All Blog Posts (229)

San Diego Comic Con Retrospective: Comic Arts Conference

San Diego Comic Con 2011 Retrospective

“Don’t let it be forgotten that once there was a spot, for one brief shining moment…”

Fandom Conventions are about community and San Diego Comic Con is the largest gathering of the fandom community in the US. This year, fans of all shapes and sizes joined the fray. Hotels sold out, cell phone carriers were overburdened and controlled chaos was the name of the game. This year we were housed at the Horton Grande in the Gas Lamp…

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Added by KellyAnn Bonnell on August 3, 2011 at 12:40pm — No Comments

What color are daddy-long-legs

Answer the title question.

Added by Trish Finley on July 6, 2011 at 5:52am — No Comments

Resources for Teaching ELA

I just finished reading Ryan's latest missive where he makes the point that this Ning is about sharing resources, so I figured I'd mention a site I've re-developed that ELA people-- and others-- might find interesting. It's called Teaching English in the Digital Age and it's got more resources than you ever thought you wanted. I hope you find it useful. If there's anything you've found helpful that isn't there, feel free to drop me… Continue

Added by Karen LaBonte on June 30, 2011 at 10:30am — 1 Comment

Pop Culture Sex Ed: What Media Teaches Kids About Sexual Health

With the explosion of the internet, it's easy to overlook the influence of other popular culture channels, but it's clear they still matter. Television continues to be the most common medium and platform for viewing content -- a Kaiser Family Foundation study found that TV makes up the largest chunk of adolescents' media use, 4.5 hours out of a total 11 hours media time each day. The other 6.5 hours are spent on the internet. In… Continue

Added by Frank W. Baker on May 10, 2011 at 8:08am — No Comments

What educators can learn from comedians

School technology-integration specialist Andrew Marcinek draws parallels in this blog post between creating an entertaining comedy act and innovating in the classroom. From the process of developing a new idea to use with students to honing and updating one's classroom performance, Marcinek encourages… Continue

Added by Frank W. Baker on April 29, 2011 at 6:41pm — No Comments

Talk on "Child in Film"

CHILD IN FILM

Films with children as educational tool?

The Film & Education Research Academy at Teachers College announces

a special presentation by

Prof. Ulf Abraham

University of Bamberg, Germany

Dr. Petra Anders, Respondent

University of Bremen, Germany

In movies, children have stopped depending on adults and begun to explore their own possibilities and to struggle for their identity, self-esteem and morality.

Ulf Abraham…

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Added by Petra Anders on April 20, 2011 at 9:33pm — No Comments

Professional Learning Networks: Research Results

Hi All!

Thanks again to all those who participated in my survey last semester! It gave me great practice in the research field, get a project done for class, and most of all it has given us a snapshot of the membership at MCPop. I am attaching my PP presentation. I don't want to bore you with the paper itself :-). If you are interested in more info, just let me know and I will get it to you.…

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Added by Stephanie Young on April 17, 2011 at 4:10pm — No Comments

This will interest high school American History and Social Studies teachers - free text & resources to discuss 9/11

The tenth anniversary of 9/11 offers a time to reflect on whether America’s response to the terrorist attacks has challenged our nation’s commitment to its core values. High school students have grown up in the post-9/11 world and may be unaware of the challenges to civil liberties made in the name of national security. Yet they must understand these issues because the future of our democracy will be entrusted to them in due… Continue

Added by Meryl Zegarek on April 13, 2011 at 1:58pm — No Comments

3D figures with food

Hi,

I am all about food when it comes to making the curriculum pop. For my 3rd grade 3D figure unit, I always use pretzel sticks and marshmallows and ask the students to build something. This year, I took their picture with the creation and then posed the question, how can you prove that this figure is 3D? The students had so much fun writing a proof and the other kids were challenging each other. It took this very common math activity to a whole new thinking level!

Having FUN…

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Added by Kim Davis on April 11, 2011 at 7:54pm — 3 Comments

BOOK: Rethinking Popular Culture and Media

Rethinking Popular Culture and Media is a provocative collection of articles that begins with the idea that the “popular” in classrooms and in the everyday lives of teachers and students is fundamentally political. It features more than 45 articles, divided into 6…

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Added by Frank W. Baker on April 1, 2011 at 2:44pm — No Comments

Helping Students Deal with News & Images of Disaster in Japan

Helping Students Deal with Images and News from Japan

by Frank W. Baker Copyright 2011 (Media Literacy Clearinghouse)

We are all overwhelmed by what we see in the news. For many of our students, taking the time to help them better understand those images and where they originate is another step toward visual and media literacy.

Images can be frightening and unsettling—on that we can all agree. For your students here are some questions that might help get a… Continue

Added by Frank W. Baker on March 14, 2011 at 2:47pm — No Comments

Why NCLB is inherently flawed

The current structure of the No Child Left Behind program guarantees that children will be left behind for two specific reasons. The purpose of this note is to elucidate those reasons and suggest concrete solutions.

Educational Standards in the 19^th Century

The most important reason that NCLB can not succeed is inherent in the goals that have been set. The Educational Establishment wants to go “back to basics” and has concentrated on reading and…

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Added by Robert Zenhausern on March 14, 2011 at 2:26pm — 2 Comments

Helping Students Deal with Images and News from Japan

Helping Students Deal with Images and News from Japan

by Frank W. Baker copyright 2011 (Media Literacy Clearinghouse)

We are all overwhelmed by what we see in the news. For many of our students, taking the time to help them better understand those images and where they originate is another step toward visual and media literacy.

Images can be frightening and unsettling—on that we can all agree. For your students here are some questions that might help get a discussion… Continue

Added by Frank W. Baker on March 14, 2011 at 2:02pm — No Comments

Tips for Planning A Lesson Around Japan's Disasters

A New York Times blogger offers resources and lesson plans for teaching students about Friday's 8.9-magnitude earthquake and tsunami in Japan. The author has compiled past New York Times resources on tsunamis and earthquakes, along with links to Internet resources on the topics and information about Japanese history and culture. A separate post has a list of questions that can be used in discussions about… Continue

Added by Frank W. Baker on March 14, 2011 at 12:36pm — No Comments

Reality Central: Student Readings About Popular Culture

While attending a recent curriculum conference, I stumbled upon these books inside the conference exhibit hall. Pearson has… Continue

Added by Frank W. Baker on March 14, 2011 at 12:27pm — No Comments

Ok Ryan - I know what you're talking about but I can't find information at this time. I did come across this though: I hear I forget, I see I remember, I do I understand - That's all I could come up …

Ok Ryan - I know what you're talking about but I can't find information at this time. I did come across this though: I hear I forget, I see I remember, I do I understand - That's all I could come up with on this Friday eve. :-) Continue

Added by Christy Sivik on February 18, 2011 at 4:19pm — No Comments

PBS Frontline: Money and March Madness

EPISODE #/TITLE: #2910, "Money and March Madness"

DATE/TIME: Tue., 3/29/11, 2100-2200

NOTE: Check local listings for the exact date and time on your PBS station.

DESCRIPTION: FRONTLINE continues its new monthly magazine program with the lead story "Money and March Madness," an inside look at the multi-billion dollar business…

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Added by Frank W. Baker on February 18, 2011 at 11:42am — No Comments

QUESTION: Quote about Learning and what is left over?

OK, So I remember hearing a famous quote that was something like:

"Learning is what you remember" or

"What's left over is learning" or

"The residue of education is learning" or

"Only what you remember is learning"

Does anyone know what I'm talking about, who or where this quote might be coming from? I want to use it to start an article and can't for the life of me figure out where this is from / the exact quote.

Thanks in advance… Continue

Added by Ryan Goble on February 18, 2011 at 8:55am — 14 Comments

Teaching A People's History

Make sure other teachers and teacher educators in your networks know about the Zinn Education Project website. Post a notice about the Zinn Education Project on listserves, in newsletters, on social networking sites, and at your school. You can use any of the web banners at the end of this page for blogs or websites. Here is an announcement you can use or adapt:…

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Added by Jonathan Tucker on February 17, 2011 at 1:17pm — No Comments

QUESTION: Read 180 Thoughts?

I work at a high school in the Chicago metropolitan area which is considering adopting Read 180. If you are currently using or have used Read 180 in your high school, I would appreciate it if you would share your thoughts about the program:

1. How many students are (were) in the program?

2. What is (was) the entrance criteria?

3. How does (did) it fit into a student's schedule?

4. How do (did) students transition out of Read 180? For example, how do…

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Added by Bradley J. Snyder on February 11, 2011 at 7:30am — 3 Comments