...dedicated to...hmmm, we're still figuring that one out...
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New Science@NASA on Solar Flares While I was away, I missed a new Science@NASA posting, Sickening Solar Flares. In his latest posting, Dr. Tony Phillips. tells of the January 20 sunspot that "sparked an X-class solar flare, the most powerful kind." He relates that while the solar flare produced "the brightest and prettiest auroras in years," had there been astronauts on the moon's surface at the time, they would certainly have caught radiation sickness from the storm. This is another excellent mini-lesson from Science@NASA that can be used by itself or as an openended lesson starter. SOHO (The Solar and Heliospheric Observatory) produced the image at right of the solar flare (January 21, 2005). Welfare and Education Reform Since I seem to be playing catchup today, another older column by The New York Times Samuel G. Freedman, Fodder for Reform's Cynics, and a Blot on Bipartisanship, is certainly worth a read. Freedman compares Bill Clinton's welfare reform with George W. Bush's education reform. On "Free Registration Required" When Educators' News was in regular publication, I decided to note columns where the site required registration to access columns and/or materials. Over the twenty months that EdNews was inactive, almost all news sites have come to require free registration. Reflecting this change, I've dropped the old practice of noting (free registration required) on postings. Registration, especially when you've registered and switch machines or browsers and have to re-enter the information for numerous sites, is a pain. But in the scheme of things, it's a small price to pay to read publications such as The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, The Boston Globe, and others daily for free.
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NEA's Read Across America Day is March 2
First of the Month - Time to Update Virus Definitions If your computer is not on an automatic virus definition update schedule, the first of the month is a good reminder, far better than a machine plagued by viruses, to update your virus definitions. Several years ago I wrote a column about what a virus did to a school that had good server level virus protection but got beat by an infected machine being brought into the system: Worms, Fall Break, Panther, and Desktop Photos. Money Woes for Schools Two columns highlight continuing school finance problems aggravated by governors in California and Indiana. A Hard Lesson About Money by Michael Hiltzik gets down to the nitty gritty of the California problem:
Daniels again upsets schools by Andy Gammill tells of staff cuts that will be caused by Indiana's governor withholding funds already promised to Indiana schools. The especially interesting thing about Gammill's column is that it covers mainly wealthy suburban Indianapolis schools, often far better off financially that many other big city and rural school systems. New Education Secretary The Associated Press's Ben Feller reports on Margaret Spellings being sworn in as President Bush's new Secretary of Education in New Education Chief Touts Role As Parent. Spellings stated, "In carrying out my duties to the American people, I will be carrying out my duties as a mom. And there is none more important than to provide a quality education to our children." She also "reaffirmed she plans to 'stay the course' with No Child Left Behind, the aggressive education law she helped craft as Bush's domestic policy adviser." NCLB Loophole Schools slip through law's loophole tells of a loophole in the No Child Left Behind law. "Only schools receiving federal Title I money to spend on extra teachers, materials or programs for raising student achievement face consequences if they fail to meet federal criteria at least two straight years." EdNews has reported this one before, but it bears repeating. Illinois Superintendent Objects to NCLB's Rules for Special Ed Students Greg Stanmar tells in Official: No Child test contradicts disability act in The Pantagraph that Superintendent Ed Allen feels that when NCLB testing "leaves children in tears because they are feeling left behind, it needs fixing." Allen prefers the Illinois standard of requiring improvement by special education children, rather than demanding they meet the same standards as other students. Allen is quoted as saying, "Many of these students will never meet or exceed the standards." He objects to the NCLB requirement that special education students be tested at their age-appropriate level, noting that those students "wouldn't be in special education in the first place" if they could pass age appropriate tests. New Science@NASA The Sands of Mars went up today on Science@NASA. It's about mining and using raw materials from the red planet's surface to support future Mars missions. Mac Mini Update
Today, I realized my web browser lacked the double scroll bars that I like both top and bottom of the page, so I downloaded the just-released TinkerTool 3.3c to do the job. It's a nifty Mac freeware that accesses lots of Mac OS X preference settings that are invisible without it. So now, the toolbars on my web browser (and other applications) are "fixed," and I can move on to making the machine earn its keep at work. If you're looking for more info on the Mac Mini, I did two postings that are available on the Educators' News archives" Maybe I'll get that column done soon.
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I really planned to have a column done by Wednesday about my experiences so far with the Mac Mini. Since the PRISM web team was presenting a workshop last week at the Indiana Computer Educators convention and maintaining a booth in the exhibition hall, there hasn't been much time to play with the new box. I am using it more and more daily, but still have lots of files to transfer and get organized.
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