Make a Commitment!

Have you ever made a new years resolution but had no way to be accountable for your commitment? Try this great web site to make a commitment to yourself or others. You can commit to losing weight, exercise regularly, quit smoking, running a marathon, or make your own commitment based on what you want to accomplish.

You can create long term or short term goals - Establish the stakes (monetary or otherwise) - Determine who will referee your progress (it can be on your honor) - and set up an individual or support group to help you toward your goal.

I have made a commitment as follows:

"Life Long Learning"

Contract Length: 52 week(s)

Contract End: Mar 07 2009

Recipient of stakes: No stakes

I commit to:

1. Take the Web2.0 skills I have learned and use them in my daily teaching and learning.
   
2. Provide students with the tools that will support and excite them about learning.
   
3. Encourage teachers to take a risk by stepping into the land of Web 2.0 where they can learn new technology skill that support student learning.

If you would like to support me in attaining my goal please contact me and I will add you to my support list.

You can view my commitment by typing in the SEARCH FOR A GOAL - enter Life Long Learning. My goal number is (#8311).

After playing with the site I discovered that you will have to join (free) to view or support my commitment.

The Traveler IQ Challenge™

The Traveler IQ Challenge™ Do you think you know your Geography. Take the Traveler IQ Challenge below. Make it fun to learn about the world by challenging students or other teachers to best your score. Another fun way to Learn - interactive, challenging, engaging and a whole lot of FUN!

Copy Right with a Twist

Wanna Work Together?

Creative Commons

Copyright laws and how you can share your own work.

High School Reform - Small Learning Communities (SLCs)

Differentiated Coaching by David Holden

David presented the many roles and responsibilities of the instructional coach in school reform. Among the many roles and responsibilities that were discussed in being an instructional coach David time and time again emphasized the need to first make strong trusting / nonjudgmental connections with the teacher (client). David provided several resources including his presentation slides for the instructional coach in his PowerPoint that can be found at the link above. He also mentioned several books, web sites and research studies which include:

• Anything by Michael Fullan


• The "Knowing-Doing Gap" by Jeffrey Pfeffer and Robert Sutton


• Jim Knights research from the University of Kansas http://www.instructionalcoach.org/


• UC Santa Cruz "The New Teacher Center" http://newteachercenter.org/article7.php and web site on Reflective Conversations protocol (http://newteachercenter.org/article7.php)
  
• and Carol Ann Tomlinson's "Equalizer" http://pdonline.ascd.org/pd_demo/lesson.cfm?SID=39

Back in the Saddle

It has been a long time since I have posted anything at Napkin Communications, but it is time to get back in the saddle and start communicating and collaborating with my fellow colleagues. I, along with 8 others will be traveling to San Diego to attend a 2 1/2 day conference on Small Learning Communities. I am very excited about the opportunity for change and the possibilities this conference will bring to light.

So stay tuned for more on Small Learning Communities.

If you have time check out the following web site: http://www.nwrel.org/scpd/sslc/

by Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory on Small Learning Communities - there is some real good stuff!

iTunes U

I was browsing some books on iTunes tonight and came across a new feature that iTunes has created called “iTunes U”. I was amazed with all of the podcasts, videos and Universities that were connected to this new feature. I was also pleasantly surprised at the price for downloads – “FREE”. Check it out – you don’t have to be a MAC user or even have an iPod to download these great resources. A computer with an Internet connection will get you in business.

KQED had some great Science videos, and also included the Arts, Science, Language Arts and How to create Digital Story Telling in a New Media Studies section.

http://www.apple.com/itunes/store/

You will need to download iTunes 7 on your computer if you don't already have it.

ALSO

Check out the Podcasts section. There are all kinds of Educational podcasts for your professional development as well as use in your teaching.

Learn a Word - Feed a Mouth

I just finished reading Giving by Bill Clinton. It is a wonderful book about how each of us can, in our own way give back to make a better global world. Today I got an email about a web site called FreeRice (http://www.freerice.com/index.php).

This is a GREAT vocabulary building site AND for every word that you get right 10 grains of rice are donated through the United Nations to help end world hunger. What a perfect way to show students that with little effort on their part they too can make a difference in our world (and learn a little along the way). Wouldn't it be a great assignment for every student to donate 100 grains of rice a day (and not even mention that they would learn or review 10 vocabulary words in the process)?

Taken from the web site -

WARNING: This game may make you smarter. It may improve your speaking, writing, thinking, grades, job performance...