Edutopia - February/March 2008 - (Page 19) HEAD OF CLASS Hot Stuff Field Trips Free-Reading.net Free www.free-reading.net Literacy teachers rejoice! Much like Wikipedia and Linux, Free-reading.net is an open resource center and community, where teachers can access and share curricula on researchbased instruction. The site features a complete set of activities for a typical forty-week core program, or just access specific activities and downloads. Free-Reading.net is continually updated by a large community of users and experts, which means you can share, too. February Texas Computer Education Association's Annual Convention and Exhibition 4–8, Austin Travel deep in the heart of Texas for this biggie, one of the largest annual ed-tech and professional-development gatherings. Former astronaut Sally Ride gives the keynote. Organization for Educational Technology and Curriculum’s Instructional Technology Strategies Conference 17–19, Portland, Oregon Strategize on how to enhance student learning by effective technology use. Educators are encouraged to attend this conference in teams to experience the use of cutting-edge technology. Service Learning: Academics in Action 20, Las Vegas At this how-to workshop on designing a curriculum based on meaningful servicelearning projects, you’ll see models of such activities, begin a preliminary design for a project to take back to your school, and learn about funding. No Student Left Indoors: Creating a Field Guide to Your Schoolyard Take a Walk Books, $50 www.takeawalk.com NIMBY should stand for “nature in my backyard.” The latest from author Jane Kirkland’s Take a Walk series is for K–12 teachers who want to expose their students to the wonders of nature right outside their door. The book contains a field guide that combines all areas of curriculum, including planning the field guide project, gathering data, exercises, and lessons. Kirkland suggests starting your lesson with a twenty-second nature break to see what nature has to offer. March Computer-Using Educators Annual Conference 6–8, Palm Springs Vint Cerf, father of the Internet, will share “Pearls of Learning” (this year’s theme) in the opening keynote. Harvard University professor Chris Dede, who serves on The George Lucas Educational Foundation’s Advisory Board, is among the spotlight speakers. Teaching & Learning Celebration 7–8, New York City The theme of this conference, said to be “the world’s fair of education,” is “Science, Math, and Global Awareness,” which this year will include language, the arts, and community involvement. Our own Milton Chen will be among those addressing the crowd. The Consortium of School Networking’s K-12 Networking Conference 11–12, Washington, DC How can we embed critical-thinking and collaboration skills in education and assessment, and what role does tech play in strategically supporting new learning environments? CoSN looks at ed tech from school district, state, and national perspectives. National Art Education Association Annual Convention 26–30, New Orleans Visual-arts instruction never looked (or tasted) so good. Get updated on stateof-the-art materials, and contribute to rebuilding the Big Easy. GO AFIELD Find links to event Web sites at Teach the First Amendment Free www.teachfirstamendment.org Here’s a noble goal: Bring the discussion of civics back into classrooms. And what time better than a presidential election year than do that? Teach the First Amendment offers a wealth of articles, lesson plans, and generally fascinating resources guaranteed to get you and your students fired up about preserving this fragile democracy of ours. There’s a First Amendment Quiz, plus the results of a study that queried student, teacher, and administrator awareness of freespeech issues, and a special section for student journalists. NBC News Archives Free to teachers www.hotchalk.com NBC has opened its news archives to teachers via the HotChalk interface. Created exclusively for K–12 classrooms, the archives date to the early 1930s and include more than 5,000 video resources, with an emphasis on U.S. history. Steve Capus, president of NBC News, explains, “In many ways, through our reporting and coverage of world events, we write the first draft of history every day.” As first drafts may show biases and be incomplete, it is often students who, with a greater understanding, come to revise them. In releasing these first glimpses of history past and present, NBC tenders a wonderful gift to education and to progress. WILLIAM DUKE www.edutopia.org/events-februarymarch-2008 EDUTOPIA.ORG EDUTOPIA 19 http://Free-Reading.net http://www.free-reading.net http://Free-reading.net http://Free-Reading.net http://www.takeawalk.com http://www.teachfirstamendment.org http://www.hotchalk.com http://www.edutopia.org/events-february-march-2008 http://www.edutopia.org/events-february-march-2008 http://EDUTOPIA.ORG
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