October 30, 2006 by jmmblake.

While reading the show notes over on Podcast for Teachers,

ran across this teacher tool resource which may be really good for face to face pd.  In an email this morning, a member of my staff as responding to a link highlighting our students participating in Red Ribbon week.  The staff member was working today, which is a optional teacher work day.  When the school calendar puts a teacher work day on Monday, there is no way I am working.  Three-day weekends are equivalent to bonus pay– well almost. 

This is all the time I am going to spend on school stuff today!  Check out the cool edu-junk treasures over at Google For Educators.

“Google recognizes the central role that teachers play in breaking down the barriers between people and information, and we support educators who work each day to empower their students and expand the frontiers of human knowledge. This website is one of the ways we’re working to bolster that support and explore how Google and educators can work together.  As a start, we’re inviting you to share your best ideas for using technology to innovate in the classroom. To your left, you’ll find a teacher’s guide to Google products, including basic information about each tool, examples of how educators are using them, and lesson ideas. You’ll also find lesson plans and videos from our partners at Discovery Education focusing on two of our most popular teaching tools: Google Earth and Google SketchUp.”

Google For Educators

technorati tags:PFT, google, teachers, k-12

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October 22, 2006 by jmmblake.

In this episode of Classroom III, students researched information online and in the booklet that came with our gecko’s habitat. To listen to the podcast, click on the image below to navigate to our podcast page on Gcast. I am trying to learn how to post the podcasts in the blog, but I have not gotten the hang of it. To subscibe to the podcast in your RSS feed reader, click on the Subscribe Free button below the image of our Classroom III podcast. Also, if you have a MySpace page and want to include our podcast, use the Add to my Page link.



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October 14, 2006 by jmmblake.

This past week in my science class, my students have been exploring the behavior of a gecko. We ordered it from a biological supply along with a new habitat. Students researched the characteristics of the lizard and investigated requirements for its healthy life.

Photographing a moving gecko is not as easy as it looks. I took 5 or 6 shots of it and only have one image that looks half way decent.

technorati tags:Gecko, reptile

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October 7, 2006 by jmmblake.

Writer’s block,  not enough time,  focusing on different interests, lazy, burned out, whatever the excuse, I have not been blogging regularly.  I have no time at school to reflect, much less read anything except student assignments.  When I leave school, I have been heading to the gym.  Meetings after school on various school and civic committees demand blogging time as well.  Now, I am not complaining about having a busy life, my point is- writing takes time. 

I have never claimed to be a writer, storyteller, or even a blogger.  It has been my experience that by writing down my thoughts, sometimes my memory of events are more lasting.  I tried to carry a Palm Pilot for years, but kept too much in my pocket.  My pants pockets can only hold so much.  I bought myself a vest the other week.  It is one of those from Columbia, that must already be discountinued.  It is like wearing a fanny pack, and I am not sure if I am going to wear it to teach in.  Maybe I will.  It will be cold enough soon to wear a jacket.  So, I better put on the vest a couple of times before the temps drop. 

This Friday in my classroom, we worked on a project that has been going on for three weeks.  Each Friday, our middle school students are working on creating a animated movie about the life cycle of a plant.  We began the project with students viewing several examples of claymation animation.  Students then researched the life cycle of plants on the web and in books we have in our small library.  We talked about their observations and experiences with house plants, family gardens, or past classroom activities.  From this, students worked in pairs to create a storyboard for their animations.  In the past, when I have tried to teach students to animate, I used storyboards with only 5 or 6 frames.  Well, this might be sufficient for students that can think more abstractly, my concrete thinkers need to see every frame!  So, they were assignment was to sketch  all 30 frames for their movie/animation.  We used this storyboard to build their clay models.  The most difficult part of this project has been managing student behavior.  We have several students that none of the other students can deal with.  I know team building activities and have used them, but some students have real baggage.  Tried switching groups, guidance counseling,  and prayer!  Long term projects with kids with attention problems just spell PROBLEMS.  They have to see immediate results.  In revamping this activity, I have to figure out how to make incremental short attainable goals for the students to meet.  Think of it as levels in a video game.  I have to work on this. 

We are going to shot the scenes next Friday, and I will post their work soon!

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