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Blog: Ed Tech Today

Our Nation's Library-The Library...

The largest library in the world~ the Library of Congress~ is found in Washington~ DC. The current Library of Congress Librarian is James H. Billington~ a position which is appointed by the President of the United States.As of 2011~ there are approximately 838 miles of bookshelves at our nation's library! With over 33 million books~ if you could read ONE book a day~ it would take you 60~000 years to read all the books in the Library of Congress' collection!Just posted a new webquest~ great...

Blog: Ed Tech Today

A special thanks to Rafe Esquith

On this day of Thanksgiving~ I want to thank my first and most influential mentor~ Rafe Esquith. Esquith isanationally recognized~ fifth-gradeteacher based in Los Angeles.

During my first year as a teacher~ I was ready to quit. While teaching middle school~ I felt overwhelmed~ dissapointed and doubtful about whether I chose the right profession. However~ afterhearing Esquith speak on NPR~ I read his book "Teach Like Your Hair's on Fire." I then e-mailed him~ and he called...

Blog: Ed Tech Today

Mummies!


Has proof of aliens visiting earth been found in Peru? A mummified body found in the city of Andahuaylillas~ Peru~ is very unusual. It has a very elongated skull. In fact~ the skull is almost the length of the entire body! And~ the skull has very large eye sockets. Some scientists think it may be the remains of an alien! The teeth in the mummified body have two very large molars~ yet there is a so...ft spot in the skull which would suggest it could be the body of a child. Others say...

Blog: Ed Tech Today

The Crucial Role of Parental Involvement

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


Understanding the deep-rooted importance of family and parental involvement in education and its effect on the academic performance of a child requires recognizing the fact that parents are childrens first teachers. Home is the first school~ and as such~ it is the place where children learn an abundance of skills~ knowledge~ and attitudes~ some of...

Blog: Ed Tech Today

Black Rhinos of West Africa are now...

Sadly~ scientists of the International Union for Conservation of Nature(IUCN)~have announced that wild black rhinos can no longer be found in West Africa. It is now extinct...no more walk the planet. Also~ the last Javan rhino is gone. And~ the white rhino of central Africa is very close to extinction. Did you know that 1 out of 4 mammals are at risk of also becoming extinct? Loss of habitat and poaching are the main causes. Learn more about the rhino at this webquest....

Blog: Ed Tech Today

Awesome Slideshows!

Hello~

I want to share this website for creating really nice slideshows in a short amount of time.

The site is www.animoto.com. It allows you to create up to 10 minute slideshows that include photos~ videos and music. It's easy for students to learn~ and best of all it's FREE!

When you pull up the site~ scroll down to the bottom of the page where it reads "education." Click on that and sign up for a free account. You...

Blog: Ed Tech Today

Student-Led Parent Teacher Conferences

Parent-Teacher Conferences can be very frustrating for all involved. The parents may or may not have had a good previous experience in school and feel uncomfortable in the atmosphere. The teacher who has to prepare all the materials~ must give only a snapshot of the student because there is only so much time during the allotted night; usually only 15 minutes until another parent comes through the door. Lastly~ the students are nervous as they wait at home...

Blog: Ed Tech Today

New Teaching Tips A-Z

Do you have any tips to add to my New Teaching A-Z List?

A-Always exhibit an interest in what you are teaching. If you think its important ~ your students will~ too. Have an assessment for how to grade your students.

B- Be prepared with your lesson. Have bell ringers to keep students on task when you are collecting papers~ etc. Its better to have MORE than not enough for each days lesson.

C-Try to make connections with other areas of study with cross curricular activities...

Blog: Ed Tech Today

Thanksgiving resources to use with your...

Need a fun reading on the first Thanksgiving? I wrote a short story about a substitute teacher that takes her students back to witness the first Thanksgiving with purple adventure goggles. I also developed a webquest on the Mayflower and Pilgrims~ a short webquest on Turkeys and lots of links to other materials you might find of use during this month~ including a short read on "What Became of the Mayflower?...

Blog: Ed Tech Today

Screenplay Project

I want to share a project that has helped my improve my students' writing ability as well as help foster creativity and develop a passion for writing itself. It involves students writing a full-blown screenplay. Using computers~ my students spend an afternoon or two aweek writing a screenplay. They are required to follow the exact format of a screenplay~ which I teach using a video from Discovery Education. Once they have the format down~ they come up with a genre and a...

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