Buzznet - Shoot > Send > Share

Buzznet - Shoot > Send > Share. Follow the link to find out how you might make your Blogspot blog more interactive and much more up-to-date!

Every Middle Schooler is an Inventa

Do you know about Inventa from Valiant Technology Ltd.? If not, check it out. In this age of problem-solving and critical thinking, we should be thinking about ways to include all learning styles and intelligences in 21st Century literacies. Focusing as education tends to do on listening, reading and writing, those students with hands-on, visual and artistic strengths, to say nothing of short attention spans and problems with multi-step directions, and be left way behind.

I have believed for a long time that model building and 3D design (in real space and time) develop general problem-solving and organizational skills. I used models before teaching any level of programming. This set of tools, and accompanying fun like the Roamer, make an enormous amount of sense. How many of your students have every touched a pulley, rack gear or washer? Nuts, surely, but this is way beyond nuts. On the site you can find free guides and sensible challenges attached to current news (such as the Olympics). Give it a whirl!

The wrong debate

Read this: Test scores fuel laptop debate

Now, ask yourself this: What assessment tool has been applied to this program?

I maintain that tradition, pre-technology assessment tools, which include the relatively new Maine state testing, can not be used to assess the value added by laptops in the classroom. Learning that results from inquiry, projects, problem-solving and collaboration is not assessed by standardized tests. The state writing results, which did show improvement, are the only valid measure applied by Maine.

And the program is in danger of collapse. It's time for this fabulous state, my state, to reassess its learning measurement systems. Certainly the University of Maine is well-equipped to design a better measure.

And that's the least of it.

WordPress preview

Kevin Jarrett's WordPress test site is worth a look. Bookmark the site and return to it often. Kevin is exploring blogging applications for k-12 education. If you currently using a blogging tool in your classroom, be sure to contact Kevin directly. He is developing a NECC workshop on the topic.

Wake-up call missed

Who is setting the alarm these days, them or us?

A New Professional Development Decision-Making Tool is being piloted in eight states. Follow the link and read the article. Ask yourself: Where does school change fit into this scenario? Who defined the need for this expensive tool - Co-nect and TetraData Corp or the administrators of those schools?

I remember when a college counsellor could not tutor for the SAT's - a conflict of interest. Seems to me that anything that makes money from data and government is ethical and "right." Wake up, public school administrators. Change is about YOU, not about spending money collecting data about your teachers.

Seed Wiki

Here is something I have been waiting for - a free wiki tool:

Unfortunately, the JavaScript editor does not work with Jaguar IE (5.1), Safari or the latest Mac versionof Netscape. That seems to limit its usability, doesn't it?

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The following links for blogging and wiki use in education have come out of the NECC conference. We have Craig Nanson to thank:

• The Blog@School workshop
• Blogs and Wikis and WebQuests

Also see Tech Talk, Craigs own weblog for technology leaders.

Technology Grants database

Technology & Learning Grants Database. Bookmark this site. In addition to grant information, there are how-to's and practical guides for grant writing. The lastest issue (Leadership issue) of the free Technology & Learning journal contains a handy print calendar of grant deadlines for the upcoming school year.