Daily Education and Technology News for Schools 04/13/2013
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There are many nations (like Finland) who have national standards but local flexibility. This technologist writes an article supporting Common Core while saying that many don't understand what they contain. Honestly, I see another person who hasn't read some of them. My biggest issue is - who controls the standards and how can they be revised in the future.In a country showing a poor ability to keep politicians from writing standards, by centralizing they become easy target to the whims and sways of the pendulum of politics in the US. That said, I think national standards are likely inevitable.I just hope they put enough different people onto Common Core that group think doesn't send us in a very bad direction. If we have national standards and make it there, they become very important to our future as a country.
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Hangout With Explorers of Land, Sea, and Sky on Earth Day – News Watch
Science and elementary teachers CAN'TMISS THIS. Every hour on earthday will mark another hangout by National Geographic with scientists and all kidsof amazing people. Get in on this! This is one of those things to forward!! 'This year National Geographic celebrates its 125th anniversary and a long legacy of exploration, conservation, and research. Every hour of every day, National Geographic explorers take to land, sea, and sky (each frontier represented by a colored band on National Geographic’s historic flag) trying to uncover, understand, or help care for the world around us.
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Around the Corner-MGuhlin.org: Break a Few Eggs - Stepping Away from Google
Miguel Guhlin is doing what many of us are doing after the last straw - Google pulling GoogleReader. He's documenting how he's going to pull his dependence upon Google. For me, my biggest decision caused by Google is that I'll be moving to Wordpress over the summer. I do think Google Sites is next although I've received several heated emails that this isn't accurate - if you look at the market share of google sites, it is far less than that of Google reader. Yes, it is something educators depend upon but you get what you pay for. I think Google would be better served to have a freemium model -- if advertising doesn't pay for it, we'll let you keep the service if you pay. I don't know how I"d move from gmail. I just don't but if I had to, I guess I could. I don't think gmail is going anywhere, but I do have my personal email boxes going into that inbox. I agree wikispaces is far superior to Google sites. It started quite a few years a go with Google Lively and it has just continued every year. Thank you Miguel for your transparency. I hope Google is listening, many of us are still HOT about Google reader going away.As great as Feedly is, it doesn't have Diigo or ifttt.com integration yet which is a problem.
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Aligning My Project to Standards - Flat Classrooms
Yes, you can align your global collaborative projects to standards. The difference between this and a worksheet is that flattening the classroom is a fantastic way to engage, excite, and intrigue students while giving you a teacher-partner in another part of the world and a second set of eyes and inspiration for both of you. Flattening is a fantastic way to teach.
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The Current State Of Education In The U.S. (According To The Census)
US Census data is out and is being sliced and diced liked done on this edudemic article: 98% of students aged 6-14 are enrolled in school; 93% aged 14-18 are enrolled in school. 60% of 3-5 year olds are enrolled in nursery school; 92% of 5-6 year olds are enrolled in kindergarten. These numbers represent huge increases for the 3-6 year olds compared with 1970. In 1970, 20% of women and 27% of men attended college, compared with 38.6% of men and 47.5% of women in 2010. Generally only about 52% of school expenditures are for instruction. 29.7% go to ‘support services’ (a category that is not clearly defined here) Only four states spend more than $9,000 per pupil per year. 20 states spend $6,000 to $8,999, leaving the vast majority of states spending under $6K per year, per pupil.
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9 documentaries that you need to see this year | TED Blog
I haven't seen these and some may not really be something I'd watch, but many of you are thinkers and I want you to know that this list is there and being circulated. Lots of video for thought. As always, screen before you show anything to students and some of these don't look appropriate for them.
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Google+ Passes Twitter to Become Second Largest Social Network, Study Finds - SocialTimes
So, people are clicking the plus signs. I've always struggled withGoogle plus and find it clunky but many are using it, and now it is supposedly the second social media website behind facebook, surpassing Twitter.
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Using Edmodo and FaceTime - Flat Classrooms
Edmodo and Facetime - how interesting. Some of the coolest ideas come from the Flatclassrooms educator ning and this is one of them. Learn more.
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Bard High School Early College, a Second Chance for Disadvantaged Youth in Newark - NYTimes.com
College / high school is being done in Georgia with the ACCELL program. I think the biggest issue is that it is accelerating classes and perhaps might be ahead of high school, but I promise, it isn't college. I have some concerns but am glad that it is helping people get started towards college. I just think care must be taken to ensure the quality and calibre of teaching and content, particularly if transfer credits are being required in state.
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BBC News - Google launches tool to determine data use after death
This is an important issue. Google will be the first to let you designate what happens to your data when you die. This is a great move and something important but can be misused if it isn't handled properly
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Why your 8-year-old should be coding | VentureBeat
I totally agree, students should learn programming and be exposed to it. I love Kevin Jarrett's STEM lab and what he's doing. Read this and discuss. It doesn't matter if you don't know how to code or if your teachers are afraid they are going to have to learn. Make it a priority. If you want to add volleyball, you find someone to coach it. If you want to add programming, find someone to teach it, it is that simple. I think this model of "everyone integrates" is great b/c everyone SHOULD integrate but to think or fantasize that technology integration is the same as teaching Computer Science is to think that a kind who can skate is ready to drive a car - not even in the same ballpark.
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Steps and Leaps Into Next-Gen Learning - Forbes
Must read article on blended learning (in particular if you're an elementary teacher or principal, you'll want to read about the "Rocketship model" of lab station rotation instead of learning centers. This was written by Michael Horn for Forbes Magazine on March 28, 2013.
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10 Apps For More Organized Project-Based Learning
So, you can look at this list but I totally disagree with it. Trello should be on the TOP of the list and secondly dropbox (which links with Trello.) Trello is based on agile. You can look at this list and talk about what it is doing, however, as a teacher, I use a totally different set. I'd put 1) Trello, 2) Dropbox and 3) Screencastomatic (ok, I do post screencastomatic to youtube.)
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2013 ON for Learning Award Winners
Common Sense media is an excellent organization and they've given their 2013 awards to many apps by age. They separate the apps by age and rate it by Learning. This is a credible source of information about the apps that you'll want to look into if you're using apps to help students learn.
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If you have to order tshirts or come up with theme ideas, I love this website. It has more than sports slogans but slogans for just about anything. People vote them up. Very cool site for organizers of anything and principals. Enjoy!
