College Shopping Sheet

This post is probably more for the seniors than anyone else, but it wouldn't hurt for the sophomores to look as well.  This article from the U.S. Department of Education contains some useful links toward the end related to college cost, etc.  One of the links in the article allows you see how much a school costs, how many of their students typically graduate, how many former students aren't able to pay back their student loans, etc.

Is What You Are Reading Online True?

Do you ever wonder if what you are reading online is true?  If not, you might want to ask yourself that question the next time you are faced with a story which seems a bit too extraordinary.  In this article from the New York Times, the author discusses how some of the stories which go viral are simply that - creative stories.

The next time you read something which seems too good to be true, remember it might be.

Freshen Up Your Notes With Classmint

Classmint is a website designed to help create flashcards which can be used as a study tool.  The flashcards can be annotated, pictures can be added, and audio can even be included.  If you are a person who likes to study using flashcards (you Spanish students know who you are), this might be a good website to visit.

Do You Have Time for a School Lunch?

How much time should students have to eat lunch?  This isn't a question I have ever considered because I have always worked at VB and the length of the lunch period has always been a half hour.  In this article from NPR, the author discusses how much time students should get and how much time they are actually getting.

I would be interested to know how students feel about this topic.  As a teacher and former cafeteria monitor, I have always believed that less time in the cafeteria forced students to spend their time eating, not screwing around.  Regardless of how you feel, it is an interesting article on a topic I wouldn't usually stop to consider.

White House Film Festival

How do you use technology in school? That is the question the U.S. government is asking, and they want students to create videos containing their answers.  Watch the video explaining the contest here, and let me know if I can help in any way.  Who knows - you might find yourself heading to the White House to watch your video with the President of the United States!

Identifying Word Repetition in Writing

Ah, writing - some view it as a great opportunity to share their thoughts, while others view it as being the last activity in which they'd like to participate during their time on Earth.  Either way, having to write is a fact of life while in high school.  If you have to do it, you might as well do it well, right?  A website which might help you do that is wordcounter.com.  This website doesn't simply count the number of words you have written; it identifies how many times a word appears in your writing.  If you are a person who uses the same words repeatedly in your writing, this would be a good tool to help you identify where you can add variety to your word choices.

The next time you have to write for this class or any other, use this tool to make sure you are providing the type of word variety your readers (i.e. teachers) desire.

Happy writing!

A Cool App Called Stitcher

Podcasting is a world I haven't explored too much yet, but the more I learn about it, the more I like it. An app I found which makes it really easy to find podcasts on a variety of topics is Stitcher.  Available either online or at the Google Play store (I'm not sure if it is available on iOs, so let me know if you look for it for your iPhone),  this app will allow you to search for podcasts which interest you, and you'll probably find some on topics about which you have never thought before.  I'm now following podcasts about educational technology, but I'm also following some on writing and baseball.

Later this year I am hoping that all of my classes will be creating podcasts,  and Stitcher might let you get your feet wet with podcasts before you create your own.

Have a happy Thanksgiving, and I'll see you next week.

Finding Balance Between Work and School

Should high school students have jobs to earn money for college, a car, etc., or should they only focus on school work during their high school years?  This is a question I have heard many students considering over the years, and an article from The College Board discussing this idea might be useful to any students who are either considering or have a part-time job.

I did have a part-time job in high school working for an appliance repairman who was my neighbor, and I learned some useful skills which have allowed me to fix my dryer and other appliances over the years.  Thankfully, my neighbor was very flexible with my hours, so I didn't work as much during the school year as I did during the summer.  This made it much easier to balance my school work with my job, but that is a luxury I know few students have today since many of them are working for large corporations like McDonalds and American Eagle. 

Ultimately, I encourage you to read the article and consider some of the points it is making to ensure your experience with a part-time job is as positive as it can be.

Digital Responsibility

Who is responsible for what students are doing digitally?   According to an article found on the Edutopia website, it is starting to become practice for schools to hire companies to watch what their students are doing while using technology.  Is this okay?   I'm interested to know what you think.

A Great Way to Keep Your Favorite Sites in One Place

As you have probably discovered so far this year, I like students to be using their netbooks on a daily basis.  As a result, it might be difficult at times to keep track of all of the websites (textbook, Moodle, Edmodo, etc.) you need to visit.  If that has been a problem for you and you didn't take advantage of it earlier in the year, this might be a good time to revisit Symbaloo EDU.  This free site will allow you to keep the sites you use most all in one place so you don't have to remember all of the addresses.  Using Symbaloo is also better than using the Favorites button in your browser because the web-based platform allows for access from any computer which has Internet access.  It might also be useful in any classes where you are doing research online as you can save the web addresses and access them from anywhere.

I have been using it since last year (thanks, Mrs. Teaman), and I encourage you to use it in whatever way it might work best for you.

Did Shakespeare Really Write Shakespeare?

As we read The Tragedy of Macbeth, King Lear, and The Tragedy of Julius Caesar in my English classes, I think it is appropriate for me to bring up an issue that has been in the news for a long time - did Shakespeare actually write everything which is attributed to him?  If you are interested in doing more exploration on the subject, go to the Shakespeare Resource Center.  Once on the page you will find information about the men who some think actually wrote what is attributed to Shakespeare, and you will also find many articles which further explore the subject.

If you find anything really interesting, don't be afraid to share your findings in class or on your own blog.

Following Blogs Which Interest You

Hopefully by the time you read this post (specifically, my students), you will have become comfortable with writing your own blog posts, but what is the fun of blogging if all you ever do is write your own posts?  Part of the fun of blogging is learning about what interests you.  One way to do that is to visit Feedly.com, set up an account, and begin exploring what blog options there are out there.  Are you interested in baseball?  Great, find a blog which focuses on baseball.  Are you interested in cooking, horses, or books? Search for blogs on those topics, start learning, and, ideally, start making your own contributions to those blogs through your comments and questions.

If you run into any problems, let me know because I want your blogging experience to be as user-friendly as possible.

NOTE:  Keep in mind that as you become more and more active as a blogger, you need to protect yourself.  Do not ever include any of your personal information (your name, username, password, e-mail address, home address, phone number, school name, city, country, etc.) in any of your blog posts.  If you ever find inappropriate content on someone else's blog or if someone leaves you an inappropriate comment, report it to your teacher immediately.  Also keep in mind that you are responsible for making posts which include appropriate language; even though you are, in a sense, anonymous online, you are still responsible for the content you post.

A New Look at Note-Taking

Hello, everyone looking at this page.

I have made a recent discovery that challenges everything I have done in my classroom for the last sixteen years.  In the past when I saw a student doodling or drawing in my classroom, I assumed the student was not paying attention.  If I didn't directly call the student out from the front of the classroom, I would at least walk over to the student and quietly point out that he/she was not paying attention to what was being taught.  Of course, if the student made any type of objection, I wouldn't be listening because I knew, from my experience as a student, that if a student was drawing, he/she was not paying attention.

Well, I just watched a video that might have blown everything I have ever known out of the water.  In a Ted Talk video featuring Rachel Smith (click to view video), she discusses how students can effectively take notes using a combination of drawings and words.  While this might not be the perfect note-taking tool in every situation, it might help students who are more artistically inclined or those who have struggled with traditional note-taking styles such as Cornell notes.  Will these work for everyone?  Probably not, but I wanted to share this so those it might help can start taking advantage of this opportunity.

If any of my students have additional questions about this note-taking tool, please let me know.