Tapped In Newsletter: November 2006
...On the Tapis
November 2006
Issue 108
In This Issue
[1] Collaborative Member Perspective: Mary Mindess and Ann A. Adams
[2] News Nuggets
[3] Tips and Comments from the Experts
[4] Tapped In Technology Tip
[5] Women and Girls in Science and Engineering
[6] About ...On the Tapis
Quote of the Month - "Everyone has talent. What is rare is the courage to follow the talent to the dark places where it leads." - Erica Jong
[1] Joint Member Perspective: Mary Mindess & Ann A. Adams
Tapped In as a Tool for Collaboration Among Preservice Teachers
We met on the bus going to the airport Ð two college professors, one headed south to Mobile, Alabama, and the other headed north to Cambridge, Massachusetts. We both were planning social studies methods courses to be offered at our respective institutions the following semester. We shared a common goal: the desire to stimulate collaboration among our preservice teachers and to afford them the opportunity to be a part of a community of learners.
Many of these students had a firmly rooted view of themselves as teachers in a classroom with a group of children. They viewed their principals and supervisors as the assessors of their work and gave very little thought to the potential value of peer review and critiques, particularly from peers they had never met.
For many students their idea of a peer critiquing their work meant that their work was inadequate. Our challenge was to change this perception.
Read the rest of Mary's and Ann's Perspective.
[2] News Nuggets
The Indiana Council for the Social Studies has named TI member Michael Hutchison their "distinguished teacher" for 2006.
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TI member Michael Ivy invites members to contribute articles, commentaries, stories, opinions, illustrations to MetroZine, a webzine for all ESOL students. Michael is planning to co-opt some of the students at the British Council onto an editorial team. The e-zine is an online community where students of English at the British Council in Rome can post homework.
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In requesting permission to use screen shots and text from TI for her upcoming book, Jane Howland wrote: Tapped In is a resource I've shared with my graduate students for many semesters in the "Learning with the Internet" course. Most of the course focuses on K-12 student use of the Internet, but Tapped In has been a great site for teachers' professional development, too. Thanks!
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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.
[3] Tips and Comments from the Experts
After last month's introduction of Pioneers and Explorers, TI member Christina Su-hsun Tsai sent in this response: It is such a wonderful idea to set up "Pioneers and Explorers." Transana in the October 06 ...On the Tapis is such a wonderful program. I use CLAN for text analysis. I was wondering if there would be a free software for analyzing video clips taken from an educational observation. Now there's a hope to use Transana. Thank you very much for this, and thank you to TI, especially to the one who created this idea to share what the pioneers have been trying. (Send your Pioneers and Explorers information to BJ Berquist at bjb@tappedin.org)
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Andrea DeMent "loves this site and how you can connect with teachers around the world. I plan to share this with my staff (and yes you can quote me)."
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After Sandra Shattuck's November WriteTalk discussion, new members Jessica Malveaux and Daryl Pearson had the following comments:
Daryl: I didn't expect an engaging conversation such as this. Thanks a lot everyone. Great to be here.
Jessica: I agree Daryl, I really didn't know what to expect!
DarylP: I look forward to explore it more.
JessicaMa: It's definitely a great source of knowledge, and resources!
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After a recent Tips and Tricks Tapped In tour, guest Sondra and TI member Pinar Uzun commented:
Sondra: Thanks so much for the info on TI and the chat tips!
Sondra: This is a wonderful site and I will definitely be back and inform our teachers about it!
TI Volunteer: the more you visit, the easier everything gets, Pinar
PinarUz smiles
Sondra: Yes this is only my second visit and it gets much easier each time and especially after this tour!
TI Volunteer: glad to hear that, Sondra. I know the interface can be overwhelming at first because there is so much to see but once you learn the basics, its pretty user friendly
Sondra: yes, and I have no experience with online chat... It's been a great experience!
Pinar: for me too
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If you have a comment or experience to share with the Tapped In community, please submit the information to BJ Berquist at bjb@tappedin.org or post to the How You Use TI.
[4] Tapped In Technology Tip
Navigation
One of the most frequently asked questions and a topic that is covered fairly thoroughly during the Tips and Tricks tours of Tapped In is how to navigate the Tapped In environment. To learn more about how to navigate using the icons and/or text commands log in for one of the Tips and Tricks Tours scheduled on the calendar of events. You can also log in and click on the Help tab at the top of the screen for navigation tips.
[6] Women and Girls in Science and Engineering
WAMC Northeast Public Radio's production team has produced: Powerful Signals: Transforming the Role of Women and Girls in Science and Engineering. Funded by the National Science Foundation, the two-part radio series consists of ten feature-length stories about programs across the U.S. that work with young girls to encourage the next generation of women in science and engineering; and three audio diaries that follow the day to day lives of women who chose a course of study or career in science and technology. For more information on the project, to hear audio of the stories, or find out more about how to get a free compact disc, visit the WAMC Women in Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics ON THE AIR! website at womeninscience.org or email dwertheim@wamc.org.
[6] About ...On the Tapis
Past issues of ...On the Tapis newsletters are available online.
Contact us if you have any questions about your subscription, password or user name, or if you have any news items that you want to share with the community for ...On the Tapis.