I have been fascinated by Finland for many years, and have often wondered why we aren’t looking more toward the country’s education system as a role model. Finland provides equal education for ALL. Teachers are paid for professional development and continuing their higher ed. Teachers are paid fairly, even though money is not the driving factor in career choices. Mediocrity is not accepted. Students do not pay for lunch in Finland. There is no special education. There is room in the Finnish classroom for exploration, taking time to delve deeper, and even making mistakes. Class sizes are small – no more than 20 students/class.

To me, Finland really stands out because teachers are trusted by the public, businesses, government, and most importantly, their students. Teachers are highly regarded. Students want to become teachers. Students are trusted, too. There are few behavior issues in the Finnish classroom because of the focus on and nurturing of the individual student. Students’ talents and interests are emphasized, celebrated, and incorporated into their learning. What I find even more remarkable, though, is that in high school, students are researching and developing in their “fields.” They are receiving real-world application and producing real-world projects for their portfolios. In a sense, they are getting career experience before they even receive a degree in their fields of study. They are self-motivated and take on the responsibility of learning. Their school day is flexible. Even their schedule is flexible. Students can graduate after two-four years of high school, depending upon how much they put into their work.

Research and hands-on exploration are key. Research always has been and always will be an important factor in lifelong learning. I have no idea where I would be if I didn’t have the proper foundation of research in my public education. My high school English teacher (thank you, Mrs. Wills) and K-12 library media specialists (thank you, Mrs. Donathan and Mom) were equally instrumental in helping me develop these skills. That’s what prepared me for life. Not just career, but life. I won’t forget them.

Why have research skills been so far removed from school? I don’t see much emphasis placed on research. More and more of my clients in the schools, the library media specialists, are given other responsibilities and becoming part-time LMS’s or, even worse, being pulled from the library altogether. They are sometimes placed into the classroom or into the libraries of multiple schools. I find this very alarming. The library is central to the school. Students and teachers rely on the expertise of the media specialist, who knows the library, to help them locate books, trustworthy Internet and multimedia references that are integral to their research, projects, and lessons. These are the people who can match a reluctant reader with a good book to generate a passion for reading. These are the well-read educators who possess knowledge in a wide variety of areas and can guide a learner in the necessary direction to find answers. These are the central processors of the school. You can find links about The Finnish School Library Association here. It is evident that the school library media specialist is pretty important there, too.

If we are ever going to put the needs of our students first and prepare them for such an uncertain future in an innovative way, we need to rethink the way we structure our schools. We need to add to students’ experiences and resources – not take away from them. We need to nurture their talents, feed their curiosity, show them how to find the answers to important questions, give them room to explore, guide them in their critical thinking and analysis, and celebrate with them when they learn from mistakes. We cannot possibly achieve any of that without good classroom teachers, the library media specialist, and without teaching research skills. There are other significant factors in innovative student learning, but these should be at the top of the list. Every time.

Our culture is very different from Finland, but I believe there are many ways we can learn from their successes. First, however, we have to come together as a nation and want to put education at the top of our priorities. It will require some sacrifice on our part, and we will have to accept that. We have to understand that this is necessary in order to become a stronger, more resilient, and better educated United States of America. I think we can.

One highlight of the summer (besides the gardening project, MultiMedia PD event, and all the fun workshops in schools) for me was that I finally made it to ISTE! San Diego was lovely, too. While the temps were in the 100′s here in Kentucky, it was a pleasant 65-75 degrees there. I came home to the shocking, oppressive heat.

It was the largest and most fantastic conference I have ever experienced – a little overwhelming at times, but I sure learned a lot. Here are some of the tricks and tools I learned about (many of you may already know about these, but they were new to me).

Want a more secure passcode setting on your iPad? You can create an extended passcode. The default simple passcode has four digits, but you can choose many more digits and they don’t have to be just numeric. Here’s how:

SETTINGS>GENERAL>PASSCODE LOCK>SIMPLE PASSCODE (turn off – if you already have a passcode, you will need to enter it in order to get in to change it). Then you will be able to enter your new passcode and have access to all keyboard characters.

Also, the volume switch can take a picture so that you can have more stability. Don’t forget the grid option as you compose your shot.

Cool Free/Affordable Apps/Sites:

• zite: customizable content by topic. It creates your own personal “magazine.” One stop for all the articles you like and suggestions based on your interests. Kinda like Netflix is with recommending videos based on what you watch. FREE
• flipboard: a personalized magazine of all things shared with you (facebook, twitter, instagram, pinterest, youtube, etc.) FREE
• notability: great for storyboarding, has audio capability – said to be the best notebook app out there. You can handwrite notes, annotate pdf’s, sync with your dropbox, advanced word processing, audio recording, media insertion, library organization.
• paperport: a lot like notability, but limited in options. Still very good, audio, shareable files, freehand note-taking, etc. FREE
• FotoPlanet: tons of creative commons photos
• iAmJazz for iPad: direct a jazz band. FREE
• appshopper.com and the App Shopper app: see a list of freebies, organize your apps wish list, get updates when they go on sale, keep track of apps you own with push notification to automatically sends updates to your device. Track price drops. Display the current top 200 apps. Sync app with website. FREE
• Team Shake: puts a group of people into teams for sports or any other reason. It’s random, so there are no questions of favoritism.
• Group Games: provides team building, ice breakers, and other game ideas. There is also a Group Games Guide for Facilitators and Teachers that’s more directed toward P.E., drama, outdoor games.
• Formative Feedback for Learning: allows for collaboration between teachers and students (or other groups) in conference setting. Uses camera to play back video that can be marked up by students for feedback.
• Apps Gone Free: a website that lists the best free apps of the day. It’s based on Pacific time, so one has to be aware of that. It’s recommended that you check the price in the app store before installing the free app because vendors’ prices can change at any time.
• Garage Band: a portable podcast studio and don’t forget about the different amps you have to choose from.
• TodaysMeet: allows for comments and follow up information after a workshop is conducted. There is an option as to how long (up to one year) you want to keep the “room” active. FREE
• Idea Sketch: mind map, diagram, flow chart, etc. for storyboarding. FREE
• Yogile:   free acct for sharing photo albums via email – keeps up to 30 days and is password protected
• Comic Life: sketch storyboard with images  to make a comic strip
• Fotobabble: iPod touch or iPhone only – instantly share narrated slideshow with others, includes photo editing capabilities and filters.
• SonicPics: for Narrated Slideshow – snap photos, narrate, and share

Other Awesome Organizations and Resources:

Taking It Global is a non-profit organization cased in Toronto and Ontario that provides an online social networking community that deals with global environmental issues and gives youth a voice in how to make a change for their futures. They claim that this social network came out prior to myspace and facebook. It’s really a very cool organization and the resources are free for all.

• The education component supplies  a virtual learning platform, PD, global learning programs, and database of curriculum-linked resources for all content areas and levels to teachers.
• More components include live international events where students are taking action to save the forests in various locations around the world. The current focus is Borneo. http://treadlightly.tigweb.org/ and  http://dfa.tigweb.org/
• They also have an app: http://www.commit2act.org activation code: INSPIRE

Special Event on Sept. 22, 2012:  International observance of the moon. Sounds pretty cool.

“Look! I’m Learning!” A Story of Digital Learning Success is a full length film about a new revolution led by kids that tells a much larger story inside the experiences of early elementary teachers that go ‘one-to-one’ using mobile learning devices with their students, forever transforming teaching and learning in their hometowns.” Screenings are available in Oct. The film will be available on youtube in November. Saw the trailer at the conference but you can take a look at the site, too.

If any of schools are looking for ways to get extra funding, FundingFactory seems to be a good place look. It’s green fundraising. No one has to sell anything, schools just collect and ship unwanted inkjet/laser cartridges, small electronics, and cell phones to FundingFactory to earn points that can be redeemed for technology, equipment, or cash.

TeachersFirst is a free repository of resources.

The Science Bank is a free library of humane science products (realistic modules, DVD’s, CD-ROMS, mannikans in multiple quantities) that are available for loan in the science classroom.

This was the line for the PBS booth, which is in the left of the photo.

Also, wanted to give you some PBS updates:

• NewsHour: Student Reporting Labs connect “6-12 after school programs to local PBS stations/journalists to produce unique, youth-perspective news reports on national issues.”
• Women and Girls Lead is an interesting resource about issues women and girls face.
• Recommended films for the classroom (part of Community Classroom): Wham! Bam! Islam! and FUTURESTATES (short films and gr. 9-12 lesson plans)

Again, check out this crazy line of people waiting to get in on the PBS goods. I believe there were well over 100 people in line. The booth was basically a block and folks were lined up two aisles away! Go PBS! It was great to see and talk with these folks that I have emailed or spoken with in teleconferences.

KET Updates:

We have quite a few new resources and announcements coming soon. There have been a lot of interesting and fabulous developments over the summer. You will be hearing more about:

• Formative Assessment PD
• Think Garden
• The Social Studies Arts Toolkit
• PBS LearningMedia
• New KET Virtual Physics Labs
• New Distance Learning Courses
• and much more!

Have a terrific start to the new school year, and, as always, we look forward to working with you.

Don’t miss this. It’s an interesting phenomenon. Each century, it’s visible twice, 8 years apart. You may have witnessed it in 2004. Next time this is visible is in 2117. It’s a relatively clear evening here in Kentucky. Nine more minutes!

It’s inspiring, though, to see community members pulling together, caring for each other, and working hard to reconstruct their lives. These towns will never be the same, but the people will always be those neighbors who are willing to help when it is needed and will never ask anything in return. That will never change.

KET has been working hard to pull together some resources for our communities.

Tune in tonight, March 6 at 7/6 p.m. CT, to KET for Storm Recovery: Special Report. In this special program, Gov. Steve Beshear, Sen. Tom Jensen (R-London), Rep. Adam Koenig (R-Erlanger), Kentucky Senate Majority Floor Leader Robert Stivers, two regional emergency response officials, and a school psychologist will be among those discussing the statewide damage from last week’s severe weather, current aid and recovery efforts, and more. The program, hosted by Bill Goodman.

Studio guests include: Brigadier General John Heltzel, director of Kentucky’s Division of Emergency Management; Libby Turner, Region IV Federal Coordinating Officer for FEMA; and Dan Florell, Ph.D., assistant professor in the School Psychology Program at Eastern Kentucky University. Beshear, Jensen, Koenig and Stivers will join the discussion from Frankfort.

As those who suffered such devastating losses from last week’s tornadoes are combing through and clearing the rubble to salvage what is left and try to gain some form of normalcy, parents and teachers (even when they, themselves, may be in the midst of the rubble) are helping children cope with such loss. It can be a scary and difficult feat, but there are resources to assist in helping children to understand and cope with these emotions.

How to Handle Children’s Questions About Scary News: Tornadoes. Tsunamis. Terrorists. There’s certainly no shortage of scary stories in the news. What do you do if your child starts asking questions that you’re not prepared to answer? Dr. Rosemarie Truglio, VP of Research and Education at Sesame Workshop, has some simple strategies to help you respond.

Strategies for Talking with Kids About News: This article offers flexible suggestions for answering kids’ questions about the news. There is no script to follow, but these strategies can help you tune in to what your child is thinking and feeling so you can talk together about it.

Comforting Children in a Disaster: During or after disasters, many families suffer from the onset of sudden stress. These times may be particularly difficult for preschoolers, who may not understand all that is going on around them. Here are some suggestions for helping children cope, overcome obstacles, and increase their resilience.

Hurricane Kit and Helping Families After an Emergency: Hurricanes, storms, and other natural disasters can be difficult for young children who may not fully understand what’s going on around them. These tips, activities, and videos can help them feel safe, cope with emotions, and understand that there is hope for the future.

Other teachers are taking the opportunity to teach about tornadoes and weather. We have compiled a list of resources that we think will assist in this educational opportunity.

If you are planning to teach your students about tornadoes and weather forecasting, the following videos, collected from KET Teachers’ Domain and PBS LearningMedia, can provide images and context for your lessons.

Understanding Tornadoes

• Chasing Tornadoes: In this NOVA video segment, scientists use Doppler radar to gather data about the formation of tornadoes. (grades 6-12)
• Tornado Chaser Footage: Video segments adapted from NOVA feature extensive footage of a tornado and tornado damage. (grades 3-12)
• Rate Tornado Damage: This interactive from NOVA Online allows students to use the Fujita tornado intensity scale to assess the destructiveness of actual tornadoes. (grades 3-12)
• How Do Tornadoes Form?: This NOVA video segment uses computer simulations to show how supercell thunderstorms produce tornadoes. (grades 6-12)
• Tornado Model: In this DragonflyTV segment, children explore the forces that produce a tornado through their own tornado model. (grades 4-6)
• Fujita Scale: In this DragonflyTV segment, children visit the site of a recent tornado to determine its strength on the Fujita Scale. (grades 4-6)

Weather Prediction

• Storm Tracking: This video helps students understand how weather experts track severe weather events. (grades 4-6)
• Clouds and Weather: Learn about different types of clouds and the weather they signal in this video featuring original stop-motion animation. (grades Pre-K-1)
• Kid Meteorologist: ZOOM guest Amy visits a weather observatory to see weather prediction instruments and discuss how air pressure affects weather patterns. (grades K-8)
• Scientist Profile: Wind Reasearch Assistant: A weather researcher studies the damaging affects of tornadoes and hurricanes. (grades 4-6)
• Scientist Profile: Meteorologist: A “storm chaser” investigates hurricanes, tornadoes, and other wild weather. (grades 4-6)
• Forecasting: In this DragonflyTV segment, children test traditional “folk” forecasts against modern weather predictions. (grades 4-6)
• An Electronic Field Trip to the National Weather Service: A tour of the Louisville forecasting station explores how scientists track atmospheric conditions and use that data to forecast the weather and issue warnings. (grades 3-12)

Steve Shaffer, Photographer

Our Education Division grew over the past couple of years to now include: Arts; Early Childhood; Adult Education and Workforce Training; KET’s Enterprise; and Health and Outreach. Each was formerly either its own or tucked into another division at KET, but we have joined forces to provide an even stronger team focusing on education in Kentucky. We are both sad and happy to announce that Darlene Carl and Kathy Day retired at the end of 2011. They will be greatly missed, and we wish them the best.

I have listed below the resources that we have released in 2011, and I am sure I am leaving something out. Just so you know, 2012 is looking to be an even bigger year for us and you. There are many more resources in development (I have dropped a few hints below) that will blow us all away.

Within KET Teachers’ Domain (soon to become PBS LearningMedia), KET has added many collections of instructional media, including interactive games, videos, and images. We have also added more to our selection of self-paced, interactive professional development modules.

These instructional media resources can be found in KET Teachers’ Domain:

Science

There were more videos and interactive games added to Everyday Science, which is a KET special collection that uses original animation and wonderful visual images to introduce basic concepts in science to young children.

KET Image Bank features images that are free for use in the classroom or in educational presentations or reports.

KET STEM Collection consists of STEM instructional resources that focus on all things Kentucky. Teachers and students have access to video and images from award-winning KET programs, with educational support materials developed in line with state academic standards. Topics include life sciences, geometry, and biology.

Tunneling for Water These four videos, produced by the Louisville Water Company, for grades 4-6 document the creation of four wells and a mile-long tunnel that use riverbank filtration to supply water to homes and businesses.

Water Solutions, two sets of eight videos, explores how to prevent and mitigate non-point-source water pollution. The first set (for grades 4-12) focuses on Bernheim Arboretum and Research Forest, located near Louisville, Kentucky, and how its “green” Visitor Center helps protect and conserve water. The second set of videos (for grades 6-12) focuses on the problem of acid drainage from abandoned Kentucky coal mines.

Arts/Social Studies

Learn history with the arts!

African/African American Culture – music, dance, and storytelling.

Arts in the Renaissance – music, dance, and drama.

Learn about The Civil War Era through dance, music, drama, and visual art from the Civil War era.

Drama Based on Historical Characters is a collection of video segments that provides examples of drama based on historical characters: Angus Augustus Burleigh, Civil War Soldier; George Rogers, Lucy, and William Clark; Henry Clay; and Jemima Boone.

Early America teaches early American culture through storytelling, music, and documentary.

Watch this collection of videos about Japanese Culture through aesthetics, drama, and music.

Learn about Kentucky Appalachian Culture through music, dance, and storytelling.

Study Native American Culture through music, dance, drama, and visual art from a variety of cultures, ranging from traditional stories and dances to contemporary artistic works.

Side note: The KET Arts Toolkits have been aligned to the social studies standards, and this KET Arts Social Studies Toolkit is currently being piloted by teachers across the state. There will be announcements as to when these will be available to all.]

World Languages

Languages and Culture: Spanish

Professional Development: Self-Paced Modules

Kentucky’s Unbridled Learning K-12 teachers, SBDM members, and administrators.
Program Reviews: Purpose, Process, and Practice PD modules were added to this collection, which is also the home of Transforming Education in Kentucky. More to come in 2012: Operation Preparation; Formative Assessment; and New to Kentucky (with the Education Professional Standards Board).

Increasing Physical Activity in Schools for elementary teachers across the curriculum.

Using Scale City to Teach Proportional Reasoning for middle school math teachers.

Characteristics of Highly Effective Teaching and Learning for teachers of all levels.

Resources for WorkKeys and GED Preparation

• Applied Mathematics
• Locating Information
• Reading for Information

GED Geometry Professional Development

KET Distance Learning Updates

• Arts in Culture: History and Appreciation of Visual and Performing Arts is now offered to Kentucky high school students.
• More labs have been added to the incredible Virtual Physics Labs, which have become a national hit, as are the physics courses.
• German and Latin courses continue to reign in students across the nation, and the personal stories about how our distance learning courses have changed their lives are truly heart-warming.

We also added some new programs to KET ED On Demand.

School Multimedia Production

Our 2011 Summer Multimedia PD Days were held on July 12-13th. Once again, teachers, administrators, and others from all over Kentucky to participate in our fun day of workshops, resources, and food. We added quite a few new topics in 2011, and are currently planning the 2012 event. There will be even more to offer. In addition, we added more workshop titles to our Media Lab offerings. You can also now upload your own and your students’ videos to our KET School Video Project. New videos are added by teachers across the state each day, and it has been refreshing to watch what Kentucky students are producing in the schools.

Ongoing projects/series

There have been new programs added to our KET Health Initiative, such as the popular new series, Heath Three60: Explore important health issues in Kentucky from a fresh perspective by watching KET’s Health Three60 series. The hour-long programs, hosted by Renee Shaw, present three sides of an issue in 60 minutes through a mix of studio and documentary segments.

New episodes of our ongoing News Quiz series continue to be very popular in 4th-8th grade classrooms across the state. Education Matters, now beginning its third year, continues its success in keeping Kentuckians informed about current trends and issues in education. Reel Visions, a KET series that showcases independent filmmakers in Kentucky, is still wowing the audience and putting some very talented artists in the spotlight.

And if you don’t think that’s enough, you can also now find KET programming on Kentucky iTunes U.

KET held two events for families and kids: KET Kids Family Fun Day and KET SciPhy Saturday. They both resulted in a huge turnout, and it couldn’t have been so successful without our wonderful KET Friends and volunteers.

For 2012: School gardening, multimedia production PD, PBS LearningMedia, and much more!

Happy new year!

The Association for Middle Level Education/NMSA conference was held in Louisville this year. It was a different experience for me, because I was talking with teachers from all over the United States. We visited with so many educators that my head was spinning. It was exhilarating to work in such a crowded booth and to share in the excitement as we talked about our resources. As you know, many are available to everyone. Teachers from all over were amazed to have free access to so many Kentucky resources. I saw some of you, too, and that was the best part of all.

There have been other ventures that have been occupying my time. We’re developing a collection of video production professional development modules that will eventually find its home in PBS LearningMedia. This project has been exciting, and our own Brett Smith is working on these as I write. I believe it will be a very helpful resource for teachers who are implementing video production into their instructional activities. It’s such a powerful way students can connect with content across the curriculum. So, be watching for these to be released in fall 2012 (fingers are crossed).

Also, the sustainable gardening production and editing is underway. I can’t wait for it to be available. It’s going to be beautiful. The footage of teachers and students working in their school gardens while learning about science, math, and nutrition is amazing. This resource will be useful to intermediate and middle school classrooms across the curriculum. I have learned a lot. It’s always a powerful and spiritual experience to watch gardens transform through the seasons. The student involvement and excitement was the best part. 2011 was definitely a year of growth.

Remember when 2012 seemed so far away? I imagined we would be driving hovercrafts or riding on a maglev, as they do in other parts of our world, but I never imagined technology would be taking us to where we are today. Though it would be fun to visit schools on a maglev, I believe that the way education has embraced technology has made teaching and learning so meaningful, engaging, and exciting. I get a kick out of trying to predict the next new, big thing that will blow us all away, but it is getting more and more challenging for me to imagine. KET has been treading new ground with some remarkably innovative resources. I am sure you have been exploring some of these, and you may have even experienced one or more of our self-paced PD modules. This jump has been so rewarding for us, and we hope you are enjoying the products, too. I am including a comprehensive list of our resources in this post. I just know that as soon as I hit “Publish” there will be a new one to add.

Looking back on 2011, I am reminded that all of the activities I mentioned above make my job so meaningful. I learn something every time I enter a school, and am blessed to work with such wonderful teachers, students, and administrators. Even the drive through such beautiful country provides serenity (except when I meet a coal truck on a impossibly narrow, insanely curvy, and steeply sloped road). I must add that after having done this for over 12 years, my driving skills are now quite sharp, like those curves. And I can’t not mention that my colleagues are all amazingly talented. LOVE, LOVE, LOVE my job!

I hope that as you reflect on your year, you, too, will find many blessings. As a brave, new year awaits, I wish you peace, happiness, rest, and good health this Holiday season and beyond.

Instructional Resources: STEM

Everyday Science 

KET Image Bank 

KET STEM Collection

Tunneling for Water 

Water Solutions 

Instructional Resources: Arts/Social Studies

African/African American Culture

Artsin the Renaissance

The Civil War Era 

Drama Based on Historical Characters

Early America

Japanese Culture

Kentucky Appalachian Culture

Native American Culture 

Instructional Resources: World Languages

Languages and Culture: Spanish

Professional Development: Self-Paced Modules

Kentucky’s Unbridled Learning

·       Transforming Education in Kentucky

·       Program Reviews: Purpose, Process, and Practice

·       In Development: Operation Preparation

·       In Development: Formative Assessment

·       In Development: New to Kentucky (with the Education Professional Standards Board)

GED Geometry Professional Development 

Increasing Physical Activity in Schools

Using Scale City to Teach Proportional Reasoning

Professional Development: Resource Collections

Characteristics of Highly Effective Teaching and Learning

Resources for WorkKeys and GED Preparation

·       Applied Mathematics

·       Locating Information

·       Reading for Information

Distance Learning Courses

·       Physics

·       German

·       Latin

·       Humanities

Sampling of Other Online Resources

The following two examples are highly interactive and innovative STEM resources:

·       Scale City: The Road to Proportional Reasoning

·       Virtual Physics Labs 

KET’s Virtual Physics Labs, designed originally for physics distance learning courses, are being collected into a new website for use by high school and college physics teachers across the country. The virtual apparatus is designed to simulate real lab apparatus and in most cases to extend it.

These instructional resources provide an example of KET’s extensive library of arts resources and electronic field trips:

·       Arts Toolkit 

·       Electronic Field Trip to the Belle of Louisville

KET’s award-winning professional development resources are available on CD-ROM, DVD, and/or online, and many were produced for national distribution:

·       Raindrops to Rivers: Teaching Students about Nonpoint Water Pollution

·       Art to Heart: Early Childhood Creativity

Literacy Professional Development (produced in partnership with the Kentucky Department of Education):

·       Literacy Leadership: Stories of Schoolwide Success

·       Literacy Strategies in Action: Resources for Primary Teachers available on CD-ROM

·       Literacy Without Limits: Help for Struggling Students, Grade 4-12

Writing PD (produced for Annenberg Media):

·       Inside Writing Communities

·       Write in the Middle

That’s why your KET Education Consultant is always available to assist Kentucky’s P-20 institutions. We enjoy providing our resources to you, and we hope that you find them easily accessible and meaningful as you incorporate them into your lessons. They, too, are ever-changing to meet current demands, issues, and content.

It seems that each school year, the new resources we provide multiply by the tens. There are so many, in fact, that we have found it more effective to offer content-based workshops that focus on specific resources or individual/school/district needs. This makes for an even more powerful learning experience. It’s always nice to grow our resources, our knowledge, and our services with you.

If you would like more information or some professional development training on any of our resources and how to use them, contact your education consultant to schedule. We’ve begun the 2011-2012 school year with many requests. If you are interested, schedule with us soon. Don’t forget about our Media Lab Workshops that we offer throughout the year. You can also bring your students to KET for a tour and a fun, hands-on workshop. There are many topics to choose from, and all are equally interesting.

Research as shown that students of all ages (esp. from birth) exposed to all disciplines of the arts have a greater success rate in school, careers, and lifelong learning than those who are not. We must keep the arts in the classroom. There are many creative and valuable ways to teach art across the curriculum. Students discover the human condition in all content areas when the arts are incorporated into lessons. It is apparent in our daily lives that we relate to and retain concepts that tap into our personal experiences and emotions. Art does that for us. But I know that schools are strapped for cash. I understand that teaching with the arts can result in the need for more funding.

With all of this in mind, I want to share with you an opportunity that I don’t think you will want to miss. Congressman Yarmuth is inviting you to take part in some opportunities that can empower your continued focus on the arts in your classroom. School arts educators, arts organizations, museums, libraries and other organizations with research, education, preservation, and public programs in the humanities are all encouraged to attend these details “>exciting workshops.

Session 1: Funding Opportunities in the Arts and Humanities

[August 24, 2011, 8:30 AM – 1:00 PM at the Louisville Science Center]

This session is intended for grant writers, development directors and those responsible for securing funding for arts and humanities programming within your organization. You will learn about federal grant opportunities in the arts and humanities from representatives of the National Endowment for the Arts, National Endowment for the Humanities and Institute for Museum and Library Services as well as state opportunities from representatives of the Kentucky Arts and Humanities Councils.

Session 2: Arts and Humanities in Education

[August 24, 2011, 4:30 PM – 6:00 PM at the Louisville Science Center]

This session is intended for school educators, teaching artists and those responsible for arts and humanities programming within your organization. You will learn about opportunities for educators to enhance the study of the arts and humanities in the classroom from representatives of the National Endowment for the Arts, National Endowment for the Humanities, Kentucky Arts and Humanities Councils, Kentucky Educational Television and the Fund for the Arts.

Register by CLICKING HERE.

A perfect example of teaching core areas with the arts is in the new KET resource, A State Divided: Exploring the Civil War in Kentucky Through Images. This free, online, educational resource “includes 15 images related to the Civil War in Kentucky, ranging from medals and photographs to portraits and weapons. This sampler was produced as a partnership of the Kentucky Historical Society and KET. The goal is provide images of artworks, artifacts, photographs, and source documents that can be used to teach social studies and arts and humanities.” There will be more added to this collection in 2012.

In other arts news, The KET Social Studies Arts Toolkit is now being tested by teachers around the state, but we will be adding collections from this prototype to KET Teachers’ Domain.  The first collection, Arts in Renaissance, has recently been added.

You really should also check out Reel Visions, a KET series that “highlights the efforts of talented filmmakers living and working in the Commonwealth, providing Kentucky filmmakers a broadcasting outlet for their work. Each season features a variety of experimental, documentary, and narrative films ranging in length from one minute to twenty-five minutes.” It’s yet another way to inspire and tap into the creativity of your students by allowing them to expand their learning using their own personal perspectives and experiences.

Of course, KET has an abundance of arts programming and resources for everyone, whether you are a teacher, a student, a parent, an art lover, or a curious member of your community.

Happy new school year! Let us know if you have any questions, suggestions, need resources, or would like a visit from your KET Education Consultant.

Shortly after moving to our current residence, we planted a couple of apple trees. We didn’t prune them like we were supposed to, so we are still waiting for them to bear fruit, but that’s another story. Last fall, I found an ootheca on one of the young branches. I was beside myself. Since two of us are on the short side, we are fortunate that the female decided to build her egg case where all three of us can easily see it. So we checked on the ootheca every day, waiting for something to happen. By the end of May, I had about given up. There had been no action, not even a hint.

Just this past Saturday morning, I was strolling around my yard, spying on my vegetable gardens while drinking my coffee, when I thought to check on the ootheca. As I approached, not really expecting to see anything, I noticed a glob of something hanging from it. I increased my pace, and sure enough, dozens of little mantid nymphs were pulling and squeezing themselves out of the hardened shell.

Their tiny bodies and relatively large black eyes made me think of aliens. I got my family out there, and for about two hours, we witnessed one of the most incredible gifts that nature can provide. The youngsters kept turning their heads to look at us as they untangled themselves from the webbing that keeps them from falling off the ootheca. I have to wonder what they thought of us. Do we look like aliens to them, too?

They are born marathon runners and jumpers! It’s amazing how quickly they can move within minutes of climbing out of their cave. I know that mantises are cannibalistic, and was worried about one or two thinning out the population, but we didn’t witness any of that. Five more hatched Monday morning. I felt like I should be passing out cigars! I know that our 3/4 acre yard isn’t enough room for all of them, but I do hope some will take up residence within our boundaries. They have known us since they emerged, so maybe they will hang around. We have plenty of mosquitoes and other irritating insects to keep them satisfied.

I think it’s fate that allowed all of us to witness this. It was a Saturday morning when we were all home, it wasn’t raining, and I happened to check at just the right moment. Saturday was happening! While all of this excitement was going on, we also shared some time with two starling fledglings from different broods, young damselflies darting around our yard, a lady bug eating aphids on a tomato plant, and the first drone fly of the year. It was an enchanting morning.

I thought that I knew quite a bit about praying mantises, but I discovered that I was quite wrong. This event made me do some research, so I am sharing what I learned. The insects fall into the Mantodea or mantises order, but mantid applies to this particular family. There are 14 other families in the order that are not mantids. An ootheca can hold up to 400 eggs and have different structures, depending upon the species. I believe our ootheca produced about 40 Carolina Mantis (Stagmomantis carolina) nymphs. Parasitic wasps will sometimes prey on an ootheca. Mantid nymphs can regenerate severed appendages until their last molt, which can happen up to ten times. After that, they have to hang on to those extremities. But they do finally get a fully developed set of wings (some species do not).

As a defense mechanism, the nymphs mimic ants. There are a few explanations of the mantises’ swaying behavior. Camougflage:  Mantises resemble vegetation moving in the breeze as they wait to ambush their prey. Another speculation is that the movement allows mantises to discriminate objects from the background by adding dimension to their perspective. But I think that the reason they behave this way is that they are hypnotists who spellbind their prey. I am spellbound by them. To the Ancient Greeks, they were prophets: Mantis is derived from the Greek word, μάντις. Mantises have a lifespan of about a year. Some species are large enough to eat large prey, including hummingbirds, fish, snakes, and rodents. Glad those mantises don’t reside on my front porch!

This was the ideal learning experience for all of us. If you are interested in seeing photos of and reading about more insects in Kentucky, check out KET Teachers’ Domain. This is the home to many resources, including our KET Image Bank. But don’t stop there. Take a look around.

Spring has brought a lot of rainy, dark, and sometimes chilly days that have kept many of us inside. As you may know, I am a believer in keeping in touch with nature and being active, but some days we just want to have a quiet day inside. I have those days, too, and that’s okay. Today is one of those dreary days that I am content with sitting in front of my computer. You already know that you can still learn during the months of no school. Learning is fun and it’s even better when you are engaged in your element. That’s why KET is researching, developing, and partnering with other organizations to provide fun games and activities that will keep you learning without even realizing it.

If you enjoy math – even if you don’t – you should try out Scale City. It’s packed full of mini-electronic field trips to Kentucky attractions and challenging games to help you keep your proportional reasoning skills in check. Have you ever visited the Lousiville Slugger Museum? How about a drive-in theater? Dinosaur World? Well, you can on those lazy, rainy days by going to the Scale City website. There are many attractions that you can visit during your stay.

Like role-playing games? Mission US takes you back in time to some major events in American history. Mission 1: For Crown or Colony? puts you in 1770 Boston as Nat Wheeler, a printer’s apprentice for the Boston Gazette. You will get to meet historical and fictional characters that accompany or guide you as you explore the town and the historical events of that time. You even get to witness the Boston Massacre, and you will have your own story to tell about your experience. It is unlikely that your friends will get the same perspective as you. You can also play Pennywhistle Hero and other fun games while you are there. This fall you will be able to enter Mission 2: Flight to Freedom and experience life as Lucy, a runaway slave during the Civil War era. Part of the Mission 2 story is set in Lexington, Kentucky! There are three additional missions being planned and developed that will release further down the road.

There are a lot of cool videos, simulations, and games in our KET Teachers’ Domain. Don’t let the name fool you. It’s not really just for teachers. It’s for everyone. All you have to do is register from our KET EncycloMedia homepage to play. The media within this service can keep your mind active and satisfied. You may want to keep this service in mind for research or other assignments in school or college. If you have a Discovery Education account, don’t forget about all the cool stuff in there. If you don’t, and are a student in a Kentucky public school, ask your librarian in your school how you can get an account.

If you are into physics, or maybe even just curious, you might want to talk with your school, parents, or guardians about KET’s Virtual Physics Labs. If you are thinking of taking some distance learning courses next year, we offer physics, German, Latin, and humanities courses. Now is a great time to learn more so that you can make a serious decision by fall.

Many of KET’s Electronic Field Trips are streamable from our site and are accompanied by some fun games. We are lucky to have such rich and wonderful places to visit in Kentucky. There are so many that I can’t possibly get to them all as soon as I’d like. I am gradually working my way through Kentucky – gas prices are slowing me down a bit. In the meantime, I visit these places through KET. I hope you will, too.

You can also spend some time on our School Video Project page, where you can check out videos produced by Kentucky students. You may already have your own productions on the site or be pleasantly surprised to find friends in a video or two.

Next year there will be even more fun stuff to share with you. In the meantime, have a delightful, carefree, exciting, long, and safe summer. Don’t forget about your friends at KET. We are always trying to find ways to keep you curious and learning.