A Free Resource : A Must For Media Centers and Science Departments

Welcome to another mid-week post that allows me to share what I claim to be “Great Web Catches”. Explore this review of The Encyclopedia Of Life. It is a resource that should be known by every science teacher and available in every media center. Encourage students to explore what will eventual be a  amazing resource of biodiversity and  of all life on earth. – Mike (mgorman@sacs.k12.in.us)

Imagine a database filled with all the Earth’s living organisms! A site that allows students to search by common or scientific name, shows a text  and graphic  illustration of specific classification, provides “creative commons” pictures,  and displays interactive maps of distribution. In fact, complete detailed physical and behavioral descriptions are included, along with habitats, distribution,  trophic strategies, conservation status, usefulnessand associations. EOL known as The Encyclopedia of Life is an unprecedented global partnership between the scientific community and the general public. The goals of the organization is to make  freely available an online reference and database of all 1.9 million species currently known to science and stay current by capturing information on newly discovered and formally described species. The EOL steering committee consists of  senior advisors from Harvard University, Smithsonian Institution, the Field Museum of Chicago, the Marine Biological Conservatory at Woods Hole, the Biodiversity Heritage Libary Consortium, Missouri Botanical Gardens, MacArthur and Sloan Foundations, and over 25 content providers worldwide. There is an excellent web page tutorial providing assistance on how to use the interface and the species pages. The site has even been featured  in this TED Video by site  founder E. O. Wilson of Harvard University. EOL is well on its way of reaching the 1.9 million species listing.

EOL has  also recently launched an exciting education site for teachers and students to explore biodiversity. Some activites include having middle and high school students upload pictures of their area floral fauna and upload images and video to the EOL Flickr Photo Pool. EOL  runs regular image contests, so you can use the contest as extra motivation for your class. Perhaps you may wish to introduce elementary and middle school students to the  Podcast of Life: lively, you-are-there audio segments showcasing science in action. Beginning December 17, 2009, you can download the podcasts.  New podcasts will appear every other week. Learn how middle and high school students can enter the Living on the Ocean Planet Video Contest sponsored by the US-based National Ocean Sciences Bowl. EOL content and images can be used for these and other class projects and winning videos will be posted on EOL. Explore the new EOL NameLink widget to automatically hyperlink species names in any web page to EOL. NameLink will also convert scientific names to common names. To install the widget, drag this link (NameLink this page) to the bookmark bar in your browser (or right-click and add it to your favorites). Elementary and middle school students may wish to Dive into Marine Biology with WhyReef. Developed by EOL cornerstone institution,  The Field Museum in Chicago, in conjunction with the social networking site WhyVille. WhyReef is a virtual coral reef stocked with species that are linked to content on EOL. Have students find out about classification and taxonomy by exploring species’ “family trees” using the classification browser located in the upper right  hand side of every EOL species page. Click here for a lesson plan developed by a teacher using this feature. Have students Explore primary biodiversity literature and illustrations from the Biodiversity Heritage Library (BHL) that are linked to the species pages.  EOL is an awesome project with even bigger possibilities for today’s twenty-first century learners, and it’s free! - Mike (mgorman@sacs.k12.in.us)

It’s Free, Engaging, Creative, and Project Based : Make or Take A Virtual Fieldtrip or Book Review and “Meet Me At The Corner”

Wow, what a response I recieved on both the Blog and Wiki on the Intel free resources for assessing 21st Century skills. If you liked that, I promise you will enjoy some upcoming postings on simular materials. This new posting has been designed to get the right side of your brain flowing by introducing you to a creative site designed to engage students. It also addresses standards, promotes Project Based Learning, and enhances 21st Century Skills. I reccomend you take a look at the my review, and the site. I am certain it will bring you to an amazing corner that has been produced especially for students. As always feel free to respond, email ,and visit my 21centyredtech Wiki. In fact, take a moment and join! – Mike (mgorman@sacs.k12.in.us)

Every once and a while I am introduced to a truely unique and innovative site that has great implications for 21st century learning. The most recent site that fits this bill is one called Meet Me At The Corner. The site is dynamic and interactive, encouraging  individual expression and participation through video submissions from children worldwide. Donna Guthrie, the website producer, is committed to creating a community of children, who learn the art of self-expression and storytelling through video. Guthrie is not new to education. She is the author of more than twenty award-winning books for children. Donna has also taught kindergarten through fifth grade in both public and private schools in Pennsylvania and Colorado and is a visiting professor at Colorado College where she teaches children’s writing.

The website focus is geared toward  students and standards  in elementary and middle school. At present time, Meet Me At The Corner has a collection of close to one hundred  short virtual fieldtrip episodes  hosted by students and filmed on location.  The episodes are written and video is filmed by students. The footage is then sent to Meet Me At The Corner, and Donns’s crew edits and posts a final production that is truely professional and engaging for students. In keeping with educational standards, each episode has a related material that has questions to answer from the video, creative activities,  weblinks that focus on the topic, and possible books for reading. Topics are fund and of high interest. One interesting example includes  juggling from an expert in Brooklyn, be sure to scroll down below the video to see resources to integrate. How about this interview with an astronomer in San Diego? The episode and related resources could most certainly take care of some science standards. Write and submit a fieldtrip, and some of the language arts standards are covered. If students collaborate as a group on a project, then those all important 21st Century Skills can also be addressed. Take a moment and have students explore and uncover their community resources. Perhaps your students will find an author such as Robert Sabuda, a famous pop-up book engineer and artist, and create an episode like this  for an authentic audience to watch. Even more resources and information is found at the Learning Corner.

Don’ pass by the Contest Area of the website. Here you will find contests related to current events such as Arbor Day, the holidays, and an on-going writing and poetry contest. This inspiring episode  entitled Paws For Poetry sponsored by the New York Humane Society and Meet Me At The Corner should spark some great ideas. It may even get your school community thinking about possible partners. When visiting the Episode Page you can serach for videos by topic. My favorite topic is the  Big Apple Book Review. This area contains a small collection of books of elementary and middle school books reviewed by students and then produced by Meet Me At The Corner staff. While the collection is small, it provides a great opportunity for students to submit a favorite book and build the collection. Students get a chance to learn the difference between a report and a review. They can work in groups enhancing Project Based Learning as they aquire a wide range of 21st century skills. You will note that only first names are used in the productions. Take a look at this Video Episode that shows how to submit a video podcast for final editing and posting by Meet Me At The Corner staff.

In conclusion, be sure to read the User Agreement on the website  and also check you school district policy on submitting student work. It is important to be aware and abide by policies and procedures both at the site and in your school district. The site has a designated area to sign up and read more about submitting student work. Meet Me At The Corner really does  provide students with some amazing, engaging, and relevant resources. It also invites teachers and  students to become contributing members.  I know the teachers I have already presented the site to have walked away with enthusiasm and excitement. Perhaps you will, Meet Us At The Corner!

Have a wonderful week and continue to visit my partner 21centuryedtech Wiki! I am constantly adding resources that I feel are the best for 21st Century educators as they transform instruction in their classroom! While you are at the sight, take a moment to join and become part of a new community of educators! – Mike (mgorman@sacs.k12.in.us)

Free And Engaging Resources At Smithsonian Website – Podcasts, Simulations, Lessons, Oh My!

Smithsonian Education – If you have been to the Smithsonian in Washington DC you may have been overwhelmed by its size! I guarantee you will be equally impressed with its website. In this review I will cover the area of the Smithsonian Website geared for educators. From the Education Page there are many options including Art and Design, Science and Technology, History and Culture, along with Language Arts. Take a moment and look at the unique lessons provided in each of the areas. Such interesting titles as Making Friends with Franklin , Every Picture Has a Story , How Size Shapes Animals, and What the Limits Are , and The Music in Poetry are just four selections in a large collection of lessons and projects. Easy to use data bases allow teachers to access more than 1,500 rich Smithsonian educational resources and align with grade, subject and specific state standards. The Smithsonian’s new student web links has a wide range of activities, web sites, puzzles, hand outs, and engaging facts. The Idea Lab is filled with interactive activities, videos, and simulations involving the massive Smithsonian collection. Smithsonian in Your Classroom Magazine includes lesson plans based on primary sources you can view. In keeping with the spirit of Heritage Months, the Smnithsonian offers these thematically arranged teaching resources from across the Smithsonian. The resources have been selected for their relevance to classroom curriculum and national education standards. They include Black History, Asian Pacific Americans, American Indian Heritage, Women’s History, and Hispanic Heritage. There are even lessons about podcasts in the classroom. In the spirit of virtual field trips there are live and archived conferences that allows kids to interact, view sessions, watch a multi media event, and even ask a curator. The Smithsonian is a great resources, its yours, and its free. Bring its national treasures, collections and resources into your classroom today!

It’s Free – Intel Provides An Amazing Tool To Assess 21st Century Skills

 

“The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn.” – Alvin Toffler an American futurist.

This quote found on the front page of the Intel’s Assessing Project Tool web site gives a foundation  and premise for Intel’s  free educational resource . For those trying to assess 21century skills, this site provides some practical tools and resources to answer this question. Not only does Intel provide a unique interface to construct a rubric, it includes theory, rational, best practices, and outstanding examples. It is more then an assessment tool, if used correctly it allows teacher’s to truely transform their practice using a planning process that starts with the end and involves on-going assessment. Please take a moment to read over my review and explore the links that will highlight some of the outstanding attitibutes of this site. As always, take a moment to visit my 21centuryedtech Wiki .  If you have 21century skill assessment practices to share please post a reply or send an email. I enjoy reading and make it a practice to answer each and every e-mail. – Mike (mgorman@sacs.k12.in.us)

The biggest question I get from teachers when conducting workshops on technology integration and 21st century skills remains, “How do you assess the 21st century skills?”  While it is important to make sure content standards are integrated and assessed in student projects, many times the 21st century skills are loosely incorporated and assessed . This leaves students often confused with the attempted integration of  21st century skill, resulting in a goal never achieved. Once again, as most research suggests, it is important that all projects are designed with the end in mind. The conclusion includes both content standards, and the 21st century skills that are to be acheived by students. This end, is a part of the planning process that is communicated to students in the form of a rubric. The rubric must act as a guide while students engage with the project’s on-going process.

This preparation can be time consuming for the educator, which is why I invite you to explore Intel Education’s Assessing Projects Tool. I am a long time fan of the Intel Thinking  Tools. I am just as impressed with the Assessing  Projects Tool.  Intel states, “When assessment drives instruction, students learn more and become more confident, self-directed learners. Assessing Projects helps teachers create assessments that address 21st century skills and provides strategies to make assessment an integral part of their teaching and help students understand content more deeply, think at higher levels, and become self-directed learners”.

The site overview page  gives the benefits of assessing projects, numerous references and authoritive writings,  and some outstanding assessment based websites  based on 21st century education. Learn more about the purpose of assessment, various assessments that go beyond tests, papers, and oral presentations, and how formative assessment which is continuous and ongoing promotes real achievement. Additionally, while higher-order thinking such as critical thinking, creativity, problem solving, and metacognition, can be a challenge. this tool explores methods for assessing thinking. Last, this tool explores what components are necessary for successful assessment in a school.

Intel gives you the opportunity to Try It.  Here you can try a Demo to explore the Assessment Library and examine checklists, rubrics, and scoring guides on thinking skills, processes, products, and performances. There is also a video tutorial that allows you to see how features of the Assessing Projects application work in the classroom. You can also view a great animation of the process which helps simplify the process. Explore some example project assessment forms for both the elementary and secondary level. Intel states that assessment strategies can be broken into five main categories. While not all methods within a category are needed, all categories should be included in an assessment plan. The categories included are Strategies for Gauging Student Needs ,  Strategies for Encouraging Self-Direction and Collaboration,  Strategies for Monitoring Progress,  Strategies for Checking for Understanding and Encouraging Metacognition,  and Strategies for Demonstrating Understanding and Skill. There is also an area that describes the planning of assessment, the changing of assessment strategies, and some sample lesson plans complete with timeline of project, venn diagram, table, and assessment timeline. I find it useful to use the large selection of pre-made rubics and modify and save them to my Intel Work Space. From here they can be exported as a Word or Excel file.

In conclusion, Intel offers a top of the line tool that is free to educators. There are other tools which I will explore in future posts but I do suggest that anyone exploring assessment of 21st century skills take a look at the Intel Assessing Projects Tool for its ease of use, vast resources of information,  on-line productivity, and theory behind practice. While it acts as a rubric machine, it goes much farther by transtorming educational practice. Please feel free to email or post. I am interested in learning about other tools available for 21st century assessment.  While taking your journey in 21st century education, please visit my 21centuryedtech Wiki. Thanks for reading and I look forward to hearing from you – Mike (mgorman@sacs.k12.in.us)

 

The K12 Online Conference – More Then Two Weeks Of Free PD – You Set The Pace!

The K12 Online Conference , with this years theme “Bridging the Divide” is an exciting way to network and facilitate your own professional development.  The conference is free and  includes the weeks of, December 7-11 and December 14-17,  encompassing over fifty presentations. This is a conference  filled with innovative ways  to use Web 2.0 , reflect on best practices, and  learn about technologies that can be used to facilitate 21st century learning. Events and their  scheduled times  are posted ,and as an added extra, they all remain on-line to serve as an archive. In fact, an archives’ page  serves as an outstanding  permanent resouce and  includes over 122 presentations from 2008,  2007, and 2006 . Check out and join  the conference Ning to interact, and read the  conference blog  for good information. The conference wiki is a great place to get started. All of these serve as a place to  view, download, and discuss ideas from the conference. There are  also three live events presented as  “Fireside Chats” and they  are listed on the events page of the conference Ning and Facebook fan page. Live events will  even continue in 2010 through twice-monthly “K-12 Online Echo” webcasts on EdTechTalk. You can also follow the K12 Online Conference on Twitter and Facebook!  There is a great first timers page that provides some helpful information on how to get the most out of this conference. For those interested in PD credit , there is a page  that can give you more information. You can even make  one or more of the presentations a school professional development event. Get together with colleagues to view the conference sessions and discuss.  There is sure to be a session that fits your  interests and school ’s goals. Remember, the conference and all past conferences  are mostly asynchronous (not happening in real time), so you can catch up with the conference at anytime using the archives. I have included a link to different PDF files that can be printed or emailed (select the one for your time zone). Make sure you check this out and I hope to see you on the Ning! – Mike

Watch To Know – An Education Video Service – It’s Free

Tools You Can Use - WatchKnow–as in, “You watch, you know”–is a non-profit online community devoted to a goal of creating a library of  hundreds of thousands of great short videos, and other media, explaining just about every topic taught to school kids. It seems the site  is about one tenth of the way there , counting at 12,245 videos as of November 30, 2009. Upon further investigation the service allows users to review, upload, and preswentr videos from across the internet. Larry Sanger, who helped create Wikipedia and has since left that organization ,launched http://www.watchknow.org/ in October of 2009.  Sanger explains that this new site houses and organizes videos that are free and available on the internet, yet they are videos that most people may not or cannot find. The site  is funded by the Community Foundation of Northwest Mississippi. Videos include such notable productions companies such as National Geopgraphic and PBS along with lessor knowns fromm  Google Videos . There are catagories covering much of the school curriculum. Each video includes a description, rating, age level indicator, and source. Best of all most are short and allow teachers to use videos as true face to face teaching or integrated for individual and or group use. A video on the site explain about the program. The site also list various links to press releases and blogs reporting the service. Take a moment and Watch To Know!

What does the White House, County Music, President Obama, Fine Arts, Steam, Arne Duncan, STEM, and Daniel Pink have to do with 21st Century Education? – Welcome to the Future!

Nasa Historical Photograph

I have lately been  trying to write shorter blogs on a more frequent basis.  Thanks for the positive comments and emails. Your thoughts and ideas are really an inspiration. I am practicing my tweeting skills by tweeting my blog titles  and links under mjgormans. Go ahead and follow if you wish. It has already given me some great ideas for an up coming tweet blog (Do they go together?). I may have a title! This posting is a follow up of a blog I posted at the start of the 2009 school year. I have recently found some extra information on the posting “Welcome To The Future“.  Please take some time, I know if you spend a few moments with the material it will provide you with a message to share with educators and also students. As always, please visit me at the 21centuryedtech Wiki!  for even more information - Mike

I hope I was able to get you wondering about the connection between all the players in the title and 21st Century Learning.  I believe as you read you will see the connection and understand its importance. This posting has been several months in the making and contains some outstanding material for professional development. Please take a moment to  explore and reflect.

 About  three months ago I posted a country music video by singer song writer Brad Paisley. This song and video reminded me that our dreams as educators must be to protect and nuture the dreams of our students.  If you never read the posting or viewed the video I am speaking of, please take a moment from your internet browsing and enjoy. As you view the video Welcome To The Future  keep in mind the important and neccessary mission of 21st century skills and education. I have had the pleasure of sharing this with teachers and students and have always seen people walk away with excitement and  enthusiasm.

Now, the reason for my follow up. I knew the video was powerful but have since found out it made a bigger impact then what I knew at the time of my original posting. I had often wondered what singer songwriter Brad Paisely had thought as he wrote the song. He answered some of my questions in an interview held at the White House. I have included both the blog  posting and video of this White House interview and performance. It was moving to see see the performance in the formal setting  of the White House as President Obama listened, and the camera panned famous pictures such as George Washington and lyrics resonated famous people including Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks.  This amazing performance was part of the White House Performance Series ,a program developed to promote arts education. As part of this initative, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan has been in dialogue with Support Music, an organization dedicated to the promotion of music and fine arts in the nation’s schools. Take a moment to read a recent letter, listen to a conference call (mp3), or read the transcript of Secretary Duncan’s support for the Fine Arts.

This leads me to Daniel Pink , author of A Whole New Mind : Why Right Brainers Will Rule The Future. At a recent keynote, Pink eluded to the idea that STEM education must include the fine arts. Take a look at this amazing video as students use visual Thinking Strategies. These students are part of the program,  Visual Thinking Strategies, a non-profit organization that “uses art to foster kids’ capacities to observe, think, listen and communicate.”  With this in mind, listen to the  TASA 2009 Podcast that includes Pink’s thoughts on teaching to the Right Brain in education. While speaking of adding Arts to STEM, why not call it STEAM ,as proposed by the Ohio Alliance For Arts Education . Enjoy this article  filled with great reflections and resources.

I conclude this posting with one last reflection of another past post. The post referred to another musician, Tom Chapin, with a message that cannot be ignored. Chapin is also a proponent of fine arts education and promotes its neccessary place in today’s schools in order to promote 21 st century learning. I know you will want to share his music video Not on the Test with other educators.

I hope you can see that there really is a connection between the White House, STEM, Secretary Duncan, country music, fine arts, Brad Paisley, Daniel Pink, and steam. It really is a convergent of the right and left brain. It is a partnership that will develop creativity, ingenuity, problem solving, and a new way to look at the world. These are 21st century skills, the very skills our students will need to seek their dreams and continue our dreams. It truely is an amazing “Welcome To The Future”!

I invite you to email, comment, and as always visit the 21centuryedtech Wiki. I also invite you to download  my Welcome_to_the_Future  Document. I put together for teachers who may wish to have their students study the video Welcome To The Future. It contains standards that cover writing, film making, and social studies. I look forward to hearing from you . As always thank you joining me as I reflect  upon and dream about a 21st century educational sysytem that will make a difference for the future of our students!

- Mike (mgorman@sacs.k12.in.us)

Edublog Awards 2009 – A Way To Thank An Education Blogger!

This midweek posting has been published to make you aware of the Edublog Awards for 2009. I have included my blog nominations and invite you to visit the sites posted below that are rich in resources and reflections. Perhaps you have a nomination. If so, Click on the Edublog Award 2009 Link  for more information. As always, please feel free to visit the 21centuryedtech Wiki and enjoy the valuable links I have provided in my nominations. Have a great week and enjoy the resources! – Mike

I have now been officially blogging and posting a wiki for four months. Thanks for your comments, your bookmarks, your subscriptions to the blog, and your memberships on the wiki. The wiki alone has had over 7000 visites in this short period of time. I have become a great fan of blogs and wikis and have prepared my list for the Edublog Awards2 2009. I did not nominate every category because I have not investigated all of the areas. It was hard for me to select nominations because there are so many oustanding authors of blogs and wikis on the web. Some of my picks are based on listening  to individuals at conferences and then visiting their blog.

 I just want to thank all the authors of wiki’s and blogs for their hard work at providing information that benefits students and teachers everyday. If you wish to nominate an author of a wiki or blog please visit Edublog Awards 2009 !  The nomination period runs until December 8, 2009.

Categories include ; Best individual blog, Best individual tweeter, Best group blog, Best new blog, Best class blog, Best student blog, Best resource sharing blog, Most influential blog post, Most influential tweet / series of tweets / tweet based discussion, Best teacher blog, Best librarian / library blog, Best educational tech support blog, Best elearning / corporate education blog, Best educational use of audio, Best educational use of video / visual, Best educational wiki, Best educational use of a social networking service, Best educational use of a virtual world, Lifetime achievement.

The time you take nominating will be appreciated by all of those people who spend hours  researching and bring ing great ideas to all of  us everyday!  It really is a great way to say, thank you! Below you will find my attempt at  selecting my nominations. Take a moment to visit these outstanding links for some great resources and reflections. Also, I will be creating a blogroll on the 21centuryedtech Wiki. If you know of , or author, an outstanding blog or wiki please let me know so I can include it on the Wiki. Feel free to visit the 21centuryedtech Wiki  for some great information and resources, and as always as always, thanks for reading! – Mike

 

Best Teacher Blog – Cool Cat Teacher  by Viki Davis -  http://coolcatteacher.blogspot.com

Best Tech Support  Blog – KaffeeLatch by Kathy Schrock - http://kathyschrock.net/blog

Best Individual Blog – The Power Of Educational Technology – Liz Davis –  http://edtechpower.blogspot.com

Best Library Blog – Never Ending Search – Joyce Valenza – http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/blog/1340000334.html

Best New Blog – Angela Maiers Education – Angela Maier – http://www.angelamaiers.com

Best Education Use Of A Virtual World – Oh! VirtualLearning - Scott Merrick – http://scottsecondlife.blogspot.com

Lifetime Achievement - Dangerously Irrelevant – Scott McLeod – http://www.dangerouslyirrelevant.org/top_posts.html

Best Resources Sharing Blog – Free Technology For Teachers – Richard Byrne – http://www.freetech4teachers.com/

Thursday’s Thanksgiving; Time To Think Technology, Turkey, Thankfulness

Photographer: Ian Britton Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License, FreeFoto 9906-00-0 9906-09-0

First,  I wish you the best during the upcoming holidays! The last series of postings have been a little deep, big world, reflective, and filled with transformational ideas. I thought it was time to have some fun with the upcoming holiday. This posting is dedicated to all of those educators wanting to prepare an educational activity this week and cook up a feast of activities that is properly stuffed with relevancy and technology. It is my hope that all walk away full, but still able to save room for some inspiring, reflective, and practical ideas in the upcoming week! As always feel free to visit the 21centuryedtech Wiki .  Happy Thanksgiving! – Mike

What is more relevant than an upcoming holiday? In the United States most schools will have a short three day week followed by Turkey, Family, Friends,  Football, and the United States’ biggest shopping day. This posting is dedicated to the three days preceding the celebration. I would like to start with a Scholastic site entitled The First Thanksgiving. At this site you can take the tour of the ship. Students can beef up (turkey doesn’t work) on standards covering compare and contrast as they dig into an activity on daily life of Wampamoag People and the Pilgrims. Have students take a webquest that allows them to learn about the first Thanksgiving, or watch a slide show about the very first meal. You may want students to participate using this Thanksgiving Fact Hunt, a reader’s theater,  or with these letters from history.

Perhaps you would like your students to visit the Plimoth Colony Web Site. At this site you can discover an awesome timeline of events. There is also an  investigation unit involving Thansgiving. The Plymouth Colony Archive Project is an award winning site that even contains a search engine for the site. Your students may be interested in The True Story of  the First Thanksgiving from Muse Magazine (Publishers of the Smithsonian).  Are you teaching primary resources? Did you know there are only two primary resources relating to that first Thanksgiving? Be sure to visit Pilgrim Hall Museum to explore these resources from Edward Winlsow and William Bradford. The Museum’s reading on the Pilgrim’s Story and Beyond The Pilgrim’s Story have excellent information from the original Mayflower Compact text to provisions suggested for the voyage. For ideas on being accurate and politicaly correct about teaching Thanksgiving be sure to read Are You Teaching The Real Story of the First Thanksgiving”?  found at Education World. This Native American site for Kids gives more information about the Wampanoag people. 

For those who enjoy short videos, check out films from the History Channel including videos on history, football, parades and floats, and turkey facts! The History Channel also provides some great Thanksgiving Day Facts. The data could be incorporated into spreadsheets or graphs, or just lead students to search for more information. Don’t miss the links on the left side of the History Channel Fact Page. You will not find a better place to check out Thanksgiving Day statistical facts than the US Census  site devoted to Thanksgiving. Not to be outdone, the US Labor Depoartment has their very own site. If you visit NOAA you can put Thanksgiving in their search box and get links to a feast of statistical weather data.  The website Infoplease gives out more great facts about the almost national bird, the Turkey.

How about trying a Thanksgiving Memory Game, or perhaps Guess The Turkey. Microsoft offers a free online and downloadable game called Harvest Bejeweled . If you wish to test that all important Thanksgiving trivia , check out this quiz with answers from the Indianapolis Examiner. I gurantee you will find interesting information you never knew. I realize this is but a small collection of the material on the net, but I hope it is enough to fill you up for a while. This posting will reside in a new category called Seasonal Resources on the 21stcenturyedtech Wiki. Please visit the wiki if you have not! You’ll find a feast of 21st Century educational resources with technology as the main dish.

 As I close this weeks posting I want to express my thanks to all of those readers who come to one of these two sites each week. I also wish to thank those who have joined the Wiki, sent email, and posted comments. I am thankful for the people who have attended my sessions at various conferences across the nation along with the people and organizations who have allowed me to present. Please keep reading, networking, and advocating for the 211st Century transformation necessary to get our students ready for their futures. Enjoy the family, friends, and festivities of the upcoming hioliday and take a moment to reflect and show thanks. I look forward to your future visits and promise you helpings of some great desserts in future postings!  Have a wonderful Thanksgiving,

- Mike

It’s not the Technology. It’s the Culture of Learning!

I have the honor of joining a panel discussion and presenting at the CELL educational transformation conference in Indianapolis on November 16 and 17. I will be blogging about the unique and innovative concepts talked about at this conference.  This posting reflects on my first formal experience with PBL two years ago as I encountered educators and students at the New Tech High Schools in Napa Valley and Sacramento, California. I have included links that showcase some outstanding videos on PBL and links to help you reflect. There is no way I can really relate the experience other than reiterating – it’s not the technology! I hope you enjoy my reflections and explore some of the links. Thanks for joining me once again and always feel free to join me at the 21centuryedtech Wiki. –  Mike

This week I will be attending and speaking at the CELL (Center of Excellence in  Leadership and Learning) Conference in Indianapolis, Indiana. The theme of the conference involves facilitating a collective initative by all educational stakeholders that is necessary as they face the challenge of finding tomorrow’s opportunities for today’s students. This conference will attract nearly one thousand diverse individuals over a two day period (Nov 16-17) in downtown Indianapolis. It is  sponsored  by CELL which is located at the University of Indianapolis. CELL’s efforts are rooted in the vision that all students, regardless of background, should graduate from high school prepared for postsecondary education, training, and success in the 21st-Century global economy. With primary funding from the Lilly Endowment Inc., CELL has leveraged resources to unite schools, communities and businesses to make substantial, sustainable, statewide education change to improve academic success for students.

My first encounter with CELL occured when I was investigating the  New Tech Network , an organization which initally started in 1996 as the New Tech High School of Napa Valley, California. It later partnered with the Gates Foundation and set out on a mission to replicate the Napa pilot throughout the nation. There are now 41 schools located in nine states serving over 8500 students across the nation. New Tech states that its goal is to “help schools fundamentally rethink teaching and learning, empowering students to become the creators, leaders, and producers of tomorrow.”  New Tech incoporates three key concepts. First they promote  “a new instructional approach that engages learners”. New Tech incorporates project-based learning (PBL) as the center of the instructional approach. PBL is facilitated by  technology and student inquiry to engage learners with issues and questions that are relevant. Teachers design rigorous projects tied to state standards and customized to local community and student interests. Students collaborate in teams to acquire and apply knowledge and skills to solve problems.  Next, ” New Tech builds “a culture that empowers students and teachers”. It is trust, respect, and responsibility that become the center of the learning culture.  Students are put in charge of their own learning, becoming self-directed learners, while teachers are given the administrative support and resources to assist students in this realization. Last, New Tech maintains that “integrated use of technology”  is essential for 21st Century education. In a New Tech school the smart  use of technology supports an innovative emphasis promoting unique instruction and a powerful classroom culture. Take a moment to view these videos  found on the New Tech site involving  small school projects and learning through projects. It will help you get a better understanding of project based learning at New Tech. These videos  could be used as a great conversation starter with educators contemplating the use of project based learning in any school or district. 

When making that first trip to New Tech almost two years ago, I was prepared to walk into a building where technology was at the center, driving a powerful and cutting edge learning atmosphere. It didn’t take long for me to realize that technology was not the center, the students really were. New Tech created a powerful learning  culture with students owning and directing their education and the shared learning community. Problem solving, intrinsic  motivation, collaboration, and engagement were all central themes. Technology was a somewhat invisible, yet powerful force, facilitating a synergistic environment. It was amazing to hear high school students talk with the same pride and enthusiasm for their school  and learning as one might often hear in a first grade classroom. I left both Napa and Sacramento with a new belief in PBL and technology  integration, along with a real appreciation for positive and powerful student centered learning communities. If you live near a New Tech school, it is worth taking the time to visit.

Since that visit, I have become more aware of the outstanding efforts that CELL is making. Their New Tech facilitation in Indiana is just one of many outstanding services provided by CELL. The CELL web site is  filled with outstanding reflections  and research, such as an interesting  study on impact of PBL  and student achievement. I am excited to share with you in future postings  new ideas I aquire at CELL’s conference as I investigate sessions covering  STEM education, project based learning and problem based learning, 20th Century vs. 21st Century skills, community partnerships, early college, and successful transformational techniques.  I am sure that speakers such as  Uri Treisman from the the University of Texas at Austin, Michael McDowell from the New Tech Network, Tom Carroll, president of the National Commision on Teaching and America’s Future, Ken Kay, president of the Partnership For Twenty-first Century Skills, and Brad Jupp from the US Department of Education will provide much to reflect on.  I also have the honor of  contributing to a panel discussion on project based learning in the middle school and presenting a session on resources for project based learning. If you happen to be at the conference, please stop by and say hello.

In conclusion, there should be more initative toward school cultures that promote student centered learning and project based learning . While New Tech has made some inroads at the high school level, initatives at all levels is still lacking and needs to be pursued. I invite you to join my 21centuryedtech Wiki and learn about resources and programs available to students and teachers to promote 21st Century learning. I am sure that CELL will reinforce the important message I heard at NMSA last week. It really isn’t the technology, it is the culture that puts students in the center of learning.-

-Mike