February 2009
February 28, 2009
Hybrid Top Ten ... number 8
TADO PPT's
Quote of the day
Information cannot replace education.
-- Earl Kiole
Censors
February 27, 2009
Hybrid Top Ten ... Number nine
Quote of the day
A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops.
-- Henry B. Adams
TADO PPT's
Biology
February 26, 2009
Learning in Cyber-Land
Student discusses a new wave in technology communication and the advances in her school.
Learning in Cyber-Land-Virtual High School Meanderings
Hybrid Top Ten ... Number 10
TADO PPT's
Quote of the day
There is a brilliant child locked inside every student.
-- Marva Collins
Psychokinesis
Creation of cyber school 1999
Justification of the project.
Study the research to find in this is an educationally sound project.
Target market
Is this project going to work with students presently in our system, adults who have not finished high school and cannot find the time to attend community college, upgraders, home schoolers, bed ridden students, smaller community subject classes, out of country students, students willing to explore different methods of learning.
Not adults...mostly our school students
Target grade level
Explore the grade level that this type of education would be best utililzed at??
High school not adult
Target subjects
Which subject areas would be the best to use this method with???
All a full slat
Time line
What would be the projects begin date and suggested date for a cyber school upstart.
Second semester 1999/2000
Individual student costs
What would be the best method to ensure the students have the correct technology and software for the courses.
Yes
Board of Education guidelines
Check the boards criteria for funding to make sure the students involved in this project will recieve the same amount of funding as a normal student.
Project team members criteria
Who and what type of team will be need to fulfill this project
Tom area for computer people
Techno costs
Check with the people that know to determine the techno costs of the project.
Will have to do some research in this area
Type of Student
What is the learning style of the student that will be success at this type of project.
Check assessment
tools....parents commitment
Most of the teachers involved will not be full time.
Board will look after the board of educations guidelines
Start small think big
Christian education important aspect of project.
Not paper based correspondence type of system more interactive.
Delivery program how are we going to use the available technology
Promotion of the program.
Using Teaching Strategies
White and weight (2000) state the important elements of online education are" interaction, feedback, learner control, access to directions, help, consistency and organization, assessment and recordkeeping". (p. 1) The environment that I spend most of my working day in is the Saskatoon Catholic Cyber School. As the administrator my role is to educate the teacher on how to best develop and teach high school courses online.
In my attempt to achieve this goal I have developed a teaching strategy that is referred to as Continuous Improvement Framework. This framework is a series of one month tasks which suggest to the teachers of the cyber school methods of making their courses stronger. During the first year of the framework all tasks were developed and posted by the myself. The second year the teaching staff in teams developed the monthly CIFs. Each of the Cif's attempted to improve on of the important elements that are stated in the first sentence of this discussion.
The method of sharing the CIF steps and information was via a simple website. Each month's task was posted at the beginning of the month and then the expectation was that it would be completed by the end of the month. In the first year it was a difficult task to get the teachers to understand the importance of the CIF and some teachers began to fall behind in the tasks. To resolved this it was decided that a smiley icon would be given for each task that was completed. It was interesting how a adult teachers were so motivated by a simple html chart with icon. As the task master, I started to receive emails like " I finished my CIF two days ago where is my smiley".
Another interesting deduction that was made by the teachers was that for some of them this was the first online "task" they had ever done. Since many of them have never taken an online course. Many of the things that were irritating them about their online student they showed themselves, such as not reading instruction, not getting the task done on time, wondering about the speed of the smiley assessment.
The CIF website can be seen at: Http://www.scs.sk.ca/cyber/cif/cif.htm
The use of the CIF allowed me to emphasize the need to create courses for students which use techniques to make the courses consider the student's individual differences in learning. To clarify, I will approach it from a single course view and the two elements that I have chosen are available in all of our cyber school courses. The two elements in the cyber courses which allow the teachers to successfully use specific teaching strategies are the communication tools and the grade book. The single most important teaching strategy in cyber courses is quick response time to questions and grades. As confirmed by White and Weight (2000) who state the important elements of online education are" interaction, feedback, learner control, access to directions, help, consistency and organization, assessment and recordkeeping". (p. 1)
The four communication tools available in our learning management system are chat, discussion board, whiteboard and course mail. These are the tools that allow an instructor to build a relationship with their students. By responding quickly to any and all questions the student feels that there is someone accompanying them on their educational journey. This relationship will make them more willing to ask questions and hence limit frustration. Online courses can be viewed as too individualistic and students can feel like they are all alone. However, the communication tools will allow the instructor and peer tutors to assist in relieving this feeling. The peer tutor program is made up of past successful students who are available within the communication areas to answer non-course content questions.
The grade book and the computer marked quizzes are both responsible for quick responses to the assessment of the students. These two tools utilize the computer's ability to display and compute results. Although very labor intensive to set up, they are an aspect of a learning management system which is appreciated by both student and teacher. The students enjoy that quizzes can be marked immediately if they are multiple-choice, true and false, matching, or short answer. The grade book allows students to always be aware of their progress in a course and what they need to do. The teachers enjoy both tools because they free them up to teach and communicate with their students. They like the quiz tool because it relieves some of the busy work by doing the marking and the grade book with its formulas can calculate the student's progress for them.
White, K. W., & Weight, B. H. (2000). The Online Teaching Guide: A Handbook of Attitudes, Strategies, and Techniques for Virtual Classroom. Needham Heights: Allyn and Bacon.
February 25, 2009
TADO Video
I think I am honoured - no pun intended.
Dear NCU PHD Education Honor Student: *******
Congratulations! Due to your outstanding scholastic achievements as an NCU learner in the field of education, you have been nominated for membership in Kappa Delta Pi, one of the largest and most prestigious educational honor societies in the world. Our chapter, Alpha Delta Epsilon, was installed at Northcentral University on June 15, 2007, and was the first chapter chartered by KDP at a virtual university. Additional information about our chapter may be found at http://www.kdp-ade.org or in our discussion folder in the 'Honor Societies' section of the NCU discussion board. *******
When seeking membership as a graduate student, a candidate must:
1.121 have full graduate standing at Northcentral University.
1.122 have a cumulative GPA of 3.5 or higher for all graduate coursework completed.
1.123 exemplify worthy educational ideals.
1.124 express an intention of continuing in the field of education.
1.125 give evidence of leadership abilities.
1.126 have completed fifteen (15) or more semester hours of graduate work at Northcentral University.
Up here in Canada we do not know much about these Pies should I be honoured?
Virtual Schooling in Canada
Michael Barbour does a good job of capturing a snapshot of Canada's virtual schooling in K-12
Virtual School in Canada - Virtual High School Meandering
Awesome Stories
Enjoy an interactive learning experience as you see thousands of hand-selected and relevant links to pictures, slide-shows, videos, audio-clips, artifacts, manuscripts, documents and other primary sources linked, in context, within each stor
Create your own Myths or Legends
Welcome to Myths and Legends. This site is for pupils, teachers and all those who enjoy stories and storytelling.
Create your own Myths or Legends
NCSA ChemViz
ChemViz (Chemistry Visualization) is an interactive chemistry program which incorporates computational chemistry simulations and visualizations for use in the chemistry classroom. The chemistry simulations support the chemistry principles teachers are trying to convey, and the visualizations allow students to see how matter interacts at an atomic level.
Virtual Electron Microscope
Check out the interactive virtual electron microscope.
Virtual Electron Microscope - Discovery Channel School
Invention at Play
Explore the playful side of invention and the inventive side of play.
Lemelson Center presents Invention at Play
Microscopy and Science Education Web Site
A web site devoted to microscopy science education
Dennis Kunkel Microscopy, Inc. Microscopy and Science Education Web Site
Quote of the day
The objective of education is to prepare the young to educate themselves throughout their lives.
-- Robert Maynard Hutchins
The Essay
TADO PPT's
Fact
February 24, 2009
Hybrid Support
TADO PPT's
Learning style reflection
The biggest issue I have with all the different tests and methods of determining your learning styles is that they tend to try to make it too black and white. Perceptual Modalities examines how one takes in information through your senses, Multiple Intelligences with its seven modalities, Mind styles with its four basic learning styles, Learning Styles Indicator with its four types and Myer Briggs' sixteen personality styles all try to pinpoint one's learning styles. Until 2000 I was not aware of my learning styles, yet I still completed high school and three degrees. My study of learning styles confirmed what I already knew on a gut level. After teaching for eighteen years, it had become very evident to me that no matter what method I used to teach a subject, there were a handful of students that would need me to adapt the lesson before they would get it. As my experience in teaching improved, I noticed that I tended to use a larger range of lesson styles hence making me a better teacher. My pride made me think that what was missing was not a learning style or a lesson style but a student's maturity in being able to learn in a multitude of styles. The best students are the ones who have learned to learn no matter what their learning or lesson style. Felder (2008) states "To overcome these problems, professors should strive for a balance of instructional methods (as opposed to trying to teach each student exclusively according to his or her preferences.) If the balance is achieved, all students will be taught partly in a manner they prefer, which leads to an increased comfort level and willingness to learn, and partly in a less preferred manner, which provides practice and feedback in ways of thinking and solving problems which they may not initially be comfortable with but which they will have to use to be fully effective professionals." However for two hundred years the educational system has not changed to meet the students' needs. The students have been forced to change to meet the system. From a personal point of view, my first three degrees which were done via the traditional lecture style university class did not even come close to the best way for me to learn. Since distance learning and my master's degree I have found a system which better fits my learning style.
Felder, R. (2008, November 13). Learning Styles. Retrieved February 08, 2009, from Resources in Science and Engineering Education: http://www4.ncsu.edu/unity/lockers/users/f/felder/public/Learning_Styles.html
WHY MEN ARE NEVER DEPRESSED
Men Are Just Happier People--
Your last name stays put.
The garage is all yours.
Wedding plans take care of themselves.
Chocolate is just another snack.
You can never be pregnant.
Car mechanics tell you the truth.
The world is your urinal.
You never have to drive to another gas station restroom because this one is just too icky.
You don't have to stop and think of which way to turn a nut on a bolt.
Same work, more pay.
Wrinkles add character.
People never stare at your chest when you're talking to them.
New shoes don't cut, blister, or mangle your feet.
One mood all the time.
Phone conversations are over in 30 seconds flat.
You know stuff about tanks and engines.
A five-day vacation requires only one suitcase.
You can open all your own jars.
You get extra credit for the slightest act of thoughtfulness.
Your underwear is $8.95 for a three-pack.
Three pairs of shoes are more than enough.
You never have strap problems in public.
You are unable to see wrinkles in your clothes.
Everything on your face stays its original colour.
The same hairstyle lasts for years, maybe decades.
You only have to shave your face and neck.
You can play with toys all your life.
One wallet and one pair of shoes -- one colour for all seasons.
You can wear shorts no matter how your legs look.
You can 'do' your nails with a pocket knife.
You have freedom of choice concerning growing a moustache.
You can do Christmas shopping for 25 relatives on December 24 in 25 minutes.
No wonder men are happier.
COOL School
COOL School specializes in the development of web-based resources, including Flash media, interactive explanations, educational games, drag-and-drops, puzzles, animations, video clips, and graphics, among other things.
COOL School - Online Educational Content Development for K-12
American History: "Growth of a Nation"
Animated Atlas portrays large chapters of American history quickly by animating maps and geographic features. For school, home and genealogy use.
American History: "Growth of a Nation"
Quote of the day
The job of an educator is to teach students to see vitality in themselves.
-- Joseph Campbell
Pat on Back
CutePDF
Create PDF for free, Free PDF Utilities, Save PDF Forms, Edit PDF easily.
CutePDF - Create PDF for free, Free PDF Utilities, Save PDF Forms, Edit PDF easily.
February 23, 2009
Hybrids before and after
Cyber school visual literacy
"It has been said throughout time that a picture could be worth a thousand words. As you can imagine though, for each individual that views it, the words can be decidedly different. It has been stated that during the time of Martin Luther only 3-5% of the population could read the written word. In order to send a message or to just simply get one across, the messenger had to be extremely resourceful. When Luther lit the fire of the Protestant Reformation, he fanned the flames using persuasive images disguised as art. Some of these would even be called propaganda in today's thinking. Those for whom the messages were intended had little trouble deciphering the meaning. It is now most ironic that in our present, mostly literate society, we still see the use of images as a major means of influence in TV, movies, Public Service ads, and especially political campaigns. It's not what people are saying that's troublesome, but how it is they are saying it" (Macdonald 2006 ¶ 1).
The use of images is nothing new to the author. For seventeen years as an art teacher, images have been front and center in his life. For twenty plus years he has been a professional artist applying the use of color and composition to create a feeling, a message or just an interesting image. These images he has displayed since 1995 on the internet within a virtual art gallery. The creation of this gallery is the catalyst to his position as the creator and administrator of the Saskatoon Catholic Cyber School (SCCS). The virtual gallery forced the learning web design and html. At the same time he was required to learn to manipulate digital images. During this stage he also experimented with digital drawing programs like Corel Draw and Bryce. This gallery is called DDC Art Gallery and can be seen at the following URL:
http://blog.scs.sk.ca/ddcartgallery/
Teaching art meant that he spent all day thinking about composing images and assisting others to create and compose their own images. The art teacher stage of his life ended in 2000 when he started his role at the SCCS.
"What's imperative is the creation of a style that becomes a culture linking you to the community. You can only do that through good design" (Roddick, 2007 ¶ 2).
The first use of images and design would be the Saskatoon Catholic Cyber School website. But even before that was the design of a logo for the school. Creating a simple logo was a challenge and it can be seen at the following URL:
http://www.scs.sk.ca/cyber/logo/logo.htm
The development of the cyber school logo was shown in a video which can be seen at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sG1Z9U3JLfk
Once an acceptable logo was established we, being a Cyber School, created the front of the school as a website. Cheong (2007) explains the thought behind the Cyber School website design by stating "Design is essentially problem-solving. Devising a visual solution to communicate an intended message effectively. Why use ten effects to treat a graphic element when you can do it with one "(¶ 3)?
This history of the website can be seen at:
http://www.scs.sk.ca/cyber/pastsites.htm
The popularity of the Cyber School allowed us to use some of the other social networking tools to assist in creating awareness of the school. This was done by creating wallpapers for students to use on their home computers, these can be seen at:
http://www.scs.sk.ca/cyber/wallpaper.htm
A second system designed was a Google toolbar, which can be seen at:
http://toolbar.google.com/T4/error_toolbar.html?url=http://www.scs.sk.ca/cyber/icons/sccs.xml
Necessity for student cards made it necessary to design a template. This can be seen at:
http://www.scs.sk.ca/cyber/studentcard.htm
As the Cyber School grew so did the number of teacher/developers involved in the programming. It was necessary to design an efficient online tool for communication with the growing group. The system chosen was a Movable type blog.
This blog has grown to be a worldwide blog and has gone through many design changes.
The designs were done with an understanding that Goodman (2008) explains "No one will visit, let alone bookmark your site if your pages look unprofessional, long-winded or in worst case, having a bad design..."(¶ 1). The last of these designs can be seen at:
http://blog.scs.sk.ca/tado/
Along with the growth came more courses and more students taking numerous online courses. It was decided that a common navigation system, icon and reminders for courses was necessary. The steps used to make these changes to the system happen can be seen at:
Common icons...
http://www.scs.sk.ca/cyber/cif/oct.htm
http://www.scs.sk.ca/cyber/CIF/icontable.htm
Common reminders...
http://www.scs.sk.ca/cyber/cif/nov.htm
One of the many challenges which have faced the Cyber School is having access to a large collection of copyright free images to use in the courses for assignments, aesthetics and design. This collection was created by asking Facebook users to share their personal images into a group which can then be used for educational purposes. This Facebook group can be seen at:
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=50665127250
The images are sorted and then placed in a picture showcase which will enhance the use of the chosen images. This can be seen at:
http://blog.scs.sk.ca/tadopictures/
One of the beliefs of the author is that effective administration must be done with humor and to this end the TADO cartoons have been created, these are used in the TADO blog and in courses. These can be seen at:
http://toonlet.com/creator/dcannell
The color of the courses is changed on a continuous basis. Valentine's Day and the week leading up to it have had a pink and red coloring. October has the Halloween colors of black and orange. Next to our changing the format and icons in the courses, this is commented upon more than any other changes we make in the course. It is interesting how much of an impact a change of color and icons can make on the first impression of a student upon seeing the course. They tend to get accustomed to a color theme and then it is changed. It keeps things fresh.
Being the administrator of the Cyber School for the last eight years has, in my mind, forced me to abandon my interest in images and the graphic sides of my nature. The Visual Literacy in the Digital World course made the author stop and think about the visual aspect of his role in the Cyber School which has been outlined briefly in this paper. In actual fact a large amount of visual work has been done in the last eight years and it is this author's hope that it has made the Saskatoon Catholic Cyber School a strong entity because of this. As an artist and administrator this author will continue to apply, share and use his visual literacy interest and experience in his role because:
"An image can convey thoughts, ideas, or events to which words alone sometimes cannot do justice. Images can thrill us, like the images sent back to Earth from the Mars Rover missions. They can inspire us, like the photo of the American flag raised over the rubble of the World Trade Center by three New York firefighters on September 11, 2001. They can be heartbreaking, like the image of Oklahoma City firefighter Chris Fields carrying tiny Baylee Almon out of the wreckage of the Oklahoma City bombing. They can incite outrage, like the photos of the stacked bodies of Holocaust victims; they can bring us face to face with the worst inhumanities imaginable. They can bring tears to our eyes, lift our spirits, or sink our hearts. Images are powerful, and with such power must come responsibility for their prudent and thoughtful use." (Tagliere, 2007 ¶1)
References
Cheong, S. (2007, September 22). 14 Simple Quotes to Improving your Design. Retrieved February 15, 2009, from Pagethinker: http://www.pagethinker.com/14-simple-quotes-to-improve-your-design.html
Goodman, A. (2008, October 6). Magazine Style Wordpress Theme and Why Your Site Needs it. Retrieved February 17, 2009, from Ezinearticles.com: http://ezinearticles.com/?Magazine-Style-Wordpress-Theme-and-Why-Your-Site-Needs-It&id=1528273
MacDonald, R. D. (2006, April 13). A picture is worth a thousand words. Retrieved February 10, 2009, from Score History/Social Science: http://score.rims.k12.ca.us/activity/worth/
Roddick, A. (2007, June 26). Five Reasons Why Design is cool. Retrieved February 15, 2009, from Pagethinker: http://www.pagethinker.com/5-reasons-why-design-is-cool.html
TADO stats
Seems like a good week.
Weekly Stats Report: 16 Feb - 22 Feb 2009
Project: Teaching and Developing Online
URL: http://blog.scs.sk.ca/tado
| Mon | Tues | Wed | Thur | Fri | Sat | Sun | Total | Avg | |
| Pageloads | 9 | 58 | 21 | 18 | 24 | 19 | 9 | 158 | 23 |
| Unique Visitors | 9 | 32 | 15 | 17 | 20 | 14 | 9 | 116 | 17 |
| First Time Visitors | 9 | 27 | 12 | 14 | 16 | 12 | 7 | 97 | 14 |
| Returning Visitors | 0 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 19 | 3 |
BBC - CBBC Wild - Pets
Care for your cuddly critters
WordTalk - Home
WordTalk is a free text-to-speech plugin developed for use with all versions of Microsoft Word (from Word 97 upwards). It will speak the text of the document and will highlight it as it goes. It contains a talking dictionary to help decide which word spelling is most appropriate.
Educational Blogs You Should Be Investigating
Today's topic again focuses on another valuable teacher freebie, and free is in my price range. How about you? Today's post gives each of us a rare professional development opportunity - learning from other teachers who teach the same curriculum as you. Think about it. Wouldn't the idea of having just a first grade teacher conference be phenomenal? How about a drama teacher conference? Or one for middle school English teachers? What sort of conversations would you have? What resources would you share?
Educational Blogs You Should Be Investigating | Making Teachers Nerdy
Quote of the day
They may forget what you said but they will never forget how you made them feel.
-- Anonymous
Spell Checker
February 22, 2009
Hybrids introduced
Quote of the day
The secret of teaching is to appear to have known all your life what you learned this afternoon.
-- Anonymous
To Be
February 21, 2009
Using Hybrids
Reg Nakoneshny has done a great presentation and powerpoint about the top ten list of using hybrid courses in your classroom. We have a collection of videos of Reg presenting this powerpoint.
Did you know 4 comment
Did you know 4
Quote of the day
It must be remembered that the purpose of education is not to fill the minds of students with facts... it is to teach them to think, if that is possible, and always to think for themselves.
-- Robert Hutchins
Insert disk
February 20, 2009
Did you know 4.0
List of names 1999
When we were trying to choose the name for our cyber school the following names were placed upon a list and as we all know the winner was "The Saskatoon Catholic Cyber school".
Names
Cyber school
Internet schooling Saskatoon (ISS)
Cyber Slate
Saskatoon Cyber Campus (SCC)
Saskatoon Catholic Cyber School (SCCS)
SCCS January Report 2000
February 3, 2000
January Report from the Project Leader.
It is necessary to plan for the future when we are looking at the development of the Cyber school, simple things like the name of the school have caused a real problem due to the fact, Banners, colours, videos and other publications have been developed and the changing of the name will mean a lot of work. I realize the problems it will cause if the name does change but some of these decisions need to be made a little sooner or our project will not be ready at deadline. A month without machines or a room can also be attributed to the same wait and see attitude. This criticism is directed at myself as the project leader for not explaining what was needed sooner. It is a tribute to the chosen course developers that found another location and machines to start the process and get so much done..
This project has the makings of becoming something great, we need to keep in mind that when we make decisions we make them, thinking towards the future and not based on what would be the easiest. I have caught myself in the same thought process many times. We need to work toward the vision, it needs to be a common vision and we need to empower the people involved to become part of the process. A lot of the literature states that we have to be willing to fail in order to be successful, we need to be flexible with some of the routines, policies and perceptions because they do not apply to this model. Also there is not another model, that will be just like ours, we have different demographics, technical infrastructures, personal and money. It is natural for us to try to make the school fit into our traditional model of school administration and teaching but it is like trying to put a round orange into a square hole. After you have forced it into the space it is no longer an orange. Allowing the school to be all it can be and then build the supports for it to function. A wise man told me once that the administration's job is to support and adapt to the needs of the school, teachers and students and in this case it definitely applies. Exact quote was " No matter how strange the request for assistance might be, it is what the person needs at that time and it is the administration's job to find a way to support that person."
The on-line education is a race, we have a jump on all others and we will lose this head start if you stop to make sure that we are running correctly. We need to have faith in the team that we have developed, we need to put in place a group of people who will try to predict the problems and solve them as they come up. Planning for failure is not an option, if we take a year to see if we did it right then we will lose the race. The first run will not be perfect but it will get better because of the empowered people, it is similar to a first year teacher. Mistakes will be made and the teachers will learn from them and make it better. New developers need to be in place to start the next group of courses or it will be a whole year before new courses are developed. A committee should be working on what course would be best and people should be slotted in to start the development.
Putting a cap on the number of students within our system that are allowed to take the course does not make sense to me. In all other courses if we have too many students for one class we offer another section, this should be treated the same way. Screening the students should not be based on academic achievement it should be based on typing skills, computer knowledge and a willingness to try. The same criteria we used when we picked the teachers to develop the courses should be used to pick the students. They should be given the opportunity to fail or succeed on their own without someone else deciding that for them.
Ending and starting date for course seem to be one of the decisions we need to discuss and look at the possibility of offer the maximum amount of flexibility to the students. It might be useful to allow students to start anytime during the school year. We might even allow students a maximum amount of time, which then allows slower student the opportunity to work at their own speed.
The project seems to be developing nicely. A lot of talk has been about Saskatchewan Education and how they might cause challenges for the project. It is my feeling that we have more to worry about from within the division than we do from Sask. Ed. If we do not bring interested people up to speed on the vision, the talk from within could hurt the project. All of these challenges make the project interesting to work on and can all be overcome. I realize some of the thoughts recorded above are not the way the school will develop and some of the visions are not shared by some other members of the development team. As a group we need to express our thoughts openly to develop and deliver the best product we can. I do not have all the answers but as a team I believe together we do or we will work towards the right answers in time. This is my January report and most of these challenges will probably be solved by the February report.
Evolution
![21736-Evolution-sfull[1].png](http://blog.scs.sk.ca/tado/21736-Evolution-sfull[1]-thumb-400x208.png)
Quote of the day
Don't set your wit against a child.
-- Jonathan Swift
Backup
List of tips 2000
February 19, 2009
Flip Phone
![21735-Flip_phone-sfull[1].png](http://blog.scs.sk.ca/tado/21735-Flip_phone-sfull[1]-thumb-400x208.png)
Quote of the day
Learning to teach is a bigger job than universities, schools, experience, or personal disposition alone can accomplish.
-- Sharon Feiman-Nemser
I came
Cyber School Challenges 2000
February 18, 2009
SCCS First staff meeting minutes
The meeting began with a discussion regarding terms of reference. It was agreed that the group should focus on the most pressing operating issue.
There was a suggestion by Dennis Dorgan that we begin by discussing the purpose of this project. Doing this, he felt, might help focus our decisions. After some discussion the group felt that the purpose of the project was to explore diversified learning opportunities to best meet the needs of students in the Saskatoon Catholic School Division.
On-line courses to be offered in the 2000/2001 academic year:
COURSE......................TEACHER
Mathematics 90.............. D. Elder
Information Processing 10...... D. Cannell
English Language Arts B30.....K. Hodson
Physics 30.......T. Antonopoulos
Numbers of sections of each subject
Decision was made to offer two sections of each subject - one section in Semester 1 and one section of each in Semester 2. This would compromise .25 of each of the four teachers total teaching assignment.
Class Loadings
After considerable discussion it is recommended that class loadings remain in the 25-30 student threshold.
Restricted Entry Courses
In the Pilot phase, it is recommended that these courses carry a restricted entry designation. That is students are admitted to the course only if they meet certain criteria. Criteria for admission to on-line courses should include:
- completion of a questionnaire which explores learning styles
- home access to internet accessible technology
- parental permission
- principal (referring school) permission
Target Groups/Seat quotas
a) Math 90
| School |
Semester 1 | Semester 2 |
| Holy Cross | 5 | 4 |
| Bishop J. Mahoney | 5 | 4 |
| E.D. Feehan | 5 | 4 |
| St. Joseph | 5 | 4 |
| Bishop Murray | 2 | 2 |
| Joe Duquette | 2 | 2 |
| Home School | 1 | 2 |
| E.L.O. | - | 3 |
| Total | 25 | 25 |
b) Physics 30 English Lang. Arts B30 Information Processing 10
| School |
Semester 1 | Semester 2 |
| Holy Cross | 5 | 5 |
| Bishop J. Mahoney | 5 | 5 |
| E.D. Feehan | 5 | 5 |
| St. Joseph | 5 | 5 |
| Bishop Murray | 2 | 3 |
| Joe Duquette | 2 | 3 |
| Total | 25 | 25 |
Schools are advised to develop a small waiting list, in the event that some seats are not filled as allotted above.
It should also be noted that there remains up to five seats that could be filled in each class should special circumstances arise. Referrals under these circumstances should be forwarded to the principal of Holy Cross High School.
Promotion and Registration
February 4 Course descriptions prepared.
February 14 Cyber school Brochure - completed and forwarded to Board Office.
March 1 Registration materials returned from printer and available for distribution
March 14 (22) Meeting of principals, assistant principals and coordinators to overview cyber school and registration.
April 5 Information meeting for all parents and students interested in registering in a cyber school class.
April 14 Registration for cyber school classes are complete.
There was discussion regarding the evaluation phase of this project. It will be placed on the agenda for a future meeting.
Geek
![21734-Geek-sfull[1].png](http://blog.scs.sk.ca/tado/21734-Geek-sfull[1]-thumb-400x208.png)
Quote of the day
As a teacher I feel I have a moral obligation to help the children in my classroom grow toward becoming full human beings and to feel successful. Teaching cognitive skills is not enough...
-- Jean Medick
Hardware
Is the board ready 2000
February 17, 2009
Administrative report for SCCS
An adminstrative report for Saskatoon Catholic Cyber School 1999
"In a progressive society, change is constant."
-Benjamin Disraeli, Prime Minister of Great Britain, 1874-1880
The Saskatoon Catholic School Board's mission is
"Education in the Catholic tradition is the lifelong process of seeking and coming to know God in the fullness of creation. The purpose of the Saskatoon Catholic Board of Education is to assist parents and the local Church community in the formation of students in heart, mind, body and spirit. Catholic schools strive to provide an atmosphere of love in which students are inspired by hope in Jesus Christ and have their faith strengthened through the power of the Holy Spirit."
A reality in our dynamic and complex society is students need to be given the opportunity to conquer the challenges and embrace their futures. A future in which information and communication technology have become a reality for education. The goal of the cyber school like all other schools is to put student learning first. The shift in the educational process from teacher centered instruction to student centered learning will allow students to learn and demonstrate mastery of technology to access, process, organize, communicate and evaluate information to answer questions, to solve problems and to create knowledge . The educational community has the opportunity to move towards an online school because of the advancement in computers, the worldwide network of learning resources through the internet.
To develop a successful online learning community it is necessary to put learning first. This is done by a clear well planned set of learning goals for teachers and students both. A carefully planned educational process will provide teachers the tools and resources needed to ensure that students will meet Saskatchewan's learning objectives and to have the means to assess, record and report student progress . Choosing the correct teaching and support staff and providing access to current, accurate and extensive information resources in a cost-effective and reliable manner to complete this process in necessary. Making sure there is funding for the technology and commitment to ongoing support and allowing for administrative effectiveness through efficient communication, planning and record keeping will develop a success online learning community. Taking strong subject matter and merging it with the internet, web design, learning strategies, learning goals and student outcomes will make this project an exciting learning opportunity for the students within our catholic system.
This project will allow students the opportunity to complete courses via the internet, engage in critical and creative tasks that are authentic, challenging, multi-disciplinary and global in nature. It will allow students a chance to explore diverse resources and learning opportunities beyond the traditional formats and locations. The global community of the internet will allow students to locate, produce, evaluate, communicate information and knowledge. Also work in groups, collaborate with students in other locations, problem solve and experience personally the ethical, cultural, environmental and societal implications technology and telecomunications is having on our world. The whole time gaining an awareness of the power and the use of the technology.
The learning enviroment must provide reliable, secure, equitable access to computers, information resources, technology and support. It must also recognize and accommodate individual needs, learning styles and the catholicity of our system.
This online community will impact the way students learn, the way teachers teach and the buildings in which this all happens. Classroom design and supervision, resources and services required by teacher and students both, curriculum delivery, guidelines, support, teacher in-services, student expectations in all areas of study will all be impacted.
Successful implementation of an online school requires a move from short term to long term budgeting strategies. How long can we continue to budget year to year and provide for planning and training necessary to making such a project a reality.
Sufficient and stable funding is required to make sure the professional development and technical support is there to grow an online program which will meet the needs of the students.
The initial start up cost of the project will be substantial. It is necessary to provide for a comprehensive plan mapping out the development of online subject matter. It is vital to either hire or to externally source enough staff of technicians and network professionals to develop the network, adding resources, software and various updates to the system as the teaching and support staff call for an increasing rich menu of information and problems-solving tools to make the online school a reality. Without adequate staffing and or outsourcing the online school development the excessive workload will leave the project struggling and unsupported. A project of this size will require a team of one full-time co-ordinator assigned to this job and this job alone, a group of three to four teachers, and a technical staff.
Printers
![21733-Printers-sfull[1].png](http://blog.scs.sk.ca/tado/21733-Printers-sfull[1]-thumb-400x208.png)
Quote of the day
Do not train children to learning by force and harshness, but direct them to it by what amuses their minds, so that you may be better able to discover with accuracy the peculiar bent of the genius of each.
-- Plato
List of Tips
This is a list of tips that I put together at the very beginning of the Saskatoon Catholic Cyber School. In February 2 2000 these are the things that I thought were important.
- If you are going to ask people their opinions, LISTEN.
- Quality is infinitely better than quantity.
- Have realistic expectations of people and programs. There are only 24 hours in a day, and we do have to sleep sometime.
- Make sure that those you hire to lead technological changes are competent, and that you are clear as to what you want them to accomplish.
- Set up contingency plans to fall back on.
- Plan for upgrades and for your staff's outgrowing the technologies they have.
- Know that change is a painful process and be ready for the bumps in the road to success.
- Good communication is essential in the process.
- People come before technology.
- Take a step back from things every once in a while to view the overall picture.
- Don't take yourself too seriously.
- Know when to say when. Stress is caused by saying "No problem" to every request.
- Don't expect others to become responsible for things they have no way of delivering.
- Don't promise what you can't deliver.
- Make sure you do not exclude members of the school; remember to accommodate the unique needs of the non-traditional and handicapped students.
- Provide examples of forms in the plan. (physical layouts, surveys, evaluation)
- Above all, be neat and organized. An easy-to-follow format is the best. Leave as much of the jargon, both educational and technological, as possible out of the plan. "Here's what we want to accomplish. Here is what we have. Here is what we want, and this is how we are going to do it." If you have to include them, make sure that a glossary of terms of any abbreviations, acronyms, and technological terms is included.
- Be detail oriented. The best laid plans will go asunder by the little things that crop up.
- A good plan is not determined by length.
- Acknowledge people for their good work on a regular basis.
- Hire technologically capable teachers. Many universities and colleges are now preparing teachers to use technology in the classroom. Take advantage of that capability.
- Provide security for all equipment and virus protection for all networks and stand-alone computers.
- Know the intended readers for the plan.
- Spend a minimal amount of time on your soapbox.
- Don't get into platform arguments. Let the committee and the software determine what is used where. These days it makes little difference what platform is used.
- When at all possible, form business partnerships within the community or state to provide knowledge and financial help.
February 16, 2009
Anti-Social
![21732-Anti-social-sfull[1].png](http://blog.scs.sk.ca/tado/21732-Anti-social-sfull[1]-thumb-400x208.png)
One minute assist for virtual students 1
Quote of the day
What is important is to keep learning, to enjoy challenge, and to tolerate ambiguity. In the end there are no certain answers.
-- Martina Horner
February 15, 2009
Binary
![21731-Binary-sfull[1].png](http://blog.scs.sk.ca/tado/21731-Binary-sfull[1]-thumb-400x208.png)
Using Learning styles Part 4
Cyber School Challenges 2000
I been going through my old documents...here is an old one.
Cyber school challenges February 6 2000
1.) Gaining support from the school board, administration, parents and students
2.) Helping teachers, students, parents, and the community to expect realistic short-term accomplishments
3.) Working with a variety of attitudes and levels of willingness to change
4.) Securing financing and supplemental funding, with the goal of providing equal access
5.) Training teachers to use the technology and incorporate laptops into the curriculum
6.) Establishing the necessary technical infrastructure
7.) Providing sufficient infrastructure for maintenance, and overall technical support
8.) Providing resources to manage program administration
9.) Addressing sensitive and ethical issues (for example, security and acceptable use policies)
Is your board ready for online learning.
When we first started the cyber school this was a list of questions that we needed to answer to see if our board of education was ready for online education.
February 2 2000.
Is our board ready?
Use this list to help evaluate the school boards's readiness to begin a cyberschool program. By answering these questions, we'll be better prepared to make knowledgeable planning decisions for your school board.
Does your school board have:
- A single vision for instructional technology that is shared by administration, staff, parents, and community?
- A comprehensive plan that provides clear goals for specific, technical implementation strategies?
- A supportive school board and strong administrative leadership?
- A goal of providing equal access and an innovative funding strategy to support it?
- A culture that is open to change?
- A critical mass of teachers who sincerely want to learn?
- A commitment to ongoing and intensive teacher training?
- A commitment to provide project management resources, including experienced full-time staff?
- A commitment to evaluate outcomes against program goals?
- A history of taking risks, overcoming obstacles, and accepting mistakes?
- An interest in exploring new horizons?
Quote of the day
That is what learning is. You suddenly understand something you've understood all your life, but in a new way.
-- Doris Lessing
February 14, 2009
Internet-and-Businesses-Online - Web-Design EzineArticles
A good set of resources on website design...
Internet-and-Businesses-Online - Web-Design EzineArticles
Brute Force
![21730-Brute_force-sfull[1].png](http://blog.scs.sk.ca/tado/21730-Brute_force-sfull[1]-thumb-400x208.png)
Using Learning Styles Part 3
February 13, 2009
Err is human
![21729-Err_is_human-sfull[1].png](http://blog.scs.sk.ca/tado/21729-Err_is_human-sfull[1]-thumb-400x208.png)
Blogging About Generational Differences
A nice collection of blog entries...worth a check.
Blogging About Generational Differences « Virtual High School Meanderings
Using Learning Styles « Virtual High School Meanderings
Thanks for the re-post.
Using Learning Styles « Virtual High School Meanderings
Quote of the day
Every student can learn, just not on the same day, or the same way.
-- George Evans
Using Learning Styles Part 2
February 12, 2009
SMARTboard Links
SMARTboard Links to Engaging Learners
MyClusta
Paste a link to your favourite website in the box below
Reading, Math, Science, Social Studies, Music, Art and PE Interactive Sites
Check it out very interactive...
Reading, Math, Science, Social Studies, Music, Art and PE Interactive Sites
Browse the Gizmo Collection
Explore the collection ... very cool.Browse the Gizmo Collection | ExploreLearning
Mantra
![21727-Program_s_Mantr-sfull[1].png](http://blog.scs.sk.ca/tado/21727-Program_s_Mantr-sfull[1]-thumb-400x208.png)
Pinky Dinky Doo
Silly stories for serious literacy.
Quote of the day
Good schools, like good societies and good families, celebrate and cherish diversity.
-- Deborah Meier
Using Learning Styles Part 1
February 11, 2009
Man's knowledge
![21726-Man_knowledge-sfull[1].png](http://blog.scs.sk.ca/tado/21726-Man_knowledge-sfull[1]-thumb-400x208.png)
February 10, 2009
Version 1.0
![21725-Version_1_0-sfull[1].png](http://blog.scs.sk.ca/tado/21725-Version_1_0-sfull[1]-thumb-400x208.png)
SCCS Personal Brain
Classroom Resources to Counter Cyber Bullying
he Internet has created a whole new world of social communications for young people who are using e-mail, social networking Web sites, instant messaging, chat rooms and text messaging to stay in touch with friends and make new ones.
While most interactions are positive, increasingly kids are using these communication tools to antagonize and intimidate others. According to a 2008 University of Toronto cyber bullying survey, nearly one in five Canadian students surveyed reported having been bullied online in the past three months. An Alberta study found that one-third of students who had cyber bullied, had also been victims themselves.
Classroom Resources to Counter Cyber Bullying - Portal Page
Educational Software Tutorials blog
Educational Software Tutorials
Blogging About 21st Century Skills
A list of articles from Virtual High School Meanderings
Blogging About 21st Century Skills « Virtual High School Meanderings
February 9, 2009
Car Accident
![21537-Car_Accident-sfull[1].png](http://blog.scs.sk.ca/tado/21537-Car_Accident-sfull[1]-thumb-400x208.png)
Where to Start
Physics First Topics and Units
The Physics Front is a web-based area for teachers of Conceptual, AP and Algebra-based physics as well as teachers of Physics First and Physical Science. This material is meant to serve as resources to enrich the high school physics experience.
The materials, found in this collection, have been selected (and are continuously being updated by the Editor and the Editorial Board), as being quality resources for use in lesson plans, activities, labs and demonstrations. The featured items are not meant to be definitive, merely representative of possible good resources available; additional materials are available on the Physical Sciences Resource Center (PSRC) and the other collections in ComPADRE.
Physics First Topics and Units
Using Learning Styles
"When mismatches exist between learning styles of most students in a class and the teaching style of the professor, the students may become bored and inattentive in class, do poorly on tests, get discouraged about the courses, the curriculum, and themselves, and in some cases change to other curricula or drop out of school. Professors, confronted by low test grades, unresponsive or hostile classes, poor attendance and dropouts know something is not working. They may become overly critical of their students (making things even worse) or begin to wonder if they are in the right profession. Most seriously, society loses potentially excellent professionals. To overcome these problems, professors should strive for a balance of instructional methods (as opposed to trying to teach each student exclusively according to his or her preferences.) If the balance is achieved, all students will be taught partly in a manner they prefer, which leads to an increased comfort level and willingness to learn, and partly in a less preferred manner, which provides practice and feedback in ways of thinking and solving problems which they may not initially be comfortable with but which they will have to use to be fully effective professionals." (Felder, 2008 ¶ 2)
The learning style model that best seems to fit with the author's role as the administrator for the Saskatoon Catholic Cyber School is the Felder-Silverman Learning Style Model. The model was first designed by Richard M. Felder and Linda K. Silverman in 1988 for engineering education but has since been applied to a wide range of disciplines, which makes the model an interesting and simple method of applying learning styles to a teaching environment.
Since 2002 this learning style questionnaire has been used by the administration of the Cyber School as a method of studying the learning styles of the instructors. During the inception of the Cyber School, the administrator's role was the education of the instructor/designers in course development and online teaching. The teacher/developer questionnaire results were used to illustrate the variation in the learning styles of the instructors. At that time the Cyber School had six instructors and one administrator. Each of whom was required to complete the questionnaire and then the results were place upon a chart. Once the chart was complete it was used to illustrate the difference between the staff members' learning styles. This difference was then used to explain how important it is when writing our courses we understand that this range will also exist between our students who are taking our courses. This was a very visual exercise which hopefully explained to the instructors the need for the courses to be written to accommodate as many learning styles as possible.
From a personal point of view, the completion of the questionnaire explained the years of confused looks from the students taught in the face to face environment. For seventeen years of teaching, the author of this essay had been teaching his courses in a strong intuitive, visual and global approach. These active reflective scores were fairly neutral but he scored a seven on the intuitive, an eleven on the visual and an eleven on the global. Being so strong on three of the four scales could explain the confusion created when teaching. In a face to face environment, it was very easy to identify the students who were confused by the teaching approach and then individually assist these students after the main group had gone on to the next part of the lesson. This method of education worked well for the author for seventeen years but when moving to the online method of instruction the eyes of the students were not readily available making it more difficult to see the confused looks of the students. By trying to include more virtual approaches it was hoped that this would help alleviate some of the confusion.
As the administrator for the Cyber School it was difficult at the inception to gain consensus on an approach to course design. For a couple of months, a team of four teachers worked upon trying to achieve this common approach. It was quite apparent that each of them had a different idea on what was necessary to make a successful course. It was not until the learning style questionnaire was completed by the team that it became apparent that each course was going to be written in a different style. Upon reflection, the team realized that the variation in the teaching approach was a good cross section on the variation of students' learning styles who would be the clients of the courses once completed. It was then decided that as long as an online course was designed to meet as many different learning styles as possible that would be the best approach.
The team then worked together to add as many different approaches as possible. The courses still tended to lean towards the learning styles of the instructors with some approaches taken from the other team members. What started as a difficult situation with the instructors debating on a common approach, it resulted in courses that had diverse approaches.
The first questionnaire was done in 2002 during the author's attempt to administrate the Cyber School. As explained above the scores for the 2002 attempt were a one on the active side of the Active/Reflective scale, a seven on the intuitive side of the Sensing/Intuitive scale, an eleven on the visual side of the Visual/Verbal scale and an eleven on the global side of the Sequential/Global scale. At that time the results of said questionnaire were more a reflection of the author as an art teacher with a physical education degree than it was as an administrator for a Cyber School. On February 8th 2009, the questionnaire was completed again. This was after the author had been acting as an administrator for a large Cyber School for seven years. The results of the questionnaire were a seven on the reflective side of the Active/Reflective Scale, a seven on the intuitive side of the Sensing/Intuitive Scale, a nine on the visual side of the Visual/Verbal Scale and a nine on the global side of the Sequential/Global scale.
The only change to the author's learning style is to lean more towards the reflective side of the Active/Reflective scale, which might be a result of the need to reflect upon the decisions made to create, recreate and analyze the Cyber School. An art teacher's "let's try it out and see how it works" method is a good artistic approach, but it does not work as well as an administrator.
The Sensing/Intuitive Scale results were identical in the two tests. Leaning towards the Intuitive side could explain the author's preference for innovation, new concepts and the abstracts of using this new approach to education.
The Visual/Verbal scale results showed a very strong leaning towards the visual, which might explain being the art teacher for seventeen years of the author's career. In his role as administrator for the Cyber School, it would account for his continuing push to get his teacher/designers to include images, graphs, diagrams, sketches, schematics, photographs, flowcharts or any other visual support for the predominantly text based courses which are normally considered online courses.
The Sequential /Global scale results were and are very strong on the global side. As the administrator for the Cyber School this global approach has been supported by many strong sequential learners for the step by step development of the program. This support has allowed the author to plan the overall vision of the Cyber School while leaving the step by step to others.
Perhaps by luck or good planning, the staff which was appointed to create the Cyber School showed a diverse number of learning styles. This range created a synergy within the original Cyber School group which helped ensure that course development included teaching methods which touch on many of the learning styles. As confirmed by Felder and Brent (2005) "Variety in assignments is also a cornerstone of recommendations for addressing the full spectrum of learning styles, with some problems emphasizing practical considerations and requiring careful attention to details (sensing strengths) and others calling for theoretical interpretation and mathematical modeling (intuitive strengths), some involving individual efforts (reflective) and others requiring teamwork (active), and so on." (p. 67)
It might be one of the reasons the Cyber School courses have shown a remarkable success rate in comparison to many of the text based online courses. Or it might be something else totally. But knowing the staffs' learning styles did make it easier for the administrator to understand why, as a team, the diversity was something to be embraced. In the long run, it would result in stronger courses.
The chart referred to within this essay can be seen at:
http://www.scs.sk.ca/cyber/bestpractice/CT5002/styles.html
Since the flash file was constructed the link to the Learning Styles Descriptions have changed to...
http://www4.ncsu.edu/unity/lockers/users/f/felder/public/ILSdir/styles.htm
References
Felder, R. (2008, November 13). Learning Styles. Retrieved February 08, 2009, from Resources in Science and Engineering Education: http://www4.ncsu.edu/unity/lockers/users/f/felder/public/Learning_Styles.html
Felder, R. M., & Brent, R. (2005, January). Understanding Student Differences. Retrieved February 08, 2009, from Index of Learning Styles: http://www4.ncsu.edu/unity/lockers/users/f/felder/public/Papers/Understanding_Differences.pdf
Health Games for Kids and Adults | Making Health Games Fun at Playnormous
Playnormous online health games are free and are designed for all age groups. Play fun games, watch animation, and learn how to stay healthy.
Serious Gaming Boosts Cognitive Skills
Certain types of video games can have beneficial effects, improving gamers' dexterity as well as their ability to problem-solve - attributes that have proven useful not only to students but to surgeons."
Study: Serious Gaming Boosts Cognitive Skills
Everything's amazing, nobody's happy
Cool video and so true.
Louis CK Everything's amazing, nobody's happy
Quote of the day
Yesterday is history.
Tomorrow is a mystery.
Today is a gift.
That's why we call it the present.
Unknown
February 8, 2009
Antropomorph
![21535-Antropomorph-sfull[1].png](http://blog.scs.sk.ca/tado/21535-Antropomorph-sfull[1]-thumb-400x208.png)
TADO Professional Development Lounge
Quote of the day
Excuse me, I have work to do. Evil plots don't make themselves.
Unknown
February 7, 2009
Quote of the day
There's no point in being grown up if you can't be childish sometimes.
Doctor Who
It full
![21534-It_s_full-sfull[1].png](http://blog.scs.sk.ca/tado/21534-It_s_full-sfull[1]-thumb-400x208.png)
Survey Cyber Style
February 6, 2009
Free Technology for Teachers
Very cool teacher blog shares muchly resources.
Silence
![20748-Silence-sfull[1].png](http://blog.scs.sk.ca/tado/20748-Silence-sfull[1]-thumb-400x208.png)
Welcome to the Smiling Designer
Streaming feeds from your favourite design blogs
Smile of the day
These classifieds actually ran in newspapers - a smile for your day...
FREE YORKSHIRE TERRIER.
8-years old. Hateful little dog. Bites!
FREE PUPPIES:
1/2 Cocker Spaniel, 1/2 sneaky neighbor's dog.
FREE PUPPIES..
Mother, AKC German Shepherd.
Father, Super Dog...able to leap tall fences in a single bound.
FOUND DIRTY WHITE DOG.
Looks like a rat. Been out a while.
Better be a big reward.
NORDIC TRACK
$300 Hardly used, call Chubby.
GEORGIA PEACHES
California grown - 89 cents/lb.
JOINING NUDIST COLONY!
Must sell washer and dryer $300.
WEDDING DRESS FOR SALE.
Worn once by mistake. Call Stephanie.
And the best one?:
FOR SALE BY OWNER:
Complete set of Encyclopedia Britannica, 45 volumes. Excellent condition.
$1,000 or best offer. No longer needed,
Got married last month. Wife knows everything.
System software tutorials
Quote of the day
The important thing is not so much that every child should be taught, as that every child should be given the wish to learn.
John Lubbock
February 5, 2009
Praying in School
![20747-Praying_in_scho-sfull[1].png](http://blog.scs.sk.ca/tado/20747-Praying_in_scho-sfull[1]-thumb-400x208.png)
Smart Boards cyber style
Quote of the day
I can't understand it. I can't even understand the people who can understand it.
Queen Juliana
February 4, 2009
Quote of the day
I have been surfing the net since 1995, I think I have read it all now.
Darren Cannell
Sunshine
![20746-Sunshine-sfull[1].png](http://blog.scs.sk.ca/tado/20746-Sunshine-sfull[1]-thumb-400x208.png)
RSS and News Readers cyber style
Your Voice Results 8 Part 2 (survey end)
Let us hear your quote about education today...(keep in mind I would like to quote you, so watch your language etc.)
- Its a must
- Education is the doorway to a young person's future.
- Education is important and useful, but there is no point in going if you aren't going to try.
- I Had to skip a class to finish homework in another.
- Learning is the success to life!
- "In school you should think before you talk, talk before you do and do before it's too late."
- Education today is taught in ways in which students don't learn. It is created to seperate the social system. It's created in order to achieve our 3-Class social system in society today. It makes sure there are poor people, and rich people. It divides our social structure into 3 categories. Poor, Middle-Class, and Rich. It makes sure that there are specific "smart" people who stand out. Those people get the good jobs and become rich. The one's who don't understand the education as much, get thrown in the middle-class. Those that really have problems understanding, become poor. The reason those people had so much trouble understanding was because of the boring methods used to teach. Our education system simply keeps the rich richer, and the poor poorer.
- education is great
- One of the chief obstacles to intelligence and freedom of thought. Bertrand A. Russell (1872-1970) English philosopher, mathematician, and writer. This quote I found on the internet I think it gives my views of education today and how important it is.
- School is like a kindergarten, they just keeps you there until 3:30, no-one cares if you learn anything, not a teacher. The only thing they care is marks, marks and marks. I would get a lot of stuff done, but I wouldn't know what they mean.
- I had an English teacher in high school that told students who had missed something important for no good reason: "Tough titty said the kitty when the milk ran dry". I sound like a broken record, but it's a point I want to make sure gets across. Though still children, high school students should be intelligent enough to know what they need to do so that they can excel. They should know not to jay walk in front of oncoming traffic, too. But that doesn't stop many of them from waltzing across the street without looking. Survival of the fittest. There's enough of us on this planet as is, we need to start culling the herd.
- Education is the greates heritage you will ver get from your parents.
- Don't sleep in class, you could have a mustache when you wake up.
- "Education is important. If we do not know our past we won't be able to plan for the future to come."
- I think there is a lot that we learn that isn't pertinent to what we need to know
- Anyone one of these from the what smart students know is good. "Education may be defined as that period during which you are taught facts you do not want to know, by people you do not know." Gilbert Keith Chesterton "How well you do in school reflects your attitude and your method, not your ability" "School is a game, but it's a very important game." "Few things are as potentially diffucult, frustrating, or frightening as genuine learning, yet nothing is so rewarding and empowering."
- I think that Canada and the United States education systems need to step it up a bit. I've been in school in South America for a while (my family and I are staying here for like an extended vacation. We're still residents of Canada) and I've seen that it's true that the North American education isn't as good as it could be. And school should be seen as a privilege and not to be taken for-granted.
- " Education is like a flower, it needs water to grow" as in teacher, princibles, librarians...
- when going to school, be more active.
- Learning is crucial for anyone to succeed. School provides this opportunity and we should be very fortunate for that.
- Some of us are teachers and some of us are learners
- School today, Future tomorrow
- Someday you'll realize youre in the real world and you'll regret slacking off in school
- In the past four years I have grown ever way a person can grow. In grade nine I thought I was smart. Now I know I'm smart, but the best way I have grown is to know all you great people.
- Education is a necessity to the lives that we as humans have created. We no longer live in the time where we just grew food, hunted, and survived. We now live in the age where medicine is all around us, lives are of massive value, economy is well structured, trade and peace are recognized and a work in progress. We need education to survive, we depend on our current technologies (even though they just make things more convenient) to survive. If we dropped education, we would be dropping our current way of life, we wouldn't have trained our brains to recieve knowledge in high doses, but we will know how to survive. Education is taken lightly, and the current courses that my generation of students is put through is much too light, but I feel that with every year, classes should get harder. We should not reach a plateau of education, we should keep raising the level of difficulty each year to achieve a better result. If a bodybuilder never increased their weights that they lifted, progress would not be evident and their muscle mass would reach a plateau, same goes for education.
- I do not have a quote about education.
- Well "school is a choice in life, a goal, live up to the challenge"
- Studying is fun when you make up your own way of studying things
- education has become, "let's see how much information we can cram in kids' heads with out teaching them how to use it."
- Some strive to do their best. Some don't try at all. Some just coast through.
- "math and english is not what we should be focussing on, will a+b=c squared ever help us in real life situations?"
- "Teach what life teaches you, life does not have any circumstances where you will have to know m=k+x/2876+gh/kl"
- "we sould have a period for nap time"
- education is the base of a successful life.
- School is like a salsa dance, depending on the beat you learn it faster or slower.
- "Those who get lost on the way to school will never find their way through life" thats a good one :) or .. "school teaches you facts, but life is where you learn the unteachable lessons"
- "Don't go to school to obtain high grades, go to school to LEARN!"
- Remember in elementary school you were told that in case of fire you have to line up quietly in a single file from smallest to tallest? What is the logic in that? What, do tall people burn slower?" "Those who get lost on the way to school will never find their way through life" i only had 2 for you sorr yi couldnt give you more
- "It's a choice, you can't make me learn and I can't make you listen"
- Hard work has never killed anyone ... but why risk it?
- Education is an important part of growing and succeeding in life. It also helps people learn valuable life skills and helps with interacting with others in the real world.
- Education is important. The very basics start from when we are in kindergarten. We learn the essentials of life and how to grow and be a better person. Education is what teaches us how to operate and how to sort through some of the things that we see and hear. We need to know what is right, wrong, logically, and how to do things. Education has many different building blocks which teach us these essentials.
- Its okay, may not be interesting, you may not want to do it, but in the end its worth it
- Education is not where learning begins, nor is it where learning ends. It is, however, the bridge between the two.
- If I was listening, I would understand.
- Education today it for the takening, it is there if you want it. All you have to do is grab on to it.
- learn stuff u need 2 learn
February 3, 2009
Lost Generation
Typing Speed
![20745-Typing_speed_-sfull[1].png](http://blog.scs.sk.ca/tado/20745-Typing_speed_-sfull[1]-thumb-400x208.png)
Personal Brain Cyber Style
Internet - Tutorials
If you like to learn on your own or practice after taking a technology program at the Library here are basic lessons for people learning how to use the Internet. These tutorials have been developed by Calgary Public Library and CalgaryEducation.org as part of the Connect Calgary program. There is a narrated soundtrack for learning by listening as well as text balloons to read. Relax, sit back and watch or listen to these gently paced lessons on using the Internet.
Calgary Public Library - Tutorials
Your Voice Results 8 Part 2
Let us hear your quote about education today...(keep in mind I would like to quote you, so watch your language etc.)
- education today is like intense- people are too lazy to get the eduation they need.
- Education is a great experience. You learn new things each day.
- i think our education today is very good. we have great students and staff that make learning almost fun.
- language is a rich and powerful gift. so let us use it wisely.
- Its not how much you do or how you do it, its what you do
- "When I go to school I would like to be taught information that I am actually going to use in the future not something that is just there to be there!!
- I think high school education is important, because without it, it can limit your choice in careers. however I also believe that not everyone is going to become scientist and doctors, so let's get some variety of physical and mental education.
- School has strayed from the practical. It should recognize the majority instead of the minority.
- Education is really sad all we really do is write stuff on the computers. We don't write enough with pen & paper.
- School teaces us about the present, when it should teach us how to prepare for the future.
- I think that teachers should focus on effort insted of what a student is supposed to do. The best quote I can think of is "I will is more imprtant than IQ"
- "Going to school gives students an opportunity to be successful in life...... so if a child doesn't like to go to school, it is just the same as saying that he doesn't want a better life"
- I believe eduction is important in certain areas of life. I currently work where there are a few high school drop-outs. There are also people who have completed high school and some who even went on to university and I see no real difference in how they do their job. Education is important only in certain things.
- Education is important for your future. Even when somethings seem repetitive, it's better then working at the grocery store for the next 50 years.
- Boring, lots of it I can't see myself using after high school, but I need the credits to keep all my doors open for a secondary education.
- Your school may have done away with winners and losers, but life HAS NOT. In some schools, they have abolished failing grades and they'll give you as MANY TIMES as you want to get the right answer. This does not bear the slightest resemblance to ANYTHING in real life.
- Do what you are asked, be mature about things, and you will succeed.
- " Is imporant, try and take it seriosuly" i dont really know what to put for a qoute..sorry
- "When a teacher teaches something new they should give you time to work out questions about it right after to help you understand instead of moving on right away."
- School should be a place to work, learn, socialize, AND have fun.
- i go to school to defend myself against the outside world
- school is cool
- Failing an exam is not the end of the world. It sucks right now (I know from personal experience), but learn from your mistakes and it is totally worth it.
- Education, crushing your idealism and creativity all the way from grade one to the end of highschool. Sell your soul to money now, you'll angst/hurt less.
- My experience with schools and teachers as a generalization is that the classes are designed and the teachers teach to the middle students. There is little challenge to the advanced, thus often bringing them down to a "middle student" in terms of grades and enthusiasm. Likewise, there is little help for the students who need the extra help and so they flounder.
- school would be interesting if we didnt' have teacher that didint' care and make us learn stuff they don't want to teach
- education is a way to be succesful in your life ahead.
- "When a wise man is hungery, he is no longer wise."
- "My mother taught me to work, She did not teach me to like it."
- " lacking meaningful life learning.."
- People expect to much of us kids now days....it is like they are the moon and we are the sun. instead they float darkly at night and we shine our brightest with everyone looking.
- Education needs to exploit strengths in students not make them take a course they won't need.
- I think that education is really single minded in the way that we have to learn. I would like to see a lot more open-mindedness towards other ways of learning. I also personally think that for me (as a singular person) that learning through art would be a good way to work. Art is prevalent through history, mathematics, science, and most other subjects. It is a great learning tool for those who learn better by doing something, not just sitting and listening and taking notes.
- School is a place you get up early for and stay up late doing homework for.
- i dont have one
- Education should not be controlled by grades and numbers. The focus should be understanding concepts and relating them to our lives as students - you often hear people say "When am I ever going to use this?!". I think we as students would really benefit from more open discussion in class - it lets people give their own opinions and get more involved in what they are learning. Many people learn by talking things through, but most are too shy to do it in class, and might not learn as much as they could have. We should encourage
- education is the key to a bright future.
- I think that there are some project and classes that you dont really need like in english you really dont need to learn shakespear but you end up doing it anyways.
- i think everything is good except the fact that Cristian Ethics isn't an elective and it should be
- we learn by teaching others, and helping them.
- I think that the education system is okay, but could be improved. I feel that a lot of kids do not take education seriously; for these students it seems like high school is more of a social place than an educational place. As a result, I feel that sometimes the kids who are actually eager to learn, put in an effort, and want a quality education are sometimes at a disadvantage because the teachers cater to the students who are not trying as hard as they could be. Furthermore, I feel that it is sometimes hard to learn in the environment at my school whether it is due to the conditions of the school (it is hard to concentrate when you are freezing because the heater in that classroom isn't working), or a lack of discipline in the classroom. Of course, some of my classes are excellent and I would not change a thing about them, so it really depends on a variety of things.
- School is the way to the future.
- Education today has progressed throughout the years. their is always something to learn. and something that will interest you in education.
- school is a place to do 3 things, :learn, socialize and be active... it does not make you a better person.
- "we go to school to get school but not to play games with friends"
- "knowledge eliminates ignorance"
- There are many areas in which it could improve, but personally I would enjoy it more if it could be more challenging and hands on. Ideally it would have less emphasis on marks also while still maintaining high standards... if that's even possible.
- Education is very under rated in Canada, we have so much and take the little things for granted, many people would love to go to school yet you hear people complain and loathe going to school. Teachers teach us all they can but it is the best interest of the student t o listen up so we can get something from school. We are in school for at least a quater of our lives so, make the best of it, gain knowledge, cherish the friendships for it is the base of the rest of your life!
- More people are going to school now to teach others to go to school.
- ........ school is lame .
- The goal of education today shouldn't be to instruct young people to be able to test their achievement based on pre-set standards in preset subjects; but rather to prepare them, enlighten them, enrich them with relationships, share or pass knowledge on to them, and let them mature and grow. These are the things they will carry on with them, rather than the theories or equations.
- It's outdated--We need to re-think the way we teach, learn and communicate. I want to learn things and take classes that I feel were beneficial to me. I don't want to be bored, I want to be excited to learn every day. I don't want school to be the number one stress in my life, but rather the number one thing in my life I truly enjoy doing. It's my gateway to life, is it not? Lose the tests, lose stress, lose miscommunication, and lose the power over. Gain knowledge, gain peace of mind, gain clear communication, and work together to allow everyone to reach their full potential.
- education today is very meaningful all though we may not see it know as students
- The way things are set up, sometimes it's hard to keep up with schoolwork. You have to focus on a whole bunch of subjects at once and it becomes difficult to focus at all. That's why I like the Cyber School. You have a little more freedom depending on when you start your course.
- Marks are my life, which is not what it should be. I go to school everyday, and learn nothing, but for some reason I am successful. what is the definition of successful anyway?
- Well at the moment I would say my quote is that school is a milestone in life that leads to success once its conquered.
- If you stand in front of me and pound information into my head, I will forget. If you use props and picture and show me, I shall remember. If you get me to act it out, sing a song or dance or involve me in any way shape or form, I will forever understand.
- education would be good if i wanted to do it.
- we should get paid for our education since we're here 5 days a week 6 hours a day for 12+ years. it's pretty much a job.
Circumstances
February 2, 2009
Quote of the day
It is bad luck to be superstitious.
- Andrew W. Mathis
Your Voice Results 8 Part 1
Let us hear your quote about education today...(keep in mind I would like to quote you, so watch your language etc.)
- I believe education today is all about the remembering of facts and then rejurgitating those remembered facts back onto a piece of paper. I find that I do better at class's which are practical/ hands on. Cooking, Photography, Chemistry, and occasionally math. I find history, english and C.E. hard because they are about the facts and I do not remember things that are insignificant to myself. If classes where realistic and the student knew where this knowledge was going toward they would probably do better. But most do not, and thats why they do not do well. Having a goal where you going to proceed, eg. SIAST/Univeristy, where you know that you have to get a good grade in that class because it counts for something.
- Education today assumes that we all learn in the same way - in a desk with a book and come out all lined up on a beautiful bell curve in our respective percentiles. Education is set up backwards - it should meet the needs of the students as opposed to the students meeting the needs of the class. Why not come up with a way to let the students direct their own studies, like they are more able to do in university, at a younger age? Foster their individuality and their interests and watch them grow.
- Great, depending on the teacher. It could be your favorite subject, but if you have a grumpy teacher your going to not try as hard because in My opinion why try and impress a teacher who you don't respect?Most kids will probably try to just get through the semester.
- There needs to be a balance between expecting education to be fun and realizing that it doesn't necessarily have to be fun. There needs to be some sort of balance between honesty and improving self esteem. There needs to be an understanding that high school should be teaching responsibility, accountability and consequences. There needs to be an understanding that not everything is fair in life and experiencing that while in high school better helps students to cope with experiencing outside of school. Unfortunately I have seen a decline in students taking responsibility for their actions, and I've seen an increase in parents, teachers, and administrators enabling students to do this. While I believe that students should be engaged in school, they should have a reasonable expectation that not everything will be fun all of the time. It isn't for anyone.
- education today is fine, but why does school have to start so early.
- "when are we ever going to use this stuff in the future?"
- I HATE ScHOOL
- education today is often erilavent in really modern life outside of school
- "I think that education is a very good thing for high school students because we will need it for our future and for our own lives. Education is worthwhile in the end, so I would tell whoever is thinkng of dropping out to re-think their decision because we only have so many years in school until work and families become our lives."
- Teachers open the door, but you must enter yourself.
- Education is challenging,but it can help you to get a better future.
- education today is not a test of how smart you are its how well you can remember unimportant facts
- eat an apple a day and keep the doctors away
- Education will carry you through life.
- I have a quote about education which I really like: "If we do not plant knowledge when young, it will give us no shade when we are old." -Lord Chesterfield
- the education system today eliminates all creativity and the ability to think outside the box. Even in a class CPT you might think is creative by making movies. Unfortunatly when you have all these ideas about a movie then the teacher says you make a movie about the school, thats so stupid. Its like fascism and religion, you can have religion but as long as it doesnt interfere with the state. school only allows so much creativity to the point when it is "to much" for the school.I hate how school says that people who make honour roll are the ones who succeed, and that "mediocrity" is not exceptable. which is not even true, there are people who try so hard and acually develope a work ethic rather than the people who just get it and dont study at all, and those are people who are awarded. Then what happens to the people who get it so easy when it comes down to university. They will panic becuase of no work ethic, and thats what i think of the education system today. NOT A FAN!
- School is important, just like money, so try your best to be successful, but don't worry about having alot, its just not what life's about.
- education is not what it used to be. for the worse.
- Those who sacrifice now will be rewarded later.
- School is like childhood: You can't wait to get out and when it's done you want to get back in.
- we learn by teaching others and helping them
- i think some teachers should just chill out with some assignments like just give us one, one day correct the next and then then next day do the same and just keep doing that like hoework is such a pian especially on cyber school and with cyber i think you shouldnt be able to unlock other assignments till you completed the other ones and you shoud be allowed as much time as you need to do sed assignments.
- Education today is a lot better than the past, with more opportunities than ever before. However, with more opportunities, comes increased complication; one door is passed, 100 others shut, and another 200 open. Breakdown in communication between multiple facilities contributes more to this; there is often misscommunication in facts. From the simplest one, like bell times, to significant ones such as the start/end of a holiday. Overall, in terms of full education, it is very good. Much better than anything received around the world.
- it teaches us things and grades using numbers which is a iniffeciant way of grade someone what we should do is use real world jobs to test someone
- I think we should focus less on grades and numbers, and more on understanding and relating what we learn to our life. I hear alot of people say, "When am I ever going to use this?!". I think it would be great to give students more opportunity to discuss and give their opinions in class, because it lets us feel more involved. Open discussion helps us learn more, because what we didn't understand from the teacher might be explained easier by another student.
- In order to be educated, you must learn how to educate yourself.
- education is important, you need your grade 12 to get a good job.
- "When the system is based fairly is when genuis arnt mistaken for retard." (i only say retard because they told my parents that till they tests and found out i was a genuis)
- i feel i was more into worrying about cliches than school work, i wish it was different now that i'm older....
- "I've learned more of relevance from my father, the internet, and good books than any teacher has ever even bothered to TRY and teach me."
- To live is to learn, To learn is to grow, to grow is to acheive, and to acheive is to feel that you have accomplished something in life.
Rubrics
Explore the growing number of excellent Internet resources on rubrics.
February Resources
A "hearty" collection of activities for you to use in your classroom. If you haven't prepared, don't be brokenhearted... These lessons and resources will put you in the loving spirit of February!
Blue Zones - EDUCATION
Blue Zones believes in empowering kids to Explore, Question and Act. Our educational program includes ready-to-use lesson plans and a Curriculum Guide correlated to National Standards.
February 1, 2009
Cyber School Teacher
Quote of the day
Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony
Mahatma Gandhi
