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Just because something works once does not mean it will work the next year. It is no secret that you CANNOT blog from Microsoft Word . The HTML gibberish and MS Office specific trash inserted into the HTML code has knocked down my feed more than once. However, my solution was an interim one. Have students write their blog post in Google Docs and then copy and paste over to Blogger or just use the Google Doc feature to send it directly over. Drawing a Blank It worked beautifully... until today.  If you look over at the TechnoCat Teens (this year's computer science public blog - every year they name it) -- you'll see lots of blank space where their posts on augmented reality and alternate interfaces for computing devices are supposed to be. Well, it is really not blank space, it is text that is transparent and the source:  Gibberish coming from... you guessed it... Google Docs. Charting a New Course So, I've swapped my lesson plans around and tomorrow we...

I am leaving Lynwood High School. - The BookJam "> - Annotated So many of the struggles of teaching are here in Alan's post saying goodbye to teaching for the year. Congratulations on his amazing improvements in writing scores! But certainly, his thoughts are understandable. Want to know why it is tough to keep good teachers in US public schools today... read on. tags : education Better health (less mass) as performance improvement | Dave's Whiteboard I enjoyed this post on health from Dave Ferguson - he's also doing weight watchers, but really, I hope people will be encouraged to find something that works for him - I love his comment in the "toolophelia" - how people disdain any approach to something that doesn't incorporate their favorite tool. It made me smile. tags : education health Posted from Diigo . The ...

Changing online education - Sneffel New tools to facilitate elearning are cropping up including this site that gives elearning students online whiteboards to share. (I use elluminate for this purpose, but there are other options.) tags : education productivity elearning Rebecca Zook - Math Tutoring Online Interesting tutoring website for help in math. This site was covered in mashable recently. tags : education math_teacher Smilebox Teacher's Toolbox Frequently Asked Questions INformation on the complimentary smilebox program. tags : education Welcome to Smilebox's Teacher's Toolbox This organization is offering a free one year subscription to smilebox for teachers. Apply here. You can do your parent newsletters, certificates, scrapbooks, slides...

How to add Evernote Gadget to GMail and Google Calendar Interface | VikiTech.com "> - Annotated There is a gadget for evernote for google calendar and gmail. tags : education productivity evernote Posted from Diigo . The rest of my favorite links are here.

I.N.K. Website out of the UK that catalogs non fiction for children vetted by several non fiction authors. tags : education literature literature_teacher Posted from Diigo . The rest of my favorite links are here.

Welcome to SwitchEasy Really cool thumtack mike for ipods for kids who need to record class discussions. tags : education productivity accessibility Posted from Diigo . The rest of my favorite links are here.

Grade Calculator This online grade calculator is a handy tool when you absolutely HAVE to grade by hand. Type the number of questions and it creates a grading chart! I like to print these out and put on top of the papers so I can figure when away from my calculator. tags : education teacher all_teachers Amazing Grade Calculator This is a great tool for students to use to figure out what their average is and what they need to achieve to get "an A." I also like to have them create a spreadsheet for this. tags : education learning Posted from Diigo . The rest of my favorite links are here.

Participant Registration the 9/11 national day of service and a group of organizations including Scholastic, hands-on Network, and others are revealing a curriculum for discussing 9/11 with students. This is a link to the webinar for this event if you are interested in bringing this material into your school. Listen via teleconference at: 1-(888) 206-4065, Confirmation: 27724119 tags : education learning service TV search appliance for media monitoring – SnapStream Enterprise - Annotated some schools are looking at recording programs and archiving on site. SnapStream would be a way to do this. tags : education video Win The Ultimate Prom - Win up to $25,000 for your school! To win the ultimate prom - $25,000 for your prom, this is the place to enter! tags : education contest CK12.ORG - ePub FlexBooks Beta free books available for the iPad from ck-12 including calculus, biology,...

Image by colorblindPICASO via Flickr I love running, this new sport that I started a little over a year a go. And now that I'm doing Weight Watchers , the weight is coming off. But the Monday of preplanning I sat in a really old decrepit chair and although I've been running 12 - 15 miles a week all summer, it was the doggone chair that wrenched my knee! So, I've been trying to run and sometimes walking being very careful to let my knee heal. The pivotal choice Today, I set my Nike+ on my ipod for a 5K. I like to run at least 1 5K a week, but it just wasn't happening. I stretched, walked, and ran for about 10 steps and said to myself: "I can either run on this knee today and perhaps damage it for the rest of my life, or continue to let this thing rest and have some hope of healing." So, I didn't give up but instead walked the 5K. It was hugely frustrating because I'm used to running. The track went by slowly but I did get to see some of the...

Global Education Conference 2010 - Flat Classrooms Global Education Conference is coming! See how to present and what to do. Chris Chater and I will be co-chairing the student presentation strand and hope to involve any of you who want to join in. tags : education learning Posted from Diigo . The rest of my favorite links are here.

Egretlist: A great to-do list app powered by Evernote « Evernote Blogcast There is just no alternative for this option. Egretlist extracts the checklists in evernote onto your itouch or iphone. I want this in the evernote app! tags : education productivity RightToClick Enables Right Clicking on Sites that Disable It Just because you disable right to click, doesn't mean you can't. This firefox add on re-enables right click. Watch out schools. ;-) tags : education hacks Is the Multiple-Monitor Productivity Boost a Myth? "> - Annotated Looks like the number of pixels is the most important factor. Personally, I love my multiple monitor setup, but this does make sense. (I'm forty and don't see hugely well for the really small pixels, though.) "there's an optimal number of pixels you need ...

So, those of you who read my blog haven't been lately! (That is unless you've read some old posts!) That is because school started about 8 days a go and my whole life has been immersed in starting well. Getting organized. Putting things in place to help my year. This summer, I read a lot about productivity, organizing, and goal setting. Call it part of turning 40, but these are things I've been getting. We know that the Pareto Principal talks about the 80/20 rule. That 80 percent of our success will come from 20 per cent of people. However, I realized this summer that could 20 per cent of the issues in my room cause 80 per cent of the problems! Yes! So, I listed -- what are the 20 per cent of things that are giving me the 80 % of my success in the classroom. Then... I listed the 20% of thing that were giving me 80% of my problems. My 20% of problems included: My color laser is the only one in the school that is publicly usable and it caused many interruptions. ...

OrganWise Guys These guys are so incredibly cute. We've been trying out the Organ Wise material in our elementary PE program and I just love their message on taking care of yourself. As we know from books like "Brain Rules" the brain is an organ connected to the rest of the body and directly influenced by physical health. You might want to take a look at this program to use with elementary PE. Just as cute as it can be. Our kids love "Sir Rebrum." Cute. tags : education health health_teacher Posted from Diigo . The rest of my favorite links are here.

Overview of what's new in Gmail - Gmail Help Some new features in gmail August 10, 2010. Particularly the contact updates are exciting to me. tags : education productivity gmail google Posted from Diigo . The rest of my favorite links are here.

It is preplanning and I've been fixing computers like crazy! Just got in my new HP elitebook with 8GB of RAM but unfortunately HP forgot to include the 64 bit version of Windows 7 in the box -- so I'll be without a school notebook another day, I guess. I'm just wondering how those teachers who don't have preplanning make it. I'm about to lose my mind and I have three days! So, I was thinking of some good examples for those who think preplanning is not important to teaching. Not having preplanning before starting school is like: Giving a 5 hour workshop without taking any time to prepare. (unprepared) Going to the mall without getting in the car to get there. (And how would you do that? Good question!) A person trying to shoot a movie without a storyboard and script. (unorganized and without vision) Having the first day of play practice with no script. (unplanned) Having your first football game without having practice. (unpracticed) Showing up for a job ...

It is easy to have courage when you're OUT. Out of school -- OUT of the loop -- OUT of sync.  In fact, OUT courage is when someone is on the outside looking in telling that person to be brave in the face of a struggle. Those I admire are those with IN-courage. Do you keep a positive attitude IN the face of struggle? When you are truly facing IN-surmountable odds - you're a teacher who had their preplanning cut and you have to start school on the first day with the students1 When you are IN the midst of facing furloughs and don't know how much is going to be put IN your bank account every month. (It is happening NOW in Georgia.) When you are receiving INsufficient training because all PD has been cut for the next two years because of budget cuts. If you keep your positive attitude -- if you continue to give your best to your students -- if you continue to act with nobility IN this situation then you are my hero. Teachers -- let's have some IN-courage. On...

SCAD > Experience > Design on eLearning My sister will be presenting at this conference on differentiation in elearning environments. (Look for Professor Sarah Adams from SCAD in the program.) Looks like an incredible event for elearning professionals. Below is the information from Savannah College of Art and Design. "The Designs on elearning Conference aims to cast light on > established practices in the field, on innovations in teaching and > learning with technology, on the challenges and successes presented > by the visual nature of the discipline, and on the benefits of > online and blended learning. It provides a forum for disseminating > and promoting good practice in art, design and communication and for > the exchange of ideas and information on the creative use of > elearning in development. > > Keynote speakers will include Reggie Smith, III, president of the > United States Distance Learning Association, Bri...

Image via CrunchBase Sometimes something I use gets me excited. Well, my son was typing his paper for his Honors Lit class and somehow was on a temporary profile. We're not sure why. When he logged on tonight, you guessed it -- HIS PAPER WAS GONE. I searched everywhere -- .tmp files and everything. Poof. It was gone and so was my son's hope. Well, I went on Carbonite - that handy new backup that I use and guess what -- I FOUND IT. I found it, restored it and had it back within 5 minutes after I had searched on the hard drive for the better part of an hour. We talk about backup all the time, but do we really HAVE a good backup plan?  I've had backup on a hard drive, but I'll tell you - a system that automatically backs up even the temporary profile before Windows ejects it into Cyberspace is something I just have to love. So, yes, I'm talking about it and no, they don't pay me.  I know there are other backups - Mozy and Sugar Sync get talked about a ...

QR Codes In Education? « Mr Robbo – The P.E Geek Still my favorite post on QR Codes in Eduction. PE and health teachers should read Mr. Robbo. tags : education qrcodes YouTube - Raising Digital Kids - iPad: The Latest Gadget My good friend Kevin Honeycutt has a great youtube show. This episode is about the Ipad. tags : education ipad learning One-to-one computing programs only as effective as their teachers | One-to-one | eSchoolNews.com "> - Annotated Most important factors in effective 1:1 computing implementations: 1) adequate planning 2) stakeholder buy in 3) strong district and school leadership MOST IMPORTANT factor -- "teaching practices of the instructors" Putting computers in the hands of kids doesn't make them any smarter than rubbing Einstein's head. It is how it is used -b...

Educause has long been a pioneer in disseminating leading information on the changes in educational technology, particularly at the post secondary level. They've just released their Educause Review Magazine online and there are some great articles. The Newsletter opens with an overview of the "open" movement where David Wiley shares about " The Open Future: Openness as Catalyst for an Educational Reformation. "  I love his blunt, "in your face" writing style that hits at the core issues but also share a call challenging higher institutions of learning to begin to wake up to the transformation that is happening with or without it: David says: "For the authors of content, resources, courseware, or textbooks, being open is about overcoming the inner two-year-old who constantly screams: "Mine! You can't have it! It's MINE!" Unfortunately, modern law and college/university policy tend to enable this bad behavior, allowing us...

New ID theft targets kids' Social Security numbers | Washington Examiner "> - Annotated The new Identity theft steals children's social security numbers before they have bank accounts. tags : education digital_safety Josh Silver: Google-Verizon Deal: The End of The Internet as We Know It "> - Annotated Net neutrality -- NOT going to happen. Verizon is going to serve up certain content faster if they pay for this. I use a Verizon Mi-Fi card and should this be what happens (looks like it is) then I'll be looking for a net-neutral internet provider. This in many ways is more than censorship - it is attention to the highest bidder. Companies already have the benefit in that they hire people to optimize their sites for search engines and boost their "ratings" however, still, links can and do rise to the top based upon what people write abou...

Image by thehoneybunny via Flickr From Josh Silver on the Huffington Post today: " Monday: Google and Verizon will announce a deal that the New York Times reports "could allow Verizon to speed some online content to Internet users more quickly if the content's creators are willing to pay for the privilege."" Net neutrality -- NOT going to happen? If this happens, Verizon is going to serve up certain content faster if companies pay for it. I use a Verizon Mi-Fi card for traveling and should this be what happens (looks like it is) then I'll be looking for a net-neutral internet provider. This in many ways is more than censorship - it is attention to the highest bidder.  Companies already have the benefit in that they hire people to optimize their sites for search engines and boost their "ratings" however, still, links can and do rise to the top based upon what people write about them. A school teacher in remote Georgia or Saskatchewan...

Cheating scandal at U.S. Open rocks bass-fishing community For those of you who do character education and live in rural areas. Here is a case study from the bass fishing world. A very successful pro was caught stuffing lead weights into bass before weigh in. tags : education character_education Posted from Diigo . The rest of my favorite links are here.

Day One = Pure Potential « Math Rules Love this blog post about the first day of school! tags : education learning OrganWise Guys Some cool information those who have health programs may want to use (particularly younger kids.) Some cool resources and games on this website. Here is the press release they sent me. This is sort of cool. "Get ready, It's Back to School! Starting a new School year is a great opportunity to introduce and reinforce the healthy habits we all want to instill in our children. The OrganWise Guys make learning about nutrition and physical activity FUN and memorable for children ages 3-12! We would like to send you a complimentary OrganWise Guys Back to School Kit to review and share with your followers. If you're interested, please provide a shipping address. Imagine if your body could speak to you. Really. Imagine if it could really speak to you. For chil...