Tapped In Newsletter: September 2005
...On the Tapis
September 2005
Issue 94
In This Issue
[1] Hurricane Central Help Center Group Formed
[2] Tapped In Mini-Expos
[3] TI Festival 2005 by Patti Schank
[4] Tapped In Technology Tip
[5] Tips and Comments from the Experts
[6] News Nuggets
[7] About ...On the Tapis
Quote of the Month - "Educating the mind without educating the heart is no education at all." - Aristotle (384-322 BCE)
[1] Hurricane Central Help Center Group Formed
In response to the disaster and aftermath from Hurricane Katrina, Tapped In has created a Hurricane Central Help Center Group Room. The purpose of the group is to provide resources and collaboration opportunities among effected schools and schools wanting to contribute to the relief efforts. Ideas include adopting a classroom or school, providing online classes or lesson plans for overcrowded classrooms and community resource centers (CRC), data collection about the effected schools to assess the current situation and to predict future solutions, and establish a lesson plan bank that can be used by K-12 teachers for teaching hurricane preparedness, weather, and emotional support in a crisis situation.
We hope you will join the Hurricane Central Group. Knowing that the resolution of the major educational issues will not be reached quickly, the focus for this long-term project will be on Project Based Learning that allows Tapped In to do what it does best - provide a community where educators can work together to overcome the ever-increasing challenges that educators face. Barbara Muller-Ackerman will lead a discussion in the School Counselors' Group on September 22, 6pm PDT/9pm EDT about resources for emotional and mental health assistance and support. The Hurricane Central group will meet in the Hurricane Central Help Center on September 29 at 5pm PDT/8pm EDT/24:00 GMT. Join us and let the group know what you need and what you can contribute. A Mini-Expo for K-12 teachers in using this group is being planned for March. (see [2])
[2] Tapped In Mini-Expos
During the final evaluation meeting of TI Festival 2005, the festival committee decided that greater focus is needed on Tapped In groups and the work they do. Tapped In volunteers created a new group to plan the formation of Mini-Expos which will serve as supplements to the annual festival and will focus on specific topics. The first TI Mini-Expo will be on Pre-Service Teachers and Teacher Education Faculty and will take place in late October. If you are a member of the Pre-service Teachers Group or the Teacher Educ. Faculty Forum, please watch the Tapped In calendar for planning meetings. Your participation is needed to make this Mini-Expo a success!
[3] TI Festival 2005 by Patti Schank
The sixth annual Tapped In Festival on July 20, 2005, was a hit due to the great efforts of the festival committee and participation of many members and guests. The focus of the festival was to make Tapped In participants more aware of the features that are designed to serve educators throughout their teaching careers. After a brief opening ceremony led by MC extraordinaire, David Weksler, the regular events were presented every hour on the hour from 7am PDT until 7pm PDT. There were 21 events in total, including the all-day Coffee House, Scavenger Hunt and Groups Poster Session. The sign-in forms had primarily positive comments about all events. A total of 313 users were counted as attending all the events. The smallest number of users at one event was 6 and the largest was 31. Certificates of Participation were requested by 133 participants.
The festival committee gratefully acknowledges door prize contributions from Pam Berger (one year subscription to Infosearcher), Mike Marzio (one year subscription to RealEnglish Online), Leni Donlan (4 poster sets from the Library of Congress Learning Page collection), and a year's subscription to Brain Pop.
[4] Tapped In Technology Tip
Marking Discussion Posts as "Read"
A new feature has been added to the discussion boards in each room. Each Tapped In member can enter an office or group room, go to the room's discussion board and, after all messages have been read, select "Mark all as read" at the top of the discussion page. This will delete the yellow buttons next to unread messages. The 'new' icon will no longer be used for discussion posts.
[5] Tips and Comments from the Experts
One way that I have students learn about Tapped In, is to have them take a tour. It's about the easiest thing they can do to learn about all that is here, and they come to realize that there are many people around to help them out with the technology and other content related issues. It's been a real bonus for both me and my students, and I hope you are able to continue that service. - Tom Reinartz, PhD University of Minnesota
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Tapped In member Kevan Nitzberg extends an invitation to all principals, administrators, superintendents, school board members to take a look at and actively participate in the events on the Tapped In calendar. Kevan leads the monthly ArtsConnectEd discussion.
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Tapped In member Gina Boltze commented after hosting a meeting with colleagues in her office, "this is the first time meeting in our room, and we are grateful to Tapped in for the opportunity."
[6] News Nuggets
Thanks to Emily Weinberg for spotting a mention of Tapped In on page 24 of Induction to Learning Communities which was prepared for the National Commission on Teaching and America's Future.
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Tapped In member Craig Roland's new book, The Art Teacher's Guide to the Internet, is chock full of goodies to help "teach art in a wired world" and "untangle the net". The chapter on Online Professional Development for Art Teachers includes an article on Tapped In.
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Congratulations to Beth Smith, Cindy Rosa, Bee Dieu, and Marleigh Greaney who were the winners of the TI Festival Scavenger Hunt.
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Kurt Tofteland announced five new film festivals where Shakespeare Behind Bars, a documentary by Philomath Films, will be screened - River's Edge Film Festival, Paducah, KY; Tahoe/Reno International Film Festival, Lake Tahoe, CA; Bluegrass Independent Film Festival, LaGrange, KY; Bendfilm Festival, Bend, ORE; and Orinda Film Festival, Orinda, CA.
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Tapped In member Rita Zeinstejer's article, "Blogs allow people all over the world to communicate," was presented at the Teachers' Congress in Rosario, Argentina, and was posted on Alfred Hopkin's Buenos Aires Journal.
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Do you have a News Nugget about yourself or another member of the Tapped In Community? Send your News Nugget to BJ Berquist at bjb@tappedin.org.
[7] About ...On the Tapis
Past issues of ...On the Tapis newsletters are available online.
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