Thursday, January 26, 2012

Doodle 4 Google

In case you missed it, I wanted to let everyone know that Doodle 4 Google
2012 <http://www.doodle4google.com/> is off to the races so be sure to
spread the word!

As in past years, we invite student artists in grades K-12 to use their
creative imagination to redesign our logo. This year's theme is "If I could
travel in time, I'd visit..." The lucky D4G winner will not only see their
artwork on Google's homepage for one day, but they will also receive $30,000
for college and $50,000 for their school--and as an added bonus, the winning
artwork will also appear on a special edition of Crayola's iconic 64 box!

But we need your help getting the word out about this year's contest so be
sure encourage all the student artists in your life to get involved!

Cheers,

Monday, January 23, 2012

Observe the Night Skies

Curious what’s in your night sky? Check the resources from the Chicago Adler Planetariumfor some tips for sky watching. You can also share your night sky photos with Adler’s Night Sky Observation Flickr group.
Click Here to Visit Website 
Click Here to Visit Photo Gallery

NASA's Orion

NASA's Orion Spacecraft to Land in Oklahoma, Texas and Alabama

A test version of NASA's Orion spacecraft soon will make a cross-country journey, giving residents in three states the chance to see a full-scale test version of the vehicle that will take humans into deep space. 

The crew module will make stops during a trip from the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The planned stops include Jan. 24-25 at Science Museum Oklahoma in Oklahoma CityJan. 27-29 at Victory Park and the American Airlines Center in Dallas; and, Feb. 1-2 at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville, Ala. Engineers, program officials, astronauts and NASA spokespeople will be available to speak with the media and the public. 

The full-scale test vehicle was used by ground crews in advance of the launch abort system flight test that took place in New Mexico in 2010. Orion will serve as the vehicle that takes astronauts beyond low-Earth orbit, and the first orbital flight test is scheduled for 2014. 

To see photos of the pad abort test, visithttp://www.nasa.gov/exploration/systems/mpcv/gallery/abort_test/index.htm . 

For more information on the each of the sites, visit

Science Museum Oklahoma:http://www.sciencemuseumok.org

American Airlines Center: http://www.americanairlinescenter.com.

U.S. Space and Rocket Center: http://www.ussrc.com.

Thursday, January 19, 2012

Watch Freedom Riders Online for Free

Watch Freedom Riders Online for Free

The American Experience documentary Freedom Riders recently popped-up in my Netflix suggestions. That suggestion made me wonder if Freedom Riders is available for full-length viewing on the American Experience website. It turns out that it is. You can watch the nearly two-hour story of civil rights activists who in 1961 banded together to challenge segregation laws and practices in the south. 

Watch Freedom Riders on PBS. See more fromAmerican Experience.

Applications for Education 
If you do not have the time to show the entire documentary in your classroom, the American Experience/ Freedom Riderswebsite has many excerpts that you can watch. American Experience offers an extensive viewing guide for teachers to use with their students.
This post originally appeared on Free Technology for Teachers. Follow on Google+Facebook, or Twitter. 

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

continuing the conversation

My professional friend 
Bryan M. Berretta
posted this information also,

"Great video that sums it up:

We have to be mindful of the Doomsday approach to this but at the same time not dismiss it as insignificant.  I find it amusing how there have been very different approaches to it in the media.  I found it increasingly amusing that an article posted on Reuters this morning about how the Blackout was a failure because so few websites had become involved has now changed its tone:

(at 9am the article was titled: Internet blackout against U.S. law fails to enlist big sites and it is now titled Pockets of Internet go dark to protest piracy bills)"

Wednesday, January 18th

If you haven’t noticed, check out the Google logo and websites like Wikipedia and Mozilla which have gone into “Blackout Mode” for today.  It would be a great teachable moment to explain what SOPA and PIPA are and why copyright protection is so important. 

Interestingly enough, if you’re looking for information on SOPA, you can reach the Wikipedia page even though they are on Blackout (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stop_Online_Piracy_Act).

Make it Mental

PBS Kids’ first augmented-reality mobile app for iPhone and iPod Touch is a game calledFETCH! Launch Rush that aims to take the sting out of learning to do addition and subtraction mentally. In the game, the pooch Ruff Ruffman, the game-show host in the animated PBS program FETCH!, is a legendary movie director trying to make sure there’s enough sushi for his movie crew. The challenge is keeping track of how many pieces of sushi everyone wants, using augmented reality “markers” (printable handouts) that prompt activity within the app. Using 3-D imagery, the app reinforces early algebraic concepts, helping youngsters to make the connection between real objects and corresponding numeric symbols.
Click Here to Visit App Store

Monday, January 16, 2012

Present the Human Past As a Connected Story

World History for Us All is an innovative model curriculum for teaching world history in middle and high schools. World History for Us All offers a treasury of teaching unitslesson plans and resources that present the human past as a single story rather than unconnected stories of many civilizations. The curriculum enables teachers to survey world history without excluding major peoples, regions or time periods. It helps students understand the past by connecting specific subject matter to larger historical patterns. Drawing on up-to-date historical research and readily adaptable to a variety of world history programs, World History for Us All is a national collaboration of K–12 teachers, collegiate instructors and educational technology specialists. It is a project of San Diego State University in cooperation with the National Center for History in the Schools at University of California Los Angeles.
Click Here to Access Free Teaching Resources

Thursday, January 12, 2012

Take a Look at What War Has Meant for Afghans

Modern Afghanistan: Making Meaning in the Aftermath of Conflict, a new resource guidefrom Primary Source, presents activities that provide students with a deeper look at what war has meant for Afghans—how they have lived, represented events and attempted to rebuild their country. The monument of a tank in Herat with triumphant local soldiers offers a glimpse of both anti-Soviet and anti-Taliban feeling in one region of Afghanistan and calls upon us to consider what messages monuments send. The excerpts from the film Afghan Stories illustrate the political and physical challenges of building a road to ease drought and hunger in another province. The inclusion of weaponry and war motifs in women’s traditional Afghan carpets shows how violence has permeated the society and even gained its own market niche. These sources bring us closer to Afghan perspectives on events than textbooks and news stories tend to do.
Click Here to Access Free Resource Guide

Monday, January 9, 2012

Bring History into the 21st Century!

Pearson’s Games Apps for American and World History make learning history fun, quick and easy. The American History Games App includes more than 100 different games on dozens of topics, such as Roots of the American People, The American Revolution, The Civil War, Industry and Urban Growth, World War II, The Civil Rights Era and Challenges for a New Century. The World History Games App also offers students more than 100 different games covering a wide range of global history topics, including Ancient Rome and the Rise of Christianity, The Muslim World, Spread of Civilizations in East Asia, Kingdoms and Trading States of Africa, The Industrial Revolution, and World War II and Its Aftermath. With Pearson’sTest Prep Apps for both American and World History, students have access to hundreds of flashcards and quizzes designed to help them review and understand essential questions and knowledge of a lesson or chapter. Personalized feedback and remediation prepare students to succeed on their chapter, unit or end-of-course tests. For a limited time (through January 5, 2012), Pearson is offering educators promotional gift codes to preview up to four of the social studies apps. For details, visit the Pearson website and click on “Free Apps!”
Click Here to Visit Website
Plus: Pearson’s myFlashcard Maker App, for iPadiPhone and iPod Touch, lets students create their own flashcards or access hundreds of ready-made cards. With text and audio in both English and Spanish, students learn in their own way at their own pace. Activity modes include Study, Review and Quiz with immediate, personalized feedback. myFlashcard Maker Apps are available for high school (U.S. History, World History, American Government, Economics), middle school (American History, Civics, World Geography, World History) and elementary school (American History, Regions of America, Florida Social Studies). Visit the website for more information.

Monday, January 2, 2012

Bring the Bard to Life

Shakespeare In Bits, from MindConnex, brings the bard’s most popular plays to life throughanimation and audio soundtrack, presented side by side with complete, unabridged play textin a single, integrated package. In-line translations are accompanied by full study notes for every section (analyses, plot summaries, cast biographies and relationships) to help students understand and appreciate Shakespeare’s works. Presently three titles are available for downloading to an iPhoneiPadMac or PCRomeo & JulietMacbeth and A Midsummer Night’s Dream, with Hamlet coming soon. Each of the Shakespeare In Bits plays has a Lite ortrial version, which contains a few scenes from the play of your choice and delivers all the rich functionality you can expect from the full play. Shakespeare In Bits Lite can be freelydownloaded, with no purchase necessary.
Click Here for Free Trials

Sunday, January 1, 2012

Incorporate International New Year’s Traditions into the Curriculum

Based in Australia, Father Time’s Net provides links to information about New Year’straditionsrecipessongspoetrygames and more in many different countries around the world.
Click Here to Access Free Resources

Happy New Year 2012!