Google #22 Discover the potential of YouTube to motivate you as a teacher

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="95" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5knyPUvrYtEY38mg5mqprArkvPYrLHrYaarFXUlzY_60SqNEf6FZIM7X3KWuV_q2N_d389FdikP1xMV6HePS7Iz60hs3fgqN3Kh6fJtM5YoBqO02VxAAmCSxkiZjjVggd_AKETMlpbEs/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="200" /></span></div><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There are so many really amazing, educational videos available on YouTube that can really motivate a teacher. These are often brief but powerful in the message expressed. Take a look at these few examples. </span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b style="font-size: x-large;">1) Connecting classrooms </b>(1min 53secs)<br />Cathy Cassidy a Grade 1 teacher from Canada Gr 1 teacher gives 'A brief description of my journey to connect my classroom of 6 and 7 year olds'</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/u3RWjZnLLg4" width="420"></iframe></span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>2) What most schools don’t teach </b></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">(5min 46secs)</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">These famous names in technology such as Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, Will.i.am, Chris Bosh, Jack Dorsey, Tony Hsieh, Drew Houston, Gabe Newell, Ruchi Sanghvi, Elena Silenok, Vanessa Hurst, and Hadi Partovi.  express their viewpoints on knowing how to code a computer.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/Q0z-C8Ke2FQ" width="420"></iframe></span><br /><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b style="font-size: x-large;">3) The Future of Learning, Networked Society - Ericsson </b>(20 min 16secs)</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We’re living in a networked society – a great way to learn anything new. Watch this video as world renowned experts and educators talk about a networked society’s potential to shift away from traditional methods of learning based on memorization and repetition to more holistic approaches that focus on individual students' needs and self expression.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/quYDkuD4dMU" width="420"></iframe></span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>4) What is 21st century learning?</b></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">(2min 11secs)</span><br /><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/Ax5cNlutAys" width="420"></iframe> <br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">These are just a few of the many many offerings that can inspire teachers on YouTube. Do you know of any others to recommend?</span></div>

30 Days of Google Inspiration videos Google #22 Discover the potential of YouTube to motivate you as a teacher

There are so many really amazing, educational videos available on YouTube that can really motivate a teacher. These are often brief but powerful in the message expressed. Take a look at these few examples. 1) Connecting classrooms (1min 53secs)Cathy …

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Gov. John Kasich Says, "Arkansas Sucks!!"

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHrOHgJ17t-dQ7lH6NSFFJMwF9OWN1HT3HvbPyh7UaOpzWealEVlPbi8PKUt7VpYBlOWUtg30o_-dkWLw-4_n_Gf9P7apWkG7KlLq2PWepA4GB-T0amgkZReGIf5s-Szb7KywQ21egmSA/s1600/John+Kasich+Ohio+Governor.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="287" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHrOHgJ17t-dQ7lH6NSFFJMwF9OWN1HT3HvbPyh7UaOpzWealEVlPbi8PKUt7VpYBlOWUtg30o_-dkWLw-4_n_Gf9P7apWkG7KlLq2PWepA4GB-T0amgkZReGIf5s-Szb7KywQ21egmSA/s320/John+Kasich+Ohio+Governor.jpg" width="320" /></a>My fellow Americans, and especially my fellow Ohioans…<br /><br />I come to you today on the webpage of IWS Radio in order to set the record straight about the Great State of Ohio after she and her citizenry came under a vile and vicious verbal attack<a href="http://news-these-days.blogspot.com/2013/05/do-we-really-need-ohio.html" target="_blank"> <i><span style="color: blue;">yesterday</span></i></a> by the Arkansas half of the IWS Radio tandem, Jayman.<br /><br />Hi.  John Kasich, Governor of the Great State of Ohio here, but today you can call me…<br /><br />Johnny Buckeye, the Stand-Up Comedian and today I am executive ordering a little rebuttal type ribbing toward <strike>those inbreds</strike> my friends down in Arkansas.<br /><br />Now <a href="http://news-these-days.blogspot.com/2013/05/do-we-really-need-ohio.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;"><i>Jayman wants to get rid of Ohio by giving it to Canada</i></span></a>.  He was nice enough to say that Ohioans who wanted remain part of the U.S., could move to Morgantown, WV.  I thought to myself…Why did he pick Morgantown, WV.?  And then it hit me!!<br /><br />Morgantown is home to the University of West Virginia which just like Fayetteville, AR., houses one of the crappiest of college football programs in the country.  Jayman was simply going with what he is familiar with. O-Hiiiiii-Oh!!<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8qyocn5vrG5XmgSwfF85xFMaDXcCyHxn8eH_kUN7fS89SMoUWMZ9_5FGBjXVynfzIdZ9vZzgtoO0WY08lsBawrMQx-y8Avgv0cM0TsCQ_fuq8XNecjr6fnhAqBxlC73q7eAWC-Yg50ho/s1600/Arkansas+Football.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="270" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8qyocn5vrG5XmgSwfF85xFMaDXcCyHxn8eH_kUN7fS89SMoUWMZ9_5FGBjXVynfzIdZ9vZzgtoO0WY08lsBawrMQx-y8Avgv0cM0TsCQ_fuq8XNecjr6fnhAqBxlC73q7eAWC-Yg50ho/s400/Arkansas+Football.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />In Columbus?  We have THE Ohio State Buckeyes, a football program that knows how to win!!<br /><br />Jayman went on by spitting his venom upon the grand and historic Ohio cities of Cleveland and Cincinnati.  He referred to them as ghettos.  Ghettos?  Hell if you want a ghetto move to Arkansas and live halfway between the towns of Pea City and Gassville.  Talk about a filthy stench hole!!  O-Hiiiiii-O!!<br /><br />I also notice that in Arkansas, they have cities named Stuttgart and Hamburg.  Hmmmmm?  Maybe we should have bombed the Arkansas cities of Stuttgart and Hamburg instead of the ones in Germany during WWII.  O-Hiiiiii-Oh!!<br /><br />And Jayman lives in Harrison, a city that boasts a population of 12,943.  Ha.  Really?  That’s fewer people than I make in dollars in contributions during nine holes of golf.  O-Hiiiiii-O!!<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj-j0WSAEmpfEVulfqV0kqZmDQwz0Sfmp_mGsNX7n4z5yqFJDDAg_lbEepN0agr7Qb7WJ4XllWxu5aMFp6P3A5QSubRXhPdQCy95HofQoh-DLMPiXLQtDQ-TuOHXq8hpL-zPwtWCnA-RQ/s1600/Harrison+Arkansas+downtown.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj-j0WSAEmpfEVulfqV0kqZmDQwz0Sfmp_mGsNX7n4z5yqFJDDAg_lbEepN0agr7Qb7WJ4XllWxu5aMFp6P3A5QSubRXhPdQCy95HofQoh-DLMPiXLQtDQ-TuOHXq8hpL-zPwtWCnA-RQ/s400/Harrison+Arkansas+downtown.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />Hey!!  What do you call a person in Arkansas that speaks perfect English, has perfect manners, and is married to someone to whom they are not related?  A tourist!!  O-Hiiiiii-O!!<br /><br />On a serious note, however…Y’know?  Jayman’s post yesterday began around the tragic and terrifying kidnapping and ten year imprisonment and enslavement of Amanda Berry and the other two young girls.<br /><br />Those young girls were forced to be chained against their will, have sex against their will, and sadly in at least one instance, become impregnated against their will by Ariel Castro.  And, as the Governor and Chief Comforter of Ohio, I have to say…<br /><br />Here in Ohio, we call that a crime beyond all crimes.  In Arkansas?<br /><br />They call that, one helluva rollicking good Family Reunion!!  O-Hiiiiii-O!!<br /><br />I also find it funny that Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, Bush 41, and Bush 43 retired to their home states after their Presidencies.  Bill Clinton?  Nope, he moved to New York all the while saying…<br /><br /><i>“Arkansas is a good place to be FROM!!”</i>  O-Hiiiiii-O!!<br /><br />But, as I keep this all good-natured, I have to say that I respect Arkansans, or Arkansawyers, or whatever the hell else they call themselves now, because they are part of the fabric that makes these United States of America great.<br /><br />And seriously?  What would we do if we didn’t have Arkansas as part of our union, and our brotherhood, and our kinship?<br /><br />Hmmmmm…Ha…We’d skip Wal*Mart and buy factory direct from China.  O-Hiiiiii-O!!<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjAE5p3gSB1ywazEIN-es2qqE-ZFkUpDvLjFRfaSOaZ4QM9Oq-6NXPbWzmxrlKLH8Md_dDYvhzyUnZ_sDCdXztZgMAU-4dAd-D5JbvQbrowxjMzII3nLry47pIGgGlTAI8iS5p6jrW7x4/s1600/Forced+Labor+China.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="264" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjAE5p3gSB1ywazEIN-es2qqE-ZFkUpDvLjFRfaSOaZ4QM9Oq-6NXPbWzmxrlKLH8Md_dDYvhzyUnZ_sDCdXztZgMAU-4dAd-D5JbvQbrowxjMzII3nLry47pIGgGlTAI8iS5p6jrW7x4/s400/Forced+Labor+China.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />Thanks for your time ladies and gentlemen and remember there are only three things in life that matter…<br /><br />Trying the veal, tipping your waitress, and passing draconian Right-to-Work legislation.<br /><br />Peace Out,<br /><br /><i>Gov. John Kasich (R-OH)</i><br /><br /><a href="mailto:mattmaniws@ymail.com">mattmaniws@ymail.com</a><br /><a href="https://twitter.com/MattMan_IWS" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">@mattmaniws</span></a></div>

Gov. John Kasich Says, "Arkansas Sucks!!"

My fellow Americans, and especially my fellow Ohioans…I come to you today on the webpage of IWS Radio in order to set the record straight about the Great State of Ohio after she and her citizenry came under a vile and vicious verbal attack yesterday …

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Today's archidose #673

For the third time (<a href="http://archidose.blogspot.com/2011/09/todays-archidose-524.html">first time</a>, <a href="http://archidose.blogspot.com/2012/03/todays-archidose-566.html">second time</a>), here are a couple photos of the <a href="http://en.harpa.is/">Harpa Concert Hall and Conference Center</a> (2011) in Reykjavik, Iceland by <a href="http://www.henninglarsen.com/">Henning Larsen Architects</a>, <a href="http://www.arkitekt.is/">Batteríid Architects</a> and <a href="http://www.olafureliasson.net/">Studio Olafur Eliasson</a>, 2011, photographed by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwape/">Pawel Paniczko</a>. This post comes as <a href="http://www.miesarch.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=7&Itemid=4&lang=en">Harpa is named the winner</a> of the European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture - Mies van der Rohe Award 2013.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwape/8721048854/" title="Harpa Concert Hall and Conference Centre by Pawel Paniczko, on Flickr"><img alt="Harpa Concert Hall and Conference Centre" height="360" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7401/8721048854_603aaf22ea_z.jpg" width="640" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwape/8719919539/" title="Harpa Concert Hall and Conference Centre by Pawel Paniczko, on Flickr"><img alt="Harpa Concert Hall and Conference Centre" height="427" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7316/8719919539_8f14e8981c_z.jpg" width="640" /></a><br /><br />To contribute your Flickr images for consideration, just:<br /><blockquote>:: Join and add photos to the <a href="http://www.flickr.com/groups/archi-dose/">archidose pool</a>, and/or<br />:: Tag your photos <span style="font-style: italic;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/archidose/">archidose</a></span></blockquote>

Today's archidose #673

For the third time (first time, second time), here are a couple photos of the Harpa Concert Hall and Conference Center (2011) in Reykjavik, Iceland by Henning Larsen Architects, Batteríid Architects and Studio Olafur Eliasson, 2011, photographed by P…

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Executive Director - Southern Tier Library System, Painted Post, NY

<strong>Executive Director - </strong><strong><strong><span style="color: #48286d;">Southern Tier Library System</span></strong></strong>, Painted Post, NY. Assume a vital leadership role and assist the 48 public libraries in this southern region of New York State achieve new levels of service and effective resource sharing! The Board of Trustees of the <a _fcksavedurl="http://www.stls.org/" href="http://www.stls.org/" target="_blank">Southern Tier Library System</a> (headquartered in Painted Post, NY) seeks a visionary library leader—responsive to member and community needs and skilled in focusing the efforts of a team of talented professionals—as its next Executive Director. STLS is a regional consortium of public libraries in Allegany, Chemung, Schuyler, Steuben and Yates counties--working in partnership with member libraries to enable the System’s 256,291 residents to have access to excellent library services. Responsibilities: The Executive Director serves as the chief executive officer of the Library System, and under the general direction of the 15-member Board of Trustees, has overall responsibility for general administration of System operations. The Executive Director supervises Department Heads, the Youth Services Consultant and administrative staff—and works with the Board, staff, member libraries, and major stakeholders to establish the strategic vision for the System aligning its mission, with member library and community needs and priorities. This is complex executive work planning, directing, managing and overseeing the activities and operations of the System. The Executive Director has wide latitude for independent judgment, decision and action. See the<a _fcksavedurl="http://www.gossagesager.com/STLSjobdesc.pdf" href="http://www.gossagesager.com/STLSjobdesc.pdf" target="_blank"> Executive Director’s position description</a> for additional details. Qualifications: An ALA-accredited Master's Degree in Library Science; the ability to obtain and retain a New York State Public Librarian Certificate 1; and a minimum of eight years of experience in public libraries or public library systems, including three years of which must have been in an administrative capacity. Essential attributes and skills include: vision, creativity, energy and enthusiasm; superior written and oral communications skills; demonstrated success in effectively promoting library services; thorough knowledge of library technology innovations and efficiencies; political acumen; collaborative and consensus-building skills; experience in recruiting, mentoring, evaluating and retaining an excellent staff; and a thorough knowledge of current trends and “best practices” for library and system services. Eight years of post-MLS library experience and proven success working effectively as a director with a policy-making board are highly desirable. Compensation: The hiring salary range is $80,000-100,000 (with placement being dependent on experience and qualifications) with an attractive benefits package. For further information contact <a _fcksavedurl="http://www.gossagesager.com/" href="http://www.gossagesager.com/" target="_blank">Bradbury Associates/Gossage Sager Associates</a> via email or telephone. To start the application process, send a meaningful cover letter and your resume as Word or pdf attachments via email to <a _fcksavedurl="mailto:danbradbury@gossagesager.com" href="mailto:danbradbury@gossagesager.com">Dan Bradbury</a> or <a _fcksavedurl="mailto:jobethbradbury@gossagesager.com" href="mailto:jobethbradbury@gossagesager.com">Jobeth Bradbury</a> on or before the closing date—<span style="color: red;">June 23, 2013</span>.

Executive Director - Southern Tier Library System, Painted Post, NY

Executive Director - Southern Tier Library System, Painted Post, NY. Assume a vital leadership role and assist the 48 public libraries in this southern region of New York State achieve new levels of service and effective resource sharing! The B…

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Pre-Installed Opera web browser handset

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4p5jdUrQuTYGQ610gQM2qvwY7WaDJ0Kzm40Xoamp9EcgdKsXTs-OjRJQJqf0FsQgtG2696qKYc7spr7tDCR5jfQTvcwWphBubdPQEJ5uyYq3Coenv_xfk-eRPOYUhBnNbvdcBWI-JORw/s1600/Opera-logo-JPG.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4p5jdUrQuTYGQ610gQM2qvwY7WaDJ0Kzm40Xoamp9EcgdKsXTs-OjRJQJqf0FsQgtG2696qKYc7spr7tDCR5jfQTvcwWphBubdPQEJ5uyYq3Coenv_xfk-eRPOYUhBnNbvdcBWI-JORw/s640/Opera-logo-JPG.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><span style="background-color: white; color: #1d1d1d; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Verdana; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">Seven Indian mobilephone makers to pre-install its Opera mini mobile web browser in their upcoming handsets and tablets said by Opera Software.</span><br /><blockquote class="tr_bq"><span style="background-color: white; color: #1d1d1d; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Verdana; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">Sunil Kamath (</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #1d1d1d; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Verdana; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">Opera Software Vice President</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #1d1d1d; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Verdana; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">) said about opera mini that </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #1d1d1d; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Verdana; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">Opera mini is well suited for Indian mobile networks, thanks to its data compression.</span></blockquote>Pre-Installed opera mini mobiles are: <span style="background-color: white; color: #1d1d1d; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Verdana; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">Fly, Zen and HCL ME tablets (all these mobiles are android based).</span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #1d1d1d; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Verdana; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #1d1d1d; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Verdana; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><b>New Opera mini 7.5 with latest feature which is pre-installed in new indian mobile handset</b>:</span><br /><br /><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="color: #1d1d1d; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Verdana;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">Smart page :  for direct navigation ,for social media, news  from most visited website.</span></span></li><li><span style="color: #1d1d1d; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Verdana;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">Make Proxies for your internet connection.</span></span></li><li><span style="color: #1d1d1d; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Verdana;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">Tabbed Browsing for open multiple webpage in single web browser.</span></span></li><li><span style="color: #1d1d1d; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Verdana;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">Download manager for download software ,songs etc</span></span></li></ul><div><span style="color: #1d1d1d; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Verdana;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">The number of Indians victimisation mobile devices to urge on-line is on the increase on account of handiness of cheap smartphones, the report adscititious.</span></span></div><div><span style="color: #1d1d1d; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Verdana;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="color: #1d1d1d; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Verdana;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><br /></span></span></div><br /><br /><blockquote class="tr_bq"><span style="background-color: white; color: #1d1d1d; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Verdana; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">     </span></blockquote></div>Published by <br /><a href="https://plus.google.com/109838201058606610638" rel="author">Narendra Saini</a>

mobile news Pre-Installed Opera web browser handset

Seven Indian mobilephone makers to pre-install its Opera mini mobile web browser in their upcoming handsets and tablets said by Opera Software.Sunil Kamath (Opera Software Vice President) said about opera mini that Opera mini is well suited for India…

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Room for mushroom!!!

<p><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=42Imc1KTgXc&feature=youtube_gdata_player">Watch "Growing mushrooms from used coffee grounds" on YouTube</a><br /></p><p>This is just great!!!</p>

Room for mushroom!!!

Watch "Growing mushrooms from used coffee grounds" on YouTubeThis is just great!!!…

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15 Wrong Ways to Implement the Common Core

<br /><div class="c2" style="direction: ltr; font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><b>guest post by Johnna Weller, Ed D. </b></span><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Note from Vicki: As I was talking to Johnna from <a class="zem_slink" href="http://www.discoveryeducation.com/" rel="homepage" target="_blank" title="Discovery Education">Discovery Education</a> about this post, I started hearing her talk about districts who are struggling with Common Core. We thought that it would be helpful to know what people are doing to cause their districts to fail in implementation. Of course, if we learn from failure, we can fail forward into success. Thanks Johnna for this guest post. (See disclosures at the bottom.)</span></i></div><div class="c0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; height: 10pt;"><span class="c1" style="font-size: 14pt;"></span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxbd8rc9ke9hjbTLfzD1pdb97G5ieFYB4-uEQa38SPu3GpwBnxAgaku1IvKbIATmqHXjwTKA3qwoasI6XfQ0h_s6zTugHxcuG-EGHBqHK-P-nJHv-KWy7CoHKbjqFuyezZWFYg-X7ojplL/s1600/image00.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxbd8rc9ke9hjbTLfzD1pdb97G5ieFYB4-uEQa38SPu3GpwBnxAgaku1IvKbIATmqHXjwTKA3qwoasI6XfQ0h_s6zTugHxcuG-EGHBqHK-P-nJHv-KWy7CoHKbjqFuyezZWFYg-X7ojplL/s1600/image00.png" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Answers to complex questions never<br />come in a box. A seal on a box does not<br />guarantee success.</td></tr></tbody></table><h2><span class="c6 c1" style="font-size: 14pt; font-weight: bold;">15.  Expect that a packaged program will be the magic bullet.</span></h2><div class="c0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; height: 10pt;"><span class="c1" style="font-size: 14pt;"></span></div><div class="c2" style="direction: ltr; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><span class="c1" style="font-size: 14pt;">We’ve all seen the labels on the cover of teacher’s manuals that say (in bold print), “Aligned to CCSS.”  And, although the lessons might be matched to specific CC standards, and include quality examples of “close reading” or “text-based questions,” there is no program that can cause our students to be deep and critical thinkers.  </span></div><div class="c0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; height: 10pt;"><span class="c1" style="font-size: 14pt;"></span></div><div class="c2" style="direction: ltr; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><span class="c1" style="font-size: 14pt;">Of course, materials can be a helpful resource to teachers, but they are only as good as the teacher who uses them.   This is my mantra:</span></div><div class="c0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; height: 10pt;"><span class="c1" style="font-size: 14pt;"></span></div><blockquote class="tr_bq"><span class="c1" style="font-size: 14pt;">“Programs don’t teach kids, teachers teach kids.”  </span></blockquote><div class="c0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; height: 10pt;"><span class="c1" style="font-size: 14pt;"></span></div><div class="c2" style="direction: ltr; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><span class="c1" style="font-size: 14pt;">So, read the labels, and be a judicious consumer of what’s out there, but know that you can’t buy CCSS implementation in a box.</span></div><h2><div class="c0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; height: 10pt;"><span class="c1" style="font-size: 14pt;"></span></div><span class="c6 c1" style="font-size: 14pt; font-weight: bold;">14.  Expect that anything will be the magic bullet.</span></h2><div class="c0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; height: 10pt;"><span class="c1" style="font-size: 14pt;"></span></div><div class="c0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; height: 10pt;"><span class="c1" style="font-size: 14pt;"></span></div><div class="c2" style="direction: ltr; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><span class="c1" style="font-size: 14pt;">Despite what you may have seen or heard, there is no simple solution to implementing the </span><span class="c5 c1" style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 14pt; text-decoration: underline;"><a class="c7" href="http://commoncore.org/" style="text-decoration: inherit;">Common Core</a></span><span class="c1" style="font-size: 14pt;">.  Meaningful implementation is a process…a process of refining and reflecting instructional practice.  That process takes time, and various strategies (just like the way we want students to problem-solve).  </span></div><div class="c0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; height: 10pt;"><span class="c1" style="font-size: 14pt;"></span></div><div class="c2" style="direction: ltr; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><span class="c1" style="font-size: 14pt;">No single product, event, or experience -- no matter how powerful -- will single-handedly flip the switch to Common Core.  Educators should be </span><span class="c6 c1" style="font-size: 14pt; font-weight: bold;"><span style="color: blue;">strategic </span></span><span class="c1" style="font-size: 14pt;">in their implementation by designing a plan that includes a variety of high-quality ways to move toward  transforming their classrooms.  Such an implementation plan needs to address curriculum, assessment, and instruction.</span></div><div class="c0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; height: 10pt;"><span class="c1" style="font-size: 14pt;"></span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifug8a1YiXge_XKGaSQeeR1rLYG1528U7K5SAEGFyqJWvWbeqkkunpyIgc2IxwK1MF2rIPQ3QlcPucSw_wRL5vYLm-z8nX8DYQoPauAyiMPRwX_pEMtHwxDFdCo42er81Yungrc8PUk7_Q/s1600/image01.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifug8a1YiXge_XKGaSQeeR1rLYG1528U7K5SAEGFyqJWvWbeqkkunpyIgc2IxwK1MF2rIPQ3QlcPucSw_wRL5vYLm-z8nX8DYQoPauAyiMPRwX_pEMtHwxDFdCo42er81Yungrc8PUk7_Q/s1600/image01.png" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Technology is mentioned in the Common Core<br />State standards <b>40 times</b>! It is important but teachers<br />are still important.</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="c2" style="direction: ltr; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><br /></div><div class="c0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; height: 10pt;"><span class="c6 c1" style="font-size: 14pt; font-weight: bold;"></span></div><div class="c2" style="direction: ltr; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><span class="c6 c1" style="font-size: 14pt; font-weight: bold;">13.  Put all your eggs in the technology basket.</span></div><div class="c0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; height: 10pt;"><span class="c1" style="font-size: 14pt;"></span></div><div class="c2" style="direction: ltr; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><span class="c1" style="font-size: 14pt;">There is no doubt that <b><span style="color: blue;">technology </span></b>has the power to transform teaching and learning.  Plus, <span style="color: purple;">it is mentioned in the CCSS no less than 40 times</span><span style="color: red;">.</span>  But, unto itself, technology/media/digital, etc will not guarantee that students question, connect, infer, analyze, and think.  That’s where teachers come in.  <i>(Remember, there’s no magic bullet.) </i> </span></div><div class="c0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; height: 10pt;"><span class="c1" style="font-size: 14pt;"></span></div><div class="c2" style="direction: ltr; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><span class="c1" style="font-size: 14pt;">The most powerful way to leverage technology, is to engage in ongoing professional development and collaboration to learn, practice, and infuse it meaningfully into instruction. <i>(These ideas are evident in </i></span><i><span class="c1 c9" style="color: blue; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14pt; text-decoration: underline;">Discovery Education’</span><span class="c1" style="font-size: 14pt;">s design of professional development that puts amazing technology in teachers’ hands, but recognizes that the power of its effectiveness is through instruction.)  </span></i></div><div class="c0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; height: 10pt;"><span class="c1" style="font-size: 14pt;"></span></div><div class="c2" style="direction: ltr; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><span class="c1 c6" style="font-size: 14pt; font-weight: bold;">12.  Remove everything from your curriculum that isn’t attached to a Common Core standard.</span></div><div class="c0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; height: 10pt;"><span class="c1" style="font-size: 14pt;"></span></div><div class="c2" style="direction: ltr; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><span class="c1" style="font-size: 14pt;">Even the CCSS documents themselves say that the standards “…do not—indeed, cannot—enumerate all or even most of the content that students should learn. The Standards must therefore be complemented by a well-developed, content-rich curriculum consistent with the expectations laid out in this document.”  </span></div><div class="c0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; height: 10pt;"><span class="c1" style="font-size: 14pt;"></span></div><div class="c2" style="direction: ltr; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><span class="c1" style="font-size: 14pt;">So, don’t forget about health.  And the arts.  And more. </span><span class="c10 c1" style="font-size: 14pt; font-style: italic;">(See </span><span class="c1 c8" style="color: blue; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14pt; font-style: italic; text-decoration: underline;"><a class="c7" href="http://coolcatteacher.blogspot.com/2013/05/if-common-core-standards-become-our.html" style="text-decoration: inherit;">If Common Core Standards Become our Straight Jacket, we'll hate what education becomes</a></span><span class="c10 c1" style="font-size: 14pt; font-style: italic;"> for how this is happening in some schools already.)</span></div><div class="c0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; height: 10pt;"><span class="c1" style="font-size: 14pt;"></span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuv0txOHJqo5fUcs6IDoxPIDxIXBMSF5lI7gojrwePNjZvQ4DtvB_9OJxUt0iZBgeQj-pOxSPafVMdOviJuT5vGYV5exckFb0D5RG6HtGkirm_5Ae9ZXlPcLPIcayktAedth8ZB3giVBEj/s1600/image02.png" imageanchor="1" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuv0txOHJqo5fUcs6IDoxPIDxIXBMSF5lI7gojrwePNjZvQ4DtvB_9OJxUt0iZBgeQj-pOxSPafVMdOviJuT5vGYV5exckFb0D5RG6HtGkirm_5Ae9ZXlPcLPIcayktAedth8ZB3giVBEj/s320/image02.png" width="213" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"<b>Creativity</b>" is listed in the Common Core<br />State Standards - even in math! How do you<br />get creative with math? </td></tr></tbody></table><div class="c0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; height: 10pt;"><span class="c1" style="font-size: 14pt;"></span></div><div class="c2" style="direction: ltr; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><span class="c6 c1" style="font-size: 14pt; font-weight: bold;">11.  Don’t empower the creative genius of students and teachers.</span></div><div class="c0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; height: 10pt;"><span class="c1" style="font-size: 14pt;"></span></div><div class="c2" style="direction: ltr; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><span class="c1" style="font-size: 14pt;">You might be surprised to know that the word “<span style="color: blue;"><b>creativity</b></span>” appears in the Math CCSS (yes, math!).  We can value and nurture creativity by producing, not only consuming, a variety of information, ideas, texts, and media.  </span></div><div class="c0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; height: 10pt;"><span class="c1" style="font-size: 14pt;"></span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimJ7LLWuCa3-pTY7lV2mswX7hx9ZVH6WOQzHEqZB1a0x9jCh90qHu4zUZj4CuiMy5CfABUchf9OhLZKAhFEuamvGc0AWvajawSNifhYRNkXWsouIWXV-ZAJyZ3bJp7jwueMW4EHMvkmeFC/s1600/image03.png" imageanchor="1" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimJ7LLWuCa3-pTY7lV2mswX7hx9ZVH6WOQzHEqZB1a0x9jCh90qHu4zUZj4CuiMy5CfABUchf9OhLZKAhFEuamvGc0AWvajawSNifhYRNkXWsouIWXV-ZAJyZ3bJp7jwueMW4EHMvkmeFC/s1600/image03.png" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">You need a network. These Discovery Educator Network (DEN)<br />teachers are meeting to collaborate and learn from each<br />other. You can collaborate and connect for<br />mutual learning experiences wherever teachers<br />connect... on Twitter, Facebook, and face to face.<br />They are all vital parts of the savvy educator's PLN.</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="c0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; height: 10pt;"><span class="c1" style="font-size: 14pt;"></span></div><div class="c2" style="direction: ltr; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><span class="c6 c1" style="font-size: 14pt; font-weight: bold;">10.  Go it alone.</span></div><div class="c2" style="direction: ltr; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><span class="c1" style="font-size: 14pt;">The positive impact of <span style="color: blue;"><b>collaboration </b></span>has been validated by researchers and practitioners.  As a profession, we must tap into and share our collective expertise to support our individual efforts. Teachers might be superheroes -- but even superheroes accomplish more when they work together.  </span></div><div class="c0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; height: 10pt;"><span class="c1" style="font-size: 14pt;"></span></div><div class="c2" style="direction: ltr; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><i><span class="c1" style="font-size: 14pt;">(An example of a powerful electronic community of practice is </span><span class="c5 c1" style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 14pt; text-decoration: underline;"><a class="c7" href="http://community.discoveryeducation.com/" style="text-decoration: inherit;">Discovery Educator Network (DEN)</a></span><span class="c1" style="font-size: 14pt;">, where teachers from across the country share ideas.  Discovery also holds a variety of </span><span class="c9 c1" style="color: blue; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14pt; text-decoration: underline;">opportunities</span></i><span class="c1" style="font-size: 14pt;"><i> for teachers to come together live and in person to learn and share with each other.) </i> </span></div><div class="c0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; height: 10pt;"><span class="c1" style="font-size: 14pt;"></span></div><div class="c2" style="direction: ltr; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><span class="c6 c1" style="font-size: 14pt; font-weight: bold;">9. Focus only on outcomes and not processes.</span></div><div class="c0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; height: 10pt;"><span class="c1" style="font-size: 14pt;"></span></div><div class="c2" style="direction: ltr; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><span class="c1" style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="color: blue;">Student learning</span>, aka deep thinking, is the goal of the Common Core.  Remember that learning is a process.  So, even though we look to our outcomes and data as measures of learning, we can’t ignore the process.  The same idea applies to teachers.  Teachers need opportunities to learn, plan, act, and reflect.  </span></div><div class="c2" style="direction: ltr; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><span class="c1" style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></div><div class="c2" style="direction: ltr; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><span class="c1" style="font-size: 14pt;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVOvX7ytv_JL6nXpn458j2oT70aKnHBlhWvE8O8ec_P-Oip0vxei_CncA2tSDYf2CRZaRnEGTO_suwfkf7vB_qK7soICvJC_kOoHVvNkIHlGwNmHxXvx_q3wKQ7NAceN5baVpmkR34836k/s1600/iStock_000013746797XSmall.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVOvX7ytv_JL6nXpn458j2oT70aKnHBlhWvE8O8ec_P-Oip0vxei_CncA2tSDYf2CRZaRnEGTO_suwfkf7vB_qK7soICvJC_kOoHVvNkIHlGwNmHxXvx_q3wKQ7NAceN5baVpmkR34836k/s320/iStock_000013746797XSmall.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.727272033691406px;">Beware of how you define rigor!<br />Giving kids harder math problems or more difficult books<br />to read doesn't increase the rigor. It only increases frustration.<br />Talk to your staff about what rigor is!</td></tr></tbody></table></span></div><div class="c0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; height: 10pt;"><span class="c1" style="font-size: 14pt;"></span></div><div class="c2" style="direction: ltr; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><span class="c6 c1" style="font-size: 14pt; font-weight: bold;">8.  Equate complexity with difficulty.</span></div><div class="c0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; height: 10pt;"><span class="c1" style="font-size: 14pt;"></span></div><div class="c2" style="direction: ltr; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><span class="c1" style="font-size: 14pt;">Webster defines <span style="color: blue;"><b>complex </b></span>as</span></div><div class="c0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; height: 10pt;"><span class="c1" style="font-size: 14pt;"></span></div><blockquote class="tr_bq"><span class="c1" style="font-size: 14pt;">“having many parts, details, ideas, or functions.”  </span></blockquote><div class="c0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; height: 10pt;"><span class="c1" style="font-size: 14pt;"></span></div><div class="c2" style="direction: ltr; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><span class="c1" style="font-size: 14pt;">In our information-driven world, our students will need the ability to process, filter, and ponder many sources of information.  For this reason, the Common Core standards promote critical and complex thinking.</span></div><div class="c0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; height: 10pt;"><span class="c1" style="font-size: 14pt;"></span></div><div class="c2" style="direction: ltr; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><span class="c1" style="font-size: 14pt;">That means that students need opportunities to learn, practice, and apply these skills.  So teachers need to demonstrate, model, and support students in these tasks.  That’s not the same as assigning difficult tasks.  </span></div><div class="c0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; height: 10pt;"><span class="c1" style="font-size: 14pt;"></span></div><div class="c2" style="direction: ltr; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><span class="c6 c1" style="font-size: 14pt; font-weight: bold;">Giving kids harder math problems and more difficult books to read doesn’t increase the</span><span class="c9 c6 c1" style="color: blue; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14pt; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: underline;"><a class="c7" href="http://schools.nyc.gov/Academics/CommonCoreLibrary/ProfessionalLearning/DOK/default.htm" style="text-decoration: inherit;"> rigor</a></span><span class="c6 c1" style="font-size: 14pt; font-weight: bold;">.</span><span class="c1" style="font-size: 14pt;">  It only increases frustration -- for the student and the teacher.  This takes us back to the importance of time for teachers to learn, plan, act, and reflect on ways to engage students in complex thinking.</span></div><div class="c2" style="direction: ltr; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><br /></div><div class="c2" style="direction: ltr; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><span class="c6 c1" style="font-size: 14pt; font-weight: bold;">7.  Make it more about curriculum-alignment than instructional practice.</span></div><div class="c0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; height: 10pt;"><span class="c1" style="font-size: 14pt;"></span></div><div class="c2" style="direction: ltr; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><span class="c1" style="font-size: 14pt;">Obviously, a well-designed and cohesive curriculum is a part of CCSS implementation.  However, even</span><span class="c6 c1" style="font-size: 14pt; font-weight: bold;"> the best curriculum delivered poorly is doomed. </span><span class="c1" style="font-size: 14pt;"> <span style="color: blue;"><b>Instructional practice</b></span> is </span><span class="c11 c1" style="font-size: 14pt; text-decoration: underline;">the</span><span class="c1" style="font-size: 14pt;"> key to creating classrooms where students are deep readers and writers who inquire, question, critique, and synthesize.   Research continually points to the impact of the teacher as the most powerful factor in student learning.  To continue that thought…</span></div><div class="c0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; height: 10pt;"><span class="c1" style="font-size: 14pt;"></span></div><div class="c2" style="direction: ltr; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><span class="c6 c1" style="font-size: 14pt; font-weight: bold;">6.  Ignore the need for professional development.</span></div><div class="c0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; height: 10pt;"><span class="c1" style="font-size: 14pt;"></span></div><div class="c2" style="direction: ltr; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><span class="c1" style="font-size: 14pt;">High-quality professional development is the best way to make the transition to the Common Core.  Consider a variety of options to include follow-up and collaboration.</span></div><div class="c0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; height: 10pt;"><span class="c1" style="font-size: 14pt;"></span></div><div class="c2" style="direction: ltr; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><span class="c6 c1" style="font-size: 14pt; font-weight: bold;">5. Don’t communicate with parents and the community.</span></div><div class="c0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; height: 10pt;"><span class="c1" style="font-size: 14pt;"></span></div><div class="c2" style="direction: ltr; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><span class="c1" style="font-size: 14pt;">As we move forward into a model of school that looks different than sit and get (finally), parents need to understand that <span style="color: blue;">rote memorization</span> will be lessened, while <span style="color: blue;">inquiry </span>and <span style="color: blue;">problem-solving</span> will be increased. It’s true…this is not your grandmother’s classroom.  Technology allows the world to be our classroom.  To be successful, this shift will require the mutual support of school, home, community.  </span></div><div class="c2" style="direction: ltr; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><span class="c1" style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcTxDDBuuzStSRBR1YA-4x4s2ICUEaP9S8Xyql11VYnhlTsKsh6KGL_989dMpur0w08yOfkb8z_BJeiDOv5Di6x49Mur-kpWabMPHCcapoPYH77Q4mgT-tW6DROdjYh9H4L6iTHDtV2p_Y/s1600/bigstock-Teacher-And-Students-In-Art-Cl-3917340.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcTxDDBuuzStSRBR1YA-4x4s2ICUEaP9S8Xyql11VYnhlTsKsh6KGL_989dMpur0w08yOfkb8z_BJeiDOv5Di6x49Mur-kpWabMPHCcapoPYH77Q4mgT-tW6DROdjYh9H4L6iTHDtV2p_Y/s320/bigstock-Teacher-And-Students-In-Art-Cl-3917340.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Classrooms should always be improving and leveling up learning.<br />As a profession, we should be the premier learning organization.</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="c2" style="direction: ltr; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><span class="c1" style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></div><div class="c0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; height: 10pt;"><span class="c1" style="font-size: 14pt;"></span></div><div class="c2" style="direction: ltr; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><span class="c6 c1" style="font-size: 14pt; font-weight: bold;">4. Say, “We do this already.”</span></div><div class="c0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; height: 10pt;"><span class="c1" style="font-size: 14pt;"></span></div><div class="c2" style="direction: ltr; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><span class="c1" style="font-size: 14pt;">No matter what you’ve “done” regarding Common Core, there is plenty more to learn and apply.  As a profession, we should be the premier learning organization.  Unfortunately, sometimes we are not.  The type of thinking that keeps us static will not help us get better.  Remember, if you’re not growing,</span><span class="c1" style="font-size: 14pt;"> you’re dying.</span></div><div class="c0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; height: 10pt;"><span class="c1" style="font-size: 14pt;"></span></div><div class="c2" style="direction: ltr; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><span class="c6 c1" style="font-size: 14pt; font-weight: bold;">3.</span><span class="c1" style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span class="c6 c1" style="font-size: 14pt; font-weight: bold;">Don’t network outside of your school.</span></div><div class="c0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; height: 10pt;"><span class="c1" style="font-size: 14pt;"></span></div><div class="c2" style="direction: ltr; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><span class="c1" style="font-size: 14pt;">In the same line of thinking as #10, </span><span class="c1" style="font-size: 14pt;">schools can’t thrive in a cocoon</span><span class="c1" style="font-size: 14pt;">.  The CCSS are a fabulous opportunity for educators across the country to be talking the same language, sharing ideas and generating synergy.  None of us is a smart as all of us.  It’s evident by the ideas on </span><span class="c9 c1" style="color: blue; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14pt; text-decoration: underline;"><a class="c7" href="http://pinterest.com/" style="text-decoration: inherit;">pinterest</a></span><span class="c1" style="font-size: 14pt;"> and the discussions on </span><span class="c9 c1" style="color: blue; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14pt; text-decoration: underline;"><a class="c7" href="http://twitter.com/" style="text-decoration: inherit;">#ccchat</a></span><span class="c1" style="font-size: 14pt;"> that we can be collective thought-partners.</span></div><div class="c0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; height: 10pt;"><span class="c1" style="font-size: 14pt;"></span></div><div class="c2" style="direction: ltr; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><span class="c6 c1" style="font-size: 14pt; font-weight: bold;">2. Be afraid.</span></div><div class="c0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; height: 10pt;"><span class="c1" style="font-size: 14pt;"></span></div><div class="c2" style="direction: ltr; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><span class="c1" style="font-size: 14pt;">Fear of change.  Fear of the unknown.  Why be afraid?  We c</span><span class="c1" style="font-size: 14pt;">ould learn from NASA </span><span class="c1" style="font-size: 14pt;">-- which accomplishes historic feats by being open to change, curious about the unknown, and enticed by challenge.  This is an exciting time for society and education -- and most importantly, our students.  Let’s embrace the challenge and stretch ourselves.  The most powerful practices begin in the classrooms of <a href="http://coolcatteacher.blogspot.com/2006/11/classroom-is-flat-teacherpreneurs-and.html">teacherpreneurs </a>who study, apply, and reflect on their practice.</span></div><div class="c0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; height: 10pt;"><span class="c1" style="font-size: 14pt;"></span></div><div class="c2" style="direction: ltr; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><span class="c6 c1" style="font-size: 14pt; font-weight: bold;">1.  Don’t focus on kids.</span></div><div class="c2" style="direction: ltr; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><span class="c1" style="font-size: 14pt;">Always remember why we do what we do.  Implementation of the Common Core with flying colors -- shiny curriculum, top-notch assessments, and even stellar instructional practices -- <span style="color: blue;">won’t mean anything if it’s not connected to your students.</span></span></div><div class="c2" style="direction: ltr; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><span class="c1" style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk4CA6ZfHT8X5N8QD-RLB6itHD-PNuh4dq2QtXX9lAUsOWiUXuY00JPNl0joonnowkyzWAVq5CcJx5oU7anEOtfpQqRJGO1hpe8K1mn-TCk7MCsYnXwh11pNKkDdKO643k9MQQFnHvJGjQ/s1600/bigstock-happy-children-group-in-school-14834018+%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk4CA6ZfHT8X5N8QD-RLB6itHD-PNuh4dq2QtXX9lAUsOWiUXuY00JPNl0joonnowkyzWAVq5CcJx5oU7anEOtfpQqRJGO1hpe8K1mn-TCk7MCsYnXwh11pNKkDdKO643k9MQQFnHvJGjQ/s320/bigstock-happy-children-group-in-school-14834018+%25281%2529.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Act to improve your classrooms.</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="c2" style="direction: ltr; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><span class="c1" style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></div><div class="c0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; height: 10pt;"><span class="c1" style="font-size: 14pt;"></span></div><div class="c2" style="direction: ltr; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><span class="c6 c1" style="font-size: 14pt; font-weight: bold;">What you can do</span></div><div class="c2" style="direction: ltr; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><span class="c1" style="font-size: 14pt;">So, now that you know what NOT to do to implement the Common Core, here’s something that you can do: tap into the variety of options that </span><span class="c5 c1" style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 14pt; text-decoration: underline;"><a class="c7" href="http://www.discoveryeducation.com/" style="text-decoration: inherit;">Discovery Education</a></span><span class="c1" style="font-size: 14pt;"> offers.  We don’t claim to be the magic bullet (there isn’t one, remember?).  But, they can provide a variety of tools to add to your implementation plan.  </span></div><div class="c0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; height: 10pt;"><span class="c1" style="font-size: 14pt;"></span></div><div class="c2" style="direction: ltr; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><span class="c1" style="font-size: 14pt;">To help teachers and administrators implement Common Core well (and avoid pitfalls listed above), Discovery Education is providing </span><span class="c1 c5" style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 14pt; text-decoration: underline;"><a class="c7" href="http://www.discoveryeducation.com/Common-Core-Academy/index.cfm" style="text-decoration: inherit;">professional development academies</a></span><span class="c1" style="font-size: 14pt;"> in various location across the US this summer.</span></div><div class="c0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; height: 10pt;"><span class="c1" style="font-size: 14pt;"></span></div><div class="c2" style="direction: ltr; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><span class="c1" style="font-size: 14pt;">Regardless of whether your school has access to Discovery products, these academies provide proven practices in instruction, curriculum, and assessment into classroom applications that support long-term planning and immediate classroom application.  </span></div><div class="c0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; height: 10pt;"><span class="c1" style="font-size: 14pt;"></span></div><div class="c2" style="direction: ltr; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><span class="c1" style="font-size: 14pt;">As a trusted educational partner, Discovery Education has worked with thousands of educators to transform teaching and learning.  They understand that successful implementation requires a focus on fundamentals: curriculum, instruction, assessment, and leadership.</span></div><div class="c0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; height: 10pt;"><span class="c1" style="font-size: 14pt;"></span></div><div class="c2" style="direction: ltr; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><span class="c1" style="font-size: 14pt;">You can learn about the four academies at:</span></div><div class="c2" style="direction: ltr; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><span class="c9 c1" style="color: blue; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14pt; text-decoration: underline;"><a class="c7" href="http://www.discoveryeducation.com/Common-Core-Academy/index.cfm" style="text-decoration: inherit;">http://www.discoveryeducation.com/Common-Core-Academy/index.cfm</a></span><span class="c1" style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span></div><div class="c0" style="direction: ltr; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; height: 10pt;"><span class="c1" style="font-size: 14pt;"></span></div><div class="c2" style="direction: ltr; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><span class="c6 c1 c10" style="font-size: 14pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Disclosure of Material Connection</span><span class="c10 c1" style="font-size: 14pt; font-style: italic;">: This is a “sponsored post.” The company who sponsored it compensated me via a cash payment, gift, or something else of value to write it. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I believe will be good for my readers and are from companies I have used personally. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s </span><span class="c1 c4" style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 14pt; font-style: italic; text-decoration: underline;"><a class="c7" href="http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CFR-2003-title16-vol1/content-detail.html" style="text-decoration: inherit;">16 CFR, Part 255</a></span><span class="c10 c1" style="font-size: 14pt; font-style: italic;">: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.</span><span class="c1" style="font-size: 14pt;">”</span></div><br /><div class="zemanta-pixie" style="height: 15px; margin-top: 10px;"><a class="zemanta-pixie-a" href="http://www.zemanta.com/?px" title="Enhanced by Zemanta"><img alt="Enhanced by Zemanta" class="zemanta-pixie-img" src="http://img.zemanta.com/zemified_c.png?x-id=f8afdf17-de5e-43dd-b110-fc0989116c19" style="border: none; float: right;" /></a></div>

15 Wrong Ways to Implement the Common Core

guest post by Johnna Weller, Ed D. Note from Vicki: As I was talking to Johnna from Discovery Education about this post, I started hearing her talk about districts who are struggling with Common Core. We thought that it would be helpful to know what …

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Join a free Western Cape Innovation workshop on Sat 11th or Sat 18th May

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0IojTxlA65KA_TYqac8sm6JMP4PEyRKuUqRqSceyDEjQwfuMvFgRjhvKj9fdxmDALJ-KjM8l-mUcQBcUFdXfow_l86d4FGQGECKXDRr8QwE-J6YD8iHizzjVsOBt4DjSbvGV6PNR7kwA/s1600/microsoft+partners+in+learning.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0IojTxlA65KA_TYqac8sm6JMP4PEyRKuUqRqSceyDEjQwfuMvFgRjhvKj9fdxmDALJ-KjM8l-mUcQBcUFdXfow_l86d4FGQGECKXDRr8QwE-J6YD8iHizzjVsOBt4DjSbvGV6PNR7kwA/s1600/microsoft+partners+in+learning.JPG" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Microsoft is currently holding free workshops around the country to prepare teachers for the Microsoft Partners in Learning Innovative Educator Forum this year, and we are holding two in the Cape Town region over the next two Saturdays.  We would love you to attend one of them (the presenter at both workshops will be Fiona Beal).</span><br /><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Dates</b></span><br /><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><u>Saturday 11th May 2013</u> – Somerset House Preparatory School,  Drama Street, Somerset West from 8:30 – 4pm<br /><u>Saturday 18th May 2013</u> – St Cyprians School, Gorge Road, Oranjezicht, 8001 from 8:30 – 4pm<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Microsoft Innovative Educator Expert programme</b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The format and requirements for the Microsoft Partners in Learning Forum have changed quite radically this year compared to previous years. Microsoft is introducing the Microsoft Innovative Educator Expert programme recognising 250 innovative teachers from around the world (much like the Apple Distinguished Educator and the Google Certified Teacher) The Global Forum for this will take place in March 2014 (destination still to be announced), but entries still have to be in this year. There are two entry dates for this competition:<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt 36pt; text-indent: -18pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">•<span style="font-size: 7pt;">        </span><!--[endif]-->By 3 June 2013 to win a trip to the SchoolNet Conference in Bloemfontein and be selected as a finalist at the South African Global Forum<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt 36pt; text-indent: -18pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">•<span style="font-size: 7pt;">        </span><!--[endif]-->By 31 July 2013 for another chance to be a Microsoft Innovative Educator Expert<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">(The reason for  the two dates  is that teachers can still apply for the Microsoft Expert Educator programme up till the closing date at the end of July but would miss being recognised at the local forum in Bloemfontein.)<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Teachers are now asked to upload a Learning Activity to the Partners in Learning Network (including a two-minute video) and they need to apply to be a Microsoft Innovative Educator: Expert. This is not as daunting as it sounds! How to apply is covered in the workshop, but attention is also paid to making sound use of digital tools, using social media for professional development and looking at examples of how other teachers have used digital tools in engaging or creative ways.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Workshop sessions</b></span></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The current Innovation Workshop is quite different from previous versions and feedback from sessions that have already been run has been very positive. Below are the session titles and what is covered:<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Session 1: Teaching and Learning in a connected world</b><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Using Social Media for educational purposes and your own professional development<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Session 2: Learning Activities that use Digital Tools</b><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">See how other teachers have created or enhanced a lesson by incorporating free, easy-to-use tools<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Session 3: Getting ideas, mastering tools, creating Learning Activities</b><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Devise a Learning Activity that would teach a new concept to a group using a tool or technique<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Session 4: 21st Century Learning Dimensions</b><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Learn about six dimensions that 21st Century teachers should aim towards and how to include them in your learning activities<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Session 5: Creating your own Learning Activity</b><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Brainstorm ways of creating or enhancing a learning activity that you can use to develop 21st century skills<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Session 6: Applying to be a Microsoft Innovative Educator: Expert</b><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Show your passion for using technology for education and you stand a chance of winning a spot at the SchoolNet ICT in the Classroom conference to present your Learning Activity and being selected to attend the Partners in Learning Global Forum<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We know that many teachers are creating creative and engaging learning activities and we would love to see these entries. It would be great if you could encourage colleagues to enter and could perhaps run a few sessions with them as part of your staff development programmes. More information about the Forum as well as the resources for the sessions can be found at the following link: 2013 South Africa and Lesotho Partners in Learning Discussion on the PiL Network at  <a href="http://www.pil-network.com/Discussion/488ae828-fa68-4ef5-83a0-faa249c866c4" target="_blank"><span style="color: windowtext;">http://www.pil-network.com/Discussion/488ae828-fa68-4ef5-83a0-faa249c866c4</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Contact fiona(at)schoolnet.org.za for further details. </span></div></div>

Microsoft Join a free Western Cape Innovation workshop on Sat 11th or Sat 18th May

Microsoft is currently holding free workshops around the country to prepare teachers for the Microsoft Partners in Learning Innovative Educator Forum this year, and we are holding two in the Cape Town region over the next two Saturdays.  We would lov…

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this little light of mine

So, I got a new chandelier for the dining room.<br /><br />Would this be the dining room that just <a href="http://news-these-days.blogspot.com/2012/02/no-youre-knob-and-tube.html" target="_blank">got a new chandelier last year</a>? Yep, that's the one.<br /><br />Now, before you go putting me in the loony bin for buying yet another lighting fixture for the dining room (this makes #3), let me state my case. It is a vintage bamboo chandelier at a wicked good price. I couldn't very well leave it behind once I saw it. What if someone bought it who wouldn't have taken care of it? There was a lady with a bedazzled purse and a scrunchie eyeing it at the same time my mom and I were fawning. I couldn't let this light go home with Mrs. Scrunchie, that's just mean. So really I rescued this light from certain doom. I'm a humanitarian. Me and Angelina.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivWCfoSlBE05WxkOzDFXkB9axiTkEZiD7mu2tPOiMl5RfaDIyWi29FFRm5f5NNyFn7Gr1Q-76duqutYLklS2JCFoLMfkB9g6Y7fvB-rZNd-tJeewwijGqV6GxJnr4a9DlOOdJ8a08TO2FJ/s1600/BamboChandlier.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivWCfoSlBE05WxkOzDFXkB9axiTkEZiD7mu2tPOiMl5RfaDIyWi29FFRm5f5NNyFn7Gr1Q-76duqutYLklS2JCFoLMfkB9g6Y7fvB-rZNd-tJeewwijGqV6GxJnr4a9DlOOdJ8a08TO2FJ/s400/BamboChandlier.jpg" width="376" /></a></div><br />The only problem I had with it was the color. I am a card-carrying member of the black fan club but I've already got a lot of black in the <a href="http://news-these-days.blogspot.com/p/dining-room.html" target="_blank">dining room</a> and the walls are darker so adding this big and wonderful black light was just sucking the remaining light out of the room. And the black was hiding all of the great detail that made me love the light in the first place.<br /><br />I wavered between something sparkly and something with more pop. But while I wavered, I made myself useful and primed.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7m0WksvsrM5PuojAEdb78T8GNmBe2pT1BWEh1FiCuKrA4HdNg8YtCSTWxNuJLy1LQd1oGRLkKjaEk_lh41iHzohBUXFYa-8ui6yCYvy4FgtbSlKkloOpOxx9uwB_mP9gURRy0-TbVtzWG/s1600/BamboPrimed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7m0WksvsrM5PuojAEdb78T8GNmBe2pT1BWEh1FiCuKrA4HdNg8YtCSTWxNuJLy1LQd1oGRLkKjaEk_lh41iHzohBUXFYa-8ui6yCYvy4FgtbSlKkloOpOxx9uwB_mP9gURRy0-TbVtzWG/s400/BamboPrimed.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />Sparkle took over and I went with gold. I think I had spent a few hours play dress up with the girls before hand, so that might have influenced my decision. But the subtle, glam, vintagey gold I was looking for didn't happen.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFuj8Zq5YiPNe3uadgRxZTTj0T8m0gua9btQZ1tnQnmd0XPaxk8CbGtiSuUNb0T6Y2hOaG3Dn9j3BZ9Ba_4EdafCO9dntG_Cf7srSlrdEEJaOVk4F1TxOm7gp6EcwNxSFbv5ueKxMIKXu1/s1600/goldbamboo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFuj8Zq5YiPNe3uadgRxZTTj0T8m0gua9btQZ1tnQnmd0XPaxk8CbGtiSuUNb0T6Y2hOaG3Dn9j3BZ9Ba_4EdafCO9dntG_Cf7srSlrdEEJaOVk4F1TxOm7gp6EcwNxSFbv5ueKxMIKXu1/s640/goldbamboo.jpg" width="481" /></a></div><br />Bust.<br /><br />It was a little too Golden Girls for my taste. I suppose I could have taken some rub n' buff to the thing to tone it done a bit, but have you taken a close look at this thing? It has no fewer than 47 sides. It's a mathematical anomaly. It was hard enough to spray it, I wasn't about to hand rub the sucker.<br /><br />I decided to go with what my gut had told me originally and go with my color pop. Why I ever tried to ignore you gut I don't know. My apologies. After something red, with a bit of orange in it, I went to Michaels to look thru the hard core arty spray paint and landed on <a href="http://www.liquitex.com/spraypaint/" target="_blank">Cadmium Red by Liquitex</a>.<br /><br />The color was perfect and the paint goes on wonderfully. It dries super fast and the odor is almost non-existant.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimvJZ3_r-tyt8yrHKfmhMNHFrlGLh6DWoMIGTP8vHx8y5E-ltxrKIIggOEUVIpV-rbsdWtQNZcdEq437TmorwbVnWtHOj1-tt2Q0vloXGW1E7jfA8bVFaVbLv8hvocnSY-Kn4atKgIE8YL/s1600/bamboopainted.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="393" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimvJZ3_r-tyt8yrHKfmhMNHFrlGLh6DWoMIGTP8vHx8y5E-ltxrKIIggOEUVIpV-rbsdWtQNZcdEq437TmorwbVnWtHOj1-tt2Q0vloXGW1E7jfA8bVFaVbLv8hvocnSY-Kn4atKgIE8YL/s400/bamboopainted.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />I will warn you though this stuff chips like a... it chips really bad. I wouldn't use this on anything that would get any sort of day to day use, but since people rarely touch my chandelier, I figure it will be safe.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3igkGxvjPPu0X_mvF6Drgq6lmv2EkmuXlouc7I_dQZW0K53YJBe6mYIbhR3ChQdcXVbjEERYkE7z5ogO3RBBu9Y4N4F3RjU1tcyDouDssNKBSgK8JgVyJuRyYlBquuziieJQNvM-VTnY6/s1600/diningroombamboo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3igkGxvjPPu0X_mvF6Drgq6lmv2EkmuXlouc7I_dQZW0K53YJBe6mYIbhR3ChQdcXVbjEERYkE7z5ogO3RBBu9Y4N4F3RjU1tcyDouDssNKBSgK8JgVyJuRyYlBquuziieJQNvM-VTnY6/s640/diningroombamboo.jpg" width="529" /></a></div><br />So up she went, looking beautiful. All of her pretty details showing up so much better now in her bright red. But she was missing one last detail. This was the perfect piece to try out one of my favorite blogger 'I want to try that one day' DIYs.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5WR8zvjfGLzQHvTBv6Ht50JeTp-vSEN7bGoFjzGm18ri5zjzqKXWz6Ux6mRrgfyAGebg3z5E4zNhKHX1XChNZoymshTwbd8wB-9Rv3n-cSZoRFdBd6JTdYHBFgcsn1TbseE0yeKPQW_2L/s1600/bambochandlierred.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5WR8zvjfGLzQHvTBv6Ht50JeTp-vSEN7bGoFjzGm18ri5zjzqKXWz6Ux6mRrgfyAGebg3z5E4zNhKHX1XChNZoymshTwbd8wB-9Rv3n-cSZoRFdBd6JTdYHBFgcsn1TbseE0yeKPQW_2L/s400/bambochandlierred.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />Yep, I followed <a href="http://www.recentlytheblog.com/2012/09/my-favorite-room-and-diy-candle-sleeves.html" target="_blank">Emily's</a> lead and added some polka dot fabric to my plain little candle sleeves. You can go to <a href="http://www.recentlytheblog.com/2012/09/my-favorite-room-and-diy-candle-sleeves.html" target="_blank">Recently</a> for the full DIY but I will tell you this was easy as can be. All you need is some fabric, scissors and Mod Podge and you'll be done in 10 minutes.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisb0EJRLSkL5JZSOXl75FqaUHBB9M25ddYZkRtPejp2lEClu2u_mvfxqb85knSuuar4TL8P33_C9DgjSuGq1yRNqsaccJFZt5Gs5WYtlKMRCt5gj7LamFm3hbEf4Jqtsya-2NC59Eedw16/s1600/redbamboochandlier.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisb0EJRLSkL5JZSOXl75FqaUHBB9M25ddYZkRtPejp2lEClu2u_mvfxqb85knSuuar4TL8P33_C9DgjSuGq1yRNqsaccJFZt5Gs5WYtlKMRCt5gj7LamFm3hbEf4Jqtsya-2NC59Eedw16/s400/redbamboochandlier.jpg" width="378" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I love my little lady. She is bringing it. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNy6inZCLTJRp18_VxHN48zR1U31PJlrmaKWVBmogyVuKlyMIflkh_enJb1imZnxbpgz2FDnJd3g_A29dMKXPYkwukrpwFJg2QIdKV3ChqyDF_580yvnkG0SVjvLIOjM6sLP5bXjFwle0d/s1600/diningroomuse.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="387" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNy6inZCLTJRp18_VxHN48zR1U31PJlrmaKWVBmogyVuKlyMIflkh_enJb1imZnxbpgz2FDnJd3g_A29dMKXPYkwukrpwFJg2QIdKV3ChqyDF_580yvnkG0SVjvLIOjM6sLP5bXjFwle0d/s400/diningroomuse.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />So the moral of the story is this - ignore trends and always go with your gut. Your gut will never lie to you. And never pass up a good light because you already have one. There is always room for one more chandelier in your life.<br /><br />What about you? Have you added something to your house only to replace it with something else a year later? Painted anything with 47 sides? Watched Golden Girls lately?

this little light of mine

So, I got a new chandelier for the dining room.Would this be the dining room that just got a new chandelier last year? Yep, that's the one.Now, before you go putting me in the loony bin for buying yet another lighting fixture for the dining room (thi…

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Daily Education and Technology News for Schools 05/08/2013

<ul class="diigo-linkroll"> <li> <p class="diigo-link"> <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2013/05/06/the-problem-with-pearson-designed-tests-that-threatens-thousands-of-scores/">The problem with Pearson-designed tests that threatens thousands of scores</a> </p> <p class="diigo-description">I agree. Students who got to read the passages ahead of time had an advantage - of course, is anyone looking to see if there was a "hit" on other textbook passages - is this luck or is it corruption. Either way - it smells like corruption. There is a conflict of interest if you're testing and selling textbooks to help kids do better on testing.  "students who read the Pearson test before seeing it on the state test had the opportunity to fill the gaps in their own knowledge—whether through class discussion or simply by reading and answering the questions provided in the curriculum—before they took the test. And that means that the validity of a test that aims to differentiate between “good” and “poor” readers is necessarily called into question. Unfortunately, it seems that New York education officials don’t realize how significant this problem is. Or even that it is a problem. (Meryl Tisch, New York Board of Regents chancellor, actually defended the quality of the assessments, boasting that, thanks to a rigorous new quality-control review, the Department of Education had avoided the kinds of problems that lead to last year’s now-famous pineapple scandal. And that failure to recognize what may be a far more serious and consequential challenge may be the biggest red flag that Common Core assessment decisions are in trouble in the Empire State."</p> <p class="diigo-tags"> <span>tags:</span> <a href="https://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/education">education</a> <a href="https://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/news">news</a> <a href="https://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/pearson">pearson</a> <a href="https://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/testing">testing</a> <a href="https://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/standardizedtests">standardizedtests</a></p> </li> </ul><p class="diigo-ps">Posted from <a href='https://www.diigo.com'>Diigo</a>. The rest of my favorite links are <a href='https://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher'>here</a>.</p>

Daily Education and Technology News for Schools 05/08/2013

The problem with Pearson-designed tests that threatens thousands of scores I agree. Students who got to read the passages ahead of time had an advantage - of course, is anyone looking to see if there was a "hit"…

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Signs of life

I've just started reading "Signs of life" by Natalie Taylor. So far it is surprisingly unputdownable (is this a word?!).<br /><br />It's not my usual read. It's a true story about a lady who, when 5 months pregnant, experiences the death of her husband. I am currently reading about the funeral and while very sad I am beginning to see the resilience of the writer. I think I am going to enjoy this book! <br/><br/><div class="separator"style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPX-BI-tnbHR8MOV9fLNc_-UD8o8SAZdTXBSc-6WaMzzvNnMoUxp-pxFLJo8aWcMGQ5vuuXMdCRvNMPrmNZLuw4Mvm7o93q9Hrobe9zvc4d9IJfWFIDgEtzvBgarwZWcmwi6o_i0-o3qeq/s640/blogger-image-1867538531.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPX-BI-tnbHR8MOV9fLNc_-UD8o8SAZdTXBSc-6WaMzzvNnMoUxp-pxFLJo8aWcMGQ5vuuXMdCRvNMPrmNZLuw4Mvm7o93q9Hrobe9zvc4d9IJfWFIDgEtzvBgarwZWcmwi6o_i0-o3qeq/s640/blogger-image-1867538531.jpg" /></a></div> <br/><br/><div class="separator"style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2ZUNXlmLgUDvBEsBbxNqUg7_lMuPTBvmZXDFceeId2BzB3HR7FTH_19GoUD8ZiX8nYWyMtePuF5RZ60ob1nYtHjdrwRN_8o2WIYL9uZUEdXZGWjMiplcud-v_IhMhSfY7DJb65N9r1w-c/s640/blogger-image--1926667597.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2ZUNXlmLgUDvBEsBbxNqUg7_lMuPTBvmZXDFceeId2BzB3HR7FTH_19GoUD8ZiX8nYWyMtePuF5RZ60ob1nYtHjdrwRN_8o2WIYL9uZUEdXZGWjMiplcud-v_IhMhSfY7DJb65N9r1w-c/s640/blogger-image--1926667597.jpg" /></a></div>

Signs of life

I've just started reading "Signs of life" by Natalie Taylor. So far it is surprisingly unputdownable (is this a word?!).It's not my usual read. It's a true story about a lady who, when 5 months pregnant, experiences the death of her husband. I am …

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Apple, mini ipad with Retina Display coming in Q3

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: justify;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWYXms5de0Crom4BpRQhdyGtiwB7fPgDjfu08piScNn80gRXZ7zHZdgzIm158xrECiLUXWJ9wrORE-fBhy1QSqui1awkrnIyt-9TG4vBT0LgHzaeZKiIDykf1_QS27P7hr8cz2xfWtg3M/s1600/Apple-ipad-mini-review-.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="238" mwa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWYXms5de0Crom4BpRQhdyGtiwB7fPgDjfu08piScNn80gRXZ7zHZdgzIm158xrECiLUXWJ9wrORE-fBhy1QSqui1awkrnIyt-9TG4vBT0LgHzaeZKiIDykf1_QS27P7hr8cz2xfWtg3M/s320/Apple-ipad-mini-review-.jpg" width="320" /></a>A Retina display iPad mini see a release in the third quarter of this year if a prediction by an analyst is to be believed. Beautiful screen, powerful chip, HD cameras, amazing apps, 10-hour battery life. It’s every inch an iPad.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;">The current generation iPad mini features a display that has a resolution of 768x1024 pixels, and pixel density of 163ppi.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br /></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;">DisplaySearch had made a similar prediction. It had said that a new iPad mini with an upgraded display was likely to appear later in the third quarter or fourth quarter of the year, but a Nexus 7 with a very-high-resolution display might make an appearance soon.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;">Paul Semenza, an analyst with the firm had said that it speculated that Retina version of the iPad mini with a resolution of 1536x2048 pixels, and pixel density of 324ppi, might go into production in the third quarter of 2013.</div><br /><br /><strong><u>Specifications:-</u></strong><br /><br /><br /><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>     Resolution of 1536x2048 pixels</li><li>     Pixel density of 324ppi</li></ul>    <strong><em><u> Best specifications & features</u></em></strong><br /><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>A beautiful screen, powerful A5 chip, FaceTime and iSight cameras, amazing apps, and 10-hour battery life, make iPad mini every inch an iPad.</li><li> iPad mini, including resolution, height, weight, performance, battery life, and storage capacity — for Wi‑Fi and cellular models.</li><li>iPad mini with Wi‑Fi + Cellular connects to fast data networks around the world — up to LTE. So you can download, browse, and stream at amazing speeds.</li><li>Its easy-to-use interface, amazing features, and rock-solid stability, Apple’s mobile operating system, iOS, is the foundation of iPad mini.</li></ul><br /></div>Published by <br /><a href="https://plus.google.com/112865615030946176397" rel="author">Priyanka</a>

news Apple, mini ipad with Retina Display coming in Q3

A Retina display iPad mini see a release in the third quarter of this year if a prediction by an analyst is to be believed. Beautiful screen, powerful chip, HD cameras, amazing apps, 10-hour battery life. It’s every inch an iPad.The current generatio…

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