Tapped In Newsletter: September 2008
...On the Tapis
September 2008
Issue 130
In This Issue
[1] Natural Disaster Help Center Updates
[2] New Groups and Discussion Topics in Tapped In
[3] News Nuggets
[4] Tapped In Technology Tip
[5] About ...On the Tapis
Quote of the Month - "If we value independence, if we are disturbed by the growing conformity of knowledge, then we may wish to set up conditions of learning which make for uniqueness." - Carl Rogers (1902 - 1987)
[1] Natural Disaster Help Center Update
The Tapped In team hopes that all those affected by the recent hurricanes in the U.S. are safe. Some time ago, a group was created to address the needs of the victims of hurricanes. The group has grown to include the victims of all natural disasters. You will find folders in the group room for links to recovery counseling, aid groups and recovery resources. There are also folders on the discussion board for educators to enter their classroom needs. Please visit this group room and read what has been posted. Either enter what your classroom needs or enter what you have available to contribute to these classrooms. Right now electricity is scarce in the Texas area, but once survival needs are met, victims will be ready to request what they need in order to help the children. Please be there for them when they log in seeking help.
[2] New Groups and Discussion Topics in Tapped In
Although Tapped In calendar events are not usually discussed in the Tapis, these new events deserve some attention. These new discussion topics are not regularly scheduled and/or it may be that you overlooked their posting to the calendar. Please let us know if you would like repeat sessions or would like to see more of these kinds of discussions.
The Global Challenge for Science and Technology
David Gibson hopes that you will take a look at The Global Challenge and then, if appropriate, invite a high school student that you know (or several) to take part in the project. The Global Challenge seeks to engage high schoolers from around the world in self-directed online science and technology challenges that involve real world issues. Founded by Craig Deluca and David Rocchio of the Arno Group in 2005, working in close partnership with Domenico Grasso of the University of Vermont College of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences, the program gives international student teams the opportunity to experience the excitement of scientific understanding and engineering design while working on significant human and societal issues - bringing science to life in innovative new applications. An overarching model and source of inspiration for the learning experiences we want for all students comes from The George Lucas Foundation's Big ideas For Better Schools. The Global Challenge is funded, in part, by a National Science Foundation (NSF) award from the Information Technology Experiences for Students (ITEST) program, validating the project's design as one of the top proposals for engaging youth in science, technology, engineering and mathematics learning.
The Global Challenge DOES need teachers as mentors. We are training and using former students - once they get in to college, but even then, the introduction of using a rubric as feedback is just too much. For more information about how you can participate in The Global Challenge and learn more about this project watch for the October TI calendar.
Vocational Ed: Careers in Captioning
TI member Renee Cohen has created a K-12 Student Resource Room in the Student Activity Center so that you can take your students there to learn more about Careers in Captioning Using Voice Recognition. Renee led a discussion in August about this career opportunity and would be willing to schedule another session if the TI community shows interest. Renee shared 20 questions that students should answer to determine if this career would be good for them. (The 20 questions are posted in the K-12 student group room.) Several of these questions follow:
Do you have good hearing?
Do you have a strong speaking voice?
Do you speak any other languages fluently?
Do you play a musical instrument?
Do you enjoy reading?
Do you enjoy traveling to new places?
Are you willing to learn new technology and methods?
Do you work well independently?
Are you self-disciplined?
Are you punctual?
Are you tolerant of others who are different or less fortunate than you?
Contact ReneeC through TI or send BJ an email (bjb@tappedin.org) if you would like to collaborate and bring your classes to the K-12 Student Resource Room or would like to learn more about this career opportunity.
Using Technology in Physical Education
There have been many Physical Education pre-service teachers logging in to TI recently. Most of them were taking part in a technology class that required Tapped In participation. Unfortunately, once that obligation was met, those students never returned because there was nothing in TI related to their discipline. Happily, Dr. Bonnie Mohnson has agreed to create a group room for current and future Physical Education teachers. You are invited to join this group and post your interests to the group discussion board. If there is enough interest shown, then Bonnie will schedule real time discussions on the calendar. Discussion topics will focus on how to use the most effective software programs, Internet sites, technology devices, and assessment technologies.
[3] News Nuggets
Alert TK member and discussion leader Barbara Muller-Ackerman pointed out an article on Education Week that mentioned Tapped In. "In the 21st century, no teacher should have to say he feels alone," said Tom Carroll, the president of the National Commission on Teaching and America's Future. The Washington-based advocacy group, which works to improve teaching standards, supports online teacher-networking projects in Denver, Memphis, Tenn., and Seattle as part of its Teachers Linked In Networked Communities (TLINC) initiative. "These teachers grew up connected." [Ed. Note: TLINC is a Tapped In tenant.]
TI member Hanna Doer, a member of TLINC, submitted the following additional information: The NCTAF blog posting from August 27 also notes that [Education Week] article and that is where you will find the video of Cindy Gutierrez talking about TLINC and online collaboration.
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TI member and discussion leader Rushton Hurley announces that October 20th is the first annual Next Vista Awards Night. We'll make all the info on what we hand out available on our site, but one big piece of the-program will be recognizing the first set of Next Vista Distinguished Content Creators. The simple rule for the DC-squared is that you, your school, or your organization has five or more videos on NextVista.org (of sufficient quality for inclusion in the collections). Are you close to five? If so, finish whatever you need to do in September and get the vids to us. Contact Rushton with any questions. You can also join our TI session on October 2 at our new time (5pm PDT, 8pm EDT). Hope to see you there!
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TI member Don Carli has submitted the following information:
The nonprofit Institute for Sustainable Communication (ISC http://www.sustaincom.org) seeks the opinions and observations of educators and administrators about how schools are addressing the issues of sustainability and sustainable communication.
We need your help in learning about the support and leadership required from IT hardware companies and software developers that will enable school administrators, educators, IT professionals, publishing professionals and students to address the challenges and opportunities ahead. This is opinion research, so all opinions and observations are valid and no specialist knowledge is required. Please take 10-15 minutes to share your opinions in a brief survey.
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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.
[4] Tapped In Technology Tip
Tapped In Publications
If you are doing any research about TI or communities of practice or are just curious about your TI community and how it came to be, don't miss the Tapped In Publications Page! This page contains not only in press and submitted publications, it also contains articles in which Tapped in is cited.
[5] About ...On the Tapis
Past issues of ...On the Tapis newsletters are available online.
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