Educational CyberPlayGround

NetHappenings Newsletter

<>~~~~~<>~~~~~<>~~~~~<>~~~~~<>~~~~~<>~~~~~<>~~~~~<>
Net Happenings Newsletter October 20, 2004
<http://www.edu-cyberpg.com/Community/NetHappenings.html>
<>~~~~~<>~~~~~<>~~~~~<>~~~~~<>~~~~~<>~~~~~<>~~~~~<>

Greetings All,

Welcome to the first Net Happenings Newsletter, launched by the Educational CyberPlayGround.
This newsletter features a new format with the emphasis on both news and resources. Karen Ellis* Founder of the Educational CyberPlayGround will continue to carry the sponsorship of Net Happenings Newsletter which is published to all members of the
NetHappenings Mailing List. Advertisers are welcomed as sponsors of the oldest K-12educational mailing list in the world. If you have any comments or would like to sponsor the
NetHappenings Newsletter or mailing list please contact me.

Thanks,

Alan Haskvitz
1997 National Teacher's Hall of Fame Inductee
1999 All USA Today First Team Teacher
1994 National Middle Level Teacher of the Year (NCSS)
[w] Ringleaders
Most misspellings are intentional to combat spaham filterz


Various Sections:
In the News
Research
Resources
Humor

<>~~~~~<>~~~~~<>
IN THE NEWS
<>~~~~~<>~~~~~<>


Deduction Is Back For Teachers
Congress has extended the $250 tax deduction for out-of-pocket classroom expenses incurred by teachers and paraprofessionals for the 2004 and 2005 tax year. There must be an election coming.
http://www.nea.org/lac/edtax/

Ringleaders - Free educational advise from experts Part of the cyberplaygrounds offerings in most curriculum areas.

From the New York Times and DIANA JEAN SCHEMO
Don't have enough money to fund a school project? Need technology improvements?
Have needy students? Wonder where the money went? Here is where some of it disappeared.
An essay written by a third-grade teacher and published in The Portland Oregonian that criticized the federal No Child Left Behind law got one of the lowest ratings: a negative 60. An article in The Akron Beacon Journal that credited No Child Left Behind with driving schools to close the achievement gap was praised, earning a score of 55 points.
The gold medal? That went to a piece that ran in The Seattle Times, signed by Education Secretary Rod Paige himself, who specifically credits President Bush for championing No Child Left Behind. It got a near-perfect 95. The article would have rated an ideal 100 points if it had appeared in a more prominent newspaper, said the evaluation of newspaper coverage commissioned by the federal Education Department. The department paid $700,000 to Ketchum, a public relations and marketing firm, to rate newspaper coverage of the education law in 2003 and to produce two video press releases in the format of news articles.
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/10/16/politics/16educ.html?ex=1098919698&ei=1&en=a8be84a0b4d1ed22

Is High School Physical Education being sacrificed on the alter of standardized testing?
By Peter Schworm, Globe Staff
Schools are elbowing aside physical education to cram in more academics is a state and national problem, worrying fitness specialists who say the reduced exercise time is increasing the prevalence of childhood obesity. Many younger students now take less than an hour a week of physical education, teachers say, and even recess has been cut back so students can spend more time on math and English and ideally perform better on high-stakes state tests. In Massachusetts, as in many other states, the problem is the worst at high schools, where students must pass state exams to earn a diploma. Its an unintended consequence of education reform, said Kathy Pinkham, director of health and physical education for the Needham schools.
Nationally, less than 6 percent of high schools now require physical education for juniors and seniors, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In Massachusetts, 57 percent of high school students last year took at least one physical education class a week, according to the CDC. In 1993, 80 percent did; that same year, the Legislature passed the Education Reform Act, which http://www.boston.com/news/education/k_12/articles/2004/10/18/schools_let_phys_ed_slip_off_schedule/

Jobs in the Future Could Require Less Education, Pay Less
228 Analysis of Wisconsin Employment by Job Title 2002-2012
By Dennis W. Redovich October 2004
The great numbers of high paying jobs of the future that are claimed to require college graduation and high academic skills for all high school students are a hoax. The majority of the jobs of the future in Wisconsin and the United States are low or average paying jobs that require short term or moderate-term on the job training and do not require high-level academic skills in any academic areas, particularly in higher mathematics. Technology makes jobs simpler not more difficult and makes workers more productive. The great majority of the jobs of the future are the same jobs of the 20th Century with new technological tools making these jobs easier to do. A majority of jobs require only short or moderate length training or experience. The great majority of jobs in 2012 require short term on the job training or experience or moderate length on the job training, experience or education.
http://www.jobseducationwis.org/228%20%20Analysis%2020022012%20Wisconsin%20Employment.doc


<>~~~~~<>~~~~~<>
RESEARCH
<>~~~~~<>~~~~~<>

Rewards for Students: What Works?
Edward Deci did an analysis of 128 recent studies on the effects of extrinsic rewards on intrinsic motivation. His findings indicated that tangible rewards significantly reduced intrinsic motivation. Meanwhile, positive feedback for tasks completed works and improves the younger students self-interest. Young students responded differently than college students to rewards.
Psychological Bulletin, Vol 125(6), 627-668

Book Reviews
Patchen, Martin. (2004). Making Our Schools More Effective: What Matters and What Works. Springfield, IL: Charles C. Thomas
http://edrev.asu.edu/reviews/rev305.htm

<>~~~~~<>~~~~~<>
TECHNOLOGY
<>~~~~~<>~~~~~<>

Searchable Subject Index of Blog-Related Sites
This is just one of many, but this one has a nice search engine and man location blog directories as well as those by age, and more. Worth a look.
http://www.lsblogs.com/

<>~~~~~<>~~~~~<>
RESOURCES
<>~~~~~<>~~~~~<>

NATIONAL CHILDRENS FOLKSONG REPOSITORY
A good project to get involved with, this collection is expanding. Check out the audio of songs from the collection.
http://www.edu-cyberpg.com/Culdesac/Repository/NCFR.html

One of the more useful books the education department has created, Teaching Our Youngest is puts together some good advise for parents and teachers on how to create a learning environment. Downloadable.
http://www.ed.gov/teachers/how/early/teachingouryoungest/index.html

ReadWriteThink Student Materials
This is an exceptionally great resource that brings together technology and Blooms taxonomy. The interactive tools can be used to introduce technology in motivating students to produce more interesting literacy related work.
http://www.readwritethink.org/student_mat/index.asp

What Works Clearinghouse (WWC)
Gathers studies of the effectiveness of educational interventions and reviews them.
http://www.w-w-c.org/

Changing Minds
The site includes research on why and how minds are changed. The categories include disciplines, techniques, principles, explanations, and theories. A must see is the list of sites that relate to advertising, brainwashing, cults, negotiation, romance, and trust. Dont be put off by the bland opening page. Explore it.
http://changingminds.org/explanations/theories/academic_references.htm.

NCTM Illuminations: Math
An awesome resource that uses interactive menus and excellent graphics to help students understand and explore math concepts at all grade levels. A must see for math teachers. Over 50 tools provided.
http://illuminations.nctm.org/tools/index.aspx

HISTORY
The British view of history is here and with it a great new way to get students involved in their studies of the past. Sign up for the newsletter, too.
http://www.thinkinghistory.co.uk/resources/impactofnormanconquest.htm

Hebrew Picture Dictionary
You click on a variety of pictures and see the Hebrew writing.
http://www.milon.co.il

TRAVEL
If you have the money, this might be fun. Sponsored by ELEFENCE this Educational African Safari visits Zambia, South Luangwa National Park, and Victoria Falls during the summer of 2005. If you are into elephants this is for you and your credit card.
http://www.education.elefence.org/

FREE PRINTABLES

Free, downloadable, uncopyrighted printables are an invaluable resource to help students learn, to provide more depth or remediation to a topic or just to have around for inclement weather or quiet time.

Enchanted Learning
http://www.enchantedlearning.com/Home.html
Cards
A+ Math Flashcard Creator Great flash card site
http://www.aplusmath.com/Flashcards/Flashcard_Creator.html
ESL Kids Flashcards
http://bogglesworld.com/cards.htm
Flashcard Exchange Over a million flashcards
http://www.flashcardexchange.com/index.jsp
Math and science
Free Math Worksheets
http://teacherszine.tripod.com/teacherszine/MathWorksheets.html
The Periodic Table
Element Song
Print and Learn for Kids Math printables
http://www.brobstsystems.com/kids/
A giant site that includes posters, science and math printables
Educational Pages from ActivityVillage
http://www.activityvillage.co.uk/educational.htm
Pages that include Chinese New Year, maps, puzzles
Printable Keyboard
http://www.teachnet.com/powertools/neattools/keyboard/index.html
Printable Worksheets
http://www.nvnet.org/nvhs/edresource/hubpages/Worksheets.html

SCHOLARSHIPS AND GRANTS

For an excellent collection of grants go to
http://www.edu-cyberpg.com/Teachers/grants.html

SCHOLARSHIPS AND GRANTS

- For an excellent collection of grants go to
http://www.edu-cyberpg.com/Teachers/grants.html


- Beware
Before you go to other sites, check out these sites to see how scholarship offers are being used as a gimmick.
http://www-cgi.cnn.com/US/9810/28/briefs/scholarship.fraud/
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/edcams/scholarship/
http://www.finaid.org/scholarships/scams.phtml

- Federal Student Aid Information Center
1-800-4-FED-AID (1-800-433-3243)
FedMoney.org is the most comprehensive FREE full-text online resource on all U.S. federal government student financial aid programs. Here you will find detailed and up-to-date information about (1) who can apply, (2) how to apply, (3) full contact info, and much more... for over 130 government loans and grants (scholarships, fellowships, training) related to education!
http://www.fedmoney.org/

- A free listing of hundreds
http://www.grandpajunior.com/Grants2.shtml

- Grants and fellowships
http://www.grantsnet.org/

- Federal Government Aid
This requires a registration
http://www.govspot.com/shortcuts/financialaid.htm

- The Financial Aid Information Page
The Financial Aid Information page, maintained by the author of a scholarship and fellowship guide book, is full of pointers to sites that help students navigate the world of financial aid. Registration required
http://www.finaid.org/

- FastWEB- tailored scholarship search of over 180,000 scholarships, fellowships, loans, and grants, available to students for free. Requires registration/.
http://fastweb.monster.com/

- U.S.A College Scholarships
Colleges and universities throughout the United States, free college scholarship and financial aid searches, SAT and ACT test preparation tips, and more. This is a large link site with a variety of services offered.
http://www.college-scholarships.com

- International scholarships
A variety of countries and no registration
http://www.schoolcolleges.com/college/intl_schol.htm

- Huge list of minority scholarships
http://www.blackexcel.org/100minority.htm

- Hispanic scholarships
http://www.hispaniconline.com/edu&/ss_ix.html


CONFERENCES

United States Conferences
http://dir.yahoo.com/Education/Conferences/
International Conferences
http://www.leeds.ac.uk/educol/conflist.htm

<>~~~~~<>~~~~~<>
HUMOR
<>~~~~~<>~~~~~<>
This site is loaded with educationally related cartoons. Lots of copyrighted fun.
http://www.danscartoons.com/education_cartoons.htm

<>~~~~~<>~~~~~<>
ABOUT THE HOST
<>~~~~~<>~~~~~<>
For those who do not know me, my name is Karen Ellis
http://www.edu-cyberpg.com/AboutUs/
I moderate several mailing lists including: Net
Happenings, K12 Newsletters and Network Newsletters
http://www.edu-cyberpg.com/Community/
As well as hosting the HotList Of K-12 Internet School
Sites which was also started in 1993.
School Directory
Founder of both the Educational CyberPlayGround and
the National Children's Folksong Repository.
http://www.edu-cyberpg.com/

Thanks for reading,

Al
<http://www.edu-cyberpg.com/Ringleaders/al.html>

TO SUBSCRIBE TO NETHAPPENINGS
<http://www.edu-cyberpg.com/Community/default.html>

<>~~~~~<>~~~~~<>~~~~~<>~~~~~<>~~~~~<>~~~~~<>~~~~~<>~~~~~<>
The paragraph below is the copyright notice to be used when reproducing
the entire report, in any format:

Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim
copies of the entire Nethappenings Newsletter NHN
provided this paragraph, including the
copyright notice, are preserved on all copies.

NHN Subscription instructions are available at:
http://www.edu-cyberpg.com/Community/NHnewsletter.html

Below are the copyright statements to be included when reproducing
annotations from NetHappenings Newsletter.

The single phrase below is the copyright notice to be used when
reproducing any portion of this report, in any format.

> From NetHappenings Newsletter copyright
> Educational CyberPlayGround.
http://www.edu-cyberpg.com/Community/NHnewsletter.html

Educational CyberPlayGround http://www.edu-cyberpg.com
Hot Site Awards New York Times, USA Today , MSNBC, Earthlink
USA Today Best Bets For Educators Award, Macworld Top Fifty
<>~~~~~<>~~~~~<>~~~~~<>~~~~~<>~~~~~<>~~~~~<>~~~~~<>~~~~~<>