August 2009

Social Networking and Early Education

Submitted by Marli Mesibov on Mon, 08/31/2009 - 13:38
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There has been a lot of discussion on the web lately regarding lawsuits against Facebook.  Specifically: are social networks leaking personal information?  The first time I heard about "Facebook sharing our personal information!" was in a Facebook status message.  The concern was the Facebook was taking pictures tagged with my friend's name, and using those pictures as part of ads on my page.  As it turns out, Facebook was not showing these pictures to anyone who wasn't already publically allowed to see them.  The concerns were unwarranted.

Top Five Social Networking Sites

Submitted by Marli Mesibov on Tue, 08/25/2009 - 10:34
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263,000,000 people are on MySpace.  Traffic on Twitter has increased by 600% in the past year.  A new movie about the creation of Facebook, entitled The Social Network, is slated to come out in 2010.  How do you guage the most significant, important, or popular social networking site?

Evolution, courts, and Texas--perpetual motion?

Submitted by Mark Grayson on Mon, 08/24/2009 - 17:48
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Once the Texas Board of Education voted on science standards in the spring, most folks figured the evolution front would be quiet for a little while. But the federal court system finds itself chewing on TWO different cases about evolution and creationism in science education. Either case's success would represent a watershed event in the ongoing Evolution wars...

The Pentagon's on Twitter

Submitted by Marli Mesibov on Thu, 08/20/2009 - 13:17
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We already knew that social networking, from Twitter to Facebook to Youtube to Myspace and all the other online communities are a great way for businesses and individuals to connect.  Nate, one of our developers, recently pointed me toward our local police's Twitter account, to help me recover my stolen bike.

20 Apps for Designers

Submitted by Alissa Jones on Wed, 08/19/2009 - 13:25
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I recently got a new iPod and realized there are some good and fun apps out there for design, so I thought I would share some that I came across in my search.

iBlueSky icon
iBlueSky: $9.99
Use this app to map your brainstorming. Create a collection of ideas, thoughts, and suggestions and email them as a PDF or PNG.

TX Board of Ed in July--Fireworks, to end an era...

Submitted by Mark Grayson on Tue, 08/18/2009 - 21:16
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A few weeks after the Fourth of July, there were plenty of fireworks at the Texas State Board of Education meeting. I was on vacation, but my sources have filled me in on the excitement, which culminated with several members storming out near the end of the day in frustration and anger. But the most peculiar development was the request for publishers to re-evaluate their bids and reduce their prices because there isn't enough money to fully fund the Reading/Literature adoption.

Curiosity Killed the Cat

Submitted by Marli Mesibov on Mon, 08/17/2009 - 12:24
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Social networking can be addicting - or so they say.  Students are "facebook addicts," and their parents own "crackberries."  But why?  I read two articles on social networking this morning, one discussing the younger generation's internet use specifically, with some very interesting new statistics.  The other discusses why we feel this addiction.

Art Skills are Live Skills!

Submitted by Marli Mesibov on Fri, 08/14/2009 - 16:11
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One school in Winchester, MA, has innovation down to a science.  Or down to an art?  Read the article to learn more about the school that's tying student achievement to local business support, local public support, and student responsibility in both academics (including art!) and life.

http://www.tauntongazette.com/arts/x772301565/It-s-August-the-month-for-...

Will Texas Adoptions Be Delayed?--live from State Board of Education

Submitted by Mark Grayson on Fri, 08/14/2009 - 10:14
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Today's Texas State Board Work Session agenda looks like a sleeper--adjusting graduation requirements to align with recently-passed state legislation, and "considering strategies to achieve cost efficiencies in the adoption process." But what they're talking about is whether to delay adoptions or cut back on their scope. I'm reporting, live, as it happens...

9:21 am
GRADUATION REQUIREMENTS

Math and Web 2.0

Submitted by Robin Brandenburg on Wed, 08/12/2009 - 23:17
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This evening I participated in an online discussion about math and Web 2.0 technologies. Ihor Charischak, founder of the Council for Technology in Mathematics Education (CLIME), an affiliate of National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM), and Maria Droujkova, founder and director of Natural Math, facilitated the interactive session with approximately 18 people in attendance. The following activities were shared:

Average Traveler
http://web.mac.com/ihor12/CMDB75/TRIP/