article in the Sydney Morning Herald

great videos re ICT and teaching - bookmarked by Louise P

article talking about both the iPad 2 (which isn't out yet) and a rumored iPad 3 in the fall (????)

Amazing interactive that shows the size of everything in the universe....

What will they come up with next?  I've tried it and it's amazing.  (Though no Khmer available yet, so not much help in Cambodia...)

Blog post re teaching simile, metaphor, personification, poetry -- and Love That Dog by Sharon Creech.....

lists of her books and the texts her lessons are based on

a Flickr pool of photos + quotes 

"Here are a few essential elements that help make the teaching in small groups effective for these students:1)  Use short text;  2) Keep meaning-making at the forefront; 3) Plan in ways that help you tailor the lesson to the specific needs of the group; 4) Allow talk time as you encourage students to negotiate the meaning of the text beyond the literal level and actually teach talking behaviors to maximize comprehension"

"This presentation provides an in-depth overview of the micro-blogging tool, Twitter. The links to the tips, tricks, tools, research, and other items included in the presentation are listed below."

Good intro to Twitter -- a Picasa slideshow by Kathy Schrock

"What is the 'Art Project'?A unique collaboration with some of the world's most acclaimed art museums to enable people to discover and view more than a thousand artworks online in extraordinary detail. Explore museums with Street View technology: virtually move around the museum's galleries, selecting works of art that interest you, navigate though interactive floor plans and learn more about the museum and you explore.Artwork View: discover featured artworks at high resolution and use the custom viewer to zoom into paintings. Expanding the info panel allows you to read more about an artwork, find more works by that artist and watch related YouTube videos.Create your own collection: the 'Create an Artwork Collection' feature allows you to save specific views of any of the 1000+ artworks and build your own personalised collection. Comments can be added to each painting and the whole collection can then be shared with friends and family."

"  For Kane, video is also a key to the project's success.--  "Improving teaching requires adult behavior change.  Imagine trying to get someone to quit smoking by showing them a video of a bunch of happy nonsmokers … and yet that is the way we do professional development for teachers, by showing them some third person teaching instead of showing them their own work." According to Kane, teachers need to see and analyze their own efforts, and then discuss with their supervisors what they are doing well, and what they could do differently to improve. This can be done by showing teachers their own videos and by providing feedback that is related to student achievement. Heather Hill, an associate professor of education at HGSE, developed a rubric for guiding classroom observations that will be used to help score the videos. Project organizers hope the effort will help lead to a new approach to professional development. "We are trying, said Kane, "to get people to quit smoking by taking them into their closet to smell their own clothes."

Great website on the intersection of learning and technology

Free ebook until Jan 17th - The Teachable Moment - downloadable via Amazon/Kindle

"Books, especially picture books, are the best source of examples when developing curriculum for writing. Many mini lessons can be garnered from text... the authors become Co-Teachers! The books listed below are "Touchstone Texts," and provide clear and masterful examples of different types and styles of writing . "

Blog post which discusses what touchstone or mentor texts are and how teachers choose -- and use -- them....