May 2007
May 31, 2007
When Staff Members Are Away Part Two
Don't ever leave your pod station empty for too long because you will never know what might happen to it.
Quote of the Day
It is a dog eat dog world and I am wearing milkbone underwear.
Norm (from Cheers)
May 30, 2007
Internet awareness quotes
“The danger to kids in Web 2.0 is not what they may find online, but from what they themselves put online for others to access.”
Doug Johnson, 2007. Discovery Educator Network Webinar
“Our research, actually looking at what puts kids at risk for receiving the most serious kinds of sexual solicitation online, suggests that it’s not giving out personal information that puts kids at risk. It’s not having a blog or a personal website that does that either. What puts kids in danger is being willing to talk about sex online with strangers or having a pattern of multiple risky activities on the web like going to sex sites and chat rooms, meeting lots of people there, kind of behaving in what we call like an internet daredevil.”
Dr. David Finkelhor, 2007. Internet Caucus Advisory Committee
“Just as you need to know where your children are before, during, and after school and who they’re with and what they’re doing, the same applies for the internet. It’s as simple as talking to your kids about who they’re with, where they are, and what they’re doing online.”
Dr. Michelle Ybarra, 2007. Internet Caucus Advisory Committee
Stop Cyber Bullying
When staff members are away.
Don't ever leave your pod station empty for too long because you will never know what might happen to it.
Little blue robots recruit college kids
A new course at Georgia Tech University that asks students to program a low-cost personal robot called the Scribbler is part of a growing movement in schools nationwide to reignite interest in computer science among undergraduates.
eSchool News online - Little blue robots recruit college kids
50 Fun Things for Professors Part Five
1. Tell students that you'll fail them if they cheat on exams or "fake the funk".
2. Announce that you need to deliver two lectures that day, and deliver them in rapid-fire auctioneer style.
3. Pass out dental floss to students and devote the lecture to oral hygiene.
4. Announce that the entire 32-volume Encyclopedia Britannica will be required reading for your class. Assign a report on Volume 1, Aardvark through Armenia, for next class.
5. Ask students to list their favorite showtunes on a signup sheet. Criticize their choices and make notes in your grade book.
6. Sneeze on students in the front row and wipe your nose on your tie.
7. Warn students that they should bring a sack lunch to exams.
8. Refer frequently to students who died while taking your class.
9. Show up to lecture in a ventilated clean suit. Advise students to keep their distance for their own safety and mutter something about "that bug I picked up in the field".
10. Jog into class, rip the textbook in half, and scream, "Are you pumped? ARE YOU PUMPED? I CAN'T HEEEEEEAR YOU!"
Quote of the Day
We give advice by the bucket, but take it by the grain.
William Alger
May 29, 2007
Interactive Pedagogies
One of the big criticisms about interactive whiteboards is that it looks too much like a traditional classroom tool and that if we are serious about making education relevant to today’s world, then digital reincarnations of yesterday’s tools aren’t going to cut it.
Teaching Generation Z ? Blog Archive ? Interactive Pedagogies
List of Universities that offer Online Doctorates
I have been doing an extensive search for universities that offer online doctorates in education with a focus on distance education. In my search I have asked the people on the WebCt list serve to offer suggestions. So, below is the resulting list. Some were given with reasons why some are good while some people gave reasons why some are not good. I really appreciated the time people took to help. I have still not made a decision but I am getting closer.
Nova Southeastern
Indiana State University
Pepperdine
NorthCentral University
New Mexico State University
Capella
University of Nebraska
Regent University
Deakin University
Joensuun University
University of Phoenix
Walden
50 Fun Things For Professors Part Four
1. Announce that last year's students have almost finished their class projects.
2. Inform your English class that they need to know FORTRAN and code all their essays. Deliver a lecture on output format statements.
3. Bring a small dog to class. Tell the class he's named "Boogers McGee" and is your "mascot". Whenever someone asks a question, walk over to the dog and ask it, "What'll be, McGee?"
4. Wear a feather boa and ask students to call you "Snuggles".
5. Tell your math students that they must do all their work in a base 11 number system. Use a complicated symbol you've named after yourself in place of the number 10 and threaten to fail students who don't use it.
6. Claim to be a chicken. Squat, cluck, and produce eggs at irregular intervals.
7. Bring a CPR dummy to class and announce that it will be the teaching assistant for the semester. Assign it an office and office hours.
8. Have a grad student in a black beret pluck at a bass while you lecture.
9. Sprint from the room in a panic if you hear sirens outside.
10. Give an opening monologue. Take two minute "commercial breaks" every ten minutes.
Quote of the Day
If at first you don't succeed, you're running about average.
M.H. Alderson
May 28, 2007
Find a place to elearn
Here is a list of places to e-learn. I am currently trying to decide where to do my PHD online so this list was useful.
Possibility vs. Probability
My job is mostly about change. Helping teachers understand what’s different, what’s possible and what’s necessary in order to change/improve teaching and learning. There would be still be a few who question why we need to change but at least that battle is seeing fewer participants.
Ideas and Thoughts From and EdTech
50 Fun Things for Professors Part Three
1. Turn off the lights, play a tape of crickets chirping, and begin singing spirituals.
2. Ask for a volunteer for a demonstration. Ask them to fill out a waiver as you put on a lead apron and light a blowtorch.
3. Point the overhead projector at the class. Demand each student's name, rank, and serial number.
4. Begin class by smashing the neck off a bottle of vodka, and announce that the lecture's over when the bottle's done.
5. Have a band waiting in the corner of the room. When anyone asks a question, have the band start playing and sing an Elvis song.
6. Every so often, freeze in mid sentence and stare off into space for several minutes. After a long, awkward silence, resume your sentence and proceed normally.
7. Wear a "virtual reality" helmet and strange gloves. When someone asks a question, turn in their direction and make throttling motions with your hands.
8. Mention in passing that you're wearing rubber underwear.
9. Growl constantly and address students as "matey".
10. Devote your math lecture to free verse about your favorite numbers and ask students to "sit back and groove".
Quote of the Day
First learn computer science and all the theory. Next develop a programming style. Then forget all that and just hack.
George Carrette (1990)
May 25, 2007
What my father does all day...
What do retired people do all day?
I frequently ask my retired father what he does to make his days interesting.
To which he responsed...
The other day I went into town and went into a shop. I was only in there for about 5 minutes, when I came out there was a cop writing out a parking ticket. I went up to him and said, "Come on man, how about giving a senior citizen a damn break?" He ignored me and continued writing the ticket. I called him a Nazi turd. He glared at me and started writing another ticket for having worn tires. So I called him another bad name. He finished the second ticket and put it on the windshield with the first. Then he started writing a third ticket. This went on for about 20
minutes. The more I abused him, the more tickets he wrote.
Personally, I didn't care. I came into town by bus. I try to have a little fun each day now
that I'm retired.......It's important at my age......
That's my dad.
Schools need to respond to the technological power play
In most U.S. K-12 schools teachers, administrators and parents are continually struggling against a “technological power play” which exists on at least two levels. The first level is in IT support: Most schools are woefully understaffed to provide needed technical and instructional support for teachers and students.
Lessons Learned
We might assume all students are tech-literate, but when they start working in an online course you really get surprised by what students do NOT know
50 Fun Things For Professors Part Three
1. Turn off the lights, play a tape of crickets chirping, and begin singing spirituals.
2. Ask for a volunteer for a demonstration. Ask them to fill out a waiver as you put on a lead apron and light a blowtorch.
3. Point the overhead projector at the class. Demand each student's name, rank, and serial number.
4. Begin class by smashing the neck off a bottle of vodka, and announce that the lecture's over when the bottle's done.
5. Have a band waiting in the corner of the room. When anyone asks a question, have the band start playing and sing an Elvis song.
6. Every so often, freeze in mid sentence and stare off into space for several minutes. After a long, awkward silence, resume your sentence and proceed normally.
7. Wear a "virtual reality" helmet and strange gloves. When someone asks a question, turn in their direction and make throttling motions with your hands.
8. Mention in passing that you're wearing rubber underwear.
9. Growl constantly and address students as "matey".
10. Devote your math lecture to free verse about your favorite numbers and ask students to "sit back and groove".
Quote of the Day
Happiness is good health and a bad memory.
Ingrid Bergman
May 24, 2007
Explorers Theme Page
This "Theme Page" has links to two types of resources related to the study of explorers. Students and teachers will find curricular resources (information, content...) to help them learn about this topic. In addition, there are also links to instructional materials (lesson plans) which will help teachers provide instruction in this theme.
First Nations History Theme Page
This "Theme Page" has links to curricular resources (information, content...) to help students/teachers learn about the History of First Nations People.
First Nations History Theme Page
First Scientists
First Scientists is a series of vignettes based on a documentary of the same title. The vignettes explore the links between traditional knowledge of Native Canadians and western science. First Scientists was written and directed by Mark Sandiford. It was produced by Exploration Production Inc. with the support of five federal government departments working in the area of natural resources. The vignettes and the documentary aired on the Discovery Channel in 2003
Science and Technology for Canadians - First Scientists Videos
Culturally Situated Design Tools
Teaching Math through culture:
Many cultural designs are based on mathematical principles. This software will help students learn standards-based mathematics as they simulate the original artifacts, and develop their own creations.
Culturally-Situated Design Tools
Facebook & Mobile: Teens can’t live without em
One girl told the audience, “I would be lost, helpless, and alone without the Internet. I don’t know how you people survived without it!”
GigaOM ? Facebook & Mobile: Teens can't live without em
50 Fun Things for Professors Part two
1. Play "Kumbaya" on the banjo.
2. Show a video on medieval torture implements to your calculus class. Giggle throughout it.
3. Announce "you'll need this", and write the suicide prevention hotline number on the board.
4. Wear mirrored sunglasses and speak only in different language. Ignore all questions.
5. Start the lecture by dancing and lip-syncing to any James Brown's song.
6. Ask occasional questions, but mutter "as if you gibbering students would know" and move on before anyone can answer.
7. Ask the class to read Jenkins through Johnson of the local phone book by the next lecture. Vaguely imply that there will be a quiz.
8. Have one of your graduate students sprinkle flower petals ahead of you as you pace back and forth.
9. Address students as "worm".
10. Announce to students that their entire grades will be based on a single-question oral final exam. Imply that this could happen at any moment.
Quote of the Day
The true teacher defends his pupils against his own personal influence. He inspires self-distrust. He guides their eyes from himself to the spirit that quickens him. He will have no disciple.
A. H. Alderson
May 23, 2007
Fire Safety Website
Please preview this site and if possible integrate it into your existing curriculum and classroom learning environment. Social Studies teachers might enjoy the public interest aspect of this unit, that students are becoming informed about this topic for the purpose of informing and educating others in their community. Language Arts teachers might appreciate the fact that their students are researching this topic, then publishing and distributing their work to a real audience.
A Learning Website for Middle School Students
Virtual Schooling in the News 2
Virtual High School Meanderings: Virtual Schooling in the News
Virtual Schooling in the News
Virtual High School Meanderings: Virtual Schooling in the News
Silicon Spies
A kind of neat site
Engineering Interact - Interactive science & engineering for 9-11 year olds
A Great Idea Lives Forever. Shouldn’t Its Copyright?
If this don't make ya made nothing will...
A Great Idea Lives Forever. Shouldn’t Its Copyright? - New York Times
It takes a Vision
The thing that bothers me most when I see legislators, either national or state or local, putting up bills that are supposed to “protect” kids or make schools safer, is that none of them have a clue as to the technology that they are legislating.
Weblogg-ed ? It Takes a Vision
Your Cheatin' Heart
One of the big questions that dog the credibility of distance education is whether students are cheating on exams. Professors do not see the students and often cannot verify who is taking the tests.
The Chronicle: Wired Campus Blog: Your Cheatin' Heart
50 Fun Things For Professors to Do On The First Day of Class
Part One
1. Wear a hood with one eyehole. Periodically make strange gurgling noises.
2. After confirming everyone's names on the roll, thank the class for attending "Advanced Astrodynamics 690" and mention that yesterday was the last day to drop.
3. After turning on the overhead projector, clutch your chest and scream "MY PACEMAKER!"
4. Wear a pointed Kaiser helmet and a monocle and carry a riding crop.
5. Gradually speak softer and softer and then suddenly point to a student and scream "YOU! WHAT DID I JUST SAY?"
6. Deliver your lecture through a hand puppet. If a student asks you a question directly, say in a high-pitched voice, "The Professor can't hear you, you'll have to ask *me*, Winky Willy".
7. If someone asks a question, walk silently over to their seat, hand them your piece of chalk, and ask, "Would YOU like to give the lecture, Mr. Smartypants?"
8. Pick out random students, ask them questions, and time their responses with a stop watch. Record their times in your grade book while muttering "tsk, tsk".
9. Ask students to call you "Tinkerbell" or "Surfin' Bird".
10. Stop in mid-lecture, frown for a moment, and then ask the class whether your butt looks fat.
Quote of the Day
Never speak more clearly than you think.
Jeremy Bernstein
May 22, 2007
Teacher Staff Development Materials
The Alabama Science Teaching and Learning Center (ASTLC) is charged with meeting the increasingly sophisticated demands from Alabama schools for the highest quality science teachers. Its courses, for both new and in-service teachers, are designed not to just bring scientific knowledge to their students, but to train their students to think and operate as scientists poised to meet the complex challenges of the 21st century.
Teacher Staff Development Materials
Sage advice
What teaching trick do you use in the classroom to help your students succeed?
Sage Advice April/May 2007 | Edutopia
Advice for Life
* Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, and wear the fancy lingerie.
Don't save it for a special occasion. Today is special.
* No one is in charge of your happiness except you.
* Frame every so-called disaster with these words: "In five years, will
this matter?"
* What other people think of you is none of your business.
* Time heals almost everything. Give time time.
* However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
* Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your family and
friends will. Stay in touch.
* Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful, or joyful.
* Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
* The best is yet to come.
* No matter how you feel, get up, dress up, and show up.
* Do the right thing.
* Call your mother and father often.
* Remember that you are too blessed to be stressed.
* Enjoy the ride. Remember that this is not Disney World and you
certainly don't want a fast pass.
Quote of the Day
Vision without action is merely a dream. Action without vision just passes the time. Vision with action can change the world.
Joel Barnes
May 18, 2007
Special Report: eSchools Work!
In spite of what you might have heard or read in the general press lately, the evidence is in, and it's overwhelming: eSchools work!
eSchool News online - Special Report: eSchools Work!
This made my day!
I opened my email today to find a note that made my day. This was a nice way to make sure I as a blogger continue to blog. I write this blog to share information with my staff at the cyber school, it is great to know others enjoy and find what a post of value as well.
Hello,As an educational innovator I know how time-consuming and hard work it is to write a blog, and how difficult to ascertain how much you are "realising" with it...
I just wanted to let you know that I'm subscribed to about 150 e-learning blogs, but your entries are by far the most usable to me. To the point, tongue-in-cheek, enough practical tips and yet also enough theoretical depth and sense of realism.
So - even though people may not be reacting enormously - please know that your daily entries are appreciated (much), even in distant Flanders (Belgium).
Keep up the great work, regards, and thank you!
Quote of the Day
A compromise is the art of dividing a cake in such a way that everyone believes he has the biggest piece.
Ludwig Erhard
May 17, 2007
State of the Blogosphere
I realized that there wasn't a single place where you could get all of the information on all of the past State of the Blogosphere (and upcoming State of the Live Web) reports. So here it is.
www.sifry.com: State of the Blogosphere / State of the Live Web
Count the black dots.
Quote of the Day
How did the scarecrow know he didn't have a brain?
Lance W. Bledsoe
May 16, 2007
Best Online Course Ever?
This is a great read...
CADE/AMTEC - day 2 - Best Online Course Ever? | Dave’s Educational Blog
A list of Learning Theories
TIP is a tool intended to make learning and instructional theory more accessible to educators. The database contains brief summaries of 50 major theories of learning and instruction. These theories can also be accessed by learning domains and concepts.
New Hands Free Cel Phone
I'm gonna get me one of these new fangled phone right away!
Quote of the Day
Quality is never an accident; it is always the result of high intention, sincere effort, intelligent direction and skillful execution; it represents the wise choice of many alternatives.
Willa A. Foster
May 14, 2007
Educational Uses of Digital Storytelling
Digital Storytelling is a fantastic way to engage students, teachers and just about anyone else who has ever wanted to be the next Ken Burns or Steven Spielberg. There are many different definitions of "digital storytelling," but in general, all of them revolve around the idea of combining the longstanding art of telling stories with any of a variety of available multimedia tools, including graphics, audio, video animation, and Web publishing.
Educational Uses of Digital Storytelling
Things to do in the cyber school pod
Log on, wait a sec, then get a frightened look on your face and scream "NO!!! They've found me!" and bolt.
Laugh uncontrollably for about 3 minutes & then suddenly stop and look suspiciously at everyone who looks at you.
When your computer is turned off, complain to the others in the pod that you can't get the darn thing to work. After he/she's turned it on, wait 5 minutes,turn it off again, & repeat the process for a good half hour.
Type frantically, often stopping to look at the person next to you evilly.
Before anyone else is in the lab, connect each computer to different screen than the one it's set up with.
Write a program that plays the "Smurfs" theme song and play it at the highest volume possible over & over again.
Work normally for a while. Suddenly look amazingly startled by something on the screen and crawl underneath the desk.
Ask the person next to you if they know how to tap into top-secret Pentagon files.
Make a small ritual sacrifice to the computer before you turn it on.
Quote of the Day
Positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort.
Herm Albright
May 8, 2007
A teacher's Toolkit
A Teacher's Toolbox is the companion of adrianbruce.com. Both showcase: recent educational resources that have been added to the site, my ICT work with teachers and students, free reading games, free maths games, free educational software and much, much more. Feel free to check it out and if you know people who can use this stuff, send it on :) Be SURE to check out MY ARCHIVE - Heaps of GREAT STUFF there!
A Teacher's Toolbox - Resources 4 Busy Educators
5th Annual Canadian E-Learning Conference
I will be attending this conference...I think it is one of the best conferences that I attend.
2007 Canadian E-Learning Conference
Quote of the Day
Anybody can win unless there happens to be a second entry.
George Ada (1866 - 1944)
May 7, 2007
Adult survey rates the internet as dangerous.
A new survey conducted by the C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital puts the Internet in the top 10 when US adults were asked what they regard as a “Big Problem” to the health of children. Indeed, the internet was thought a bigger threat than “abuse and neglect” in the survey.
Quote of the Day
We swallow greedily any lie that flatters us, but we sip only little by little at a truth we find bitter.
Denis Diderot
May 4, 2007
Inside the Teenage Brain
What's going on in there? How science may help to explain the mysteries of the teen years.
frontline: inside the teenage brain | PBS
Technology Survey
Does anyone have a technology review survey that they might be willing to share? We are getting close to reviewing the teachers within our division about our cyber school and the use of technology in their face to face classroom. We are a K-12 division but post-secondary surveys might give us some ideas as well.
So, please share.
D. Cannell
Just married
This made me giggle.
Quote of the Day
It is the characteristics excellence of the strong man that he can bring momentous issues to the fore and make a decision about them. The weak are always forced to decide between alternatives they have not chosen themselves.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer
May 3, 2007
Student Online Readiness Tool
To find out whether online learning is for you, you must assess your readiness, your goals, and your learning preferences. Research and study tell us that there are six main topics closely related to a student's success in the online learning environment. To help you make the right decision about enrolling in an online course, we have created this Student Online Readiness Tool (SORT) for you to rate yourself in each of the topic areas. Each section of SORT has a brief description followed by a questionnaire. Based on your responses to questions, feedback is provided on your personal readiness profile, along with suggested strategies for success and links to more information.
Readiness for eLearning
Distance education teachers and planners can help their prospective learners prepare for, or at the least assess their own readiness to learn within an online environment. Research supports that this is a critical consideration, since an individual learner's success in an online course often hinges on this foundation of readiness. Learners who are planning to take a course or program on-line are advised to also assess their own readiness to successfullly learn in the virtual environment.
Readiness for eLearning - Distance Learning
Nerd T-shirt sayings
1. "If Bill Gates had a penny for every time I had to reboot my computer......oh wait he does."
2.Cannot find REALITY.SYS. Universe halted.
3. 2 + 2 = 5 for extremely large values of 2.
4. Computers make very fast, very accurate mistakes.
5. Computers are not intelligent. They only think they are.
6. My software never has bugs. It just develops random features.
7.Best file compression around: "DEL ." = 100% compression
8. BREAKFAST.COM Halted...Cereal Port Not Responding
9. The name is Baud......, James Baud.
10. Why doesn't DOS ever say "EXCELLENT command or filename!"
11. As a computer, I find your faith in technology amusing.
12. Southern DOS: Y'all reckon? (Yep/Nope)
13. Backups? We don' NEED no steenking backups.
14. CONGRESS.SYS Corrupted: Re-boot Washington D.C. (Y/n)?
15. Windows: Just another pane in the glass.
16. SENILE.COM found . . . Out Of Memory . . .
17. All computers wait at the same speed.
18. Smash forehead on keyboard to continue.....
19. All wiyht. Rho sritched mg kegtops awound?
20. Error: Keyboard not attached. Press F1 to continue.
21. "640K ought to be enough for anybody." - Bill Gates, 1981
22. Press any key to continue or any other key to quit...
23. Press CTRL-ALT-DEL to continue ...
Quote of the Day
The real questions are the ones that obtrude upon your consciousness whether you like it or not, the ones that make your mind start vibrating like a jackhamer, the ones that you 'come to terms with" only to discover that they are still there. The real questions refuse to be placated. They barge into your life at the times when it seems most important for them to stay away. They are the questions asked most frequently and answered most inadequately, the ones that reveal their true natures slowly, reluctantly, most often against your will.
Ingrid Bengis
May 2, 2007
Technology as part of the Core Curriculum
Growing up in public schools there were always classes that were considered core classes such as Math, Science, History, and English. While I still think these are very important and should maintain a role in core education, I think that we would be selling ourselves short if we did not add technology to the core requirements. When I was growing up the first computer I got on was a huge machine with awful graphics and we played a computer game called “Oregan Trail” where we hunted and shot blurry animals in a 2 dimensional Green and black trail.
Technology as part of the Core Curriculum | EDUCAUSE CONNECT
Etch-A-Sketch Technical Support
Management has determined that there is no longer any need for network or software applications support. The goal is to remove all computers from the desktop. Instead, everyone will be provided with an Etch-A-Sketch. There are many sound reasons for doing this:
1. No Vista problems
2. No technical glitches keeping work from being done.
3. No more wasted time reading and writing emails.
Frequently Asked Questions for Etch-A-Sketch Technical Support:
Q: My Etch-A-Sketch has all of these funny little lines all over the screen.
A: Pick it up and shake it
Q. How do I turn my Etch-A-Sketch off?
A: Pick it up and shake it.
Q. What's the shortcut for Undo?
A: Pick it up and shake it.
Q. How do I create a New Document window?
A. Pick it up and shake it.
Q. How do I set the background and foreground to the same color?
A. Pick it up and shake it.
Q. What is the proper procedure for rebooting my Etch-A-Sketch
A: Pick it up and shake it.
Q. How do I delete a document on my Etch-A-Sketch?
A: Pick it up and shake it.
Q. How do I save my Etch-A-Sketch document?
A: Don't shake it.
Quote of the Day
Education makes a person easy to lead, but difficult to drive; easy to govern but impossible to enslave.
Lord Brougham
In each of us are places where we have never gone. Only by pressing the limits do you ever find them.
Dr. Joyce Brothers
