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The sticking points when even the teacher next door calls you the "fun teacher" with a snarky attitude. Or when you show your principal some incredibly cool videos your kids made on science lessons, and his comment says something about them doing well on the state test because of all they learned. Do they get it? Maybe. Do they get ME? No. We just live in different worlds; that's all.

Civil War Augmented Reality project -- just in my inbox. You civil war buffs and history teachers may really get a "kick" out of this. Speaking of "kick" they are trying to get a grant that requires people to vote for them. Take a look: "This message is from a group of educators in Pennsylvania who have developed a Social Studies project that is in the process of raising a modest amount of money to build prototypes for gathering additional partners. Our project, the Civil War Augmented Reality Project, is intended to enhance the experiences of students visiting Civil War sites. It is also intended to increase attendance and revenue for historic sites by offering both "high" and "low" tech experiences to best reach the majority of the population. We feel that our project is fulfilling a need that educators, park workers, technology enthusiasts, and Civil War enthusiasts have discussed in the past: How can historic sites both raise educational value and public interest in their institutions though technology, while not alienating the non-technical history fans? We have worked hard on the answer, and are interested in promoting our creative solutions. We would like to make clear that the project is not intended solely for Pennsylvania. It is our hope that the project will expand to other venues, as we feel that we have the ability to use our ideas to enhance the experiences of all students at historic sites."

English is not the object of study in my classes. It is the MEANS to access a bunch of knowledge. It is the tool that will allow me and my students to access lots of information, to get to know new cultures, different ways of thinking, different points of views; that will allow us to reflect on important issues, defend our opinions and why not, also get to know each other more. That's what education is all about after all: developing CRITICAL THINKING and SOCIAL SKILLS.

Can you erase your tracks online? We tried to get a few bad mentions off the Net forever. Here's how we did.

How to get rid of information for good - not as easy as you think. the problem is that nasty little digital footprints with your full name - even if NOT left by you can influence your life FOREVER. Good information to share. Another reason, digital citizeenship IS an issue.

How to get your google profile organized and ready for Friend Connect.

I don't really give details about the sites I'm listing here because they're all very similar - the music and sounds here are royalty-free and it's just an easy matter of searching and downloading them. Of course, credit should be given to the source when they're used in online projects. I've also tried avoiding sites that have obvious content not appropriate for classroom use, but something might have slipped by me. I also don't believe that any of the sites here require any software download or registration. Here are my choices for The Best Places To Get Royalty-Free Music & Sound Effects:

This is a very viral video that a lot of the kids are talking about. (It came out LAST June but now is a hot seller on Amazon.) Neil Patrick Harris wants to join the Evil League of Evil. It is 42 minutes long. It is ironic how much of entertainment is becoming viral -- television can no longer control what gets watched - it gets "put out there" and then they see what is watched. In many ways, this viral way of video viewing is very interesting. Not saying this should be watched -- it is quite hot with many college students. I could see how much that is said would resonate with college kids. Listen to the vernacular - even though some of you may find this very napolean dynamite-ish. "I'm just trying to change the world. I don't have time for a grudge match for every poser in a parka." It grows on you -- stick with it. Oh and be warned there are few words in here. But, no rating to catch it! (not sure why not rating movies just released online.) This is sponsored by XO laptop.

For most of us, science arrives in our lives packaged neatly as fact. But how did it get that way? Science is an active process of observation and investigation. The Evidence Project examines that process, revealing the ways in which ideas and information become knowledge and understanding. a case study in human origins In this case study on human origins, we explore how scientific evidence is being used to shape our current understanding of ourselves: What makes us human-and how did we get this way?

# How did you get started with social media? # What was your introduction, and how did the journey unfold? # What difference has it made in your professional practice?

Tell your story and help Karyn out!

Google for Educators launches Geo Education today! Cool. It includes information on Google EArth, Maps, Sky, and Sketcup and lesson plans from teachers. It also includes tips on getting started with these tools in your classroom. As you plan your summer PD, Geography teachers simply must get this on their list for fall!

Geo Education launghces today

Getting started with Google Docs in the classroom document.

Getting started with Google Docs in the Classroom

Links to Tens of Thousands of Legal Music Downloads Enjoy free music without getting in trouble by downloading the legal MP3s many musicians provide as a way to promote themselves. By Michael David Crawford You don't need to worry about getting sued by the Recording Industry Assocation of America or arrested by the FBI if you download legal music. Many independent and unsigned musicians offer downloads of their music in hopes of attracting more fans. Here's some music from my friends Oliver Brown and Rick Walker's Loop.pooL as well as my own piano compositions.

The replacement for Jott (since they began charging) this is a good entry-level cell phone tool to share in workshops so people can decide if they "get it" before they "get it." Will be using with my students this week.

This is fascinating. Ms. Davis, I found your website not too long ago and wanted to tell you that I really enjoy your blog. Loved the posts about your "Daily Spotlight on Education." You make an a lot of important information easy to follow and it definitely seems like you got a great thing going for you. Keep up your great work and best of luck to you in the future. My name is Jeffrey and I'm with ASPEX, a leading producer of Scanning Electron Microscopes (SEM) and Microanalysis software. Our company recently kicked off a "Send Us Your Sample" campaign, which allows anyone to mail us an object of their choosing and have it scanned for free under one of our powerful desktop SEMs. Since your blog primarily deals with education, this would be a great opportunity for some of your educators to get some samples done for their class. People can send us a broken iPhone, an old toothbrush, or even a dead insect...anything they want to see a picture of under a powerful microscope. It's pretty cool. Once we receive the samples, we'll notify senders of their results via email. You can view other reports we've done here: http://www.aspexcorp.com/resources/send_sample.html Since we started this campaign, we've seen a lot of interest from professionals, educators and students all around the globe. Given the focus of your website, I wanted to contact you about posting the information about "Send Us Your Sample" on your blog. We have recently posted a YouTube video that shows how we go about sampling and how to demo our SEM. We would love to partner with you to spread the word about this offer in a blog post so more people get the unique opportunity to have something scanned by an SEM. We also have our "Name That Sample" Campaign in which we put up a sample and the person who guesses correctly, or closest, wins a Brand New Netbook! Just another way of interactivity within your blog. Encourage your readers to Name That Sample! We can talk about details if you're interested. Thanks

Great tips getting Educators started using Twitter.

What happens when an artist gets the call she won the Caldecott and an author gets the call she won the Newbery? Great article!

This is a powerful post full of thoughts on teaching, inspiration, and tragedy. The most inspirational teacher at the middle school never knew it and quit. She didn't get the last day when she would hear an essay about how she was the most inspirational teacher at the school. She didn't get the last day because her house and the school auditorium where the essay would have been read and the essay itself are now all gone. Tragedy upon tragedy. We need ways for teachers to know that they are inspirational.

Avery Give Back to Schools program, an online voting contest that will reward the top 5 vote-getting schools with $10,000 in Avery school supplies, $1,000 in Bonus Box Tops for Education and an additional $1,000 in gift cards for teachers to purchase additional school supplies. The next 25 vote-getting schools would win $500 in Bonus Box Tops for Education. The contest ends September 16.

What's new at Wolfram Alpha. Can it get even better?

What's new at Wolfram Alpha. Can it get even better? If you don't have the Google/Wolfram addon for Firefox, go get it NOW

Great Hack for getting this HP Color Laser Printer to work on a Mac running Leopard and using alternative printer drivers.