Along Came a Spider: News on the Web [January 2006 Archive]
Growing Young Gifted Authors in an Inner City School
by Bobbi Murphy
This article was originally published in the Fall 2005 issue of Gifted Education Press Quarterly, Manassas, Virginia.
Read the Article
Getting Virtually Fit
How can you have an online gym class? Very easily, it turns out—by having students record their time spent exercising and take tests and quizzes about health-related information online. The online gym classes, introduced in Minnesota in 2004, are also a boon for students with heavy course loads because they can get credit for their favorite out-of-school sports. It's also great for students whose favorite ways of exercising (like playing Ultimate Frisbee, fencing, or doing yoga or martial arts) aren't part of a traditional P.E. class.
abcnews.go.com/GMA/Atio/story?id=1513680
Connecting With Education
This article suggests a vision of the future of education as shaped by technology, in which students can access a range of information instantly—whenever they choose, not necessarily during a set class period. Even if classes "in real life" still exist, the writer postulates, teachers will need to adapt to students who also use technology to enrich lessons by getting additional information about lectures from the web and engaging in online discussions about course material with other students even as the teacher presents the material:
education.guardian.co.uk/elearning/comment/0,10577,1688293,00.html
And, in related news, while many still hold to traditional views of video games as mental "junk food" more and more educators are coming to feel that they may also have some redeeming content when used by teachers who are sensitive to the possible benefits of games as teaching tools for complex learning processes:
news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/4608942.stm
The Power of Positive Thinking
A recent study finds that focusing on the positive can actually improve students' classroom behavior, even in "difficult" classes. The study, conducted in the UK, found that when teachers praised students for good behavior and used punishment less frequently, the students responded: an average of 94% of pupils in praise-focused classrooms were on-task. Researchers point out that this is the same strategy used to good effect in business:
www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,591-1972306,00.html
Math-conceptions
Even gifted kids get it wrong sometimes—especially when they're learning new concepts that contradict principles they've learned to rely upon, a problem especially challenging in math classes. This article lists the top ten math misconceptions and how students develop them:
www.teachernet.gov.uk/teachers/issue42/primary/features/Mathsmisconceptions
Back to School
As concerns about teacher shortages increase, a little relief has come from an unexpected source—second-career teachers, or "career shifters" who've gone from corporation to classroom. Some of them are looking for more fulfilling careers, others may have come to ride out a slack job market and fallen in love with the work. Right now, though, these nontraditional teachers are more than welcome in school districts needing teachers, especially in areas like math and science:
www.boston.com/news/education/k_12/articles/2006/01/12/going_back_to_school
A Search For Education
That's just one of the services provided by the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development: a search service available by phone or online for answers to your most pressing educational questions. You can get a quick, free search for basic facts, or a more in-depth search available to members for free (non-members pay a fee). The services provide references to a range of quality education materials:
www.ascd.org/portal/site/ascd/menuitem.beb400d533a0188ddeb3ffdb62108a0c
Let Teachers Teach
Students aren't the only one who could learn a lesson or two from the folks at the front of the classroom—and the front lines of education reform. In the current push for changes to the educational system, some have noted that almost the only people whose opinions aren't being sought are the ones who should have the most to say: teachers. This article encourages decision makers to give a greater voice to teachers in making education policy decisions:
www.boston.com/news/education/k_12/articles/2006/01/03/bring_teachers_to_the_table
Bowling for . . . Any School?
Here's one for the strange-but-true files: bowling is becoming the nation's fastest growing varsity sport. With more kids lining up to knock down pins, bowling alleys are going out of their way to recruit younger players:
edition.cnn.com/2005/HEALTH/diet.fitness/12/29/rollingfor.bowling.ap
Too Much of a Good Thing?
Call it a Type III gone overboard: a young man from Florida recently took a journalism assignment farther than any teacher would ask, in more ways than one. For a project on immersion journalism, the young man took a trip halfway around the world—to Iraq. Fortunately, he's now headed home without incident:
www.boston.com/news/education/k_12/articles/2005/12/30/ap_us_teen_runs_off_to_iraq_by_himself/?page=1
The Power of Symbols
An old saying among soldiers runs, "No battle plan survives contact with the enemy." For teachers, the equivalent could well read, "No lesson plan survives contact with the students." That's certainly what happened to one teacher who assigned his students to make and wear Stars of David as part of an assignment on the Holocaust—and inadvertently created a conflagration of his own, when students protested wearing a symbol of a religion not their own. (Perhaps his next lesson should include the apocryphal story of King Christian X of Denmark, who was alleged to have worn the Star of David on his daily ride through the capital during the Nazi occupation!)
www.cmonitor.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051223/REPOSITORY/512230364/1031
Read an explanation of the fact and fancy of Denmark's resistance to the Third Reich here:
www.auschwitz.dk/docu/King.htm
Teaching the Big Picture
Real-world learning has long been a hallmark of the Enrichment Triad—but now others are getting into the act, with "Big Picture" schools across the country sending students out of the classroom and into the real world. Despite their name, Big Picture schools may actually also boast smaller class sizes (for the times that students are in the classroom) than traditional schools:
www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/13489816.htm
Gaming For Life
Despite attacks on the video game industry by a wide range of interest groups, more and more studies are finding that playing video games is actually good for you! In addition to the obvious applications, such as using combat-centered games to train soldiers, at least one study has found that video games also help those who heal us: surgeons who played video games were found to have better surgical skills and make fewer mistakes than those who did not:
www.usnews.com/usnews/health/articles/051226/26mind.games.htm
Learn by Playing?
With video games being a major interest among students today, some groups with an interest in educating students are joining the fray, producing games that teach students about significant world issues as part of the game's progress. Entries in this category include the United Nations' Food Force, a free download that allows children to play out realistic relief and aid missions—and has already garnered over 2.5 million downloads; the soon-to-be-released A Force More Powerful, in which players can plot peaceful coups against a dictator; America's Army, which gives players a taste of life in the armed forces; and Incident Commander, which simulates the experiences of emergency first-response teams and is used in training by many towns too small to afford large scale training. Unlike past "edutainment" efforts which sometimes meet with a lukewarm response from their target audiences, these games, which feature realistic depictions of intense situations, are attracting a growing following.
www.aforcemorepowerful.org/game/index.htm
www.food-force.com
www.americasarmy.com
Read an article about the phenomenon here:
www.usatoday.com/tech/gaming/2005-12-21-nicer-games_x.htm
Paint the School Red!
Or any other color that stirs a student's heart—that's the premise behind Publicolor, a New York City program that gives students the opportunity to enliven their schools' decor. It may sound frivolous, but administrators of schools who've used have found that it increases attendance rates and decreases discipline problems:
www.publicolor.org
Read an article about the project here:
www.boston.com/news/education/k_12/articles/2005/12/19/nyc_schools_use_paint_to_engage_students
This Is Your Brain on Google
With the rising popularity of Google and other search engines, some critics have voiced concerns that the current generation will begin to use technological tools in place of their own memories, resulting in a decline in general mnemonic skills. Those less concerned point out that Plato himself once made similar comments about an innovation of his own time: writing!
www.usatoday.com/tech/news/techinnovations/2005-12-18-google-memory_x.htm
And for those just interested in "augmenting" their memories a little more, two excellent sites for finding out-of-copyright full-text works:
Google Books: books.google.com
and
Project Gutenberg: www.gutenberg.org/catalog
A Lexicon of Learning
That's exactly what the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development is offering on its site—an A-to-Z guide to the technical jargon that often becomes second nature to teachers, but baffles parents. The Lexicon for Learning is also a handy guide for those just starting their education career:
www.ascd.org/portal/site/ascd/menuitem.4247f922ca8c9ecc8c2a9410d3108a0c
A Decision on (Intelligent) Design
Science teachers and supporters of the First Amendment can breathe a little easier after the latest round in the ongoing battle between proponents of evolution and those who support intelligent design. In Pennsylvania, a federal judge ruled that the teaching of intelligent design in schools was unconstitutional, and descried a district school board policy of requiring that students be exposed to intelligent design as well as the theory of evolution:
today.reuters.co.uk/news/NewsArticle.aspx?type=scienceNews&storyID=2005-12-20T170850Z_01_EIC059334_RTRIDST_0_SCIENCE-LIFE-EVOLUTION-DC.XML
The Pen Is Mightier Than the PalmPilot
Well, not really—but the new FLY electronic pen is a great alternative to PDAs and laptops for younger users. The device, a little bigger than a highlighter, records handwriting (it can also be used as a standard ink pen—take that, PalmPilot stylus!) and also features functions like a calculator, games, music, and date book.
www.cleveland.com/search/index.ssf?/base/business/1134984697182951.xml?bttec&coll=2
Are AP Courses Making The Grade?
or
?
That's the question the College Board, which administers AP testing, wants to answer. AT the end of 2005, it announced its intention to review—and if necessary, overhaul—AP courses around the country. The review aims to correct abuses of the AP system, in which course labeled AP may not be rigorous enough to qualify students for the college credit they can earn from them. The Board has stated that starting with the 2007-08 academic year, schools that offer AP classes will have to prove that they measure up:
www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/education/story/E317FD38CE8656E2862570DC0018AF63?OpenDocument
Doctors Are Pushing Pills—Away
A recent study found that fewer doctors prescribed anti-depressants to children and teens last year, indications that new research on the potential risk of suicide may increase for children on these drugs is being put into practice. Instead, doctors are turning to alternative therapies for younger sufferers of depression. (Editorial Comment: It may sound counterintuitive to hear that anti-depressants raise the risk of suicide in some patients, but it's not so surprising. One reason I've heard tossed around by depression sufferers has to do with the process of "coming out" of depression: for people whose depression is so severe they can't be bothered to do anything, the early stages of antidepressant therapy can sometimes leave them with just enough energy to act on their suicidal thoughts.)
www.usatoday.com/news/health/2005-12-27-children-antidepressants_x.htm
Rewarding Good Behavior—Or Buying It?
That's a question being raised by many educators now, as low-income schools across the country try to catch and hold their students attention by offering rewards—for doing homework and coming to school—that will have meaning for the students. Critics dismiss the tactic as bribery, but advocates suggest that this approach simply ties school to students' own goals and desires, giving them reasons of their own to perform:
www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2005/12/12/BAG9CG6DOP1.DTL&hw=schools&sn=015&sc=311
The Sound of Music—and Creativity
Two exciting new websites, SoundTree and Harmonic Vision, provide teachers and students with the opportunity to make a joyful noise (or any other sort). Both sites provide aspiring young musicians with modern technological tools to help them in creating their sounds of music! Both sites provide a range of products of potential interest to music teachers and young composers alike:
www.soundtree.com/welcome.asp
www.harmonicvision.com/mafact.htm
Putting a Comic Face on Learning
That's the idea behind "The Zula Patrol", a science-fiction cartoon with plenty of emphasis on the science. The TV series, aired by PBS, aims to introduce young children to science concepts in a non-threatening and engaging fashion. Zula's site also offers excellent resources for teachers looking to make the Zula Patrol part of their classroom:
www.thezulapatrol.com/index.shtml
Swap Till You Drop!
Or be a little more circumspect—it's up to you at ToySwap.com. The site, founded by a mother of two who was inspired by the success of eBay and her own experiences with informal swapping among parents, offers parents the opportunity to swap instead of shop for the toys that spark their children's interest this holiday. There is a modest fee for swapping, but registration is free.
www.toyswap.com
Read an article about the site here:
/www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2005-12-14-toyswap-website_x.htm
The Written Word—Heard!
That's the idea behind LibriVox.com, a site that provides free audiobook versions of materials already in the public domain. What's more, the site also allows users to record parts of their own favorite books to hear and share with other listeners. All recordings are done by—and for—volunteers:
librivox.org
Read an article about LibriVox here:
www.wired.com/news/culture/0,1284,69780,00.html?tw=wn_tophead_4
