Cool Cat Teacher Blog

Daily Spotlight on Education 07/05/2009

coolcatteacher@gmail.com (Victoria A Davis, Cool Cat Teacher) — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 02:30:57 PDT

It's time to turn technology loose in the classroom - SiliconValley.com
Larry Magid writes about his view on NECC in the San Jose Mercury News, and in particular the use of the backchannel at the Web 2.0 session with Steve Hargadon.
tags: education, learning, web2
The Energy Literacy Project
"There is a problem with energy literacy" says Chevron CEO, David O'Reilly, in Thomas Friedman's Hot Flat and Crowded - Julie and I are working to incorporate this into our next Flat Classroom mini-conference in Februray and we turned up this energy literacy nonprofit. This is fascinating.
tags: education, learning, energy, environment, science_health, social_entrepreneurship

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

Daily Spotlight on Education 07/03/2009

coolcatteacher@gmail.com (Victoria A Davis, Cool Cat Teacher) — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 02:30:08 PDT

Edubloggercon @ NECC09 | KimP's Blog
Great summary of some of the coolest tools shared at edubloggercon and the smackdown - I have to compile my notes, but here are some GREAT ones!
tags: education, learning, tools
NECC Summary Saturday June 27 | Mark Hines EdTech Blog
Here, Mark Hines reflects on his learning from NECC and I bookmarked it as he shared what he learned from the cell phone session that we had on Saturday. We used the PBL model for our workshop and the session had 2 projects during the 3 hours -- such a great group of people!
tags: education, celled, cellphone, workshop_feedback
YouTube - Digiteen Social Action project
Video documentation of the Digiteen social action project done by Suzie Nestico's classroom.
tags: education, learning, digiteen, action

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

Daily Spotlight on Education 07/02/2009

coolcatteacher@gmail.com (Victoria A Davis, Cool Cat Teacher) — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 02:30:10 PDT

Diigo in Education Wiki Preso for NECC
This is the wiki with the information from our session on Diigo in the Open Source Lab at NECC. It has current information on bookmarking.
tags: education, information_change, web2.0, prediction

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

Cover It live Games & Simulation Planning- Bernie Dodge and others

coolcatteacher@gmail.com (Victoria A Davis, Cool Cat Teacher) — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 10:36:05 PDT

Games & Simulations Panel NECC

IPhone iTouch Birds of a Feather

coolcatteacher@gmail.com (Victoria A Davis, Cool Cat Teacher) — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 05:16:33 PDT

Connectivity has been pretty rough here and I'm sorry I haven't been able to get to you, the readers out there who want to know the deal.

I've been writing blog posts in notepad (because MS word does such a horrible job with code) and will post later. Now, gearing up for a busy day with 3 presos and a stint in exhibit hall. Just going to watch debate on ustream for now.

Daily Spotlight on Education 06/29/2009

coolcatteacher@gmail.com (Victoria A Davis, Cool Cat Teacher) — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 02:27:50 PDT

Ah-Bon-French - home
Wiki for middle school students to share french language learning.
tags: education, learning
AdamsNews - home
School journalism wiki for a middle school in California. The students write and maintain this wiki.
tags: education, leraning, wiki
roosevelt3rd - home
Roosevelt Elementary School 3rd grade wiki that has all types of projects.
tags: education, learning, elementary
Embedding a time zone widget on your wiki
Embedding tools on wiki pages.
tags: education, wikis
Citing Personal Information on Wikis for Flat Classroom Project
Our guidlines for posting personal information on a wiki.
tags: education, learning
Citing Sources on a Wiki
How to cite sources using the source citation code in wikispaces.
tags: education, learning, edu_news
Wiki Netiquette for Flat Classroom Projects
Wiki netiquette for our Flat Classroom wiki projects.
tags: education, learning, tools
Voices Of The World - votw-2008-9
Voices of the world project. This is a project that kindergarten teacher Maria Knee participates with. It is a fascinating collaboration of students.
tags: education, wikis, wiki, all_teachers, bestpractices, technology, digitalcitizenship, elementary
Kindergarten project studying Monarch Butterflies
Monarch Butterfly wiki project from Maria Knee's kindergarten classroom.
tags: education, learning, wiki, science
educationalwikis - home
Excellent samples and information on the use of wikis in education.
tags: education, learning
Digiteen - Group | Diigo
Digiteen Diigo group that we use with our students on the digital citizenship project. The 9 aspects of digital citizenship correspond with the 9 aspects from Mike Ribble and Gerald Bailey's Digital Citizenship in schools.
tags: education, learning, digital, citizenship, best practices
projecthelp - Diigo Group
Here are the procedures for how we use the Diigo group with the flat classroom projects - we've used this with flat classroom and we've used it with the digiteen projects and ad4dcss (advocates for digital citizenship, safety, and success)
tags: education, diigo, edu_newapp
flatclassroomproject2008 - Tagging Standards
On the Flat Classroom 2008 Tagging standards page, you can see the main tags coming from the bookmarks (and can drill down and see what they and our expert teachers tagged them.

You can see standard tags, subgroups, and overall bookmarks.
tags: education, learning, tagging, diigo, research
Site Communities | Diigo
I really like the site community feature - go in here and type the site communities and you can see what is linking to your site and being bookmarked.
tags: education, learning, tools.
education | Diigo
This is the tag community for education, the neat thing is that you can find related groups, bookmarks and people around a topic. This is very powerful.
tags: education, learning
Tag Communities - Annotated
You can drill down and look at tag communities to find other things that are interesting on your topic.
tags: education, diigo
Dangerously Irrelevant: NECC - Edubloggercon, Web 2.0 Smackdown, Chicks That Click
This is an excellent summary of the tools shared in Web 2.0 smackdown.
tags: education, learning, tools, web2smack, edu_newapp, edu_news
EtherPad: Realtime Collaborative Text Editing
A lot of people like this for doing collaborative wikis.
tags: education, learning, tools, all_teachers, bestpractices, technology

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

Daily Spotlight on Education 06/28/2009

coolcatteacher@gmail.com (Victoria A Davis, Cool Cat Teacher) — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 02:27:51 PDT

New Improved Web 2.0 Smackdown Keychain from Kevin Hunnicut - EBC
This is a great presentation and Kevin did a great job presenting. He concluded the smackdown. Great offline tool to help teachers understand and keep up with innovations.
tags: education, learning, web2_smackdown, web2smack, edu_trends
Livestream - Broadcast LIVE streaming video
This used to be mogulus - you can have a full tv channel here. My understanding is that you can stream from your cellphone here.
tags: education, learning
Education 2.0 - Edmodo - Free Private Microblogging For Education
Microblogging service built for students and teachers.
tags: education, mobile, pln
Create an event via SMS - Google Calendar Help - Annotated
Send an event to your Google Calendar
tags: education, cellphone, edu_trends
Check your calendar via SMS - Google Calendar Help
In the US, you can interact with your Google Calendar via SMS.
Text to GVENT '48368'
'next' - next scheduled event
'day' - today
'nday' - next day
tags: education, edu_trends
Vimeo FAQ
You can upload to vimeo using your cell phone and then edit.
tags: education, video
Welcome to RiffTrax Cuts! | RiffTrax
Add sound effects and morph your video using rifftrax. So, this is how you can take things and remix and re-embed. There are some obvious reasons when you go to the site that I would ONLY use this for college level and above.
tags: education, edu_newapp

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

Daily Spotlight on Education 06/27/2009

coolcatteacher@gmail.com (Victoria A Davis, Cool Cat Teacher) — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 02:27:51 PDT

Google Mobile | Blogger for your phone
You can blog from your cellphone if you have a blogger blog. This actually lets you sign up for a blog from your mobile.
tags: education, cellphone
Jott.com | Voice-to-Text Notes, To Dos & Reminders. Voicemail-to-Email and Text Message. Update Salesforce with a Phone Call.
Jott has a lot of free services. I used to pay for the services (until I got my itouch and it does many of these things) but it is great for those who travel a lot or who type slowly and away from the computer a lot.
tags: education, cellphone
FreeConferencePro | Unlimited full-featured teleconferencing for FREE
Set up free conference calls and allows as many people as you like to set up and participate in the conference call. Many of us use skype, however, if you go over 10, and people are just in the US, you could use this instead.

The great things is that this gives you recording of the conference with no time limit. The MP3 file is given to the host.
tags: education, learning, cellphone, voice, mp3, edu_newapp
Enhanced Visual Voicemail For Cell Phones | YouMail
This one is from Liz Kolb and is a site that allows you to have extra management features for your email including translating the messages into text. You can create multiple voicemails and greet students and others by name (it reads off caller id.)

You can have students call and leave a message for you as their assignment. It converts to an mp3 for you. Could also use for something like radio call in show, and pull Mp3 files off and then turn into a podcast by remixing in audacity.
tags: education, cellphone, voice, mp3
Hipcast
This website lets you record both video and audio from your cell phone or online and automatically send it to your blog or other website. This is also a for-pay service.
tags: education, cellphone, edu_newapp
twitterfeed.com : feed your blog to twitter
So, if you want twitter to automatically tweet (like when your class blog is updated,) then set up twitter feed to automatically post anything to twitter that has an RSS feed. I do this for my classroom to send my blog or any current information that students need to have.
tags: education, twitter, bestpractices
Email your cellphone pics to your Ning Photo - Annotated
Uploading photos to your Ning profile from your cell phone.
tags: education, learning
Twitter: The Fastest Way to Get Informed. Or Misinformed.&|&Technologizer
Always verify what you see on twitter.
tags: education, learning, twitter, news
iShowU - for OSX 10.4 (Tiger)
Tom Daccord recomments using this screencapture program for the mac, it is free. He says by far it is the best for Mac.
tags: Mac, education, screencapture, mac, all_teachers, technology
QR Codes in the Classroom
Mr. Robbo, the PE Geek, filmed this video on his cell phone about how he uses QR Codes in the classroom. He filmed it on his cellphone and uploaded it to qik -- he is in Australia!
tags: education, cellphone, qrcodes, classroom, mobile, web2.0, wireless_connectivity, prediction

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

Daily Spotlight on Education 06/26/2009

coolcatteacher@gmail.com (Victoria A Davis, Cool Cat Teacher) — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 02:27:49 PDT

60 Percent of Teens Text While Driving | LiveScience
Percentage of teens who text while driving. This is a concern and one that you should alleviate.
tags: education, cellphone, govt_business, mobile, story_empath
51 Percent of U.S. Mobile Phone Users Access Online Content | Kikabink News - Internet Marketing News
Online content is being accessed on a weekly basis from their cell phone.
tags: education, www_world, arts_entertainment, mobile
Gadgets -For Everyday Photography, Cell Phones Becoming Camera of Choice
Over 90% of adult cell phone users have a camera with 45.9% of them using their cell phone at least once a week!
tags: education
HI_TeenMobileStudy_ResearchReport.pdf (application/pdf Object)
Summary of research study about teenagers and cell phone use.
tags: education
CTIA - The Wireless Association - How teens are shaping and reshaping their wireless world.
Recent Study on teenagers and their cell phone habits.
tags: education, cellphone
Survey: Teens' Cell Phones Indispensable - CBS News
Research shows that cell phones are a vital part of student identities with four out of five students having a cell phone. Now, nearly half of kids aged 8-12 years own cell phones. Most kids get their first cell phone between 10 and 11.
tags: education, learning, mobile, arts_entertainment
"Sexting" Shockingly Common Among Teens - CBS News
20% of Teens participate in sexting or sending nude pictures via text message.
tags: education, learning, arts_entertainment, mobile, wireless_connectivity
Cell Phone Execs Will Face Questions On Text Messaging Price Hikes | NEWS JUNKIE POST
Congressional hearing on the rising cost of text messaging will be next Tuesday.
tags: education, cellphone
US Teens Going Online Wirelessly Without Limits or Controls
The majority of teenagers who access the Internet via mobile phone have no parental or software based restrictions on what they can view. 19% go online via their cell phone.
tags: education
Google Mobile | SMS for your phone
How you can use SMS from your cell phone. Additionally, those who do not have cell phones can use the cell phone simulator to practice these terms: define, etc.
tags: education, mobile, wireless_connectivity
Remember The Milk - Help / FAQ / Reminders / How do I set email, instant messenger, and SMS reminders?
Setting cell phone reminders from your computer.
tags: education, learning
How to Upload Video to YouTube from Your Cell Phone | eHow.com
You can upload videos from your cell phone.
tags: education, cellphone
When One Twitter Account Is Not Enough
How to set up multiple twitter accounts. This is appropriate for teachers who need a personal twitter account and want to have one for their classroom.
tags: education, learning
How to Make Your Twitter Account Private | eHow.com
How to make your twitter account private, which is very appropriate for students and your classroom twitter account.
tags: twitter, education, cellphone
Twitpic - Share photos on Twitter
Website for sharing pictures on twitter.
tags: education, learning
mobile9 - Free ringtones, free themes, free wallpapers, free videos, free software, free games for mobile phone
Tons of free content for your cell phone including ringtones.
tags: education, learning, wireless_connectivity, mobile, arts_entertainment
Cell Phone Tricks You Just Gotta Learn! - Associated Content
Interesting cell phone tricks which I'll have to learn - the universal emergency number is 112 -- really, I think this is important to teach and share.
tags: education, learning
DialMyCalls.com
If you have a mini-phonetree (25 people you need to send one voice message per day) - dial my calls will send messages to 25 people a day. If you have a group of people to brief. The messages must be 30 seconds in length or less.
tags: education, cellphone
Lifehacker - Geek to Live: Make a ringtone from any MP3 - Cell Phones
This old post on making a ringtone from an mp3 is something that I'm going to learn how to do.
tags: education, cellphone
Juicecaster - Free Mobile Videos and Pics for MySpace, Facebook, YouTube - JuiceCaster
Juicecaster lets you post videos and photos from your cell phone.
tags: education
QR-Code Reader & Software - Mobile Barcodes
This is the best information I've seen on QR Codes readers including links and instructions for how to do this.
tags: education, web2.0
Twenty Uses for QR Codes and Tags for Marketing « Digital Business by Will Hawkins
This is information on QR codes for Marketing but in this there is potential for schools - particularly ubiquitous "hardlinks" between educational experiences like museums.
tags: education, learning, mobile, story_empath, prediction, invention, govt_business
QuickMark Mobile Barcode - QuickMark for PC
This software turns your webcam into a QR code reader. From Mr. Robbo the PE Geek.
tags: education, learning, qrcodes, information_change, wireless_connectivity, worldonline, prediction
Stages of Concern
Dennis Richards shared this in our workshop and it is so true - these are the stages that we all go through when looking at any technology.

It is important to understand that as people connectin the world, that sometimes it takes time for people to accept change and research bears this out. This research shows the phases of change that all people go through based upon research by Hall & Loucks, 1979
tags: education, story_empath, pln, worldonline, prediction

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

Daily Spotlight on Education 06/25/2009

coolcatteacher@gmail.com (Victoria A Davis, Cool Cat Teacher) — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 02:27:51 PDT

TREK YOURSELF
Put your face on a star of Star Trek and embed it on your blog. Lots of fun!
tags: education, learning, fun, humor
The Reel School - Home of Kentucky PSA 2006 Video Contest - Last year's entries
The Kentucky PSA contest focused on cyberbullying. Am going to take some time to review. What a great thing to do!
tags: education, learning
Hands across the world - Flat Classroom Conference
This photograph snapped by five students from five different countries at the flat classroom conference says it all.
tags: education, flatclassroom, story_empath, flatclassroomconference
YouTube - Answers to Qatar Questions
Students reflecting on Flat Classroom Conference in Qatar. I particularly like at 3:15 when Steve talks about the friends he has met.
tags: education, learning
horizonproject - Social Networking
One of the best wiki collaboration in our projects.
tags: awards, flatclassroom, education
How People are Flattening their Classrooms around the world - Twitter / Search - #flated
Was thinking tonight how we should be succinctly sharing our stories of global collaboration - if you have one about how a classroom is collaborating, just twitter it, the hyperlink, the locations, and include #flated in the hyperlink and we'll continue to get great lists! I'm learning so much from you and am now following and retweeting them, especially those with links!
tags: education, learning, flatclassroomproject, flatclassroom
Flat Classroom Projects Help Wiki
This is the help wiki for all of our flat classroom projects and how we do the things we do. I realized that I hadn't shared it!
tags: flatclassroom, education, innovation, bestpractices, help

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

Catching the Flattening Bug and the Great Debate of 2008

coolcatteacher@gmail.com (Victoria A Davis, Cool Cat Teacher) — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 18:16:01 PDT

A simulpost with my blog on Edtechteacher Ning

Tonight I had dinner with Tom Daccord as we continued to prep for tomorrow's workshop. I must say that I am so impressed and continue to be impressed with The Great Debate of 2008. Tom, the project's founder shared how the project started with a simple few wiki pages and a Ning and how it basically took on a viral life of its own. He said that the students were so eager to share and far exceeded his expectations.

This is it! It is flattening. Authentic audiences with authentic research with differentiated artifacts and good teachers -- it is so powerful it is addictive.

As I listened to him talk, I could see it. I could see the glint. THAT GLINT. Sort of like an adrenaline junkie who has first gone skydiving and you know they are hooked -- the glint of someone who has seen the thrill of excellent, meaningful education where the students are motivated and just almost wear you out with how much they do. It is addictive and just great!

Now, we're getting ready for class tomorrow and you can see our agenda on the wiki. On Friday at 1 pm EDT we will be using Elluminate to reflect on what we have learned. (If you are in the workshop, feel free to share the agenda page - the link will be posted there on Friday morning. People from anywhere can participate as you have your Teacher Summit to reflect on what you have learned.)

I am so excited about this workshop - it has been a chance to take the materials and content that Julie and I have developed and take it to the next level!

So, if you're in the workshop - see you tomorrow!

NECC Calendar

coolcatteacher@gmail.com (Victoria A Davis, Cool Cat Teacher) — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 12:54:05 PDT

I've been getting a few emails and tweets about what sessions I'll be doing at NECC. I always keep my public calendar on the left side of my blog, but here is a copy for those who may want to figure out if there are any sessions of interest. The wiki, Digital Citizenship, and Bookmarking sessions have been full for about 2 weeks (but feel free to check and see if there are cancellations) and I'm getting quite a bit of email on the birds of a feather sessions (which you do NOT have to preregister for!)

There are so many GREAT people at NECC and I hope to meet as many of you as possible. For now, I have an awesome group of educators that Tom Daccord and I will be teaching how to flatten their classroom tomorrow at Boston University. (You know if you're in Boston, there might be one or two slots open, not sure, though.)

Friday, we do plan to have an elluminate session - as soon as it is scheduled, it will appear on the calendar below. Hope to see you at NECC or virtually as many of these sessions will be streamed and thank you.

Daily Spotlight on Education 06/24/2009

coolcatteacher@gmail.com (Victoria A Davis, Cool Cat Teacher) — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 02:27:56 PDT

Learning the Skeleton with QR codes « Mr Robbo – The P.E Geek
OH, Mr. Robbo - I am already just crazy about him! Here he talks about how he teaches the skelton with QR Codes.!
tags: education, learning, virtual_communication, wireless_connectivity, mobile, story_empath
Mobile Tagging with QR-Code, BeeTagg and Datamatrix
This system lets you scan qr codes and you have to download it and put it on your phone - it is called a QR reader.
tags: education, learning, mobile, wireless_connectivity
QR codes at Bath
This blog post shares the results of a QR Code hunt. As I learn more about hardlinking, this is a fascinating topic.
tags: education, learning, wireless_connectivity, mobile
Joining things up with SMS
Mobile phones and learning - a presentation from the UK
tags: education, cellphone, mobile, worldonline
QR Code - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Explanation from Wikipedia about QR codes and hardlinking.
tags: education, learning, barcode, mobile
QR-Code Generator
QR codes create a hyperlink between a picture in the real world and th eonline world -- this is called mobile tagging and the act of linking is called a hardlink.
tags: mobile, arts_entertainment, education

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

Hardlink to the Future: QR Codes

coolcatteacher@gmail.com (Victoria A Davis, Cool Cat Teacher) — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 13:17:19 PDT

QR Codes allow us to link the physical world and virtual world through barcodes through a process called hardlinking. If you see the QR Code for my website to the left which I generated at kaywa and put on my website to the left and also printed some copies.

So, if this was in the physical world -- say by my door, someone could read it with a QR code reader and it would give them the information coded into it via a text message - or perhaps eventually put that information into their contacts.

Now, this sounds kind of silly to some, however, it has some very interesting applications. For example, you want to remember the details about a person - you can snap a picture and all the information is there without having to write it down or worry about the fact that you were too far away for it to show up in the photo.

Nike did this with a Mountain Dew promotion this past February using MMS - which is texting that includes pictures. Geraldine Jones from the University of Bath seems to be doing some interesting work in this area and QR Code scavenger hunts are popping up.

Hall Davidson has been talking about these for some time in his ever popular cell phones in schools presentation (which I think he's giving at NECC again this year.)

This is definitely an emerging field of which I am NOT an expert. I'm sitting here with lovely printed QR codes trying to make my cell phone read them and convert them in to text and right now, it looks like my Motorola v750 doesn't meet the "qualifications" to make this work. Just so you know what I know. I've pasted in the many twitter responses on QR Codes and perhaps we can learn together. One thing is for sure, I will make this WORK before Saturday when I'm doing a cell phone workshop. There are so many great things, but to me, using these in museums and in the "real world" can create some deep learning experiences -- see, now these QR codes are just attached to text, but what happens when they have video, audio, and more attached to them. Your child who is fascinated by the caveman exhibiltion at the Smithsonian will scan the QR code and have delivered to his cell phone video, audio, perhaps even books (in a Kindle like way) relating to his topic.

Hardlinking is going to be important because it is the next natural progression of things. GPS devices and QR Codes are further linking us into a rich web of learning.

The first response that most people have to this sort of thing is:
How stupid?
Too much technology, why don't we get out and play?
Who on earth would want to do that?

However, as my Dad used to say -- if everybody thinks it is a good idea - you're too late. I seem to recall the same things being said about twitter 2 years a go. This is life and life is change.

So, if you are a QR Code expert - teach me and how do I make this bloomin' cell phone read those things without racking up horrible data charges! Ughh!

Twitter responses below.

leighmurrell@coolcatteacher That is why I heart twitter. I would love to learn about it! Are you going to present it at NECC?2 minutes ago from TweetDeck in reply to coolcatteacher
ajwms@coolcatteacher Oh yes, museums would be awesome! We were thinking marketing 4 schools and media within online courses! BeeTag wks gr8 4 me12 minutes ago from TweetDeck in reply to coolcatteacher
msquihuis@coolcatteacher there are better QR Code readers for iphone - QuickMark, Intelliscan, Neoreader #iphone #qr code22 minutes ago from TweetDeck in reply to coolcatteacher
ajwms@coolcatteacher They say things follow you. Your post is so timely as we are just starting to explore QR codes here..I am totally fascinated26 minutes ago from TweetDeck in reply to coolcatteacher
cuevash@coolcatteacher wow, you are going 2 b busy. I would have notes too. You've got fabulous material. Time 2 shine-be well.about 7 hours ago from UberTwitter in reply to coolcatteacher
dajbelshawJust watched short Edutopia video showcasing what @coolcatteacher has been up to. Great stuff! (http://bit.ly/lEzsh)about 7 hours ago from TweetDeck
scsdmedia@coolcatteacher Could it be http://bit.ly/3lyj1 . Not a cell phone tho.about 10 hours ago from Nambu in reply to coolcatteacher
LSA_Paul@murcha, @julielindsay and @coolcatteacher Sorry I missed this. Could have participated as an Oz teacher seeing I am in Sydney this week :(about 10 hours ago from twhirl in reply to murcha
murchaI think that was the first time that three schools shared the student summit. An amazing experince. Thanks @julielindsay and @coolcatteacherabout 10 hours ago from web
AugmentedAdvertRT: @coolcatteacher hi I use Bee Tag which reads QR codes Lots of work being done on this in UK Tricias had a.. http://tinyurl.com/mhmdb5about 10 hours ago from twitterfeed
mathtrain.@coolcatteacher I use the barcodes on my Mathtrain site and I put them on my biz cards too! I use kaywa.about 13 hours ago from TwitterFon
orunner@coolcatteacher hi I use Bee Tag which reads QR codes Lots of work being done on this in UK Tricias had a QR as her avatar for a whileabout 14 hours ago from Tweetie in reply to coolcatteacher
AugmentedAdvertRT: @coolcatteacher QR Codes?: @coolcatteacher QR Codes? http://tinyurl.com/kw3ndvabout 14 hours ago from twitterfeed
qrpower@coolcatteacher - you're talking about a QR code. You can create them here: http://lo.ly/37 and learn about them.. http://bit.ly/XaVtUabout 15 hours ago from twitterfeed
theikidsblog@coolcatteacher - you're talking about a QR code. You can create them here: http://lo.ly/37 and learn about them here - http://lo.ly/22about 15 hours ago from web
npratt@robindcrow hey Robin try following: @kerrygallivan, @wfryer, @bethstill, kgustin, @debrennersmith, @coolcatteacher, @isteconnectsabout 15 hours ago from web in reply to robindcrow
leighmurrell@coolcatteacher hall davis talked about it in his cell phone preso at CUEabout 16 hours ago from TweetDeck in reply to coolcatteacher
qrpower@coolcatteacher re: personal barcode - I think this is the one you may be thinking of: http://qrcode.kaywa.com/ .. http://bit.ly/SYx9Iabout 17 hours ago from twitterfeed
qrpower@coolcatteacher QR code there are several readers you can get for your phone http://bit.ly/P0ud0about 17 hours ago from twitterfeed
cwebbtech@coolcatteacher re: personal barcode - I think this is the one you may be thinking of: http://qrcode.kaywa.com/ (from @tscheeler).about 17 hours ago from TweetDeck in reply to coolcatteacher
coachburk@coolcatteacher My friend has an Android phone and he get take picture of the Barcode of things and it will show him prices elsewhereabout 17 hours ago from web in reply to coolcatteacher
sfens@coolcatteacher I don't get how the bar code thing works, what would you be learning?about 17 hours ago from Netvibes
kathweaver@coolcatteacher Microsoft has a "tag" program that you can take a picture of a tag and it's linked to a contactabout 17 hours ago from TwInbox
dragonsinger57@coolcatteacher QR code there are several readers you can get for your phoneabout 17 hours ago from iTweet in reply to coolcatteacher
rec54@coolcatteacher Yeah, go to scanlife.com - you can put it on business cards or whatever and then take a pic with the ScanLife app for iPhoneabout 17 hours ago from web in reply to coolcatteacher
njtechteacher@coolcatteacher Listen to @betchaboy podcast QR codes are interesting: http://bit.ly/ngH9sabout 17 hours ago from web in reply to coolcatteacher
Lilylauren@coolcatteacher http://www.scanlife.com/atl...about 17 hours ago from TweetDeck
cogdog@coolcatteacher QRcode generator http://qrcode.kaywa.com/about 17 hours ago from web in reply to coolcatteacher
damian613@coolcatteacher http://is.gd/19KtTabout 17 hours ago from web in reply to coolcatteacher
damian613@coolcatteacher QR Codes?about 17 hours ago from web in reply to coolcatteacher
Lilylauren@coolcatteacher more info http://en.wikipedia.org/wik...about 17 hours ago from TweetDeck in reply to coolcatteacher
Lilylauren@coolcatteacher hey they are EZ codes more info here http://bit.ly/9KyQF they are cool i knw a littleabout 18 hours ago from TweetDeck in reply to coolcatteacher
alfredtwo@coolcatteacher http://www.microsoft.com/tag/ perhaps?

Daily Spotlight on Education 06/23/2009

coolcatteacher@gmail.com (Victoria A Davis, Cool Cat Teacher) — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 02:27:54 PDT

Nike breaks mobile bar code campaign at Mountain Dew event - Mobile Marketer - Messaging
Mobile barcodes are a cool way that cell phones are now being used - integrating pictures with SMS - it is called MMS.
tags: education, cellphone, wireless_connectivity, arts_entertainment
How To: keep your iTunes library on an external hard drive
So, your itunes library is way too big!!! Move it to an external harddrive. This is how!! Then you can sync from multiple computers (just put a copy of the library on both computers) -- really really cool.
tags: education, itunes, web2_smackdown

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

Daily Spotlight on Education 06/22/2009

coolcatteacher@gmail.com (Victoria A Davis, Cool Cat Teacher) — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 02:27:56 PDT

Network Summer Camp Planning Wiki - Participants
Many in the edublogosphere are networking their kids. I want to network mine, it just depends upon the times - coming up on several weeks of intense traveling!
tags: education, learning
Playnormous Health Games : Win a Free Playnormous iMac
Website with all kinds of downloadable and playable heath games, classroom activities and assessments. (As long as they remember to push away from the computer and exercise!)
tags: education, learning, health
YouTube - No Future Left Behind
For the NetGenEd project, students at Suffern Middle school created a video to challenge and deliver the keynote for the project. It is amazing the script that these students wrote for the project!
tags: education, learning, worldonline, virtual_communication, prediction
YouTube - Flat Classroom- How We Roll
I love this video that George Haines and the students made about the experience of having students from around the world come together at the Flat Classroom conference. This is what they said about the conference - a phrase that the students coined and carried through the conference. Boy, what a great experience.
tags: education, learning, flatclassroomconference, worldonline, story_empath
Steves Reflection of The Conference - Flat Classroom Conference
I love this reflection from the flat classroom conference. This is my favorite movie that I like to share.
tags: worldonline, www_world, education
Steve talking about the friends he has made 3:12
Love how Steve shares about the friends he has made in Qatar! Scroll down to comments and click 3:12 to get directly there.
tags: education, learning, flatclassroom, flatclassroomconference
Cool Cat Teacher Blog: Estie's kids are working so hard to get to Qatar
The progression to help students meet face to face. Steve Says:

"The Project alone is already unique and very amazing considering the fact that we are actually working together with students around the world with the help of technology. So what better way to finish the project off by actually working with the people we have been working with online."
tags: education, learning, worldonline, www_world, virtual_communication
Youtube - Fundraising Video to Raise Money to go to Qatar
Video that students from Spring Woods High school in Houston, Texas made to raise money to go to Doha, Qatar.
tags: education
YouTube - Three Cups of Tea SFPL Main Stage
Peace through education - this fits so well with what we're doing and seeing in Flat Classroom. Oh, if I could get an audience to learn but also to just connect for the vision with flat classroom.
tags: education, flatclassroom, learning, virtual_communication, worldonline, story_empath
Backchannel Basics
Basic Backchannel chat room netiquette. I use this generic slideshow to share and teach about backchannel.
tags: education, learning, backchannel, web2.0, web2_smackdown
NECC 2009 - Slideshare Event Group
If you're on slideshare and want to share your NECC 2009 presentations, just add them to this event group! Event groups are cool ways to share slides.
tags: education, necc2009, necc09

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

NECC 2009: Endless Possibilities

coolcatteacher@gmail.com (Victoria A Davis, Cool Cat Teacher) — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 05:30:25 PDT

Mixed up this fun video using some things I want to demo at the Web 2 Smackdown 2009 including Pinnacle Automovie (a feature of Pinnacle Studio which automatically made this video for the most part after I added the pics and creative commons music.) It also demos the youtube annotations feature - when the movie starts, you'll see a little square in the bottom right corner that you can click and turn on annotations and see the notes about what is going on. (NOte: I have a Netvibes page to help you track Necc 2009 that is being updated.)

These pictures are from 2007 and 2008 edubloggercons and NECC from the blogger's lounge.

You know the thing about these is you've got a long of very opinionated, strong willed people in the room and so sometimes it has ups and sometimes it gets pretty volatile - but one thing about it - it is always real. I love the people there - whether they are bloggers or not - and they are just some of the greatest people anywhere.

The most important thing to remember that if you come -- ALL of us feel out of it sometimes and some of us don't get to see each other much and we work together A LOT, so when we get together we want to be together -- just jump right on in there and say hello even if you're new to all this - there is always room for more!

OK, guys, gotta to get ready for the day! Have fun and join us at Edubloggercon face to face or Virtually. If you look at the schedule, there are elluminate rooms for it -- join in and listen but also have your own meet up and discussion in your area! Take a picture and upload and you're there!!! Have fun.

And if you want to join the Web 2 smackdown at 9:30 am EDT on Saturday, here are the links. Oh, and the video includes ONE blogger who I really want to meet but WILL NOT be there - can you find him?

Daily Spotlight on Education 06/21/2009

coolcatteacher@gmail.com (Victoria A Davis, Cool Cat Teacher) — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 02:28:00 PDT

ccMixter - Our Voices Shall Be Heard
Music coming up on ccmixter that is being mixed and remixed as relating to the unrest in Tehran, Iran.
tags: education, creativecommons, music, learning
web 2.0 keychain
Kevin Hunnicut's keychain to use with teachers. This is a great idea!
tags: education, learning
Embassies Accepting Injured People in Tehran
There is a silent player to this whole thing in Iran -- Google maps.
tags: education, mobile, virtual_communication, worldonline, story_empath
edubloggercon - Web 2 Smackdown 2009
Wiki for the Edubloggercon event.
tags: web2_smackdown, web2, web2.0, education, necc2009, necc09
Kevin Honeycutt's Web 2.0 Keychain
One of my favorite web 2.0 tools shown last year at necc wasn't on a computer, it was a keychain used by Kevin Honeycutt. These are amazing and this is a photograph of that. These were given to the teacher at his school in sort of a swap meet - people wrote about what it was and links on one side and the name on the other side along with the name of a person who could be contacted to help with that. Each teacher had to bring two to share with the others.
tags: education, web2.0, web2, eb09, web2_smackdown, technology, bestpractices
Top 10 web2_smackdown | Diigo
Great Web 2.0 links that will be shared (and were shared last year) from the Web 2.0 smackdown. This is a speed sharing session where people are given 3 minutes to come and share their information. The bookmarks will be fed to this link. This is where the links go!
tags: education, web2.0, eb09, web2_smackdown
edubloggercon - EduBloggerCon 2009 Party
Post edubloggercon party - another fun (and free) event - this one hosted by Wikispaces -- Oh so much fun!

(And there is a link here to participate virtually as well!)
tags: education, necc2009, necc09, eb09, edu_news
edubloggercon - EduBloggerCon 2009
Edublogger con details for Saturday - this fun free unconference is one of my favorite personal PD experiences of the year. I'll only get to be there in the morning but need volunteers for the web 2.0 smackdown we're planning.
tags: education, learning, edubloggercon, necc2009, necc09, eb09, edu_news, edu_trends
EduBloggerCon 2009 & Classroom 2.0 Meetup - Classroom 2.0
If you're going to edubloggercon 2009 - RSVO on this page - sometimes you can attend virtually, so you might want to follow this as well!
tags: education, necc, necc2009, eb09

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

Daily Spotlight on Education 06/20/2009

coolcatteacher@gmail.com (Victoria A Davis, Cool Cat Teacher) — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 02:27:56 PDT

I Education Apps Review - I Education Apps Review
I Education Apps review -- cool website that you can join to review apps for use in education.
tags: education, learning, iphone, itouch, technology, edu_news
eTwinning Portal - Homepage
Wow 60,000 classes in europe are connecting with eTwinning - looks very interesting. Amazing.
tags: education, lerning

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

Daily Spotlight on Education 06/19/2009

coolcatteacher@gmail.com (Victoria A Davis, Cool Cat Teacher) — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 02:28:00 PDT

Suggest a Question for the debate at NECC 2009
Come on and suggest your questions and vote on them for the panel. Add your comments and thoughts. If you don't like the questions, then it is your job to do something about it!
tags: education, learning, necc
How to link to the exact minute and second of a youtube clip
This is called deep linking and allows you to link to the exact minute and second of a youtube clip.
tags: education, youtube
Cool Cat Teacher Blog: Favorite Inspirational Youtube Clips and Youtube in Education
Was looking at some old inspirational youtube clips today for teachers. So many great ones here!
tags: education, leraning

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

Are Traditional Textbooks Dead?

coolcatteacher@gmail.com (Victoria A Davis, Cool Cat Teacher) — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 07:46:37 PDT

Published in the May/June 2008 Issue of the National School Supply and Equipment Association newsletter last year. I retained rights to publish on Cool Cat Teacher and since many discussions about textbooks have been circulating, (Kindle: Amazon's 6!) I'd like to share my thoughts.

I predict that the word “textbook” will soon carry the same connotation as the word “scroll” does today. The word “scroll” harkens to a time when scholarly materials were produced on papyrus and stored in cool vaults, to be accessed by the few elite lucky enough to have access. Likewise, with the proliferation of scholarly works on the Internet, students and teachers are now able to create their own repositories of knowledge based upon reliable sources. Some classes are eliminating textbooks all together, opting for sites like Curriki or creating projects where students compile, authenticate, and create information based upon their research.

Additionally, the green movement sweeping the planet has many educators looking down their nose at the wasteful process of printing and tossing paper textbook products. Where do traditional textbook companies fit in this flux of change? As a classroom teacher on the cusp of this evolution, I believe that textbook companies still have great value to add in the classroom as “content conduits” that connect students and teachers with their peers, provide content for open editing while authenticating accuracy, and knitting together the wide variety of asynchronous and synchronous communications methods available in today’s world.

Traditional textbook content originates from relatively small set of editors who are unknown to most of the teachers who use their textbook. Even this traditional method of publication must evolve as teachers now long to “get to know” the authors of books via electronic means. Where is their blog? Who are they? Why are they an authority? In a society that is now extremely distrustful of all authority, teachers have learned to check out their sources. Blindly trusting textbook companies and their “so called” experts goes against the cultural shift that is happening. By providing access to the authors via webinar, live chat, blogs, and online events, teachers and curriculum directors are able to “meet” and understand the viewpoint of the author behind the work.

However, this traditional textbook content must evolve as well. Curricular content must be able to evolve and be augmented by the classrooms that are using the material. The online wiki textbook, Curriki, has evolved from teachers and curriculum directors wanting to make changes or add the most accurate information possible to ONE source. The declassification of Pluto as a planet has done more to cause teacher chagrin over the permanent inaccuracies now present in their textbook. Teachers hunger for ONE internet source to go to that is ACCURATE.

The concern of many authorities in their field in creating an online “textbook” such as Curriki is that it is too easy to edit and will become replete with error. If we look at the largest online “textbook” in history, Wikipedia, we see that the secret to their longevity has been two ingredients: a massive number of editors including many “super editors” who take the process of keeping information accurate very seriously AND evolution (such as reducing the number of anonymous editors allowed.) Likewise, there is a growing knowledge of best practice for maintaining accurate wikis that is emerging and will allow textbook companies to begin producing their own wiki-book for either public or subscriber allowed access and edit.

Additionally, the position of “author” or “editor” will evolve from a one-time “I wrote a book” model to that of an ongoing “supereditor” or authenticator of online content. Ongoing, daily, expert management and interaction with these spaces is going to make top teachers a top commodity for textbook companies and alignment with well-known experts something companies seek to do.

The evolution of textbooks into online self-correcting information sources with known contributors and super editors is one step. The augmentation of textbooks with links to lesson plans, student work, and safe educational networks is also going to be vital. Teachers want to find each other and if textbook companies don’t help it happen, teachers will do it on their own. They want to link up with other classes at the same grade level and using the same textbook in spaces with common guidelines. This is the holy grail of what textbook companies have to offer education: content conduits. Conduits of content AND connection. Classrooms want connection to the expert authors. They also want connection between their students and teachers.

In business school, we studied about the transportation moguls who squandered a fortune propping up the railroad business. Throughout history, businesspeople who mistook the “medium” as the “product” missed the boat. The business of textbook companies should not be PAPER… it should be content. Once that is clarified, it is a matter of selecting the appropriate conduit for that content.

There are too many conduits available to discuss them all, however, I believe that any successful model of delivery will look at two basic communication methods: asynchronous and synchronous. Asynchronous (meaning “not at the same time”) is what textbook companies are already pretty good at. A book is written, published, and sold to be used by students over the next few years. Paper is becoming more instant AND differentiated (an important thing for teachers) with the advent of devices like Sony ebook reader and the Amazon Kindle. Additionally, paper-thin, bendable monitors are on the close horizon, eliminating our need for paper altogether. Instantly delivered ebooks are in the immediate horizon. But teachers and students want more than that. The online site Librivox provides free downloads of many great works of literature so that students may listen to Hamlet’s speech on their ipod (and memorize it as happened in my classroom.) When cell phones can replicate the power of the laptop, many schools may begin allowing these devices in order to alleviate the strain on their thin technology budgets.

Additionally, teachers want safe places to “share” their student videos, audio, podcasts, and their own reflections. This creates the need for educational networks of students, teachers, and administrators. Most importantly, the wiki provides an incredibly useful platform for editing and authenticating information. And while many textbook company executives may detest this idea, I was conversing with a teacher in Maine the other day about how we wished that such a wiki model would evolve! We long for the ability to click a button and have the selected wiki pages of such a site delivered to us the next week in our own customized textbook. Good online content and instant delivery options will go hand in hand with offline, printed content and I think this “wiki-push” model is just the way to do it.

Additionally, textbook companies must move into synchronous environments. This includes: live streaming of events, live chats, ongoing project “contests” for digital works created in a chapter (ie. Best ones are published online). Matching up classroom calendars based upon the topics covered and participation in ongoing projects like my own flat classroom project (http://flatclassroomproject.wikispaces.com) will become standard offerings of competitive content conduit companies. Additionally, within the next ten years, creation of 3D environments accompanying textbook materials like the Literature Alive! Worlds created by my friend Beth Ritter-Guth will become coveted subscription driving ventures.

I see several threats to textbook companies that are slow to undergo the transformation. Teachers are connecting at a grassroots level at an accelerating pace. If the companies that serve education do not connect us as we want them to, we teachers will do it ourselves. What will emerge is anyone’s guess. Additionally, I see many teachers very dissatisfied with the blitzkrieg-like method of changing textbooks and curriculum. The best schools seem to have continuity and when teachers are forced to completely overhaul everything they do every 3-4 years with the introduction of a new book, it is infecting many schools with a growing dissatisfaction with the whole publication process. Online bridges between textbook publication must become stronger and evolve WITH classrooms. Additionally, global competition will affect both students AND companies. Educators are seeing the value of such standards ISTE’s NETS standards for students and want to see technology tools move from “computer class” into every class. Computers are becoming ubiquitous and content must also. To learn more about these trends, read Thomas Friedman’s book The World is Flat, Dan Pink's A Whole New Mind, or Don Tapscott’s, Wikinomics.

Time of great turmoil also means that new companies will emerge of that dramatic market share shifts will occur. I see several big opportunities: finding the right people, creating the right conduits, and sharing the right information. Today’s multi-tasking teachers are now writing magazine articles, creating tutorials, and freelancing during the summer. “I taught for 10 years” doesn’t carry as much credibility as “I teach” and there are great opportunities for businesses to link up with well known teachers in the blogosphere and online circles. Additionally, companies have never had more access to the end users of their product in the history of creating books. Involving strong practioners and classrooms in the ongoing evolution of your products just makes good sense. However, these people are very busy…and their time is limited. First come, first serve.

Creating the right conduits is important, however, good faith sharing of some information is part of the ethos of the well-favored organization. Start-up companies making freeways into educational space like Elluminate and Diigo are hosting free webinars and making their executives and programmers available to talk about the strengths and weaknesses of their product on a daily basis. I believe that strong grant programs to pull in the “super-educators” who will bring your content conduit to attention will become important and viable marketing tools.

The simple fact, that a practicing teacher in the classroom can now blog and reach over 4,000 educators on a daily basis (see my Cool Cat Teacher blog – http://coolcatteacher.blogspot.com) and be asked to cast a vision for the future of textbooks should point out that times are a changing! The writing is not on the wall – it is on the computer screen. How will your content evolve?

Vicki A. Davis is a teacher at Westwood Schools in Camilla, Georgia and blogs at the popular CoolCat Teacher blog (http://coolcatteacher.blogspot.com). Her book, ClickSmart, will be published in the Summer of 2008.

Daily Spotlight on Education 06/18/2009

coolcatteacher@gmail.com (Victoria A Davis, Cool Cat Teacher) — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 02:27:58 PDT

YouTube - Twitter HashTags Explained
So, you want to understand twitter hashtags (when people use the # in front of letters) - this video from Mike Wesley might help.
tags: education, twitter, edu_newapp
Artsonia Teachers :: ArtRage Promotion
Download Artrage through July 7th if you join artsonia.
tags: education, learning
Artsonia Teachers - a K-12 student art museum displaying school gallery artwork for free
Through July 6th you can get free Artsonia software. Good luck art teachers.
tags: education, art, learning, art_teacher, technology, edu_news
41826 NSSEA-web.pdf (application/pdf Object)
This includes an article I wrote about the future of textbooks.
tags: education, learning, textbook
BACK TO SCHOOL
An article I wrote on the future of textbooks is on page 26. It is still relevant.
tags: education, textbook

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

PreK Secret to Success: Give me relationship

coolcatteacher@gmail.com (Victoria A Davis, Cool Cat Teacher) — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 16:50:07 PDT

"Ugh... give me ball," the cromagnon man with waist length black hair, partial toga, and a big big red plastic baseball bat said at the door of my classroom. Then he walked away.

It took a moment. First, I had to figure out who it was - he was so DIFFERENT. Who was he? Then, it dawned on me. It was the senior's last week this week and it was one of them, I'll call him c-man.

When C-man was in 10th grade, he was part of the first Flat Classroom class and we were in on a Saturday. The learning curve for all of us was HUGE and we were pushing Windows Movie Maker to the max (we've since moved to Pinnacle Studio Ultimate Version 12.) Some of the kids were tossing a hand sized yellow nerf and he was tired and ready to go home - he looked at them and said, "Give me ball." It came out jilted and monotone like a caveman, probably because he was so unbelievably tired.

Well, it struck me as funny. It sounded like a caveman and so, I like to give nicknames, and called him "caveman" and laughed and laughed along with the kids. Later, he said, "I don't like the nickname..." and so, I had dropped it. Every once in a while, we joked about "give me ball" but that was that.

Cman was about to graduate and it was coming full circle. He was getting the "last laugh." It was his way of saying "bye." Once it dawned on me, like a dawn in a rainstorm -- really really slowly - I started laughing. My ninth graders didn't have a clue - all they knew was that Mrs. Davis was in tears. Cman had pulled it right back on me.

After I told them, they laughed - but they know. They know this... that part of what happens in my classroom is this intense learning but another part of what comes through intense learning is also a relationship. I love my students... at least once a day there is at least once incident of hilarious, sidesplitting laughter, doubled over laughter - often involving tears. (Like another one I wrote about recently.) It is just part of being in my classroom.

Research Says Relationship is Key to PreK Program
Well, today as I was reading a great book The Obama Education Plan: An Education Week Guide (a book I highly recommend for ALL educators public or private - US or not as really it is mostly reprinted research studies relating to the plan - items related to the Obama plan but not part of it.) The beginning chapters focus on what the research says about effective Pre-K programs. (Did you know preschool programs have the highest return on investment with a humongous $6.02 for every $1 spent compared to $2.47 for small classes and $3.07 for Wic, and nothing for full care kindergarten? - page 9.)

In the article "Teacher-Pupil Link Crucial to Pre-K Success," by Linda Jackson from May 21, 2008, she says:

"... academic and language skills were stronger when children received greater instructional support, such as feedback on their ideas and encouragement to think in more complex ways. And children's social skills were more advanced when teachers showed more positive emotions and were sensitive to children's needs." (p13)

The whole article is fascinating as it points out that

"the quality of the relationship between preschool teachers and their pupils might be more imprtant to children's learning than such factors as class size and teacher credentials, a new study suggests." (p13)

This study was from the National Institute for Early Education Research based at Rutgers University. So, how did they measure relationship? Well, the study looked at 9 minimum standards of quality from organizations such as National Association for Education of Young Children (note that professional development and state monitoring were NOT included.) It also looked at the classroom environment and student/teacher relationship using an instrument from Robert C. Pianta, dean of education at the University of Virginia. (This was in the May/June issue of Child Development.) This rating system is called CLASS, the Classroom Assessment Scoring system which looks at: instructional support, emotional climate, and classroom organization.

So, in summation the article makes two points:

instructional and emotional support raises achievement among at risk students
When "teachers are warm, sensitive, and positive, the children performed at levels almost identical to those of children without a history of behavior problems."

As a teacher, particularly one who loves my students (and admits it although the climate in education is not to express such things), this student/ teacher relationship question of mine has always been a question. When students transfer in to school, I like to get an idea of what they have learned and how they've done. There are some great other technology teachers in the area, and so I always ask students "who was your teacher?"

Invariably, students who transfer in from other schools will tell me things like: "I don't remember their names." The first time this happened, I was so shocked and said:

"You don't remember the name of any of your teachers? Just one?"

The answer:

"They don't know mine... I don't know theirs!"

You know, because of the few (usually novice) teachers who decide to jump in bed with a student - many schools don't allow their teachers to touch students or see them outside of school (unless they run into each other at church.) Now, I don't hang out with my students - I do see them at church and if they have a death in the family - you'd better believe I'm going to be their hugging their neck at their house or the funeral home.

An important element of teaching is relationship. They know that I will push them to know more and be more and I will also brag on them because I truly believe they are the best -- I don't have to fake it - I believe it.

It is so hard for research studies to isolate the effect of technology because it is so unbelievably hard to isolate for the effect of the teacher. Often, technology may actually improve a classroom due to the research study because of the feeling of the classroom and teacher because they have been paid attention to -- they are important. Attitude, emotion, relationship -- these are things that are important in teaching.

Perhaps this is why often (not always but often) teachers who use these tools like facebook, cell phone texting, and the like are able to relate to their students so much better - they have a common ground on which to relate. They understand each other.

Now, no research study would ever include whether a teacher gives nicknames or a student comes dressed as a cromagnon man to a teacher's door just to "have the last laugh," but I hope you can appreciate that I open up with that ridiculous story to make a point about the importance of having a relationship with your students.

When I see research such as this, it just resonates what so many good teachers know.

The Learning Lunch
You can take a supersmart person who hates kids and they will have the students "eating their lunch." But you can take a semismart person who loves kids and has a foundation of knowledge and it is the students who will be "eating out of their hand." It is about how they relate to students as to who gets served.

It isn't about being friends of the students or "hanging out." One time I had a student who said to me, "We'd think you were cooler if you gave us at least one day off" and I quipped, "I'm not here to be cool, I'm here to change your life." But if amidst the pushing and hard work, we can smile and laugh as we work together - then it gives me a rich, deep experience with these kids that truly makes me miss them -- even in the summer.

I love these students. I also love helping other teachers see how to reach their students safely and effectively and to do it when you don't have a lot of money to support your program. In some ways, I'm a total bundle of nerves about NECC coming up -- Gosh, I want to do a good job and everyone there is soooo amazing, it makes me feel sort of daunted by it. But I'm working hard and hope also to foster the relationships with many of you who will attend virtually or in person.

Much of teaching is about relationship - if they know you care, they'll listen. If you know I care, maybe I can help you and I hope you'll take the time to teach me too.

So, picture your student, caveman hair to their waist with a textbook in hand standing at your door -- if you can... this is what they'd say:

"Give me relationship."

And if you listen -- you'll be halfway there.

Daily Spotlight on Education 06/16/2009

coolcatteacher@gmail.com (Victoria A Davis, Cool Cat Teacher) — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 02:28:03 PDT

Microsoft Money Home
So, Microsoft suspends selling their Microsoft Money product that I've used faithfully and enjoyed these many years. Is Microsoft saying goodbye to Money? We keep seeing companies get rid of unprofitable ventures - what is next?
tags: education
State: Students not responsible for cheating - State news - Macon
High stakes testing could have pushed some schools in Georgia to high stakes cheating. There are more than these 4 that many are calling suspicious with meteoric rises in scores from some schools that I and others personally know are not getting the job done with the content they are teaching for students.

Warning to parents: Beware of test scores - they can be manipulated. Look at your child and use your common sense as to whether they are receiving a good education.
tags: education, learning, testing, crct, edu_news
Committee on Education and Labor
From the Committee on Education and Labor here in the US. Mark your calendars! This is June 16 at 10 am EDT.

"WASHINGTON, D.C. – The House Education and Labor Committee will hold a hearing on Tuesday, June 16 to examine how technology and innovative education tools are transforming and improving education in America.

Immediately following the hearing, members of the media are invited to attend an education technology demonstration where they can have hands-on experience using cutting-edge education technology products.

WHAT: Hearing on “The Future of Learning: How Technology is Transforming Public Schools”

WHO: Jennifer Bergland, chief technology officer, Bryan Independent School District, Bryan, TX

Aneesh Chopra, chief technology officer, White House Office for Science and Technology

Dr. Wayne Hartschuh, executive director, Delaware Center for Educational Technology, Dover, DE

Scott Kinney, vice president, Discovery Education, Silver Spring, MD

John McAuliffe, general manager, Educate Online Learning, LLC, Baltimore, MD

Lisa Short, science teacher, Gaithersburg Middle School, Montgomery County Public Schools, Gaithersburg, MD

Abel Real, student, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC

WHEN: Tuesday, June 16, 2009

10:00 a.m., EDT

WHERE: House Education and Labor Committee Hearing Room

2175 Rayburn House Office Building

Washington, D.C.

**Note: This hearing will be webcast live from the Education and Labor Committee website. You can access the webcast when the hearing begins at 10:00 am EDT from http://edlabor.house.gov**"
tags: education, learning, technology, edu_news

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

Daily Spotlight on Education 06/15/2009

coolcatteacher@gmail.com (Victoria A Davis, Cool Cat Teacher) — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 02:28:04 PDT

K12 Online Conference 2009 | K12Online2009: Conference Theme and Strands
K12 online announces their themes and are also looking at including presentations in Spanish. The call to present will be released during NECC 2009.
tags: education, k12online, k12online09

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

Cool Cat Teacher Blog

Daily Spotlight on Education 07/05/2009

Daily Spotlight on Education 07/03/2009

Daily Spotlight on Education 07/02/2009

Cover It live Games & Simulation Planning- Bernie Dodge and others

IPhone iTouch Birds of a Feather

Daily Spotlight on Education 06/29/2009

Daily Spotlight on Education 06/28/2009

Daily Spotlight on Education 06/27/2009

Daily Spotlight on Education 06/26/2009

Daily Spotlight on Education 06/25/2009

Catching the Flattening Bug and the Great Debate of 2008

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NECC Calendar

Daily Spotlight on Education 06/24/2009

Hardlink to the Future: QR Codes

Daily Spotlight on Education 06/23/2009

Daily Spotlight on Education 06/22/2009

NECC 2009: Endless Possibilities

Daily Spotlight on Education 06/21/2009

Daily Spotlight on Education 06/20/2009

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