BOOKR ...Publish your own book!

I am not yet sure if I REALLY like this tool, but it is somewhat fun. It is FREE, so that says a lot, too!

I wanted to move the title so it does not sit right in the middle of my photo. I have not yet played with this enough to know IF I can move the title box. I tried, but it did not move for me the first time.

Nevertheless, I can see that for students, especially those learning the language, either as a second language or in their native tongue as a new/young learner, it would be quite engagaing!



Try it and let me know what you think! Click on the title of the post to get to the site.

Using Video to Engage the Learner...

The following slideshow created by Richard Bryne of Technology for Teachers has important information that all teachers need to know AND TEACH, particularly regarding copyright.

As teachers, we must teach our students that although it seems that everything is FREE on the internet, there are responsibilties to give credit when using other people's information. There are also guidelines and rules about how much we can use. Most students growing up in this environment do not realize the need for copyright. They do not seem to think it applies to them. It is our obligation as teachers in this 21st Century to make sure students learn these lessons well as their lives will be in and on the inernet.



What do you do in your classroom to teach these skills? What are the top skills in this area that MUST be taught?

Tinkering School

I have been reading a lot of blogs lately, catching up on my TED Talks, and making lots of posts, but this one is the best yet!

I think Sir Ken Robinson would approve of a school like this! Creativity, communication, problem solving, real world applications!

Read All About the Tinkering School. It's in California in July usually, for 7-17 year olds, costs $1200 for a week's camp, but sounds like LOTS of fun!

Gever Tulley, founder of the Tinkering School, spoke at TED. View his talk here on.... Tinkering School in Action....

He also gave another quick TED Talk on 5 Dangerous Things for Kids.

If I were a kid, this would be a great place to learn!

Actually, as a child, I was very sheltered. I was good at the "read this, and regurgitate it back to me" type of school stuff that was the "norm" for when I went to school in the late '50s and the 60's. I was afraid of being wrong, afraid of making a mistake, afraid of not knowing the answer. I would probably have been very scared in a school/situation like this.

Now as an adult, I am more adventurous than as a child, but still very cautious. When I am in the classroom, around the children, I am more adventurous, less cautious. I feel I am less judged by children than I feel I am by most adults.

I do love to use everything. Reduce, reuse, recycle is my middle name. I look at every piece of trash or things that I no longer want and wonder... What could we use that for? What could we make out of that? How could this be used in a classroom for learning? I am a very creative person, just not outwardly adventurous.

Hopefully students in today's schools are not so restricted/constricted like it was in my day and age. Unfortuneately, although there are lots of fun, interesting, and exciting things going on in schools today, too much is FOR THE TEST!

So, what would you have thought of a "school" like the Tinkering School? Would you have blossomed there or remained a wallflower? How can we make today's schools exciting and beneficial to all students? How can we make them a preparation for life, not just a place to pass the test?

In this 21st Century, what skills are needed to go out into life and be successful, to be prepared?

Ira Socol's Toolbelt ...Education for Everyone

I think everyone, but especially teachers and parents, should read
this intriguing blog post by Ira Socol. (Click on the title to go to the post yourself). Pat H from Successful Teaching from my PLN alerted me to this post.

Everyone needs "TOOLS" to achieve what they must accomplish in life.

Although every student needs an IEP (Individualized Education Plan), currently in our school system we only make them for students with so-called "commonly defined disabilities." Each of us have our own "disabilities," but some of our "disabilities" are not as obvious to others. Many of us have "disabilities" that are more easily overlooked.

Each person finds tools to use for various parts of his/her own IEP to navigate our lives. Some of us are able, through our own abilities, to determine these "tools," but others need extra help to determine the right tools for each job and each situation. Currently, this happens in schools only for a portion of the school population, but not for all students.

Every person, student, child, or adult, needs "tools" to compensate for our "disabilities." We are not all experts at everything. There are areas where we may need "special tools" to help us accomplish our goals.

If we want to become Life-Long Learners, we all need a Personalized TOOLBELT! Perfecting that Toolbelt is what education must be, not only for the 21st Century, but for all time!

Dealing with Chain E-mail

I am so lucky to have some really good people in my PLN (Personal Learning Network).

One of these is Pat H aka "looneyhiker" at Successful Teaching .

She alerted me to the blog of Teaching Challenges .

The most recent blog from Teaching Challenges was dealing with Chain E-mail and showed the following video. It is excellent way to show students (and some adults too!) how chain e-mail is not a good thing.

21st Century Schools and Teachers need to teach 21st Century Students about safe and savvy use of Web 2.0 tools.

Jen Wagner (another member of my PLN) of Tech Thoughts By Jen made a good point that we need to teach GOOD TECH ETIQUETTE to students NOW! We do not need to wait until students are enrolled in middle school to impart Technology Etiquette. Elementary students are using the internet, e-mail, and Web 2.0 tools NOW and they need to be taught proper etiquette NOW!

Enjoy the video!

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21 Century Learning - Brain Training

Brain training for the future sounds just like what we all are calling 21st Century Leanring. More emphasis on how to learn and how to find the information rather than spitting it back for the standardized tests. Read this post at
Sharp Brains trends for the future Re: education.