AAA Traffic Safety Competition

Students at all levels are invited to create AAA Traffic Safety posters or Public Service Announcements emphasizing traffic safety. Prizes include VISA gift cards and AAA gifts. You’ll find competition activities listed according to grade level. All entries are due by February 14, 2014.

Using Vine & Instagram Video in the Classroom

With Twitter’s app, Vine, your students can create videos in six seconds. Put that together with Facebook’s Instagram video-capturing feature and challenge your students, or yourself, to create. Take a look at Edutopia’s “Five Minute Film Festival: Vine and Instagram Video in the Classroom.” It features examples of teachers having fun by producing short videos using these digital resources, and it compares uses of Vine and Instagram video.

Differences Between e-Readers and Tablets

The CNET Community, in its Tablets Forum, offers a comparison between e-readers and tablets—information that parents of your students may find helpful this holiday season. Advice is given in answer to a question from a parent of an eight-year-old who wants to know what is the best mobile device for her child. Answers include visiting an electronics store to have a salesperson demo different products, finding products that fit the interest and age level of the child, going with tablets because they have more functionality, and thinking about going to the library for traditional books if all that is needed is a book reader. Some CNET members suggest that if parents already have an iPhone, for example, that purchasing an iPad or iPod Touch is a good idea.

Parents should also keep in mind that schools are successfully putting digital devices to work in classrooms with younger children. Tablets have more flexibility for learning activities and, dressed in a sturdy case, they usually can endure time in backpacks and accidental drops. Of course, checking with school personnel about devices that children can bring to school and use in the classroom is always wise advice.

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.

Young Students Write Novels

During November’s National Novel Writing Month (NaNaWriMo)

Although, adults are encouraged to write a 50,000 word novel during November, the count is flexible for children. Grade 1 teacher Lily Jones decided to have her young students write novels. The idea was that they’d each write their own novel and all the words written by each student would be totaled. The goal for the class was 5000 words. Jones’ students learned about chapters and characters and enjoyed the freedom of writing fiction. The students didn’t master the art of creating chapters and plots, but they came up with delightful stories and saw themselves as novelists.  Jones went on to help create the NaNoWriMo curriculum for Kindergarten through Grade 12 students. You may want to put some of the NaNoWriMo ideas to work in your classroom this month and throughout the school year. Give your students time to create a story of their own, either using word processing or getting it down on paper. They’ll be proud of their accomplishment.

The Hour of Coding Is Coming

Computer Science Education Week is coming up December 9^th to 15^th and during that week CODE.org challenges us to get every student (and teacher) in every school in programming mode for at least an hour. Easy to follow, self-guided tutorials will be offered free of charge. Don’t worry if there aren’t enough computers to go around since CODE will make available “unplugged” tutorials, as well. No experience is needed. On the CODE site, where you can sign up, you’ll also find a “how-to” video, a teacher research kit, and information on “Why Computer Science”. Other events are planned for the week including a birthday celebration for Admiral Grace Murray Hopper, a computing pioneer.

Hispanic Culture & History Resources

In its latest newsletter, PBS LearningMedia features resources related to Hispanic culture and history. The content is designed to help students gain a deep appreciation of the Hispanic culture and history while building Spanish language skills. Some of the digital resources include salsa music, bilingual science discussions, Hispanic names like Nevada and Montana in the United States, Latino family ancestry, gender, and race as part of an understanding of history, and revolutionary art featuring the Mexican Muralist Movement.

Grow Teen Enthusiasm for Science

Spartici.org is a place for teens to enjoy excellent content related to the STEM subject areas. The site is a project of Twin Cities Public Television and 3M and is designed as a mobile destination complete with “articles, videos, games, and hands-on activities from hundreds of sites, all vetted by a team of experts who scour the Web for quality teen-appropriate content.” At Spartici, students interact through social and game features. They can also share, rank, and comment on content. Students who have used the site say that it is great for papers and reports, and they appreciate that it is both fun and educational.

Tough Teachers

The Wall Street Journal article, “Why Tough Teachers Get Good Results,” is an excellent piece for us to read and discuss. Over the years, there has been much discussion about exactly what motivates students and what ignites creativity. Janice Lipman, the article’s author, suggests that maybe we aren’t where we should be in education because of teaching methods that follow “the kinder, gentler philosophy that has dominated American education over the past few decades. The conventional wisdom holds that teachers are supposed to tease knowledge out of students, rather than pound it into their heads.” Lipman backs up her call for stricter discipline and unyielding demands with research and with her eight-part manifesto: “1. A little pain is good for you. 2. Drill baby, drill. 3. Failure is an option. 4. Strict is better than nice. 5. Creativity can be learned. 6. Grit trumps talent. 7. Praise makes you weak. 8. ....while stress makes you strong.”

Lipman says that one of her toughest teachers taught students how to fail and how to get themselves up and going once more.

What do you think? Is it an either or—nice or tough?

STEM Jobs by 2018

We hear so much about future job opportunities for students who excel in STEM subjects, but exactly what types of careers in these areas are predicted to be the most promising? According to data from US-BLS Employment Projections, 2008-2018, 71% of jobs will be related to computing, 16% in traditional engineering, 4% in life sciences, 2% in mathematics, and 7% in physical sciences. When the Computer job area is segmented, it looks like 27% of jobs will be available in software engineering, 21% in computer networking, 10% in systems analysis, 2% in database administration, 7% in computer support, 1% in research, and 3% other.

Considering these statistics, schools would be wise to offer both introductory courses in computer science as well as Advanced Placement courses.