Board Connect is an online communication tool created in order to facilitate school board meetings and to communicate information to parents and teachers. This website was created by the Anacortes School District in Washington State.
By the use of this tool Directors communicate:
Annual Board Calendar
Policy Manual of their meetings (it is established in 4 manuals)
Their progress towards District Goals
Announcements and current events
Presentation of board members
By Marina Arca Fishbowl
A teacher from Colorado, in The United States, uses a process she named "the fishbowl" to discuss the annual reading material.This fishbowl is made up of two big circles: The inner circle dicusses the material and the outer one blogs the discussion and carries on one of its own in a blog that the class has. Here there is a brief description of hoe fishbowl works:
Throughout the reading of a novel the presenters(three or four people) will be responsible for leading the discussion with the inner circle members of, for example, two chapters. They have to find critical analysis of the chapters, prepare a discussion outline to turn into the teacher the day the group is presenting.The presenters are graded on their preparation, analysis, participation, facilitation and leadership (a maximum of 40 point)
The inner circle is responsible for discussing the chapters along with the presenters. The inner circle group consists of no more than 5 members. Its members can only earn 10 daily points by participating in the discussion.
Along with the selected group, there are 2 or three open chairs for any individuals to participate in the discussion. Also, there is one chair for the presenters to select 5 random people (drawn names) who at some time must jump into the discussion and participate. Besides, any member of the inner circle can pose questions for discussion; this is not limited just to the presentation group.
The members of the outer circle, who are not involved in the discussion have to earn the ten daily points by submitting a one-page response to any question, statement or analysis based on the particular day`s class discussion.Then,these responses are uploaded to the blog the class has.
The teacher does not participate in the class discussion, but takes the last 10 minutes of class to review any information.
Zoey’s Room Zoey’s Room is an educational social networking site for girls aged between 10 and 14 which increases their interest and expand their knowledge in maths, technology, engineering and science in an enjoyable and creative environment. Since Zoey’s Room has proved to be very successful among girls, the creators of this web site have developed a non-profit called Platform Shoes Forum, which serves as the umbrella organization for Zoey's Room and other technology-integrated programs for middle school boys and girls.
Zoey's Room carries this name because it is the room of a girl called Zoey. When girls access this web site, they will be provided with lots of different activities, challenges or projects to work on.For instance, students may have the possibility of reading letters which will inform them of what is happening in the world of science, maths, engineering and technology; they can design products to make them more girl- friendly or they may have to take up a challenge or work on an activity related to any of the areas already mentioned and if girls do it right, they may win points toward big tech prizes.
As you may notice, this is a very useful networking site not only for girls but also for teachers in that they can motivate their students and kindle their interest in topics girls do no often focus on . At the same time, students may be able to learn in an enjoyable and creative environment which is very important in an ELT classroom.
It is important to mention the fact that Zoey's Room is the first educational networking site which has implemented an ExpectlD product site to perform identity and age verification so that members have to sign up to enter this web site. This security masure does not only enhance the safety of our members but also gives parents and educators the peace of mind that Zoey's Room is a safe web site.
By Vanesa Cobello.
EDITOR: JIMENA SOL THOULUC
New Media Literacy (NML) Think Thank
New Media Literacy (NML) Mapping Think Thank is a blog whose purpose is to collect resources, material, ideas, examples to be applied to geography.
As it is a Tumblr blog, it allows its members to upload images, texts, audio, videos, to comment other’s posts and ideas from mobile-phones, desktops, browsers among others. You are able to customize everything like colours, desing, and theme.
As mentioned earlier, this blog provides the community with the opportunity to exchange material found in the Internet useful when teaching geography. For instance, one may find up-dated resources like Google Earth 5.0. Furthermore, there are debates focused on the use of 3D maps and resources inside a classroom.
With all these resources at hand, teachers can motivate the learning of geography by applying real and authentic material appealing for young learners.
Teachers may encourage their students to create a map, to complete it, to work on a map of their city and placing the different places around it, for instance schools, hotels, etc.
Board Connect: Anacortes School District Board of Directors (http://board.asd103.org)
Board Connect is an online communication tool created in order to facilitate school board meetings and to communicate information to parents and teachers. This website was created by the Anacortes School District in Washington State.
By the use of this tool Directors communicate:
By Marina Arca
Fishbowl
A teacher from Colorado, in The United States, uses a process she named "the fishbowl" to discuss the annual reading material.This fishbowl is made up of two big circles: The inner circle dicusses the material and the outer one blogs the discussion and carries on one of its own in a blog that the class has. Here there is a brief description of hoe fishbowl works:
Throughout the reading of a novel the presenters (three or four people) will be responsible for leading the discussion with the inner circle members of, for example, two chapters. They have to find critical analysis of the chapters, prepare a discussion outline to turn into the teacher the day the group is presenting.The presenters are graded on their preparation, analysis, participation, facilitation and leadership (a maximum of 40 point)
The inner circle is responsible for discussing the chapters along with the presenters. The inner circle group consists of no more than 5 members. Its members can only earn 10 daily points by participating in the discussion.
Along with the selected group, there are 2 or three open chairs for any individuals to participate in the discussion. Also, there is one chair for the presenters to select 5 random people (drawn names) who at some time must jump into the discussion and participate. Besides, any member of the inner circle can pose questions for discussion; this is not limited just to the presentation group.
The members of the outer circle, who are not involved in the discussion have to earn the ten daily points by submitting a one-page response to any question, statement or analysis based on the particular day`s class discussion.Then,these responses are uploaded to the blog the class has.
The teacher does not participate in the class discussion, but takes the last 10 minutes of class to review any information.
Resource: http://learningandlaptops.blogspot.com/2006/10/fishbowl-101.html
Buiatti Marcos
* Editor: Anabella Duran
Zoey’s Room
Zoey’s Room is an educational social networking site for girls aged between 10 and 14 which increases their interest and expand their knowledge in maths, technology, engineering and science in an enjoyable and creative environment. Since Zoey’s Room has proved to be very successful among girls, the creators of this web site have developed a non-profit called Platform Shoes Forum, which serves as the umbrella organization for Zoey's Room and other technology-integrated programs for middle school boys and girls.
Zoey's Room carries this name because it is the room of a girl called Zoey. When girls access this web site, they will be provided with lots of different activities, challenges or projects to work on.For instance, students may have the possibility of reading letters which will inform them of what is happening in the world of science, maths, engineering and technology; they can design products to make them more girl- friendly or they may have to take up a challenge or work on an activity related to any of the areas already mentioned and if girls do it right, they may win points toward big tech prizes.
As you may notice, this is a very useful networking site not only for girls but also for teachers in that they can motivate their students and kindle their interest in topics girls do no often focus on . At the same time, students may be able to learn in an enjoyable and creative environment which is very important in an ELT classroom.
It is important to mention the fact that Zoey's Room is the first educational networking site which has implemented an ExpectlD product site to perform identity and age verification so that members have to sign up to enter this web site. This security masure does not only enhance the safety of our members but also gives parents and educators the peace of mind that Zoey's Room is a safe web site.
By Vanesa Cobello.
EDITOR: JIMENA SOL THOULUC
New Media Literacy (NML) Think Thank
New Media Literacy (NML) Mapping Think Thank is a blog whose purpose is to collect resources, material, ideas, examples to be applied to geography.
As it is a Tumblr blog, it allows its members to upload images, texts, audio, videos, to comment other’s posts and ideas from mobile-phones, desktops, browsers among others. You are able to customize everything like colours, desing, and theme.
As mentioned earlier, this blog provides the community with the opportunity to exchange material found in the Internet useful when teaching geography. For instance, one may find up-dated resources like Google Earth 5.0. Furthermore, there are debates focused on the use of 3D maps and resources inside a classroom.
With all these resources at hand, teachers can motivate the learning of geography by applying real and authentic material appealing for young learners.
Teachers may encourage their students to create a map, to complete it, to work on a map of their city and placing the different places around it, for instance schools, hotels, etc.
by Antonela Carluccio
Editor: Buiatti Marcos http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h63w1wQ6Mxc