Part of my job is teaching students effective search tools on the internet. There are many tricks that help students hone in on a topic with relevant, reliable information.
A second level of research is to check out the websites reliability. There are a few ways to do that:
Website Grader is a free seo tool that measures the marketing effectiveness of a website. It provides a score that incorporates things like website traffic, SEO, social popularity and other technical factors. It also provides some basic advice on how the website can be improved from a marketing perspective.
One of these tells you the value of your website. Click around and figure out which one it is.
If you want to spice up a unit on landforms, have students look into surviving these unique natural habitats. To get out with their lives, they’ll have to understand the flora and fauna, dangers and helpers. Here are some websites they can visit to improve their survival toolkit: Read the rest of this entry »
Here are some fascinating statistics from the US Census Bureau to support your unit on Native Americans
Joe Garcia, head of National Congress of American Indians
or the US’s cultural diversity:
American Indian and Alaska Native Heritage
Month: November 2009
The first American Indian Day was celebrated in May 1916 in New York. Red Fox James, a Blackfeet Indian, rode horseback from state to state, getting endorsements from 24 state governments, to have a day to honor American Indians. In 1990, President George H.W. Bush signed a joint congressional resolution designating November 1990 as “National American Indian Heritage Month.” Similar proclamations have been issued every year since 1994. This Facts for Features presents data for American Indians and Alaska Natives, as this is one of the six major race categories.
Remember those common sense words of wisdom–no pain, no gain, nothing worth it comes easy (fix this). Scientific studies now show that those old axioms are closer to the truth than what we’d like to believe–that praising a child makes him so.
Hint: Don’t tell your kids that they are. More than three decades of research shows that a focus on effort—not on intelligence or ability—is key to success in school and in life
A brilliant student, Jonathan sailed through grade school. He completed his assignments easily and routinely earned As. Jonathan puzzled over why some of his classmates struggled, and his parents told him he had a special gift. In the seventh grade, however, Jonathan suddenly lost interest in school, refusing to do homework or study for tests. As a consequence, his grades plummeted. His parents tried to boost their son’s confidence by assuring him that he was very smart. But their attempts failed to motivate Jonathan (who is a composite drawn from several children). Schoolwork, their son maintained, was boring and pointless.
Our society worships talent, and many people assume that possessing superior intelligence or ability—along with confidence in that ability—is a recipe for success. In fact, however, more than 30 years of scientific investigation suggests that an overemphasis on intellect or talent leaves people vulnerable to failure, fearful of challenges and unwilling to remedy their shortcomings.
The result plays out in children like Jonathan, who coast through the early grades under the dangerous notion that no-effort academic achievement defines them as smart or gifted. Such children hold an implicit belief that intelligence is innate and fixed, making striving to learn seem far less important than being (or looking) smart. This belief also makes them see challenges, mistakes and even the need to exert effort as threats to their ego rather than as opportunities to improve. And it causes them to lose confidence and motivation when the work is no longer easy for them.
Praising children’s innate abilities, as Jonathan’s parents did, reinforces this mind-set, which can also prevent young athletes or people in the workforce and even marriages from living up to their potential. On the other hand, our studies show that teaching people to have a “growth mind-set,” which encourages a focus on effort rather than on intelligence or talent, helps make them into high achievers in school and in life. (More about the secret to raising smart kids)
I have a lot of parents in my school who love Macs. Some of the reasons are ease of use–especially for younger users, graphics superiority, intuitiveness, widgets. Another is Macs don’t suffer from the malware and hacking that PCs do.
Warning: Don’t shoot the messenger. I’m just reporting on findings. Last time I factually explained why I like PCs better than Macs (using my first amendment rights to freedom of speech), readers gave my post the lowest ranking ever of any article I’ve written. Wow. Don’t get on the wrong side of that Mac cult(ure).
I wanted to discuss the results of NCLB, now that we’re leaving it behind and moving on to what Obama calls ‘Race to the Top’. I started with a Google search for stories, data, apocryphal results. By the time I read the heading and the first few sentences, I could tell if it would be pro or con. Whatever stories were available or data out there, it would end up proving the author’s purpose in their article. See if you agree:
Words like:
abysmal, ‘the realities left behind’, crucial, –these are all hyperbolic words, emotional statements, intended to insight feelings in lieu of necessary data
Words like:
released the data’, ‘accountability system’, ‘we have a lot more work to do’, –these are denotative words (not intended to draw on emotion), fact-based, good-with-the-bad approach
The following two stories draw dramatically different conclusions from President Bush’s No Child Left Behind Act. See which word grouping you think they belong to:
NCLB has been imposed on a public school system that remains unequal. From one end of the country to another, witnesses described inequities in resources that made the federal mandates not only onerous but also exceedingly unfair. Moreover, the failure of policymakers to increase the capacity of state education agencies and districts to carry out reforms has allowed them to avoid responsibility and accountability. While these inequities stem from state and district policymaking, the federal government can leverage incentives or Title I formulas to encourage the reduction of disparities in resources between districts and schools.
NCLB rests on a faulty measurement capacity. The quality and reliability of tests need improvement. In addition, the public wants a broader purpose for assessment systems. Beyond the acquisition of basic skills, assessment systems should measure student and school achievement in other areas, including fostering of citizenship, preparation in “soft skills” valued by employers and colleges alike, and the development of all talents, from technical to artistic. Admittedly, some of these aspects are not easily measured, but that should not be an excuse for ignoring them or minimizing their importance to student success.
Fewer schools are failing to meet state and federal academic goals, more are earning As, and more are pulling themselves out of trouble. That’s the story behind the release today of state report cards for every public school in Michigan.
The number of schools that met the academic goals rose from 3,003 last year to 3,147 this year.
The number of schools receiving As on their state report cards rose from 1,526 to 1,680.
More than 35 schools that have been consistent failures managed to show enough improvement in the last two years that they are safe from sanctions. Sixteen of those schools are located in Macomb, Oakland and Wayne counties.
The number of schools that fail to meet the standards because of the performance of minority, economically disadvantaged, special education and limited English speaking students is on the decline.
Of the 524 schools statewide that didn’t meet the academic goals, about 100 are located in Detroit Public Schools and another 142 are in the tri-county area.
It’s a tale of two debate techniques, one inductive and one deductive. Read the data and draw your conclusions or read the accept the reviewer’s early-stated conclusion and see how they arrived at their end point. If you’re pro NCLB, you’d say those against didn’t look at the data. If you’re against NCLB, you’d say the reporting agencies ‘taught to the test’–twisted the data to fit your needs.
How do we know if the program worked or not? It comes down to us, as citizens soldiers of the American political system, just trying to give our kids a better life than we had. We believe education will do that. Most of us like our schools, but think the rest of them suck.
New administration. New ideas. Here comes Obama’s Race to the Top:
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signs an order in Sacramento last month calling for a special session of the legislature to consider a basket of education improvement proposals.
— Rich Pedroncelli/AP
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s decision to call a special session to better position California for Race to the Top funds may be the highest-profile test yet of whether proposed federal requirements for the coveted grants are likely to significantly reshape state policy.
The Republican governor last month directed the Democratic-controlled California legislature to consider enacting a package of education redesign measures—including scrapping a law blocking the state from linking student and teacher data—in hopes of improving the state’s competitive posture.
Under draft criteria for the Race to the Top Fund, released July 23, states that have such a data “firewall” on the books would be automatically disqualified from getting a portion of the $4.35 billion fund, which was created under the American…
EVERY generation has some form of relationship with the internet, but for the older members of society, boosted computer use may have a surprise benefit: it could provide a warning that they may be experiencing the subtle early signs of dementia.
Lisa Vizer and colleagues at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, say the first signs of age-related cognitive problems, or a degenerative condition like Alzheimer’s, might be detectable using software that monitors telltale variations in an individual’s typing patterns. The researchers say that warnings of a possible cognitive dysfunction could improve diagnosis and treatments in time to minimise or delay serious impairment (International Journal of Human-Computer Studies, DOI: 10.1016/j.ijhcs.2009.07.005).
But how to do it? The UMBC team knew that an individual’s typing rhythm is distinctive and reasonably stable over time, but that it can change when we are under temporary stress. They wanted to find out if the mental stress of a cognitive or physical condition would also be detectable.
An individual’s typing rhythm is distinctive and reasonably stable over time
So they hired 24 volunteers with an average of 12 years’ experience of typing. After having them perform a number of keyboard exercises, such as writing emails on any topic they liked, they undertook either mental mathematics tasks to stress them cognitively, or intense physical exercise to stress them physically.
Subjects then retook the keyboard tests and their performances were compared by looking at factors such as how long each keystroke took, word lengths and vocabulary used. It turned out that cognitive stress led to more changes in keystroke characteristics, and physical stress more linguistic ones. For instance, those cognitively stressed made increased use of the “caps lock” key and less use of the backspace key.
If the monitoring software should detect a typing pattern which indicates deterioration over a long period, says Vizer, it may suggest to the user to consider seeing a doctor.
Lynsey Roberts of the Alzheimer’s Society in London urges caution, however: “While it is really important to find new ways to diagnose dementia early, this group has not yet found a direct link to dementia.”
The researchers are now pressing ahead with a new battery of tests on 80 elderly volunteers.
Posted by worddreams 
Posted by worddreams 
Posted by worddreams 
Remember those common sense words of wisdom–no pain, no gain, nothing worth it comes easy (fix this). Scientific studies now show that those old axioms are closer to the truth than what we’d like to believe–that praising a child makes him so.
tests. As a consequence, his grades plummeted. His parents tried to boost their son’s confidence by assuring him that he was very smart. But their attempts failed to motivate Jonathan (who is a composite drawn from several children). Schoolwork, their son maintained, was boring and pointless.
I have a lot of parents in my school who love Macs. Some of the reasons are ease of use–especially for younger users, graphics superiority, intuitiveness, widgets. Another is Macs don’t suffer from the malware and hacking that PCs do.
I wanted to discuss the results of NCLB, now that we’re leaving it behind and moving on to what Obama calls ‘Race to the Top’. I started with a Google search for stories, data, apocryphal results. By the time I read the heading and the first few sentences, I could tell if it would be pro or con. Whatever stories were available or data out there, it would end up proving the author’s purpose in their article. See if you agree:
another, witnesses described inequities in resources that made the federal mandates not only onerous but also exceedingly unfair. Moreover, the failure of policymakers to increase the capacity of state education agencies and districts to carry out reforms has allowed them to avoid responsibility and accountability. While these inequities stem from state and district policymaking, the federal government can leverage incentives or Title I formulas to encourage the reduction of disparities in resources between districts and schools.
