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Interesting discussion going on about the pros and cons of a strict school environment

This article is dealing with a school and a social environment that has deteriorated past the ability to self-regulate through a series of stated guidelines. Both your school and ours are able to maintain their levels of operation through similar sets of guidelines, but in viewing the situation in the article I can completely understand how that school would need to take those steps to regain control over what had become an unmanageable situation. Looking at examples from the article of students who receive detention for failing to carry their ID after being reminded of it the previous day is not an unusual policy in most public schools. Denial of the "pleasant" aspects of school life for students who struggle academically or behaviorally is also nothing new. In this case they have made it a core part of the students life. Think about it this way: how many of these students who learn through these hard lessons of personal responsibility are going to be come parents who pass along to their children the values of personal responsibility? Some of the parents at CCS have a saying..."It's good to be in the bubble." There is a safe, easily maintained environment at the school, reinforced by clear guidelines and rules with defined penalties for failure to comply. To those who would think this too strict or limiting I would refer you to the number of students returning to our school after venturing into the "real world" and realizing "the bubble" is a better place for them. This is very similar to what I saw at SLA when I visited. Your students are committed to attending the school. They have a personal investment in their futures and the future of the school, something many mandatory schools lack. It's that personal investment that makes respect mean something to them and carry the weight it should in balancing their actions and behaviors with the greater good. For those of us "in the bubble" it can be disturbing to observe the tactics necessary to restore, or in some

This has to be the coolest app ever. Create a quiz on Quick Key and then you can print out a bubble sheet. Snap a picture of the quiz with your iphone and it will grade it for you! Wow. Just remember that if all you do is bubble in - you're probably not testing very well. Hat tip to Richard Byrne's Awesome Facebook page for this one! (Free Technology for Teachers)

bubble sheet generator

TweetBubbles is a tool which can make your presentation more exciting by live feeding Twitter during events or seminars. If you use TweetBubbles, opinions and questions posted by the participants of the events will be over-layed on top of the presentation as tweets in bubbles. By integrating real-time comments of the participants into your presentation, you can make your presentation even more engaging. I hope you try TweetBubbles for your next presentation!

This is a fabulous, fun typing game where users must pop bubbles by typing the letters. Steady typing scores more points and earn power-ups for typing well. You can make a free account to save your progress or just play. http://ictmagic.wikispaces.com/ICT+%26+Web+Tools

"Add Bubbles to any video, Post it anywhere you wish!"

Grading handwritten answers by students as a feature of a copier? Producing data analytics as a result. IF this works, it will not only sell more copiers, but also make handwritten work more of a commodity. Maybe if a computer can quickly grade the easy stuff, teachers can spend more time assessing project based learning and other work that computers cannot do. This won't help me much - except when I teach binary numbers and memory conversion which do require me to check work (I never do multiple choice.) I could see how math teachers would be thrilled. "Xerox later this year plans to roll out Ignite, a software and web-based service that turns the numerous copiers/scanners/printers it has in schools across the United States into paper-grading machines. Unlike such staples of the educational system as Scantron, which uses special forms where students choose an answer and fill in the corresponding bubble, Ignite will grade work where the answers are written in by the students, such as the numeric answer to a math problem. Ignite takes right and wrong answers and turns them into web-accessible data for teachers with reports that say whether a student or groups of students are consistently having more trouble with certain kinds of math problems. Those reports can be used by teachers to tailor what they're teaching - such as by identifying what group of students needs more help with a certain topic - or given to students so they know where they should focus their studying. It also opens the door to specific tests or homework assignments for specific students becoming more the norm, each tailored to academic strengths and weaknesses."

An important read as we work to reinvent schools and make sure we measure authentic learning with more authentic measures than bubble trouble. ;-)

Either it's the case that everyone is talking about Educational Technology (EdTech) at the moment, or it is true that you 'trap' yourself in bubbles of your own interest. Whilst either could be true, from conversations that I've either had in the staffroom or online, there is a real trend towards talking about which apps/websites/other pieces of cool kit you can use in the classroom in enhance or benefit the learning that is taking place...

A great tool for brainstorming and mind mapping in the classroom.

make pictures and cards by choosing a background and dragging on characters which you can resize, rotate and add speech bubble; make a sotry; make a movie

Twubble can help expand your Twitter bubble - it searches your friend graph and picks out people who you may like ot follow.

simple comic making page. Fill in the bubbles

a free web application which offers the ability to create a colorful map for writers who like to color code the creative thoughts and processes. This tool also provides the ability to embed in an e-mail to send to publishers or other writers who may be collaborating on the project.

Khan Academy looks great because our country has reduced teaching and learning to preparing students to bubble in answer sheets for multiple choice tests. But if we shift the purpose of education from consuming knowledge  and stating answers to creating knowledge and exploring solutions, the fallacy of Khan Academy "reinventing education" is blatently apparent

Another free place to give tests and exams online. Let computers do what they do best. What I do is IF I have a few multiple choice, etc. I may do them online BUT I also do other ways of assessment with my test. I just don't think the bubbles can get it all. That said, if you have to do it, you shouldn't have to grade it unless it is open answer or essay and this is a free tool to help you.

What I've encountered most in dealing with colleagues is the fear and the notion that this is just another five to ten year fad in education. It is important first to help others understand CCSS are not a quick-fix or an answer. In some ways, CCSS take us back to what good teaching looks. Ultimately, aside from the budgetary concerns with implementation, perhaps the other greatest struggle here will be the state-level assessment of the CCSS. In order for states to get it right, there needs to adequate time devoted to determining adequate assessment, not drill-and-kill. Broad, interconnected, higher-order thinking cannot be bubbled-in. Period.