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Internet Doomsday is Here

DoomsdayIf you’re reading this, odds are you are not one of the 570,000 people in the U.S. infected with the DNS Malware Virus. Congratulations. Yet, while you can still surf around to your heart’s content, ISPs are working overtime to help those less fortunate users find their way back to the information superhighway.

This morning at 12:01 the FBI shut down its DNS servers, which were acting as the only path to the Internet for hundreds of thousands of computers. s reported by CNet, the whole problem goes back to an online criminal ring from 2007 that was tinkering with computers' settings and then directing users to rogue servers that the criminals had set up. These servers then re-directed users to malicious Web sites. Late last year, the FBI arrested the ring and seized the rogue servers. But since so many infected computers relied on the servers to reach the Internet, the agency opted not to shut them down and instead converted them to legitimate DNS machines. Due to the high cost associated with operating these servers, the FBI has decided to shut them down.

ISP are taking a proactive approach to the problem with Comcast has contacting users with infected computers, according to the Wall Street Journal. Verizon has lined up technicians who can help customers remove the virus and AT&T plans to redirect infected PCs to the correct Web sites.

People who are unable to get online should call their ISP to see if their computers are infected. CNET has also posted a how-to guide to help people detect whether their PCs are pointing to the DNSChanger network.

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Differentiation Through A Science...

Research has shown that as much as 40 to 50 percent of traditional classroom material can be eliminated for certain students when it comes to science and other core subjects.

That means that these students could essentially start mid-school-year and not miss any new instruction. What that also means is that teachers have the responsibility of identifying these children and doing something different with them.

Id like to offer one possible solution~ which I recently have...

Tech Fiction Becomes Reality

suitApparently a little engineering know-how and a lot of free time is all it takes to turn what was previously sci-fi fantasy into real-world reality. Japan's Sakakibara Kikai has created a mechanical suit, not unlike the one worn by Sigourney Weaver's character Ellen Ripley in the film Aliens.

...

Running Records

I recently purchased an ipad to use in my classroom. I am loving it! One of the best apps I have found is for running records. It makes my job much easier. No more complicated math for me! =)

There are two versions to the app, a lite version and a full version. I purchased the full version, after using the lite app. It is very simple to use. The full version records the student reading the passage. To get...

Product Placement

What if I told you there was a way to engage students in real-world learning and build their confidence~ please parents (even the demanding ones)~ promote your school~ and keep school administrators happy in one fell swoop?

You would probably think I was going to follow up by selling you a get-rich quick scheme like on those late night infomercials~ right?
I know it sounds too good to be truebut stay with me for a moment.

In this blog~ Im going to share a technique with...

From Mr. Feeny to Professor Dumbledore

Great Life Lessons From Famous Teachers

Enjoy the video above~ made by HooplaHa~ as a way to remind your class of all the great things that teachers do!

The best teachers in life teach their students a little bit more than just the classroom material. They teach their students something about life too. Show your students that there is more to learn in life than just...

Girl Expelled Over Science Experiment

A high school student in Florida has been expelled and is facing felony charges after completing an unsupervised science experiment.

Sixteen-year-old Kiera Wilmot of Bartow High School wanted to see what would happen when she combined several household products in a plastic bottle...

Three Ways to Make Learning More Natural

Ideally~ learning should be a natural process.

Unfortunately~ with testing pressures and varied instructional approaches~ the process of discovering and mastering new skills and information is often contrived and~ frankly~ learned in an unnatural manner.

During his three decades of research into gifted education~ Dr. Joseph Renzulli developed what is known as the Schoolwide Enrichment Model or SEM. Within that model~ he explains that there are three types of activities~...

Watch Out for Space Junk-Using the New...

Watch Out for Space Junk!

With more and more responsibilities and testing pressures~ current events may be getting pushed into the background in importance. If this is the case~ you can place a news story on the board as you are doing attendance~ checking homework~ etc.(is BELL-RINGER still a term used or am I dating myself?????) and have the students read it and perhaps begin working on an extension...

Earth's Core Hotter Than First...

coreUsing a series of very technical tests, scientists from the French research facility CEA have determined that the Earth's core is roughly 6,000 degrees Celsius. That is approximately 1,000 degrees hotter than the temperature obtained by tests in the 1990s.

These new figures show that the center of the Earth is just as hot as the surface of the sun.

The...

Differentiate Through PBL

During my last blog~ I shared a story about how problem-based learning was used to challenge one of my students.

In this post~ I want to outline the steps that have personally helped me implement this method.

First~ you have to find the right problem.

Problem-based learning~ or PBL~ is personalized for each child. It requires differentiation at a very deep level.
According to Dr. De Gallow at the University of California~ Irvine~ One of the primary features of Problem-...

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