Where on the Internet Did You Find That?

You want your middle schoolers to learn Internet research skills and gain some intellectual independence, but what will they find? What will pop up on their screens? Cara Bafile and Bernie Poole write at Education World about some of the bigger search engines.

The Big Daddy of search engines has to be Google. Google's additional tools, like Google Docs, make it a great tool for research and collaborative work. Google's search accesses billions of Web pages. Google also has some great targeted searches. One of them is the fabulous Book Search which trolls for full-text online books. I've used this for research and it is amazing what you can find. And what you can't find.

Local Search finds local services and businesses. Web pages can be translated into English from five different languages. Google's image search is a great and powerful research tool. Use SafeSearch. As an educated adult, I have been shocked by some Google image hits. If your students are doing a project and searching for images to use, definitely use one of the sites mentioned in the post Copyright- and Hassle-Free Images to avoid problems with ownership.

AltaVista is another "pure" search engine that also searches, like Google, for images, video and audio. It's simple and easy to use and a great option is you want the power of Google without a shopping list of extras. AltaVista has a filtering tool, Family Filter, that will filter just multimedia or everything that's searched. Once you turn it on and set it, you can use an optional password to keep the Family Filter on. You'll find the Family Filter in Settings.

Then there's Yahoo, which offers a search engine like Google and AltaVista but also has a directory which you can search by category and level to find webpages on your topic or interest. Yahoo offers a SafeSearch filter, too. The directory seems easier to control since no tangentially related and possibly problematic sites are likely to be listed. Your students can also see how their ideas are connected or how they narrow from a broad area to a specific topic or even a single website.

The article also mentions MetaCrawler, a meta-search which scans Yahoo, Google, MSN, AskJeeves and other search engines. The benefit of a meta-search engine is the wide sweep and the organization--the meta-search engine checks other search engines and compiles the links for you in order of relevance. The better your search term, the better your results.

But is this a real or potential problem? Are your students too busy to get into trouble? Or is your school's firewall so thick, nothing gets through anyway, not even NASA? Or is this handled with education on what is safe, where to look, how to search? How do you really handle this?

SOURCE: "Searching with Savvy, Part 1: The Best Search Engines" 10/24/05
photo courtesy of Joshua Davis, used under this Creative Commons license

Interactivities for Middle School

Looking for some new Web 2.0 tools and activities? Or wondering what might work for your students? Linda Starr outlines some great options in Education World. The resources range from writing tools and guides to interactive lessons and explorations for specific grades or all ages. Some that may work well in middle school include:

• GeoGame which has a variety of games to help students learn geography
  
• ThinkTank which helps students brainstorm and organize topics and subtopics for reports and research
• Power Proofreading which helps students hone their editing and proofreading skills
• Playwriting-in-the-Round, a site coordinated by Jonathan Fairman of the Cleveland School of the Arts with project design by Nancy Schubert from the University of Minnesota and Mary Todd Kaercher of Grandview Middle School which involves students across the country in collaborative playwriting
• Knowing You Is Knowing Me which exposes students to other students of differing cultures, through partner schools in multiple countries, and their own with the goal of increasing students' self-knowledge and their knowledge of the world around them
• Amazon Interactive where students can virtually explore Ecuadorian Amazon and play a game in which they plan and manage an ecotourism venture
• The Valley of the Shadow: Two Communities in the American Civil War, a digital archive with "thousands of original letters and diaries, newspapers and speeches, census and church records left by men and women in Augusta Country, VA, and Franklin County, PA"
• Beyond the Fire: Teen Experiences of War guides students through the experiences of teens living in war zones and in times of armed conflict
• Ocean Explorer from NOAA gives students "near real-time access to a series of multidisciplinary ocean explorations"
• A virtual tour of a U-505 submarine from the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago
• Visible Proofs, which has "[t]hree online activities and three lesson plans introduce forensic medicine, anthropology, technology, and history"
• Geosense, an online geography game you can play against others to test your knowledge
• The U.S. South Pole Station site from the National Science Foundation with a webcam at the station, a video tour and other resources
• The Encyclopedia of Life which is trying to catalogue every species on earth and is packed with great pictures and other resources.

And that's barely half of the sites Starr lists. There are fabulous K-12 and all-ages sites like the Underground Railroad, Comic Creator, Project Poster, and PandaCam. The article was first published in 2005 so check any link before you get excited about it. At least 3 of the sites listed for middle school students in the article are no longer active or have moved.

What are some of your favorite interactive websites for middle schoolers?

SOURCE: "The Interactivity Center" 2005
photo courtesy of Randy Stewart, used under this Creative Commons license

Pennsylvania to Poland

Fifteen lucky middle school students in Canonsburg, PA, recently got to have an interactive videoconference with students in Poland. Crystal Ola reports in the Neighborhoods section of The Post-Gazette on this exciting online interaction that has made Canonsburg Middle School students feel like "pioneers."

CMS principal Greg Taranto spearheaded the meeting after seeing an article on Internet safety in schools by Bob Lyons, a technology teacher at the American School in Warsaw, Poland. Lyons' article included a survey on Internet safety that asked middle schoolers in the American School about topics like cyberbullying, chatting with strangers, and downloading. The videoconference between CMS and the American School included a discussion between students about Internet topics and their use of technology in and out of school.

Even though there were some glitches with the linkup, both sets of students were deeply engaged. They found that they had similar rates of illegal downloading of games and music. What surprised the CMS students was

that more than 60 percent of third-graders in Poland have e-mail accounts activated by their parents and more than 50 percent of Warsaw students have computers in their bedrooms connected to the Internet.

The second statement was met with gasps by the local middle school students, who couldn't believe parents would allow it. The Warsaw students asked why it was so surprising.

"Their parents want to know what they're doing online, that's the problem with that," Mr. Taranto explained.

The discussion also turned to more cultural exchange topics like the sports, foods, and activities both sets of middle schoolers liked. One CMS student, Dan Buker, asked the American students at the American School what it was like to live outside the U.S. The Warsaw students also answered questions about the Iraq war and European impressions of the U.S. and its citizens.

Through the videoconference, the middle schoolers got to directly experience their similarities and differences in real time. The videoconference also created a lot of buzz at CMS, with students hoping for more videoconferences with middle school students around the world, with Japan, China and Italy the most popular choices so far. Kudos to principal Greg Taranto and teacher Bob Lyons for bringing students together in such an exciting and inspiring way.

SOURCE: "Seventh-graders find peers in Poland share activities" 04/06/08
photo courtesy of Jarosław Pocztarski, used under this Creative Commons license

Eastview M.S.: Videoconferencing with the World

At one middle school in White Plains, NY, videoconferencing has changed the lives of teachers and students around the world. Jody Kennedy and Jan Zanetis report in Learning Connections (PDF) on the changes at Eastview Middle School after 9/11 and the huge role that videoconferencing played in the development of the Global Run project.

Initially, Eastview Middle School teachers used interactive videoconferencing (IVC) after 9/11 to increase their students' awareness of other cultures and perspectives. They engaged in projects, "language exchanges, music presentations" and other cultural experiences. Soon though, especially as teachers and students became more comfortable with the technology, teachers used IVC to link their curriculum with "experts in the field...people from all walks of life -- sharing their experience, cultures, and traditions." Students had powerful exchanges with young HIV/AIDS sufferers in Africa, Afghanistan war refugees, Sudanese child soldiers and volunteers in relief efforts around the world.

As their awareness grew, students became more empathetic and needed an outlet for their new passions and understandings of the world. The Global Run project was started in 2005 as a "global service-learning project" that raises money to address the growing shortage of fresh drinking water worldwide. Those who participate in Global Run walk to raise money for organizations like Rotary International and TANDBERG. Eastview teachers and students collaborate and communicate with teachers and students at 111 schools in Pakistan, Sweden, India, Senegal, England and the U.S. throughout the year through video conferences, video on demand, simulations, podcasts, blogs and wikis. Interdisciplinary content created by Global Run teachers include math lessons on miles walked and money raised, science lessons on health and body issues, and foreign language discussions.

Teachers have created working relationships and personal friendships across the world and regularly expand their technology skills to meet challenges and expand their contact with each other. More about this excellent program can be found at the White Plains Middle School-Eastview Campus website and in a video of the 2006 Global Run project.

SOURCE: "Developing Global Citizens: The Global Run Project" (PDF) 11/2007
photo courtesy of laszlo-photo, used under this Creative Commons license

Diana Laufenberg: AZ Technology Teacher of 2007

Chelsea DeWeems in the Arizona Daily Sun reports on Diana Laufenberg, the 2007 AZTEA Innovation Award Technology Teacher of the Year. Laufenberg teaches Social Studies at Mount Elden Middle School in Flagstaff. The Arizona Technology in Education Alliance (AZTEA) uses its award to recognize teachers using technology in the classroom to enhance student learning and enjoyment. Laufenberg well deserved that honor.

Laufenberg has been teaching at the secondary level for over 10 years and she has always tried to integrate technology into her teaching. At her first high school teaching job, she was lucky to be in a small Kansas town close to universities that offered access to technology for her classes. When she moved to Arizona and Mount Elden, there wasn't as much technology being used and she has been a contributor to Mount Elden's growing use of technology for teachers and students.

Laufenberg's students create blogs and online magazines and regularly use the Internet, streamed videos, digital mapping and GIS (geographic information system). Laufenberg believes technology opens classrooms to the world. It provides a larger audience than students' classroom peers and teachers which serves as a great motivator. She said, "When you provide that kind of opportunity, their (students') commitment to doing a good job, their interest, their engagement -- everything goes up."

Projects that Laufenberg has spearheaded with her classes include the "Power of One" project in 2007 that culminated with a live visit to Flagstaff by Rwandan humanitarian Paul Rusesabagina. Students created multi-media movie clips on social activists. One student's movie on Martin Luther King earned her a spot at a luncheon with Rusesabagina. A more recent project is an online magazine on American Indians. You can see some of the Power of One project at the MS Social Studies wiki. The wiki also has rubrics for the online magazine articles and a Native Nations Movie rubric and also invites teachers to share some of their best practices for teaching middle-school social studies. Laufenberg also has a Classroom 2.0 page and a blog (no recent updates, unfortunately).

SOURCE: "High-tech teacher is state's best" 03/28/07
photo courtesy of kevindooley, used under this Creative Commons license

Benjamin Wilkoff: Blogging Middle School Language Arts

"A Chat with Benjamin Wilkoff," a profile posted by Alexei Rodriguez, highlights one middle school language arts teacher's views on, and use of, technology. Though the profile is written to highlight Ning's social networking service, the bulk of the profile outlines Wilkoff's tools, teaching and philosophy. He offers a lot of great advice for teachers.

Wilkoff currently teaches seventh and eighth grade language arts at Cresthill Middle School in Colorado. He calls himself "hopeless addicted to music, writing, and new technology." His webpage features many of his online tools. He even accesses his blog in class to link to articles, posts and other items saved there. In his Learning is Change blog and podcasts, he reflects on teaching, introduces ways to use technology in class and discusses other tools he likes or thinks work well for middle school language arts. He also maintains a technology integration wiki to guide fellow teachers and share ideas.

One of his favorite tools for language arts is blogging. Blogs involve his students in "authentic -- that is, with a real purpose and a real audience" writing. Every student has a blog that he or she must post to at least once a week. It changes their experience of writing to have their peers, and potentially others in the community and world, as their audience. Wilkoff also uses a lot of online sources for reading in class, not just "paper novels." He particularly likes Internet sources to enhance literary studies and critical thinking:

I like the idea that the internet can enhance our understanding of literature because we can use our collective intellect to analyze the theme, language, or author intent. I also find that my students are much more capable of seeing the relationship between reading and writing when they are creating content for the web. By responding to others' posts in comments or creating a wiki page they are growing their our body of knowledge organically rather than simply observing a unchanging cannon [sic] of words.

Some of his students have started their own blogs, but mostly, students become "better consumers of Internet content," better able to find what they are looking for and interpret what they find -- badly-needed skills in the 21st century.

You can see the entire text of Wilkoff's profile here. You can also find links to new tools he looks forward to using with his middle schoolers, links to student posts of which he is especially proud, and more about his blogs and wikis.

SOURCE: "A Chat with Benjamin Wilkoff, School Teacher" 09/10/06
photo courtesy of Simon Shek, used under this Creative Commons license

STEAMing Up Middle School Science

The Science and Technology Enrichment for Appalachian Middle-schoolers (STEAM) project has been bringing together graduate students, middle school science teachers and middle school students to improve student learning through games. As reported by Caitlin Bowling in The Post (Athens, OH), the project, begun in 2006, has Ohio University graduate students creating games and interactive digital experiments to help students learn concepts in science, technology and math. Currently, 6 Ohio middle schools and 8 teachers participate in the project.

Graduate students in engineering, computer science and software engineering not only create the games but bring them into the classrooms. Students enjoy the games so much, says Fellow Mark Smearcheck, that they play the games on weekends and compete to beat their friends' scores, all while learning and retaining complex scientific concepts. In "Mind Games: Technology in the Classroom," a video available on the STEAM homepage, the superintendent of the Southern Local Schools District, Cindy Hartman, explains her encounter with a student "who struggles some," and who she had worked with before, playing Star Life: "I looked at him and asked him how he knew all these complicated concepts and he got this big smile on his face and said, Well, I learned them, which seems like a really simple kind of response but it was wonderful."

A side benefit that doesn't escape the attention of the Fellows or teachers is the mentoring aspect of the Fellows' presence in the classroom. Students interact with "real-life" engineers who talk about their field and their projects and interests. They also bring the college experience to students in a district Hartman describes as poor and rural, students who may not have considered college as an option before. The Fellows not only motivate and inspire students but teachers, too. Angela Adams, eighth grade science teacher at Miller Middle School, says in "Mind Games" that before the collaboration, she used her computer solely for word processing and "some Internet." She has since expanded to creating and maintaining her own web site for classes and looks forward to using more technology in her science classroom.

Superintendent Hartman calls this project exactly what it is, "a wonderful collaboration and partnership between public schools and the colleges." At the SMART site, you can find two videos that introduce the project, "Interview with Cindy Hartman" and "Mind Games: Technology in the Classroom" and links to lists of participating Fellows and teachers. Don't miss the software releases page where all the games are--one goal for the project is to have teachers nationwide using the games in their classrooms. The games range from Ground Shakers (plate tectonics) to Fruit Fly Genetics to The Redi Experiment.

SOURCE: "Grad students play ‘virtual scientists’ for middle school students" 02/27/08
photo courtesy of NASA via Ping News, used under this Creative Commons license

Jefferson Middle School: Podcasting the Self

At Jefferson Middle School (JMS), podcasting has become not only an academic tool but a personal one. Most recently, students in a drama class taught by Mandy Williams created their own personal belief podcasts based on National Public Radio's "This I Believe" series. It gave students a chance to express what is important to them, what changes in the world they'd like to see, their hopes for the future and just what it's like to be a middle schooler today. One student based her podcast on her Muslim faith and being the only girl in school wearing a headscarf. In her podcast, she says, "I say all that really changed was my clothing...I believe that now it is who I am. And no one can change that."

Jodi Heckel reports in the News-Gazette (Champaign, IL) that this foray into podcasting was far from JMS's first experience with or use of the technology. The principal, Susan Zola, first used podcasts to update parents and the community on what was happening at the school. Then Williams' class branched out by documenting JMS's Cabaret Night drama production in November. A current group of students is documenting the spring musical for a podcast; they call themselves the "Pod Squad." A sixth-grade class just finished up a series of podcasts on the city of Champaign. One English teacher, Susan Huffman, had her students research a current issue that matters to them and, instead of writing the usual research paper, students are making news podcasts. Some are trying out vodcasts.

Students like the excitement and variety of making their own podcasts:

"You get to use more technology instead of just going to the computer lab and just typing," said Antonio Mapson. "You get to record on real microphones like you would do if you were singing, and you get to record videos."

"It's more active," added Jonathan Sherrick.

And it's not just fun. Principal Zola feels that podcasting helps teachers reach students with different learning styles. English teacher Huffman sees students who dislike writing papers or who tend to do poorly on written assignments thrive while podcasting: "It's so exciting to see what students are able to do, and watch the students that were more reticent, more quiet, be able to blossom...It's been a highly rewarding project."

You can find links to student podcasts at the Jefferson Middle School website. And other schools in Champaign are jumping into podcasting, too. Franklin Middle School and the band program at Central High School have just posted their own podcasts.

SOURCE: "Students use podcasts for class projects, self-expression" 02/25/08
photo courtesy of Irish Typepad, used under this Creative Commons license

Steven Elwood: DIY Science Videos

Steven Elwood, an 8th grade teacher at Roosevelt Middle School in Monticello, Indiana, has a surefire teaching tool for his science classroom: videos he makes himself. Cara Bafile reports in Education World that Elwood had used video before to present classroom activities, so when he had an opportunity to make a science program for the Twin Lakes School Corporation, he jumped at the chance.

"I ha[d] wanted to implode a large barrel for several years," said Elwood, "I had only one barrel, so I knew that I would have to videotape it so I could show it to everyone. This sounded like a good opportunity." Elwood taped the implosion in his classroom with tripods and 2 digital cameras, edited the footage on a laptop, then posted the video online. It was a hit with students and their parents:

"I used the video in my classroom to demonstrate the power of air pressure, and my students really enjoyed and understood the concept," reported Elwood. "The video made in our science classroom and posted on the Internet made the topic more interesting. Several parents have since come up to me around town to tell me that their sons and daughters dragged them to the computer to watch the video. They have enjoyed it too."

Elwood is a teacher who believes that students retain information better if they are also entertained. In addition to videos, he uses toys to show advanced concepts like Newton's Laws. At the end of the year, students get to keep a small collection of toys to help them remember the concepts from class.

For those who want to make their own videos, Elwood advises teachers to make sure they "have good editing software" and "try to keep the final video down to around five minutes in length. Most of the time, a longer video takes too much time to download, especially for people with a dial-up connection."

If you don't have the time or equipment to make your own science videos, or homeschool or just want some enrichment for your own middle schooler, you can check out the links at MiddleWeb Science, a roundup of websites, profiles, lessons, reports and related resources for middle school science. The page also lists science fairs and links devoted to biology, the environment, and outer space. Also take a look at Brain Pop, which offers animated videos explaining science concepts.

SOURCE: "Students Tune In to Science Online: Starring: Steven Elwood" 01/26/07
photo courtesy of jurvetson, used under this Creative Commons license

(Note: There is no current link to Elwood's video.)

Eighth Graders Mapping a Safer Neighborhood

A new addition to the technology and social studies curricula at Spain Middle School in Detroit has students mapping their neighborhood with Geographic Information Systems (GIS) software.

In a program called Mapping Out a Safer Community, run by the Urban Safety Program of the Wayne State University College of Urban Labor and Metropolitan Affairs, college faculty train eighth-grade students at Spain Middle School to use GIS software and PocketPCs to map various hazards in their school's neighborhood. The project, as reported by Ellen Delisio in Education World, is intended to help students learn about and advocate for their neighborhoods.

At the Wayne State University Taking Stock of Neighborhoods web page, the project is further described:

Using PocketPCs, students map locations and characteristics of dangerous properties, take photographs, and research property ownership. They also set priorities and identify the most problematic locations near their school. Properties with the most egregious violations, known as “The Dirty Dozen”, offer a compelling picture of hazards Detroit children face daily. This information is presented to community leaders and city officials who attempt to correct dangerous situations.

The computer technology teacher at Spain Middle School, Debra Blocker, said the program gives "students an awareness of their community and their surroundings and how they can improve it and be involved." Lessons in technology are combined with lessons in civics, geography, local government and community activism. For example, Global Positioning Receivers attached to the PocketPCs give students in the field precise locations, especially important for problem properties that may have no visible or clearly indicated address. Identifying an address is the first step in finding an owner, says David Martin, a research professor at Wayne State who has worked with Spain students.

In addition, students get to see results of their field and classroom work -- students prepare PowerPoint presentations for the city council and see change happen. In one case, students presented data that clearly showed a 50% increase in abandoned houses in one neighborhood alone, prompting county prosecutors to increase enforcement in the area. This hands-on aspect to the program makes it a popular one, says Blocker: "They get excited when they see their streets on the Internet, and can identify different landmarks. It gives them a different way to address problems. We have full attendance on those days."

Interactive Adobe Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) maps from the middle school project can be found at the Wayne State University website. ESRI's website offers more information on GIS and mapping software. Try the link especially for educators.

SOURCE: "Students Map Neighborhoods With GIS" 05/30/06
SOURCE: "Taking Stock of Neighborhoods: Geographic Information Systems Capacity Building"
photo courtesy of Phanatic, used under this Creative Commons license

Maine: Laptops + Middle Schoolers = Better Writing

Do school laptops help middle school students or are they distractions? All too often, we rely on anecdotal evidence or a gut feeling about laptops in school, but that kind of evidence is not enough to inform a teacher, school or district about the benefits or drawbacks of a potentially multi-million dollar program. Now, a comprehensive study asserts that Maine's first-in-the-nation laptop program for middle school students has improved their writing skills.

Maine's laptop program, called the Maine Learning Technology Initiative (MLTI), began in 2002 and 2003 with the distribution of about 36,000 laptops to all seventh and eighth graders in the state's public schools. eSchool News reports on a study which focused on the scores of eighth graders on the Maine Educational Assessment to see if the positive views of the laptop program from parents, teachers and students held up to scrutiny. They do.

David Silvernail, director of the Maine Education Policy Research Institute at the University of Southern Maine and one of the authors of the study, said, "If you concentrate on whether laptops are helping kids achieve 21st-century skills, this demonstrates that it's happening in writing."

The study compared 2000 Maine Educational Assessment writing scores to 2005 writing scores and found that whether they used computers or pen and paper for the test, eighth graders showed improvements: in 2000, 29 percent of eighth graders were considered proficient in writing, compared with 49 percent in 2005. (In that same period, math scores stayed the same and reading scores actually dropped a few points.)

Silvernail proposes that laptops make writing somewhat easier for students; with laptops, it is easier to edit and revise which encourages students to work longer or more intensely on their writing. The principal at Piscataquis Community Middle School, Virginia Rebar, agrees: "It's just a lot easier to edit, to self-critique. Our teachers engage students in a lot of peer editing. Not only are they helping themselves, but they're helping each other as they get to their final projects." She isn't surprised by the results because she has seen that the laptops encourage and develop language skills every time students use them, whether for math, social studies, language arts or other subject.

The study also explains that it is the actual use of the laptops that improves student scores:

A secondary analysis of the 2005 scale scores revealed that how the laptops are being used in the writing process influences writing performance. Students who reported not using their laptop in writing (No Use Group) had the lowest scale score, whereas students who reported using their laptops in all phases of the writing process (Best Use Group) had the highest scale score. The difference in Effect Size is .64, indicating that the average student in the Best Use Group scored better than approximately 75% of the No Use Group students.

You can find a PDF of the research brief at this link. Details on the MLTI can be found at www.mainelearns.org. In addition, you can check out the Maine Education Policy Research Initiative website that features other reports and related links. New updates to the site are coming soon!

SOURCE: "School laptop program begets writing gains" 02/04/08
photo courtesy of Shareski, used under this Creative Commons license

Eric Langhorst: Podcasting American History from Liberty

Eric Langhorst teaches 8th grade American history at South Valley Junior High School in Liberty, Missouri. For years, he has used digital content to enhance the learning experiences of his students. In Cara Bafile's profile in Education World, Langhorst discusses the creation of his very successful and popular StudyCasts:

"I began recording an audio review to help my students prepare for upcoming unit tests. With my portable MP3 player, I record an overview of the important material. I then transfer the audio, which lasts about 20 minutes, to my computer, and then upload the MP3 file to our classroom Web site. Students then are able to listen to the study review at home on their computers or download it to their personal MP3 players; they can review for the test anywhere."

Langhorst says he knew it was successful the night an error appeared in the link for the podcasts and he received multiple emails from parents and students asking for it to be fixed so students could review for the unit test. Students without access to the Internet, iTunes or an mp3 player can check out CDs of StudyCasts so no one is left behind.

In addition to StudyCasts, Langhorst produces "Speaking of History," a regular podcast that allows him to bring in varied sources to discuss history: interviews with experts and museum personnel, dramatic readings, and other audio enhancements. Langhorst's podcasts are heard around the world and are available at iTunes or at Langhorst's blog, Speaking of History.

Check out the blog for details on his latest pilot project: Microsoft has donated enough Zune mp3 players for each student in Langhurst's third period 8th grade American History class. Langhorst, in the post "Podcast #132: The Student Zune Pilot Project at South Valley Jr. High," expresses great excitement about this pilot which will allow him to "'beam' content -- in the form of audio or pictures -- to their players before they leave for the day." On their own time, students can listen to or view audio content, videos and even slide shows of relevant images to make lessons more palpable and interactive. Listen to the podcast for details on the specifics of the pilot program and details on how Langhorst will incorporate the Zune into the classroom. He will also explain how he will measure outcomes of the pilot.

Is it any surprise that Langhorst also teaches a graduate course called "Technology for the Classroom"? Or that he serves as the current 2007/2008 Missouri Teacher of the Year?

SOURCE: ""Speaking of History" Through Podcasts, Starring: Eric Langhorst" 09/08/06

photo courtesy of Wesley Fryer, used under this Creative Commons license

New Programs to Help Middle-School Teachers with Algebra

"Mathematics Teaching in the 21st Century" (PDF), a recent study funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and conducted by Michigan State University (MSU), claims that too often, middle school teachers aren't prepared to teach algebra. Three different surveys are summarized in the report: a Teacher Preparation Institution (Program) survey, a survey for Future Teachers of Middle School Mathematics, and brief faculty surveys. The news is not good:

"Our future teachers are getting weak training mathematically and are just not prepared to teach the demanding mathematics curriculum we need for middle schools if we hope to compete internationally in the future," said William Schmidt, an MSU distinguished professor and director of the study.

In comparison with other countries in the study, future teachers in the United States ranked from the middle to the bottom on measures of mathematics knowledge.

"What’s most disturbing is that one of the areas in which U.S. future teachers tend to do the worst is algebra, and algebra is the heart of middle school math," Schmidt said. "When future teachers in the study were asked about opportunities to learn about the practical aspects of teaching mathematics, again, we rank mediocre at best."

Laura Devaney, associate editor of eSchool News, outlines several math programs created by education companies for elementary and middle school students to help this disturbing trend but the most exciting effort has been spearheaded by the nonprofit National Math and Science Initiative. NMSI has offered grants worth up to $2.4 million each to several U.S. universities to help them set up programs modeled after UTeach, a teacher-preparation program at the University of Texas at Austin. In UTeach, students majoring in math and science earn teaching certifications, financial incentives and early classroom experiences to draw, and hopefully keep, talented people in K-12 classrooms. The program acknowledges that talented teachers are needed to support and train future users and innovators of technology:

"The UTeach program invests in the teachers of those who will become future leaders in key technology industries critical to the development and competitiveness of the United States," said Tom Luce, chief executive of the National Math and Science Initiative. "As society demands more and more technological advancements, investments in those who teach in math, science, and technology become critical for continuous success and long-term growth."

The apparent strength of programs like UTeach is not just in the value placed on developing the math and science skills of elementary and middle school students but also in the value placed on those who teach those skills, something that often seems missing in the scramble over standardized test scores and school rankings.

SOURCE: "Schools aim to solve huge math problem" 02/12/08
photo courtesy of Stefan Heinemann, used under this Creative Commons license