STEM education (@edutopia)

	edutopia (@edutopia)
11/5/12, 3:37 PM 80% of the fastest growing occupations in the US depend on the mastery of #STEM skills (#infographic) bit.ly/Vk8OAp

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- Dr. Gary Ackerman

Tech we love/ hate (@wired)

	Wired (@wired)
11/5/12, 11:01 AM Recent Top Stories: Why We Freak Out About Some Technologies but Not Others oak.ctx.ly/r/14qi

Very interesting set of rules here.  

- Dr. Gary Ackerman

Seven habits... Share this! (@mbkudrna)

	Merri Beth Kudrna (@mbkudrna)
11/4/12, 10:47 PM Great Post: The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teachers Who Use Technology zite.to/U4Rhfv #edtech

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- Dr. Gary Ackerman

Tweet from Deborah A. Gist (@deborahgist)

	Deborah A. Gist (@deborahgist)
11/2/12, 11:44 AM Interesting article in Slate Magazine on middle school education, featuring our own Paul Cuffee School - kb tinyurl.com/8t2vstm

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- Dr. Gary Ackerman

MUST READ & WATCH

	Gallup Biz Journal (@GallupJournal)
11/2/12, 10:45 AM Gallup at White House Education Event: Standardized Testing is Holding Us Back thegallupblog.gallup.com/2012/11/gallup…

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- Dr. Gary Ackerman

Tweet from Mary Jean Fawcett (@mnfawcett)

	Mary Jean Fawcett (@mnfawcett)
11/2/12, 7:54 AM @NELMS_info Literacy Summit all set up and ready to go. It's going to be a great day!

Download the official Twitter app here

- Dr. Gary Ackerman

Digital text books and Apple

	Emmeline Zhao (@emmelinez)
11/1/12, 11:52 PM Apple takeover of ed? "Big 3" publishers - providing 90% of textbooks in all high schools - all partnering with Apple bit.ly/TfCNF2

Here is a topic educators might want to keep in mind as they consider the next technology plan. 

- Dr. Gary Ackerman

Fwd: iTunes Connect: iBookstore news and announcements.

If you are unaware of the changes iTunes and the other ebook platforms are bringing to the world of books and education, you are ignoring what promises to be a truly transformative technology. 

- Dr. Gary Ackerman

Begin forwarded message:

From: iTunes Store <do_not_reply@apple.com>
Date: November 1, 2012, 3:39:30 PM EDT
To: gary@hackscience.net
Subject: iTunes Connect: iBookstore news and announcements.

Dear gary@hackscience.net, We recently added the following new features and updates to the iBookstore: New territories for free books New territories for iBooks textbooks iBooks Author version 2.0 iBooks 3 iTunes Producer 2.8 Updated documentation Children & Teens interest age New Territories for Free Books The iBookstore has expanded and is now available in the following territories: Argentina Dominican Republic New Zealand Bolivia Ecuador Nicaragua Brazil El Salvador Panama Chile Guatemala Paraguay Colombia Honduras Peru Costa Rica Mexico Venezuela You do not need to make any changes to your books. They will be automatically offered for free in these new territories. New Territories for iBooks Textbooks We are also happy to introduce iBooks textbooks in Australia, Canada, and the U.K. You do not need to make any changes to your iBooks textbooks. They will be automatically offered for free in these new territories. iBooks Author Version 2.0 The latest version of Apple's book-creation app, iBooks Author, is now available for download from the Mac App Store. With this new version of iBooks Author, you can: Create gorgeous portrait-only books Embed custom fonts into books for complete control over text appearance Add even more interactivity with new Scrolling Sidebar and Pop-Over widgets Create mathematical expressions using LaTeX and MathML notation Automatically optimize media for iPad Use additional Apple-designed templates Add version numbering for books iBooks 3 iBooks 3 continues its evolution as the most engaging way to enjoy books. Among the new features: See all your iBookstore-purchased books in iCloud— right on your bookshelf with iOS 6. Scroll vertically through your books with the flick of a finger using the new Scroll theme. Receive free updates to your purchased books—including new content, corrections, and other enhancements (if made available by the publisher). Look up definitions for words in German, Spanish, French, Japanese, and Simplified Chinese. (iOS 6 required) MathML support (iOS 6 required) iTunes Producer 2.8 iTunes Producer has been updated to make delivering and managing your catalog even easier. The new features include: Book versioning support for EPUB 3 and books created with iBooks Author Updated Documentation We've updated and revised our documentation to include details of all our new features, including: The iBookstore Asset Guide 5.1. This document covers new topics such as EPUB 3 Fixed Layout, specific formatting requirements for vertical languages, and how to specify book versions. The iBookstore Asset Guide 5.1 only covers EPUB 3 and books created with iBooks Author. The previous version, iBookstore Asset Guide 5.0, will continue to be available as an EPUB 2 reference. The iBookstore Asset Guide 5.1 is available in the Deliver Your Content module on iTunes Connect. Children & Teens Interest Age Remember to provide interest-age information for all "Children & Teens" titles. This will provide more detail for your customers in this broad category, and will help our team better feature your books on the iBookstore. This includes books in the following categories: "Juvenile Fiction" (BISAC), "Children's, Young Adult, and Educational" (BIC), and "Jeunesse" (CLIL). Regards, The iBookstore team

Apple Inc. 1 Infinite Loop, Cupertino, CA 95014 Privacy policy / Terms of service / Terms of sale

Fwd: Early registration for Rick Wormeli extended until November 7!

Great news for those who still want to attend!

- Dr. Gary Ackerman

Begin forwarded message:

From: nelms@nelms.org
Date: October 31, 2012, 9:25:16 AM EDT
To: "Dr. Gary L. Ackerman" <gary@hackscience.net>
Subject: Early registration for Rick Wormeli extended until November 7!
Reply-To: NELMS <nelms@nelms.org>

We at NELMS hope everyone stayed safe during Hurricane Sandy. And for those that suffered damage may your recovery be quick and uneventful.

Early registration extended until November 7th!

Register now and save…

Common Core Common Sense:  
Mastery, Assessment, Reporting, and Reality

November 13 & 14, 2012

UMass Lowell's Inn & Conference Center
Lowell, MA

Some think if we just had clear, rigorous standards, such as the Common Core, all of our students would improve test scores and go to college. This hasn't happened in states who already have such standards, however, so there must be something more to it. Our professional responses to the Common Core and their assessment are key. Teachers and principals need the skills and insights to break down the Common Core, and any other curriculum that comes their way, and identify evidence they will tolerate as indicators of mastery.  They need practicality on reporting that evidence of mastery as well as how to handle awkward assessment and grading situations that arise in increasingly diverse classrooms that are all  supposed to make the same gains in the course of a single year. 

As differentiation expert, Carol Ann Tomlinson, alludes, standards are the ingredients for dinner laid out on the kitchen counter, but they are NOT the meal itself.  The meal is made by talented teachers knowing the ingredients well and understanding the academic, dietary needs of their students.  These teachers proportion, mix, and cook those ingredients into something meaningful and serve the meal in such a way as students will eat wisely, and maybe, eagerly.

Join us for a provocative two-day seminar that explores these elements of highly effective teaching in the Common Core world.  We'll also examine the roles of formative, summative, and common assessments, as well as how to set up a standards-based gradebook and many, "What do teachers do if…?" scenarios that arise when implementing any curriculum with standards-based grading, such as whether or not we can scaffold student learning when using the Common Core, what to do if students achieve the standards earlier than classmates, and what to do if students can express satisfactory evidence of standard but only through alternative assessment.  Bring your questions and your wisdom to share – It's going to be a productive two days! 

For more information and/or to register please click here.

Connecticut Association of Schools &
New England League of Middle Schools Present

"Meeting the Demands of CCSS in the Middle(CCSS 101)"

December 7, 2012
CAS Offices, 30 Realty Drive, Cheshire, CT 06410

Presenters: Jerry Belair, Charlene Tate Nichols, Amy Radikas, Cristi Alberino and Gail Pagano
Description:Using a backwards design approach, this conference is targeted to teach the substance of the CCSS as well as connect the standards to middle school philosophy and practice. Sample assessments will be used to demonstrate what the CCSS expects students to know and demonstrate on the SBAC assessment.
For more information and/or to register please click here.

NELMS 2012 Literacy Summit
Common Core Strategies For All
Middle School Teachers

Literacy Summit Day 1-November 2, 2012

Wyndham Andover Boston
123 Old River Rd., Andover, MA 01810

Literacy Summit Day 2-December 7, 2012

Location same as Day 1

How to Implement the Common Core in Your
Middle School Classroom

With the common core, literacy instruction is the responsibility of all content teachers - it is no longer an option, it is a necessity. At the summit you will learn practical comprehension, vocabulary and writing strategies that all teachers can implement immediately to meet the Common Core standards. In addition, you can learn a practical and effective framework to develop a district or school wide literacy plan that will help guide Common Core instructional implementation.

NELMS is partnering with Keys to Literacy to bring you the Literacy Summit. We selected Keys to Literacy because their programs are an effective way to implement the Common Core in the classroom. We have organized the Literacy Summit around these programs to provide participants a practical, easy to implement and effective way to meet the Common Core objectives.

Summit Presenters

Elissa Arndt, Ph.D.

Elissa is a speech-language pathologist and reading specialist with experience providing instruction and intervention in language and literacy to students Prek-8th. She received her bachelor's degree from Gordon College, her master's degree from MGH Institute of Health Professions and her doctorate degree in Reading and Language Arts from Florida State University. Prior to working at Keys to Literacy, Elissa was a curriculum and intervention specialist at the Florida Center for Reading Research (FCRR) at Florida State University. She serves as an adjunct faculty member in the graduate education department at Gordon College teaching graduate classes on reading foundations, adolescent literacy, instruction, assessment, and intervention.

Lisa Klein, M.Ed

During Lisa's 15-year career as an educator, she has been a classroom teacher in private and public schools, a literacy trainer, and a Reading Specialist. She has held several positions in both urban and suburban schools in the Palm Beach County, Florida school system. Lisa is a literacy consultant providing guidance on both Reading and Writing curriculum. In addition, she also worked for a publishing company presenting teacher training for district-wide adoptions across the state of Florida. Lisa graduated from Rivier College with a M.Ed. in Reading and B.A. in Elementary Education and Special Education.

For more information about the agenda and/or to register please click here.

Save the date for the NELMS 32nd Annual Conference

April 4 & 5, 2013 • RI Convention Center • Providence, RI

Tom Burton - Keynote - Thursday April 4, 2013

Carol Ann Tomlinson - Keynote - Friday April 5, 2013

 

Rick Wormeli
Nov. 13 & 14, 2012

Literacy Summit
Day 1 - 11/2/12
Day 2 - 12/7/12

Join us on Facebook and Twitter

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

 

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Find free audio books...

edudemic.com/2012/10/10-sites-to-download-free-audio-books?utm_medium=twitter&utm_source=twitterfeed

You won't find the latest releases here (or anywhere unless you have visual impairment, library card, or a credit card), but why not listen to some classics? Some Poe would be great for today, and an old English teacher colleague used to have students read along with audio books of Shakespeare-- and he claimed they connected with the text better than if they simply read. 

- Dr. Gary Ackerman

Emerging tech trends (@dtapscott)

	Don Tapscott (@dtapscott)
10/30/12, 2:25 PM Gartner's Top 10 IT Trends: Hits And Misses ow.ly/eTdsB

Download the official Twitter app here

- Dr. Gary Ackerman

There are some great lessons... (@TechHive)

	TechHive (@TechHive)
10/30/12, 11:14 AM Along with Hurricane Sandy itself, plenty of fake pictures of the storm bombarded the Internet yesterday. hive.rs/T0E3vH

... On information literacy in this tweet.

- Dr. Gary Ackerman

Math, science... Wow! (@fivethirtyeight)

	Nate Silver (@fivethirtyeight)
10/29/12, 8:24 PM CAN'T BELIEVE METOROLOGISTS USED MATH AND SCIENCE TO PREDICT THIS STORM. THEY MUST BE MAGIC WIZARDS.

Not real sure where thus came from, but the insight makes me... Smile and chuckle. 

- Dr. Gary Ackerman

Good advice for brain-friendly classrooms (@edutopia)

	edutopia (@edutopia)
10/28/12, 11:12 PM [Free Guide] Understand how the brain works & help #K12 students focus attention & increase retention: bit.ly/vnL323

Download the official Twitter app here

- Dr. Gary Ackerman

Fwd: NEERO Extension

A note from our NEERO friends. 

- Dr. Gary Ackerman

Begin forwarded message:

From: NEERO Conference <neero.conference@gmail.com>
Date: October 28, 2012, 8:26:00 PM EDT
To: NEERO Conference <neero.conference@gmail.com>
Subject: NEERO Extension

In consideration of the approaching storm, the NEERO submission deadline has been extended to Sunday, November 4, 2012 at 11:59PM.  Please submit your proposal electronically to NEERO at http://neero.org/call-for-proposals/.  

 

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me at mgrassetti@framingham.edu or neero.conference@gmail.com.  

Take care,

 

Mary Grassetti

Membership Director

 

 

Mary T. Grassetti, EdD.

Assistant Professor

Education Department

Framingham State University

Crocker 211

mgrassetti@framingham.edu

Passwords

These articles ate becoming more common... They do raise the question, however, "What do you do if a principal is using a password in the list?"

That account would be easy to hack, and threaten all kinds of sensitive data!

www.cnn.com/2012/10/25/tech/web/worst-passwords-2012/index.html

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- Dr. Gary Ackerman

Fwd: NEERO Reminder

 Note from friends in education...

- Dr. Gary Ackerman

Begin forwarded message:

From: NEERO Conference <neero.conference@gmail.com>
Date: October 26, 2012, 1:10:51 PM EDT
To: NEERO Conference <neero.conference@gmail.com>
Subject: NEERO Reminder

Dear NEERO friends,

This is the final reminder that proposals for the 2013 New England Educational Research Organization Annual Conference are due by Wednesday, October 31, 2012 at 11:59pm. The conference will be held Wednesday, April 17 through Friday, April 19, 2013 at the Sheraton Harborside Hotel in Portsmouth, NH.  All proposals must be submitted electronically at http://neero.org/call-for-proposals/.  

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me at mgrassetti@framingham.edu orneero.conference@gmail.com.  We are looking forward to seeing you in Portsmouth!

Mary Grassetti
Membership Director


Mary T. Grassetti, EdD.
Assistant Professor
Education Department
Framingham State University
Crocker 211
mgrassetti@framingham.edu

Read this! (@willrich45)

	Will Richardson (@willrich45)
10/25/12, 11:27 PM Posted to the NY Times: Three Starting Points for Thinking Differently About Learning nyti.ms/P5Kyiv #edchat #teaching #learning

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- Dr. Gary Ackerman

Insightful Observation of reading (@SecretHQTweets)

	Secret-HQ (@SecretHQTweets)
10/25/12, 9:41 PM If you haven't learned to read for pleasure, how can you ever learn to read for mastery?

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- Dr. Gary Ackerman

Tweet from HuffPostEducation (@HuffPostEdu)

	HuffPostEducation (@HuffPostEdu)
10/25/12, 1:15 PM Today's teaching force is less experienced, but more open to change huff.to/QIbxPA

This may be worth a closer look, as it seems contrary to my experience. 

- Dr. Gary Ackerman