Are You in Information Overload?

The leaders of the Texas Computer Educators Association (TCEA) know about information overload, and in their technotes, they offer suggestions for keeping current without being overwhelmed. To help you “relax and recharge” after a busy school year, you might want to take time to try Spigot, Zite, and Flipboard. Spigot is a free site that offers snippets of current information for teachers and media specialists. Zite, called a personalized magazine, finds out what you are interested in and brings stories you want to your mobile device (Android, iOS, Windows). With Flipboard, an iOS and Android app, you create your own publications filled with what you want to know. Both Zite and Flipboard can gather content from Websites, blogs, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

12/12/12, 12/21/12—Did the World End?

The Mayan calendar is a fascinating topic for your students who love science fiction, history, and numbers. They find tons of information—some reliable and some not— online. A good place to begin is with a trusted resource like the NASA site. NASA experts assured people that the world wouldn’t end on 12/12/12 or 12/21/12.  NASA says people read the Mayan calendar wrong, for it has no predictions about the end of the world.  On the date 12/21/12, the world will refresh itself, according to the Mayans, and the calendar will begin again like a rotating odometer.  That’s because the Mayan calendar began in August 11, 3114 B.C., which to the Mayans was 13.0.0.0.0. December 21, 2012 is the next 13.0.0.0.0. So what about 12/12/12? What does that have to do with 12/21/12? It’s supposed to be the same number, according to numerology, and perhaps 12/12/12 just has a better ring to it?

How did the Mayans come up with such an amazing system of calculating time? That’s the real question. Your students will enjoy learning how the Mayan Calendar works and how to count like Mayans.

Have Students Draw the News

Children, 12 and under, can participate in the New York Times Kids Draw the News. The program focuses mostly on assignments related to New York area news.  Children submit digital or scanned drawings that depict current events or mail drawings to The Times. Topics such as taxes on sugary drinks, canal cleanup, a tightrope walk across Niagara Falls, and the stealing of manhole covers are given for artistic assignments. To find current assignments, go to: City Room, Kids Draw the News. 

If your school is not in the New York City region, you may want to create your own news challenges based on current events in your town, your state, or the world. These, of course, wouldn’t be submitted to The Times, but some are sure to be published in local papers. Even if you don’t want to send the drawings to the media, your students can learn a great deal about a topic as they decide how to best capture it in a picture.