+ Web Sites for Technology Planning in Schools

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This week EduHound’s “Classroom Tools & Tips” newsletter brings sites on the topic of “Technology Planning.”

• Generation YES: Vision to Action — Adding Students to Your Technology Plan   Writing a technology plan and want to make sure that it includes authentic student involvement and leadership?  Please see the document (pdf) by Dr Dennis Harper that provides research, sample language, and models of student action [link to document can be found at the upper right of the homepage].  http://genyes.com  
• Bellingham Public Schools Technology Plan   The Technology Plan begins with a vision for student learning, a statement of beliefs, and a rationale for creating and continuing to build networked learning environments.   http://www.bham.wednet.edu/technology/techplan.htm
• National Education Technology Plan   To help facilitate the involvement of organizations and individuals in developing the Plan, the Department of Education awarded a contract to a team consisting of the American Institutes for Research, the International Society for Technology in Education, and the State Educational Technology Directors Association.  Each worked closely with the Department to coordinate input from the public and disseminate information about the Plan development process.   http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/os/technology/plan/2004/site/edlitedefault.html
• The National Center for Technology Planning (NCTP)   A clearinghouse for the exchange of many types of information related to technology planning.  This information may be:  school technology plans available for downloading online; technology planning aids (checklists, brochures, sample planning forms, PR announcement forms); and/or electronic monographs on timely, selected topics.    http://www.nctp.com
• NETC: Strategic Planning for Technology   Provides planners with concepts and resources to assist them in developing effective technology plans for their school or district.   http://www.netc.org/planning

source:  “Classroom Tools & Tips” is a newsletter from EduHound.com, which includes tutorials, templates, and teacher tips as well  as Web site information.  To subscribe, email Judi at jrajala@eduhound.com.  She would like your tips, templates and ideas for topics to cover.

tutoring in Columbus OH:   Adrienne Edwards   614-579-6021   or email   aedwardstutor@columbus.rr.com

+ Online Literacy is a “Lesser” Literacy

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In The Chronicle of Higher Education an article by Mark Bauerlein reports on research tracking the eye movements of people reading online material. 

The research shows a staccato, non-linear pattern that bops from spot to spot.

Jakob Nielsen, called “the guru of Web page ‘usability’” by the New York Times, has gauged user habits for years.  Nielsen, previously at Sun Microsystems, is a partner in the consulting busines Nielsen Norman Group.  Donald A Norman is a cognitive scientist who came from Apple.

In a test of 232 people, Nielsen charted people’s navigations and aims, using eye-tracking tools to map how vision moves and rests.

What he found was that people’s eyes took in hundreds of pages in a “pattern that’s very different from what you learned in school.”

It looks like the capital letter F.  At the top, users read all the way across, but as they proceed down they quicken and horizontal sight contracts, with a slowdown around the middle of the page.  Near the bottom eyes move almost vertically, with the lower right corner virtually ignored.

“F for fast,” writes Nielsen.  “That’s how they read your precious content.”  (A decade ago, he titled a piece called “How Users Read on the Web.”  It began — bluntly — “They don’t.”)

In the eye-tracking test, only one in six read Web pages linearly, sentence by sentence.  The rest jumped around chasing keywords, bullet points, visuals, color and typefaces. 

In another experiment on how people read e-newsletters,  email and news feeds, Nielsen expostulated ” ‘Reading’ is not even the right word.”  They read only the first two words in headlines; they ignored introductory sections.  They wanted the ‘nut’ — nothing else.

A 2003 assertion from Nielsen warned that a PDF file strikes users as a “content blob.”  They won’t read it unless they print it.

And a “booklike” page on screen turns them off and sends them packing.

Teenagers skip through the Web even faster than adults, another Nielsen test found, but with a lower success rate for completing online tasks.  “Teens have a short attention span and want to be stimulated.  That’s also why they leave sites that are difficult to figure out.”

For teens, says Nielsen, the Web isn’t a place for reading and study and knowledge.  It’s just the opposite: a place to have fun.

Classroom Technology: One of the Great Educational Disappointments of Our Time

Schools have made enormous investments in technology, with meager returns.  Money has poured into public-school classrooms since 1996, after the Telecommunications Act of that year.  Colleges and universities have raced to “out-technologize” each other.

Enthusiasm builds, Bauerlein writes; e-bills are passed, smart classrooms multiply, students cheer — and the results keep coming back negative. 

A New York study in 2008, one of many national studies, reported, “After seven years, there was literally no evidence it had any impact on student achievement — none.”

One problem is the online reading habits kids have developed outside of school.  It’s not so much about the content they want, or whether they use the Web for homework or not.  It seems to be about the reading habits they employ.

“They race across the surface,” writes Bauerlein, “dicing language and ideas into bullets and graphics, seeking what they already want and shunning the rest.  They convert history, philosophy, literature, civics and fine art into information, material to retrieve and pass along.”

Yes, it’s a kind of literacy, he says.  But it breaks down in the face of a dense argument, a Modernist poem, a long political tract, and other texts that require steady focus and linear attention — in a word: SLOW READING.

source: online article by Mark Bauerlein on 9/19/08 in the Chronicle of Higher Education.  www.chronicle.com

tutoring in Columbus OH:   Adrienne Edwards   614-579-6021   or email  aedwardstutor@columbus.rr.com

+ Kids Learn to be Teachers in Washington

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This is Laura Geggel’s article in the SnoValley Star:

Lauren Maland, a fourth-grader at Cascade View Elementary School, started tutoring first-graders in January.

“I’ve learned to be businesslike and try not to do everything for them, but still help them,” Maland said. “I have a little brother. I help him at home with his letters, which is really great practice for tutoring.”

Last Thursday, Maland helped her first-grade student with word families like -ill (bill, thrill and twill) and -ame (came, frame and game). The repetition of word families helps students recognize letter and sound combinations.

With a 2006 grant from the Snoqualmie Valley Schools Foundation, Cascade View counselor Sandy Smelser began the Reading Rotations tutoring program. This year, she trained 30 fourth- and fifth-grade tutors – seven boys and 23 girls – in the art of tutoring.

Every Monday and Thursday, Smelser’s tutors give up their third recess to set up tutoring stations in the first-grade hallway. Each station has activity materials – from white boards to word family flipbooks – complete with a lesson plan addressing phonics or reading fluency.

“Learning phonics is more of a first-grade issue,” Smelser said. “If we have kids who are still struggling with phonics in second grade, they are a little bit more likely to be referred to special service assistance. This is a lesser intensive intervention than special services.”

Tutors rotate both activity tables and students on a weekly basis. Every tutoring session, they greet the first-graders and walk with them to the tutoring station.

Fourth-grader Sophia Caputo recently tutored a first-grade student in reading fluency.

“They read pages and you work on making their reading better. You make sure that they know how to sound out the words and get them right,” Caputo said. “Usually, I don’t help them unless they ask for help.

I help them if I notice that they’re struggling and they’re taking long pauses.”

After each 15-minute session, the tutors walk their students back to class and write progress reports for the first-grade teachers. Smelser discusses the students’ progress with their teachers, so she can specifically assign each first-grader to a constructive workshop.

“They really enjoy the one-on-one connection that they feel with the tutors,” said first-grade teacher Heather Anderson.

Four of her 24 students are enrolled in the Reading Rotations tutoring program.

“It’s tricky, because tutoring doesn’t always bring a positive connotation, but Sandy makes the kids feel special,” Anderson said.

On May 15, Caputo helped her first-grader decipher word sounds. The student had to fill in the missing letters by guessing the word from an illustrated photo. A drawing of a path with the letters “pa” filled in at first stumped her.

“Is it an ‘f’?” the first-grader asked.

“What do you think?” Caputo asked her. “We’re working with these two sounds,” she said, gesturing to the “sh” and “th” at the top of the page.

“Path,” the first-grader said, writing in the ‘th’ at the end of the word. Caputo congratulated her and they moved on to the next picture.

Smelser recruits her tutors in spring, requiring they fill out a sheet explaining why they want the position. Students are allowed to apply at any time, but she only offers training twice a year, in fall and spring.
Tutors work year-round, but Smelser allows them to take vacations in three-week segments.

While the tutors track the first-grade students’ progress, Smelser has trained student managers to observe the tutors’ techniques, including fourth-grader Meredith Troy, who transitioned from tutor to manager.
“As a manager, you walk around and take notes,” Troy said.

“You help people if they have any questions. You also take notes about the students – if they need something they want to be easier or if they need a bit more challenging work.”

The managers show their notes to Smelser before discussing improvements with the tutors.

If anything, the tutors welcome advice on their handiwork.

“They write notes just to make your tutoring better,” Caputo said.

Cascade View’s short bursts of tutoring help not only the first-grade students but also the tutors themselves.

“Elementary school can be real limited sometimes, for the avenues kids can get involved with,” said Tim Nootenboom, principal of Cascade View. “I think it leads to great leadership opportunities for our older students.”

Fourth-grade tutor Nicole Laufenburger said tutoring is providing her with the groundwork to pursue a career in instruction.

“I feel good because I know I’m doing something that helps students,” Laufenburger said. “I really like little kids. I have always wanted to be a teacher when I grow up, so it’s helped me get started.”

source: this is reporter Laura Geggel’s article in the SnoValley Star on 5/21/08. www.snovalleystar.com.

tutoring in Columbus OH:   Adrienne Edwards   614-579-6021   or email   aedwardstutor@columbus.rr.com

+ Persuasive Writing: Web Sites

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From “Classroom Tools & Tips”, an EduHound Newsletter, these sites to help improve “persuasive writing”:

In persuasive writing, a writer takes a position FOR or AGAINST an issue, and writes to convince the reader to believe or do something.

• Argument & Persuasive Writing at Web English Teacher:     Includes lesson plans and activities for teaching argument and persuasive writing; helps develop Web research and persuasive writing skills as students create original works.   www.webenglishteacher.com/argument.html
• Unit Plan Persuasive Writing Grades 6-12     Students will interpret their thoughts about various pictures, symbols, and slogans; create a visual representation of various feelings and emotions to infer what the advertiser could be selling the consumer; and create an advertisement using the various learned techniques.   www.teacher.scholastic.com/lessonplans/unit_persuasivewriting_lesson1.htm
• ReadWriteThink Lesson Plan: Can You Convince Me?     Through a classroom game and handouts, students are introduced to the concepts of lobbying for somthing important to them (or that they want) and making persuasive arguments.   www.readwritethink.org/lessons/lesson_view.asp?id=56
• McREL Standards Activity: Persuade Me     As a result of this activity, students in grades 6-8 will be able to recognize and use persuasive techniques.   www.mcrel.org/compendium/activityDetail.asp?activityID=87  
• The Basic Principles of Persuasive Writing     This page features an article that outlines the basic principles of persuasive writing, including appealing to the reader’s sense of reason, emotion, and good character.   www.writingcentre.ubc.ca/workshop/tools/argument.htm
• Writing Opinion Pieces About Meaningful Issues to Kids     In this lesson, students identify controversial topics on which they have strong opinions.  After examining a controversial issue, students then model their own persuasive opinion pieces after the featured article.   www.nytimes.com/learning/teachers/lessons/20000414friday.html

source: “Classroom Tools & Tips” newsletter from Eduhound Weekly at www.eduhound.com

tutoring in Columbus OH:   Adrienne Edwards   614-579-6021   or email  aedwardstutor@columbus.rr.com

+ Activities for Learning “High Frequency” Words

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Thanks to a Mom who shared this information.  It comes from a sheet sent home by the school.  Use many of these activities for learning ANY kind of words that are challenging your student.

• Create a game or playing board and get some dice.  (Perhaps make the board erasable for re-use. )  Write high frequency words on spaces.  Also add some “fun” spaces (Go Forward Two, Roll Again).  Play to see who finishes first.
• Play Tic-Tac-Toe.  You pick a word and have your child pick a word.  Instead of writing X’s and O’s on the board, you each write the word you’ve chosen.  Pick a different word and play again.
• Play “Go Fish” with High Frequency Words cards.  (Needs a deck with three of each word.)  Deal out 7 cards to each player.  The rest is the pile.  The first person asks someone to give them  all of one of the cards she herself is holding. For example, “all of your cards that say at.”  If the opposing player has the card, the caller gets another turn.  If not, the opposing player says, “Go Fish” (for another card in the pile).  Players who have groups of three (called a “book”) get to lay them down.  The player with the most “books” at the end wins.
• Play Memory.  (Needs a word card deck with groups of two.)  Mix the word cards up and lay them in rows.  Each player takes a turn to turn over two cards.  If they match, that player takes those cards and gets another turn.  If they don’t, they are turned back over, and players must remember what they saw.  Play until all of the cards have been picked up.
• Play Hang Man.  Pick a word.  Draw the picture and put lines to show how many letters are in the word.  Player guesses and sees how quickly they can “get” the word.
• Play My Pile, Your Pile.  Words from the list are on cards.  Quickly flip over a word and see who can say the word first — that player gets the card.
• Have a Race.  Players race to see who can write the word fastest.
• Use an egg timer and see how many times your child can write one of the words.  Keep a chart.  He should improve each time.
• Get two fly swatters.  Use the deck of words and place one face up on the table.  See who can slap it first.
• Play Bingo using the words.  Make grids. Use candy or popcorn for markers.   
• If you can deal, practice high frequency words in pudding, jello, icing or shaving cream.  (Don’t taste the shaving cream!)
• Pour salt or dry jello on a cookie sheet.  Write the words in the powder.
• Hide the cards around th house.  Have a search; reward a child for the ones he can find and read.
• Pick several words.  Have a student use a high-liter to find the words in a newspaper or magazine.  Set a timer and see how many he can find in one or two minutes.
• Write one of the words on an erase board or piece of paper.  Have the student take a good look at it.  Erase one letter.  Have the child fill it in.  Erase two letters, etc.  Practice until he can write the word.
• Put a piece of paper over a square of screen or netting.  Adult or child writes the word on the paper.  When the netting is taken away, the word will feel bumpy.  Have the child trace over the word and say the letters as s/he is tracing.  Do this several times using different words.
• Rainbow words: write or have the child write one of the words.  Have her trace over the word four or five times using a different colored crayon each time.  Display the word; have her read it to you several times over the next few days.

Enjoy these activities with your children!

tutoring in Columbus OH:   Adrienne Edwards   614-579-6021   or email  aedwardstutor@columbus.rr.com

+ “Making Math Real” Resource for Teachers

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Liz Ditz recommended “Making Math Real,” an intensive and comprehensive professional development program.

The program provides simplified, comprehensive foundations for a practical, systematic, multisensory, structured program in basic mathematics.

Designed for educational therapists, special educators, elementary and secondary classroom teachers and especially, they say, for parents, the curriculum is aligned with the California state standards.

Visit the Making Math Real Institute and Clinic Web site at www.makingmathreal.org.   The program is presented in association with UC Berkeley Extension.

An introductory, 90 minute video is available for $24.95. 

I have watched it and it is truly an eye-opener: full of explanations about how the brain processes information.  It truly is a “multisensory, structured, sequential” program.  The video offers ways to teach from the concrete to the abstract.  And it explains why.

And let me tell you – once you’ve learned about the “nine lines,” math will never feel the same again!

The key is giving kids the developmental tools before they are ever asked to turn to the text book. 

As Dr. Berg explains, most math lessons begin with abstractions as the first words out of the teacher’s mouth.  When children have experienced Making Math Real techniques, they will have their tool belt buckled and ready to go.   They are prepared to succeed at real-world math tasks.

Trainings apparently take place on site in California, although the training may be brought to schools .  Some of the individual course titles are

• Making Math Real: Overview
• MMR: The 4 Operations and All of the Math Facts
• MMR: Fraction, Decimals and Advanced Place Value
• MMR: Pre-Algebra
• MMR: Algebra
• The 9 Lines (a new course)
• Time and Money (2-day course)
• Games! (new 2-day extended course)
• Kindergarten (2-day course)

There is an annual Summer Institute, and now available: a fractions worksheet binder.

Registration is now open for all Spring and Summer 2008 courses. 

source: online info from www.makingmathreal.org, on the recommendation of Liz Ditz, a Love and Logic Facilitator and Barton reading and spelling tutor.  Read her parenting and education blog at www.lizditz.typepad.com.

tutoring in Columbus OH:   Adrienne Edwards   614-579-6021   or email  aedwardstutor@columbus.rr.com  

+ IDA: Call for Papers for October 2008 Conference

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IDA OPENS CALL-FOR-PAPERS FOR 2008 SEATTLE CONFERENCE 

SUBMISSION DEADLINE:  FRIDAY, FEB. 7, 2008 

The International Dyslexia Association (IDA) is now accepting speaker proposals for the 59th Annual Conference to be held Oct. 29-Nov. 1, 2008 at the Washington State Convention & Trade Center, in Seattle, Washington.  

The Abstract submission process is completely online and provides you the opportunity to self-select the conference focus that best fits your presentation.   

THE SUBMISSION GUIDELINES HAVE CHANGED FOR 2008, and accordingly we strongly recommend that you review the new Guidelines prior to submitting your abstract.  

Go to  http://www.interdys.org/CalForPapersSeattleTeaser3.htm  to find the Submission Guidelines and begin the process of submitting your abstract.  

Join the International Dyslexia Association (IDA) 

You truly become a member of the IDA community when you affiliate with any one of our 47 Branches in the United States and Canada.  The IDA Branches unite thousands of parents, children, students, adults and learning-disability professionals seeking advice on what to do and where to turn for help in their efforts to cope with the effects of dyslexia.  Most of all you will meet and talk to others who have faced the very same challenges. www.interdys.org

tutoring in Columbus OH:   Adrienne Edwards   614-579-6021   or email   aedwardstutor@columbus.rr.com  

+ The Civil Rights Struggle: Web Sites

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EduHound  Weekly provides a lists of Web sites on the topic of Civil Rights:

• THE MARTIN LUTHER KING JR RESEARCH AND EDUCATION INSTITUTE — LIBERATION CURRICULUM  The Liberation Curriculum utilizes online documentary materials concerning nonviolent movements to achieve social justice, transformation, and reconciliation.  www.stanford.edu/group/King/liberation_curriculum/
• CIVIL RIGHTS RESOUCE GUIDE  The digital collections of the Library of Congress offer a wide variety of materials related to civil rights, including photographs, documents, and sound recordings.   www.loc.gov/rr/program/bib/civilrights/home.html
• ROSA PARKS BUS  On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks, a 42-year-old African American seamstress, boarded this Montgomery City bus to go home.  On this bus, she initiated a new era in the American quest for freedom and equality.  www.thehenryford.org/exhibits/rosaparks/home.asp
• SEPARATE IS NOT EQUAL, BROWN VS BOARD OF EDUCATION  This online exhibition commemorates the landmark Brown vs Board of Education political case.  www.americanhistory.si.edu/brown/
• THE OFFICIAL WEB SITE OF MALCOLM X  The site has everything you want to know about this historical figure.  Read his biography and read inspirational quotes from the talented speaker.  Browse the photo gallery for pictures of Malcolm X throughout his life.  www.cmgww.com/historic/malcolm/home.php  
• FROM SLAVERY TO CIVIL RIGHTS: A TIMELINE OF AFRICAN-AMERICAN HISTORY  Contains hundreds of items documenting African-American history.  The “For Teachers” links will help you extend this activity for your students.  Included are links to specific collections or exhibits as well as links to several excellent resources.  http://memory.loc.gov/learn/features/civilrights

In addition,  THE US GOVERNMENT’S OFFICIAL WEB SEARCH SITE:  Official information and services from the US government.  Whatever you want or need from the US government, it’s here on USA.gov.  You’ll find a rich treasure of online information, services and resources.  http://usasearch.gov

source: EduHound Weekly Newsletter, a FREE educational newsletter. www.eduhound.com

tutoring in Columbus OH:   Adrienne Edwards   614-579-6021   or email  aedwardstutor@columbus.rr.com

+ Online Book: Thriving in Middle School

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Joe Bruzzese, in his blog at www.thinking-forward.com , notes that he’s trying  something new in the New Year. He will reserve Thursdays for posts about thriving in middle school.

Visit his blog for information about education, goal setting, middle school, high school, mentors, parenting and much much more.

He has created an 11-page downloadable book about succeeding in middle school.  Confidence, connection and challenge, he says,  are the three C’s that lead parents and kids past survival mode and into a thriving mindset.

Bruzzese writes:

Saying Goodbye to Sundaes, tells a story about thriving in middle school. You can download it here as a free ebook.

When asked, most people believe confidence comes from succeeding in the face of challenge. It’s our belief about the potential for success in the future. The more often we succeed the greater our confidence grows.

Scoring high on a test, project or assignment begins to instill confidence in the young adolescent mind. The more often they achieve at a high level the greater belief (confidence) they have for similar results in the future.

The opposite is also true. If I score low on the first few attempts my belief system swings towards the negative. Comments like, “It doesn’t make a difference how long I study I still won’t get it,” or “This class is too hard for me” can be indicators that your child’s confidence is sliding.

Academics comprise only a small portion of the confidence picture. Peers have an equal if not greater effect on confidence. Self-esteem or self confidence can take a beating during the middle school years. Physical and emotional changes leave kids vulnerable.

Peer groups should offer positive support. Check in with your child. Does she talk favorably about her friends? Or is there constant drama?

How can you help?

1. On the academic front, stay in continued contact with your child’s teachers. If progress stops ask how you can help. Teachers are available for extra help when students who want to achieve.
2. Before self esteem becomes an issue look for people and places that will bolster confidence. After school activities and school sponsored clubs often draw kids with similar interests. Finding a supportive peer group helps to limit attacks on your child’s self esteem.

source: Joe Bruzzese’s blog at www.thinking-forward.com

tutoring in Columbus OH:   Adrienne Edwards   614-579-6021   or email  aedwardstutor@columbus.rr.com

+ Can Juggling Help You Learn/Test Better?

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Some PE teachers in South Carolina began teaching juggling about 10 years ago.  Over time, scientific research has shown more and more educational benefits of the activity.  According to research, the benefits of juggling can last for weeks, say teachers at Brennan Elementary.  It also increases the grey matter in your brain.  Susan Jordan, a teacher, says that juggling engages both sides of the brain — which control different functions — and primes students for academic performance. 

Jan Scott, a physical education teacher at Brennan, tells her fourth grade classes, “If you juggle in the few weeks before you take tests, it will help your scores.”

Koosh balls and a confetti of scarves arced through the air as students prepped for their biggest week of testing.  Journalist Lisa Michaels writes about watching Clifton, an 11-year old.  “It helps your brain get motivated because it’s about concentration,” he told her.  Daisha, 10, said, “I loosen up and let go of stress.”

Daisha followed the juggling steps posted on the wall.  First, she tossed a scarf up several times from one hand, then the other.  After that, she moved to tossing the scarf up and clapping while it was in the air.  Eventually she added another scarf, and another.  Finally, she moved to juggling balls.

Regular juggling during a three month period proved to increase brain gray matter, according to a 2004 study in the journal Nature. 

But it’s more than brain science, sometimes.  Teachers say the act of juggling also introduces mathematics and physics concepts!  And the students gain self esteem as well.

sole source: article by Lisa Michaels, www.thestate.com, “South Carolina’s Home Page”, 5/5/07

tutoring in Columbus OH:   Adrienne Edwards   614-579-6021   or       aedwardstutor@columbus.rr.com