Tapped In Newsletter: July 2010

...On the Tapis
July 2010
Issue 152

In This Issue

[1] Changes to Tapped In Mailings and Newsletter
[2] Member Perspective: Jim Gutowski
[3] Tapped In Technology Tip
[4] News Nuggets
[5] Tips and Comments from the Experts
[6] About ...On the Tapis

Quote of the Month: "Life is 10% what happens to us and 90% how we react to it." - Dennis P. Kimbro

[1] Changes to Tapped In Mailings and Newsletter

Starting this fall, we'll be making the following 3 changes to Tapped In offerings. These changes will reduce the amount of email that you receive from us and reduce our costs with hopefully minimal impact on you.

1. We're reducing the frequency of the "...On The Tapis" newsletter mailings to a more occasional (we're thinking quarterly) basis after our August 2010 newsletter. Did you know that "On the Tapis" is an idiom that means "under consideration"? We've sent out 152 issues of our "On the Tapis" newsletter since Tapped In was established in 1997. See the archive of past newsletters.

2. We'll no longer archive monthly ASO transcripts. Refer to transcript emails instead. When you visit Tapped In as a member, you receive an email transcript of chat conversations you participated in. You will still receive transcripts of ASO sessions that you participate in. If you can't find a transcript for a session you participated in, see our transcript FAQ to learn how to retrieve a transcript.

3. We'll no longer email our monthly "Tapped In ASO Schedule" each month, but events will continue to be scheduled on the calendar and available through our RSS calendar feed. You can subscribe to the calendar feed be notified of all upcoming events. Any volunteers to lead an ASO session about RSS feeds for any of our members who want to learn more about their benefits? :)

If you'd like to lead an event or become a Tapped In volunteer, just log in and ask for information about TI Volunteering, or visit TI Presenters Guide, the support group for people who present discussions in Tapped In, or HelpDesk Central, the group room for helpdesk volunteers.

[2] Member Perspective: Jim Gutowski

Meet Jim
As an educator, Jim Gutowski wears several hats. For the past fourteen years he has been teaching social studies at Gilmour Academy, a K-12 college prep school in the eastern suburbs of Cleveland, Ohio. He has recently taken on administrative duties there as Director of Academic Services with responsibility for scheduling, registration and grades. In addition, Jim is on the adjunct faculty at Cleveland State University where he teaches a graduate course entitled "Social Issues in Education."

Jim's Perspective
I have been a member of Tapped In for several years now and I am still discovering new ways for my membership to enrich my professional life. I first learned the value of TI by participating in the monthly sessions for social studies teachers. I'm a big believer in using primary sources in my classroom and loved the sessions led by archivists from the Library of Congress who would introduce us to their new offerings such as the Westinghouse films, Civil War music and presidential campaign cartoons. If you've ever tried to search through the vast resources of the LC online, you can appreciate being informed about such specific resources. Having an online K-12 classroom has been handy for me as well. As anyone who teaches Advanced Placement United States History will tell you, the first week of May can be a time of high anxiety for your students as they prepare for their Friday morning test. TI provides a safe and secure online environment where your students can access various resources that the teacher makes available.

Read all of Jim's Perspective here.

[3] Tapped In Technology Tip

Group Discussion Boards
One of criteria for deciding to join a group is reading the discussion board posts. Although a group may not hold regularly scheduled real time text chats, they may have an active and resource rich discussion board. The discussion boards are an asynchronous way in which you can communicate with all members of the group and create your own Personal Learning Network (PLN). So when you're exploring Tapped In and visiting the different group rooms that allow visitors, check out the group discussion board! As a member of a group you too are able to add to that fabulous resource!

[4] News Nuggets

G.A. Educational Learning Center is presenting a f2f conference October 14-15 in the greater Atlanta, GA region. The concurrent conference sessions will focus on Differentiated Instruction, Multiple Intelligences, Inclusion and Mathematics. There will be a DI Make and Take session offered via Tapped In. The TI session will be free and open to all TI members and guests. Watch your calendar for more information about how you can participate!
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Thanks to TI discussion leader Diane Painter The American Education Research Association's Action Research SIG invited the Tapped In Action Research SIG to participate in the sharing of research with others. We were invited to log into a conference, June 17-18, where students from the Learning Technologies Program at Pepperdine presented their action research. The university made the conference available to us online.
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The following Twitter message led to an ISTE post by Lynn Bell and Tapped In member Glen Bull RT @min_d_j: RT @isteconnects: New Post: Watching vs. Learning: How to Turn Video Viewing into a Dynamic Lesson http://bit.ly/aUfwEw #udl
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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

[5] Tips and Comments from the Experts

RT @jezzy_27: @tappedinorg I just had my first tour and I like it a lot! [From Twitter via Jane Zagami]
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Scarlett Gaddy shared this gem with BJ during a recent discussion: No problem! I have loved Tapped In and the students are far better prepared to deal with discussion boards in college after working in Tapped In. I laughingly call it my office hours because no matter what time I'm in the room, there's a student there with a question. I also get teased with cryptic messages Shhhh... Mrs. Gaddy will see this....They get a lot of collaborative work done in there.
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Benjetta Washington used the discussion board in the K-12 Students SIG to respond to a post about a resource: Top 10 Sites for Brainstorming and Mind Mapping

I love these sites!! A couple of them were a little confusing, but in general these sites are great!! I will use these with my kids during writing workshop times and as they get more comfortable with the sites, I will allow them to create their own thinking maps!! Thanks for the GREAT resources!!!!
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Veronica Criado, who led a K-12 Student Campus showcase discussion about her TI Classroom, mentioned that, "The most authentic thing that kids can have is learning and working with others."
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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 your comment here.

[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.