Mrch Mdnss: Hyphaeresis

"Kids these days! Text messaging all the time and using crazy invented spelllings. What is the world coming to?"

Have you had similar thoughts or overheard comments such as these? Well, guess what? There truly is nothing new under the sun! Kids have been using hyphaeresis for a long, long time.

hyphaeresis (noun):  the omission of sounds, syllables or letters from words.

In the 1830's, American teenagers and college students deliberately misspelled and abbreviated words, changing the English language to "make it their own". Some examples were published in the March 23, 1839 (that's right...1839) edition of the Boston Morning Post:

NS: 'nuf said
OW: oll wright
OK: oll korrect (for more information, click here!)

Remember: language is never static. We use new forms of words, written and oral, to express ourselves, to feel part of a group, to start trends. It was that way in March 1839 and now, in March 2010, we're still at it! OMG!

Thx 4 readn,
TanE

Spotlight: M. Fogelson

If you can't beat 'em, join 'em! Amelia Middle School teacher Mark Fogelson has taken advantage of students' digital learning style by integrating an audience response system in his eighth grade history classes.

Realizing the different learning needs of digital students - students who spend over five hours outside the school day accessing technology- Mark began using the audience response system this year. The system allows students to respond to questions projected on a screen with "clickers" or small, handheld devices. Student responses to quizzes, polls, questions, etc. are projected instantly, providing immediate feedback and allowing Mark to assess students' comprehension.

Colleague Brian Wallace convinced Mark and fellow teacher Erin Cupito to give the audience response system a try. Now students actually look forward to taking quizzes. "It's a video game culture," stated Mark. "If there is one thing every kid knows how to manipulate, it's a remote control."

Now that's a Learning Channel!

Cheryl

March Madness: Free Tech 4 Teachers

Short and sweet. If you bookmark only one teacher website, let it be this one: Richard Byrne's Free Technology for Teachers.

Here's why:
1. It's free.
2. It shares free stuff.
3. It's written by a teacher for teachers.
4. It always shares the free stuff, plus it explains applications for your classroom (what + so what).

Take a look at today's free tech, here.
Take a look at Richard's Twelve Essentials for Technology Integration.

Enjoy,
M.E.

March Madness: Thinking in Pictures

Pictures for Summarizing and Note Taking Voice Thread were captured using Google Images.

   You've heard it before, but it's true...a picture is worth a thousand words. Especially for today's students who prefer processing pictures, sounds, color and video before text.

   If you are looking for that "just right" picture to complement your lesson, try Google Images. Thousands of images are available at the click of a mouse... pictures that can help students visualize abstract and complex concepts.  

   Dirk Bogarde stated, "The camera can photograph thought." So here's to thinking in pictures. But don't take my word for it... check it out here!

Cheryl

March Madness: 21C Taxonomy

One of the very best Bloom's tools I've seen came across Twitter last week. These two flash tutorials offer a quick overview for and application of the revised Bloom's Taxonomy—with a representation of 21st century skills and a recognition of Creating as the ultimate outcome for learners of all ages. 

Source: Bloom's Taxonomy Tutorial Flash via the CCCS Faculty Wiki.

BTW, for a downloadable classroom poster of the new Bloom's, see this earlier TLC post.

M.E.

PS Thanks to Jeff Riel, GEHS, for helping me with the embed codes for this post.

March Madness: Gotta Keep Reading

On December 11, 2009, students at Ocoee Middle School near Orlando, Florida recorded a video to inspire kids to read. With over 74,000 views on YouTube, their message of literacy has spread around the world! These kids were granted permission from The Black Eyed Peas to use the melody of the hit song, "I Gotta Feeling". They rewrote the lyrics, choreographed a routine, and stepped out into the warm Florida sunshine to have some fun.



Ocoee Middle School's Gotta Keep Reading on TeacherTube.

Tanny

March Madness: Consider Twitter

If you think Twitter is only about celebrities, chitchat, gossip, and idle talk, read on.

If you'd like a way to connect with educators from around the world who share your interests, questions, subject area, problems, and perspectives, consider Twitter.

In the year that I've been tweeting I've built a professional learning network (PLN) that's taught me about technology, teaching, leadership, and learning and helped me make connections never before possible.

When Joe and Lori were looking for kindergarten classes to Skype with, for instance, I put out this tweet:

By the end of the day we'd connected with schools in California and Kansas and the Kinder-Skyping project was underway.

On Twitter I learned about free or very low-cost web tools like Voice Thread, Animoto, Delicious, and Google Forms. On Twitter I met Ken Royal (@KenRoyal) from Scholastic who met with our Ohio eTech team and Peter Pappas (@edteck) of Copy/Paste who agreed to work with West Clermont teachers next fall. Yoon Soo Lim (@DoremiGirl) helped me with Flip Camera and You Tube filter questions. On Twitter, I discovered online conversations with thinkers like Daniel Pink, Seth Godin, Kylene Beers, and Alfie Kohn.

Twitter was my window to Web 2.0 learning.

It's not everybody's cup of tea. But I invite you to spend a little time there just to "lurk and learn" for a while.

Get started with tips from these terrific teachers:

Why Teachers Should Try Twitter by teacher William Ferriter (@plugusin on Twitter) in the February 2010 issue of Educational Leadership

What Did They Tweet? by teacher Shelly Terrell (@ShellTerrell) on her award-winning edublog

Seven Ways to Find Teachers on Twitter by teacher Richard Byrne (@rmbyrne) on his site Free Tech 4 Teachers

Twitter? Professional? ...C'mon!!! by teacher William Steltz (@jpsteltz) on his blog

And if you decide to open an account, click here for a list of teachers, administrators, or  PLN builders to follow.

M.E.

PS Follow me on Twitter. You'll find me @steelepierce.

This is post 4/23 in our March Madness quest