New Framework of Essential Skills for K-12

Information about the new framework can be found at http://www.cosn.org/framework/ the new framework addresses the professional development and technical literacy that schools will need to provide adequate technology education to our students.

CoSN is the Consortium of School Networking which is a professional association of school district technology leaders. They have been around since 1992 and are committed to using technology to improve teaching and learning.

From Charles Schulz, creator of "Peanuts."

I appropriated this from http://www.classroom20.com/
Les


Scroll through slowly and read carefully to receive and enjoy full effect

The following is the philosophy of Charles Schulz, the creator of the 'Peanuts' comic strip.
You don't have to actually answer the questions just ponder on them.

Just read the e-mail straight through, and you'll get the point.
1. Name the five wealthiest people in the world.
2. Name the last five Heisman trophy winners.
3. Name the last five winners of the Miss America pageant.
4. Name ten people who have won the Nobel or Pulitzer Prize.
5. Name the last half dozen Academy Award winners for best actor and actress.
6. Name the last decade's worth of World Series winners.

How did you do?
The point is, none of us remember the headliners of yesterday.
These are no second-rate achievers.
They are the best in their fields.
But the applause dies..
Awards tarnish.
Achievements are forgotten.
Accolades and certificates are buried with their owners.
Here's another quiz.. See how you do on this one:
1. List a few teachers who aided your journey through school
2. Name three friends who have helped you through a difficult time.
3. Name five people who have taught you something worthwhile
4. Think of a few people who have made you feel appreciated and special!!
5. Think of five people you enjoy spending time with.

Easier?
The lesson:
The people who make a difference in your life are not the ones with the most credentials... the most money...or the most awards.
They simply are the ones who care the most.
Pass this on to those people who have made a difference in your life, like I did.


'Don't worry about the world coming to an end today. It's already tomorrow in Australia !'
Be Yourself. Everyone Else Is Taken!

We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit. Aristotle

Online Courses

Dawson ISD believes that all students deserve not only the best education possible but access to the most current learning technologies available. Because secondary classrooms have less flexible schedules, Interactive Online Learning for high school students will be provided by request. Online learning is a student centered approach to learning that will provide:
Comprehensive Courses that will enable our school to
Expand and provide more complex curriculum
Provide credit recovery year round
Support student advancement
Make the most efficient use of teachers and resources
The curriculum integrates academically rigorous, standards-based content with realistic applications in traditional academic courses as well as electives. These courses will be offered through the Tx VSN project during the fall and spring semesters and the Target Technology for Texas Collaboration Grant (T3) for the summer semester. Dawson ISD will provide a facilitator and counselor that will monitor the student’s progress during the online course.

Please discuss this with your students. For a complete listing of course offerings please contact me.

Here is great chat board that has sites for all teaching disciplines. I have learned many things here in the last two years.

Here are some great websites for school:

This is a really good place for anyone interested in technology use in the classroom. There are pages of postings by teachers about technology application in all disciplines.

Next is a site I am currently learning to use. It offers a FREE Matchup Quiz Generator, and a Multiple Choice Quiz Generator for use in class on an IWB (interactive whiteboard), on a website you can build, or on an individual pc. These are free because they hope you buy their more expensive programs. Both applications seem great, especially for FREE.

Interesting lessons on thinkfinity

Science: http://www.thinkfinity.org/ArtsEdge.aspx
http://www.thinkfinity.org/ScienceNetLinks.aspx

History: http://www.thinkfinity.org/HistoryExplorer.aspx
http://www.thinkfinity.org/EDSITEment.aspx

Math: http://www.thinkfinity.org/EconEdLink.aspx

ELA: http://www.thinkfinity.org/ReadWriteThink.aspx

Multi subject: http://www.thinkfinity.org/Xpeditions.aspx

Thinkfinity has some very good lessons available the above links are features there are many more available in a searchable data base

A Culture of Success

It has been such fun teaching here at Dawson, and I've been talking to my classes about attitude- the kind that fosters success at anything you do. Watching Dragon football have success has been fun. At Idalou I have seen this kind of positive attitude begin in sports, and grow into others- academics. When the kids know we are all really pulling for them to enjoy the journey, not just the end of the ride, we encourage more positive leadership. This will in turn inspire the more marginal "bubble students" to take more ownership in school. Any thoughts in how we can improve the ride?

Webcast on Veterans History

Thought some of you might be interested in this. ---->

Register today for The National Teach-In on Veterans History on October 21st at 12pmEST. Tune in at http://www.veterans .com to watch this LIVE webcast!

HISTORY™, together with the Veterans History Project of the Library of Congress, is hosting host a National Teach-In on Veterans History on Wednesday, October 21st, 2009 at 12pm EST. Educators and students nationwide can view this LIVE webcast online at http://www.veterans .com. The webcast will be broadcast live from the Library of Congress in Washington , D.C. (It will be archived on the website for those who cannot tune in to watch it live.)

A panel of educators and veterans will answer questions from students via video, email, and a live audience. The teach-in will focus on the histories and stories of veterans, and will provide information on how communities nationwide can help preserve the stories of veterans and possibly submit them to the Library of Congress’ Veterans History Project. This event is part of the Take A Veteran to School Day initiative created by HISTORY.

The panel features Robert Patrick, a U.S. Army veteran and Director of the Veterans History Project, Terry Shima, WWII veteran and Executive Director of the Japanese American Veterans Association, Dr. Darlene Iskra, a US Navy veteran of Desert Storm and the first female commander of a US Navy ship, and Jonathan Bickel, a teacher from Eastern Lebanon County High School and part of a teaching-team on veterans history at his school. Dr. Libby O'Connell, Chief Historian for HISTORY, will moderate. There is no registration fee -- HISTORY has fully funded this event.

(Note: to test your computer and make sure you can easily connect to the webcast, log on anytime before the live event to http://www.veterans .com and follow instructions. )

This fall, HISTORY will air a 5-part special series presentation entitled WWII in HD premiering on November 15th. Each school or teacher that signs up for the October 21st webcast will receive a colorful WWII in HD poster (while supplies last, so sign up now!)

The 21st Century Classroom

In the past educators were tasked with training individuals to enter the workforce. That workforce was mostly industrial so students needed to learn how to stay in line, pay attention, be productive, do repetitive tasks, and learn the way their teachers learned.

Technology has forever changed that paradigm; if you have ever watched any of the shift happens videos on you tube you know we are trying to train students for jobs that have not been created yet and solve problems we don’t know are problems yet. It sounds like a daunting task.

I feel the solution is in teaching our students to be life long learners (old cliché but still appropriate). At the T3 Grant conference that I attended last week in Austin some of the issues we discussed dealt directly with the 21st century classroom and what it means. Some educators and research suggests that teaching students to teach themselves may be a solution to this dilemma of what this classroom should be like. What is actually meant by teaching the student to teach themselves is really teaching students how to. How to find information on the Internet or in the library. How to determine if information is accurate or even true once they find it; which adds how to examine the motives of those who post the information. Other how to issues are how to use the information ethically and how to create new knowledge with the information.

The how to we need to address as educators is how to incorporate the technology into our curriculum to derive the greatest good.

Good start!!

Nice to see posts and comments, don't feel bad about being technology limited it changes so fast we all are. Feel free to share this site with parents if you have e-mail addresses the more ideas we share the better we will all become. ;{)

Welcome

Welcome to the newly opened Dawson Dragon blog. All of the teachers are listed as authors and I would like to add parents also. If any of you have parent e-mail addresses you would like to have me add send them to me and I will add them. I had intended to include the students also but we are limited to 100 authors so if they wish to participate they will need to use the parents log in. Hopefully this will be a useful forum to exchange ideas, ask question, receive information or whatever. Again welcome