Keeler Thoughts and Conference Notes

Books I Read

2011-06-21T22:12:00.000-07:00

Below, you will find a list of all the books I read between the 2008-2011. I link to those I recommend.

Adult Non-Fiction

Abbey, Edward: Desert Solitaire

Abdul-Jabbar, Kareem: On the Shoulders of Giants
Babyak, Jolene: Birdman: The Many Faces of Robert Stroud
Barr, Colin and Steve Katai: Complete Idiot's Guide to Triathlon Training
Bingham, John and Jenny Hadfield: Marathoning for Mortals
Brooks, Michael: 13 Things that Don't Make Sense
Bryson, Bill: Shakespeare and A Short History to Nearly Everything
Caron, Marnie: Marathon and Half Marathon: The Beginner's Guide
Carr, Nicholas: Shallows: What the Internet is Doing to Our Brains
Eggars, Dave: Zeitoun
Esquith, Rafe: Teach Like Your Hair's On Fire and There Are No Shortcuts

Fishman, Charles: The Wal-Mart Effect

Flinn, Kathleen: The Sharper the Knife, the Less You Cry
Florida, Richard: The Rise of the Creative Class
Friedman, Thomas: Hot, Flat, and Crowded

Friel, Joe: Your First Triathlon and The Triathlete's Training Bible
Ghiglieri, Michael and Thomas Myers: Over the Edge: Death in Grand Canyon

Gilbert, Elizabeth: Eat, Pray, Love and The Last American Man
Gladwell, Malcolm: Outliers
Grennan, Conor: Little Princes: One Man's Promise to Bring Home the Lost Children of Nepal
Griffith-Joyner, Florence and John Hanc: Running for Dummies
Halpern, Justin: Sh*t My Dad Says
Handler, Chelsea: My Horizontal Life

Higdon, Hal: Marathon: The Ultimate Training Guide
Hillenbrand, Laura: Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption
Isaacson, Rupert: The Horse Boy
Jackson Brown, Jr, J.: Christmas Joys

Kidder, Tracy: Strength in What Remains and My Detachment

Krakauer, Jon: Into Thin Air, Under the Banner of Heaven, and Where Men Win Glory: The Odyssey of Pat Tillman
Levitt, Steven and Stephen Dubner: Superfreakinomics

Loewen, James: Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American Textbook Got Wrong

McCullough, David: Mornings on Horseback: The Story Of An Extraordinary Family And The Unique Child Who Became Theodore Roosevelt
Meyerowitz, Steve: Juice Fasting and Detoxification

Michaels, Jillian: Master Your Metabolism

Mora, John: Triathlon 101
Mortenson, Greg: Three Cups of Tea and Stones into Schools

Nafisi, Azar: Reading Lolita in Tehran

Nester, Tony: Desert Survival: Tips, Tricks, and Skills

O'Brien, Stacy: Wesley the Owl

Pink, Daniel: Drive
Pitney, Deirdre and Donna Dourney: Triathlon Training for Dummies
Pollan, Michael and Richie Chevat: The Omnivore's Dilemma: Young Reader's Edition
Rediker, Marcus: The Slave Ship

Ryan, R.G.: Snapshots at St. Arbucks

Shenkman, Rick: Just How Stupid Are We?

Strausse, William and Neil Howe: The Fourth Turning
Takei, George: To the Stars
Tapscott, Dan and Anthony Williams: Wikinomics

Venkatesh, Sudhir: Gang Leader for a Day
Warnock Fernea, Elizabeth: Guests of the Sheik: An Ethnography of an Iraqi Village
Wilker, Benjamin: 10 Books That Screwed Up the World
Zigler, Zig: How to Be a Winner, Better Than Good, and How to Stay Motivated: Developing the Qualities of Success

Zinn, Howard: A People's History of the United States

Adult Fiction

Abbey, Edward: The Monkey Wrench Gang
Beecher Stowe, Harriet: Uncle Tom's Cabin

Beck, Glenn: Overton Window
Brown, Dan: The Lost Symbol

Chaon, Dan: Await Your Reply
Chevalier, Tracy: Girl with a Pearl Earring
Coehlo, Paulo: Alchemist
Cussler, Clive: The Silent Sea
de Rosnay, Tatian: Sarah's Key
Gruen, Sara: Water for Elephants and Ape House
Harris, Charlaine: Dead Until Dark, Living Dead in Dallas, Club Dead, Dead to the World, Dead as a Doornail, Definitely Dead, All Together Dead, From Dead to Worse, Dead and Gone, Many Bloody Returns, and Dead in the Family
Kent, Kathleen: The Heretic's Daughter
Koontz, Dean: Odd Thomas and Odd Hours

Larsson, Stieg: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Girl Who Played with Fire, and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest
Martel, Yann: The Life of Pi

Sinclair, Upton: The Jungle

Sparks, Nicholas: The Last Song

Stockett, Kathryn: The Help

Adult Religious

Countryman, J. (ed.): God's Tender Promises for Mothers
Giglio, Louie: The Air I Breathe
Kendrick, Stephen and Alec: Love Dare
Lewis, C.S.: The Screwtape Letters and Mere Christianity
Littlefair, Duncan: The Principle of Non-Intrusion
Lucado, Max: Outlive Your Life: You Were Made to Make a Difference, When God Whispers Your Name, One Incredible Moment, and Come Thirsty
MacArthur, John: Twelve Ordinary Men
Moore, Beth: So Long, Insecurity, Esther: It's Tough Being a Woman and Daniel: Lives of Integrity, Words of Prophesy
MOPS: Mommy Dreams
Ortburg, John: The Me I Want to Be
Osteen, Joel: Become a Better You
Redman, Matt: Face Down
Wilkinson, Bruce: The Prayer of Jabez

Young Adult [Note: These titles vary greatly in recommended grade levels. Review carefully before assigning to students.]

Armstrong, Perry: Call It Courage
Avi: The Traitor's Gate
Barakat, Ibtisam: Tasting the Sky: A Palestinian Childhood

Beah, Ishmael: A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier
Blume, Judy: Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing
Brittain, Bill: The Wish Giver

Carmen, Patrick: 39 Clues: The Black Circle
Catanese, P.W.: The Mirror's Tale, The Eye of the Warlock, Riddle of the Gnome, The Thief and the Beanstalk, The Brave Apprentice, and Happenstance Found: The Books of Umber

Choldenko, Gennifer: Al Capone Does My Shirts and Al Capone Shines My Shoes
Cleary, Beverly: Ribsy
Clements, Andrew: Lost and FoundCollins, Suzanne: Hunger Games, Catching Fire , and Mockingjay
Colfer, Eoin: Artemis Fowl, Artemis Fowl: The Arctic Incident, Artemis Fowl: The Lost Colony, and Half-Moon Investigations
Collier, James Lincoln: My Brother Sam is Dead

Collins, Suzanne: Gregor the Overlander

Cormier, Robert: The Chocolate War
Craighead George, Jean: My Side of the Mountain and On the Far Side of the Mountain
Curtis, Christopher Paul: Elijah of Buxton

Daneshvari, Gitty: School of Fear

Dashner, James: Maze Runner and Scorch Trials
Dean Meyers, Walter: Sunrise over Fallujah and Fallen Angels
DiCamillo, Kate: Mercy Watson: Princess in Disguise

Dobkin, Bonnie: Neptune's Children
Doctorow, Cory: Little Brother
Dubois, Wiliiam Pene: The Twenty-One Balloons
Eggertsen Sorensen, Virginia: Miracles on Maple Hill

Falls, Kat: Dark Life
Fleischman, Paul: Seedfolks
Funke, Cornelia: Igraine the Brave, The Thief Lord, Inkheart, and Ghosthunters and the Muddy Monsters of Doom!

Gaiman, Neil: The Graveyard Book
Gilbert Murdock, Catherine: Dairy Queen
Grisham, John: Theodore Boone: Kid Lawyer
Halse, Anderson: Fever 1793
Horowitz, Anthony: Ark Angel and Stormbreaker

Horvath, Polly: Everything on a Waffle
Ingalls Wilder, Linda: The Long Winter, The First Four Years, These Happy Golden Years, Little Town on the Prairie, and By the Shores of Silver Lake

Johnson, Louanne: Muchacho
Jurmain, Suzanne: Secret of the Yellow Death: A True Story of Medical Sleuthing
Keith, Harold: Rifles for Watie

Ketchum, Liza: Newsgirl
Kinney, Jeff: Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Ugly Truth
Korman, Gordon: The 39 Clues Book 2: One False Note
Kuklin, Susan: No Choirboy

L’Engle, Madeleine: A Wrinkle in Time
Lerangis, Peter: The 39 Clues Book 3: The Sword Thief

London, Jack: White Fang
Lowry, Lois: The Willoughbys
MacLachlan, Patricia: Sarah, Plain and Tall

Max, Wendy: Every Soul a Star
Meyer, Stephenie: Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse, and Breaking Dawn, and The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner
Mortensen, Greg: Three Cups of Tea (The Young Reader’s Edition)
Mull, Brandon: Candy Shop War and Fablehaven: Rise of the Evening Star
Munoz Ryan, Pam: Esperanza's Rising
Murphy, Jim: An American Plague
Nimmo, Jenny: Midnight for Charlie Bone
Owen, James: Here There Be Dragons
Paolini, Christopher: Eragon

Patron, Susan: Higher Power of Lucky
Patterson, James: Max, The Angel Experiment, School's Out, Forever, Saving the World and Other Extreme Sports, Fang, and Witch and Wizard and Witch and Wizard: The Gift
Paulsen, Gary: Nightjohn, Hatchet, Lawn Boy, and The Winter Room
Pearson, Mary E.: The Adoration of Jenna Fox
Peck, Richard: Here Lies the Librarian and On the Wings of Heroes

Philbrick, Rodman: The Mostly True Adventures of Homer P. Figg
Rae Perkins, Lynne: Criss Cross
Raleigh Baskin, Nora: Anything But Typical
Ransom, Candice: Time Spies: Secret in the Tower

Riordan, Rick: Lightening Thief, Sea of Monsters, The Titan's Curse, Battle of the Labyrinth, The Last Olympian, and The 39 Clues Book 1: The Maze of Bones
Robinson, Barbara: The Best Christmas Pageant Ever
Rowling, J.K.: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, #7
Sage, Angie: Magyk
Schlitz, Laura Amy: Good Masters! Sweet Ladies!

Schmidt, Gary: The Wednesday Wars
Schusterman, Neal: Unwind
Scott, Michael: The Alchemyst
Selznick, Brian: The Invention of Hugo Cabret
Smelcer, John: The Great Death
Speare, Elizabeth George: The Sign of the Beaver
Spinelli, Jerry: Smiles to Go and There's a Girl in My Hammerlock
Stead, Rebecca: When You Reach Me
Stewart, Trenton Lee: Mysterious Benedict Society

Stork, Francisco: Marcelo in the Real World
Taylor, Theodore: The Cay
Twain, Mark: Adventures of Tom Sawyer
Watson, Jude: The 39 Clues Book 4: Beyond the Grave

Westerfeld, Scott: Leviathan, Uglies, and Pretties, Specials, and Extras
Wilson, N.D.: Leepike Ridge
Woodruff, Elvira: Dear Austin: Letters from the Underground Railroad
Yates, Elizabeth: Amos Fortune, Free Man
Zevin, Gabrielle: Elsewhere

The Writing Process

2011-06-10T15:29:00.000-07:00

Wonderful resources exist to assist students as they work through the writing process. Most of these focus on the first four parts of the process: pre-writing (particularly with regard to concept mapping), drafting, revising (with a growing body of interest focusing on use of technology for editing), and proof-reading. One area that seems to have received little attention is the final part—publishing.

One school, though, has identified and is successfully using methods for teaching and encouraging publishing as a key component of the writing process. Designed and operated by Mrs. Molly Millman, The Alexander Dawson School at Rainbow Mountain (Las Vegas, Nevada) sports a model publishing center. Called the BEAR ("Bringing Exceptional Authors Recognition") program and situated in the school's library, the mission of the publishing center is "to support Dawson student authors, poets, and artists in their quest for independent and collaborative skills necessary to be successful in the next century."

Using a self-designed curriculum, Mrs. Millman teaches content including publishing form, process, resources, authorship, communication, and presentation based on the philosophy: "BEAR Publishing, through collaboration efforts in project design, small and large group instruction, and teacher support, extends and enriches the positive impact of writing and publishing activities."

Though she engages in group instruction in students' classrooms, most publishing occurs in small group settings in the publishing center. After typing their projects during regular class or computer time, students format and add graphics to their projects with Mrs. Millman.

This first graphic shows the method Mrs. Millman uses to organize student projects. Because students progress at different rates, she organizes each class by project and sub-requirement within the project. In this way, she is able to assist students individually.

This second graphic shows an example of a project students completed in their classrooms. In this case, the student wrote and typed a report on Thomas Jefferson. After typing the report, Mrs. Millman taught the student to place a transparent graphic in the background. When it came time to publish a student book, she introduced modifying the text, picture, and page layout to nicely align with the student's selected book size and type.

Students determine the ultimate format for their projects. In most cases, the projects appear in book format—often as anthologies. In some cases, students or classes complete their own books such as poetry anthologies or original stories. They scan their own artwork and add it to student-made content books. For instance, when visiting authors work with students on story development, students create both the text and pictures for an original story and organize their creations to ultimately publish a completed, professional-looking bound book. Other times, publishing accompanies content other than language arts. For example, during a unit on Colonial America, small groups of students design and create a book with sections on each of the different colonies.

One of the key components of each of the books is an author page. Younger students use a template to prepare the content for their author page. Upon publishing their book, all students receive copies to revisit throughout their lives and share with their families.

Before students begin computer work on their projects, they choose the paper color they wish to use on their book cover and for all body pages. The Dawson Publishing Center contains a wide variety of paper qualities and colors. Students also select their book size.

To assist in selecting papers, paper sizes, and fonts, Mrs. Millman provides students with sample options.

In addition, Mrs. Millman provides students with visual models demonstrating margins. This assists them in understanding what is meant by top, bottom, left, and right margins within the context of

their selected paper size.

When it is time for binding, students may use comb or hand binding methods. The Publishing Center has a comb binding machine and wide variety of comb sizes and colors.

If students choose to hand bind their books, Mrs. Millman assists through the process of punching holes (with the help of a self-designed guide showing where the holes should go) and selecting ribbon. She provides them with a sample of a completed book and walks them through the binding and tying process.

At the end of this process, students have mastered myriad computer and publishing skills and have a quality take-home product. She notes that after repeating the process approximately three times, elementary-aged children are able to complete most of these skills independently.

________________________

**This information is shared with Mrs. Millman's permission. Please cite her for this work, and do her the honor of letting her know if you choose to incorporate any of these ideas in your teaching. It is with great respect that I offer these resources in her name. What a pleasure to learn from such a talented educator!

CUE 2011, Continued

2011-03-19T08:42:00.000-07:00

Wikis in the Wild by Scott Lewis
Vimeo and SchoolTube: Alternatives to YouTube.
Bender Converter: This site allows you to download videos and save them in alternative formats (i.e., allows you to use YouTube videos in schools).

CUE 2011 Conference Notes

2011-03-18T16:10:00.000-07:00

Stealth Learning: Motivate and EngageStudents Using Games by Nancy Gibson

National Park Service WebRanger Program: Games leading children through activities introducing them to the National Parks.
Motivate and Engage Student Using Games by Nancy Gibson: She presented on myriad game types available online. Some examples include:
Content Generator: Teachers add content and the app creates several games.
Word Duck: This ap allows you to enter content and games, like Hangman, are created.
Rice: this site includes pre-established quizzes. For each answer students get correct, they donate rice to a needy country.
Quizlet: Recommended by a session attendee, this site is a very powerful quizzing tool for vocabulary study and Flashcards.

DodgePodge 5.5:

SepiaTown: Allows users to upload historical photos in the exact location where they occurred. This allows a visual of change over time.
Evernote: It is available on all platforms and allows you to keep all your notes, including audio. It also includes OCR technology so you can scan business cards and keep track of the information.
Poll Code: allows you to create polls to build into a blog or course site.
StatPlanet: Shows graphs such as drugs and crime, employment, education, cell phones by location.
Mikogo: Creates a quick and easy desktop sharing resource. It's a great way to help others with tech support. It also allows for web conferencing.
Visuwords: this is an alternative to Visual Thesaurus that shows the parts of speech.
Aviary: This site includes myriad productivity tools including an image editor, music creator, screen capture, audio editor, etc. It can serve as an alternative to programs like Audacity or GarageBand.
Aniboom: This site allows advance children to create intense animations.
Public Profiler: This allows you to see the frequency of names around the world. For instance, you can look up names like Jesus and Mohammed.
Do Ink: allows you to create quick flash-based animations using pre-existing tools
Tripline: Enables to to plan a trip given specific plans. Students can illustrate planned travels with text, music, and pictures. Consider having students plan a trip through Asia stopping at main locations of the Silk Road.
Qwiki: Gives and overview of whatever you type using audio, text, and video focussing on general in for information. It's a great alternative to have children gain an introduction without Wikipedia.
Crowdmap: Enables you to see where people are clustering (focusing on dealing with natural disaster aftermath) and the issues of concern are occurring in that location.

DEN Stars and Other DEN

Animoto: A great way to create a quick videos with cool audio and video. All they have to do is add the photos.
Some great Discovery Resources
Head Rush
Teacher and the Rockbots and other songs

Tech-Based PBL for the Young Learner? Yes!

2010-06-30T22:09:00.000-07:00

Tech-Based PBL for the Young Learner? Yes!
Presented by Christy Keeler and Heather Rampton

Presentation Slides
Downloadable Presentation Slides

Recommended Links

Educational Videos: Subscribe to "Keeler's Training Videos" on iTunes or visit the web-based version
Educational Virtual Museums
Audio Digital Storytelling
Ms. Rampton's Classroom Blog
Flat Stanley Activities by Chapter
Invitation to participate in Flat Stanley project: Word Version/PDF Version
Comic Life
Spelling City
Harriet Tubman Blog
Funds for Teachers

Elementary-Level PBL

2010-06-30T18:48:00.000-07:00

There are incredible project-based learning examples online, but few are from elementary level and even fewer are from primary grades. To make a very small impact on this lack of examples, I am sharing a collection of projects my sons, Ryan and Spencer, have completed for their classes during their elementary years. For information on more PBL options appealing to elementary-level students, please visit Tech-Based PBL for the Young Learner? Yes!

Scorpion Movie: When in first grade, Spencer made this video by using iTunes to record his narration and iPhoto to make a slideshow with Internet-selected pictures. He combined the two within iPhoto.
Spencer Toy's Commercial: Spencer and his friend, Spencer, created this commercial for their fourth grade entrepreneurship project. They wrote the script, practiced, and were recorded using a camera with video capabilities.
Mixed-Up Book Report and Safety Notebook: Ryan created a book report on the book From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler and a safety brochure for his Cub Scout project while in fourth grade. He used Microsoft Word tri-fold brochure templates for each.
Hatchet Report: Using ComicLife, Ryan prepared this fourth grade book report on the book Hatchet.
Caravel Mini-Book: In fifth grade, Ryan prepared a mini-book report on caravel ships (those used by Columbus). He used "Make a Booklet" software to enable proper folding, and he created a cover using tea-stained paper sent through a Laserjet printer.
Audio Interviews: When in fourth grade, Ryan had to do a book report for a fantasy/science fiction book. He chose The Riddle of the Gnome: A Further Tales Adventure by P.W. Catanese. For the project, he had to write and answer ten interview questions for the main character. Ryan chose to deliver his project in audio format (Listen here). He used Audacity and its voice modification feature to make it sound like there were two individuals in the interview room. Spencer had to replicate this activity when he was in fourth grade. He used the book Flyte by Angie Sage (Listen here).
Iroquois Virtual Museum: For his fifth grade project on Native Americans, Ryan chose to study the Iroquois by reading ...If You Lived With The Iroquois. He used PowerPoint templates and techniques from Educational Virtual Museums.
Spencers' Toys Marketing Display: Spencer Keeler and Spencer Coombs created this poster during an entrepreneur project in fourth grade. They manufactured and sold cars, trucks, and planes. The display board included a section where they projected a commercial they made using a digital camera.

ISTE 2010: Fisher, "Gadgets! Gadgets! Gadgets!"

2010-06-30T12:44:00.000-07:00

Return of the Gadgets!
Presented by Leslie Fisher

Eventbrite.com: Allows you to invite people to attend events and will allow you to set an event attendee maximum. It will keep track of the attendees, put others on a waiting list, and move them up as seats come available. You can also use it for pay events and it will take $1 for each attendee. It will automatically create certificates, sign-in sheets, nametags, etc. for your attendees.

Tripit.com: You forward your confirmation emails to create a virtual itinerary for you. T provides driving directions for your. It’s even available for the Droid.

You can create a Twitter feed on your website. Twitter.com/Goodies, Choose “Widgits,” “Profile Widgit,” and choose your preferences and username, and then “Finish and Grab Code.” This is a great way to post messages to several websites (e.g., 4th period, cheerleading, Boy Scouts).

Type With Me: Allows multiple people (15) to type at the same time in the same place (like with Google Docs). You can by-pass the 15 person limit through Google.

Zamzar: It allows you to convert files into other file types. So, for instance, you can get a YouTube video as a Quicktime file. It takes about 20 minutes, but allows you to access video even when sites are blocked.

UStream.tv: Creates an immediate videoconference. It can work like a nanny-cam.

Orbicule: This sends out your iSight video and starts taking videos of the person who is using it.

Hulu: Watch television shows for free online.

Boxee: Allows you to watch the Internet on your TV.

Swype: It will type for you as you swipe your figures around the Droid keyboard.

ISTE 2010: Davidson, "Mash Media: New Web, Old Media, and Your Own Stuff"

2010-06-30T11:04:00.000-07:00

Mash Media: New Web, Old Media, and Your Own Stuff
Presented by Hall Davidson

Wall Wishers: A creative way to share information on a single virtual wall.

Tagul: Like Wordle, but it allows you to make links to individual words in the resulting image.

Jing: Creates websites from screen captures created online. CamStudio is a good free alternative for regional screen captures on the PC.

Gizmoz: Allows you to create avatars.

Email GEEC@google.com to get a full license code for Google Pro for educators.

Web 2.0 owners almost universally allow educators to take and use screenshots from their sites. Just email the site manager to make sure it's okay to post your screen captures.

Permission to use Discovery videos in Google Lit Trips.

ISTE 2010: Other Good Sites

2010-06-29T19:27:00.000-07:00

EasyBib: An easy-to-use online alternative for EndNote. Useful for young writers learning to cite their sources.

Kerpoof: This is an online drawing and movie-making program.

Kids.gov: This is a one-stop-fits-all website connecting children to a multitude of children's games.

Games about Money

Meet Us at the Mall: Helps students learn about business competition and smart consumerism.
Stagecoach Island: Compliments of Wells Fargo, this game offers a virtual world where students can learn to manage their money.
H.I.P. Pocket Change: This site is maintained from the U.S. Mint.

ISTE 2010: November, "Digital Learning Farm: Students as Contributors"

2010-06-29T13:06:00.000-07:00

Digital Learning Farm: Students as Contributors
Presented by Alan November

We need to trust children to teach teachers.

Tutorial Design Team:
Mathtrain.tv: Includes videos of math concepts. Some teachers allow their students to either do homework, or they can create screenshot tutorials. An important element is to NOT give students grades for their creative works; otherwise, motivation will decrease over time.

WolframAlpha: An online tool that will solve algebraic and other similar math problems. If you type "Solution" along with the problem, you can find the steps to the solution.

Dan Pink, Drive: In Pink's book, he states that if you do not have purpose, your motivation will decline. November, then, states that we need to focus on giving children purpose. One such purpose is to have them create products that can benefit others.

Screencasting is a critically important tool that teachers seldom use.

Production Designer:
A key to enhanced educational opportunities is to release control to the students. An example of this is Bob Sprankle's student vodcast. In his elementary-level classroom, they do a weekly podcast on what the class learned throughout the week. A student designs the production for the week. After creating these podcasts, students individually came to Mr. Sprankle and asked him if they could create their own shows. One student created a writing show and another created a math show.

Scribe:
Using Google Docs, have three different students keep notes during a single teaching period. Have each of the three students focus on a different aspect of the presentation. Also, inform each of these scribes that they should add additional information as they feel it would be helpful, and they can add information to their notes at any later time.

Researcher:
School culture has conditioned children to create a dependency on the teacher to answer their questions. They are not encouraged to explore on their own; they are rewarded when interacting with the teacher and asking questions of the teacher. A job students may have in the class is to to be the researcher. When a student asks a question, one student is required to find the answer online.

Global Communicator:
One student's job should be to find email addresses of people that could act as experts when the class has questions they are unable to answer.

Kiva: A website designed to facilitate loans to small businesses around the world. For $25, students can choose a business to support and follow the success of the business. When the money is returned, you can re-invest it.

"Don't forget the kids." In fact, perhaps we should spend more time empowering kids to improve learning and less time on professional development. Perhaps a school could put together a team of students who will identify a list of ways they can use cell phones for learning within the school environment.

ISTE 2010: Schrock, "A Dose of Twitter for Every Day of the Year"

2010-06-29T12:02:00.000-07:00

A Dose of Twitter for Every Day of the Year
Presented by Kathy Schrock

Ways to integrate Twitter into the Classroom:

Choose a historical figure and tweet as if you're that individual.
Provide a summary of a chapter or lesson.
Share a link relating to the topic of the week.
Do collaborative writing.
Post a question each night.
Have students follow a breaking news story.

30 Interesting Ways to use Twitter in the Classroom (Tom Barrett offers suggestions for using Twitter in public schools. These are available at

The Twitter Song by Ben Walker

ISTE 2010: Dodge, "What is Engagement, Really, and Where Can I Get Some?"

2010-06-28T10:29:00.000-07:00

What is Engagement, Really, and Where Can I Get Some?
Presented by Bernie Dodge

News Dots: Ask students what story interests you the least and why?

360 Cities: Allows you to look at cities from a photographic 360 degree perspective.

Compare/contrast cities
Have students find examples of high-density and low-density populations, high and low GDP
Where would you rather live?
Place novels in context
Prepare for an annual Washington, D.C. trip
Consider geometric shapes in architecture
Create a 360 City of your community and describe its history

Have an observer randomly choose 4 four students and observe them for three-minute intervals while you teach. Ask them to determine the level of engagement for each of the students. Are they engaging with each other? The teacher? Materials? The content?

Engagement is about looking closely at what everyone in your classroom is doing.

Nevada Curricular Standards: A List

2010-04-30T00:18:00.001-07:00

Because I have had to reference Nevada Curricular Standards for several of my consulting contracts, I found it helpful to create a single list of cross-curricular, cross-grade standards. All Nevada Standards appear on the Nevada Department of Education website, but they are separated by subject area and grade, and each subject area has adopted its own design and display format. Though I have not had need for all standards, I created a single document compiling standards for those subject areas (social studies, English/language arts, mathematics, science, health, art, music, theater, physical education) and grade bands (3, 4, 5, 6-8, 9-12) I use most frequently.

Click here for the compiled list of Nevada Curricular Standards.*

*Note: This is not an official list and should not be used in lieu of the actual state standards.

Google Searches by Jennifer Ritz

2010-03-13T09:22:00.000-08:00

See the related website at http://sites.google.com/a/escoweb.org/google/searches

Begin by doing a simple Google search, click on "Show Options" (right to the left of the results), and choose the type of search you want to do. When you click on one of the options, it will give you more options. Click the option you wish to search, click "Search" in the search bar, and then choose "Web" on the left-hand side.

Google Related Searches: Identifies similar searches that might help students specify what they wish to learn.
Google Wonder Wheel: Similar to a visual thesaurus, but for Google searches.
Google Timeline: "Timeline" will separate sites into time periods (e.g., tsunamis, search by years and the choose those from the 1700s).

Google Squared: This site allows you to search general information for a collection of similar items (e.g., presidents, math history, and Native American tribes. You can save and export the resulting square into Google spreadsheets which will keep the information clickable or into CSV which creates links).

Custom Search Engines: This allows you to modify a search and then save and manage it. It is a way to allow students to search for keywords within only the sites you specify.

Google Earth/Google Lit Trips (CUE-SN Presentation)—3/13/10

2010-03-13T08:13:00.000-08:00

Click here for the slideshow from the Google Earth/Google Lit Trips session.

Please visit the useful sites below:

Google Earth: This allows you to download Google Earth and access resources to assist in using the tool(s).
Google Lit Trips: Created by Jerome Burg, this is the location for accessing and downloading approved Google Lit Trips.
Formatting Place Marker Descriptions: This includes the HTML codes for basic placemark coding.

Steve Dembo and Lindsay Hopins: "Top 10 Web 2.0 Tools"

2010-03-05T14:35:00.000-08:00

Web 2.0: Entirely web based, interactive, plays well with others

Crappy Graphs: This allows quick and easy basic graphs. You can download or embed these graphs.
Wall Wisher: Allows you to put sticky notes on things. This works well for quick, collaborative note taking. You can drag notes around to use like a concept map.
Delicious: Social bookmarking.
Let Me Google That For You: Shows people how to Google. It shows a screencast of typing in terms and pulling up the search terms.
ipadio: Allows quick easy mobile podcasts. You must register to use the site, but there is no charge. The resulting audios have embed codes and automatically makes an iTunes podcast.
Blabberize: Allows you to use any photo and "Blabberize" (make the person/animal) speak. This would work well for having famous people tell autobiographies. The result is an embed code.
Animoto: This is free for one year for educators. It allows you to make music videos using your own videos. You can upload yur own images, rearrange them, add text, highlight images (so they'll stay up longer). You can use your own audio or use the audio they've provided for free. It adds in all the transitions and visual effects so allows students to quickly make the videos. This would work well for a photo collage for a year-end festival.
Wordle: Allows you to create word clouds. If you want to take it to the next level, use Word Sift. In Word Sift, you paste in text. It creates a word cloud that is not as visually appealing as Wordle, but it allows you to interact with the words (e.g., highlight language arts words or social studies). You can choose a single word to bring up a visual thesaurus and the application will also bring in related images from Google images.
Glogster: There are two versions: public and educational. Glogster allows you to create visual e-boards with embedded media (inc., sounds, videos, and pictures).

Notes on this session are available here.

NCSS Presentation 2009: "21st Century Social Studies"

2009-11-14T10:54:00.000-08:00

I highly recommend participants in this session review the resources at the Partnership for 21st Century Skills website.

Click here for presentation slides. You may also access the Schaaf Coyote of the Day Pledge of Allegiance audio as presented by Mrs. Schaaf's second grade classroom.

NCSS Presentation Notes: Social Studies—Research and Practice

2009-11-12T13:21:00.000-08:00

What Does It Mean to Think Historically... And How Do We Teach It?
Presented by Bruce van Sledright

Who epitomizes the depth of historical knowledge?

Historians.

How do they become these experts?

It's about reading and literacy practices combined with self-understanding and an awareness of social-cultural context and the individual's role as a citizen.
Fundamentally, becoming a novice expert is about achieving se;f-understanding and awareness if socio-cultural content itself (positionality)

Our challenges need to address these isues:

School literacy practices: Searching for the "one right idea"
Epistomological positions
The School and Cultural History Curriculum: Our education is about commemoration, not investigation

NCSS Leadership Conference Notes

2009-11-12T10:56:00.000-08:00

Accessing Funds from the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act (ARRA)
Presented by Beth Ratway

The meeting began with an introduction of the attendees and discussion of how states are connecting internally.

Money is currently available through SFSF, Race to the Top, SIG, i3, ED Tech, TIF, SLDA, and TQP. All of these run through IDEA and Title I.

The types of questions social studies councils should be seeking to answer include:

How do standards and assessment impact your work?
How can you use data to improve the work of your council?

The currently education landscape focuses on ARRA, I3, NCLB, and 21^st Century Skills.

ARRA: 4 Assurances expected of those seeking to procure funding

Support effective teachers and school leaders
Improve the use of data (Data systems: fully implementing a statewide longitudinal data system, accessing and using state data, and using data to improve instruction)
Complete the implementation of high standards and high-quality assessments
Turn around persistently low-performing schools, whole-school reform, and targeted approaches to reform.

In addition, states should be focused on developing and adopting common standards, developing and implementing common, high-quality assessments, supporting transition to enhanced standards and high quality assessments.

The key is to find the intersecting nodes for standards and assessments, teacher and leadership effectiveness, support for struggling schools, and _____.

Race to the Top Funds go to state educational agencies, school improvement grants, investing in innovation funds, educational technology, teacher incentive fund, and statewide data system. As social studies councils, the focus should probably be the i3 (Investing in Innovation Fund)Funds (a part of the third phase of funding. For this grant, the interest is in improving student achievement or student growth from high-need students and promoting school readiness. Only LEAs or non-profit organizations can get this in collaboration with an LEA.

Funding focuses on three levels: development of research-based theories ($5 m award), validation (up to $30 m award), and scale-up ($50 m award).

To receive the grant, there must be 20% private sector funding, conduct independent program evaluation, cooperate with technical assistants, etc.

Other interested topics include improving early learning outcomes, supporting college access and success, assisting ELL and disabled students, serve schools in rural LEAs. If applications address these issues, they will receive preference.

All proposals should include partnerships (e.g., with other LEAs, other social studies councils).

Beth recommended the following resource for assessing higher level thinking objectives: Authentic Intellectual Work by Ken Newman (a way to look at depth of knowledge and other educational outcomes)

ARRA grants should be in the million dollar range, the grants should be pretty competitive, and they will probably be due around the spring/ summer.

Legislative Briefing

Presented by Della Cronin

Some of the concepts that appeal to Secretary Duncan are charter school and pay for performance. The interest on Capitol Hill, however, has been on health care, not education. Duncan has stated publicly that NCLB has its good and bad points and noted that we have had a narrowing of the curriculum as a result of the legislation.

There appears to be a focus on preparing children in early childhood as a way to support the overall goal of having all students graduate from high school and increase college enrollments.

There is a bill from Rockefeller that would provide funds to states to support 21^st century learning. Senator Kennedy and Senator Alexander introduced a bill that would expand the sample size for the NAEP civics exam and place an emphasis on history assessments. Nothing is currently moving out of the re-authorization process.

There appear to be concerns about equity and access in education. The rural areas and inner-city schools appear to facing the brunt of America's contemporary financial status.

Make sure when coupling terms, we include citizenship (e.g., "College, Career, and Citizenship").

Online Course Designs: Are Special Needs Bring Met?

2009-08-06T21:26:00.000-07:00

Dr. Mark Horney and I would like to to thank the American Journal for Distance Education and the Annual Conference on Distance Teaching and Learning for the honor of receiving the esteemed Wedemeyer Award for Outstanding Scholarship in Distance Education in memory of Charles and Mildred Wedemeyer. We hope that our research may continue to open the back doors for students who might otherwise be marginalized.

The citation for our full paper is:
Keeler, C., & Horney, M. (2007). Online course designs: Are special needs being met? American Journal for Distance Education, 21(2).

For an overview of the study, view this video interview between Rosemary Lehman and Drs. Keeler and Horney.

Presentation Slides
Presentation Notes
Data Sheet

Video Interview

Surviving the Desert: A Lesson Plan

2009-07-31T06:50:00.000-07:00

Surviving the Desert
Developed Christy G. Keeler, Ph.D.
Geographic Alliance in Nevada

Grade Level: 7-12
Time: 100 minutes separated into two days (plus homework reading requirements)
Overview: Using Grand Canyon as a case study, this lesson introduces students to desert survival issues by having them read about desert survival, evaluate possible hiking routes given Grand Canyon maps and related data, and develop a safety pamphlet for use by those visiting and planning to hike in Grand Canyon region. The lesson concludes by having students compare their instructional pamphlets with actual safety and hiking pamphlets of Grand Canyon.

Connection to National Geography Standards

The World in Spatial Terms
(1) How to use maps and other geographic representations, tools, and technologies to acquire, process, and report information.
(3) How to analyze the spatial organization of people, places, and environments on Earth's surface.
Places and Regions
(4) The physical and human characteristics of places.
(5) That people create regions to interpret Earth's complexity.
(6) How culture and experience influence people's perceptions of places and regions.
Physical Systems
(7) The physical processes that shape the patterns of Earth's surface.
Human Systems
(9) The characteristics and spatial distribution of ecosystems on Earth's surface.
(12) The processes, patterns, and functions of human settlement.
(14) How human actions modify the physical environment.
Environment and Society
(15) How physical systems affect human systems.
The Uses of Geography
(17) How to apply geography to interpret the past.
(18) How to apply geography to interpret the present and plan for the future.

Materials

• Computers for every six students (with printer access)
• A classroom computer with a projector
• Photocopied excerpts of the book chapters (See “Procedures”—“Before the Lesson)
• Topographical maps of Grand Canyon
--http://www.grand.canyon.national-park.com/brightmap.htm
--http://www.bobspixels.com/kaibab.org/usgs/gc_gc_ed.htm
• Hiking guides produced and distributed to all visitors by the National Park Service about Grand Canyon (i.e., the information provided at the entrance to the national park)—Enough for each group of six students to have a copy of each circular AND the below trail maps of Grand Canyon (one of each for each group of six)
• Grand Canyon Trail Guide: Bright Angel (http://www.grandcanyonassociation.org/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=GCA&Product_Code=M10070&Category_Code=&Search=trail+bright+angel&Search_Type=OR&Offset=49)
• Grand Canyon Trail Guide: Havasu (http://www.grandcanyonassociation.org/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=GCA&Product_Code=M10085&Category_Code=&Search=trail+bright+angel&Search_Type=OR&Offset=50)

Objectives

• Students will identify geographic structures of desert regions with specific attention to Grand Canyon.
• Students will identify dangers associated with desert survival.
• Students will prepare cohesive plans for surviving desert climates and physical geographical structures.

Procedure

Day One

Opening
Project a topographical map of Grand Canyon (http://www.jcu.edu/philosophy/gensler/escalante.gif) and, in their journals, have students propose routes for hiking from the rim to the river, justifying their choices, and stating issues they might face when making the trek.
Development
1. Discuss student responses during their review of the topographical map, focusing on the abrupt elevation changes common in Grand Canyon. Next, in lecture format, briefly explain the geography of the region by addressing the history, geology, flora, and fauna of the region while addressing the broader issue of deserts. The following resources may prove helpful:
• http://www.destination360.com/north-america/us/arizona/images/s/grand-canyon-maps.jpg
• http://away.com/gifs/states/az/m_gcnpov.gif
• http://www.arizona-leisure.com/grand-canyon-history.html
2. Ask students what issues they feel may be important when hiking in Grand Canyon, recording their answers on the board.
3. Place students in groups of six and have each group begin to design a pamphlet that could be given to travelers to Grand Canyon who intend to hike in the park’s region. Specific attention should address dangers of the Canyon and safety recommendations. Groups should choose their design and begin input basic information before the end of class.
**Have students use pre-made pamphlet templates (available in the Project Gallery of Microsoft Word) to save time on design, therefore allowing more time to focus on content.
Closing
Inform students that for homework they will read information about dangers affecting individuals either hiking in deserts or visiting Grand Canyon. They must come prepared with their homework for class tomorrow.

Homework

Distribute copies of the following chapters and book sections to students to read for homework. Provide each student with a different reading to ensure the class completes all readings. Every student in each group of six should have a different reading and both the Desert Survival and Death in Grand Canyon books should be represented in each group. Student must prepare a brief assignment including the following items:
• The name of their reading
• A brief description of what they read
• Five tips for hiking in desert regions or Grand Canyon extrapolated from their reading

The readings include:
1. Desert Solitaire by Edward Abbey—“Water” and “The Heat of Noon: Rock and Tree and Cloud” [Note: The “Water” chapter includes some inappropriate language. Additionally, both chapters require high reading levels and may include adult content.]
2. Desert Survival: Tips, Tricks, and Skills by Tony Nester—Assign each of the following sections, one for each student:
--“Physiology of Humans in the Desert”
--“Desert Hazards”
--“Anatomy of a Survival Situation”
--“The Basic Skills of Survival”
--“Outfitting Your Vehicle”
--“Obtaining Water in Arid Regions”
--“Desert Survival Shelters”
--“Firemaking Skills”
--“Knife Uses and Safety”
--“Signaling for Rescue”
3. Over the Edge: Death in Grand Canyon by Michael Ghiglieri and Thomas Myers—Assign all chapters EXCEPT those on suicide and murder. Assign at least one student to each of the following book sections:
--Chapter One (Falls): Chapter Introduction AND “Falls from the Rim,” “Falls within the Canyon”
--Chapter Two (Environmental Deaths): Entire chapter
--Chapter Three (Flash Floods): Entire chapter
--Chapter Four (Killer Colorado): Chapter Introduction AND “Lethal Errors Made While Running the River,” “River Crossers Who Didn’t,” “Swimmers Who Drowned Elsewhere in the Colorado,” “Swimmers Who Drowned between Phantom and Pipe Creek” AND “Swimmers Who Drown Elsewhere in the Colorado,” “Accidental Swimmers Who Fell in from Shore” AND “Mysterious Disappearances Who Drowned from Camp,” “Lessons of Safety & Survival from the Grand Canyon Colorado”
--Chapter Five (Air): Entire chapter
--Chapter Six (Freak Errors and Accidents): “Rock Falls,” “Venomous Creatures,” “Freak Errors and Accidents”
--Epilogue (Lessons): Entire section

*In larger classes, have multiple students read the same passage, but limit the number of students per passage to ensure an even distribution of readings.
* If there are not enough books for students to take home to complete the readings, copy chapters or chapter sections for each student. In some cases, it is possible to copy two pages on a single side of paper, for a total of four pages per piece of paper. Require students return their reading passages for use with future classes.

Day Two

Opening
As students enter the classroom, have each student choose one tip for hiking in desert regions or Grand Canyon from their homework assignment and write it on the board. [For smaller classes, have each student write two tips on the board.]
Development
1. Have students continue on their pamphlets. Halfway through the class period, have students print out their pamphlets. (They will turn these in for grading after class.)
2. Provide each group with hiking guides from Grand Canyon (see “Materials”) and have them review these to identify hiking and survival tips. Each group will create a T-chart titled “Pamphlet Comparisons.” On the left, they will write “Recommended Improvements for Our Pamphlet” and the right will write “Recommended Improvements to Their Pamphlets.” Student groups will complete the T-chart and turn it in along with their pamphlet.
Closing
Have a brief discussion about what students learned through this two-day unit.

Assessment

1. Provide credit based on student ability to actively collaborate with a group to complete the pamphlet and their ability to collaborate in the whole class group for the project analysis.
2. Grade the quality of student responses on their homework assignment.
3. Grade students on the quality of information included in the pamphlet and their T-charts, taking into account the collaborative nature of the assignments.

Extending the Lesson

• Have students replicate this lesson for a national park in another region and ecosystem of the United States.
• Have students evaluate their group pamphlet and create a new pamphlet on their own. The pamphlet should combine content from the original group-generated pamphlet, class discussions and lecture, and official park documents.

This lesson is available at http://keelerthoughts.blogspot.com/2009/07/surviving-desert-lesson-plan.html
or in downloadable Microsoft Word format.

NECC 2009: Session Notes

2009-06-29T08:55:00.000-07:00

A Ripple Effect: 21st Century Innovations that Matter
Cheryl Lemke

Adolescent learning: peers, school, home, distributed resources, work, networked publics (a networked space where the public meets). —B. Barron, 2006

We need to create environments where we can work and learn peer-to-peer with our students because that is where they go to learn what interests them. Students need to see the value-added that the teacher offers.

94% of adolescents are involved in online gaming. —Pew

Multi-tasking is a myth. Our brains have an executive function that allows us to only think about things serially. Students, though, are faster than adults because they are younger (our brain processing speed peaks at between 20 and 30. When you move from one task to another, there is a slight delay and loss of time. There is, however, background tasking (e.g., listening to music). When students are engaged in difficult to cognitively process content, we should decrease the need for background tasking and multi-tasking. Drill and practice builds automaticity that leads to a greater ability to do background tasking while engaged in processing new content. Our students are giving us their “continuous partial attention” (Linda Stark).

http://www.positech.co.uk/democracy2/ : This is a game that allows users to try and keep a country alive. It considers elections, economics, etc.

If you grant students choice, on average, their grades will increase by a full grade.

On average there’s less than 10 seconds of sustained discussion in the average classroom. Instead, there is teach-talk followed by student-talk, followed by teacher-talk.

http://voicethread.com: This is a nice tool for working with video, stills, audio, and text/drawings.

http://flowingdata.com/: This is a tool that assists in visualizing data (e.g., Twitter posts about Obama during the Inaugeration, growth of Wal-Mart). http://gapminder.org is a similar program that allows you to track demographic features over time.

http://scratch.mit.edu/: This tool is good for teaching students about gaming and gaming environments from a design perspective.

Tammy Worcester
Tammy’s Favorite Technology Tips, Tricks, and Tools

http://www.tammyworcester.com

http://vozme.com: Users type in text and the application reads it aloud.
http://vocaroo.com: Allows you to record your voice. It results in an embed code.
http://jamstudio.com: Allows users to very easily create music loops.
http://fur.ly: Allows you to shorten multiple URLs into one. This creates a website that would be great for creating webquests or smaller Delicious sites.
http://www.imaginationcubed.com: This is a free online basic version of KidPix. More than one individual can work on the whiteboard at a time and you can email the project to others. The email includes the real-time drawing, not just the finished product.
http://jing.com or http://skitch.com: Allows you to do screen captures and make edits (e.g., adding arrows and text). You can also record voice and screen changes (like with Snapz Pro X).
http://kickyoutube.com: Allows you to download YouTube videos for later use. Just add “kick” in the YouTube URL and choose (from the bar on the top) the format in which you want to download. Then, click the green “Download” button. Next, right-click over the “Down” button to download the video to your hard drive.
http://classtools.net (Random Name Picker): Picks a name from a list you provide. The application includes an embed code so you can have the program run whenever you wish to use it (e.g., from the class blog).
http://taggalaxy.com: Looks in Flickr to find any images relating to the tag you select. You could create your own tag and hen look at the image (a globe) with just your pictures.
Firefox Shortcuts: Use Apple-L to move to the URL bar. To create a shortcut, go to the search box for the website (e.g., Amazon) and right click and create a shortcut (e.g., type az twilight and it will look for
“Twlight” in Amazon).

Dr. Christopher Moersch
Teaching 2.0: Challenging the Interactive Generation
http://lotiguyspeaks.blogspot.com

H-E-A-T (high-order thinking, engaged learning, authenticity, technology use
There are three parts to every learning activity: content, process, and product
http://www.lotilounge.com: Allows schools to take the LoTi digital-age survey
“What gets measured gets improved.”
http://wordle.net: Allows analysis of textual passages.

Tom March
WebQuests 2.0: A Richer Web Improves a Good Idea

http://tommarch.com

http://clipmarks.com: Allows you to copy/paste from multiple webpages therefore creating a pool of resources related to a personally-selected topic.
http://diigo.com: Allows you to highlight, ask questions, and comment on individual websites.
http://pageflakes.com: This is an alternative to iGoogle. It provides you with an assigned web address instead of having it just be available after logging in. The site allows you to subscribe to multiple RSS feeds in the form of tabs at the top of the page. This would be good to allow students to take turns reviewing individual webquests.
http://vue.org: This is an online version of Inspiration.
CEQ•ALL ("Seek All")—Choice, Effort, Quality, Attitude, Labor of Love (A taxonomy for this century); Set-up educational opportunities that allow students to make choices, requires hard work/effort, the teacher makes him/herself available for ensuring quality of student work/learning, allows students to feel good about themselves by having a good attitude, and teachers and students must put a labor of love into their work.

Vendor Notes

Global Fever (a vendor that provides curriculum relating to the environment) created a collection of rich resources using ComicLife. Their sample pages all use ComicLife and can serve as excellent examples.

Kids.gov: Like Thinkfinity, this is a central location for accessing several website. Its function is to bring together government sites intended for use by children.

From Banned to Planned: Cell Phones in Schools
Hall Davidson
http://discoveryedspeakersbureau.com/node/119

Poll Everywhere: Allows you to have students take a quick poll using their phones.

Suggestions for ways teachers are using cell phones in the classroom are avilable at http://k12cellphoneprojects.wikispaces.com another resource is http://www.cellphonesinlearning.com.

Voicethread: A tool for creating projects like HyperStudio, but it allows you to add audio recorded directly from your cell phone.

Davidson suggests we rename "cell phones." In some countries they call it a hand phone and keitai ("a snug, intimate technosocial tethering"). Cell phones are different from other technologies because they are both input and output devices.

"Classroom management is less of an issues when engaged learning is taking place."

Qik: This site allows you to broadcast live from a cell phone. It will also allows you to embed code into blogs or Google Earth.

Shazam: It allows you to hold-up your cell phone to a song and the phone can decode the name of the song.

Cell phones can read bar codes (bar code readers are freely available online) and they can create bar codes from text/pictures (QR code generators).

Amazon bought a company that does object recognition (e.g., you can take a picture of someone's shoes, send it to Amazon, and Amazon with offer it for purchase).

Davidson has placed Fatherlee's paperwork for using cell phones in the classroom on his website (see above). It includes a letter home to parents, instructions for designing cell-phone educational activities, and a tech-survey for parents to ensure students aren't being charged for their in-class work.

NECC 2008 Notes

2009-03-08T13:44:00.000-07:00

ISTE’s NETS•T Refreshed Roll-Out

We need real world, relevant assignments because we’ve already done well moving from the sage on the stage to the guide on the side. At this point we need to re-inspire teachers.

The new teacher standards include:
Facilitate and inspire student learning and creativity
Design and develop digital-age learning experiences and assessments
Model digital-age work and learning
Promote and model digital citizenship and responsibility
Engage in professional growth and leadership

There is a new tool available through ISTE’s website that will assist administrators in determining the level of technology integration occurring with their teachers.

Check out fact flippers: www.tammyworcester.com

Dan Edelson, Getting out of the Classroom with Technology

Volunteer Geography: A variant of citizen science. For example, students can make and share field observations and analyze and provide interpretations of that data. The concept is that students collect data by taking measurements, thy submit the data via a web form, they visualize it using interactive maps, they analyze patterns based on the data and visualization, and they may report back to others in their classes. One problem with this is that students will only be able to see small amounts of data if they are involved during the start if the project. An example of this was students testing soil samples following use of salt on icy roads. Students get to experience the full spectrum of the scientific process. In this case, students used probes and collected data in the classroom and submitted information via a website.

NGS FieldScope allows students to collect real world data. NGS chooses a region to study and invites teachers and students to participate. The teachers must purchase the equipment which costs about $1,000.

Chris Dede, Ubiquitous Computing

Goal: Repurpose common items for educational purposes (e.g., using cell phones for augmented learning).

Cheryl Lemke

We need to recognize that adolescent learning includes the home, school, peers, work, distributed resources, and communities – not just school. Our goal at this point is scalability of using technology tools for 21st century teaching, not just focusing on use in our own classrooms.

She suggests we use research-based methods to develop lessons and units that serve as “sheet music.” The teachers base their instruction on the sheet music, but also improvise.

A good teacher blog including student podcasts is “Learning on the Go.” The teacher sets up her class as a fictional consulting agency and the students solve real world algebra problems. Another teacher uses authentic travel agent activities to teach about Greek history.

SimCalc: http://www.simcalc.umassd.edu/software (teaches about perspective)

Media multi-tasking: We can only do one thing at a time, but we can quickly move from one thing to another. Kids are better at multi-tasking than adults. When learning, students are distracted when multi-tasking (except for things like music without lyrics in the background).

Universe: http://universe.daylife.com (identifies what is going on online in real time using a visual perspective)

Venezuela started teaching critical thinking to their elementary and middle school students 10 years ago. Now, they are finding increased average adult IQs across the country.

See http://www.flatworld.com

Alan November, “Designing Rigorous and Globally Connected Assignments”

This presentation is available from the “Archive of Articles” on NovemberLearning.com. This presentation is available at Digital Farm.

Students are connected to everyone in their lives – except their teachers because schools block everything. “Schools are the learning police.” There is more freedom in Chinese schools in terms of the Internet than here. We are so worried about their safety that we block their learning.

Vocabulary of the Web: Students need to learn information resources. This type of information is available on http://novemberlearning.com/blc

By adding site:en to Google searches, you will only get sites with an English country code. To get Turkey-based sites, type site:tr.

Adding view:timeline to a search, you can access the most recent information about a given search term.

Type link:http://Wikipedia.com to find out how many links exist to that particular site.

Hall Davidson, “It’s in Your Pocket: Teaching Spectacularly with Cell Phones”

http://www.myspace.com/sidekicknation (How kids use video on a daily basis)

Every classroom should have a student-designated web researcher. The teacher should never have to answer a factual question, they should only have to respond to higher-order thinking questions.

There is a Google feature that allows you to create your own search engine. November believes teachers and students should jointly build search engines. This will give students less stimuli when they do searches.

It would be nice if students could develop resources that teach content and then future students review these tutorials before class. Students, then, are responsible for learning their own content and class time is replaced with problem solving. When there’s not a lot of Internet access, students could have a DVD with all the information at home (because DVDs are more common in the home than Internet connections).

The http://jingproject.com is a downloadable application that allows you to create screencasts.

Instead of teaching teachers to use technology, November jokes that we should send two of our students to the training and one of the students should be the biggest trouble-maker in the class.

Wikipedia isn’t an encyclopedia, it’s a publishing house. Third grade students were told they would visit the Pitot House and write an article they would submit to the largest encyclopedia in the class. The students wrote and published their Wikipedia article and now they follow the RSS feed for the article and critique what other people write.

http://kiva.com: Organizes donations to small business entrepreneurs. The donors get their money back and they get reports on their projects. You can also talk to the other people who have invested in the same entrepreneurial project.

http://jott.com alters voice to text. You can call this service from your cell phone. Another option is fozme.com

http://polleverywhere.com: Allows you to do automatic polls from cell phones (like the classroom response systems)

Terry Cavanaugh, GIS, Google Maps, and More for Literacy Projects

http://books.google.com

There are interactive maps that show all he locations mentioned in a book (e.g., The Travels of Marco Polo). [Note to self – check out the Bible.]

Gutenkarte (http://gutenkarte.org) also makes a map of a text, showing what places are most frequently mentioned. Amazon’s Concordance also does this by telling the 100 most used words in a given text.

http://editgrid.com allows you to map a story using latitude and longitude in a spreadsheet.

http://www.goglelittrips.com has 23 stories you can follow on Google Earth. You download the .kmz file and use it with Google Earth. An example is with Make Way for Ducklings. The entire story is mapped as sections are mentioned. Also, people have added pictures of items and informational text from specific locations in the book. Anyone can make a Google Lit Trip.

http://wetellstories.co.uk/stories/week1/: Tells a story using a map – the text is embedded in the map.

Teachers can get the Pro Version of Google Earth by writing to Google and requesting it. It is possible to make a map for each student so they can each map out a story.

A dimensional mouse allows you to move in three dimensions. They are available through Amazon.

Using virtual map pins, students can add quotes from book, write facts about the locations mentioned, and adding multimedia books. This is a means of having students have greater interactivity with books.

In September, cameras will have cameras with embedded geo-tags. Some buildings are going to start putting in geo-tagging points in the buildings.

Tony Vincent, Audio is Great! Video is Cool! IPods Can Do More!

Learning in Hand iPods is his iPod podcast. See http://learninginhand.com/ipods

http://spokentext.com will speak any text into audio.

You can create cover art and lyrics (or primary source text) through going to Get Info for an individual song.

See http://NotontheTest.org

iPrep Press has comic books you can download to your iPod. BrainQuest also has quizzes for the iPod.

Ipod-notes.com allows you to combine Notes files

IPrepPress allows you to download a dictionary and many primary sources. Get 100 Words every high school students should know.

ManyBooks.com allows you to download books in the public domain.

iWriter allows you to link stories together as story

iQuizMaker allows you to make quizzes for your iPod. You can also share iQuizzes by going to iQuizShare (http://iquizshare.com/)

Use monitor mode to make your iSight camera not cause a mirroring effect.

Check out doc imaging and doc scanning on the PC.

Get book making ideas from web.mac.com/lindaoaks and check out her handouts on the NECC site

Download handouts from NECC site for Sharon Hirschy about making class books using PPT

CUE 2009: "50 Ways to Use Video Streaming" and "Walk with the STARs"

2009-03-08T13:30:00.000-07:00

Check out songs in Discovery Streaming.

Have students listen for certain words during a video and clap or stomp when they hear those words. This helps keep students listening and engaged with the video.

Celebrate students’ birthdays by having everyone look at what happened on their birthdays using the calendar feature. One teacher starts the day fifteen minutes early and shows the videos from the day. The door is closed until school is to start and you cannot view the videos if you weren’t there early.

For the slidesteaching specifics about discovery streaming, visit http://geekybird.com and go to “The Bird Cage.”

Use gCast to immediately post podcasts from the phone. It uses a 1-888- number.

http://www.lookybook.com has books you can read online and see the pages.

Use http://spaceplace.nasa.gov to play Nasa-related games.

Go to http://a.placebetween.us suggests where you might want to meet between two people and what type of meals might be available.

X Timeline is a good timeliner creator.

Comics are available for the making from Comiqs, Blabberize, Pixton, …

Brain Blaze, iFlash, Trace, EduBlaster are great games in the Apps Store in iTunes.

http://discoveryedspeakersbureau.com watch iPod is a mega-VCR is a great way to learn how to use iPods.

http://online-stopwatch.com is a great place to find live stop watches.

http://labs.ideeinc.com/multicolr allows you to find Flickr images that are sorted and searchable by color.

http://xtranormal.com is a means of creating digital stories quickly using pre-designed characters and backgrounds.

http://glogster.com allows you to make posters online that are clickable.

http://blabberize.com allows you to put in one or two graphics and have the characters look like they are talking and you can record audio.

http://animoto.com allows you to make rock videos. You can access it for free as a DEN Star.

CUE 2009: "Web 2.0—Powerful Practices from Experienced Presenters" by Paul Devoto and Joe Wood

2009-03-08T13:12:00.000-07:00

Paul Devoto
Joe Wood

Adolescents send an average if 200 texts a day.

Students learn, unlearn, and relearn.

3L’s: They link (into the world via the Internet), lurk (watch others), and lunge (jump right into it)

Teachers are not connecting on social networks while all students are doing it, even if they don’t have computers at home.

Zinch is a social networking site used to network high school seniors with colleges.

The number 14th most downloaded application for the iPhone is Facebook.

Twitter=”micro-blogging”

Students interact with media more than 72 hours per work, only 10% of which is for education.
Information is cheap today.

Bloom’s taxonomy was modified in 2001: create is now the highest level of the taxonomy.

All children have incredible abilities and we squander them.

None of the top 10 jobs today will exist in ten years so it’s critical we teach students to learn how to learn.
Read A Whole New Mind by Daniel Pink. He states that the future belongs to “designers, inventors, teachers, and storytellers.” He continues by noting design, story, symphony, empathy, play, and meaning will be the most important skills for the future.

“Textperts”=Tech Experts (each class has 4-5 textperts); Texpert selection needs to be skilled at computers, they have to be friendly to others, they have to be responsible academically (complete their other work, Testperts get special chairs and a table. They have to complete all the work just like the other students. Students rate textperts every few weeks. The teacher also asks whether any of the textperts were rude, who was most friendly, and whether they’ve received help from each textpert. This is feedback to the teacher and students receive some feedback (only the positive feedback). This encourages a sense of community and empowerment for the students.

Recommended classroom rules: Help others when asked, share ideas, respect all ideas, have fun, and make it meaningful.

Early finishers help others, finish projects from other classrooms, and have “creative free time” (and they must be creating something).

Google’s employees spend 80% of their time is spent doing their work, and 20% is spent doing something creative.

Apple Remote Desktop allows you to see all your student’s screens and to double-click to take over the screen. It also allows you to collect artifacts of what students are doing.

The fine for using someone’s photo without asking for permission is $1,400.

Creative Commons: Allows users to share work with anyone. When ever you create something, you receive copyright protection. Creative Commons allows you to choose the level of copyright. Google and Flikr all offer Creative Commons sections. You can search in Google for Creative Commons items (can you specify images?). You can go to http://www.flikr.com/Creative Commons to access free photos.
http://FreetypingGame.com is a free online typing game.

CUE 2009: "Robert Marzano, March 6, 2009"

2009-03-08T13:11:00.000-07:00

Three-to-five years ago, Marzano started studying technology.

Interactive white boards and voting: Students had learning gains of 14%ile-17%ile. The longer teachers use the boards (the more experience they have), the greater the learning gains. The amount of time the technology was used in the classroom also added learning gains, up to 85% of the time at which there was a decrease in student learning. The best conditions for using this technology is an experienced teacher whose used the technology for to years or more who uses the technology about 75% of the time and they have been trained to use the technology. Under these conditions, you could expect an average 30% gain in student learning. Twenty-three percent of the teachers did better without the technology than with the technology (usually this number is much higher in educational statistics). Therefore, weaker teachers require professional development and proper use of interact whiteboard technologies.
Proper use of the technology includes:

Keeping a clear focus on the content (not the bells and whistles), and,
Keeping track of which students are “getting it” and which are not (response rates can increase student engagement, but can turn students off as soon as a single students is called upon; increase wait time and “thumbs up, thumbs down,” electronic voting, etc. can help increase student response).

Formative assessment, record keeping, and teacher feedback: Providing feedback from classroom assessments to provide students with a clear picture of their progress on learning goals and how they might improve. Telling students whether they are right or wrong actually has a decrease effect in student knowledge of the content. The more information that helps students understand why their answers are correct or incorrect, the greatest learning gains (20%). The same amount of gain occurs when having students repeat a task until they get the answers correct.
Some of the ways to increase content learning is to ensure there is no single assessment to determine if students are learning. The ability to determine what to work on with students based on a state assessment (from class wide results), is nearly zero.
He recommends using data to keep track over time based on a standard teacher-created rubric when dealing with teacher created tests. When using rubrics and student progress tracking there us a =n average if 75% academic gain.
Using electronic record keeping makes this process easy. A key is the teacher must alter their teaching using the data.

Use of the Internet in the classroom is a key area to study, but Marzano does not yet have data to support his theories in this area.

Fair Use Guidelines

2009-01-16T15:28:00.000-08:00

To determine you are working within fair use guidelines, consider using this checklist:

http://www.copyright.iupui.edu/checklist.htm

Law-Related Websites

2009-01-15T17:19:00.000-08:00

Library of Congress/Thomas
CSPAN
FedWorld
FindLaw
LexisONE
Nevada State Legislature
Ninth Circuit Court
Oyez
U.S. Department of Education
Nevada Department of Education
U.S. Supreme Court

Note: I am currently enrolled in EDA 755, School Law, with Dr. Bob McCord at UNLV. Upcoming posts will relate to this course.

"Teaching Literacy through Historical Children's Books"—Notes from the UNLV/CCSD Cohort Presentation

2008-12-15T17:37:00.000-08:00

The below notes accompany the presentation delivered to participants in the UNLV/CCSD Cohort Program on December 12, 2008. Thank you to Sue Hendrix and Barbara Johnson for facilitating the presentation.

Click here for presentation slides (a video of the presentation appears below).

General notes of interest (from Courtney):

Always teach literacy.
Always use cross-curricular standards-based objectives.
Use PVC pipe to create telephone headsets so students can hear themselves reading.
As an alternative to whole class brainstorming, have students engage in small group brainstorming.

Resources mentioned during the presentation:

Declaration of Independence by Rod Gragg
Lewis and Clark on the Trail of Discovery by Rod Gragg
From Fields of Fire and Glory: Letters of the Civil War by Rod Gragg

The ABC's of Evaluation by Sandra Schurr: A book containing cross-curricular ideas for alternative assessment methods.
Book lists for historical children's literature (all are in Excel format)

Social bookmarking

Recommended sites:

Social_Studies and Native_Americans

"What is Social Bookmarking?": Training Videos

Links to teacher's guides

Petersen Professional Development School, October 10, 2008

2008-11-21T10:56:00.000-08:00

Introduction to the Internet for English Language Learners
Recommendations by Christy G. Keeler, Ph.D.

Searching:

http://www.google.com/

Language Translation

http://babelfish.yahoo.com/

http://www.google.com/language_tools

iTunes:

http://www.apple.com/iTunes

Videos

http://www.youtube.com/

ParentLink

https://parentlink.ccsd.net/

Encylopedia

http://www.wikipedia.org/

Dictionary

http://www.dictionary.com/

Books for Children

http://www.childrenslibrary.org/

Innovative Project-Based Learning: From Kindergarten to College

2008-06-30T17:34:00.001-07:00

Presented by Christy G. Keeler, Ph.D. and Heather B. Rampton, M.Ed.
at the National Educational Computing Conference, San Antonio 2008
and at the Computer Using Educators Annual Conference 2010

Click here to download the session slideshow (CUE)
Click here to download the session slideshow (NECC)
Click here to download an audio recording of the presentation

Session Outline and Notes

View sample student-made project (“Mixed-Up Chameleon”)
Introduction and PBL overview
The Strategies

Video Methods

Adapting literature into first-person using video (“Mixed-Up Chameleon”)
Research-based video reports (“St. Patrick’s Day” — Not available online)

Audio (see "Audio Digital Storytelling")

Mock interviews (“Tomorsky’s Simpson Book Review”)
Process practice songs (“Gravity”)
“Day in the Life”

Man-on-the-street (“New York City Draft Riots")
Journal memoirs (“Civil War Nurse”)

Content-based podcasts (“Civil War Metaphors”)

Blogs

Journaling (“Harriet Tubman”)
Daily homework (“Baula’s Logic…”)
e-portfolios (“Dennison’s Pre-service Teacher Portfolio”)

Digital Photography

Scavenger hunts (“Geometry”)

Page Layout Software

Mock newspaper reports (“Saia’s 1930s Newspaper Book Review”)
Tri-fold brochures (“Kuennen’s Book Review”)
Comic Life ("Hatchet Book Report")

Common Applications

Virtual museums using slideshows (“Native Americans of the Colonial Era”)—see "Educational Virtual Museums"
Slideshow-based games

Goal Setting
Closing

For more ideas, see "Elementary-Level PBL."

PowerPoint to Podcasts

2008-04-15T11:49:00.000-07:00

Eric Langhorst and I presented "A Whirlwind of Possibilities: Technology Integration for Social Studies Teachers" at the 2007 NCSS Conference and I presented the session again at the CUE Conference in 2008. The article on which this presentation is based was published in the Spring 2008 issue of Social Studies Research and Practice. We recommend teachers and administrators take special note to review the table at the end of the article. The table includes a multitude of methods teachers may choose to use to integrate technologies into their social studies lessons and the suggestions are organized by the needed technical skill to deliver the lesson.

An audio version of the CUE presentation is available here.
The presentation slides are available here (but note that the supporting files are not attached). Please direct any questions or comments regarding this presentation and article to me, Dr. Christy Keeler.

CUE 2008: Hints for Using PhotoStory (by Hall Davidson)

2008-04-05T12:31:00.000-07:00

Imtoo is an application that converts PhotoStory files from wmv's to m4v's for iPods.

Ideally, use fewer than 15 photos in PhotoStory projects.

Create projects in PhotoStory and then MovieMaker to bring movies (or more pictures) together.

CUE 2008: "My Hero Media Arts Curriculum and Short Film Festival" by Wendy Millette and Christopher Cain

2008-04-05T12:10:00.000-07:00

The My Hero Project is now accepting entries into their short film festival (http://www.myhero.com/filmfestival) and virtual gallery (http://www.myhero.com/gallery).

Suggestions for improving video interest:

Use a cut-away (show video of something else in the room)
Use a B-roll (a video of something off-site from the video)
Use alternative directionality of shots, a reversal (e.g., shoot the interviewee and interviewer simultaneously)

Suggestions for improving audio production:

Post-production, add voice-overs, music, sound effects

Nextvista.org
An opportunity for students to share their service learning and content videos is also available at http://www.nextvista.org.

NCHE 2008: "America's Growing Pains" by Delise Sanders and Linda Flowers

2008-04-05T08:16:00.000-07:00

This session was on teaching elementary-level students to engage in historical research. They began with a discussion of using pictures as primary sources.

When reviewing pictures with many people pictured, have each child choose one individual in the picture. Have children write about that individual by creating a story.

When reviewing pictures with much detail, cut the picture into sections and give groups of students one of the sections for analysis. Then, bring the groups together to share their sections and analyze the entire picture.

Have students prepare history reports over four week periods. Work students through the process of reading, researching, organizing, and writing. As students are reading, have them use highlighters to show different stages in an historical figure’s life. For example, use a yellow highlighter for young years, blue for middle years, and pink for older years. Research should take about two weeks and a good resource for helping students organize their research is:
Scholastic Teaching Resources. Grades 4-6 Graphic Organizer Booklets
The culminating projects can include a written report, a display board (including 5-8 primary sources), and a CD cover (including names of songs that relate to the individual’s life).

When choosing historical figures for students to research, choose atypical figures (not Lincoln). For example, choose women spies of the American Revolution or local heroes.

Recommended ideas and resources for teaching literacy through historical children's books:

Review Nancy Polette's books that include activities with picture books.
Make a commercial out of the front flap information.
Create reader’s theatre out of what is in the book.
Make a large picture of a person with the body of the person being the book report.
Use Dinah Zike foldables for reporting on character sketches and telling, the beginning/middle/end of texts.
Draw a mountain and show progression, climax, and resolution in a book. Practice with a picture book and have students do the activity with a chapter book.

NCHE 2008: "Teachers as Researchers" by Phil Nicolosi

2008-04-04T11:22:00.000-07:00

This incredible presentation focused as much on using historical documents in the classroom as

History is an action verb and is messy. It is like a puzzle with some pieces missing. The historian's job is to place the pieces together so it can create a picture.

Fisher recommends students approach primary sources using the following acronym:
A - Author (include position and perspective)
D - Date (include context - what else is going on)
A - Audience (to whom is it written)
P - Purpose (why was it written)
T - Tone (words/phrases used to convey the purpose)

When students report on a historical event in Fisher's classes, they must:

Include as least one source that is an image;
Include as least one source that supports each point that could create a counter argument; and,
Include an analysis of each document.

In the history classroom, we often expect students to repeat what they read rather than constructing new knowledge or creating their own knowledge. In a science classroom, students do science in their lab coats doing experiments. In the math class, they work through problems, showing their method of moving from the problem to the answer. They are being mathematicians. In the history classroom, students are often no more than clerics -- writing down everything they hear. History teachers need to require their students to show their work and tell how they came to their answers. Students should reference primary sources and tell how they come to the conclusions they identify.

SITE 2008: "Thinking Creatively: Teachers as Designers of Technology, Pedagogy, and Content (TPACK)"

2008-03-06T08:36:00.000-08:00

Notes from Presentation by
Punya Mishra and Matthew J. Koehler
Michigan State University

Their wiki is available at http://www.tpck.org.
They ask how the context of classrooms and our world

Teaching with technology is complex.
Learning: The act of learning to think in a disciplined manner.
"The book is a machine to think with." - Unknown

Standard approaches to teaching with technology are not working so there is a need for creative solutions. In a world characterized by change, it makes sense to provide lots of ideas o some creative examples arise. An example of a creative solution is using micro-loans to enhance third world economies. Creativity must be lead to something that is novel, effective (valuable, useful, logical), and whole (elegant, complex, understandable, well-crafted). It is a variation on a theme - you "tweak" an idea to improve it.

NEW = Novel, Effective, Whole

We live in a "new media ecology" where creativity is the only solution and the only way to be creative is be novel by "tweaking" old ideas.

TPACK = Total PACKage
The total package is considering content, pedagogy, and technology within a context.

TPACK works as well with high-end technologies as with older technologies (e.g., white boards). The key is that it is a new way to use or do something than was done in the past.

"The walls between art and engineering exist nly in our minds." -Theo Jansen
Mishra and Koehler states that the walls between "pedagogy, content, and technology exist only in our minds."

My question: How do we effectively share the knobs that we find?

The following notes are from the discussion with the authors following the keynote presentation.

Some activities they use to teach creativity:
Write a short story with a beginning, middle, and end in 55 words or less.
On the first day of class, give every students a 1, 2, 3, or 4. Students then move to a corner of the room with those with like numbers and are given an envelope with a creative task and tools. Students have one hour to complete their task (e.g., create an invitation; in the envelope is playdough or glue and paper or glue and scissors). At the end of class, ask students why they felt limited to use the tools in their possession or how they creatively worked around the limit of their tools.

They argue that is important to find the right blend of of pedagogy, technology, and content for the teacher. It doesn't have to be "glitzy." The most important thing in teacher education is changing the teacher's mindset to allow them to think creatively.

Constraints actually motivate creativity. Because teachers may not have access to technologies or environments conducive to TPACK, they need to feel empowered to think within their context to find creative solutions to do what they want.

Book: Isaac's Storm

2008-01-07T10:22:00.001-08:00

Erik Larson, author of Isaac's Storm, uses a fast-paced non-fiction genre to deliver the story of the hurricane that destroyed Galveston in 1900. The text does an excellent job of merging drama with geography and history and provides a nice model for comparison to more recent hurricanes/cyclones.

This text would provide an excellent starting point for a physical geography course, allowing the instructor to teach about the history of weather reporting, the science of weather, and the social implications surrounding prediction of natural hazards, the realities of living and dying through natural disasters, and the role of public institutions and individuals in providing aid to destroyed regions. The book would serve as a wonderful case study for comparison to more recent hurricanes traveling through the Gulf of Mexico.

In typical fashion, Erik Larson does a fabulous job of linking the personal stories to the science while proving readers with "edge-of-their-seats" stories. It is difficult to believe Larson's texts are non-fiction because of the level of detail he provides his readers.

I highly recommend this book, along with his previous books: Thunderstruckand Devil in the White City.

NCSS: Teacher Created Materials—Social Studies Strategies for Active Learning

2007-11-30T15:09:00.000-08:00

Carousel Brainstorming

Place large post-it notes around the classroom on the walls and put students in groups of four. On each post-it, write a unique question. Give each group of students a single marker and ensure all groups have different colors.

Have groups each go to one large post-it and write their answers. After a few moments, have students transfer to the next post-it. On the new post-it, they should put a check by the items with which they agree that were written by the previous group and they should add additional items. Continue circling in this way until al groups have visited all post-its.

Vote on It

Give students a problem (e.g., who will you choose as the first president of the United States, which wagon master should you choose to lead you across the west). Provide students with profile cards for several possible candidates and let them work in groups to decide who they think is most qualified. Students then vote on who they think is most and least qualified. Then, the teacher will provide more information about each candidate and provide the name of the candidate. Students will learn if they would have selected the same person others selected historically.

PrimarySourceLearning.org

An organization that provides PowerPoint presentations in conjunction with the Library of Congress that teach about primary sources.

NewsReels.com

Allows you to access news reel clips from several historical eras.

Book: Peter and the Starcatchers

2007-11-23T12:21:00.000-08:00

I just completed reading Peter and the Starcatchers by David Barry, Ridley Pearson, and Greg Call. The book is the prequel to Peter Pan and explains how he came to be in Neverland, how he became the boy who would never grow up, how he gained the ability to fly, and how he and Tink became friends.

The book is a delightful, fanciful read.

Book: Angels and Demons

2007-11-18T19:33:00.000-08:00

I just completed reading Angels and Demons by Dan Brown. This excellent fictional book recounts a story about the Illuminati and the conflicts between science and religion. The text focuses on the Catholic Church and I learned a lot about Catholic traditions through reading the text - though I have to do some research to separate fact from fiction.

The text is of the same genre as The Da Vinci Code and is an equally enjoyable and informative read.

I am now interested in reading Digital Fortress, also by Dan Brown, but may take a break and head back to Eric Larson to read Isaac's Storm (I loved Thunderstruck and Devil in the White City).

Kaleidoscope of Early Culture in Las Vegas

2007-09-30T17:24:00.000-07:00

September 29-30 at the Springs Preserve and Lost City Museum
With renowned author Joy Hakim and artist/author Roy Purcell
Sponsored by the Nevada Council for History Education
Co-sponsored by the National Council for History Education, Stephens Press, Clark County Education Foundation, Springs Preserve, Lost City Museum, Houghton-Mifflin, Smithsonian Books, and ABC_CLIO

Dr. Linda Miller, College of Southern Nevada, introduced the conference and several of the presenters and conference sponsors.

Judging a Book by Its Cover: Introduction to the Art of Book Binding
Presented by Jennifer Jacobi

Tools of bookbinding include:

Bone folders (used to smooth down book bindings without bruising the paper).
Awl (Makes holes)
Pliers (Assist in pulling thread through)
Clamps (To keep the book in place)
Adhesives (She likes “Books by Hand”; PVA is archival quality; Glue sticks work well)
Tread (Linen-based for archival quality)
Paper (The interior and end-papers and fly-leaves of the book; she prefers recycled and handmade papers, leather, or book cloth. Leather covers require separate tools)
Book press (Can be used in lieu of stacking books on top of each other)
Needles (She uses embroidery needles)
Optional: binder’s board (for hard-cover books)

Books can be glued together or sewn together.

Jenifer introduced several book structures and then demonstrated making a book.

To make a book, use 8.5” X 11” pages and fold them in half and in half again. Measure twice the length of the book in thread and make a child’s shoulder strap. Position the paper so it’ is even on both sides and clip the book together to hold it in place. Place the awl through the center of the book and 1” from the ends. Thread the needle adding a double-knot on one end. Sew the book beginning at the interior on one end. Go in through the center, out through the bottom, back in through the center, and back out from the top. This gives the book a nicer look. Tie a double-knot that the end next to the original knot. Trim the knots.

The Cultural and Historical Resources of the Las Vegas Springs
Presented by Marcel Parent

An audio of Marcel's presentation is available here.

The Springs Preserve has been known as the “Big Springs” historically. It covers 180 acres of and is the richest and most unique cultural and biological resource in Southern Nevada. It has 10,000 years of biological, geological, and cultural history.

By the 1840s, Las Vegas was officially on the map. It was a poster-child for advertising migration to the west. In May of 1905, the first land auction occurred in Las Vegas and the railroad came through later that year.

Water supply issues began in the 1910’s and by 1962, the springs stopped flowing.

The region has identified a mass of archaeological artifacts including prehistorical and historic ceramic shards, stone tool pieces (one Elko eared projectile point from 100 BC), glass pieces, animal remains (mostly bones), manos (6 samples all of an oval form designed for use with one hand), metates, C-14 samples (charcoal from hearths and camp fires wit the earliest dated to 700 AD), soil samples, nails, and metal pieces. The archaeological digs continue. Some of the pieces go back to 100 BC. They have identified artifacts from all the tribes that have inhabited the area including the Anasazi, Pythians, and Paiutes.

The history of water on this site is the history of its people. Without water in this area, travelers would not have stopped in this Valley. Without the springs and aquifers that led to the surface, Las Vegas would never have been developed. There are some still functioning wells on-site; the remainder are dry. With water coming from Lake Mead, the demands for water from the Big Springs as the sole water source for Las Vegas lessened. Local use of the Springs water continued until they ran dry. They will never deliver water again. By 1962, water on the Springs Preserve site was gone.

A spring mound on the Springs Preserve site took 10,000 years to create and is currently viewable at the Springs Preserve. It is the only remaining unexcavated spring mound in the Las Vegas Valley. Archaeologists feel they will probably not learn new information from excavating this mound so have elected to maintain it in its present form.

The spring mound shows evidence of human use for at least 5,000 years. Springs attract plants, animals, and eventually humans. Humans leave refuse that describes human eating habits. Projectile point sizes determine the type of game hunted by indigenous people.

The focus of the Springs Preserve is on conservation, preservation, and archaeological study. Research began here in the early 1970s and began to increase over the last decade. The Preserve includes four trails: Crossroads, Exploration, Springs, and Cienega. There are four major areas of the Preserve including the Big Springs Theatre, Natural Mojave, People of the Springs, and New Frontier Gallery.

People have successfully adapted to the Las Vegas Valley desert for a millennium. Early settlements were close to water. There have been people here, however, since 8000 BC. Early peoples of the pre-ceramic period were here from 8000 BC to 300 AD. They avoided spending extended period of time in this Valley, coming seasonally as hunters and gatherers. Ancient Puebloan people lived in the Valley.

The Preserve includes sample living structures from early human inhabitants.

Before 1830, there is no evidence of Euro-Americans in the Las Vegas Valley. The first scouting expedition was with Rafael Rivera and there was later a tragic battle between the Natives and Euro-Americans over natural resources of the Valley.

Freemont used Las Vegas as a camp ground and praised the presence of water. Though he said it was too warm to enjoy drinking, it was a wonderful bathing place.

Settlers began coming to Las Vegas in the 1850s. Euro-American buildings began development in the 1870s. There are derricks dating back to 1910. Streams ran from this area to other settlements in the Valley, but the water became contaminated as it ran downstream because of cattle and other farm animals.

Adobe was a natural building element for the area.

Derricks are named because of their resemblance to the gallows using the hangman’s noose that were developed by the British executioner named Thomas Derrick.

The Springhouse will be one of the first reconstruction projects on the Preserve. Some of the other buildings on site include the chicken coup, settler’s basin, caretaker’s house, and caretaker’s barn.

History of the Lost City: Native American Cultures

Presented by Eva Jensen

An audio of Eva's presentation is available here.

Paleo Period: 13,400 years ago

The climate was cooler and wetter and the valley had shallow lakes and springs with marsh resources. The people primarily hunted large game.

Archaic: 10,000 years ago

The climate dried and Southern Nevada became the Mojave desert that we know today; the lakes and springs diminished and dried. There was a resource shift toward desert plants and animals.

The shift toward the Basketmaker Period happened between 300 BC and 400 AD

Desert springs and streams formed providing an area for growing plants, and corn cultivation begins. Evidence of domestic corn in Moapa Valley exists from around 200 AD. They planted the corn in gravel.

Basketmaker Period: 2,000 years ago

Though the people continued to hunt, they did this opportunistically. Instead, they shifted toward an almost exclusive diet based on horticulture with the main crop being corn. Homes appeared in clusters of one to four pit houses with interior hearths.

Pueblo I: 600 AD-1000 AD

The changes in technology in this era were the addition of the bow and arrow and the development of pottery. The climate was hot and dry. There was either migration, trade, or seasonal movement between this area and the Arizona strip.
People in Southern Nevada lived in pueblo houses while dwellers were in Arizona. The Hopi were descendants of the Anasazi (now the preferred term is Ancestral Puebloan) and these were the people living in Southern Nevada during this period.

Pueblo II: 1000 AD – 1150

There were cluster settlements if above ground adobe pueblo houses. They made investments in horticulture and food storage rooms.
Corrugated pottery (pinched by hand to make an outside design) was introduced in 1050 AD. For this area, the corrugated period lasted for only for 100 years. There was also an increase in imported pottery to this region that ended after 1100 (even though they are still making that pottery on the Arizona strip). Pottery was made with local materials including clay and gravel. They smoothed the surface with a stone, painted with “bee weed,” and used yucca fiber brushes for painting. They did not use kilns; instead, relying on heated wood that was set under the dried (but not fired) bowls. More wood was placed on top, and then more wood placed on top of that. They then set the wood on fire and this chemically changed the bowl to keep it intact. Pottery was primarily utilitarian with the tight-necked pottery for carrying water and large-mouthed pieces for storage of dried goods or for use as cooking pots.
The maximum population of this area was probably about 500.
Specialization was not an element of these Native cultures, though some families may have been experts in certain trades. There is some evidence that there were some specialists whose products traveled (but the method of dispersion is unknown).
Currently archaeologists have not been focused on identifying the materials in pottery as unique to a geographic location. One type of pottery is clearly from Arizona. Designs are unique to given locations and eras.
Some trade goods found in the area include shells from Baja, California. There are many shell beads found in this area. Archaeologists also have found red pottery (from the Four Corners area). The people in this area found turquoise and salt that they mined to use for trade and they also grew cotton.

Abandonment: 1150 AD

There was increased population and a prolonged drought. Though the indigenous people stored food for drought, by the third year of drought there was little food remaining. There was also pressure from outside groups. Archaeologists have identified a breakdown in trade with other regions. There may have also been disease, but there is no evidence to support this assertion.
The abandonment occurred after 1,000 years of constant habitation in the area.
People were buried in the floor of an abandoned room in a flexed position.

Southern Paiute: 1200 AD

The Southern Paiute indicated that they have always been here. Archaeological information shows a change in arrow points and pottery. When Spanish travelers came through this area, the Southern Paiute tribe were here. Their culture included master weavers.
Water jugs were woven baskets covered with pine pitch. By the 1800s, the Southern Paiutes focused on creating artistic baskets, using their craft to sell and trade for food. The Southern Paiute “treasure baskets” are among the finest in the West.

Explorers and trappers including Jedediah Smith came through this area and did not note that the dwellings were very old.

In the 1920s, the Lost City area became a region of archaeological focus. By 1935, the Hoover Dam building project was underway and it was clear that Lake Mead would cover much of the region’s treasures. To address this issue, the Civilian Corps of Engineers came and preserved as much as they could before the Colorado River flooded.

Even today, there are new items found on a regular basis. By law, builders must report when they find human remains, but not when finding other artifacts. Many areas still need excavating, but funds are simply not available or areslow in coming.

There were cultural connections between the people here at the Lost City and those at the Springs, but it is unknown whether they had familial connections.

Some available resources include Intrigue of the Past: A Teacher’s Activity Guide for Fourth through Seventh Grades published by Shelly Smith, Jeanne Moe, Kelly Letts, and Danielle Paterson and the related text titled Discovering Archeology in Nevada. Kathy August (at the Redrock Visitor’s Center) does archaeological trainings in Nevada using these curricular materials. The materials are both science and social studies focused. A more content-specific resource is from the Desert Research Institute called Reading the Stones: The Archeology of Yucca Mountain. It was illustrated by William Hartwell and David Valentine with illustrations by Susan Edwards and contributions by Kelly Varley.

Ethno-archeology: Archaeologists sit and live with a Bedouin group of people and record what they observe. Then, they excavate the site and see if the patterns of the ground correlate with what they observed. This is a means of determining whether archaeologists accurately interpret archaeological finds.

Hunter/gathers probably worked much fewer than 40 hours per week so they had more leisure time then we do. There is evidence that they played dice games and games with balls.

The Civilian Conservation Crops, a program within Roosevelt’s New Deal, built the Lost City Museum in the early 1940s. Camps came in many forms such as flood control projects, rural electrification administrations, dam building and repair projects, etc. The CCC was responsible for much migration around the country that resulted in intermarrying of families across the country. For more information on the Corp, Eva recommends The Civilian Conservation Corps in Nevada: From Boys to Men by Renee Crona Kolvet and Victoria Ford.

Eva Jensen and Dr. Linda Miller have worked together to develop a curriculum about Early Nevadans.

Environmentalism in Nevada
Presented by Jeff Hinton

An audio of Jeff's presentation is available here.

Western historians ask whether the West is an "exceptional" place. Throughout history, deserts have been considered wastelands. They are characterized as being hostile and foreboding or places to be exploited. Even John Muir was not complimentary of Nevada’s desert. Freemont was the most detailed in describing early Nevada geography. He included “revolting” in his description of Southern Nevada. He could not decide which of the deserts was the most “despicable,” but Lovelock and Las Vegas rated very high. Wilderness and wasteland have been used synonymously historically. John Christianson related the harshness of the wilderness with the harshness of life through metaphor. Others see the desert as a place of sublime beauty.

How did the Las Vegas desert change from being inhospitable to preferential? Some of the earliest descriptions of Las Vegas come from Mormon missionaries. Brigham Young recognized a need for supply routes in proximity to Salt Lake City and California (the Mormon gateway to the world because of its horticultural possibilities). Las Vegas served as a desert oasis for weary, parched travelers, There was a 50-mile trek between the Muddy and Virgin Rivers called the Journey of Death. There was no water between the two locations. It would take about 27 hours to cross this part of the trail. Some defined the area as “dreary.”

Samuel Clemens wrote Roughing It of his time in the West. In the text, he wrote that Southern Nevada was a "hideous," "lifeless" place.

Wilderness is a concept of Western thought. Wilderness was the antithesis of paradise and subduing the wilderness became a goal of Westerners. Many even identified wilderness with evil, because of Biblical connotations. There was a fear and loathing of wilderness, identified even by the Pilgrims of the Eastern shore of North America. Some feared that spending time in the wilderness would return them to a savage state. Therefore, pioneers had to take on a military stance when entering the wilderness and saw the wilderness as something to be conquered. As Americans shift westward, they take their European views of wilderness with them.

With the Industrial Revolution, many began to rethink wilderness. There was new emphasis on appreciating nature. Romantics were instrumental in the shift in thinking about wilderness and nature. In the 1900s, John Muir begins to describe nature as a religious place. He challenged people to think about the costs and benefits of taming the wilderness (e.g., building Hoover Dam therefore flooding the region).

Jeff read about the environmental effects of mining on public land. Laws from 1872 allowed mining to contaminate our region and the long-term results of that mining.

Curriculum and the Lost City
Presented by Dr. Linda Miller

Linda worked with Eva Jensen developing curricula called Teaching with Historic Places. It appears on the website for the National Register of Historic Places (http://www.nps.gov/history/nr/twhp).

Linda gave groups of four attendees a primary source artifact and asked us to analyze it using pre-made analysis sheets. These sheets are available at http://www.archives.gov/education/lessons.

WtP: Pictures

2007-08-05T15:51:00.001-07:00

Thank you to all my new mentors and friends for a wonderful week learning about the We the People curriculum. You can access our photos on Flickr at our We the People — Nevada site.

I will miss you all and look forward to seeing you in your classrooms and at future social studies events!

I do have some bad news...
TeacherTube experienced an error between July 24 and August 14. All videos uploaded during the Institute were lost on their server (where I was storing the videos because they were so memory intensive). I'm very sad to say, I no longer have copies of the videos taken during the Institute.

WtP: Simulated Hearing

2007-08-05T09:33:00.000-07:00

Our week at the We the People Summer Institute concluded with a simulated Congressional hearing with esteemed judges (organized by Shane) including:

Judy Simpson — "The Mother of Civic Education in Nevada"
Dr. Kathy Obenchain — University of Nevada, Reno
Martha Gould — Washoe County School District
Denny Gear — Teacher
Fred Lokan
Travis Souza
Marcus White — Harry Reid's Office

The Judges in the Courtroom

A View of the Courtroom

Judges were introduced individually with special recognition of Judy Simpson for her passion for civic education and how this passion has driven civic education in Nevada as well as internationally. She has been training individuals in the We the People program for 21 years.

Congressional Hearings

The Unit 1 judges took their places and the Unit 1 participants greeted each judge individually while he audience stood. The lead judge read the questions for Unit 1 and the team began to present. This model continued for all units, with changes in judges and Unit teams following each presentation.

A View of the Audience

Units 1 and 5 (Angela's Group)

Units 2 and 4 (Kit's Group)

Units 3 and 6 (Milt's Group) (This is my awesome E-Team group!)

WtP: Unit 5 — What does the Bill of Rights protect?

2007-08-04T09:16:00.000-07:00

Presented by David Tanenhaus, Ph.D. — University of Nevada, Las Vegas

_________________________________________________________________

Note: My notes for this section were less-than-adequate. I give my thanks to a private donor of notes for this cause.

"The First Amendment and how the courts have thought about it. Courts and citizens revisit these cases because they represent fundamental concepts of security and liberty. Interpretations are different during different historical times.

Why do we have a Bill of Rights? People who thought we should not ratify (anti-feds) are responsible for adding it to the Constitution. Federalists thought we should not have it because they did not want enumerated freedoms--if you leave rights out, they will not be available (like privacy). Also, the state constitutions already had bills of rights. Madison initially thought it was not needed, but changed his mind later.

Alien and sedition acts of 1790s--made it almost impossible to criticize the government. Had a sunset clause, as all laws passed during time of crisis should. We may not be thinking clearly during times of crisis.

Why didn't the republican newspaper editors take the govt to the supreme court--no precedent, prior to Marbury v. Madison. Court was made up of federalist judges who might not be unbiased.

What was freedom of the press in 1790? English Law--No prior restraint, but if they publish something harmful, you can prosecute. Some said the first amendment only applied to keeping govt. from restricting publishing something.

Women's voices in the 19th century--women could speak, write, petition. Seneca Falls Declaration of Sentiments echoes the language of the Declaration and first amendment right.

Women were instrumental in the abolition of slavery.
Women's Christian Temperance Union.
World War I--a lot of protests from women. Some people wanted to just call this treason. Espionage act in 1917--still on the books--makes it a crime for anyone to willfully make false statements with intent to interfere with the military success of the U.S. or undermine the morale of soldiers or obstruct the signing up to serve in the military. Postmaster could exclude from mail anything printed that would do these things.
People are starting to go to court to see if their rights are being violated. Paterson v. Colorado 1907 (bad tendency test) Doesn't matter whether what you said is true or false, if it hurts the war effort you can be convicted.

Schenck vs. U.S 1919--clear and present danger test--fire in a crowded theater--justification for limiting freedom of speech.
Over the summer, Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes has a change of heart. He hears another case the next year--Abrams v. U.S. Holmes dissents in this case with the clear and present danger test. Modern first amendment theory is based upon his dissent. You get closer to the truth when there are many ideas in the marketplace. "

-Anonymous
_________________________________________________________________

And, now... back to my notes...

Franklin Roosevelt introduced the four freedoms that became the thinking for modern human rights movements. The freedoms he enunciates in his 1941 state of the Union address to Congress:

Freedom of speech and expression
Freedom of every person to worship God in his on way
Freedom from want ("economic understandings which will secure to every nation a healthy peacetime life for its inhabitants")
Freedom from fear

Jehovah's Witnesses began engaging in several court cases following the prejudicial treatment of their faith under Hitler's regime. Saluting the flag in public schools was an issue they felt violated their religious beliefs. In 1940, a brother and sister (ages 10 and 12) refused to say the Pledge of Allegiance in school and the children were excluded from school until they agreed to say the Pledge at school. The principal, supported by the school board, refused to let the children even attend part of the school day if they will not say the Pledge. The school board later expelled the children so the father felt no alternative but to appeal the case to the courts. The case was appealed all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court where the cause of the Jehovah's Witnesses won. A brief to the Court argued that our nation differed from Nazi Germany because of our individual rights to religious freedom. Nonetheless, the Court decided in favor of the school district.

Justice Jackson, during World War II, responded to the case of West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette, a second Jehovah's Witness case similar to the 1941 case. In his Opinion which overturned the 1941 Opinion, he states: "Compulsory unification of opinion achieves only the unanimity of the graveyard." He argued that if we do not allow people to have dissenting opinions, we will end up eliminating those with those opinions: "Those who begin coercive elimination of dissent soon find themselves exterminating the dissenters." This was the Court's reaction to the Jehovah's Witnesses appeal to not say the Pledge of Allegiance. The Opinion was delivered in 1943.

We ended with a discussion of cases related to students' freedom of speech beginning with Tinker v. DesMoines and continuing with Morse et al. v. Frederick (the "Bong Hits for Jesus" case). The decision in the Morse case was not related to time, manner, and place. In Oyez, it states: "Chief Justice John Roberts's majority opinion held that although students do have some right to political speech even while in school, this right does not extend to pro-drug messages that may undermine the school's important mission to discourage drug use."

Post 9-11 Questions to Debate

Is the war on terrorism a new kind of war?
How do you fight a war on terrorism without sacrificing freedoms or by bcoming terrorists yourselves?
How do you balance liberty and security?

WtP: Nevada We the People Alumni Network

2007-08-03T19:30:00.000-07:00

Kim Stanhouse presented on the Nevada We the People Alumni Network (STAR). This is a network of former students who participated in the We the People curricula who make themselves available to assist teachers as they use the curriculum in their classrooms. There are Northern and Southern Nevada networks. To find an individual from this network to support in the classroom, contact Marcia Ellis.

After her presentation, Mark Towell (including ideas from Milt Hyams) presented additional ideas for finding classroom assistance. Angela Orr also noted that she and the other mentors of this Institute are very eager to help teachers to be successful with this curriculum in their individual classrooms. They are willing to make themselves available throughout the school year as teachers implement We the People .

WtP: Pro Se Court

2007-08-03T14:02:00.000-07:00

Angela led us in a demonstration lesson of Pro Se Court, a method that uses the jigsaw method to have students argue in court.

She chose a court case, Hazelwood School District vs. Kuhlmeier. We reviewed the article by reading a brief description of the case and the appellate process. She then separated us into three groups, one representing Hazelwood (the petitioners), one group representing the respondents (Kuhlmeier), and the third group being justices. We met in our groups and discussed how to best argue our side of the case. We then returned to the classroom and separated into groups of three people (with one individual representing the petitioners, respondents, and justices).

The petitioners began by arguing their cases and had 90 seconds to present their side. The justice then asked two questions of the petitioners. This was repeated with the respondents and then each group (beginning with the petitioners) was provided 20 seconds for a rebuttal.

The justice then had 1-2 minutes to write her response. All justices moved to the front of the room and each, in turn, read his/her decision.

I was a respondent. In our mock court, Hazelwood School District won with a 4-2 decision. In the real case, Hazelwood also won with a decision of 5-3.

Oyez is a website allowing users to access all Supreme Court decisions. It is easy to access and provides short amount of information on cases. This is a wonderful resource for gaining information for this activity.

WtP: Unit 4 — How have the protections of the Bill of Rights been developed and expanded?

2007-08-03T08:52:00.000-07:00

Presented by David Tanenhaus, Ph.D. — University of Nevada, Las Vegas

The notion of a living constitution is that the inherent structure is relatively stable and is accepted as the higher law of the land.

David began with a discussion of Justice Thurgood Marshall's "Commentary: Reflections on the Bicentennial of the United States Constitution." Next, we discussed Sanford Levinson's "Why I Did Not Sign the Constitution: With a Chance to Endorse It, I Had to Decline." He also addressed the issue, as did Leeson and Casper, of a lack of an explanation of the term "citizen" in the Constitution.

Many scholars would argue that understanding our Constitution requires moving beyond the formal Constitution (see below) toward a close and thorough review of court precedents, habits, understanding, and attitudes.

Key Elements of the Formal Constitution:

1787: U.S. Constitution
1789: Bill of Rights
1795: 11th Amendment
1804: 12th Amendment

The Dred Scott Case (1857)

Dred Scott, his wife, and children were owned by a doctor and soldier. The family owning the Scotts took their family and slaves into a free territory. Scott asked why he shouldn't be free if living in a free territory.

The main question set before the Supreme Court was whether children of imported slaves could ever attain full citizenship. Taney answered that without an amendment to the U.S. Constitution, blacks could never become full U.S. citizens. This concept alone would probably not been enough to inflame the north into the Civil War. The decision further argued that it was not possible to abolish slavery in the territories because of Constitutional provisions relating to property. This was the first time in U.S. history that the Supreme Court struck down major legislation.

The fear of the Northerners was that another Dred Scott was on its way that would result in creating slave states from non-slave states. They were worried there was an effort to nationalize slavery.

At this point, the people thought of the Constitution as a static document that they could not change. However, the only way to make a change was to amend the Constitution. The people saw the Constitution, Bill of Rights, and Bible as sacred documents.

It took the Civil War for Americans to accept that they were able to have a living, evolving Constitution.

The Civil Rights Act (1866) states that blacks and whites have the same rights.

The Fourteenth Amendment (1868)

The goal of the Amendment was to overturn the Dred Scott decision as well as overturn other court cases that did not recognize blacks as equal citizens. The first Section establishes natural-born citizenship for both the United States and your resident state (dual citizenship). Though it guarantees "privileges and immunities," it does not specify these privileges and immunities.

This amendment established natural-born citizenship to both the nation and resident states (dual citizenship) in addition to due process of law (The "Due Process Clause"). It also adds an "Equal Protection Clause."

Privileges and Immunities Clause: Our rights as U.S. citizens are very limited according to the Supreme Court in the Slaughterhouse cases. It had originally seemed that this would be the mot important part of the Amendment, but court decisions over time have made this clause of less-than-expected importance.

Civil Rights Act (1875): Public accommodations cannot discriminate against people because of race.

Civil Rights Cases (1883): The Supreme Court questions whether it was acceptable for Congress to pass acts related to state discrimination. Though it ensures no discrimination within states, the decision does not extend to individuals.

Harlan was a slave owner who changed his mind about slave ownership and later became a Justice of the Supreme Court. He wrote a dissenting opinion that the 13th and 14th Amendments did change the fundamental law and reiterated that it was Congress, not the Courts, had the power to write legislation.

Plessy vs. Ferguson (1896) supports the Jim Crow laws that were established between 1883 and 1896). Note that these laws were started in the north. The South, because slavery was still in force, did not need these laws - they were already discriminating against the blacks. Some of the elements included in the Jim Crow laws that limited people from voting (poll tax, literacy, "reasonable interpretations" of the Constitution, and tests about the government). There were recommendations to have separate everything from rail cars to different bibles on which to testify in court. In the Plessy decision, Brown stated you cannot legislate morality. The decision ended by stating that if the state laws were "reasonable," they could pass any laws they would like. Justic Harlan wrote a dissenting opinion in which he said this decision would be as disastrous as the Dred Scott decision.

Incorporation is the concept that the 14th Amendment extends all Amendments in the Bill of Rights to individual citizens (instead of the rights being limited to only the states). Based on court cases, not all rights have yet been incorporated so they relate to individual rights. The 2nd (bear arms) and 3rd (quartering soldiers) have not yet been incorporated under the 14th Amendment.

WtP: A Night at the Beach

2007-08-03T00:27:00.000-07:00

One night the Institute leaders and mentors led us on a jaunt to the beach. There, we swam, drank, talked, and climbed on the rocks until very late. My favorite was swimming, climbing on the rocks, and getting to know the other Institute participants. The people here are GREAT!

WtP: Introduction to Project Citizen

2007-08-02T14:29:00.000-07:00

Marcia Ellis introduced the Institute attendees to Project Citizen. She requested that we inform her if we use Project Citizen or other civic education programs in our classrooms so they can track use of the program. Pam Bledsoe also presented on aspects of her students' experiences.

Project Citizen is a program for youth, young adults that teaches them the process of public policy.

Public Policy: A law, regulation, or procedure enacted by a governing body that impacts the community.

Steps in Project Citizen:

Students identify public policy issues within their community they would like to address. As a class, they need to determine which problems are of the greatest interest to the entire class. They may wish to do research on their questions over a period of time. Ideally, the class will come to consensus on their chosen topic.
Select a problem for the class.
Students research the issue learning the history related to the issue and perspectives of other communities and their "constituents" on the issue.
The class develops a "portfolio" that takes the form of a poster. The poster must explain their problem, provide alternative policies, the student-selected proposed solution, and suggestions for implementation.
Students deliver a presentation to a "public" audience.
Students reflect on their experience.

It is critical that this process is student-led, even if the teacher does not agree with the public policy issue or solutions they choose.

Marcia also introduced us to the They Had a Dream, Too video (available online) and curriculum, inTime Classroom's All But My Life, and two books:

Public Policymaking in a Democratic Society: A Guide to Civic Engagement by Larry N. Gerston
The First Amendment in Schools by Haynes, Chaltain, Ferguson, Hudson, and Thomas

I also recommended the Teaching Tolerance resources and Julia and Dan recommended Holocaust resources available in Las Vegas, Nevada. Marcia said she would share websites of civic education organizations with the group. These are available at: http://coe.nevada.edu/ckeeler/SSM/Materials.html. In addition, I recommend my social studies Delicious site.

WtP: "How Should Representative Smith Vote"

2007-08-02T14:00:00.000-07:00

Our entire Institute group had the opportunity to engage in a simulated public hearing on the topic of smoking. One individual, Julia, was assigned the role of Representative Smith and Brien and Bonnie were her staff. The rest of the group was separated into four groups:

Tobacco Growers and Processors
Citizens for Freedom
Citizens for a Smoke-Free Environment
Citizens for Better Health

Each group had twenty minutes to write a 1-2 minute statement to deliver to the Representative. Groups were called up to give their statements and each was then asked 1-2 follow-up questions by the Representative and her staff.

My group (Stephanie, Richard, Jhordan, and me) was "Citizens for Freedom." We first established that it is well known that smoking is hazardous. We then sited our freedoms from the Bill of Rights and U.S. Constitution, provided examples of areas where our freedoms have been violated, and then offered a strong conclusion.

This is what I said for my section:

The federal government has already usurped our individual rights through seatbelt laws, regulating freedom of speech on the airways, and searches under the Patriot Act. If permitted to once again violate our natural rights, we question how far the national government will continue to go in limiting our rights. Te people of the United States need to ensure we are not allowing our government to completely control our lives.

Following the activity, we debriefed the lesson as if we were K-12 students and then debriefed it as teachers.

This lesson appears on pp. 104-107 of the elementary school We the People textbook.

WtP: Unit 3 — How did the values and principles embodied in the Constitution shape American institutions and practices?

2007-08-02T08:53:00.000-07:00

Presented by Dr. Scott Casper — University of Nevada, Reno

Through primary document research, we learn more about the thinking behind the basis of our government. For example, to understand a single aspect of the Constitution, it is helpful to read the Federalist ad Anti-Federalist papers. Scott provided us with a list of web-based repositories of primary source documents. The sites included on the form were:

I also recommend Kathy Schrock's primary source documents site and my social studies webliography where I am trying to archive all these resources.

Political Parties in 1787

Scott presented on three separate viewpoints from the late 18th century.

Factions/political parties were evils that should be repressed.
Factions/parties will exist, but they must remain in check. They are controlled by the few that can become corrupt. No single faction can take over so all must be balanced in some way.
Factions/parties are people working together on a particular issue. When there are factions within the government, there will be a process of discussion and reasoning that will result in the "truth." If these faction exist, instead, in the republic (outside of the government), it is means for civil war. Therefore, factions can be a good thing.

Scott walked us carefully through Federalist #10 and diagrammed its main concepts. See the diagram we created during the lecture below.

The Two Party System

Political parties are lasting coalitions of people that seek offices in government. Their mission is to link leaders in government to a significant population. A party is a link between the center of government and the people at large. Each party has a specific agenda. A competitive party system is system in which there are parties that cannot discount each other because each party is powerful. The public good in this system is obtained by addressing myriad issues. Both parties in a bi-party system seek the public good, but there is a recognition that there may be different methods of reaching the common good.

Factions do not have to be durable and they can exist within or outside of a political party. Faction politics is fluid — they come and go, sometimes being successful, sometimes addressing only contemporary issues. Political parties are more deliberate and organized than factions.

The History of Parties in the United States

The origin of the two-party system in the U.S. date to the 1790s. The Federalists and Anti-Federalists disbanded after the ratification of the Constitution because they no longer had a cause to support it. The individuals in these factions remained in politics following the ratification, even though they had very different views.

Division occurring following the ratification were the argument over a Bank of the United States and the proper method for dealing with the French Revolution. In terms of the French Revolution, Washington recommended neutrality. Many saw this as "selling out" the French and individuals and small groups began to meet to address the issue. People in the administration supporting neutrality called themselves "federalists." Those wishing to support the French came to be known as republicans. In the election of 1796, John Adams (a federalist) became President and Thomas Jefferson (a republican) became Vice President. The democratic republican clubs began to develop. Adams and Jefferson despised one another and Jefferson started bankrolling newspapers that criticized Adams.

The Alien and Sedition Acts were passed. They stated that speaking against the government was considered sedition and printing anti-governmental ideas led to imprisonment.

In the election of 1800, Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr (both republicans) were elected and tied so the House of Representatives had to make the decision . Alexander Hamilton argued that Jefferson was the lesser of the two dangers ("I detest Jefferson, but Burr is dangerous"). Jefferson was, therefore, chosen to be President.

In Jefferson's inaugural address of 1801, he says "we are all federalists; we are all republicans." He was seeking to combine everyone into a single party seeking the common good. By 1804, the federalist party had disintegrated. In 1820, Monroe supported the idea of not having political parties. The basis for disagreement then became their state affiliation. In 1824, states put up their own candidates, but none of the candidates received a majority. The three candidates receiving the most votes were sent to the House of Representatives, and Adams was selected to be President (even though he didn't win the vote of the electoral college).

Politics mostly worked by family affiliations and the families with which individuals aligned. Martin VanBuren believed that it would be better to align with people with common political views, rather than familial affiliations. He argued that the people should have the opportunity to choose a belief system to support, not a single person. Then, the winning individual could choose to bring in his own supporters into the cabinet. He suggested the development of a political party that would represent Jacksonian ideas. Van Buren thought a political party that would unite the people across state lines. This would create a stronger republic and would assist in overcoming the slavery issue.

Jackson engages in many controversial issues like raising tariffs and threatening to send in troops to support his issues. He engaged in enough controversial activities around the country that a faction formed to show their dislike of Jackson. This party became the whig party and they rallied around trying to win the presidential election. The republicans also wanted to win the election.

By the 1850s, the whig party was disbanding because their common interests had changed. The major dividing issue was slavery. Northern whigs, northern democrats, and anti-slavery advocates joined to call themselves the republican party in 1854. By 1856, the republicans were able to become the second major political party, replacing the whigs.

In 1896, the parties are separated along state lines which are further separated by the north and south.

Roosevelt's New Deal brought the mid-western farmers, southern whites, and northern workers into the Democratic Party. This was called the New Deal Coalition and the democrats won most of the elections between 1932 and 1964 when the Civil Rights Movement began. After the Civil Rights era, southerners started to split into whites choosing the Republican Party and the blacks choosing the Democratic Party. Today, Democrats tend to win the west coast and north and Republicans tend to win the mid-west and south.

The history of the American party system:

Federalists versus Jeffersonian Republicans
Almost everyone calls themselves Democrat Republicans (1801-1824)
Democrats versus the Whigs (1855-1896)
Democrats and Republicans (1896-1928) — The republicans maintained the majority in all but two elections
New Deal Coalition (1932-1964)
Democrats versus Republicans (1980s-today)

The agenda of the democratic and republican parties have almost completely "flip-flopped" over the last century.

The Point of Political Parties

Political parties provide glue between our separate branches ensuring that the checks of the system will not always stop the development of new legislation. The party systems works together while the Constitution tries to keep keep things separate.

Parties also connect the people with the national government by serving as a communication avenue between the two entities.

WtP: Federalist/Anti-Federalist Debate

2007-08-02T08:51:00.001-07:00

Separate students into two large groups, calling one the Federalists and the other the Anti-Federalists. Within each group, assign one student a concept from the U.S. Constitution (e.g., republicanism, federalism, senate). Allow all students 20 minutes of individual work to develop a 60 second position statement and 20 second rebuttal for the position.

Invite all students back to the classroom and separate them into their groups, seating them in order of the words to be debated.

Have one student from each side approach the podium. Let the Anti-Federalists begin the debate, having their opportunity to present their opening statement. Let the Federalist debater then have their one minute opportunity to state their position. Allow the Anti-Federalist to rebut the Federalist statement in 20 seconds and then the Federalist the same opportunity.

After the debate, have "judges" determine which team won by evaluating each pair of debaters.

WtP: Unit 2 — How Did the Framers Create the Constitution?

2007-08-01T10:54:00.000-07:00

Presented by Dr. Scott Casper — University of Nevada, Reno

Scott was introduced as a master teacher and quickly convinced us this was true by greeting us with smiles and memorizing all of our names.

Teaching American History Resources

Scott introduced Teaching American History, a website that presents the Constitutional Convention as a play in Four Acts, each Act separated into Scenes. Features of the site include:

Primary documents including daily transcripts of the Constitutional Convention from Madison's journal
Annotated paintings (i.e., students can click on characters in a painting and the get more information about those individuals)
Interactive map of Philadelphia (i.e., students can click around the map to learn about where they met during the day, where they had their evening meals, and you can learn about the original and modern day structures)

The Basis for the Constitutional Convention

The reason for the Convention was to suggest amendments to the Articles of Confederation because they didn't believe the Articles were working effectively. Many of the individuals as this Convention also were officers within the Continental Congress.

Representatives: Individuals that exist to serve a population and are part of a body and engage in persuasive dialog.

At the time of the Convention, there were several systems of representation the Framers knew including the British government, colonial governments, and Articles of Confederation government.

The British government was led by the king who represented himself and his family, the House of Lords represented the nobility (and tied to a specific population), and the House of Commons represented everyone else. Districts were divided by geographic area within Great Britain, not by human demographics.

An argument of the Framers was taxation without representation. Britain argued that the House of Commons represented all the common people, regardless of whether they live in Great Britain. The colonies borrowed much of the British system of government.

The government of the colonies was represented by a governor appointed by the king and representatives of the constituents to their assemblies. The states write new constitutions that include very strong legislative bodies and very weak governors.

Under the Articles of Confederation, the government had very specific enumerated powers that together formed a "firm league of friendship." Thirteen states sent representatives to the "United States in Congress Assembled." They were simply a league, a meeting of the states. Each state had one vote, not represented by population or geographic size. To change the Articles of Confederation, all thirteen states had to agree to all amendments. There was never a time when all thirteen states could agree. This led to significant disappointment by the people because they could not effectively change the Articles. The leaders were very aware of the weaknesses of the Articles and many left Congress when their terms expired because of their disappointment in the system. Issues including currency were very problematic.

The Constitutional Convention

The Framers chose to have the Constitutional Convention in private and began by setting rules. Some of these included the use of civic discourse (all individuals were given opportunities to hear out one another until presented ideas were understood by all), no one could speak twice before everyone had the opportunity to speak once, all issues could be revisited.

Proposals at the Constitutional Convention

Over the first month of the Convention, the main topics were representation and the branches of power. These were addressed in three proposed plans.

Dr. Casper separated us into three groups and gave each group a separate plan. Without telling us, one group received the Virgina Plan (Madison's Plan), one group (mine) received the New Jersey Plan, and a third group received Hamilton's Plan. We were asked to read the plans in our groups and draw a picture representing the plan. All groups chose to draw forms of concept maps, and then each group presented their plan. Scott then informed us of the history related to the plans and reviewed the level of central power existing within each of the plans.

The Virginia Plan

The New Jersey Plan

Hamilton's Plan

The Great Compromise

Madison was concerned that the Virginia Plan was not favorable during the Convention. One problem was that both houses of the legislative branch were elected by the people and divided based on population. The Great Compromise was to have two houses of the legislature with one having a varied number of representatives based on state populations and the other having the same number of representatives for each state. This compromise was considered a failure to Madison because it gave the states (rather than the people) more power than under the Virginia Plan. The next question was about deciding how to determine the voting population of a state (e.g., property owners, slaves, women).

Part of the Constitution requires a census every ten years. Additionally, the Constitution does not describe how to do the census so every decade new laws need to be developed for the upcoming census. They were recognizing the need of the Constitution to address the growth of the nation.

The Constitution addresses the issue of slavery, without using the word "slavery" in four areas.

In the Articles of Confederation, addressing taxation was based on the value of "improved land" within a state (meaning that the land has been changed by the people through construction). Assessing this land, however, was problematic. There was a proposed amendment to the Articles that would change the "improved land" clause to a population-based number which includes slaves being counted as 3/5 of a person. The amendment did not pass, but it was still in the minds of the Framers when it came to the Constitutional Convention. Taxation of states was another problem. The problem was slave owners wanted their slaves included in the Constitution because they wanted more representatives in Congress, but they did not want them included because this would mean they would be taxed more. This is what led to the 3/5 clause of the Constitution. In the original clause of the Constitution, indentured servants were included for the purposes of taxation and representation, but non-taxed Indians and slaves were not included.
The Southern states that were most interested in the slave trade were Georgia and South Carolina. These states did not have the numbers of slaves that the other Southern States had because they were still establishing their states and they had still had small populations. This leads to the clause that no change in slave importation could occur before 1808.
The Constitution supported that state laws governed slavery by supporting extradition of escaped slaves.
The Constitution also addresses slave rebellions in Article 4, Section 4 where it addresses "domestic violence."

The issue of slavery was not resolved in the Constitution, nor was the issue of citizenship and voting rights. They did not deal with these issues because they knew they would not be able to come to consensus.

The power of the presidency was also a concern because its powers were never enumerated. They did this, in part, because they knew they would elect Washington and they would allow him to create the office through his experience, and, in part, this occurred because the issue was discussed at the end of the Convention when they were tired. They spent more time determining how to elect the president than what the president would do. They chose not to use direct election because the states could decide who would vote and they could allow all their children and women vote if they wanted to win an election. Using a method that would allow the legislators to choose the president would leave the executive in a position in which he was beholden to the legislators. The electoral college was a compromise because it included representatives based on population as well as statehood. Another benefit, for some members of the Convention, was that the electoral college would allow a group of wise, educated individuals to choose the president.

The End of the Convention

Several of the delegates have left the Convention before it concludes for a myriad of reasons, primarily because of a lack of support of the document. The Constitution was required to have support of nine of the thirteen states. To get it considered for ratification, it was published in newspapers and, immediately, the press begn publishing letters stating opinions about the document. Had the vote been taken when originally reduced, the U.S. Constitution probably would not have passed. It was critical that New York and Virginia ratified the document. Some states ratify the Constitution quickly because they are small states or because they would gain economic benefits because the center of government would be in their state (Pennsylvania).

The Federalist/Anti-Federalist Papers

The Federalists were truly nationalists, but they chose the term because it gave the impression that they were more in alignment with federal views. The writers of the federalist and anti-federalist papers used pseudonyms because they could have their ideas received as ideas, rather than having them associated with their individual personalities. The names they used were mostly classical and Roman, like Brutus.

Scott then worked us through the process of reading primary documents very closely. The people of 1787 were very literate including 90% of white males and they are written very technically. Argument, language, and context are critical in documents and this is what a carefully reading addresses. He recommends we ask "What language is the author using and why?" He then carefully walked us through the Anti-Federalist argument by Brutus on October 18, 1787.

WtP: Nevada State Standards and Representative Democracy in America

2007-08-01T09:28:00.000-07:00

Mark led this section and directed us to paperwork showing the correlation between the We the People curriculum and the Nevada social studies standards. These are also available online.

Kit then presented on Representative Democracy in America.

Representative Democracy in America

This is one of the programs of the Center for Civic Education.

They run a back-to-school program intended to get legislators into classrooms. When they come, they will bring a variety of items:

High School: Class set of Your Ideas Count, InTime Your Ideas Count, and the Representative Democracy in America video
Middle School: Questions and answers about representative democracy, TFK (Time for Kids) Your Ideas Count, and a video
Elementary School: Citizen Brain video and TFK (Time for Kids) Your Ideas Count

Kit then introduced us to the Center for Congress at Indiana University. The site is resource-rich for both students and teachers and includes many simulations for use in classrooms. Two simulations used and recommended by teachers at the Institute include:

The Impact of Congress
Federal Budget Allocation

Both are available from http://www.centeroncongress.org/learn_about/launcher.htm

We then viewed part of the Representative Democracy in America video and engaged in a lesson from p. 71 of the Representative Democracy in America video series instructional guide. In our group, we had to argue why the executive branch we should have more power. We came to these suggestions:

Should happen because the executive branch is represented by every U.S. citizen and "The executive power shall be vested in the President of the U.S.A." (U.S. Constitution, Article I, Section 1.1), we were chosen into this position because of our wisdom
The President in office remains in office until the President is recalled or dies
Suspend the writ of habeas corpus
Enforce ex post facto laws
Unanimous vote of Congress is needed to override a veto
Congress cannot adjourn or recess until their agenda is complete
Only the executive officer receives a paycheck
We can change members the judicial branch at will
Remove the idea of Advice and Consent of the Senate for any appointments or treaties

After having each branch present its ideas, Kit presented us with the question: "Did the Framers get it right?"

WtP: Taboo Game

2007-08-01T09:13:00.000-07:00

Mark solicited two volunteers from each mentor group and they were excused from the room. The volunteers entered, one group of two at a time and they faced each other. The person facing the wall was able to see 10 vocabulary words. The person who could see the words had 1 minute and 15 seconds to give definitions for the words while the person who could not see the words guessed them.

Citizen
Alien
Civil Disobedience
Classical Republicans
Civic Virtue
Common Good
Human Nature
Natural Rights
Social Contract
Continental Congress

WtP: Evening at Lake Tahoe

2007-08-01T09:11:00.000-07:00

In the evening, several of the WtP attendees walked to Lake Tahoe.

I walked along the beach and found a wonderful creek and took lots of pictures. See below.

WtP: Mentor Group — Beginning Work on Our Hearing

2007-07-31T15:25:00.001-07:00

Following the "hearing train" activity, each group met separately to begin refining our group statement. Below is our combined statement.

Unit Six, Question Three
Do all citizens have the responsibility to participate in the political life of the nations? Why or why not?

If citizens should participate, what forms should that participation take?
Is civil disobedience ever a justified form of political participation? Explain your position.

Bonnie: All citizens have the responsibility to participate in the political life of the nation. They have the responsibility to participate in the political life of the nation. They have responsibility to become informed voters and to vote in all elections. They should also be willing to assist their government to the best of their ability. Assistance could be in the form of writing their approval or disapproval to officially be willing to serve in offices or serve on a jury. Government by the people means we need to be involved in whatever way suits our talents and times. The government work best when all are involved.
Susan: Furthermore, citizen's responsibilities are: 1.) vote; 2.) volunteer; 3.) run for office; 4.) serve; and, 5.) stay current and hold offices; 6.) serve on juries and being accountable. These are a few ways the citizens participate in the government.
Tara: Expanding on that idea, to become effective citizens in a constitutional democracy we need to understand our roles and responsibilities in our government as well as their responsibilities to us as citizens. We also need to understand how our system was set-up and organized.
Christy: Therefore, citizens of the U.S. have the opportunity to change laws and policies using many methods. Ideally, citizens would be pleased with the laws and policies in place because they had the opportunity to vote for and elect officials to represent their interests. If voting for specific representatives does not prove to meet the needs of an individual citizen, s/he has the right to petition for change. If the petition still fails to meet the needs of the citizen, the citizen may choose to run for, and possibly be elected to office him/herself. If elected, however, the individuals is still responsible to address the desires of the people s/he serves. If the people disagree with the individual, as a representative or not, Americans have the opportunity to speak to their personal interests and assemble to further discuss the issues. Furthermore, they may take advantage of a free press to address the issue. Should the individual's preference still prove unacceptable to the general population, there are several possibilities. Under the ideal of classical republicanism, the individual may simply accept the law or policy, recognizing it is in the best interest of the entire community, or the individual may challenge the law. To challenge the law, the individual must begin by questioning whether the law or policy aligns with the fundamental law of the land. If it does not, the citizen is encouraged, within the Declaration of Independence and through precedence set via the 1960s Civil Rights Movement, to engage in civil disobedience.
Bill: Civil disobedience is justified as a form of political participation when the government and its laws have been become unjust. The person that wishes to perform civil disobedience should be very careful when they choose to do so. They should only disobey the law that is unjust and not simply break a law for the sake of breaking it. As Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. states in his Letter from a Birmingham jail, “One has not only a legal but a moral responsibility to obey just laws. Conversely, one has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws. I would agree with St. Augustine that an unjust law is no law at all…’ All segregation statutes are unjust because segregation distorts the soul and damages the personality.” For example, during the 1960s American civil rights movement, the participants felt very strongly about only breaking the unjust Jim Crow segregation laws. They would violate an unjust state court ruling, but would never violate a ruling from a federal judge because the federal system was the greatest ally for the members of the movement.
Richard: On the other hand, Martin Luther King, Jr. also stated in his letter from Birmingham Jail: "Justice too long delayed is justice denied" helps to answer the question of what [greater] potential negative consequence of civil disobedience in a democratic society. The opportunity may have passed for the right time to act. Other consequences include lack of planning, misunderstanding of the problem, a backlash from the majority that counteracts the initial disobedience. Or on the most simple level the action just does not work.

WtP: Aboard the Hearing Train

2007-07-31T14:25:00.001-07:00

This lesson, presented by Marcia Ellis, assists in getting students started with the writing process.

Students are separated into groups. Each group receives a set of questions, one per individual, from their unit. Each individual randomly chooses one question from the group of questions and develops a 2-3 sentence response to the question. After three minutes of writing, we wrote our responses on a car of a paper train. These cars were taped t oa wall in the order they should be presented and we taped transition words/phrases between each car.

My group's question was from Unit 6: "4. How might a person go about changing a law or policy with which he or she disagrees?"

My response, below, was written very quickly as is replete with technical inaccuracies. Nonetheless, I think it's a good start:

"Citizens of the U.S. have the opportunity to change laws and policies using many methods. Ideally, citizens would be pleased with the laws and policies in place because they had the opportunity to vote for and elect officials to represent their interests. If voting for specific representatives does not prove to meet the needs of an individual citizen, s/he has the right to petition for change. If the petition still fails to meet the needs of the citizen, the citizen may choose to run for, and possibly be elected to office him/herself. If elected, however, the individuals is still responsible to address the desires of the people s/he serves. If the people disagree with the individual, as a representative or not, Americans have the opportunity to speak to their personal interests and assemble to further discuss the issues. Furthermore, they may take advantage of a free press to address the issue. Should the individual's preference still prove unacceptable to the general population, there are several possibilities. Under the ideal of classical republicanism, the individual may simply accept the law or policy, recognizing it is in the best interest of the entire community, or the individual may challenge the law. To challenge the law, the individual must begin by questioning whether the law or policy aligns with the fundamental law of the land. If it does not, the citizen is encouraged, within the Declaration of Independence and through precedence set via the 1960s Civil Rights Movement, to engage in civil disobedience."

After we completed our trains, each group read their collective statements in order.

WtP: Middle School Meeting

2007-07-31T13:03:00.000-07:00

Angela Orr led five educators (Jennifer, Bonnie, Christina, Julia, and me) to learn ways to teach the WtP curriculum with middle level learners.

The full middle level curriculum can be delivered in six weeks if following the book directly. Angela recommends using the book in order and using the entire curriculum. It is possible to use sections of the text, substituting them for units currently being taught. Regardless of the amount of the text the teacher chooses to use, it is imperative the students engage in the congressional hearing. The skills they gain through this process is critical to developing 21st Century Skills.

Using units 1, 2, 5, and 6 are probably the best chapters to use if you cannot use the entire curriculum. Students can read in class or out of class (if there are enough books). When reading in class, encourage "Think Alouds."

Unit 1

One teacher has her students study Unit 1 (chapters 2, 3, 4, and 5) at the beginning of the school year, spending one day per lesson. When finished, the class spends a day to develop their class rules.

Unit 2 (Articles of Confederation, Shay's Rebellion, Need for a Constitution)

The WtP text focuses more on the basics and understandable concepts than other 7th grade U.S. history texts. This is a nice unit to substitute for what is addressed in other textbooks. Some teachers use this unit as a precursor to the Civil War. The unit helps students gain a strong understanding of the Constitution.

Unit 5

Students love this unit because there is lots of debate about what they believe. It is particularly good at the end of the year when students are losing interest and need controversy to revive them.

Unit 6

This is a nice unit to bring in current issues and events. A great way to end the school year is talking about citizenship and their personal responsibilities.

Sponge Activity Ideas

Use the pictures to prompt student inquiry.
Use the Lesson Review questions (this can also be homework).

Suggested Content Delivery Methods

The Balloon Game

Students clear their desks of everything but a writing utensil. Hand out a balloon to each child and have them blow them up. Rule 1: No one can get hurt. Rule 2: Love your balloon. Rule 3: Relish it. Rule 4: You must have to have an unpopped balloon at the end of the game. Instruct them the game lasts for 90 seconds and yell "Go"! The students will try top pop everyone's balloons. After 90 seconds, ask "Why didn't you all just sit quietly in your desks so you could all win?" Ask "Why did some people work together to to pop the balloons of others?" Ask: "Why were some people more powerful/better at protecting their balloons?" Ask: "Was this a fair game? Why r why not?" Ask: "If you could have made a more fair game, what what would you have done differently?" These questions should lead to an understanding of the state of nature. After describing the state of nature, have students work in groiups to answer the questions at the end of chapter 2.

Enhancing Vocabulary Instruction

Use kinesthetic moves to teach the vocabulary. Angela Orr developed example movements for the terms below, but videos of these movements, unfortunately, were lost during a server error.

Montesquieu: "All governments have power. So you have to separate the powers, balance the powers, and check the powers."
Veto: "Veto, Say 'No'! Veto, Say 'No'!"Congress can override the veto.
Private Domain
Popular Sovereignty
Overriding the Veto

After introducing some kinesthetic moves, give them vocabulary words throughout the year and let them create their own moves.

Use vocabulary wheels.

Play Splat: Tape words around the floor, and separate students into teams of two. Give each team a flyswatter. Read a definition and the first team to swat the correct word gets a point.

Have students look at and analyze pictures and cartoons. Using the graphics, allow students to construct their own understanding of vocabulary terms or concepts (e.g., limited powers, suffrage challenges, 14th Amendment).

In Re Gault

This is a lesson from p. 234 of the middle school textbook about due process. The lesson addresses the following Constitutional Amendments:

4th: Reasonable search and seizure
5th: Don't testify against yourself, allows people to remain silent, property can't be taken without just compensation, you must be told why you're being held and there must be a grand jury indictment
6th: Impartial jury, jury before peers, you get a lawyer
8th: Bail and no cruel and unusual punishment
14th: Makes these rights apply to individuals

The teacher reads a manuscript of Gerald Gualt. We were to yell "Stop" whenever we felt that the rights of Gualt was violated. At that point, we would identify the right that had been offended and which amendment secured that right or what might violate other laws or procedures of due process. We would write these answers on an "In Re Gualt" worksheet.

"Is It Protected"

Angela introduced a worksheet that encourages student discussion. The students review statements and must decide if the statement is protected under the First Amendment or not. Example statements include:

A man yells: "George Bush is an idiot!"
A woman says: "I plan to blow up the Supreme Court tomorrow."
A student at school yells: "FIRE!" in the hallway (even though there isn't one), and people start yelling and running in panic.
Neo-Nazis want to run a "civilized" parade to memorialize Hitler in an all Jewish community.
A group protesting the death penalty picket and shout outside of a court room while trial is in session.
A young woman drives her car through a neighborhood using a bull horn to should "I love America!" at 1:00 AM.

Accountable Talk

Angela introduces her students to "Accountable Talk." She gives all each student in the group a number of poker chips. Sometimes, the chips are different colors. For example, each student may receive two red chips and two blue chips. The red chips allow students to make any related statement (e.g., "I feel...") The blue chips might represent comments related to the text or that include a citation to a law, precedent etc.

Only one student can speak at a time.
You must put in a chip to speak and you cannot speak if you do not have a chip (unless they are encouraging another person to talk).
What you say must align with you chip color.

This can be done in a whole group session, separating the students into two large groups, or even using it with small groups of 3-4 students.

Below is a graphic of a handout Angela created to help others better understand using accountable talk in classrooms.

How Does It Relate? Vocabulary

List vocabulary words from the the current chapter of the curriculum in rows of a grid and concepts addressed in multiple chapters from the text. Students work in groups to see how the vocabulary words they are currently learning relate to concepts from other chapters with which they're familiar.

WtP: Unit I — Philisophical and Historical Foundations

2007-07-31T08:59:00.001-07:00

Presented by the Honorable (ret.) Sue Leeson, Oregon Supreme Court

To access primary resources relating to the We the People, go to the Utah site on the Center for Civic Education website (here).

Unit 1 Described

A benefit of Unit 1 is that it is about the individual and it answers the "Why" questions about hat we do. The focus of the unit is on ideas, values, principles, and history. It asks how we should live together.

"The ideas, values and principles that animated the Founders' debates are debated to this day. Students can and should understand them. As teachers, we can make these ideas, values and principles come to life in vibrant and engaging ways. We can also make history relevant and meaningful." -Leeson

Sue mentioned the school activity of giving students the opportunity to play a game, but not giving them any direction or rules. Students will always begin by jointly conceiving and agreeing to agreeing to a set of rules. This is precisely what happened at the Philadelphia Convention.

Unit 1 addresses four major questions:

What is human nature?
Why do human beings need to be governed and who should govern?
What is good for human beings?
What is government's ("the public's) role in achieving what is good for human beings?

Classical Republicanism

Plato and Aristotle are examples of cassical republicanism. It is the ancient understandings of the public sphere, political liberty, communal well-being, and human happiness.

What is human nature?

This addresses the question of what distinguishes human beings from other animals. We are social ("polis"), interdependent animals. The philosophy of Ubuntu argues that we become human by being in a social community. Humans are unique because they have the capacity to reason and speak. The capacity to speak and reason, developed within and through our environment, determines who is worthy to be a citizen versus who becomes a slave. Humans seek human communities (e.g., family, gangs, technology-based semiotic domains).

Classical republicans want interaction between people because this develops the individual ability to speak and reason. They want all people to be happy and believe this can occur if they thrive by meeting their ultimate end or purpose (called "telos"), or self-actualization. Humans are consistently making value judgments about what we do in our daily lives. Classical republicans are always seeking to increase our capacity.

Why do humans need government and who should govern?

Classical republicans believe living together can lead to excellence, but requires virtue. We have a capacity to be great or evil, but must make choices to develop that capacity. As we approach our positive capacity to speak and reason, which only occurs through community, we become happy and the community works well.

Government occurs naturally. We create governments because of our social nature. Within classical republicanism, there is no individual because individuals only exist within communities. They do not understand the concept of individual rights because our responsibilities are to the community, not to the self. This is why classical republicans seek a self-contained community.

Classical republicans seek a self-sustaining society, like a kibbutz or moshav. Plato said a community should not exceed 5,040 people because that keeps us within three degrees of separation. With computing, it is believed that the six degrees of separation will reduce to five.

Education is the central responsibility within the polis. Public spiritedness is critical as is living naturally together.

What is government's ("the public's") role in achieving what is good for humans?

Elements of the government's role in classical republicanism include:

Government must provide for community defense.
Moral education and civic virtue are central public functions.
Those who govern must be wise, not self-interested.

Assuring wise leadership requires finding a person who doesn't care about power. This is Plato's philosopher king," an individual that does not really want to govern, but is drawn into it. It is someone who is more interested in their reputation than power, prestige, and money. Classical republicanism seeks an individual who is not self-interested. In addition, the classical republican is seeking a leader who is interested in helping all community members to attain their best capacity and a person who shares common beliefs.

Classical republicans seek the individual who is best suited to the task, not the individual with the greatest interest in the task. This is what the electoral college was meant to do - find the best representative for the country. Factions and the resulting political parties defeat the ideal of an electoral college.

What is human nature?

Human nature can be determined by looking to a pre-political "state of nature."

Hobbes questions what life would be like in an environment without leadership. He argues that this would be a state of war. The question is: "How would I really behave if I didn't have a fear of being caught?" In this lawless society, there is a fear of all experiencing a violent death. It is a war f every man against every man. Everyone is a threat to everyone else. One common factor between all humans is that we are all mortal. Without government to keep us from killing each other, we would fear violent death more than anything else. In a state of nature, it is a constant war to survive and we are governed by a passion of fear. To survive, we must throw off the state of nature.

Hobbes argues that to leave a state of nature, we give our rights up in return for protection from a leviathan, a mortal god. We must give up absolute power. In order for the people to obey the laws, it is critical to have a strong police state. There must be a fear of violent death under government that is greater than fear of violent death in a state of nature. So, don't criticize a government for being too powerful, describe it as not being powerful enough.

Hobbes was explaining Machiavelli's political beliefs, 100 years after he wrote The Prince.

Along comes John Locke. We leave the state of nature by giving up some rights, and agree to be social via a social contract (further describe by Jean-Jacques Rousseau).

What is the government's ("the public's") role in achieving what is good for human beings?

Government is needed to provide defense and assure "domestic tranquility."
Government cannot be trusted completely.
Governments closest to people should have the greatest responsibilities.

What should be the proper relationship between public and private?

Ask students how they balance public and private interests by using the following examples:

Voting to raise taxes for schools, libraries, police and fire service?
Using public transit, biking or walking rather than driving a car?
Supporting or opposing a national identity card?

These challenge Tocqueville's "self-interest rightly understood" ideas."Tocqueville provides a broader description of public interest than just looking at the self.

Classical republicans tend to judge from a public perspective with ideals including desirability of small communities, focus on the common good, emphasis on education and moral virtue, duties to community, and public spiritedness.

Natural rights theorists tend to judge from the private perspective with government by consent, limited government, "self-interest rightly understood," and government as means for satisfying self-interest.

Examples from both the natural rights theory and classical republicanism blended in the following important American documents:

Declaration of Independence
Articles of Confederation
Constitution (Preamble, text, and structure)
Federalist/Anti-Federalist Debates
Famous Speeches

The Declaration of Independence is very classical republican in its presentation by stating we have a duty to our nation.

"When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security."

The Declaration is a social contract where the people of the colonies have agreed to work together, not to limit themselves to behaving as individuals within a state of nature. The people recognized their responsibilities, not just to the government, but to the attainment of all their people to achieve happiness. Within classical republicanism, we have a right and duty to throw off destructive governments.

The Declaration recognized that each of the colonies was like its own classical republic. It is within the states that there was political morality.

WtP: Student Congressional Hearings

2007-07-30T17:11:00.000-07:00

The Institute participants had the opportunity to experience two groups of students engaged in an end-of-program congressional hearing.

The first presentation was by fifth grade students lead by Mr. Andrew Morris of Spanish Springs Elementary Schools. They presented on Unit Two: How did the framers write our Constitution?, though some of the students practiced for different units during the last school year.

The second presentation was by Mrs. Angela Orr's twelfth grade students from Damonte Ranch Middle/High School. Uniquely, this group was small so each student had to prepare for two units. Despite this challenge, they won the state competition and advanced to the national competition. They spoke on Unit Five, Question One ("Why have the first amendment rights been viewed as essential to the functioning of a free society?").

WtP: Unit 6 — The Role of the Citizen

2007-07-30T14:01:00.000-07:00

Presented by the Honorable (ret.) Sue Leeson, Oregon Supreme Court

Sue was introduced as a brilliant "citizen extraordinaire." She is one of the people working on the re-write of the new high school text.

One of her concerns with education, particularly in higher education, is the isolation of educators from one another. She appreciates the opportunities to participate in communities, families, and friends because of a common interest (e.g., an interest in the WtP curricula). She is a firm believer in the WtP textbooks and their cross-curricular possibilities.

Introduction to the We the People Program

Note that the table of contents offers only questions, not answers. Furthermore, much of the text is questions; therefore, providing children opportunities to be empowered by asking their own questions and discovering on their own. A benefit of the program is that there is so much new material that arises from the questions within the text.

An overview of the textbook:

Unit 1 — Intellectual Foundations (The foundation of a building)
Unit 2 — How the Framers Drafted a Constitution (Pillar holding the building together)
Unit 3 — How Do You Enact a Constitution (Pillar holding the building together)
Unit 4 — Constitutional Revolution (Pillar holding the building together)
Unit 5 — The Rights of the Individual (Pillar holding the building together)
Unit 6 — Citizenship (The roof of the building)

The role of the government in relation to subjects, citizens, and aliens

Subjects — The relationship between the government and its subjects can involve subordinance, loyalty, obedience, control, oppression, or support.
Citizens — The relationship between the citizen and government can vary. In our government, we have popular sovereignty that occurs through lobbying, recall, monetary contributions, running for and holding office, voting, and petitioning. In the U.S., we own the government. [Note that the knowledge of our citizens has declined over time because of a lack of readership/viewership.]
Aliens — The status of aliens in the U.S. today is highly controversial. The research shows that aliens bring in more money through taxes than they deplete and they are better at voting than citizens.

There needs to be an alignment between the culture/constitution and the Constitution. It is amazing that the U.S. Constitution is so stable, a form of reverence by the citizens it serves.

Defining Citizenship

We were to break into groups of four and identify the citizenship requirements within the U.S. Constitution and to define citizenship. To be in the:

House of Representatives, you must be 25 years old, a U.S. citizen for 7 years, and a resident of the state you serve.
Senate, you must be 30 years old, a U.S. citizen for 9 years, and a resident of the state you serve.
President, you must be 35 years old, natural-born U.S. citizen (unless you were the first President).
Supreme Court, there is no requirement.

Congress' power over citizenship in the U.S. Constitution is limited to developing uniform rules of naturalization.

The Constitution never defines citizen because this was defined at the state level. The state definitions of citizens varied greatly. Some excluded populations included females, those without property, those of the "wrong religion," non-whites.

Ways of defining citizenship could relate to birth, blood/place of origin, property, residency. Countries vary their citizenship requirements; the U.S. has chosen to base citizenship on birth and naturalization.

We have had prohibitions against people of many different nations. We tend to welcome certain groups to be citizens when we need laborers, soldiers, or certain skills (e.g., scientists).

Some believe the statement "Out of many, become one" is a myth. There were 23 languages spoken in the colonies. Originally, we were defined as a melting pot until Carter redefined uour culture as a civic mosaic. When do we begin to feel threatened by the civic mosaic or "out of many, become one."

There is a unique circumstance in the U.S. that individuals are citizens of the nation as well as their state. It is uncommon for nations to have this dual-citizenship and particularly complicated for many to understand that the U.S. has executive, legislative, and judicial leadership at both the national and state levels. Because of this dual-citizenship, it is not surprising there are conflicts between laws in the states and nation. For example, the Supreme Court has ruled that medical marijuana is illegal, but several states have not respected this ruling.

Units of Government

Types of Government

International
National
State
County
City
Public Regulation Committee
Regional Planning Board
Indian Reservation
Neighborhood Advisory Boards
Water District
School District
Oil/Gas/Review Board

There are over 100,000 governments in the United States. The greatest government unit impacting us individually depends on what is important to us individually (e.g., building, education, pets, sewer). For most educators, the school district has the greatest impact. The units that touch us the most are usually those that are closest to the citizen (e.g., water/electricity district, school district, transportation district, library district). Citizen's responsibilities are to know and abide by their laws, participate as a leader by serving on Boards or city commissions, vote for people and measures. Our citizens tend to gladly create governments, but sadly participate in and be willing to lead them.

Individuals can vote in all elections, but frequently less that 10% vote in elections. They can also lobby, petition, run for office, speak freely, peacefully assemble. Non-citizens can do all these activities with the exception of running for and holding office. They also may not vote in state and national elections, but many can vote in local elections.

Steps in a Satyagraha Campaign

Satyagraha means peace-making and was a creation of Ghandi (1930). It s a process of mutual persuasion and heart-changing. It is a mediation process.

Start with negotiation and arbitration. Make every effort to resolve conflict through existing channels. Never proceed to the next stage until the current stage fails.
Prepare the group for direct action by examining motives and initiating exercises in self-disciplining.
Use agitation and understand an active propaganda campaign together with demonstrations such as mass-meeting, parades, ad logan shouting.
Issue an ultimatum which makes a strong appeal to the opponent explaining what further steps will be taken if no agreement is reached. ts wording should offer the widest scope for agreement, allowing for face-saving by the opponent, and should offer a constructive solution to the problem.
Undertake economic boycott and forms of strike, possibly including picketing, demonstrations, education of the public, dharna...
next one
Undertake civil disobedience. Great care should be given to selection of laws to be contravened. This should be tied to the grievance or symbolic.
Usurp the functions of government. Create substitute services and processes.
Institute a parallel government.

We viewed the video "A Force More Powerful" published by the Southern Poverty Law Center.
This is an excellent description of the Satyagraha Campaign using the Nashville lunch counter sit-ins of 1960 as a case study. The video continues with additional case study descriptions of non-violent social action. We did not watch the remaining case studies.

Nevada We the People Institute (WtP)

2007-07-30T13:03:00.000-07:00

This year's institute began with introductions of the staff. The Institute facilitators are Marcia Ellis and Mark Towell. The mentors for this year's Institute include:

Marcia Ellis

Mark Towell

Milt Hyams: One of the first participants in the We the People program in 1987 as a high school senior. He now teaches the WtP curriculum at Reed High School and acts as a mentor to others engaging in the program. His interest in the program is that it works with all levels of learners. Te program trains thinkers and citizens.

Kit McCormack: The WtP program was created by retired Justice Warren Berger. She started using the program because the books were in her classroom and used them for seven years before being trained in the program. She is currently the Teaching American History grant coordinator for Washoe County. She finds that the high school participants make great judges for the middle and elementary school programs.

Angela Orr: Learned about the program when dog sitting and "caught the bug" for the program when doing student teaching at Reed High School. She is currently a teacher at Damonte Ranch Middle/High School. She came to appreciate the program when she found that her ELL and special education students could be successful with the program. The children's excitement also led to parents being involved in the school.

WtP: Introduction

2007-07-30T09:13:00.000-07:00

I have the privilege of spending a week at Serra Nevada College in Incline Village, Nevada learning about the We the People curriculum. I met the Las Vegas contingent at the Reno airport and we drove to the College. O the way, we stopped at Lake Tahoe to enjoy nature.

The funds for We the People curricula this training comes from the Center for Civic Education. Funds were appropriated by an act of Congress. The purpose of the programs to become responsible citizens. The goals of the Institute include gaining knowledge of the government, skills of citizenship, and dispositions of democracy and liberty.

We were warned about the wild chipmunks and
bears.

Any alcoholic beverages provided during the Institute are NOT FUNDED BY CONGRESS.

We then did two ice breakers. For the first, we wrote down, on a 1 to 100 scale, how comfortable we feel with the WtP curriculum. These were then placed on a graph to show our comfort levels as a group. Next, we were asked to choose a car (from the following) that best describes us as a teacher.

Hummer
1957 Chevy
Volkswagon Bug
Ferrari
Mercedes Benz

In our groups, we discussed why we chose that car.

Afterwards, we each introduced ourselves, telling one little known fact about ourselves.

NECC 2007: Closing Session

2007-06-27T12:06:00.000-07:00

Dr. Tim Tyson, principal of Mabry Middle School in Atlanta, Georgia, presented on his school's version of School 2.0. He wanted an environemnt where children could create a meaningful contribution to the world and used the availability of immediate global distribution of work via the Internet as the key to making that possible.

The school has an annual film festival. Students work in groups to study content and develop a video about their topic. They are told that if their projects are perfect, they can go on iTunes on his vodcast. Dr. Tyson showed several student videos. Projects are eligible for awards and winners receive gifts like iPods, computers, and sofyware (e.g., Final Cut Pro).

Children crave opportunities to make a contribution to their world.

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NECC 2007: From Hand It In to Publish It: Re-Envisioning Our Classrooms

2007-06-27T07:44:00.000-07:00

This session was presented by Will Richardson and revisited some of the content addressed in his CUE 2007 presentation, but share much new information as well. An added benefit of the presentation was that Richardson included a wiki of the presentation at http://handitinnecc.wikispaces.com/ and he included great examples of student work.

The Wikipedia experiences about 500 edits every 3 minutes.
MIT's courses are all available free online at http://ocw.mit.edu/index.html
We are teaching our children keyboarding and mouse use, but that is not the way of the future.
Friedman will release The World is Flat 3.0 this summer (containing three additional chapters).
There is a Delicious site that allows us to see who is networked from a given Delicious site. It is available here.
He mentioned the lack of power of a taxonomy like the Dewey Decimal System in a modern society and the creation of folksonomies to fill in the need for a new organizational system.
He mentioned Scan This Book which is the article describing Google's attempt to scan and publish all paper-based text, ever.
Richardson let us hear/see examples of good teaching with Web 2.0 tools:

A first grade podcast about ants on Radio WillowWeb. Hear it here.
Grades 3-12 students connect with astronauts. See it here.
First graders report on their beach trip. See it here.
US and Bangladesh students worked together in a wiki space to understand our flattening world from a global perspective. Read it here.

He asked if our classrooms of today are preparing our students for the world in which they'll live when they graduate. Richardson cited data of Web 2.0 tools by IBM employees and noted that children graduating from high schools today will need to be retrained in that work world. The only way to prepare them for this world is to model it in the classroom and then let students experience it, making their mistakes in a safe, learning environment. Because of the anticipated frequency in job changing, it is critical we develop lifelong-, self-learners. The beginning of this is by placing teachers in front of them who are clearly lifelong learners.

Richardson noted that the discussion always comes down to the "Yeah, but..." discussion. His answer is to begin by getting teachers using the technology and to model its use. An answer to the "I have to prepare my students for the test" argument is that it is possible to use these technologies to help students master the test. For those saying "There's just no time" Richardson's answer was that it's time to "suck it up" because our students deserve it. This comment was met with widespread applause.

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NECC 2007: Gaming Technology in U.S. History

2007-06-27T06:34:00.000-07:00

This presentation focused on resources offered through Colonial Williamsburg. The presenter, Dale Van Eck, showcased several wonderful sites available for teaching about American History. He provided passwords for attendees to use to review the materials, but noted that there is a $150 charge to schools to use these resources. The highlighted sites included:

Colonial Williamsburg Main Site: http://www.history.org/
"A Day in the Life" Series: http://www.history.org/History/teaching/Dayseries/ditl_index.cfm
Dressing Colonialists Game: http://www.history.org/History/teaching/Dayseries/webactivities/dress/dress.htm
Rare Breeds Program: http://www.history.org/Almanack/life/animals/pr_rare.cfm
Rare Breeds Game: http://www.history.org/History/teaching/Rare_breeds
Soldiers of Liberty: http://www.history.org/History/teaching/SOL/

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NECC 2007: Reinventing Education for the 21st Century (Designing School 2.0)

2007-06-26T11:01:00.000-07:00

Wes Fryer and Katie Beedon were presenters for this session. See http://teachdigital.pbwiki.com
I was very eager to hear this presentation because I've intermittently followed Wes' blog/podcast for over a year now.

It's easy to teach and lead poorly.
Before you can deal with change, however, you have to see it. Then you have to accept it. Sometimes that's the hardest part--acknowledging and then accepting that the way you've always done business or lived your life just won't work anymore." Lee Iacocca, "Where Have All the Leaders Gone?" (2007)
This is a challenging world where we need to embrace change.
There are no "silver bullets" in education.
Wes showed the video "Teacher Video" and then we discussed in pairs why we thought this was an important video to show to teachers and pre-service teachers. The video challenges us to question the status quo and accepting that it's okay to be different.
Wes encouraged us to all attend the K12Online Conference in October 2007. It's free and online.
Web 2.0 allows students to create for an authentic audience.
"The best way to predict the future is to invent it." Alan Kay
Levels of change: 1st (requires a little "tweak"), 2nd (requires several "tweaks"), and 3rd (requires transformative change). Unknown author
Innovative school districts are innovative because they have great leaders.
We need to ask "what's best for kids," not "what's convenient"?
Ask "Who are your Yodas?" and "To whom are you a Yoda?" We are no longer limited to having Yodas who are geographically in similar locations.
We also showed the following video about administrators:

I thoroughly enjoyed hearing Wes speak; he is as dynamic in person as he is on his podcast. That said, I didn't gain any new information from his presentation. It was a way of re-addressing the need for disruptive technologies and transformational learning that he's covered well in his podcast.

Katie Beedon worked to assist AT&T-using organizations to collaborate with one another.

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NECC 2007: SIGTE Forum: Tools to Assess the Use of Technology for 21st Century Skills

2007-06-26T07:42:00.000-07:00

The SIG-TE Forum had three invited guests from SRI including Angela Haydel DeBarger, Corinne Singleton, and Britte Cheng. They spoke on several projects inclufing Principled Assessment Designs for Inquiry (PADI), strategic learning consulting projects including Apple 1:1 computing and iPod initiative evaluation toolkits, and the Online Evaluation Resource Library.

Angela presented on the PADI project. The project recognizes the inherent problems in assessing complex skills, and breaks out skills into individual tasks. Each task can then be assessed indiidually.

Corinne presented on the Intel Skills for Assessment Rurics. These seem to align much more with contemporary methods of assessment. Our group preferred this approach because it was multi-modal including multiple artifacts as well as teacher and student perspectives of learning.

Britte introduced the the OERL Library of Assessment Tools. Our table was very pleased with this online tool and the availability of these resources. Colleen Swain suggested that, in alignment with the SIGTE reolution, SIGTE lead an online discussion (perhaps using Illuminate). Discussion attendees would all review assessments within the OERL before the session and these would be the basis for discussion.

Note, SIGTE also blogged this session.

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NECC 2007: Globalization Keynote Panel

2007-06-26T05:39:00.000-07:00

A panel of experts led by Andrew Zoli spoke on the topic of developing creative kids. The panel included:

Mary Cullinane, Technology Architect (Microsoft) and Former Teacher
Dr. Francesc Pedro, OECD/CERI
Elizabeth Streb, Choreographer
Michael McCauley, Creative Director

Mary Cullinane: In a school of the future, the principal would be called the "chief learner." She recognized the tensions between accountability and the need for creativity. It is critical to create an environment where it's safe to fail and where it is comfortable to gather. Creativity and innovation are "swimming upstream" within educational contexts instead of having to fight the system. To be successful and creative, there is a need to be self-critical. At Microsoft, the employees were constantly working to improve on their own practice. Employees were also encouraged to think and to gather. Employees see "thinking" and "doing things" as equally important and there are times to think. Remember the word "motive." Constantly ask students what are their values, environments, motives, expectations, etc.

Francesc Pedro: He asked whether we could compare the creative potential and level of creative education students are receiving in 30 countries. He compared availability of computers at home versus computers available at schools. He found that students math scores increased when students had access to computers at school. This was not necessarily the case on a global scale with having computers available at schools. Include doers and learners in the instructional process. Teachers see themselves as artisans, but we assign them to clinical roles. Pedro noted the importance of language learning as early as possible and that the differences in gener-based intelligences are a myth.

Michael McCauley: The goal of creative directors is to inspire those around you to be creative and to support their ideas. Applied art is a "very dirty" business where you have to "fall down" and "break things." It's important to "mix it up" by changing dynamics so people can think creatively. Developing a creative process is about creating opportunities where individuals are inspired to meet their own goals. Read Whole New Mind and Dream Society.

Elizabeth Streb: Embrace what seems impossible and explore the possibility. Even if you don't succeed, you will gain new knowledge and experience. Imagine working in a garage - where people go to "mess things up." This is where real change happens. Allow complete sovereignty in the activities of students where their is a very thin line between their natural processes and the educational process. Go to Slam in New York. Read every title in the section of the bookstore in which you're interested.

Andrew Zolli recommends visiting Ask a Ninja.

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