Tweet from Chris Sousa (@csousanh)

	Chris Sousa (@csousanh)
9/11/13, 6:53 AM Troy Middle School redesigned with the 21st-century student in mind. troyrecord.com/articles/2013/… #edchat #midleved

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-- Gary Ackerman, Ph.D.

Fwd: Boost teaching and learning for life at AMLE2013

A reminder of the AMLE conference in Minneapolis during the first week of November just arrived in my inbox. 

-- Gary Ackerman, Ph.D.

Begin forwarded message:

From: Association for Middle Level Education <amle@amle.org>
Date: September 10, 2013, 11:38:37 AM EDT
To: gary@hackscience.net
Subject: Boost teaching and learning for life at AMLE2013

View: Web
Association for Middle Level Education 4151 Executive Parkway, Suite 300 Westerville, OH 43081 www.amle.org l 614-895-4730 l 800-528-6672 l (fax) 614-895-4750     © Copyright 2013 Association for Middle Level Education. All Rights Reserved. This message was sent by the Association for Middle Level Education. Privacy Policy. If you would like to unsubscribe, go here to Manage Subscriptions.

Tweet from JillSpencer (@JillSpencer)

	JillSpencer (@JillSpencer)
9/9/13, 7:19 PM The MAMLE digital newsletter was sent to member schools today. Please share with your colleagues. fb.me/33YCShcep

Download the official Twitter app here

-- Gary Ackerman, Ph.D.

Storybird

One of my favorite sites to use with students in Storybird. The idea is simple:

1. Select artwork they provide (a wonderful collection of themes appropriate for youngsters);
2. Drag pieces of art onto pages;
3. Compose a story to accompany the art;
4. Collaborate with others (teachers can manage limited classes for free);
5. "Publish" your book (the choices are limited for those using the free version, extensive for those who pay the reasonable premiums).

http://storybird.com/

Fwd: Welcome Back to School!

Great news from NELMS this week:

Call for presentations for 2014

Rick Wormeli

And others!

-- Gary Ackerman, Ph.D.

Begin forwarded message:

From: nelms@nelms.org
Date: September 5, 2013, 1:16:36 PM EDT
To: "Dr. Gary L. Ackerman" <gary@hackscience.net>
Subject: Welcome Back to School!
Reply-To: NELMS <nelms@nelms.org>

Welcome Back to School!

How quickly the summer went. It seems we just debriefed and reviewed the evaluations of the NELMS Annual Conference and now we are already beginning planning for another year.
Evaluation comments such as:
"Excellent job, relevant to my classroom",
"Great ideas and strategies, shared what works",
"What great tips",
"Loved the ideas, so important for my work with middle school students" and
"I love this conference"
give us positive feedback and reinforce that we are on the right track for providing relevant, useful, practical strategies and solutions. We also receive critical comments, typically about technology, room climate, and variance of the effectiveness of presenters. In order to improve, enhance, and make potential revisions to our offerings we carefully review this information. Feedback, both positive and negative is particularly relevant as we focus on the program for the 2014 Annual Conference.

Our membership for this year is strong and seems to be a reflection of the need for support and colleagueship for middle level education. As a new benefit we have offered a $100 voucher with each school membership as a small way to help schools provide funding support to enable teachers to participate in the professional development they value. Our activities for this year will continue to focus on effective instructional practices and strategies for meeting Common Core Standards, positive student outcomes, and issues specific to the middle. Rick Wormeli returns in October for a two-day session in Manchester, NH and another in Enfield, CT. Rick always brings enthusiasm, practical interventions, a solid knowledge of what works, and the motivation and excitement to successfully serve and appreciate all students. Once again this fall, we have partnered with Keys to Literacy, to offer a unique and intensive Writing Institute. In order to provide choices and flexibility participants can choose to attend all 4 days throughout the year or just a portion. Other smaller events related to topics such as scheduling, advisory, teaming, and student success plans will be held regionally. And of course, it is not too early for schools to begin making plans to attend the March 31–April 1 33rd NELMS Annual Conference with keynote speakers Nancy Doda and Jack Berckemeyer.

Educators invested in middle level education and committed to expanding instructional strategies are critical to meeting the demands of student learning. We know that to provide effective teaching resulting in student learning we need to continue to broaden our own experiences, to be life long learners, to understand developmental factors, and to share knowledge. NELMS continues to be proud of the role and responsibility it has to provide support in meeting the needs of middle level educators. We value our work with educators throughout New England and look forward to seeing many of you join us in addressing the joys and challenges of the upcoming school year. Thank you for the work you will be doing this year to impact the lives of middle level students.

Brenda Needham
NELMS Executive Director

 

Call for Presenters 2014

Looking for educators interested in presenting at the
NELMS Annual Conference, March 31-April 1, 2014
If you are interested or would like to know more click here.
 

Rick Wormeli is returning soon

How to Assess & Grade in an Optimum Learning Rich Environment

October 22 & 23, 2013
Radisson Hotel Manchester Downtown–Manchester, NH

For more information and/or to register click here.

Tiering Strategies for Classroom Instruction & Homework:
A Plan for Student Success

October 24 & 25, 2013
Holiday Inn Enfield/Springfield–Enfield, CT

For more information and/or to register click here.
 

Keys to Literacy - The Key Writing Routine

November 6 & 7, 2013
Holiday Inn Enfield/Springfield–Enfield, CT

For more information and/or to register click here.

Keys to Literacy - Keys to Argument Writing

January 9, 2014
Holiday Inn Enfield/Springfield–Enfield, CT

For more information and/or to register click here.

Keys to Literacy - The ANSWER KEY Routine for Extended Response

February 5, 2014
Holiday Inn Enfield/Springfield–Enfield, CT

For more information and/or to register click here.

 

 

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©2012 New England League of Middle Schools.. All Rights Reserved

 

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Fwd: Choose from great middle grades resources and win

This came across my virtual desk today. NELMS is an affiliate of AMLE. 

While you are at their site, register for their annual conference. There is an amazing presentation entitled "Flipped with Purpose" scheduled. Rumor has it that the presenter is brilliant (and you can tell him I said so!)

-- Gary Ackerman, Ph.D.

Begin forwarded message:

From: AMLE <amle@amle.org>
Date: September 5, 2013, 12:15:06 PM EDT
To: gary@hackscience.net
Subject: Choose from great middle grades resources and win

View: Web
Association for Middle Level Education 4151 Executive Parkway, Suite 300 Westerville, OH 43081 www.amle.org l 614-895-4730 l 800-528-6672 l (fax) 614-895-4750     © Copyright 2013 Association for Middle Level Education. All Rights Reserved. This message was sent by the Association for Middle Level Education. Privacy Policy. If you would like to unsubscribe, go here to Manage Subscriptions.

Thoughts on what middle school students need

I had the sad task this week of attending the funeral of one of the men who had a significant influence on my life during (and since) my middle school years. While he wasn't an educator (he was the leader of a youth organization to which I belonged), he taught me to be a leader and he taught me to take my responsibilities seriously. 

When my children reached the same age, I made a conscious decision to make sure they had a similar opportunity to work with leaders who expected the same.  All middle school students need the experience of caring deeply about something.

If our students do not care about our curriculum, we have two options: blame the students and use the "thus will be important next year" argument to motivate them, or we seek to create engaging and relevant projects for them. 

Actually, there is another option: support, encourage, and facilitate their participation in music, arts, athletics, drama, and all other varieties of activities. 

I saw my departed friend's approach to life and leadership this week also. My son, who is coaching middle school soccer athletes, replied to the email from a parent indicating that days her son would miss practice for drama rehearsal. He wrote, "thanks for the update,  I look forward to [your son] being on the team, and tell him to 'break a leg.'"

-- Gary Ackerman, Ph.D.

New iOS due out soon

Interesting take on the new OS for mobile devices from Apple. To date, computing has been made to resemble analog world (thus the "legal pad" appearance of notes); iOS 7 takes those away.

User reaction will be fascinating to watch. Especially in schools where "technology activities" (along with all others are adult- driven. What will happen when the familiar images that cue digital immigrants are removed from our technology systems? 

We know that only technology perceived to be easy to use is accepted. Will the removal of skeuomorphs from computing interfaces adversely affect ease if use? 

http://m.npr.org/programs/all/13/218533735

-- Gary Ackerman, Ph.D.

Unproven assumptions informing education

While researching a question for a colleague, I found myself in the opening pages of The Cambridge Handbook of the Learning Sciences. As I began flipping to the chapter I needed, the first page opened to R. Keith Sawyer’s Introduction. In the bulleted list on that page, Sawyer observed that curriculum and instruction is organized around five assumptions (my paraphrasing):

• Knowledge (essential facts and procedures) is well-known;
• Instruction is intended to transfer that knowledge to students;
• Teachers recognize the knowledge and know how to transfer it;
• Instruction should proceed from simple to complex;
• Testing is an effective way to measure learning (the transfer of knowledge).

Regarding the current rhetoric surrounding education, it seems that the philanthropists, politicians, and even educational leaders who are advocating the latest reforms believe these assumptions to be true. Before any educators, parents, or others who care about education follow these advocates, it is important to know that Sawyer preceded his list with the words,

“... the schools we have today were designed around commonsense assumptions that have never been tested scientifically:”

and that is followed by the list I summarized above.

The cognitive scientists and learning scientists who have been working in recent decades have made amazing discoveries about human cognition and the conditions that facilitate learning. The longer we ignore the nature of learning, the longer we waste financial and human resources chasing educational mirages. Remember what Richard Feynman observed: “...reality must take precedence over public relations, for nature cannot be fooled.”

Sawyer, R. Keith. 2006. “Introduction: The New Science of Learning.” In The Cambridge Handbook of Learning Science, edited by R. Keith Sawyer, 1-16. New York: Cambridge University Press.

Fwd: NEERO Annual Conference

Below, you see the announcement from the New England Educational Research Organization that they are accepting proposals for presentation at the 2014 annual conference. This is an excellent opportunity for those who are beginning researchers to present their work before a research community. The program usually includes a range of work from those seeking feedback on on-going projects (roundtables) to just-completed theses at the master's level to doctorate dissertations as well as veteran researchers. 

If you are in the NELMS community and interested in the chance to present research, please consider submitting a proposal. 

-- Gary Ackerman, Ph.D.

Begin forwarded message:

From: NEERO Conference <neero.conference@gmail.com>
Date: August 28, 2013, 8:22:24 AM EDT
To: NEERO Conference <neero.conference@gmail.com>
Subject: NEERO Annual Conference

Dear friends of NEERO,

I am writing to encourage you and/or your students to submit a proposal for the 2014 Annual Conference of the New England Educational Research Organization (NEERO). NEERO is a regional conference attended by researchers at all stages in their career, but is a particularly good venue for emerging researchers to present their work in a very supportive and thoughtful environment. Attendees include college faculty and students, K-12 teachers, principals and superintendents, and representatives from national testing and research organizations.  The conference provides great opportunities to discuss scholarly presentations in paper, symposium, or round table formats.  NEERO is also an opportune time to informally build your professional networks. 

This year, we will be holding the conference at the Grand Summit Resort Hotel and Conference Center in Dover, VT from Wednesday, April 30 through Friday, May 2, 2014.  The Call for Proposals is attached and includes the proposal submission link, as well as information regarding the keynote speaker, Dr. Becky Wai-Ling Packard, of Mount Holyoke College, proposal guidelines, and hotel accommodations.

The deadline for submitting proposals is Wednesday, October 30, 2013. 

If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact me at neero.conference@gmail.com

 

All the best,

Mary Grassetti, Ed.D. 

Membership Director

Reviving the NELMS.21 blog

In April 2013, I stopped posting to the blog because my life got way too busy.

Now, in the fall, I am reviving the blog with the hopes of continuing to share technology trends and tools of interest to middle level educators.

-- Gary Ackerman, Ph.D.

Fwd: Need graduate credit?

-- Gary Ackerman, Ph.D.

Begin forwarded message:

From: nelms@nelms.org
Date: May 30, 2013, 9:35:51 AM EDT
To: "Dr. Gary L. Ackerman" <gary@hackscience.net>
Subject: Need graduate credit?
Reply-To: NELMS <nelms@nelms.org>

Need graduate credit?
It's not too late…
Register now for NELMS Summer Institute

June 24, 25 & 26, 2013
Sheraton Harborside, Portsmouth, NH

Meeting the Needs of Middle Level Learners in a 21st Century Common Core Learning Environment

Response to Intervention (RtI) (Customized Models)

• Beyond identification
• Interventions during the school day-without fear of stigma
• Intervention strategies
• Scheduling
• Using data for monitoring and designing on-going instruction

Integrating Depth of Knowledge Skills into the Classroom

• Examples- what do 2s, 3s and 4s look like?
• Problem solving
• What is it?
• What does it look like?
• How do I do it?

Using Technology for Collaboration

• Web 2.0 tools
• How to manage the classroom (norms)
• Collaborations: student to student, student to teacher, teacher to teacher, etc.
• Communication
• Instruction

Project Based Learning Using Common Core State Standards

• Student voice
• Standards based
• Global awareness
• Integrating standards from all content areas
• Successful "doable" models

For more information and/or to register click here.

 

Current Issue of Midlines Is Online

The Spring edition of MidLines has been posted for member schools. Log in info has been sent to your building principal so don't forget to ask for the link information. If you are an individual member of NELMS the log in info will be sent in the next day or two.

Did you know?

You can access the NELMS web site from your iPhone, Android phone, iPad, or smart tablet? Try it and see. The site has been coded to dynamically re-size pages, pictures, and menus depending on the device accessing it.

 

NELMS Summer Institute
Meeting the Needs of Middle Level Learners in a 21st Century Common Core Learning Environment
June 24, 25 & 26, 2013

 

Join us on Facebook and Twitter

©2012 New England League of Middle Schools.. All Rights Reserved

 

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Fwd: MidLines online and Summer Institute coming up

-- Gary Ackerman, Ph.D.

Begin forwarded message:

From: nelms@nelms.org
Date: May 23, 2013, 8:38:54 AM EDT
To: "Dr. Gary L. Ackerman" <gary@hackscience.net>
Subject: MidLines online and Summer Institute coming up
Reply-To: NELMS <nelms@nelms.org>

Register Now for
NELMS Summer Institute

June 24, 25 & 26, 2013
Sheraton Harborside, Portsmouth, NH

Meeting the Needs of Middle Level Learners in a 21st Century Common Core Learning Environment

Response to Intervention (RtI) (Customized Models)

• Beyond identification
• Interventions during the school day-without fear of stigma
• Intervention strategies
• Scheduling
• Using data for monitoring and designing on-going instruction

Integrating Depth of Knowledge Skills into the Classroom

• Examples- what do 2s, 3s and 4s look like?
• Problem solving
• What is it?
• What does it look like?
• How do I do it?

Using Technology for Collaboration

• Web 2.0 tools
• How to manage the classroom (norms)
• Collaborations: student to student, student to teacher, teacher to teacher, etc.
• Communication
• Instruction

Project Based Learning Using Common Core State Standards

• Student voice
• Standards based
• Global awareness
• Integrating standards from all content areas
• Successful "doable" models

For more information and/or to register click here.

 

Current Issue of Midlines Is Online

The Spring edition of MidLines has been posted for member schools. Log in info has been sent to your building principal so don't forget to ask for the link information. If you are an individual member of NELMS the log in info will be sent to you in the next day or two.

 

NELMS Summer Institute
Meeting the Needs of Middle Level Learners in a 21st Century Common Core Learning Environment
June 24, 25 & 26, 2013

 

Join us on Facebook and Twitter

©2012 New England League of Middle Schools.. All Rights Reserved

 

You are currently subscribed to nelms as: gary@hackscience.net Add nelms@nelms.org to your email address book to ensure delivery Forward to a Friend  |  Manage Subscription  |   Subscribe  |   Unsubscribe