"In this book there introductions to more than six dozen web tools for K-12 teachers. Additionally, you will find sections devoted to using Skype with students, ESL/ELL, blogging in elementary schools, social media for educators, teaching online, and using technology in alternative education settings.
Here's the list of contributors to The Super Book of Web Tools for Educators:
George Couros, Patrick Larkin, Kelly Tenkely, Adam Bellow, Silvia Tolisano, Steven Anderson, Cory Plough, Beth Still, Larry Ferlazzo, Lee Kolbert, and Richard Byrne. "
I'm excited to announce that Kelly has agreed to join us for a four-day focused discussion using Voicethread---one of my favorite digital tools that allows participants to hold asynchronous conversations with one another. What that means is that you'll have a window of time to jump into this important conversation---instead of being limited to just one day (which may or may not fit into your personal schedule).
Kelly Hines said...
I would like to recommend http://georgetown.edublogs.org/ to administrators everywhere. This blog is maintained by the principal of Georgetown Elementary School, Teresa Reagan. Her school blog is an excellent example of leading by example. She engages her staff, students and community though her own passion for learning and sharing, which is contagious. Her dedication to leading her school into new frontiers of collaborative learning should be a model for other leaders/administrators who are hoping to see the same from their own staffs. When you lead with such passion, your staff will have no choice but to follow.
Arguably the first proper job I've ever landed, and hordes of fans and critics alike tuned to see how Kim Kardashian faced co-host Live with Kelly this morning. But what was the verdict on 31 years of age, first attempt at animation of matter not directly related to your own life?
When masses of people who own the means of production work toward a common goal and share their products in common, when they contribute labor without wages and enjoy the fruits free of charge, it's not unreasonable to call that socialism.
A
little known fact about Einstein is that when he was young he did extremely
poor in school. His grade school teachers told his parents to take him
out of school because he was "too stupid to learn" and it would be a waste
of resources for the school to invest time and energy in his education.
The school suggested that his parents get Albert an easy, manual labor
job as soon as they could.
Instead of following the school's advice, Albert's parents bought him a
violin. Albert became good at the violin. Music was the key that helped
Albert Einstein become one of the smartest men who has ever lived. Einstein
himself says that the reason he was so smart is because he played the violin.
He loved the music of Mozart and Bach the most. A friend of Einstein, G.J.
Withrow, said that the way Einstein figured out his problems and equations
was by improvising on the violin.
Another example of how rhythm orders
movement is an autistic boy who could not tie his shoes. He learned how
on the second try when the task of tying his shoes was put to a song. The
rhythm helped organize his physical movements in time.
Classical music from the baroque period causes the heart
beat and pulse rate to relax to the beat of the music. As the body becomes
relaxed and alert, the mind is able to concentrate more easily. Furthermore,
baroque music decreases blood pressure and enhances the ability to learn.
Music affects the amplitude and frequency of brain waves, which can be
measured by an electro-encephalogram. Music also affects breathing rate
and electrical resistance of the skin. It has been observed to cause the
pupils to dilate, increase blood pressure, and increase the heart rate.
Mozart's music and baroque music, with a 60 beats per minute
beat pattern, activate the left and right brain. The simultaneous left
and right brain action maximizes learning and retention of information.
The information being studied activates the left brain while the music
activates the right brain. Also, activities which engage both sides of
the brain at the same time, such as playing an instrument or singing, causes
the brain to be more capable of processing information.
According
to The Center for New Discoveries in Learning, learning potential can be
increased a minimum of five times by using this 60 beats per minute music.
Dr. Lozanov's system
involved using certain classical music pieces from the baroque period which
have around a 60 beats per minute pattern. He has proven that foreign languages
can be learned with 85-100% efficiency in only thirty days by using these
baroque pieces. His students had a recall accuracy rate of almost 100%
even after not reviewing the material for four years.
Group 1 was read the words with Handel's Water Music in the background.
They were also asked to imagine the words. Group 2 was read the same words
also with Handel's Water Music in the background. Group 2 was not asked
to imagine the words. Group 3 was only read the words, was not given any
background music, and was also not asked to imagine the words. The results
from the first two tests showed that groups 1 and 2 had much better scores
than group 3. The results from the third test, a week later, showed that
group 1 performed much better than groups 2 or 3.
One simple way students can improve test
scores is by listening to certain types of music such as Mozart's
Sonata for Two Piano's in D Major before taking a test. This type of
music releases neurons in the brain which help the body to relax.
William Balach, Kelly Bowman, and Lauri
Mohler, all from Pennsylvania State University, studied the effects of
music genre and tempo on memory retention. They had four groups learn vocabulary
words using one of four instrumental pieces - slow classical, slow jazz,
fast classical, and fast jazz.
Surprisingly, the results showed that
changing the genre had no effect on recall but changing the tempo decreased
recall.
One key ingredient to the order of music from the baroque and
classical periods is math. This is realized by the body and the human mind
performs better when listening to this ordered music.
George recognized that Saul overcame his problems
by using special music. With this story in mind King George asked George
Frederick Handel to write some special music for him that would help him
in the same way that music helped Saul. Handel wrote his Water Music for
this purpose.
Dr. Ballam goes on to say that, "The human mind shuts down
after three or four repetitions of a rhythm, or a melody, or a harmonic
progression."
Bob Larson, a Christian minister and former rock musician,
remembers that in the 70's teens would bring raw eggs to a rock concert
and put them on the front of the stage. The eggs would be hard boiled by
the music before the end of the concert and could be eaten. Dr. Earl W.
Flosdorf and Dr. Leslie A. Chambers showed that proteins in a liquid medium
were coagulated when subjected to piercing high-pitched sounds
Rock
music was played in one of the boxes while Bach's music was played in the
other box. The rats could choose to switch boxes through a tunnel that
connected both boxes. Almost all of the rats chose to go into the box with
the Bach music even after the type of music was switched from one box to
the other.
She found that the plants
grew well for almost every type of music except rock and acid rock. Jazz,
classical, and Ravi Shankar turned out to be the most helpful to the plants.
However, the plants tested with the rock music withered and died. The acid
rock music also had negative effects on the plant growth.
One cannot deny the power of music. High school
students who study music have higher grade point averages that those who
don't. These students also develop faster physically. Student listening
skills are also improved through music education. The top three schools
in America all place a great emphasis on music and the arts. Hungary, Japan,
and the Netherlands, the top three academic countries in the world, all
place a great emphasis on music education and participation in music. The
top engineers from Silicon Valley are all musicians. Napoleon understood
the enormous power of music. He summed it up by saying, "Give me control
over he who shapes the music of a nation, and I care not who makes the
laws" .
Mozart's music and baroque music, with a 60 beats per minute beat pattern, activate the left and right brain. The simultaneous left and right brain action maximizes learning and retention of information. The information being studied activates the left brain while the music activates the right brain. Also, activities which engage both sides of the brain at the same time, such as playing an instrument or singing, causes the brain to be more capable of processing information.