Social Media and Your Employment Status

What do you do when students ask to “Friend” you on social media sites? Are you careful about what you post through social networking and/or what you text and email? Even if you make a “Page” private, are racial, violent, or sexist comments all right? What type of photos have you posted online? Have you answered a digital communication in anger?

Concerned about teachers as negative role models, the National Education Association (NEA) created “Social Networking Nightmares”, which includes teacher comments like this questionable message to a student: “You’re a retard, but I love you.” The courts have ruled that teachers do not have absolute First Amendment rights and, just because posts may be made when not in school, teachers are still accountable. The New Jersey board of education has posted a Code of Conduct for teachers and staff, which includes items that relate to use of social networking in school, harassment, defamatory statements, confidential information, violence, sexually graphic posts, etc.

Too Many Teachers, But Not Enough Tech-Savvy Ones

Stephen Sawchuk, in an article in Education Week, says that colleges are producing too many elementary school teachers. In New York, for example, during 2009-2010, there were 6498 elementary candidates and only 2800 positions available. The National Association of State Boards of Education, in its report (December 2012) on the role of technology in schools and communities, found that America’s schools are in need of tech-savvy teachers and that schools of education need to champion tech use in classrooms. Considering the overproduction of elementary teachers at this time, one has to wonder if middle and high school teachers will be next. Answers may lie in establishing higher standards for admission to Schools of Education and in devoting a significant portion of pre-teaching studies to uses of technologies in classrooms.

Have You Tried Coursera?

To keep up-to-date with teaching and learning, take a look at the courses offered through Coursera. They’re free, and they’re taught by some of the best professors in the world. You learn at your own pace while watching videos, engaging in interactive practice, self-testing, using feedback, and monitoring your own progress. Some of the courses offered this winter and spring include: E-Learning and Digital Cultures (University of Edinburgh); Fundamentals of Online Education: Planning and Application (Georgia Institute of Technology), General Game Playing (Stanford University), The Ancient Greeks (Wesleyan University), A New History of China (Hong Kong University of Science and Technology), and A Beginner’s Guide to Irrational Behavior (Duke University).

Engineer Girl Essay Competition

Girls in Grades 3-5, 6-8, and 9-12 may enter the 2013 Engineer Girl Essay Competition. This year, the topic centers on advances in medicine brought about through engineering. Students entering the competition should focus on one of the following medical problems: heart disease, stroke, influenza and other respiratory infections, Emphysema (or COPD), and Diarrhea.  Exact topics and word lengths for essays vary according to grade level.  Entries must be received by 6:00 p.m. (EST) on March 1, 2013. Cash awards are given to first, second, and third place winners in each category.

Vernier/NSTA Technology Awards

Win $1000 in cash, $3000 in Vernier Products, and up to $1500 toward expenses to attend the annual NSTA National Convention.  Awards will be presented to teachers (Grades Kindergarten through college) who use computers, calculators, and handheld devices in innovative ways for data-collection. You have until November 30, 2013 to submit your application, which means you’ve got time to create/design unique data-collection ideas that will enhance learning with your students. Don’t forget to check the guidelines and review ideas of winners selected from 2004-2012.

SIGMS Technology Innovation Award

Teams of librarians and teachers can vie for $1000 in cash for a school media center, $300 professional library from ISTE, and a $1000 travel stipend to attend the annual ISTE conference. Judges are looking for collaborative projects that use technology, are supported by the school administration, and have the potential for replication. Nominations are due by February 28, 2013.

Cengage Learning—National Geographic Virtual Library

If you are one of many of us who love National Geographic, you might want to take a look at online resources and books available from National Geographic and GALE Cengage Learning. You’ll find National Geographic Magazine Archives from 1888-1994; National Geographic Magazine Archives from 1995-present; and National Geographic: People, Animals, and the World. Every page of the magazines is available along with full-text books, hundreds of videos, maps, atlases, and over 600 downloadable images. —It’s a perfect resource for engaging student assignments and course transition to online materials.

Apps for Kindergarten & More

Katrina Keene created an edshelf collection of tools for use with Kindergarten students. Some of the apps she recommends are First Letters and Phonics, Eddie’s Number Party, Spell + Friends, Tiny Chicken Learns Math, Toontastic, and twenty other apps. As with any edshelf collection, you can embed Keene’s resource right into your blog or Website using the edshelf’s Collection Widget. The free edshelf site features many other collections that may be of use to you. Perhaps, you’ll want to create a free account so that you can create your own edshelf collections.

PDF to Word

Think of how many times you’ve wished that a PDF file were actually a Word file. At PDF Online you can convert PDF files to Microsoft Word format—free.  This is a free service provided by BCL easyConverter SDK.  All you have to do is to select the file you want to convert and click “Convert”.  When I tried this tool, the converted file went into my Downloads and, when opened, it was in Rich Text Format, which I saved as a Word .doc.

Gadgetwise, a New York Times Personal Tech resource, lists the easyConverter along with other PDF translators. They include Smart PDF Converter, a for-pay service, which you can use free, three times. When I tried this converter, my PDF was translated directly into a Word .doc, but my free conversion had the Smart PFD watermark across it. The Times also mentions a free shareware converter for Windows users, and a converter from Adobe for those who have the $20-per-year Acrobat desktop software.

What Study Techniques Really Work?

In research led by Professor John Dunlosky, Kent State, thousands of articles evaluating study techniques were examined. The result was a list of the Best and Worse ways to learn.

Okay, first the techniques to avoid: highlighting, underlining, rereading and summarizing. We are probably having our students learn all of these, but maybe that’s not such a good idea. The only good thing about these methods, according to the research, is that they get students to read the content.

Now for the Best: The top technique is spreading out studying of the material over a period of time. The opposite of this would be cramming. The second best is practice testing—frequently, and not for a grade, which can be accomplished with flashcards and using apps “like Quizlet, StudyBlue, and FlashCardMachine.”

Other study practices that are okay but not great include: mental imagery, asking “why” while reading, explaining to yourself what you are reading when you are reading, using keywords or clues to remember, and “mixing up different types of problems.”