Clipmarks | n2teaching's clips

Find the Family Footprint!

Fri, 16 Oct 2009 02:32:59 GMT

clipped by: n2teaching
clipper's remarks: Try this out and find what your family's carbon footprint really is. There are a variety of surveys that can be used to assess your family's carbon footprint. This is a very helpful one from the Environmental Protection Agency.

Clip Source: www.epa.gov

You can use the following online calculator to get a rough “ballpark” estimate of your personal or family’s greenhouse gas emissions and explore the impact of taking various actions to reduce your emissions. The calculator is broken into three sections:

Tags: carbon footprint, climate change, ecology, environment, environmental science, epa, family, household, science, survey

Teachers Can't Coast

Mon, 20 Apr 2009 19:18:30 GMT

clipped by: n2teaching
clipper's remarks: All through our lives, we are at various stages of interest and commitment to our work and personal lives. When you teach, you must be on target, and there is no room for coasting. This is this issue discused here in our PLN.

I like the idea that Sharon Elin shared that possibly the "coasting" teacher may need some assistance to get back on track. Sometimes, personal or family illness can put a strain on a teacher's ability to respond in a robust manner to their students.

As I always say, let's check out the antecedents, before we throw the baby out with the bath water. If assistance doesn't help, the "gold-bricking" teachers may need to work somewhere else where they may have better results with this behavior.

Clip Source: www.e4africa.co.za

What do we do with goldbrickers and dead wood?

Education is a noble and honorable enterprise — well-meaning, respectable, geared toward progress and success. For all its lofty intentions, though, we have a few glaring problems in education here in America. One of the most pernicious is the dark truth that the profession currently includes too many ineffective, lame, or even neglectful and abusive teachers. They make us all look bad, and, frankly, I’m ready to either clean house and get rid of them or find more assertive methods to remediate their training until they improve.

This is how Sharon Elin starts her blog posting under the heading: The best mirrors. The article is worth reading in its entirety. What amazes me is the similarity between America and South Africa on this matter.

The first step to solve the situation is to recognize, and then acknowledge, that we have a problem. Sharon helps us to do just that.

I echo that by saying: “Prune out the dead wood.”

Tags: education, ethics, goals, organization, pln, students, teacher efficacy

Netbook Turns to Touch Tablet

Mon, 20 Apr 2009 17:28:55 GMT

clipped by: n2teaching
clipper's remarks: This is what the netbooks were meant to be, accessible to students! With the upgraded Classmate PC by Intel, you can use a touch, a stylus or the keyboard. You only have to rotate the screen and fold it over the keyboard.

You can find more information about this new netbook touch-screen tablet at ClassmatePC.

Clip Source: www.techlearning.com

The Classmate PC is the latest version of the netbook designed specifically for K-12 use. The new model combines a compact netbook with a user-friendly tablet, making this product ideal for school 1:1 programs. The most dramatic upgrade is the convertible aspect: Rotate the display 180 degrees and fold. The netbook is now a fully-functional tablet with touch screen capabilities. The screen also automatically adjust from portrait to landscape modes.

Overall Impression: An impressive upgrade to an already strong product. Switching the device from clamshell to tablet and back again is more than a novelty. The design gives the Classmate much greater versatility as a learning tool.

Price: between $200-$500 (price set by OEMs depending on configuration, etc.)

Tags: classmate pc, education, intel, k-12, netbook, tablet, touchscreen

NRICH Your Student's Math Interactions

Mon, 20 Apr 2009 01:54:31 GMT

clipped by: n2teaching
clipper's remarks: I have used and shared this website for several years now. Students and teachers can access a variety of math problems and activities that can enrich student's learning.

There are also interactive aspects for their access to this website. Students can set a particular background to show up when they work at the NRICH website.

Try this website and sign up for their monthly newsletter.

Clip Source: nrich.maths.org

The NRICH Project aims to enrich the mathematical experiences of all learners. To support this aim, members of the NRICH team work in a wide range of capacities, including providing professional development for teachers wishing to embed rich mathematical tasks into everyday classroom practice. More information on many of our other activities can be found here.

thousands of our free mathematics enrichment materials (problems, articles and games) for teachers and learners from ages 5 to 19 years. All the resources are designed to develop subject knowledge, problem-solving and mathematical thinking skills. The website is updated with new material on the first day of every month.

This month's mathematical theme continues to be Visualising:

We use visualisation almost every time we engage in problem solving,

Tags: contests, interactive, math, mathematics, nrich, problems, students

Looking for Pearls

Sun, 19 Apr 2009 23:16:39 GMT

clipped by: n2teaching
clipper's remarks: A discussion of what we are missing in our conversations that could encourage a fuller understanding and acceptance of technology in education. Positve and negative comments have bits of truth that are there for us to mine to develop into pearls of wisdom.

Clip Source: kwhobbes.wordpress.com

Go to the source

It has been a very busy week and it will only intensify from now until the end of June. I’ve been working on several projects and just haven’t had the time to get involved in conversations via twitter or read too many blogs. However, as I was working tonight, I’ve been reading a few as they cross my screen. The following tweet by byjudeonline caught my eye:

The idea brought up by heyjudeonline is a core part of the whole web2.0/21st century learning discussion . As I work frantically to meet deadlines, get ready for meetings, meet with parents, visit classrooms and all the rest, there isn’t time for me to be on twitter or keep up with the conversations and discussions and I just don’t have the desire to go back too far in the discussions to see if I’m missing anything.

However, to learn and grow, I’ve really looked at what has been said and learned to see the grain of truth that is hidden there.

take it and let what could be an irritant become

a pearl.

Tags: conversations, dwhobbes, learning, n2teaching, professional development, professional learning network

Making Technology Relevant for Education

Sun, 19 Apr 2009 20:39:49 GMT

clipped by: n2teaching
clipper's remarks: Using technology in our classes, just because it's out there, just for its own sake is a recipe for disaster. Technology in education is not the one new thing in town, it is the way we expand our teaching and learning. If we don't use it with an eye to relavance and rigor, the use of technology is pointless... This is why I chose this blog post to begin our group clog, the ABCs of PLN Power. Good teachers know how to teach, and good technology should enhance that good teaching through opportunities to expand student learning.

Clip Source: edutwist.com

What’s your point?

I learned a new word this week: sciolism. It’s my new favorite word. Learning about it slapped me in the forehead with a V8 moment, reminding me not to settle for shallow busywork or entertaining (but brainless) activities in my lesson plans.

Tags: education, edutwist, n2teaching, pln, professional learning network, project, sharon elin, technology

Lighten the Load

Wed, 11 Mar 2009 13:58:52 GMT

clipped by: n2teaching
clipper's remarks: Lighten the load and save money when you use this inexpensive electronic gadget to test your various electric appliances and other devices. I've seen this gadget being demonstrated, and it is eay to use.

This could really help schools or businesses save money also.

Clip Source: www.newegg.com

P3 Kill A Watt Electricity Load Meter and Monitor

Feeling environmentally conscious? Worried about rising fuel and electricity costs? Cut down on those costs and find out which of your appliances, lamps and computers are actually are costing you the most! Just plug them into the Kill-A-Watt electricity usage monitor and it will tell you how efficient they are. The Kill-A-Watt’s easily-readable LCD display measures consumption by the kilowatt-hour, just like the electric company.

Tags: computer hardware, electronic gadgets p3 international3

Toxic Beauties

Tue, 10 Mar 2009 17:38:55 GMT

clipped by: n2teaching
clipper's remarks: Young children, pets or any people who will not listen should be prevented from eating Surprise Lilies. This common sense measure will keep them safe from plant toxins.
Some symptoms include abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea.

Clip Source: www.hort.wisc.edu

Surprise Lilies are a Treat for the Eyes
in the Late Summer Garden

Strap-like leaves appear
in spring and die back
before flowering.

Surprise lilies bloom in late summer.

Lycoris plants belong to the amaryllis family. There are approximately 23 species and most are native to China or Japan. All Lycoris plants are somewhat poisonous if eaten. They contain an alkaloid called lycorine that will cause a low-level toxicity reaction if the plant is ingested. Some symptoms include abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. The moral of the story of course, is to avoid eating the plant, and to avoid planting it where small children or pets might be endangered.

The bulbs should be planted in July before they flower, with the neck of the bulb just above the soil line.

The plants will grow in partial shade to full sun and they tolerate our heavy clay soils quite well.

You can apply a light mulch to help with overwintering, especially if you live in USDA Zone 4.

Tags: biology, bulb, hardy plants, master gardener, surpirse lilies

The Legacy

Tue, 10 Mar 2009 17:04:58 GMT

clipped by: n2teaching
clipper's remarks: When I moved to my own home, my grandmother and I dug up some bulbs of one of the most amazing plants I have ever seen, the Surprise Lily. I shared them with my sisters and planted them in my yard. I will be moving soon and so will they.

Plants, recipes and other traditions can provide an enduring legacy to the giver upon all who were touched by their lives. My grandmother is no longer with us, but her legacy remains.

Using Amplify for such a project to begin or end Grandparents' Day would be a great way to encourage students to share their histories and legacies.

Clip Source: www.arhomeandgarden.org

Plant of the Week
Surprise Lily, Magic Lily, Naked Lady
Latin: Lycoris squamigera

With the arrival of August, gardeners throughout the state are delighted to see their gaudy and somewhat ungainly surprise lilies come into bloom. These bulbous plants belong to the amaryllis family and are native to southern Japan.

The bulbs are as long as three inches in diameter with long necks and persist for years once established. The foliage comes up in late winter and looks like a large-leafed clump of daffodils, but without flowers. There will be one bloom for about every 10 leaves produced by the clump. The leaves die away with the arrival of the first warm days of late spring, usually disappearing below ground by late May. This growth pattern is an adaptation of the species to survive in an area with moist springs and prolonged periods of summer drought.

Tags: biology, bulb, hardy plants, master gardener, surprise lily

Reteaching Lessons on Prejudice

Sun, 08 Mar 2009 02:03:56 GMT

clipped by: n2teaching
clipper's remarks: It seems that some lessons of accepting differences in humans must be retaught every few years to reach all generations.

Clip Source: news.bbc.co.uk

Parents have complained that a children's TV presenter with one hand is prompting awkward questions from young children. So how should you explain this kind of disability to a child?

She hopes that her presence can show young children what they can achieve on merit. But what parents say is up to them.

Tags: prejudice, handicapped, bbc, tv presenter, children, parents

DIY: Boosting Social Media Productivity

Sun, 08 Mar 2009 01:41:35 GMT

clipped by: n2teaching

Clip Source: www.interactiveinsightsgroup.com

In this post, we’ve put together a comprehensive list of articles with great advice, tips and tools to help you be more productive and efficient when using social media.

Plumped Poster Presentation

Fri, 06 Mar 2009 18:48:41 GMT

clipped by: n2teaching
clipper's remarks: Glogster is a very popular web application among teachers and students.

You can use Glogster as a static poster or background. For instance, I have seen glogsters used as backgrounds for wikispace pages.

I believe its most important use is as a front page portal to an entire presentation.

Clip Source: www.glogster.com

Glogster.com/edu - New tool for education

New tool for education

Teachers, try education 2.0

Glogster is proud to present Glogster.com/edu, a NEW addition to the site for all your educational needs!

Glogster provides master-accounts for teachers integrating all student accounts. Click for detailed info.

Tags: glogster, web application, teachers, education, background

MicroForums: Here to Stay

Sun, 02 Nov 2008 16:56:57 GMT

clipped by: n2teaching
clipper's remarks: MicroForums are connected conversations that happen through microblogging sites like Jaiku, Plurk, etc.

Clip Source: talkathon.org

Forget Microblogging, Build Microforums

As a longtime forum denizen, I have a few issues with community forums. They are often used for the kind of banter that needs only a line or two. "Anyone had the 1989 Haut-Brion?" or "How do I boot Windows in safe mode?" are typical. In the thread that follows, untrimmed quotes, non-sequitor answers, and long-winded useless opinions often follow. This was great fun in the days when we used 14kbps modems, LOL, and had an available attention glut. Today, only people with serious time on their hands can really do this, and only in one or two places, probably. We need to streamline our forum activities, not to go faster but to give more and get more out of them.

In the last year, the tools have been emerging to build microforums: vertical instances of what are basically improved chat rooms. Here are a few succinct reasons why you will like using a microforum. Here's some background from Ars Technica who wrote this in July, 2008.

Tags: microforum, microblogging, plurk, jaiku, forum, conversations, technology

Blood from a Turnip

Mon, 04 Aug 2008 18:16:01 GMT

clipped by: n2teaching
clipper's remarks: The city of Milwaukee obviously needs money. If this foreclosure goes through, they can begin to foreclose on may other properties in the same situation. What a way to increase city revenues.

Clip Source: www.jsonline.com

Milwaukee man faces foreclosure because he didn’t pay parking fine

In what city officials believe is the first case of its kind, the city foreclosed on Tubic's house on W. Verona Court after repeated attempts to collect the fine - which over the years had escalated to $2,600 - had failed.

Peter Tubic ignored a $50 parking fine in 2004, and on Monday, it cost him his $245,000 house.

According to the Social Security Administration, Tubic, 62, has been disabled since 2001. He has been diagnosed with psychological disorders that limit his "ability to understand, remember and carry out detailed instructions," according to documents from the administration.

In addition he suffers from chronic pain caused by degenerative diseases of the knees and spine, as well as chronic respiratory disease, diabetes and obesity, among other ailments.

His father was suffering from dementia. His mother was battling cancer, and he was their live-in caretaker.

The van repair could wait, he thought.

Tags: fine, foreclosure, revenues, disability

Squeezing Salmonella to Death

Tue, 29 Jul 2008 17:04:22 GMT

clipped by: n2teaching
clipper's remarks: This is an excellent use of a previously used technology. By pressurizing fresh food, especially those with few air pockets, bacteria inside the food is squeezed to death
This technique is also use for raw oysters and other meat.

Clip Source: www.redorbit.com

Technology Slays Salmonella on the Farm

Posted on: Tuesday, 29 July 2008, 00:40 CDT

Experts say it’s easier to prevent contamination on the farm than to try to get rid of it later.

"This is never an excuse for a dirty product," warns University of Minnesota infectious disease specialist Michael Osterholm.

Washing produce, even with chlorine or other chemicals, only gets rid of surface contaminants. Washing does not kill germs that sneak inside the fruit or vegetable. Some scientists believe technology is the missing link in protection against food borne diseases.

Food scientists at a Virginia Tech laboratory this summer, subjected small grape tomatoes to what's called "high pressure processing" to see if they could squeeze salmonella to death.

The key to success is to choose a water-packed food with few air pockets. It’s placed in a container of water and pressure is applied evenly to all sides. The air pockets will collapse but the waterlogged tissue is more resistant.

Tags: salmonella, bacteria, "pressure sterilization" technique science, education