Report brief on Community Programs

"THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES has published a new 8-page report brief based on the Academy report, "Community Programs to Promote Youth Development." The brief summarizes the 300+ page book that was published in 2002 by the National Academy of Science."

TEACHER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT: PRIMER FOR PARENTS & COMMUNITY MEMBERS

"Teachers today are under growing pressure to perform. But most new teachers are not adequately prepared to meet the needs of their students, and many experienced teachers have yet to adapt to new standards. Just like practitioners in other professions, teachers need to deepen their knowledge and improve their skills over the course of their careers. Unfortunately, the need for quality professional development for those in the teaching profession all too often goes unmet. This publication suggests why this is so, proposes ways to rectify the situation, and offers resources for those who want to learn more. This new publication is a collaborative effort of The Finance Project and Public Education Network (PEN)."

Creating a WebQuest: It's Easier than You Think!

"WebQuests are probably the most talked-about and widely used Web-based activities in today's classrooms. What are WebQuests? What accounts for their popularity? And how can you use -- and create -- WebQuests in your own classroom?"

Free Educational Games: Play Kids Games.com

"Play Kids Games.com is a site designed by parents of young kids."
"Our intention is to provide a web site that parents and kids can use to learn basic skills while having fun."

A Techtorial: Hyperfiction How-To's

Hyperfiction How-To's
By Lorrie Jackson

"You will learn how to use hyperlinks to create hyperfiction for grades 3 and up."

"Hyperfiction, like fiction, is a non-factual body of text; hyperfiction, however, contains hyperlinks that allow readers to choose where to go next and what to explore further."

FUNDS TO HELP UNDERSERVED CHILDREN AND FAMILIES

"The Tiger Woods Foundation focuses on providing opportunities to children and families who are underserved. The Foundation primarily funds nonprofit organizations, programs and projects that are based in urban American cities. Areas of interest include education, youth development, parenting, and family health and welfare. The next application deadline is February 1, 2005."

TECH TONIC: TOWARDS A NEW LITERACY OF TECHNOLOGY LITERACY

"The high-tech, screen-centered life style of today's children -- at home and at school -- is a health hazard and the polar opposite of the education they need to take part in making ethical choices in a high-tech democracy. A new report by the Alliance for Childhood challenges education standards and industry assertions that all teachers and children, from preschool up, should use computers in the classroom to develop technology literacy. That expensive agenda ignores evidence that high-tech classrooms have done little if anything to improve student achievement, the report says. The report strongly criticizes the extensive financial and political connections between education officials and school technology vendors. It urges citizens to wake up to the increasing influence of corporations in policymaking for public education.... It is time for concerted citizen action to reclaim childhood for children."

Attachment, Bonding, Connectedness, and Engagement: What Do They Mean and How are They Measured?

"In the September issue of the Journal of School Health, Heather Libbey identifies the various concepts and assessment tools researchers use to measure student attachment to school. Among them she finds nine main themes: academic engagement, belonging, discipline and fairness, liking for school, student voice, extracurricular activities, peer relations, safety, and teacher support. A summary of the article is on CASEL’s web site, along with summaries of five related studies in the September issue of the Journal of School Health.... Shane Jimerson and colleagues also provide an overview of definitions and measures related to school engagement in their recent article in the California School Psychologist. They stress three dimensions of school engagement—affective, behavioral, and cognitive...."

With information access so easy, truth can be elusive

"Go to Google, search and scroll results, click and copy.
When students do research online these days, many educators worry, those are often about the only steps they take. If they can avoid a trip to the library at all, many students gladly will."

School's new equipment pushes the right buttons

"When the math teacher asks a question at Don Estridge High Tech Middle School, there's no need for students to raise their hands.
They click their remote controls.
Don Estridge is the first school in Palm Beach County to use the Classroom Performance Systems, which were introduced in 2000 and are in use in 25,000 classrooms across the country, according to a company Web site."

Wireless Lab Updates Consumer Science Instruction

"Family and consumer sciences teacher Charlotte Mohling takes a modern-day one-room schoolhouse approach to her job.
Mohling, who has taught at the Wessington Springs School District her entire 28-year career, traded her one-subject-per-period classroom for a wireless computer lab offering self-paced instruction. Students come in, grab a laptop and get to work on one of the nine technology or six consumer science courses she designed, as diverse as desktop publishing, computer animation and parenting.
"I truly like teaching this way," she says. The lab puts students in charge of their own learning."

Strategies That Work: Electronic Portfolios

"A student portfolio is a representative sampling of a student's work designed to highlight the student's best work, demonstrate the student's progress over time, make the work available for evaluation, and/or provide opportunities for the student to reflect on his or her work."

"Learn More About Electronic Portfolios ...

Electronic Portfolios in the K-12 Classroom
http://www.educationworld.com/a_tech/tech/tech111.shtml
Using Hyperlinks to Create Student Portfolios
http://www.educationworld.com/a_tech/techtorial/techtorial044.shtml
E-Portfolio Fever
http://www.educationworld.com/a_tech/techtorial/techtorial038.shtml"