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This article provides a simple overview of copyright laws for educators.

In this article not only does it list all the things that teachers should avoid from doing but it also has information for the students. It list how the classroom can use the internet appropriately without breaking any laws and the reasons why these laws even came about.

This is an interesting article. Since my content area is business education, integrating technology in the classroom is a huge topic. As an educator, I have to know what is legal and illegal. Especially, when communicating copyright laws to the students. I think this article is a useful tool for educators to use in the classroom. I like how the article mentions that the rules that apply to students apply to teachers as well. We as educators have to abide by copyright laws just as students should. I also like the fact that this article outlines the guidelines that educators should follow in the classroom so that they can use as a reference.

This is an Article written by Wendy L. Werner about the importance of mentoring programs. The article discusses the effects that a good mentor can have on an individual. It also discusses how to be a good mentor as well as a good mentee. 

I've seen several mentor programs in which the mentor only wore the title but never actually played an active role in the student's life. So what I liked most about the article is the keypoint that stated that a mentor should "take initiative and make time". I think that if someone is going to be a mentor they must be actively involved in the mentee's life in order for progression to occur. A student is not going to feel that they can confide in their mentor until they have established a relationship. Just like in the classroom, students need to know that educators care. They need to feel a sense of belonging. When educators as well as mentors create a warm, caring environment students are more likely to open up or accomplish task to meet their mentor's or teacher's expectations!

Very good point, Jessica. That is well-said and very important! Because the teachers I liked were the ones I knew and ones who made a difference in my life by the time they gave.

This website basically breaks down all the information that student athletes need in order to be awarded an athletic scholarship. It shows how parents can get involved and help as well as how students can prepare themselves academically and athletically.

This article explains some benefits afterschool programs offer to the schools and the community. It discusses how afterschool programs strengthen schools, families, and communities. The article emphasizes that a key part of developing an afterschool program is soliciting participation from many segments of the community.

As a former after-school caregiver, I know a little something about these programs. And I completely agree with the article's take on the benefits that stem from them. The fact that kids have a safe, fun, place to spend these hours amongst their peers and young-adult mentors...which allows their parents to spend that time working for those necessary extra dollars... which in turn helps a home's and community's stability...which creates stronger schools...which is the whole purpose!!! I saw this happen at schools completely geographically, ethnically, and economically different from one another, but the result was always positive.

Just like Josh I also worked for as a after school mentor. I to have seen all the benefits that after school programs have not only on the schools, but the communities as well. The school that I worked at had many students whose parents got off work to late and couldnt afford to send their children to day care for only a couple of hours. But because of this program that the school provided many parents were able to be at ease in knowing that their child was not only in safe place but around people that truly cared for them. The students got to participate in so many activities and even were invited back during the summer for a summer program. With this summer program students got to do so many activities and go on field trips to place they wouldve never gone to. This program was a huge success for this community in general and for the students as well.

Vocational Education meets Research in the dynamic classroom of Linda Darling-Hammond, 2008. The students are doing the research, teaching and learning. They control their own destiny and they are taking the world by storm! They are not waiting to be taught, they are teaching each other and themselves as teams of researchers. Darling-Hammond, L. (2008). Powerful learning: what we know about teaching for understanding. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

I read this book and what the author says is really revolutionary. She has students work in teams as researchers and collaborate while doing research separately. She says students are scientists and classroom homework is research. They should be teaching the teachers, she thinks. Especially, they are beyond us in technology knowledge!

This video shows the importance of cameras on school buses and how they hold everyone accountable, help the driver focus more on driving rather than constantly having to monitor children through the mirror and how the cameras act as a silent witness in observing and reporting student behavior on the bus.

I think it is an awesome idea to put cameras on school buses because just like the driver said in the video, it is impossible to properly monitor the students while trying to watch traffic as well. As a child, there was always something going on in the back of the bus and when the driver asked what happened, no one saw anything! Therefore, I think cameras on the bus is a great idea to help ensure student's safety.

You can't go wrong with cameras on a school bus. The summer following my freshmen year in high school, I would ride the bus to summer school everyday. The bus picked us up from what was considered to be one of the worst neighborhoods in the community. Everyone that rode that bus got along with one another very well, however there was still bullying going on. The bullying was not student to student, it was student to bus driver. That poor man endured so much harassment from the students that after about 2 weeks he quit. Students would throw things at him while he was driving (paper, candy, you name it). I don't see how he got us to school and back alive with so many distractions. No one got in trouble for the way the bus driver was treated because there were no cameras on that bus. After he quit they sent a new bus to pick us up, it did have cameras. That was the end of that. I think this video was short and straight to the point. It is much more safe for everyone to have cameras on the bus.

In this article, Lawrence Lessing, a professor of law at the Harvard law school looks at how the idea of copyright has evolved over the past century and implicates much copyright issues attributed to advancement in technology, particularly the internet. He suggests changing the law on how copyrighting is viewed and points out copyrighting laws must evolve as the digital age we live in keeps evolving.

As a history teacher, I love how Professor Lessing connects something like copyright law to the Constitution, and weaves us through the decades and centuries of change and development. I am always looking for ways to connect history, such as the passages and amendments of the Constitution, to areas that affect my students' daily lives. Copyright law is just such a thing for these kids, with all the electronics, technologies, and downloading they do. They will see the relevance immediately, and therefore focus better and and up learning more!

In a research done by Sarah Thuele Lubienski and her husband Christopher, they found that once they controlled for a family's socioeconomic background, students who attended public school actually outperformed private school slightly.

I enjoyed this article! I enjoy the debates of whether public or private schools are better. I like that the writers pointed out that many public schools are doing better than private schools. There are so many factors that come into play when dealing with topics such as these. For instance, parental involvement. There's more than what meets the eye, many people need to see that rather than set their hearts on one type of school that is "correct". Good stuff!

I totally agree with ending of this article and how children do in school.(its truly up to if students like their teachers). What happened to that parental support so that with any teacher a student can be successsful. Every time the debate comes up I really wonder how much control the students have over US teachers.

This article discusses how interactive notebooks can enhance student learning. It also gives several good examples of how they can be used to assess student progress and understanding.

According to this article, regular use of computers has an effect on student performance. In this study, they used 986 fourth graders from 55 classrooms in nine Massachusetts school districts. Most of the students only used computers to write their papers. However, they found that students that used their computers for fun and games had a negative effect on students reading scores. As long as students used the computers for writing purposes this had positive effects on their test scores.

This article talks about the characteristics of pbl, the reasons to use pbl, examples of pbl, and more. It serves a a great framework on how to get started.

I just took on the position of a 7th/8th grade math lab teacher and the person before me spent a lot of time using packets to teach the students material. I very quickly realized that this method only left the material in the students' mind for a day or two. So for the past week i've been trying to figure out exactly how to use methods of instruction like project-based learning. PLB is an amazing method that more teachers should be aware of, the only issue is that there seems to be a lot of planning up front for this to be a success. I've decided though, that if all that time of planning up front would help my students to KNOW mathematics, then it's worth it.

Reading the article and being a 7th grade math teacher I have realized that their are alot of teaching stratgies that could work if we had more time to actually focus on mastery and understanding. Alot of teachers are placed on calenders on what has to be taught. With the Texas curriculum being so data driven it has become hard for us to really use those fun teaching stratigies.

This article gives an overview of K-12 distance education. The article discusses the factors associated with instructional quality and effectiveness.

I found this article interesting because my nephew (who lives with me) is taking a few classes on-line through Texas Tech in order to graduate early. I do think the instructional quality is not as high as an actual teacher and it is not for everyone. A student has to be self-motivated in order for it to work and be effective.

Web video created and narrated by educational maverick Sir Ken Robinson. In it, he explains, in a student-centered way, why it is crucial for teachers to embrace technology in the classroom.

I think Sir Ken Robinson's ideas about the curriculum were right! One thing he mentioned that stuck out to me was about the divergent thinking being the essential capacity for creativity. He stated that there were several possible answers instead of just one. He used the example of the ways to use a paper cup to support his ideas. He explained how knowledge deteriorates over time when students become "educated". He says that what is considered as copying or cheating is referred to as collaboration in the environment. I think society is constantly changing and some aspects of the curriculum may need to be modified to meet those needs but not completely. I think with the changing curriculum, students and teachers are so overwhelmed by the emphasis placed on standardized testing that it is difficult for learning to occur in a fun, relaxed environment, except in lower grade levels where the students are still excited about learning. I agree with Sir Ken Robinson in saying that we can meet the future by doing the past, when the stakes weren't so high and so many students weren't being medicated, learning could occur in an environment that wasn't divided!

Joshua, I am so glad you posted this video! I think that all educators need to watch this video simply because it is real. Technology should be essential in the classrooms today's simply because it is what the students see and use when they are not in school. Think about how many students have cell phones, Ipad's, Ipods and video games, we should be taking into consideration these things to strengthn education. I agree with Jessica on the divergent thinking--we sometimes forget that no 2 students are the same so their perspectives on learning and life will be totally different. I think a lot of times we do want the "perfect" classroom but the truth of the matter is we have to consider all learning styles. Students learn best from each other and group work is something that Sir Ken made a point in his presentation. In this course we talk a lot with each other SO that we can learn from each other so why not implement this same learning style into the classrooms?

While this article focuses on how librarians feel about and deal with the complexities of copyright and fair use rules, I find it relevant and valuable for classroom teachers too. Fear of plagiarism and copyright infringement in our classrooms is real, and can restrain us from implementing resources just as much as it can librarians.

This just like all the other articles on Athletic scholarships states what exactly goes on behind the scenes. Even though it is a very short and brief article it does not sugar coat and sale anything to the athletes. It shows what the realities are and what one needs to be aware of. It is better to be informed of the reality than to let your dream live on what you think something is. Knowledge is power, in this case it is also going to alleviate stress and headaches.

Wow! This is another good article. I found the whole website interesting. I actually have a teenager that is about to graduate within the next year. He runs cross-country, and he is pretty good at it. He is top two in his school. We have been discussing colleges and scholarship offers that are available. After reading this article, it really had me thinking about the scholarship offers that are even available for my son. As a business teacher, I enjoy discussing college options for my students as well. This article gave me some helpful information that enlighten my knowledge of divisions and which sports usually get a full-ride. It is important to have a backup plan and not to rely on one school. Students should always have a plan B. Sports are not everything without a good GPA.

The article was a good read. I think working with the coaches and athletes you have to understand it is a business but in the same breath. It also depends on the sport your child is playing. Basketball. Basket, Football are the most grueling sports when it comes traveling and practice times. So, just research the school and what are the practice times if you have a focused student then they can come out with the right degree.

Shelly Frei, 2007. Using blogging and webcasting as tools for teaching and education of students in K-12 environments. She makes it clear that this is the future of education. Frei, S. et. al. (2007). Integrating technology into the curriculum: professional development for successful classrooms. Huntington Beach, CA: Shell Education.

Great book! Have been reading it lately for ideas!

Download this pdf for free as a free member. It is great about classroom management. IT is from the George Lucas foundation

Researchers ask the question if private schools result in better scores than public schools. At first it was found that students in private perform no differently than their public school peers once Socioeconomic Statuses are removed, on test of their achievement. It was later found that students who had attended private schools outperform their public school peers on test of their developmental abilities.

This type of information is actually really important to me as well as interesting because my little girl is fixing to start school in August. This has been a major dilema for me because I didn't know where exaclty to start her at. But with these type of articles I am gaining a lot of interesting information.

This article foucuses on the advantages of state funded Pre K in Georgia compared to other states and the outcome of students who attend Pre-K. The article suggests students do well later in their school careers and have as much advantages as any private programs.