school. So here I am editing wikis, planning projects, emailing collaborators. And I am wondering what is wrong with me. Why can't I just relax and do nothing?" You know, my dear friend Lisa... it is beca...

E-Learning Journeys: Join our Flat Classroom Workshop in Hong Kong 'Virtually' If you want to virtually join Julie Lindsay and Kim Cofino at the Hong Kong workshop coming up - please contact them. Sept 17-19. They will do an amazing job -- so, go to Hong Kong (on your computer.) tags : education , flatclassroom Intro to Cultural Anthropology F09 Home - Intro to Cultural Anthropology F09 This is the wiki page for one of my former student (she was in the first Flat Classroom class and in Tom Friedman's book along with me) -- thiws is what they are using for the cultural anthropology class at Florida State University. She was so excited because she was one of the only students in the class who knew how to use a wiki at all! She says the others are lost. It is time for you to wake up and smell the paper burning! Time to get on board and make sure students know how to use these tools! tags : education , wiki , tools Posted from Diigo . The rest of my favorite links are here.

Was totally intrigued by Mr. Bariexica's Honors British literature Wiki from Spring 2008. (He's northern hemisphere -- we need to stop using seasons and should rather use quarters, I think to bridge this hemisphere thing.) I think he's done a nice job of organizing.  Many teachers do take this approach -- one wiki for one course - however, I've found having a wiki for all of my classes and then archiving the old items and saving templates from the lesson plans to reuse for major items -- as well as let students see prior work of other students (which helps the learning curve considerably.)  (See my assignments from last week in Computer Science where I referred to work from prior years.) I particularly like the outline on the side of Mr. Bariexica's class consisting of the introduction, the major content, and then the class notes.  The only suggestion I'd give on class notes is to have them write their class notes in a Google Doc and embed the class notes...

Networked Multitouch Desks: Teacher/Student Features | ICT in my Classroom Multitouch student desks may be closer than we think. I'm ready for them! How about you? tags : education , technology , tools Posted from Diigo . The rest of my favorite links are here.

If I could sing you a song to start your year (or encourage you in the middle for those in the Southern Hemisphere) it would be this one: Take these words and pull them into your life like the oxygen you breathe: Lonely the path you have chosen A restless road, no turning back One day you will find your light again Don't you know Don't let go the chance Follow your heart Let your love lead through the darkness Back to a place you once knew I believe I believe I believe in you Follow your dreams Be yourself an angel of kindness There's nothing that you cannot do I believe I believe I believe in you Tous sais tu t'en iras tous sais Coeur ouvert à l'univère Ou suis ta quête Sans regarder derrière N'attends pas Que le jour se lève Suis ton étoile Va jusqu'où ton rêve t'emporte Un jour tu le toucheras Si tu crois Si tu crois Si tu crois en toi Suis ta lumière N'étint pas la flamme que tu portes Au fond de toi souviens toi ...

Jacques of all Trades Educational Foundations, Associations and Think Tanks on Twitter. tags : education , twitter Flat Classroom - ASB Un-Plugged The Flat Classroom group for ASB unplugged - if you are interested in participating in the conference in February Face to Face or Virtually. It will be so exciting! tags : education , flatclassroom , flatclassroomproject , flatclassroomconference ASB Un-Plugged - Transforming Teaching and Learning This is going to be a phenomenal workshop in Mumbai this upcoming February and Julie Lindsay and I are running a Flat Classroom mini-conference at this (the second of its kind - last year we were in Qatar.) With amazing educators like Doug Johnson, Scott McLeod, Bernajean Porter (helping w/ Flat Classroom miniconference) and also the wonderful students it will be great. We will have a few scholarships for students available this year, so go ahead and look at this and contact us at flatclassroom@gmail.com if you are interested in bringing student...

This summer, Julie Lindsay and I enjoyed playing with and reflecting on Microsoft Surface.  See for yourself and share your thoughts: There are many reasons I love such tactile-intensive devices including the fact that they have the possibility to 'cross the midline' something particularly important for younger kids.  This video is about 1/3 looking at surface and 2/3rds a video blog from me sharing the positives and negatives of surface computing and a challenge to those developing surface devices. Related articles by Zemanta Microsoft Surface: "I'm just a table right now" (istartedsomething.com) Learning at NECC And Beyond (coolcatteacher.blogspot.com) Microsoft Surface Has Twitter Client And Some Nice Healthcare Related Software (ducknetweb.blogspot.com) teaching education Microsoft Surface surface computing necc iste learning disabilities ©

iPhone Education - 4 Reasons Why Mobile Devices Will Transform How Our Kids Learn Fascinating reading for those (like me) who believe that banning cell phones in schools is like damming the Mississippi river without providing outlet - you might do it for a while, but eventually, the dam will break. Eventually the ban will break because of unenforceability and usability of these tools in cash strapped schools. tags : education , cellphone , tools Social-networking ban for sex offenders: Bad call? | Safe and Secure - CNET News .::. vor.acio.us.to So, wondering if this is going to be enforceable: Illinois Law banning sex offenders from using social networking sites. As of now, everyone can just use a different id, no one verifies who people are. Sounds like a good idea but just wondering how it would work. tags : education , digitalcitizenship , safety Posted from Diigo . The rest of my favorite links are here.

Image via Wikipedia I find the traveling, dancing self described "deadbeat" from Connecticut, Matt , and now spokesperson for Stride gum to be a fascinating study of both personal brand and social media. Particularly of most interest is this part of his bio : "Matt was a very poor student and never went to college. When he got older, he was pleased to discover that no one actually cares. Matt doesn't want to imply that college is bad or anything. He's just saying is all. There's other ways to fill your head. Matt is left-handed." Matt may have been a poor student, but he's a social media genius, creating a viral frenzy about himself and the product he represents. I'm not saying we should encourage kids to be like Matt... or should we? I'm saddened that Matt saw himself as a poor student, that no one looked at him and saw the genius lying underneath - I mean anyone who can get a gum company to send you on a world tour can't b...

Wikis in the Classroom This wiki presentation from k12 online a few years back is still current and on this page you'll find a low res and high res video as well as a notebook to use when you watch the video, a wiki grading rubric and a chart about the components of an effective Web 2 classroom. I just emailed it to another person - when people say they are starting wikis, I always send this out. tags : education , wiki , learning , bestpractices Posted from Diigo . The rest of my favorite links are here.

A Virtual Educational Theme Park With Thrilling Adventures For Kids | Wonder Rotunda Just got an email from this: "The Wonder Rotunda launched this month. You might call it a 'virtual world's fair!' This site is a virtual educational theme park designed to get kids thinking about the planet, what they're interested in and passionate about. On Wonder Rotunda, kids can do everything from zipline through a tropical rainforest, steer a submarine through the human digestive system, dive the Great Barrier Reef or operate a smoothie stand! Jam packed with 13 'game shows,' there is never a dull moment - yet they are learning and exploring every step of the way. And it features NO ads or social chat rooms. All fun and educational. Created by a D.C. dad who was inspired by the 1964-65 N.Y. World's Fair and wanted to recreate that experience in a new, fun online experience. A one year pass to Wonder Rotunda is $45!" I think we'll continue to see more of ...

A new study came out stating that online students in college and continuing ed programs score in the 59th percentile versus classroom students in the 50th percentile.  The conclusion stated in the article, Study Finds Online Students Outperform Classroom Counterparts , says: "The study, conducted between 1996 and 2008, focused primarily on college and continuing education programs . The New York Times reports that online students ranked in the 59th percentile -- markedly higher than the 50th percentile score achieved by those in the classroom. The study's leader, Barbara Means, said that online learning "actually tends to be better than conventional instruction."" Hold on a moment.  Two years a go we had three students enroll in Georgia Virtual High School -- two of the three dropped the course and went back to the classroom because they said they couldn't learn in that environment which was primarily text based. The student who stayed was the valed...

The Great Debate & Beyond : The History of Televised Presidential Debates Debate resources for those who work with debate. tags : education , debate , eracism , eracism_resources Posted from Diigo . The rest of my favorite links are here.

Image via Wikipedia It is 12:56 am and I'm about to go to bed.  We started school last Thursday and as you can guess, I'm not only in the throes of getting my students started but with one in elementary, one in middle school, and one in high school this year:  I'm in the throes of helping my kids get a good start to the school year. With things so busy, it can be hard to focus, so I've got a little trick going that has helped me at home.  My daughter's JV cheerleading squad sold candles this year, and so I got stuck with about 10 candles of various colors - I usually feel guilty about burning candles, but I decided: what the heck, I'll go ahead. A Candle for Each Area of Focus So, I've designated each candle for something.  My favorite candle is purple and I have it by the easy chair in the den -- when I'm doing my Bible study I burn it.  Each candle means something:  green when working on my finances, a pink one when doing things to take care of t...

DLTK's Custom Chore Charts Make a custom chore chart for your kids. I love the FlyLady routines (from the book Sink Reflections) for keeping the house clean and having the kids with routines is important. I used this for my 8 year old's routines and put it in a sheet protector to be wiped off at the end of each week. tags : education , timemanagement , organization Posted from Diigo . The rest of my favorite links are here.

NY City swine flu victim widow plans $40 mln suit | Health | Reuters If your school doesn't have the health department to come in and brief your teachers - you are not only risking health but also something like this. The city of New York is being sued with a wrongful death suit for not addressing H1N1 in their school more proactively. Call your health department and get a 20 minute session on it - it should be free and you'll be responsibility. Do it because it is the right thing and not because you'll be sued (although that is a risk.) tags : education , h1n1 , science , health Study Finds Big Storms on a 1,000-Year Rise - NYTimes.com "The North Atlantic Ocean has spawned more hurricanes and tropical storms over the last decade than it has since a similarly stormy period 1,000 years ago, according to a new study." This article would be excellent for some discussions in science about climate change. tags : education , science Posted from Diigo . The rest of my ...

Twitter CEO’s wife tweets about labor, ongoing birth of first child | VentureBeat So, I guess some people are OK with twittering their labor and delivery - however, as the Mom of a 9 lb pounder, 10 lb 3 oz, and 8 lb 12 oz babies - I didn't have time nor inclination to tweet these private moments. To each his own. tags : education , twitter , socialmedia Spelling Software - SpellQuizzer. Spelling Software to learn spelling words and lists OK, this breaking news from Spellquizzer 9software for helping with spelling: "I'm currently offering SpellQuizzer free to any educator who contacts me at http://www.SpellQuizzer.com/Contact.htm so if you know of any other educators who might be interested please let them know. They would need to provide an email address from an educational institution in order for to qualify." This is from an email from the owner. tags : education , spelling , edu_newapp yolink Firefox add on browser that I'm told helps with searching for conte...

The first day of school was today and it was crazy for me -- as a teacher, 5 classes and 1 homeroom - with my IT hat - making sure all 100 computers and 3 servers were running, the new PowerLunch program went well and the upgraded gradebook to PowerTeacher was running smoothly.  Actually, it went very well (considering) today. But, it was most exciting to me when I hit Computer Science first and second period. The first objective is to understand the digital revolution , and with some summer reading I had done this summer on EMP ( electromagnetic pulse weapons and natural phenomenon) we started there. If a nuclear device goes off in our upper atmosphere, the radiation that falls to earth will not kill us - instead it will knock out anything with a microprocessor.  It is pretty scary to think what could happen - but it hit me -- what better way to understand the impact of the digital revolution than to extricate everything digital from our lives to understand where an EMP ...

WNBA.com: Fast Break to Reading Womens National Basketball Association reading program for literacy coaches. tags : education , literacy , reading 'iPad': Analysts Expect Apple to Release Tablet Computer - Science News | Science & Technology | Technology News - FOXNews.com The iPad is coming, the iPad is coming -- apple tablet computer - sort of like a large iphone has rumors flying that it is coming very soon with a really amazing price point -- between $500-$700. tags : education , apple , gadget , technology , edu_news How to use Advanced Algebra II This open source textbook by Raleigh, N.C., math teacher Kenny Felder was part of the review of the first 16 digital texts submitted to California's review program as part of the free open-source digital textbook initiative by California's Governor Schwarzenegger. This textbook scored a 96 and met 26 of 27 standards. Felder teaches at Raleigh Charter High school. tags : education , math , opensource , edu_trends , e...