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"Ian Jukes, Ted McCain, and Lee Crockett write in their book Understanding the Digital Generation, "Schools have not recognized the changes that have occurred in the world around them and have continued to teach as if it were 1980." In the spirit of David Letterman, here's my "Top 10 Signs Your Schools Caught in a Time Warp." A list for school administrators. "

I love the idea of leaving kids with one "cool tool" each time they visit me. During my second session with the grade 3-5 students, I modified an idea I found on Chad Lehman's website using Wordle. In a nutshell, Wordle creates a word cloud out of the text your provide. The more frequently a word is used, the bigger it becomes in the cloud. We began our Wordle lesson by modeling the process, and I had kids quickly brainstorm reasons we love Thailand. Yes, the beaches truly are amazing here, but I did cheat a bit when we made this. When one kid said 'beach,' I asked who else liked the beach and then added a bunch more to give them the idea.

"Flatclassroom09-3 - Sounding Boards Every fall a global project takes place led by Julie Lindsay and Vicki Davis. This year over 220 students from 5 countries will research trends in information technology and globalization, write a collaborative research report on a wiki, and produce digital videos about their topics. Sound impressive? Well it is! These students are not graduate level university students. They are in high school. As part of this project, there is a peer reviewing process that takes place later this month. These Sounding Boards are simply a 1 -> 2 -> 3 review done by middle school students. I have my 7th graders do this. My students think they are reviewing college student work. When I show them pictures of the students involved, they are often incredulous. The global project has won ISTE's Online Learning Award (2007) and is included in Thomas Friedman's book, The World is Flat. Each team produces 5 videos to go with the research report. The wikis and the videos need you to peer review. Each Sounding Board classroom only has to review one team wiki. Sign up on the Flatclassroom page (scroll down) or if you prefer contact me and I will sign you up. I have found my kids love watching the videos. I like to make a wikisite for my classroom and have them do the 1 -> 2 -> 3 reviews that Kim Cofino recommends. So come volunteer! Let's overwhelm the project with our middle school enthusiasm! Navigate to the FlatClassroom09-3 Sounding Boards page and read over the description. Sign up or contact me to do it. Thanks in advance!! "

December is here and many teachers are getting out the famous book, The Polar Express, written by Chris Van Allsburg. Here are some fun Polar Express Activities for you to do with your kids. Choose from a Polar Express poster, Polar Express writing paper, a Polar Express coloring page or a Polar Express maze!

Pictello is a simple way to create talking photo albums and talking books on your iPad, iPhone and iPod touch. Each page in a Pictello Story can contain a picture, up to five lines of text, and a recorded sound or text-to-speech using high-quality voices. Stories can be shared using iTunes File Sharing or via WiFi with other Pictello users through a free account on the Pictello Sharing Server.

Kathy Schrock's web resource of infographic materials, books, and examples. 

This is the second year of the GFW High School One-to-One iPad Initiative where every GFW High School student has access to an iPad tablet to use in their classes. Students can use their iPad: -as an organizational tool to track assignments, homework and class projects. -to access the internet to research information needed for class projects. -to create on-line presentations -to word process class papers and projects -to run a variety of applications to enhance their learning experience in class -to read electronic books, tests, newspapers and magazines

"Apple's iOS 5 added new enhancements to its email app. To use them, you'll need to set up your email first. Here's how to do it. Open Settings and select Mail, Contacts, Calendars. Then under Accounts tap on Add Account. Add Account Now tap the email service you want to add. Here I'm going to set up my Hotmail email. Select Service Next, you're prompted to enter your email address, password and description for the account. Tap Next. Email Credentials Now turn on the features you want to have your iPad check. Click Save. Email Features You'll be taken back to the Mail, Contact, Calendars screen. You'll see the account you just added. Tap on it to change settings. New Account Ads by Google Galaxy Nexus Phone google.com/nexus Calling All Dessert Lovers New! Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich Sync All of Your Files www.SugarSync.com/Sync_Files No More USBs or Emails to Yourself Auto Sync Files to Your Own Cloud! Hilton Garden Inn ® www.HiltonGardenInn.Hilton.com Book Online or Call (888) 370-0984 for Our Best Rates. Guaranteed! The account screen will come up. Here you can turn features on or off - and delete the account if you want. Mail Selections On the Home Screen you'll see a red notification with the number of messages you have. Tap on it. Mail Notifications Now you can use your email account on your iPad. If you enable iCloud, it will sync your messages, calendar, and contacts between all of you iOS devices and Mac. iOS 5 Inbox New features in iOS 5 include dragging addresses to different fields, formatting message text and an enhanced search. iOS 5 Mail delicious facebook linkedin reddit stumble twitter email About the author Based in Pelican Rapids, MN, Brian Burgess is executive editor at groovyPost. Got an idea for a How To? Email it to Brian at Brian@groovyPost.com. Twitter | Google+ | More Posts Related posts: iOS 4.2.1 Released: Big Changes for iPad, Plus AirPlay and AirPrint for iPh... How

I really like how iSupport broke down the 5 classroom projects using outcomes, context, and Blooms levels illustrating the potential learning taking place creating a movie, PDF, presentation and an interactive book on the iPad.

This site is loaded with articles, resources and book recommendations geared toward the 4-8 grade educator. Topics are wide and varying.

Free downloadable PDF files addressing a variety of Web 2.0 tools for classroom integration. 

"School was invented to create a constant stream of compliant factory workers to the growing businesses of the 1900s. It continues to do an excellent job at achieving this goal, but it's not a goal we need to achieve any longer."

Create product guides, digital brochures, and flyers you can post everywhere across the Web.

Today's post is the first in several that will give you an insight to some Google tools you may not have not had the chance to previously explore. Yes, we all Google in one form or another, but most of us are unaware of little tools and great updated features that make Google more than a basic search engine. Plus, with the newest features of Google Squared, the Timeline, and the Wonder Wheel, students and teachers have a way to navigate through information more efficiently and effectively. I don't know about you, but I'm a big fan of getting results quickly rather than wandering in the web for hours.