Monday, January 26, 2009

Children's Internet Safety

A logical follow-up to my posting from Saturday about the demise of the Child Online Protection Act (COPA) of 1998 appeared in the Washington Post yesterday. Challenging Assumptions About Online Predators by Mike Musgrove relates that while "it's far more likely that children will be bullied by their peers than approached by an adult predator online," that "Rapid technological advances with mobile phones, PDAs, video gaming systems and online social networking sites place our children more at risk from predators than at anytime before." The first quote is from a recent report from Harvard University's Berkman Center for Internet & Society. The second is from a South Carolina attorney who contests the results of the report and feels it "lulls parents into a false sense of security."

For teachers, internet safety is often provided by the required school corporation filters, but vigilance is still necessary when our kids are online.

Happy 25th Anniversary, Macintosh

I guess I'm in good company, as a David Pogue posting, A Milestone for the Mac, reminded me that like Pogue, I'd missed the 25th anniversary of the introduction of the Macintosh computer last Friday. Pogue also linked to a couple of interesting YouTube videos about the first Macintosh.

• The Macintosh Story, Part 1
• The Macintosh Story, Part 2

I didn't get started in Mac computing until 1994 when an old Mac LC III came with a change in teaching positions. I don't have any of the earliest Macs, with my oldest being a 1987 Mac SE. We used lots of SE's and SE/30's for a time in my classroom, which resulted in lots of old Mac columns:

• SE Saga (2/12/1998)
• SE Saga: Part II
• SE Fever: The Lure (and Reward) of Vintage Computing (11/24/1998)
• More SE Fever (12/8/1998)
• Adoption Notice for an SE/30 (1/3/2000)

While our first "at home" Mac, a Performa 575, is mothballed in the attic, I still have running models of the SE, an SE/30, and my venerable Mac IIfx (which can still surf the net). My working Macs are my G5 tower and a 12" PowerBook. I use an old QuickSilver G4 tower when I need to boot into OS 9 to research this or that. If you're into old Macs, be sure to check out Dan Knight's Mac Profiles page on Low End Mac for more information. I also have a number of columns on various Macs linked in my Columns & Editorials page (also linked by machine type here).

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Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Recess Not So Bad?

Daily school recess improves classroom behavior notes that a study by Romina M. Barros, M.D., assistant clinical professor of pediatrics at Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University, "suggests that a daily break of 15 minutes or more in the school day may play a role in improving learning, social development, and health in elementary school children." In contrast to other recent postings that say recess causes more trouble than it's worth, this study notes the American Academy of Pediatrics admonition that "unstructured play is essential for keeping children healthy," and states that "school children who receive more recess behave better and are likely to learn more."

New, Free, Online Dictionary/Thesaurus

Memidex is a new, free, online dictionary/thesaurus. The press release announcing its launch states that it includes "extensive cross-referencing, complete inflections, simple interface, and frequent updates" and should be a "useful English language reference tool for students, teachers, researchers, professional writers, and casual browsers alike."

Videos of Great Teaching

An eSchool News posting, Gates Foundation to show excellent teaching, relates that philanthropist Bill Gates plans for his foundation to post online videos of exemplary teachers in action as a way to inspire other educators and help students learn. In an open letter posted this week, Gate's "summarizes the foundation's progress in health and education and outlines its plans in the months ahead." He also writes in the education section of the letter:

It is amazing how big a difference a great teacher makes versus an ineffective one. Research shows that there is only half as much variation in student achievement between schools as there is among classrooms in the same school. If you want your child to get the best education possible, it is actually more important to get him assigned to a great teacher than to a great school.

I have tons of respect for what the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has done and continues to do for education in this country and world health, but I'm not sure making teachers into "video stars" is a good way to go about it. Identifying exemplary teachers is going to be difficult. We all know them when we see them, but school administrators tend to view "buddies" who don't cause waves as their outstanding teachers, rather than those who shun the limelight, sometimes cause controversy, and push the envelope for educational excellence. I've also watched (and refused to participate) in horror the awards programs such as the Golden Apple awards that accept nominations, but then require the teachers to campaign for the award by having their co-workers, former students, parents, administrators, and others file letters of recommendation for the award.

I guess I find good teaching to be a lot like Jesus's admonition about prayer in Matthew 6:6 (KJV): "But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly."

Maybe the Gates Foundation has a unique way to find its stars that won't put excellent classroom teachers in a situation where they are competing with their peers for the recognition.

Snow Days and Old Software

As a student and later as a young teacher, school cancellations due to snow were almost always a welcome surprise. Today's respite brought on by a large winter storm across much of the central and eastern United States is no different, as I'm winding up a difficult extended substitute teaching assignment in a classroom for students with emotional handicaps. I'd laughed on the first day of the assignment and told the principal that "if you teach in one of these rooms long enough, you may become a candidate for placement in one of them." I think I may be just about there!

During the assignment, I discovered the classroom had two, fairly good 400 MHz G4 Mac computers that were capable of running some software that might be useful for the kids. I tried a number of my old tried and true OS 9 applications without getting much of a positive response. I eventually tried an old title that I'd reviewed in 2002, Mia's Reading Adventure. It absolutely captivated one of our more active and challenging young learners for about two hours, two days in a row! While the title is out of print now, used copies are still available from Amazon. When we get back to school after the snow clears, I'm going to try Mia's Math Adventure with the student. Amazon also carries just about the entire Mia series of software.

Saturday, January 31, 2009

Interesting Student Project

Jill Tucker has a really interesting story in today's San Francisco Chronicle, Galileo students design audio walking tours. She tells of students from Galileo High School's Academy of Hospitality and Tourism working "to create eight downloadable audio walking tours within the city, including a Mission District cafe tour, a 2-mile dessert tour and a Hayes Street hidden gems tour." Their finished product including instructions, audio files, and maps is available here. (I took the coffee lovers tour.)

School Funding in Stimulus Package

The House passed version of President Obama's economic stimulus plan will provide funding for nearly "every realm of education, including school renovation, special education, Head Start and grants to needy college students." An additional $26 billion is targeted for two underfunded programs, No Child Left Behind and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan noted the money would be "righting a huge, historic wrong" as Congress has never spent what it promised for the programs. Another $79 billion has been allocated "to help states facing large fiscal shortfalls maintain government services, and especially to avoid cuts to education programs, from pre-kindergarten through higher education." President Obama released a statement after the House vote, saying "This recovery plan will save or create more than three million new jobs over the next few years."

• New York Times: Stimulus Plan Would Provide Flood of Aid to Education
• AP (via Boston Globe): Education chief: Schools crucial to recovery
• eSchool News: House OKs record $142 billion for education

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