Clif’s Notes

More about Edmodo

I’m looking forward to seeing this resource. One of the developers has told me that beta testing will occur in a couple weeks. In the meantime, here’s more information about Edmodo.

Kate shared her review of Edmodo as an alpha tester.Sign up to be a beta tester.

Happy Leap Day

It’s February 29th. Happy Leap Day everyone!!! Here are 15 activities to help you celebrate. You can also learn a bit more information about this date here.

On this date in…

• 1972 - Hank Aaron becomes the first player in the history of Major League Baseball to sign a $200,000 contract.
• 1956 - U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower announces to the nation that he is running for a second term.

7 Engineering Wonders of the Modern World

Wow! I’ve seen these engineering feats many times but I still find them impressive. Each has set world records in size, engineering, etc. “From Venice to Boston, Egypt to England, here are seven amazing engineering wonders of the modern world.”

How do you think students would respond to these images, stories, video, and information?

Cell Phones as Learning Tools

Have you ever seen cell phones used in the classroom? Have you ever considered using cell phones in the classroom? If you keep an open mind you’ll find that there are some potential benefits in integrating cell phones with teaching and learning. “This video highlights the work of Carla Dolman and Gord Taylor and the grade 8 and 9 students of Craik School.”

Certainly there are things that must be considered when using cell phones in the classroom, but the effective use of math manipulatives also takes careful consideration and preparation. I’m just throwing the idea out there for discussion.

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Space Shuttle Lands Safely

Atlantis landed safely a short while ago. Congratulations to everyone involved on another successful mission! I realize that shuttle flights no longer grab the front page headlines but the contributions of these missions and the associated research to education are incalculable. I encourage teachers everywhere to keep up with future missions in your classrooms. Not only are there strong ways to connect these space missions with math and science, but there are also strong language arts (journaling, reading, communication, etc.) and social studies (current events, timelines, etc.) connections. And you never know just how inspirational your students will find this.

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A New Year Begins…

As I’m sure you’ve noticed, I spent the winter break with my family and took a break from work. I pretty much unplugged (from email, blog, twitting, etc.) for the duration of the break. I’ve never really unplugged before and I’m surprised how much I enjoyed it. Of course, I’ll be catching up for a while, but it was well worth it. Anyway, that explains all the silence here on the blog.

Here are some notes to help us catch up.

• Our presentation proposal for NECC was accepted. I’m very excited about attending this year’s conference.
• Merry Christmas - We celebrated 4 different times. That’s actually a low number for us.
• Benazir Bhutto was assassinated. I heard her speak once and was impressed.
• The Bulldogs won in the Liberty Bowl. The SEC went 7-2 in bowl games and even captured the national championship.
• Happy New Year - I remember ringing in 2000 just like it was yesterday. I can NOT believe it is already 2008!!!
• Each of us in our family made resolutions for 2008. Did you?
• A line of tornadoes ripped across Central and North Central Mississippi. One tornado in particular tore through the little community of Caledonia. You can read about the devastation and recovery efforts here and here.
• The Cowboys, Titans and Colts have all lost. I don’t really care who wins now as long as it’s NOT the Patriots.
• Our new semester begins today. I’m excited about the courses I’m teaching.
• The Australian Open has gotten underway. I’m pulling for Djokovic and Davenport, but predicting that Federer and Henin will win.
• The Bulldogs are now 2-0 in the SEC. Tomorrow night’s game against Kentucky will be on ESPN.

More about OLPC

This video nicely overviews the One Laptop Per Child initiative. Watch it and consider making a donation or purchase.

Several more good videos about OLPC are available from the BBC.

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