Vicki Davis

Adventures in Learning: Don't you love it when...

Mon, 28 May 2012 14:27:23 -0400

Adventures in Learning: Don't you love it when...:

…a student is given plenty of time to do research and create a timeline of 10 events with details but yet they decide to completely copy an entire timeline of 29 events from a website. Completely plagiarized and didn’t even try to change anything.

It frustrates me because…

I have students create a timeline of the 10 most important events in information technology from their chapter. It requires thinking. I do think that this student should be held accountable. Often, calling students on plagiarism teaches a valuable lesson they never forget. Students (like many humans) will often try to get away with the least amount of work possible. However, when he realizes that you are holding him accountable, it can create a great teachable moment. There are ways to make sure this student does learn from his mistake and learn what you’re trying to teach but it is very frustrating when this happens. I had a student copy from another’s efolio and didn’t even fix the links. Honesty is honesty and when we find dishonesty, we must know that it is only a fraction of what is actually happening. Beware because everyone’s watching and everyone’s telling. Be fair but be on top of such issues. Good luck, this is a tough one - I’ve had to deal with it myself. I do not believe that a student copying work means that the assignment is somehow flawed but I do think that there should be several assignments each year that require putting information together in a unique way that makes it impossible to copy. (Like we do on Flat Classroom and NetGenEd.)

Photo

Mon, 28 May 2012 13:41:49 -0400

Pollution From Asia Affects US Climate - Slashdot

Sun, 27 May 2012 11:34:38 -0400

Pollution From Asia Affects US Climate - Slashdot:

We are interdependent on this planet.This is no surprise that they are finding that the pollution in China and India are affecting the climate elsewhere - like here in the US. When I went to Beijing last year, I came home and my hair started falling out. I wasn’t sure if it was related but I did find the correlation suspicious.

We’ve seen this for years - we would outlaw chemicals that my Dad could use on his US based farm only for grocery stores to start buying produce and crops grown in other countries with that very same chemical used on the crops. This inconsistency not only hurts the US economy but in the long run hurts the world. We need to be responsible stewards of our planet.

positivelypersistentteach: positive-press-daily: Oldest...

Sun, 27 May 2012 08:36:44 -0400

positivelypersistentteach:

positive-press-daily:

Oldest living kidney donor pleased ‘to feel useful’

Nicholas Crace, from Overton in Hampshire, is also the oldest “altruistic” kidney donor - he will never meet the recipient of his organ. He said: “It’s nice to feel in old age that one can still be useful.”

His surgeon said a kidney from a live donor “performs better, works quicker and lasts longer.” Mr Crace, who enjoys visiting friends, gardening and volunteering, made the decision to donate last year in the months after his wife, Brigid, died. He said he was no longer able to donate blood after turning 70 and when he looked at donating bone marrow he found out he needed to be under 40.

However, there was no age limit for kidneys, even “from somebody as ancient as me”, he said. He said he was struck by the plight of people waiting for a kidney.

“Apart from going to hospital four times a week, they have a very restricted diet and can’t travel so they live a pretty miserable life and it’s so easy to make that life more agreeable simply by giving them a kidney.”

There were more than a dozen visits to hospital, to check he was fit enough for the surgery and that his kidneys were up to scratch, before the transplant was allowed to go ahead. Mr Crace said, “I don’t think age makes much difference really. It’s whether you’re healthy or not that’s the important thing.”

As for his other organs, he said: “They can take the rest when I’m dead.”

(click-through for full story)

So, I had a dream about Tumblrs getting tested to be a donor for a certain Tumblr’s mom.

Heartwarming. How many would do this?

kbkonnected: Super Math Resources for the Whiteboard! #elemchat...

Sat, 26 May 2012 20:05:34 -0400

kbkonnected:

Super Math Resources for the Whiteboard!

#elemchat #spedchat #mathchat

Create great visualizations for understanding math concepts. Very nice presentation/learning tool.

Included in Create Visualizations/Infographics

You may also like…

Math Toybox (fabulous)

Virtual Manipulatives

SEN Teacher Label Maker

Where is your favourite place to go on holiday? x

Sat, 26 May 2012 17:30:33 -0400

I look into the hills where my strength comes from- the mountains for sure. Rafting, hiking, waterfalls, tubing…it is my refuge.

World Environment Day - June 5

Fri, 25 May 2012 14:31:01 -0400

World Environment Day - June 5:

June 5 is “World Environment Day” - a day when you encourage and help students take action to promote a sustainable planet. Here are some lesson plans if you don’t know what to do. This is an important topic. With summer coming up in the northern hemisphere - taking time to review recycling guidelines and ways students can help the environment is a great idea.

This child’s to do list makes me smile - I especially like...

Thu, 24 May 2012 17:21:03 -0400

This child’s to do list makes me smile - I especially like “get dizzy.” (via A child’s to-do list - Boing Boing)

Two Brooklyn Schools Examined for Cheating – SchoolBook

Thu, 24 May 2012 14:14:52 -0400

Two Brooklyn Schools Examined for Cheating – SchoolBook:

In this article from the New York Times, they point out that Public School 31 had near perfect math scores. Some teachers are anonymously speaking out that there are glaring differences between children’s in-class performance and their performance on the tests. (A pat on the back for these ethical educators who are blowing the whistle. I know it is hard but it is the right thing to do. They probably also know about other places where the teachers are blamed for cheating. If you’re a teacher in a school that is cheating on the test - the blame often goes to the teacher so beware.)

There is no excuse. Are schools going to have to start testing each others kids? We must be ethical and trustworthy when we administer tests. Do you realize what will happen if this continues? We’ll not only be buying tests but also test administrators to be sent from companies to keep tests “fair.” We’re going to have to have auditors because we have dishonest educators. Those who cheat should think twice. I know there are high stakes and it means money in your pocket, however, there are more important things than money: personal integrity is one of them.

Two Brooklyn Schools Examined for Cheating – SchoolBook http://bit.ly/KFOe4C

Special Educational Needs resources, SEN resources, lesson plans, TES Resources

Thu, 24 May 2012 11:29:12 -0400

Special Educational Needs resources, SEN resources, lesson plans, TES Resources:

Those who work with kids with special needs will appreciate this organized list of resources that you can use with students. Bev Evans, one of the lead curators, is a teacher and Mom with a heart for kids with special needs. Her special touch of empathy for teachers and students comes through in everything she does.

New teachers' resource collections - Resources - TES

Thu, 24 May 2012 08:27:40 -0400

New teachers' resource collections - Resources - TES:

So, you’ve got your act together? Have you thought about how we as teachers need to educate and welcome other teachers into the profession? Before my first year my Mom (a teacher) and sister, Susan (a teacher too) sat down with me and went over everything from lesson planning to discipline.

“Don’t smile too much on the first day” said Mom. “You can never be tougher than you’ll be on the first day,” said Susan. I came across these resources to use to help new teachers and started thinking that we need to do a better job of helping new teachers get started. If we care about our profession, we should help new teachers with the reality of the classroom (versus what they’ve been learning about in books.)

What do you do to help new teachers get started? Here’s a collection from TES of resources that started this thought. http://bit.ly/KFKFv6

Schools and Students Clash Over Use of Technology | MindShift

Tue, 22 May 2012 11:37:48 -0400

Schools and Students Clash Over Use of Technology | MindShift:

IN the Speak up 2011 report, students say that 46% of them have used Facebook to collaborate on school projects.

Interesting report that also shows the flip side where 65% of principals say they will not allow personal devices in the next school year. (What is odd is a study I shared a few weeks a go on my blog says that almost 50% of students are receiving text messages during class NOW in schools where cell phones are BANNED so really, this is just window dressing.)

“Students want more control over how they use technology in school, but many classrooms are still making it difficult. That’s according to the most recent Speak Up 2011 report, “Mapping a Personalized Learning Journey,” which reflects the views of more than 416,000 K-12 students, parents, and educators nationwide surveyed on how technology can enhance the learning environment. They survey is produced by Project Tomorrow, an educational non-profit focused on raising student voices in education policy discussions. The theme for this survey focused on individualized learning paths.

Teacher Development: Starter Kit for Teaching Online | Edutopia

Tue, 22 May 2012 08:51:58 -0400

Teacher Development: Starter Kit for Teaching Online | Edutopia:

If you want to teach online, here’s a starter kit from Edutopia. My sister teachers remotely and it isn’t the cushy, relaxing job that many describe. It may have flexibility but it is very hard work with many of the same issues you have in a face to face classroom. Just be aware that if you don’t want to work, you shouldn’t teach: offline or face to face. Teaching, in my experience, takes everything you have but it gives you far more in return.

Home | London 2012 - Get Set

Mon, 21 May 2012 20:11:12 -0400

Home | London 2012 - Get Set:

The London games has a “get set” website which is their official educational platform for the Olympic games. I’ve just spent a little time looking at what you can do there, but you can register, blog about the games, and connect with others. This is the sort of global event where you can meet other classrooms and interact with others.

Wix.com AwesomeMadi created by Tucker2015 based on my-gallery | Wix.com

Mon, 21 May 2012 17:43:58 -0400

Wix.com AwesomeMadi created by Tucker2015 based on my-gallery | Wix.com:

“Hello, my name is Maddi and I’m an artist…” and thus begins my student’s amazing website. This ninth grade student has been unleashed with her freshman project and now her efolio. When this happens, it makes my job worthwhile. Take a minute to look at this incredible website (she used wix to build it.)

How To Turn PVC and Hairspray Into a Force of Destruction

Mon, 21 May 2012 14:31:07 -0400

How To Turn PVC and Hairspray Into a Force of Destruction:

I have to admit that this “recipe” to make a projectile out of PVC and hairspray is much scarier than the Diet Coke and Mentos phenomenon of a few years back. I think some people will get hurt with this one.

gizmodo gives the instructions on their website.

China clears Google acquisition of Motorola, eliminates last barrier to Googorola bliss -- Engadget

Mon, 21 May 2012 11:41:07 -0400

China clears Google acquisition of Motorola, eliminates last barrier to Googorola bliss -- Engadget:

I find it astounding that Google is buying Motorola. I remember in the early 90’s when I worked in the cell phone business in product management (we picked cell phones) and a General Manager for 13 counties in southwest Georgia how the MOtorola Flip phone was our hottest, most desired phone. I had one and loved it.

If I’d known then that in 20 short years that a company that didn’t exist would be buying them out it would have been hard to fathom. This is what happens in the day of dramatic innovation. The information revolution changed everything just like the industrial revolution did. We’re in the midst of this right now and will see more such happenings before things settle down and we move to the next revolution - whatever that will be.

Kinect In the Operating Room - Slashdot

Mon, 21 May 2012 11:32:42 -0400

Kinect In the Operating Room - Slashdot:

Microsoft’s best Operating system may just be on the Xbox. This article talks about how Kinect is being used in the Operating Room. There are many uses for Kinect. It is a robust, gesture based system with so many features we need and could use in the classroom. In some ways it is just a step away from a virtual assistant. Don’t sit around thinking the PC will morph - I think, perhaps that it already has.

Using zombies to teach kids geography

Mon, 21 May 2012 11:31:39 -0400

Using zombies to teach kids geography:

Social studies teacher David Hunter has developed a curriculum in which students must learn geographic concepts to survive a zombie apocalypse. Hunter designed the proposed curriculum for fifth- to eighth-grade students and said he is trying to raise funds that would allow him to eventually offer the curriculum to teachers as a free digital download. “Remember you can either feed your brain or feed your brain to the zombies,” Hunter said.

Teaching geography with a zombie game.

"The Internet, and all it has come to include, is the most powerful interruption technology ever..."

Mon, 21 May 2012 09:08:17 -0400

“

The Internet, and all it has come to include, is the most powerful interruption technology ever invented. It slices and dices our focus, fractures and distracts it, gives us less and less of more and more. It prompts us to skim, scan, and skip rather than immerse ourselves in any one thing.

As the Nobel Prize winning economist Herbert Simon put it so presciently, back in 1970, even before there was an Internet: “What information consumes is rather obvious. It consumes the attention of its recipients. Hence a wealth of information creates a poverty of attention.”

”

- You Are Not A Computer (Try As You May) - Tony Schwartz - Harvard Business Review (via futuristgerd)
A wealth of information creates a poverty of attention - read the full quote but this can be the case. We have to learn to focus amidst constant streams of information begging for our attention.