Valerie's Memos

I am back.

valerie@vforteachers.com (Edited by Valerie Coskrey) — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 14:02:07 PDT

Ah, but where have I been?

Life got in the way. I started a new network, a new blog, had another grandbaby, raised a puppy, and generally got behind on blogging. Oh, and my daughter returned from Iraq.

I am upgrading the websites and have added merchants and pages and better styling.
Check out the new list of articles.

The calender is a bygone thing: totally neglected these days. I'll keep the links up and maybe get back to it next year.

I decided to open a Ning network to go with my website vforteachers.com. I also decided to turn the blog from MyPage there into a newsletter for the website. Ditto the forum. All as part of a NetworkShrub network project. (Never heard of a NetworkShrub? Check out the info at Multifacet Services network on Ning.com)

If you read the Tweets, you will see that Tweeter has been largely ignored, too.

Well, back to work. Got more pages to develop.

A poem about cloning and global warming

valerie@vforteachers.com (Edited by Valerie Coskrey) — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 12:22:37 PST

(a science poem about the first cloned mammal, Dolly the sheep clone, and the nature of the culture wars between religion and science)

This photo of a sheep and her lamb is NOT Dolly, but is from Fotolia [© foto.fritz - FOTOLIA
fotolia_397073 sheep with lamb and full wool coat.jpg] Get more from this photographer.
schaf 7 © foto.fritz

An Ode to Dolly
Re: Global Warming

Dolly had a little lamb.
It came the natural way.
Now everything that Mary’s can
A clone can do today.

“To clone,” you say, ”is playing God.
‘Tis sacrilegious. Nay.
We’ll lose our Faith, you know we will,
If we use tech that way.”

But “He helps him who helps himself”
Encourages men to plan
The use of nature in wondrous ways
To accomplish all we can.

What matters most in this age
Of stress from hotter days,
Is saving genes that work for us
No matter what the ways.

By Valerie Coskrey © 2006

You may share this poem with others if you give me credit for it. It is copyrighted. Publication requires my permission, although I will most likely be happy to give it. If you wish to place it in your blog or website, please link-back to here or to http://www.vforteachers.com , and tell me in the comment that you did so, please.

This posting was modified 31Dec08. Originally posted in 2006.

SpringWidget from UCTV Teacher's PET

valerie@vforteachers.com (Edited by Valerie Coskrey) — Sat, 06 Dec 2008 05:47:59 PST

Visit the Widget Gallery

Once again, this is almost a clone of the post in Valerie' Soapbox. But hey, different audiences....
I put the widget in the in the margin for future use. I will be writing on the shows from time to time. Follow me in Twitter to keep up with where and when--or subscribe to both blogs, or whatever.

I am now Twittering!

valerie@vforteachers.com (Edited by Valerie Coskrey) — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 07:51:21 PST

I added Twitter to my online presence because SitePointoffered a free ebook on developing websites with CSS to all Twitter followers--offer good for a couple of days only. I had already downloaded and USED the free chapters, so I wanted the whole book!

I doubt that I will twitter daily; maybe even not weekly. but who knows?

I read on one of my networks that a teacher is actually using Twitter to text questions and answers with students in the classroom. That's great if you have IM on your cell phone or if you have a laptop open to get streaming emails, like Gmail provides. Imagine, a friends (followers) IM list like a network's friends email list. Constant updates to and from all on a list with one click of the (enter/send) button.

Businesses are using Twitter to send IM to employees, some social some work-related. Imagine a twitter that says "Employee picnic this Sat, my house, noon, the Boss!" Would you need a separate account to inform customers of the "Customer Appreciation Night: Midnight Sale -- 50% off--Tomorrow Nite. Refreshments. Let's party!" or just to offer selected coupons to Twitter followers?

Twitter me!

bye for now

Ning Network

valerie@vforteachers.com (Edited by Valerie Coskrey) — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 12:39:20 PDT

Joining Technorati

valerie@vforteachers.com (Edited by Valerie Coskrey) — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 16:55:21 PDT

My other blog is already listed in Technorati. Now this one is too.

Technorati Profile

New Series of Articles

valerie@vforteachers.com (Edited by Valerie Coskrey) — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 07:25:11 PDT

What grows as fast as kudzu or spreads like ivy? Memes.

I started a new set of essays on memes and resources on my website vforteachers.com. Below are quotes from the first few articles in the series.

From the first article.

"We live our lives according to a script based in the lives of our parents," claimed 20th century psychologists. Breaking free of our parental script...

What results is a set of concepts that describes the world to me and that allows me to understand cause and effect and human interactions as well as any other typical citizen of my culture.

The concepts that influence my thinking have names; they can be verbalized. They are the memes...
Read more..

From the 2nd Article.

The American Heritage Dictionary, New College Edition, of 1980 does not have an entry for meme.

Today a Google search for meme brings up a count of 269 million sites in the search results.

Remember the Lycos internet search website commercials with the dog that fetched the information? With a few graphics and catch phrases, most everyone learned to go to Lycos.com to find information and stuff on the internet. More importantly, it taught us about search itself.

Read more.

Science on TV: a Counterpoint to the Anti-science Movement

valerie@vforteachers.com (Edited by Valerie Coskrey) — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 07:59:34 PDT

Kudos to the Science Channel, the Discovery Channel, the History Channel and the Animal Channel for their wonderful shows designed to explain science and technology to the general public. They are using modern advertising techniques to interest viewers in the topics, and modern educational and showmanship practices in informing the public during the programs.

Bottom line is the programs are fun to watch and chock full of information.

Some of my favorite themes are these:

>> I smile every time I hear and/or view the "missing link" commercial for the science channel website.
>> I have long believed that science fiction would assist the general public in understanding science and technology knowledge and issues.
>> Who would have believed that Meerkat Manor would have become such a hit soap opera?!

I hope that these programs will continue in production. Many can be viewed on DVD:

Visit the websites for schedules and some online videos.

Shopping Mall -- Getting on the Bandwagon -- Ways to Change the World

valerie@vforteachers.com (Edited by Valerie Coskrey) — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 06:59:55 PST

Well, I did it. My curiosity has been niggling my subconscious ever since I heard of PowerMalls. When a friend listed a PowerMall as her website, I did it, I signed on. I called my shop Val's Place to Shop.

The system is intriguing. Built into the concept is a mechanism for giving to the charity or non-profit organization of your choice. There is even a set of free ebooks with lists of activities that all of us can do to make a difference in world issues and common causes.

Consider these titles:
101 Ways to Change the World
101 Ways to Change the Earth
101 Ways your School can Change the World
101 Ways to Support our Troops
101 Ways to Change the World for Animals

or get them all. Or watch the flash movie associated with each. (I call my photo Soaring High. It is a meme for my goals and dreams.)

If you are searching for bargains on-line, try shopping here. Or get your own PowerMall. It's about as close to free as it gets!

Newberry Award Winners in eBook Form

valerie@vforteachers.com (Edited by Valerie Coskrey) — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 21:49:04 PDT

Many Newberry Award winners and some nominees (books and stories for youth) are available as free ebooks from Fictionwise. Use the site search for Newberry Awards to see the list.

Lee and Miller are writing more coming-of-age novels. This time about Theo Waitley, Val Con's newly discovered sibling. You can read the rough drafts on line. Visit the Liaden Universe for information and links to the Fledgling and Saltation sites to read the books.

Lee and Miller write quality stories. Their Balance of Trade is another coming-of-age science fiction novel that can be safely used with teens.

'Til next time.

A Dark Journey into the Future History of our Country

valerie@vforteachers.com (Edited by Valerie Coskrey) — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 11:56:10 PDT

Last week I had fun. I laughed with John Stewart as he showed us the sound bites repeated on each of the major networks. Almost, but not quite verbatim, each broadcaster used the same memes to analyze the statements and activities of the presidential candidates. Leave it to the mockery of Stewart to find comedy in the everyday. When my new dog barked at the eagle's birdsong that introduces the Colbert Report, I giggled and took myself off to bed. I am growing really fond of that dog.

Then I watched Link TV over the weekend. Now I am roiling in stomach acid. I spent the whole weekend in emotional turmoil. Shock at the shenanigans of American politics. Awe at the brazen usurption of American civil rights. I was slain by how I had been manipulated time and again by those I should have been able to trust. I now fear for the future of my children. The democracy of the country of my birth is being threatened from within, and patriotism will not save it.

If you want to know the source of the threat, I invite you to watch the Orwell Rolls in his Grave and Propanganda and Politics. These shows resonate with the pain of a betrayed people-US. And the sorry thing is, we actively tolled the death knell ourselves when we allowed voter fraud to occur right under our noses, and we did nothing to stop it.

I love this country. I have always believed that our diversity and system of checks and balances would guarantee our way of life for centuries to come. I believed that, flaws and all, our democracy was the best solution for governing people. I felt such pride in our goodness, or at least our striving to be good. And I am proud of our military and support the public servants-military, police, fire fighters, teachers, civil service workers--that work faithfully to keep us safe and our government operational.

I never believed that in the name of God, and freedom, a Christian president would use his power to undermine our US Constitution. I did not really believe that the mainstream public would rather pay lipservice to a politically correct notion of morality at the expense of modern technology and science. It is OK to use psychology and marketing technologies to win legal battles, no matter what the truth or who is actually guilty. But to accept scientific principles is anathema to one's faith.

Since when is the competition to win cases the measure of justice rather than the identification of guilt or innocence?

Since when is the freedom of speech less important than political correctness? Since when is the American Way subject to conforming to the neighbor in power? Since when does anyone have the right to tell me how to think? Since when can I no longer use my own sense of right and wrong to decide what choices to make?

I always thought that our Constitution protected us from government control over every aspect of our lives and thoughts. Our Bill of Rights and our US Constitution are being reinterpreted to remove the individual civil rights. What will replace them?

We live in frightening times. We live in a country on the verge of self-destruction. Slow, subtle erosions of the traditional American ideals, the vision of the founding fathers, and my civil rights are crumbling. I am white. I am Anglo-Saxon. Yet my voice, just like Peter Jenning's and Trent Lott's, is a weak whisper against the cacophany of sound bites manipulating and spinning the censored tidbits of information about current events and the axis of power in control.

If I count to 10 and breath deeply, can I will it all to go away. "Don't worry; be happy." A mantra should calm me down and make it better.

Orwell Rolls in his Grave
http://www.linktv.org/programs/special_orwellrolls
Upcoming Airdates
Timezone: CST
Monday March 10th 02:00 pm
Saturday March 15th 09:00 am
Saturday March 15th 06:00 pm
Sunday March 16th 03:00 pm

Propaganda and Politics
http://www.linktv.org/programs/special_propaganda
Upcoming Airdates
Timezone: CST
Friday, March 14th 12:00 pm
Saturday March 15th 03:00 pm
Monday March 17th 12:00 am

Stealing Democracy?
http://www.linktv.org/programs/special_stealing
Upcoming Airdates
Timezone: CST
Sunday March 16th 10:00 pm

Best of Link TV
http://www.linktv.org/rss/general/best.xml

Amazon.com Widgets

Great Stuff at Link TV

valerie@vforteachers.com (Edited by Valerie Coskrey) — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 07:55:56 PST

Link TV
has some of the most emotionally draining documentaries around. It is wonderful in its educational value and stark in its grounding in reality. It is hard to watch for a day because the issues it covers are controversial that you become emotionally involved to the point of being stressed if you do not take action of some type: write a congressman, make a donation, volunteer your time, read more about it.

The website is a treasure trove of program abstracts, trailers to programs, and rss feeds.
Here is a set of offerings of interest to k-12 teachers and homeschoolers at the 7-12 levels, mostly. (Link TV also offers worldwide music of interest to all grades!)

Get podcasts from Link TV.

http://www.linktv.org/podcasts

Earth Focus

Explore

Global Pulse

One of the Link TV sponsors offers this rss feed to world news:
Showcasing the most important news and views on human rights and development worldwide.
http://us.oneworld.net/article/feed/rss/18/

Do add these to your resources for teaching.

The Crime Lab Project

valerie@vforteachers.com (Edited by Valerie Coskrey) — Sat, 01 Mar 2008 08:38:17 PST

What do tire treads, DNA strands and fingerprints have in common?

No, this time they are not the references to CSI, CSI Miami, or CSI New York. They are not even the reference to Bones or the Profiler. Nor are they a reference to the Science Channel or the History Channel or the Discovery Channel, although you can get great videos at . Or you can Shop at ShopPBS.org.

This time these memes are the images used to frame the pages of the The Crime Lab Project website.

This project is was formed with a vision of updated local crime labs reflecting the abilities and technologies of the forensics departments depicted in TV and movies. The website says it so much better:

"What is the Crime Lab Project?
"A non-profit organization started by writers and producers, but now
including many members of the general public, the Crime Lab Project works to increase awareness of the problems facing public forensic science agencies. We seek greater support and resources for crime labs, coroner and medical examiners' offices, and other public agencies using forensic science. We also seek support for forensic science education and research.
"Anyone may join the Crime Lab Project."

Of course there are links to lots of information, including a link to a Federal law on forensics labs and newspaper clippings on the current state of forensics labs in financially strapped communities.

I stumbled across the link to this site on the webpage of Sandra Parshall, mystery writer.

I stumbled on her page when I was exploring the sff net site (while exploring rff links) which claims "SFF Net is home to the most interesting authors, publishers, media pros, and consumers of genre fiction today. What interests you?" More about that site another day.

No, that's not rff as in Resources for the Future, but rff as in Reading for the Future, whose new site is here.

More on science fiction for youth

valerie@vforteachers.com (Edited by Valerie Coskrey) — Sat, 09 Feb 2008 13:39:05 PST

Yet Another Reason to Read Science Fiction

"...creative perception often anticipates scientific findings..."

so says Science News this week (2/2/08, v 173, p. 79)when it lists a book called Proust was a Neurologist. The book summary states," Lehrer analyzes artistic discoveries such as (these)....

Read the rest of the post at Valerie's Soapbox.

For Science Fiction Readers Everywhere: A New Resource

valerie@vforteachers.com (Edited by Valerie Coskrey) — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 06:59:56 PST

Hi Y'all,

Because every blog need pictures, I have used an image of one of the PowerPoint slides that I use to illustrate the Template Design Sets that I sell on my VCCTI site and elsewhere. To me it is otherworldly. I call it boy walks in the woods: Can you see the boy?

I received this email notification from some science fiction fans on 2/2/08. I pass it on to you, my friends.

To Readers of Science Fiction and Fantasy everywhere,
When you have something great, you want everyone to know. So you tell people about it. You share it. You pass it along to friends everywhere. Well, that's what we're doing with InterGalactic Medicine Show. We want to make sure everyone has had a chance to check out what we're doing, so we're offering up a sampling of our stories – for free.
During the month of February we are going to make one story from each of our first four issues available at no charge. Two stories will be set free on February 1st, and two more on February 15th. Just visit www.intergalacticmedicineshow.com and explore the table of contents; the free stories will be clearly marked.
Issue one's free story will be "Trill and The Beanstalk" by Edmund R. Schubert, issue two's will be "Yazoo Queen" by Orson Scott Card (from his Alvin Maker series), issue three's "Xoco's Fire" by Oliver Dale, and issue four's "Tabloid Reporter To The Stars" by Eric James Stone. Each story is fully illustrated by artists who were commissioned to create artwork to accompany that tale – as is every story published in IGMS.
"Tabloid Reporter To The Stars" will also be featured in the upcoming InterGalactic Medicine Show anthology from Tor, which will be out this August (we wanted you to get a sneak peek of the anthology, too). However, the other three stories aren't available anywhere except the online version of IGMS.
It's really quite simple. Great stories. Custom illustrations. Free. We're pleased with and proud of the magazine we're publishing; now we're passing it along to our friends and telling them about it. We hope you'll enjoy it and do the same.
Edmund R. Schubert
Editor, Orson Scott Card's InterGalactic Medicine Show

Please visit this site at http://www.intergalacticmedicineshow.com

A great source of comics and gifts from altiverses is
Things From Another World, Inc.

I have contributed a booklist to the discourse. See this page in my VCCTI website to get the entire list with comments on how to use the books in a classroom. Yeah, I know it is a list of products, but the books chosen are all that I have screened for use with secondary grade students.

bye for now,

Valerie

Contest for Junior High and High School Student Website Developers

valerie@vforteachers.com (Edited by Valerie Coskrey) — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 08:43:29 PST

In my explorations of charities and statistics, I ran across this site that posted a list of statistics on world hunger.

What made the list unique was that the list was informative, varied and had no obvious citations. OK. I explored the site by going to the home page and discovered that the page was produced in a competition among students of grades 8-12 to produce a type of web quest called a think quest.

The competition is an annual event and entries can still be submitted for the 2008 year. The next few paragraphs are copied and pasted from the ThinkQuest site.

Students, ages 9-19, form a team and recruit a teacher to act as coach. Once the coach enrolls the team, students work together to create an innovative website on any topic within a broad range of educational categories. Diverse teams and globally relevant themes are encouraged.
August 15, 2007
ThinkQuest 2008 Competition Opens
April 2, 2008
Entry Submission Deadline
May 29, 2008
Winners Announcement

Living Green: Working with Green Power

valerie@vforteachers.com (Edited by Valerie Coskrey) — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 06:59:56 PST

There are dozens of websites that foster green living; that offer information on practical solutions to living in a world facing global warming and an energy crisis; and that sponsor charitable works to assist the third world in sustainable living.

Earth in Greenhouse
© James Steidl
{Get this picture: greenhouse effect © James Steidl
fotolia_1248622earth in greenhouse.jpg}
© James Steidl - FOTOLIA

Sierra Club and Trees for the Future are concerned with reforestation and using plants to clean the air of pollutants and counteract the Greenhouse Effect. Heifer International, World Hunger, ECLA, and Bread are programs for solving the issue of world hunger and human carrying capacity. Some, like UNICEF and Sierra Club, sell products that educate and raise money for their programs: UNICEF cards and gifts.ORDER today and help UNICEF help children. {This picture is from Heifer International.}

What I find interesting is that businesses are wearing the mantra of green living as an advertising strategy. For every customer who buys this product, the business will give so much to this organization. That works for me. They put forth the effort, get the tax breaks, while I get the product and the easy conscience and great feeling of knowing that I have contributed to the cause.

One might say it's consumerism, capitalism, whatever, at its best. At least the giving gets done--and with minimal pain to me, the customer.

Remember the plan presented to the UN of trading energy credits among nations? Well, the US now has such an energy credit trade for businesses. It's called a green energy credit.
Green energy certificates are purchased through a program called Green Power. Green Power, our government's experiment with energy certificates on the local level, also posts the announcements of local power companies that are seeking power to purchase.

One part of the system works like this. Say a business is established within a regular energy grid, one that rents an office in a bank-owned building, for example. The business gets electricity from the same electrical utility company as the building, namely the local electric power company. Now, the power company works on fossil fuel technology. NOT GREEN. But, the business can calculate the cost of the power it will use and buy green credits for that amount. The green credits should then be used to invest in solar and wind powered electrical generation. The business has contributed to, or participated in, GREEN LIVING.

Such businesses can advertise the fact that they have purchased a green certificate. There is even a button that can be posted on their websites.

But businesses do not stop there. They also join charities that feed the poor or plant trees to clean the air. The plan is to give so many dollars to each charity it supports for each customer that joins its program or buys its product. How many red phones do you see today?

Personally, as an affiliate marketer, my list of charities is interspersed with a few for which I advertise. I have chosen to exchange links with a couple more. Some banners I publish as my part as a volunteer to spread the message. I guess you could say that I, too, am on the bandwagon. Let that not stop you from clicking the links, however. These sites are well worth visiting for information alone, even if you do not donate or volunteer.

Education for both philanthropists and recipients are part of the charities websites as well. I have found K-12 and adult lessons, articles with statistics, articles on sustainability, agriculture, forestry, diet, horticulture, and economics at these sites. These sites are gold mines of information.

For many, the philosophy of giving now carries the principles of sustainability and economic development. It is not enough to give food. Charities strive to educate recipients to grow their own food, to develop communities and markets, and to determine the best resources for continued growth. It is the "Teach a man to fish" practice.

Two organizations that serve as watchdogs on the reputations of charities are American Institute of Philanthropy and Charity Navigator. Each provides their top 10 list of favorable charities, unique lists for how to distinguish good charities from scams, articles on charities and the need for such, and archives of past press releases.

Before you get really confident in choosing a charity based on the rating systems of charity watchdogs, read about a few additional criteria in this critique of simplistic rating systems based primarily on the distribution of funds.

Memes are wonderful things. They convey ideas in multiple layers that branch into other ideas with just a word or phrase. The Living Green phrase is a meme that is rapidly growing branches. It reflects a global concern with the risks of climate change, human carrying capacity, energy crisis, and sustainability. It conveys a national concern with local problems and solutions. It conveys the personal concern of stewardship towards our earth and its peoples. And it has become a mantra for doing business with, at least some, ethical practices.

Nominate your favorite science teacher

valerie@vforteachers.com (Edited by Valerie Coskrey) — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 18:01:09 PST

This announcement comes from Cathy Tramontana AAAS Project 2061/CCMS

Please help spread the word about an outstanding science teacher in your state or district.

AAAS is now accepting nominations for the 2008
AAAS Leadership in Science Education Prize for High School
Teachers.
The $1,000 prize honors a high school science teacher who
has contributed to the AAAS goal of advancing science education by
developing an innovative and effective strategy, activity, or
program.
The 2007 winner was veteran chemistry teacher Chris Kennedy of Hiram, Georgia.

All nominations must be received by AAAS no later than 2 March
2008.
For full details about the prize and to download the
nomination and application forms, please visit
www.aaas.org/aboutaaas/awards/hs_scied_leadership .

For more information, contact AAAS Project 2061's Lester Matlock at lmatlock@aaas.org.

Want to know how to use science fiction in your teaching?

valerie@vforteachers.com (Edited by Valerie Coskrey) — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 16:14:26 PST

If you have visited my website, then you know that I am passionate about the usefulness of science fiction to teach science and to explore the ethical issues of both today and tomorrow.

I was pleased to come across this announcement in an email:

The Life, the Universe & Everything Educator's Conference is Saturday, Feb 16, 2008. Life, the Universe & Everything: the Marion K. "Doc" Smith Symposium on science fiction and fantasy (LTUE) is February 14-16, 3rd floor, Wilkinson Student Center, Brigham Young University, Provo UT. Guests include Orson Scott Card, Gail Carson Levine and Kevin Wasden.

The conference is FREE. For more information and a schedule go to ltue.org.

But, that's not all. This is a conference for educators. One of the presentations will be on ways to use science fiction in classrooms, including K-12.

I want to thank Dave Anderson for bringing the conference to my attention. I expect lists of books appropriate for students and lesson plans to come out of this conference. If you go, let us know.

What is the plan for this blog?

valerie@vforteachers.com (Edited by Valerie Coskrey) — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 15:47:40 PST

Hi Y'all,

I keep coming across announcements of interest to teachers. So I thought I would post them here. Look for information on new products of interest to teachers and homeschoolers, families, and beginning website developers. Add your own announcements. Let's see where it takes us.

Sorry, but I will moderate for acceptable blog use--no obscenities, no slander, no hate or racism, no porn, etc. If you want to review a product, go for it. If you want information, ask for it. If you want us to visit your site, provide a URL and expect me to make a comment about it when/if I post your URL. Sorry, but I am an affiliate marketer and reserve the right to post my own ads. But give us a link to your site, anyway.

As moderator, I reserve the right to decide what gets posted, but I welcome your submissions--and your comments.

--Valerie