Special Needs: Avatars in Schools

A 3-D Learning Space is being developed especially for students with disabilities. Georgia Institute of Technology and the University of Georgia are teaming to create a virtual classroom  where students who have physical and learning disabilities can go to learn STEM subjects with a mentor. The idea is to offer these students the support they need to move ahead in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Researchers have found that students with disabilities will often “go” into virtual worlds by choosing avatars that represent their disability. It is hoped that these students will feel free in the virtual space to ask for help from their virtual mentors. 

Robotics Teams Ignite Learning

John K. Water’s Rock’Em, Sock’Em article in the Journal discusses the excitement robotics can add to school curriculum and extracurricular activities. He compares competition enthusiasm of the crowd and students to that of a high school state basketball championship. While robotics programs in many schools are after school activities, some schools have moved the courses into the regular curriculum and offer 4-year tracks of robotics. Girls are getting involved, too, and there are all-girls robotics teams that compete in the challenges. Some of the girls’ teams are sponsored by the Girl Scouts. When not involved in designing better and better robots for competitions, some teams, such as the one at Anderson High School in Austin, Texas, volunteer their services to help in the community. The team at Anderson works with biomedical engineering students and a physician to create knee braces.

Collaboration: Competitive Advantage

The tools of technology allow for collaboration with others all over the world. Businesses see collaboration as a way to give them a competitive advantage now and into the future.  With mobile devices, communication among groups is possible from just about anywhere. If you think about this in terms of education and schools together with students’ love of social networking, think of what collaboration through technology can do for learning.

Pioneer Drama Service Grants

Middle and High School teachers may apply for grant credits in amounts of $100-$500 from Pioneer Drama Service. The company, which is hoping “to strengthen or create a sustainable drama experience for students”, will offer $5000 in grants for the staging of productions during the 2011-2012 school year. Deadline: June 30, 2011.

Teacher Layoffs and School Closings

School systems throughout the country are talking about laying off teachers and closing schools as the only ways they can deal with budgetary problems. Some districts are so far in debt that leaders are calling for teacher cutbacks, shutting school doors, and/or declaring bankruptcy. In New York talks include whether seniority policies will determine which teachers get laid off, for New York City may need to let 4,600 teachers go.  Kansas City is talking about needing to close almost half of the district’s schools. In California, 62 districts say they can’t pay their bills. As the discussion grows on among school leaders and politicians about what to do to alleviate financial problems, parents worry about class size escalating, their local schools closing, and the consequences for education of their children. Unless some novel solution is created, teacher cutbacks means larger classes. All sorts of class size numbers are in the news. Questions remain about providing courses needed, about whether larger numbers of students will fit into current classrooms, how technology might help in some cases, and whether last hired teachers will be the first to go.  What’s your take on all this?

DELETE CYBERBULLYING Competitions

Take the “Delete CyberBullying” Challenge by creating an original poster design or a public service announcement. The poster competition is open to students in Grades 4-11; the PSA competition, Grades 6-11. To be eligible to participate, students must be legal residents of the United States and live in areas served by Cablevision, so check the rules for specifics. Students under 13 years of age must provide a Parent Consent Form. Public Service Announcements must be videos of 30 seconds or less and cannot contain any copyright material. Don’t forget to take a look at the Downloads area of the competition. It’s a place where you can learn more about how to delete cyberbullying. Prizes include: Viewsonic Android G-Tablets, Microsoft Xbox 360, Flip HD Video Cameras, and Zune MP3 Players.

Discovery’s March Craziness

To celebrate March Craziness Discovery Education is offering 25% off on over 100 new releases. The Promotion Code is 2011NR.  Some of the titles on DVD being offered are: Dean of Invention-Wired Brain; Myth Busters-The President’s Challenge; The Language of Science-Earth/Space Science 3-5; Genetics Essentials; Geography Basics; Smash Lab; Oceans Blue; Build It Bigger-New Orleans Surge Barrier; Addicted; Atlas 4D; Discovery Health; and many more. Some of the new titles, like those from Head Rush with its cool and unusual—even bizarre science, are part of a series.

Project and Assignment Help on Power to Learn

Computers & Homework is an area on Power to Learn for students. The articles, divided into elementary, middle school, and high school categories focus upon helpful hints that include online resources, guidelines for working with tech at home, creating unique projects, and much more. Some of the titles you may want to recommend to your students include: Making Friends with Your Printer, Finding What You Want Online, And Your Survey Says, Everything You Ever Wanted to Know about Geography, Homework Predicaments Revealed and Resolved, State & Country Reports, What Cheating? What’s Your Responsibility, PowerPoint to Podcasts, and Make a QR (Quick Response) Code Poster. Look for upcoming articles packed with resources for helping your students with mathematics.

Vernier’s Engineering Challenges

The new NI LabView™ along with the Engineering Projects with NI LabView and Vernier lab book gives classroom options for challenging hands-on projects in engineering. The software helps students understand engineering concepts such as sensor construction, analog and digital input, control systems, and voltage dividers. The system is all about problem solving and bringing about solutions. Modules are included to use with hardware such as LabQuest, LabQuest Mini, SensorDAQ, and LEGO NXT Sensor Adapter. According to Vernier, “Once connected to the appropriate interface, the software allows students to log and analyze data, build sensor-controlled NXT robots, or perform feedback and control functions ....”

ResourceShelf —Scouring the Web for the Best

The editors at the ResourceShelf search the Web to bring you the best resources available. Although not directed to K-12 education, the ResourceShelf’s newsletter and blog may be of use to you for your classroom. Some of the topics included are: search tools and sources, search-related news, and Web 2.0 and beyond. You can explore the whole unedited collection and postings that go back to 2001, and you can sign up to receive a weekly sample of posts and the “Resource of the Week”