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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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Webquest on Martin Luther King

With the Martin Luther King holiday coming~ I wanted to share a webquest I developed on the minister and civil rights leader. Martin Luther King once said~ There is nothing more tragic in all this world than to know right and no do it." Perhaps~ you can use this quote to discuss the issue of bullying and how if a student sees something that looks like bullying-to say something!Perhaps~ you might find the webquest of value to use with your students. You can find it at this link:...

Polar Challenge-Using Current Events in...

Using current events in the classroom as a cross curricular activity...Perhaps~ your students might want to follow Helen Skelton's attempt to be the first person to bike to the South Pole.She started today on her 500 mile trek using a specially built bike~ the Hanebrink "ice bike". Skelton hopes to complete The Polar Challenge~in 20 days. Skelton hopes to travel 14 hours a day~ battling frigid air... temps(-13F to -58F) and wind speeds that can reach up to 125 mph~ for charity. She will...

Student Motivation

Student recognition in the classroom is a necessity to keep students working their hardest. It becomes easy to overlook the student who is always doing what is expected~ and to always notice the child who is misbehaving. But~ consciously recognizing students as they achieve great things is vital to motivating children throughout their school career.

Think about the last time you were praised by your superior. How did it feel? Did you remember whether or not you smiled? Were you then...

50 Years Ago~ February 20~2012~ John...

Space shuttles lifting off and landing on run-ways~space probes to distant worlds~ and an international space station~ all had their beginning with brave astronauts such as John Glenn. Fifty years ago this February~in a 9 1/2 by 6 ft. space capsule called Friendship 7~ John Glenn became the first American to orbit the Earth.In a space about the size of a Volkswagen Beetle~Glenn orbited the earth~ three times~ in 4 hours and 56 minutes. I developed a webquest on John Glenn's amazing...

Can you guess the 2011 most Irritating...

Can you name the most annoying word? For the third straight year~the winning irritating word is..."whatever". A poll conducted by Marist College Institute for Public Opinion said that 4/10 people responded that "whatever" is the most annoying word to hear in a conversation. Close runners up for disliked words included "you know" and "like".Might be an interesting activity to ask students to make a list of words used in conservation that they dislike hearing.

Happy Holidays to you all...

Try a Token Economy System

Behavior management is typically not a widely covered topic in university teacher education classes. I suppose that is because there are so many other items of importance~ such as standards~ assessing~ and actual methods coursework. Unfortunately~ if learning how to manage those behavior problems in your classroom has not been addressed~ the class could be running you!

In my first year of teaching~ I had a challenging class full of boys. There were about...

130 Years Later- Alexander Graham Bell...

This might be another news story to discuss with young people.Alexander Graham Bell~ famed for his invention of the telephone~is in the news.Recordings he made back in the 1880s have again been played at the Library of Congress~ our nation's library~ located in Washington~ DC~ for the first time in 130 years.
Made on discs and cylinders~ six of his fragile recordings were brought to life thanks to advances in technology that enabled the sound to be recovered from tiny grooves with light...

Making the Right Hiring Decisions

Editor's Note: Today's guest post comes from Dr. Scott Taylor~ an educator from New Jersey.
Hire character. Train skill. ~ Peter Schutz
It makes a lot of sense to find people who are ready to engage in a lifelong career in learning. Some teacher candidates come to the interview prepared to answer all the questions. I dont care as much about the answers as I do the delivery and the unspoken personality nuggets behind the answers.
I...

The Importance of Trust Between Schools...

Editor's Note: Today's guest post comes from Dr. Matthew Lynch~ an assistant professor of education.


Another important factor that can help schools promote parental involvement and sharing responsibility for the performance of their children are trusting relationships between teachers and parents. A healthy and congenial school environment~ with an enabling and flexible structure~ can help develop trust between them.

...

Should restaurants fine people for...

This news story might be a great discussion starter:

With so many hungry people in the world~ a restaurant in Saudi Arabia has come up with an unusual idea...fine diners for not cleaning their diner plates! The World Health Organization estimate one billion people are starving around the world. The restaurant owner is using the fine imposed for "having eyes bigger than their stomachs" when it comes to ordering meals~ to add starving people in Somalia. What do you think of this idea?...

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