Category: Education
Edmodo
I’m going to be keeping an eye on this endeavor. I look forward to the possible contributions it can make to education. Here’s a blurb from their About page.
Edmodo is a brand new company creating free online tools for the education community. The first tool we are building is a communications tool for Schools, Teachers, Students, and parents for use in the classroom.
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?
6.3 Earthquake in Nevada
An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.3 shook Northeastern Nevada this morning at 6:16 AM. The quake was reported to have been felt in California, Nevada and Utah. Full details are available here.
Consider integrating this current event into your class. Off the top of my head there are good math, science, research, writing and service activities related to this event.
Classroom Resources
- U. S. Geological Survey’s educational resources
- Disaster News Network reports about disasters AND recovery efforts.
- Center for Earthquake Research and Information
- PBS’ Savage Earth
- TeacherTube videos
Educational TV Programs
I’ve been pleased to see a resurgence in quality educational television programs recently. Even better is that our kids are choosing to watch these programs over the just-for-entertainment children’s programs. Both the teacher and parent in me would like to take the creators of these shows out for pizza to say thank you. I hope this is a trend that we see continue to grow.
Here are some of the shows that I’m talking about. Be forewarned that the educational value in a couple of these won’t be immediately obvious, so watch the program in it’s entirety.
- FETCH! with Ruff Ruffman – Problem solving, math, science, engineering, team work, research/ scientific method
- WordGirl – Language arts, vocabulary, literacy, problem solving
- Super Why! – Reading, phonics, vocabulary
- Cyberchase – Math, science, technology, problem solving, data collection and analysis, trail and error, real life application
- Gerald McBoing Boing – Music, history, creativity, audio learners
- Pinky Dinky Doo – Vocabulary, story telling, imagination, creativity
I know there are probably others, but the kids are all asleep and I can’t ask them for help right now. Please share your comments and suggestions as I’d enjoy the feedback and ideas.
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.
Total Lunar Eclipse Tonight
All you early birds might want to stay up a little bit later this evening to witness the total lunar eclipse. It will be the last we’ll see until December 2010, so take advantage of this opportunity. This eclipse is expected to last over 3 hours and the Moon will be in totality for about 50 minutes of that time. During that time the moon will change from its usual grayish appearance to an orange/deep red color.
The following illustration of a lunar eclipse is from Weather.com.
More information (including a good video) about lunar eclipses is available here.
Teaching, Learning, Technology and the Future
Let’s discuss the following quote in regards to teaching, learning, technology and the future.
The future is already here – it is just unevenly distributed. — William Gibson (Attributed)
Math and Science Classes Please Take Note
LIVE! I’m sitting in front of the TV watching the live launch of U.S. Space Shuttle Atlantis. Lift off was exactly 7 minutes and 9 seconds ago, and the shuttle has reached a speed of 23,000 feet per second (more than 14,000 mph). I watched the very first launch of Columbia on April 12, 1981, and I’ve seen many of the 121 launches to date. It’s no less impressive an event today than it was 26 years ago. Take a look for yourself.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wif-fHG-Ej0