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Phoenix Lands on Mars A Science@NASA posting this weekend, Phoenix Lands on Mars, led me to the NASA Phoenix Mission home page and the great shot at right of the plains of the northern polar region of Mars. The lander executed a successful soft landing and will spend the next three months searching for water under the martian surface. Master Spell Jay Lichtenauer updated his excellent freeware for Macs, Master Spell, last week. Master Spell allows teachers (and parents) to give frequent spelling tests from provided lists (Dolch words and most commonly misspelled words) or to record their own lists for testing. I described some of the benefits of using such a program years ago in the column Teacher Tools 4: A Roll-Your-Own Spelling Program. We made great use of a similar application years ago with my special ed class and with regular classes in the building. Free Science Game Last week, the Federation of American Scientists released Immune Attack, "an educational video game that introduces basic concepts of human immunology to high school and entry-level college students. Designed as a supplemental learning tool, Immune Attack aims to excite students about the subject, while also illuminating general principles and detailed concepts of immunology. Players navigate a nanobot through 3-D blood vessels and connective tissue in an attempt to save an ailing patient by retraining her non-functional immune cells." It was described in a couple of good postings last week:
I wish I could add a screenshot or some subjective comments about Immune Attack, but alas, my PC is way too old to run it!
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What Computer Do Teachers Want? If you're a school tech coordinator and really wants to stir things up, just give your teachers a chance to choose what they want in a computer and operating system. ZDNet's Christopher Dawson, who is is a teacher, IT administrator, and writes for ZDNet, posted a survey he gave his teachers about what they might want in their school's next round of computer purchases. The comments following the article are really something! Along the same line of thought, I received an email this week from Mark Crosby, the previous tech coordinator at MSD Backwash, who often starred in my View from the Classroom columns as the "Evil NT Techie." We actually worked together in those years trying to provide the best technological tools the school system could afford for our teachers and students. Mark has moved on to a tech job at a college of engineering and was asked by his boss to add some more video to the department's web site. Surprise! He asked for and received a new Mac to do the video content! New on Science@NASA Two new Science@NASA stories have been posted this week, Cartwheel Coronal Mass Ejection and Strange Ring Found Circling Dead Star. If your school is still in session, these articles are good discussion starters for middle and high school science classes. The Silly Season Continues Hidden surveillance cameras in classrooms (possibly used for teacher evaluation and dismissal), a gun and drugs planted in a teacher's car, cupcake wars, and kids detained for downloading games on an iPhone at an Apple Store...oh, my!
An NCLB Restructuring for a Special Education School Baltimore Sun reporter Sara Neufield tells of a NCLB required restructuring in Pennsylvania firm to run special-education school. Have a great weekend!
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©2008 Steven L. Wood