Thinking Like Philosophers

We don’t often think of middle schoolers as philosophers, but sixth graders at the JFK Middle School in Northhampton, Massachusetts are learning philosophy from the “What’s the Big Idea” site. Site content, created by a faculty member at the school, teaches students to listen to others and to think before speaking and acting. Included on the site are film clips, discussion questions, and handouts related to topics such as bullying, lying, peer pressure, friendship, and environmental ethics.

Shout: Social Responsibility

Microsoft Corp, the Smithsonian, and TakingITGlobal are partnering to create Shout, a global network that will challenge students to collaborate online as they try to solve environmental problems facing our world. Shout will feature project-based learning activities designed to promote social responsibility and will help teachers use technology to enhance students’ problem solving skills. Although, work on the Shout network is still in progress, you can preview content from the Environmental Education Online Conference with Smithsonian experts.

ALA Best Apps for Teaching and Learning 2013

The American Library Association, always a trusted source for recommendations, provides a list of apps that it considers “of exceptional value to inquiry-based learning . . .”  These are apps that encourage students to be innovative and creative as they engage in collaboration with others. Categories on the list include: Books, STEM, Organization & Management, Social Sciences, and Content Creation. A few of the apps on the ALA Best App List are: Shakespeare in Bits, Got to Have Music, Operation Math, SimplePhysics, Tinkerbox, Dropbox, Evernote, Socrative, News-O-Matic: Daily for Kids, GarageBand, and Educreations. There are links to all the apps on the list.

Coursera Has 80 New Courses

The best teachers are always learning, be it on their own or through credit courses. One of the most convenient ways to learn what you want when you want at the right price (free) is through Coursera. Maybe you or your students want to jump into songwriting, explore digital signal processing, take on quantum physics, learn about comic books, or discover if plants have senses. You’ll find courses on these topics and more in the new Coursera catalog.  Check it out because you won’t believe how much is there for you and your students—cryptography, nanotechnology, Common Core, Surviving Your Rookie Year of Teaching, genetics, critical thinking, bioelectricity, Latin American Culture, Malicious Software, English Composition . . .

Trash Into Cash

The FundingFactory and Scholastic are working together on the “Go Green” sweepstakes initiative in which educators have the opportunity to win $5000 to go greener with eco-friendly programs on their school campuses. To participate, you’ll need to complete a short form with information about your school and its current “green” programs and tell what you’d like to do with the prize money. The deadline is March 1, 2013.

Even if you don’t win the sweepstakes, you can always be a winner by recycling ink jet and toner cartridges and small digital devices through the FundingFactory. Just register, recycle, and earn rewards such as digital cameras, eReaders, printers, interactive whiteboards and more. It’s completely free.

Join Partners Around the GLOBE

The GLOBE (Global Learning and Observation to Benefit the Environment) is a worldwide program for students of all ages. Teachers can sign up for a free workshop to learn about the program, learn about partnering with other schools, and use guides that are available in English, Spanish, French, and German.  Five scientific investigations (atmosphere, Earth as a system, hydrology, land cover/biology, and soil) are available that include background information, measurement protocols, and suggested student activities. There’s a student zone on the site with games and puzzles, student events, student projects, and a Be a Scientist area.

Virtual Science Treks

If you missed the GLOBE Xpedition to Africa, you can take your students on this adventure by using the Xpedition archives of resources and webinar notes. Look for resources you want by going to the link above and searching for what you need, but don’t forget to download Xpedition’s information packet featuring the Student Research Investigation to the “Roof of Africa”, Mt. Kilimanjaro, Tanzania.

What to Do with E-Waste

The Funding Factory wants you to know that 70% of the toxic material in landfills is the result of e-waste. You and your students can do something about it by recycling and thinking green. Laptops, cell phones, digital cameras, GPS devices, iPods/MP3 players, laser cartridges, and ink cartridges can be recycled, and the Funding Factory will help you with this effort and give you rewards, too. The program is free; the Funding Factory pays all postage and gives you boxes for sending in what you collect. Rewards are in the form of points that are redeemable for technology, other equipment, or cash. To find out more about the program, register online or call for a Jump Start Kit.

Vultures Rock 2nd Annual Poetry Competition

Vultures may not be the most attractive of birds but think of all they do for our environment. Learning about the problems they face, how they live, and why they are important to our world will help students better understand some of the difficulties we face in our environment.  To encourage student learning about vultures, the 2^nd Annual Vultures Rock Poetry Competition is now open to ages 8-12. Students can submit up to two poems of no more than sixteen lines (not counting the title). Applications are on the site; poems are due by October 10, 2012. Let your students rock with the vultures and they may win one of three iPod Shuffles for their creativity.

TurfMutt is Saving the Planet

Sign up your school today to be eligible for a free environmental program and a $5000 grant to transform your school campus into an eco-friendly green environment. Lucky, the TurfMutt, takes students into a world where they “save” one yard at a time by learning the importance of grass, flowers and trees in every community. The program helps teachers by providing resources such as videos, activities and puzzles for K-5 students. Each school can investigate its own region’s ecosystems by using Lucky’s interactive map. —And don’t forget to sign up for Mutt Mail.