February 2004
February 28, 2004
Day Two Home Schooling Conference
I had a discussion today with someone who total disagrees with online learning.
Spending every day up to eyeballs in distance learning, surrounded by people who are developing and teaching online, I forgot that there are still people in the world who do not use the internet. They still hand write notes and put them in the snail mail. When faced with a tough question, they go to a library to research the answer.
I cannot read my own handwriting. I write slower than I type. I don't know how much a stamp is worth. I daily research something via the internet.
I could not relate to this person. I need to get out once in a while and meet those people. I have been so busy with the population explosion in the cyber school, I have lost touch with the normal computer haters.
I will have to get in touch with this person who has opened my eyes and thank him...
Wait I have not idea how to get in touch with him, if my mother did not do email she would never hear from me either.
I think I will turn away from the machine and hand write a letter to my mother and snail mail her, that will bring tears to her eyes. A handwriting note from her loving son...here goes...
I am back, that was a disaster. If I figured out how to send that note via snail mail, my mother would think it was a prank. She would think someone was writing in a foreign language and to top it off I think I sprained my index finger holding that stick writing thing.
Computers, typing and email rock. Ya, so I cannot relate to some people.
Thats my view through the cyber glasses.
February 27, 2004
A new category
I have started a new category where I will try to keep a log of my activities as an Assistant Principal at the largest cyber school in Saskatchewan.
Today, I sat at a conference for Home Schooling at a booth for SCCS. This group of people are searching for supports. The most common time for home schooled children to go back into the mainstream high schools is between grade eight and nine. They think the split between grade 8 and grade 9 is a natural break because in Saskatchewan grade 9 is when people attend high school.
Reasons they gave for this happening was the parents inability to teach all the content necessary for them to succeed.
Students need the credits to apply to University.
As a group the home schooling parents are very well informed. They take ownership of their childs educational plans. They are less concerned about the cost of courses than the main stream parents. Most of the home schooling families have both mother and father still involved, there are very few single parent families.
Most of the students I met at the conference struck me as being very confident and social. The most common thing I hear from people about home schooling is the lack of socialization. This was not apparent in any of the students I talk to today.
The view through my cyber glasses.
The Globe and Mail Canadian News
Another link that we place on our website is the Globe and Mail's Daily Canadian New Page.
This is a quick way for those of us who pound the keys all day to know what is going on.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/generated/headlines/html/National.html
The Daily Motivator
This is a great site for those of us that need to be motivated. I added this to our student's MyWebCt.
The Daily Motivator
Click on the image for more information
February 26, 2004
The Death of Common Sense
OBITUARY
Today we mourn the passing of a beloved old friend by the name of Common Sense who has been with us for many years.
No one knows for sure how old he was since his birth records were long ago lost in bureaucratic red tape.
He will be remembered as having cultivated such value lessons as knowing when to come in out of the rain, why the early bird gets the worm and that life isn't always fair.
Common Sense lived by simple, sound financial policies (don't spend more than you earn) and reliable parenting strategies (adults, not kids, are in charge).
His health began to rapidly deteriorate when well intentioned but overbearing regulations were set in place.
Reports of a six-year-old boy charged with sexual harassment for kissing a classmate; teens suspended from school for using mouthwash after lunch; and a teacher fired for reprimanding an unruly student, only worsened his condition.
It declined even further when schools were required to get parental consent to administer aspirin to a student; but, could not inform the parents when a student became pregnant and wanted to have an abortion.
Finally, Common sense lost the will to live as the Ten Commandments became contraband; churches became businesses; and criminals received better treatment than their victims.
Common Sense finally gave up the ghost after a woman failed to realized that a steaming cup of coffee was hot, she spilled a bit in her lap, and was awarded a huge settlement.
Common Sense was preceded in death by his parents, Truth and Trust, his wife, Discretion; his daughter, Responsibility; and his son, Reason.
He is survived by two stepbrothers; My Rights and Ima Whiner.
Not many attended his funeral because so few realized he was gone. If you still know him pass this on, if not join the majority and do nothing.
February 24, 2004
Netiquette Guidelines
This document provides a minimum set of guidelines for Network Etiquette (Netiquette) which organizations may take and adapt for their own use. As such, it is deliberately written in a bulleted format to make adaptation easier and to make any particular item easy (or easier) to find. It also functions as a minimum set of guidelines for individuals, both users and administrators. This memo is the product of the Responsible Use of the Network (RUN) Working Group of the IETF.
Read right to the end and check out the link at the bottom. I thought that was cool as well.
February 23, 2004
Great Instructional Resources
Raritan Valley Community College Resources..very good stuff.
Instructional Resources
The Learning Technology Consortium
The Learning Technology Consortium is a collaborative of nine universities with common interests and challenges in the area of teaching and learning with technology.
Learning Technology Consortium
February 18, 2004
NetKnowledgy Software
This company makes some very useful add-on software for WebCt Users.
NetKnowledgy - provider of WebCT add-on software
Rubics Are you using them?
A great website with tools to assist in the making rubics.
Rubric, Rubrics, Teacher Rubric Makers
February 17, 2004
Five Lessons
HOW WE TREAT PEOPLE
Five lessons to make you think about the way we treat people.
1. First Important Lesson - Cleaning Lady.
During my second month of college, our professor gave us a pop quiz. I was a conscientious student and had breezed through the questions, until I read the last one: "What is the first name of the woman who cleans the school?"
Surely this was some kind of joke. I had seen the cleaning woman several times. She was tall, dark-haired and in her 50s, but how would I know her name? I handed in my paper, leaving the last question blank. Just before class ended, one student asked if the last question would count toward the quiz grade.
"Absolutely," said the professor. "In your careers, you will meet many people. All are significant. They deserve your attention and care, even if all you do is smile and say "hello".
I've never forgotten that lesson. I also learned her name was Dorothy.
2. Second Important Lesson - Pickup in the Rain
One night, at 11:30 p.m., an older African American woman was standing on the side of an Alabama highway trying to endure a lashing rainstorm. Her car had broken down and she desperately needed a ride.
Soaking wet, she decided to flag down the nextcar. A young white man stopped to help her, generally unheard of in those conflict-filled 1960s. The man took her to safety, helped her get assistance and put her into a taxicab.
She seemed to be in a big hurry, but wrote down his address and thanked
him. Seven days went by and a knock came on the man's door. To his surprise, a giant console color TV was delivered to his home.
A special note was attached. It read: "Thank you so much for assisting me on
the highway the other night. The rain drenched not only my clothes, but also
my spirits. Then you came along. Because of you, I was able to make it to
my dying husband's bedside just before he passed away. God bless you for helping me and unselfishly serving others,"
Sincerely, Mrs. Nat King Cole.
Cyber School Registration Flow Chart
As complicated as it seems, it works.
February 13, 2004
E-learning Growing
More and more students are working online as part of their degree, according to experts.
There has been much talk of a coming revolution in higher education caused by electronic media and the ability of students to study whole courses from a distance.
But it seems the greater change might be for students studying in university but with greater use of online technology.
The government is committed to "embedding e-learning" in the next 10 years.
BBC NEWS | UK | Education | E-learning grows in and out of university
Online education not being accepted?
If you are feeling that your online education is taking a long time to be accepted these quotes might make you feel better...
"Students today depend on paper too much. They don't know how to write on a slate without getting chalk dust all over themselves. They can't clean a slate properly. What will they do when they run out of paper?"
1815 Principals Association Conference
"Students today depend upon store bought ink. They don't know how to make their own. When they run out of ink they will be unable to write words or ciphers until their next trip to the settlement. This is a sad commentary on modern education."
1928 The Rural American Teacher
"Students today depend on these expensive fountain pens. They can no longer write with a straight pen and nib. We parents must not allow them to wallow in such luxury..."
1941 Parent Teacher Association Gazette
February 11, 2004
Help Desk Creative Solution
I read somewhere, that a university in North America paired with a university across the sea to supply help desk support. The reason they paired was the time of work day. Each supplied 12 hours of support during their daylight hours. Due to their location in the world when paired they covered the 24 hours a day. This supplied tech support for half the cost; I thought this was a great solution to the problem. Distance is not a issue and students accessing the help desk would not have to know if the help was coming from this side of the sea or the other.
Has anyone else heard of this, or know of the universities involved? I would like to hear more about the solution and if it worked?
February 6, 2004
SO YOU THINK YOU KNOW EVERYTHING?
A dime has 118 ridges around the edge.
A cat has 32 muscles in each ear.
A crocodile cannot stick out its tongue.
A dragonfly has a life span of 24 hours.
A "jiffy" is an actual unit of time for 1/100 of a second.
A shark is the only fish that can blink with both eyes.
A snail can sleep for three years.
Al Capone's business card said he was a used furniture dealer. All 50 states are listed across the top of the Lincoln Memorial on the back of the $5 bill.
Almonds are a member of the peach family.
An ostrich's eye is bigger than its brain.
Babies are born without kneecaps. They don't appear until the child reaches 2 to 6 years of age.
Butterflies taste with their feet.
Cats have over one hundred vocal sounds. Dogs only have about 10.
"Dreamt" is the only English word that ends in the letters "mt".
February 1865 is the only month in recorded history not to have a full moon.
In the last 4,000 years, no new animals have been domesticated.
If the population of China walked past you, in single file, the line would never end because of the rate of reproduction.
If you are an average American, in your whole life, you will spend an average of 6 months waiting at red lights.
It's impossible to sneeze with your eyes open.
Leonardo Da Vinci invented the scissors.
Maine is the only state whose name is just one syllable.
No word in the English language rhymes with month, orange, silver, or purple.
On a Canadian two dollar bill, the flag flying over the Parliament building is an American flag.
Our eyes are always the same size from birth, but our nose and ears never stop growing.
Peanuts are one of the ingredients of dynamite.
Rubber bands last longer when refrigerated.
"Stewardesses" is the longest word typed with only the left hand ! and " lollipop" with your right.
The average person's left hand does 56% of the typing.
The cruise liner, QE2, moves only six inches for each gallon of diesel that it burns.
The microwave was invented after a researcher walked by a radar tube and a chocolate bar melted in his pocket. (Ouch!!!)
The sentence: "The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog" uses every letter of the alphabet.
The winter of 1932 was so cold that Niagara Falls froze completely solid.
The words 'racecar,' 'kayak' and 'level' are the same whether they are read left to right or right to left (palindromes).
There are 293 ways to make change for a dollar. (How many are correct?)
There are more chickens than people in the world. (call the Colonel)
There are only four words in the English language which end in "dous":tremendous, horrendous, stupendous, and hazardous
There are two words in the English language that have all five vowels in order: "abstemious" and "facetious."
There's no Betty Rubble in the Flintstones Chewables Vitamins.
Tigers have striped skin, not just striped fur.
TYPEWRITER is the longest word that can be made using the letters only on one row of the keyboard.
Winston Churchill was born in a ladies' room during a dance.
Women blink nearly twice as much as men.
Your stomach has to produce a new layer of mucus every two weeks; otherwise it will digest itself.
......Now you know everything!
These would be great added to a course as a daily tip or quote.
February 3, 2004
Makes ya think don't it.
A powerful message that will make you think...I really liked the images.
http://www.scottstratten.com/movie.html
Hope you enjoy it.
Computers in the Classroom
Does higher tech mean better education?
