What Can't This Device Do?

It's no wonder Vernier's LabQuest received the Worlddidac Award for Innovation in Technology. This award, presented every two years in Switzerland, goes to the "most innovative products that have the highest potential to improve learning and teaching." So what can this handheld device do? It can collect data from more than 50 sensors; it's built-in microphone can record voice notes; it can be a stopwatch and a scientific calculator; it can display information as meter, data table or graph; and it can be used as a computer interface, stand alone device, or in the field. LabQuest is great for classroom use because it's splash proof, has rubber molding for shock absorption, and can withstand temperatures from 0-70C. Vernier offers a 30-day preview to let you experiment with the device.

Creative Writing—Is It Happening in Our Schools?

Are we encouraging creative writing in our schools? Are our students in elementary, middle and high school working on writing stories and poems? Some are, of course, but it seems we are often so busy teaching our students to study for tests, write reports, cite sources, get ready for Advanced Placement exams, search the Internet, and all those other things we have to cover that there's little time for creative writing. Sometimes it just takes a gentle push to get kids excited about their writing. Sure, there are a few that we won't be able to budge, but many will if we give a little encouragement. Think about it. If you teach language arts, how often do you give an assignment that involves creative writing? How often do you treat your students to classroom creative writing workshops? How often to you encourage individual students to write for the joy of writing, not for what's required by you or the curriculum?

Learning About Ways to Give

Children's Hospital Boston Generation Cures: Make It Better site provides an excellent way for students to learn about helping others—to learn about caring. The site features video episodes about a group of preteens/teens who find out that a friend has cancer and devise a plan to help her hospital provide the equipment needed for some of its cancer research. The video episodes are engaging, the characters are appealing, and the story is told a positive way. There's also an adventure game sequence with the same fun characters playing different parts; it's complete with puzzles that will test the brainpower of students, teachers, and parents. These puzzles are terrific thinking skill exercises. Besides the video episodes and the adventure game, kid-made videos, called Kid Vid, introduce students to serious medical problems some kids face and how these kids work with their doctors to get better. The site encourages philanthropy by showing kids how they can help to raise funds—how they can make a difference. There's also a section for parents. This is definitely a site worth visiting. —A place to make good things happen.

National Security Language Initiative

Called NSLI-Y, the National Security Language Initiative is being offered to students, ages 15-18, who want to learn more about other cultures and gain fluency in the languages of these cultures. Full scholarships are available to learn Hindi, Russian, Mandarin Chinese, Arabic, Farsi, Turkish and Korean. Most of the students will learn by living with host families and taking part in projects in the target countries. There are summer, semester and year-long programs, which it is hoped will lead selected students to careers using the languages they learn. The idea behind the initiative is to help young people make relationships needed to understand other cultures, which will in turn help with our national security and security of the global community through person-to-person relationships. The deadline for applications is February 2, 2009 for the 2009-2010 year.

Guidelines for Suicide Prevention

Do the pressures of today's society together with the violence seen on television, in video games and in movies account for the rise in suicide among young people? Are the tools for committing suicide easier to get today? Whatever the reason, health organizations, schools and colleges, and the military are among the groups trying to find ways to prevent suicide among young people. The American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry site has an excellent section about teen suicide as do KidsHealth and The American Academy of Pediatrics. The Army, concerned about the rising number of suicides among soldiers, has developed, with the Center for Suicide Prevention and Lincoln University, Beyond the Front, an interactive video that all soldiers will view. Although this video focuses on problems of those in the military, much of its content might be of use to all who work with young people and their problems. Of particular interest is a role-playing section designed to help friends and families of those who may be depressed and contemplating suicide. A demo of the video is available online.

Cheers for These Tech Products!

Tech & Learning magazine has released a salute to what its panel of educators consider the 35 most outstanding technology products for 2008. Among these are: Clicker Paint by Crick Software, Inc.; Adobe Visual Communication by Adobe Systems Inc.; Microsoft Math by Microsoft; ThinkQuest by Oracle; Gizmos by ExploreLearning; ePals Classroom Match by ePals, inc.; Discovery Education Assessment by Discovery Education; and many other excellent programs. Legacy Winners include those products that have received previous awards of excellence and since that time have become even better. A few of the Legacy Winners are: iLife '08 by Apple, Inc.; NetTrekker d.i. by Thinkronize; and Kidspiration 3 and InspireData 1.5 by Inspiration. For the complete list of award winners, download the pdf that's available from Tech & Learning.

DORA, Dynamic Online Reading Assessment

DORA is an automated reading specialist who diagnoses how well students read, suggests interventions, and monitors progress. "She" was named the Brightest Idea at the 2008 Tech Expo of the National Center for Technology Innovation (NCTI). DORA's "web-based assessment combines audio, text and multimedia to test for proficiencies in eight reading sub-skills: high-frequency words, word recognition, phonics, phonemic awareness, oral vocabulary, spelling, reading comprehension, and fluency." The program can be used with students K-12 and English language learners and takes the place of the usual tools reading specialists and teachers use to learn about students' reading levels. If you'd like to try putting DORA to work for reading assessment, request a free trial.

Need Good Resources for Detecting & Preventing Plagiarism?

Free Technology for Teachers is a blog that features links to recommended resources and information on how to use them. In December 2008, the blog included a list of ten resources that can help you help your students avoid plagiarism. Links featured related to the prevention of plagiarism were the Purdue OWL site, FAQs for Educators, Plagiarism.com, Plagiarized.com, and university sites. As for detection, the blog recommends checking through Google, Google Scholar, Doc Copy, Glatt Plagiarism, and Plagiarism Checker. On the blog you'll find short descriptions of each recommendation, and of course, links to the sites.

Fun Kids' Activities for iPhone & iPod Touch

For $2.99, you can download to iPhones and iPod Touch interactive "children's books" packed with activities young children will enjoy. They can "rub" the screen to uncover pictures, listen to stories, color pictures, read aloud, and create paintings—right on an iPhone or iPod Touch. The first book is available at the Apple APPs Store, and new ones should be coming out about once a month. The reviews look very positive for this new type of book for preschool and primary level students. You can link to the Apple Apps Store from ikidsplay.com or from your iPhone or iPod Touch. Print versions of the books are available online and at bookstores according to CoolestGadgets.com. Does this announcement get your brain whirling about possibilities of handheld technologies to support school curricula?