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"Liberty without learning is always in peril and learning without liberty is always in vain.” It’s October! There are lots of things in the air this month – the brightly colored leaves of Fall, the ghosts and goblins of Halloween and the election fever of the United States. All are featured in this month’s newsletter! In addition to this newsletter, keep checking Rick’s Picks to learn more about these themes and many more. We are looking for you input! We are especially interested in learning about your own “Inspiring Story” related to the use of technology in your classroom. Send your ideas to rick@vitalknowledge.com |
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We intend to stay close to home this month, viewing the incredible fall foliage of the United States. One of the best places to begin is at the USDA National Headquarters (www.fs.fed.us/news/fall.shtml). You can usually track the changing color of leaves all across the U.S. at this site. This year, however, the tracking is interrupted in some states because of the massive forest fires that continue to burn in the Midwest. It remains, nevertheless, a great starting point. If you have a high speed connection make sure you also check out the live 360 degree web cams showing changing leaves in Central Park, the Appalachian Mountains, and New England. They are available at The Weather Station web site (www.weather.com/outdoors/fall/). Live web cams of changing Pennsylvanian Foliage are also available at (www.fallin.state.pa.us/foliage/ff_webcams.html). You can pick up many interesting fall classroom activities at the University of Illinois’ web site, “The Miracle of Fall” (www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/fallcolor/). Make a leafy t-shirt, find out how to preserve leaves, color some pictures, and pick up a word puzzle. Take time to also check out the different fall leaves at “Foliage Vermont 2000” (www.foliage-vermont.com/). The “live” performance at Brain Pop (www.brainpop.com/science/ecology/autumnleaves/), about why leaves change color, is also worth exploring. The “Online Autumn” project (comsewogue.k12.ny.us/~ssilverman/autumn/index.html), facilitated by Mrs. Silverman’s second grade class at Clinton Avenue Elementary School in Port Jefferson Station, New York, is well worth an extended fall visit. This collection of work, produced by 32 classes from throughout Canada and the United States, is an excellent model of how technology can be used as a collaborative tool by students for both creating and discovering knowledge. |
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The official closing ceremonies of the Sydney 2000 Olympics are being held as this newsletter is being written. The major league baseball teams are about to begin their post-season battle for a spot in the World Series, the NFL season is in “full swing”, and both the NHL and NBA seasons will soon be beginning. The seasons of all major sports leagues seem to converge upon the Fall. Therefore, sports will be the focus for this month’s inspiring story. In particular, we will learn how a school project, focusing on baseball, led to the nomination of an NHL hockey player to a provincial sports hall of fame. Mark Trueman is a Grade 8 student who participated in a school web based project that focused on a local baseball team, the Chatham Ironmen. The web site was developed to assist the Ironmen in hosting Baseball Canada’s 1999 Senior Championship. It can be found at cspace.unb.ca/ironmen. Among other things, Mark and other students established a Hall of Fame of former players, created a photographic line-up of current players, uncovered the history of the Ironmen and developed classroom lessons. The web site was instrumental in helping them establish some very interesting partnerships. When the New Brunswick Sports Hall of Fame found out what they were doing, it offered to share all of its resources. It also invited the students to visit. It was during this visit that a “space to space” connection led to a “face to face” relationship between Mark and a former NHL hockey player. It all began with a question. (In the learner centered classroom asking the right question is often more important than finding the right answer!) Mark asked where he could find information about Greg Malone, a former NHL hockey star from his hometown. He was informed that no one had ever nominated Malone, now chief scout with the Pittsburgh Penguins. Mark set out to rectify that situation. He picked up the nomination papers and, with the help of his teachers, filled them out on behalf of Greg. The nomination was accepted and Greg Malone was inducted into the New Brunswick Sports Hall of Fame in April, 2000. One of the special guests invited to that induction ceremony was Mark Trueman. |
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Help your students prepare for the upcoming Presidential Debates by using the “DebateWatch Activities” available at Kids Voting USA (www.kidsvotingusa.org/education2.html). You can also help them gain a better understanding of the electoral process by having them view the electoral video available at BrainPOP (www.brainpop.com/specials/election/). The following sites are also well worth a visit in preparing for the U.S. election: The Election Co-nection: |
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Technology has enabled us to convert our classrooms into a global stage. We are now able to collaborate on projects with other students and teachers throughout the world. Additionally, some projects offer financial incentives so that you can use your present technology to generate new technology. American teachers can find some top-notch models of collaborative projects at Lightspan (www.lightspan.com). Checkout the CyberFair winners, both past and present. This is where you can also sign up to a listserv that will keep you updated on current global projects. Better yet, you can create your own and invite others to participate. Just type “subscribe” in the body of your e-mail at (HILITES@LISTS.LIGHTSPAN.COM). Canadian teachers should consider creating a Schoolnet Grassroots proposal (www.schoolnet.ca/grassroots/e/index.asp). Not only can a Grassroots project be a great learning experience, it can also be financially lucrative. Check out www.communities.ca to learn how your project could also become a valuable resource to your local community. |
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You will find enough ideas at the following sites to celebrate Halloween the whole month of October with your students! There are a variety of jack-o-lantern designs, ghoulish recipes, scary costumes, hair-raising stories, and much, much more! Explore the following sites for some interesting Halloween treats. (Be careful, though, because some of them might also contain a few tricks!) Creepy Candy: Make sure to also make some time to visit the official UNICEF web site, especially if your students are collecting for UNICEF this Halloween. It can be found at www.unicefusa.org. |
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