FYI…If you’re in need of screen protectors, NuShield is having a promotion right now.

NuShield is also launching its annual Promotion Program that gives you an extra 10% discount on your order.  You will receive 10% OFF your order by writing NHP09 into the Customer Discount box on the NuShield cart page when placing your order. Without inserting this, you will not receive the discount and NuShield will not be able to credit the discount to you retroactively. This promotion ends January 31, 2010.

Too bad we already ordered ours…(and they’re on back order, too…rotten luck, I tell you…)

This is a great example of teacher collaboration.  Third grade teacher at Downtown Elementary, Debra Johnson, worked with our art teacher, Martha Berge, to create animal sculptures from recyclable materials.  Of course, this was done in conjunction with environmental science education in the classroom.  Students were learning about animals and their habitats, impact of humans on ecosystems, and what popular terms like “global warming” and “going green” actually mean.

I had nothing to do with the project, but I did interview the students and put the video together, and I think it’s pretty clear that students grasped many of the ecological concepts, created some fantastic art, and really enjoyed the project.  I feel that it’s a great example of teacher collaboration becoming a source for a great learning experience.

Also, this was my first Teacher Tube upload. 

Tennessee has now become part of the Diploma Project Network.  This means our state standards have been readjusted to a higher level, and our TCAP achievement test in grades 3-8 has been aligned with the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP).  Yes, if you have ever done a research project in education coursework, you might be familiar with NAEP statistics.

If you work for MCS and have not seen the MediaSite interview with John Barker that details these changes–the basic whys and hows–it’s probably a good idea to view it.  If you’re on a Mac, you’ll have to download Microsoft Silverlight to view it, but there is a button to do this on the MediaSite viewer.

So, what does this mean?  We will see a more rigorous and different test in the spring.  Ah, breathe it in.  Doesn’t change smell fresh, like laundry out of the dryer?  Also, it sort of smells like EVERYONE PANIC!  *cough*  Actually, there’s all sorts of great online resources to help us all make this transition meaningful and productive.  So, no need for panicking.  Huzzah!

First of all, this is the main deal right here.  NAEP Questions Tool v3.0 This is from the National Center for Educational Statistics, so you know they aren’t dinking around.  Over 2,000 questions are available here for the public, to be used in a multitude of ways.  Supplement classroom instruction or use the questions to learn the ways of the test yourself.  Show them to your students and parents.  The possibilities are great.

Want some more hands-on resources for the classroom?  NCES has the Kid’s Zone.  At its core, it is more of an informative site, but they have also included some useful tools.

Tools:  Provides searches for schools, libraries, and colleges.

Create a Graph:  An online graph-maker for kids (or teachers).

Dare to Compare:  A nifty test that has a clean interface with good graphics.  Also, it lets kids see how they compare to peers on a national level.

Grab Bag:  This page links to a variety of activities including quizzes, math teasers, word searches, data, and multimedia.

Chances:  This dice game shows students about probability and statistics by illustrating how increasing or decreasing the number of dice rolls affects an outcome.

As you can see, we have changes upon us, but we are not lacking in resources to help make the transition successful.

So, I found a nifty manual detailing how to do a bunch of cool stuff with LOGO. Also, I found some sort of graphics design program that came with a nifty 5 1/4″ floppy disk. Tehe. I should put up some pics to give all the kids of the 80’s a nice flashback.

It’s new and awesome.  ScatchEd has just been launched, and is a place for educators to learn how to use Scratch and how to teach Scratch.  It also allows educators to share lesson plans and activities, as well as connect with each other through forums and messages.  Think of it as the Scratch teacher hub.  It is really brand-spanking new, so if you are interested in learning Scratch to use with your students, or already using it, I would highly recommend joining.  Once more educators get involved, it will be the one-stop resource for teachers.  It’s a vibrant, well-organized site, easy to navigate, and the best part about it, in my opinion, is being able to take a peek at other members and see who they are, what they do–to know other teachers like me are using Scratch, perhaps in ways I haven’t thought of yet.  Check it out!