Whole MILI Mass

I noticed with more than a bit of envy that a whole new group of teachers and media specialists are participating in the MILI 23 Things for 2008 - 09 school year. For a variety of reasons we did not have an opportunity to join them this year. I guess I will have to live vicariously by keeping up on their blogs. It was a great sparkplug for me last year and I hope for the teachers that participated with me.

Problem Based Learning

Problem Based Learning

Began with the Medical model. Coopted by other educational genres because of its value. 

Good book on subject - Problem-Based Learning and other Curriculum Models for the Multiple Intelligences Classroom.

Sunday October 19, 2008

How can I use this to convey curriculum? As a way to
1. Add reading content to enhance my presentations
2. As an instructional conduit for when students are missing in class
3. As a link resource for students
4. For preparing ahead of time and release when ready
5.
http://wellstone.mpls.k12.mn.us

Thing 21 You Tube and more

Well, needless to say I have had trouble logging on to You Tube at school. Seems it is blocked at all the school sites in Minneapolis and beyond. Strange thing is I have found students using it so they know a work around. I have turned into quite a You Tube fan at home for all the content it contains. I really think it is a resource that should be available in schools. It is one of the tools it will take some time for the schools to become accustmed to. For all the bad content on their there is so much depthful and insightful content. As Web 2.0 continues to gain traction schools are going to have to find a way to let in the useful content while blocking that content that is not worthy of being in the schools.

Thing 35 Smart Tips

I was so fortunate to be able to attend the Public Library Association meeting yesterday. It was a great source of inspiration. So many ideas swirling around and I all I had to do was to reach out and grab a few. From the vendors floor, to the presentations to the the finale at the Audio Book Dinner the time was enlightening.

I was fortunate to stand directly behind a Minitex staff in a line for an author signing. In conversing with her I learned we could have a Minitex staff come out to present the database collection to our staff. And it is all free. What a deal. She also told be she would put the ELM emblem and link directly on our school web page so student don't have to searching for it anymore among the many links in the Student Resources section. Way cool!

I also attended a session on making libraries welcoming environments for the public to come in to. The presenter had a great speaking style which included a healthy sense of humor as well as practical tips on creating an environment that would not only make people want to stay in the library but they would also look forward to returning. Taking down all the "Do not . . ." signs and replacing them with something more attractive, say artwork. Putting displays to the right of an entry or exit is more likely to get attention than at the left. Probably the most powerful piece to this is simply to be kind and considerate of the public. Too often in this speaker's experience she has seen staff being rude or at least inattentive to the needs of people.

There were also presentations on new technology with the clever name of Technozoo. This speaker was a tad younger than the crowd he was speaking to and often put in good natured digs at the boomers. He reminded us to continually push into the Web 2.0 phenomena and never stop learning.

All in all a wonderfully invigorating day! Thank you Metronet for making this possible for me.

Thing #9 Streaming Video

I teach a careers class everyday. One of the most useful sites I have found for this is the iSeek site from the state of Minnesota. As a part of it there are videos on most any occupation one can think of all neatly placed within career clusters. I guess this would have be called a web 2.0 app that I wouldn't have done a couple years ago. Each video stream is only a minute or two long but that is perfect for giving the students a taste of the occupations out there. I am encouraging them to log in and use these in their research outside of class.

Thing #27 Customize your homepage

I am amazed at all that can be done on iGoogle. The number of add on features seems to constantly be growing. I attribute that to the open source nature of the gadgets. I especially like the listing features 'most used' so I don't have to go slogging through the morass to find decent gadgets to add. Search engines are an amazing technology especially when you consider there are over 15 billion web pages out there and they can sort through all of them in a matter of seconds. I want to find a blog feature to add to my personal page to add the bevy of interesting features I have now. I am planning presenting this to the students in the 4th quarter.