Database of Competitions

Take a look at studentcompetitions.com for some excellent competitions for high school and college students. Categories listed include Business, Arts & Design, Social Studies, Tech & Engineering, Natural Sciences & Math, and Other Events. Students can sign up to receive a bi-weekly newsletter, schools and other organizations can upload their competitions, and students can become Global Ambassadors. Searches for competitions can be done by keyword, group (high school, college, MBA, etc.), by deadline, or by prizes offered.

Boost Student Achievement

The ED Tech 2012 Boosting Student Achievement Leadership Forums are scheduled for Philadelphia on October 4^th and in Chicago on October 7^th.  The sessions will feature a day of interaction with technologies and how they can enhance teaching, learning, and school management. Sample topics to be covered are: how to lead teachers to leverage digital learning, which e-learning strategies work best, ways to build digital curricula on a tight budget, how to balance innovation and accountability, creative approaches to build and maintain technology infrastructure, and the impact of policy on innovation and achievement. A complete agenda is online and registration is now open.

Classroom Video Competition

M86 Security, a company known for its work with email and Web protection, will announce at the June 2011 ISTE (International Society for Technology in Education) Conference & Exposition, the VUSafe Classroom Video Contest, which will promote safe use of video in classrooms. Prizes include a video studio with HD camera, tripod, 27-inch Apple iMac with video editing software, and personal HD cameras for all students in the winning class. The VUSafe system enables teachers to safely use YouTube video without the worry of encountering inappropriate content. Look for details of the video competition in early July.

Is Language Arts Teaching Changing?

Language arts, traditionally text-based, is evolving to meet the needs of students in today’s world. The teaching of reading and writing skills is not being neglected, but instead is enhanced with the use of technologies. Students are learning to use the wealth of resources that are available beyond textbooks and library references. Katie Ash’s Ed Week article Language Arts Educators Balance Text-Only Tactics with Multimedia Skills highlights the importance of using media such as audio, video, and still photos in order for students to be ready to use all the resources available and to use these resources in collaboration with others. In addition to knowing how to create the usual written and word-processed essays, students need to learn how to create digital essays complete with photos, video and links to resources. Another tech-plus for reading and writing skills is that students now have the ability to interact with others online. They can get input from students and teachers not only in their school, but also through connections with other schools. Doing a book video chat with a class across the nation or world stimulates interest in reading as does sharing their own stories and poetry with online ePals. I remember a session with a group of Grade 5 students who were video chatting with a class in England. They were amazed that they had common interests in book selections and were filled with recommendations of great books for each other. It was a wonderful way to avoid the “Oh NO, not another book report!” complaint.

Summer Resolutions—Updating Your Online Pages

What are your resolutions for this summer? —Probably to relax and catch your breath after the school year. You deserve it. But when you are ready to get back to work, you might want to set priorities for what you need to do this summer to get ready for the new school year. If you have a Web, Moodle, or other page that your students and parents can access, summer is a great time to bring the page up to date. Think about how well you were able to keep your page current this year.  There’s nothing worse than a page that’s outdated or content you posted in a rush that contains errors in spelling and/or grammar. Remove from your page what you may have once thought were fantastic ideas such as posting all field trip photos or doing an inspirational quote or cute animation a day. Organize your page so that it’s easy for you to post project information, deadlines, links to resources, etc. These are what parents and students want to know. Your page has to work for you, your students, and their parents. While being fancy isn’t necessary unless you have the time, being current and accurate is.

Stop Action Video and 3D Video for Your Students

Take a look at VideoStudio Pro X4 Stop Action Motion software by Corel by tuning in to the Corel YouTube video. The program includes time-lapse and animation tools in addition to templates that help with the creation of amazing effects, music, titles, and transitions. With VideoStudio Pro X4, 2D video can be transformed into 3D movies, which you watch with Corel’s included 3D glasses. For additional information, go to the Corel site to check out features, system requirements, and how to download a free trial. The software is available for $59.99 with upgrades for $39.99. The program works with Windows computers only.

Are You Doing Summer Tutoring?

Lots of teachers take on students to tutor during the summer. Although some of the students are those who need additional help because of learning problems or missing important basic skills, some are simply students who need confidence in their abilities. Using technologies to help both those who need remedial work and those who need confidence-building can help not only with skill-building but with self esteem. When students have time to work at their own pace with you and on the computer, they do so much better. Don’t forget that those students who have learning disabilities and those who need catching up on skills also need confidence building. I’ve found that one sure way of making all students I’ve tutored feel good about their work is to tutor them—give them lots of practice—in the beginning content or first chapters of texts that they’ll cover at the start of the new school year. Then when they get to that content with their teachers, they’ll feel secure and often will continue to succeed throughout the school year.

Algebra with iPads

The Edison Township School District in New Jersey is following app projects in Virginia and California as it conducts a year-long study of the use of iPad apps in the teaching of Algebra I.
HMH (Houghton-Mifflin Harcourt) Fuse Algebra I should deliver the whole curriculum for the 60 students trying it. Their success in the program will be compared to a control group taught with traditional methods. Although the control group will not have access to the iPads or the algebra app, both groups will be able to use the textbook and online resources.

Great Ideas for All of Us from Apple Computer

When I read the Forbes’ article, Apple’s Retail Stores: More Than “Magic”, and watched the Wall Street Journal’s video: Secrets from Apple’s Genius Bar: Full Loyalty, No Negativity I thought about how some of these ideas could be used in our schools. Apple’s stores, for example, sell much more per square foot of space than Tiffany’s ($1400 more) and have had more visitors in a quarter than Disney’s top four theme parks. So what does the company do be make their stores so successful? Principles that must be followed by employees in Apple stores include: understanding how to work with customers in a way that will help them, trying to find out what customers needs are, believing in the value of what they are doing and of the power of delighting the customer, and listening for issues or concerns. New recruits must attend training classes, shadow experienced employees, and are not allowed to interact with customers until they are judged ready. Apple tries to recruit the right people and helps them with its continuing innovation and attention to detail in its products. Those employees who cannot follow these principles don’t last very long with the company.