Learning How Technology Uses You

An Associated Press article reports that the "social media blackout" at a small Pennsylvania college won over skeptics, with many students reporting better classroom concentration and less stress during the weeklong experiment.

Less stress.

Only twenty-three percent of students approved before the blackout which temporarily blocked sites like Twitter and Facebook on campus. Forty-two percent of students ended up supporting the exercise. Provost Eric Darr told the AP,"Even though people initially were angry -- even the most cranky student had to admit some good came out of it."

The lesson, once again, seems to be: we will either learn to properly use technology or we will be used by it.

Net Gains

What is Blogging?

Blogging is online journal writing. The word is a combination of "web" and "log."

What is Blogger?

Blogger.com is one of several popular websites that facilitate blogging.

What is FeedBurner?

FeedBurner -- now part of the Google domain -- is about "measuring, managing, and monetizing" blogs and other syndicated content. It's a single application in which a blog can be distributed in real-time to a number of endpoints.

Three Excellent Education Blogs

TWO CENTS WORTH

David Warlick says his site is "a diary of my greater mind, my experiences, observations, and reflections, mixed in with the responses of an eclectic community of readers — who are often the smarter part of me." A wide variety of teaching topics are covered. The archives date back to 2007 and include such titles as 10 Ways to Promote Learning Lifestyle in Your School, A New Kind of Math and Technology & Teaching.

RECORDED BOOKS K-12

This is a blog by audiobook publisher, Recorded Books. There are informative articles and lots of links to multimedia. It features plenty of free downloads for teachers, including audio book excerpts and lesson plans.

REFLECTIONS FROM THE TRENCHES

Julia Osteen, a teacher from Norcross, GA. is the blogger. She is a Junior High language arts teacher and a Technology Instructional Lead Teacher at Greater Atlanta Christian School. Reflections from the Trenches is filled with articles about integrating technology into the classroom. The writing is excellent and the ideas and observations are superb.

Power Up with these
Technology Resource Assistance Links

• TechGrants is a program of the TechFoundation that provides nonprofits with access to capital for technology needs.
  
  
• Computers For Learning transfers excess government computer equipment to schools and educational organizations. Federal agencies use the CFL website to distribute computers at no cost to recipients.
  
  
• The Computer Recycling Center recycles used computers and donates them to public schools, teachers, and community nonprofits through their Computers and Education program.
  
  
• The Community Technology Empowerment Project bridges the “digital divide” for new Immigrants and low-income communities in Minneapolis and St. Paul. AmeriCorps members help youth and adults use technology to better access social, civic, educational and economic opportunities.
  

MFT Tentative Deal

Leaders of the Minneapolis teachers union and school district are finally prepared to vote on a tentative agreement for a new teachers contract. Negotiations have dragged on for a year and a half.


The teachers and the school board are expected to vote on the proposed contract in January. The deal would cover the previous and current school years, and would expire this summer.

RHEE - VOLUTION

"Education should be about the students. Their needs should come before the demands of special interests and big bureaucracies. Students First will work on behalf of the children, not the adults."

-- Michelle Rhee


Former D.C. schools chief Michelle Rhee has launched a nonpartisan group that she says will advocate for reform of the sort that was applauded in the documentary Waiting for Superman. With an appearance on “The Oprah Winfrey Show” and a column in Newsweek magazine, Rhee announced the creation of Students First, a 501(c)4 group that will value students above all else. Rhee estimates her revolution will require a billion dollars.

Learn more: www.studentsfirst.org

Initiative on Latino Education

President Obama signed an executive order Tuesday intended to boost Hispanic education achievement.
The measure is intended to widen the scope of a long-standing White House initiative on Latino education by increasing partnerships with the private sector and soliciting more input from the community. The objective is to focus on the educational challenges faced by the Hispanic community in order to increase enrollment and outcomes.
"This is not just a Latino problem. This is an American problem. We've got to solve it," the president said. "Because if we allow these trends to continue, it won't just be one community that falls behind. We will all fall behind together."

America's Education Moment

With the White House pushing its Race to the Top initiative, and Davis Guggenheim's Waiting for "Superman" sparking a national conversation about our public schools, America is having an Education Moment.

As a result Huffington Post has established an important new education section to their website: HuffPost Education. Guggenheim's "take action" site is also worth a look.